Important information on risk
Investment, Market, and Price Risk: Closed-end fund shares are subject to investment risk, including the possible loss of the entire principal amount that you invest. Common shares frequently trade at a discount to their NAV. At any point in time, your common shares may be worth less than you paid, even after considering the reinvestment of fund distributions.
Senior Loan Risk: Senior loans, both secured and unsecured, may not be rated by a national rating agency, are generally not registered with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) and generally are not listed on a securities exchange. Consequently, the amount of public information available about senior loans generally is less extensive than that available for more widely rated, registered and exchange-listed securities. In addition, some adjustable rate loans may be unsecured or insufficiently collateralized, which increases the risk of fund losses if the loan’s issuer defaults.
Credit Risk: Debt or preferred securities held by the fund may fail to make dividend or interest payments when due. Investments in securities below investment grade credit quality are predominantly speculative and subject to greater volatility and risk of default. Unrated securities are evaluated by fund managers using industry data and their own analysis processes that may be similar to that of a nationally recognized rating agency; however, such internal ratings are not equivalent to a national agency credit rating. Counterparty credit risk may arise if counterparties fail to meet their obligations, should the fund hold any derivative instruments for either investment exposure or hedging purposes.
Leverage Risk: The fund’s use of leverage may cause higher volatility for the fund’s per share NAV, market price, and distributions. Leverage typically magnifies the total return of the fund’s portfolio, whether that return is positive or negative. Leverage is intended to increase common share net income, but there is no assurance that the fund’s leveraging strategy will be successful. Different forms of leverage, including swaps, may introduce additional credit or interest rate risk. Leverage may also increase a fund’s liquidity risk, as the fund may need to sell securities at inopportune times to stay within fund or regulatory limits.
Interest Rate Risk: Fixed-income securities such as bonds, preferred, convertible and other debt securities will decline in value if market interest rates rise.
LIBOR Floor Risk: Many floating rate loans issued after 2008 include a “LIBOR floor”, or minimum interest rate to which the loan’s spread is added, to calculate the loan’s overall interest rate. As short-term market rates rise, such loans will not pay higher interest until prevailing rates exceed the floor rate stated in the loan documents. If such a fund uses floating rate leverage, the fund’s leverage costs will likely increase before its loan portfolio income increases, and the additional income provided by leverage may diminish until market rates exceed the LIBOR floor level.
Basis Risk: As short-term rates change, interest from floating rate loans may not increase in concert with increases in floating rate leverage, introducing basis or imperfect hedging risk.
Illiquid Securities Risk: The fund may not be able to sell securities in its portfolio at the time or price the fund desires.
Loan Settlement Risk: Lack of established settlement standards or remedies for failure to settle may cause the fund to lack timely access to proceeds from selling loans, or to investment exposure from buying loans.
Tax Risk: The tax treatment of fund distributions may be affected by future changes in tax laws and regulations or their interpretation by the Internal Revenue Service or state tax authorities.
Shares of closed-end funds are subject to investment risks, including the possible loss of principal invested. Closed-end funds frequently trade at a discount to their net asset value (NAV).
An investment in this fund presents a number of risks and is not suitable for all investors. Investors should carefully review and consider potential risks before investing.
The London Interbank Offered Rate or LIBOR, is used throughout global banking and financial industries to determine interest rates for a variety of financial instruments (such as debt instruments and derivatives) and borrowing arrangements. The United Kingdom’s Financial Conduct Authority has undertaken a multi-year phase out of LIBOR. As a result, the administrator of LIBOR ceased publishing certain LIBOR settings after December 31, 2021 and expects to cease publication of all settings after June 30, 2023. The transition away from LIBOR may involve, among other things, increased volatility or illiquidity in markets for instruments that currently rely on LIBOR, such as floating-rate debt obligations.
CFA® and Chartered Financial Analyst® are registered trademarks owned by CFA Institute.
Performance data shown represents past performance and does not predict or guarantee future results. Current performance may be higher or lower than the data shown. NAV returns are net of fund expenses, and assume reinvestment of distributions.
Nuveen Asset Management LLC is the subadviser to the Fund and an affiliate of Nuveen, LLC.
Nuveen Securities, LLC, member FINRA and SIPC.
EWB-2333746PR-E0822W
