Proxy Voting

Funds have dual roles as investors in securities of public companies and as issuers of securities with their own shareholders and boards of directors.

In their role as shareholders in corporations, funds are entitled to vote on proxy proposals put forth by a company’s management or its shareholders. A fund’s board typically delegates proxy voting responsibilities to the fund’s investment adviser in recognition that proxy voting is part of the investment management process, but maintains oversight of this function.

In their role as issuers of securities, funds may put forth for shareholder vote proposals on certain corporate matters. In general, open-end funds do not hold annual shareholder meetings; rather, a meeting is held when a shareholder vote on a particular matter is required, such as the election of fund directors or approval of an acquisition or merger. Closed-end funds are required to hold annual shareholder meetings by the rules of the exchange on which the closed-end fund’s shares trade.