PROSPECTUS |
11,500,000 Shares
Nuveen Municipal Value Fund 2
Common Shares
$15.00 per share
Investment Objectives. The Fund is a newly organized, diversified, closed-end management investment company.
| The Funds primary investment objective is to provide current income exempt from regular federal income tax. |
| The Funds secondary investment objective is to enhance portfolio value and total return. |
Fund Strategies. The Fund seeks to achieve its investment objectives by investing in a portfolio of municipal securities, a significant portion of which Nuveen Asset Management (NAM), the Funds investment adviser, believes are underrated and undervalued, based upon its bottom-up, research-driven investment strategy. NAM believes its value oriented strategy offers the opportunity to construct a well diversified portfolio of municipal securities that has the potential to outperform major municipal market benchmarks over the longer term. Under normal circumstances, the Fund will invest at least 80% of its net assets in municipal securities:
| the income from which is exempt from regular federal income tax; and |
| that, at the time of investment, are investment grade quality. A security is considered investment grade quality if it is rated within the four highest grades (BBB or Baa or better) by at least one of the nationally recognized statistical rating organizations that rate such security (even if rated lower by another), or is unrated but judged by NAM to be of comparable quality. |
The Fund will not invest in municipal securities that pay interest that is taxable under the federal alternative minimum tax applicable to individuals.
No Prior History. Because the Fund is newly organized, its common shares have no history of public trading. Shares of closed-end investment companies frequently trade at a discount from their net asset value. This risk may be greater for investors who expect to sell their shares in a relatively short period after completion of the public offering.
(continued on following page)
The Funds common shares have been approved for listing on the New York Stock Exchange, subject to notice of issuance. The trading or ticker symbol is NUW.
Investing in the Funds common shares involves certain risks. See Risks beginning on page 30 of this prospectus. Certain of these risks are summarized in Prospectus SummarySpecial Risk Considerations beginning on page 11 of this prospectus.
Neither the Securities and Exchange Commission nor any state securities commission has approved or disapproved of these securities or determined if this prospectus is truthful or complete. Any representation to the contrary is a criminal offense.
Per Share |
Total(3) | ||||
Public Offering Price |
$15.000 | $ | 172,500,000 | ||
Sales Load(1) |
$ 0.675 | $ | 7,762,500 | ||
Proceeds to the Fund(2) |
$14.325 | $ | 164,737,500 |
(1) | NAM (and not the Fund) has agreed to pay from its own assets a structuring fee to Citigroup Global Markets Inc. See Underwriting. |
(2) | Total expenses of issuance and distribution (other than underwriting discounts and commissions) are estimated to be $0.03 per share ($345,000). After payment of such expenses, proceeds to the Fund will be $14.295 per share. Nuveen Investments, LLC has agreed to (i) reimburse all organization expenses of the Fund and (ii) pay the amount by which the Funds offering costs (other than sales load) exceed $0.03 per common share. |
(3) | The Fund has granted the underwriters an option to purchase up to 1,725,000 additional common shares at the public offering price less the sales load within 45 days from the date of this prospectus to cover over-allotments, if any. If such option is exercised in full, the total Public Offering Price, Sales Load and Proceeds to the Fund will be $198,375,000, $8,926,875 and $189,448,125, respectively. See Underwriting. |
The underwriters expect to deliver the common shares to purchasers on or about February 27, 2009.
Citi | Nuveen Investments, LLC | |
Ameriprise Advisor Services, Inc. | BB&T Capital Markets | |
Deutsche Bank Securities | J.J.B. Hilliard, W.L. Lyons, LLC | |
HSBC | Janney Montgomery Scott LLC | |
Ladenburg Thalmann & Co. Inc. | Maxim Group LLC | |
Oppenheimer & Co. | RBC Capital Markets | |
Southwest Securities | Stifel Nicolaus | |
February 24, 2009
Portfolio Contents. Under normal circumstances, the Fund will invest at least 80% of its net assets in municipal securities, the income from which is exempt from regular federal income tax. Generally, the Fund expects to be fully invested (at least 95% of its assets) in such municipal securities. Under normal circumstances, the Fund will invest at least 80% of its net assets in municipal securities that at the time of investment are investment grade quality. A security is considered investment grade quality if it is rated within the four highest letter grades by at least one of the nationally recognized statistical rating organizations (NRSROs) that rate such security (even if rated lower by another), or if it is unrated by any NRSRO but judged to be of comparable quality by NAM. The Fund may invest up to 20% of its net assets in municipal securities that at the time of investment are rated below investment grade quality or that are unrated by any NRSRO but judged to be of comparable quality by NAM. The Fund may invest up to 10% of its net assets in municipal securities rated below B-/B3 or that are unrated by any NRSRO but judged to be of comparable quality by NAM. The Fund does not currently intend to invest more than 5% of its net assets in municipal securities rated below B-/B3 or that are unrated by any NRSRO but judged to be of comparable quality by NAM. Municipal securities of below investment grade quality are regarded as having predominately speculative characteristics with respect to capacity to pay interest and repay principal, and are commonly referred to as junk bonds. The Fund cannot assure you that it will achieve its investment objectives.
No Preferred Shares. Unless otherwise approved by shareholders, the Fund will not leverage its capital structure by issuing senior securities such as preferred shares or debt instruments. However, the Fund may borrow for temporary, emergency or other purposes as permitted by the Investment Company Act of 1940, as amended, and invest in certain instruments, including inverse floating rate securities, that have the economic effect of financial leverage.
You should read this prospectus, which contains important information about the Fund, before deciding whether to invest and retain it for future reference. A Statement of Additional Information, dated February 24, 2009, and as it may be supplemented, containing additional information about the Fund, has been filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission and is incorporated by reference in its entirety into this prospectus. You may request a free copy of the Statement of Additional Information, the table of contents of which is on page 56 of this prospectus, annual and semi-annual reports to shareholders, when available, and other information about the Fund, and make shareholder inquiries by calling (800) 257-8787 or by writing to the Fund, or from the Funds website (http://www.nuveen.com). The information contained in, or that can be accessed through, the Funds website is not part of this prospectus. You also may obtain a copy of Statement of Additional Information (and other information regarding the Fund) from the Securities and Exchange Commissions website (http://www.sec.gov).
The Funds common shares do not represent a deposit or obligation of, and are not guaranteed or endorsed by, any bank or other insured depository institution, and are not federally insured by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation, the Federal Reserve Board or any other government agency.
2
You should rely only on the information contained or incorporated by reference in this prospectus. The Fund has not authorized anyone to provide you with different information. The Fund is not making an offer of these securities in any jurisdiction where the offer is not permitted. You should not assume that the information contained in this prospectus is accurate as of any date other than the date on the front of this prospectus.
Page | ||
4 | ||
17 | ||
19 | ||
19 | ||
19 | ||
30 | ||
39 | ||
40 | ||
43 | ||
43 | ||
45 | ||
46 | ||
47 | ||
48 | ||
49 | ||
52 | ||
55 | ||
55 | ||
Table of Contents for the Statement of Additional Information |
56 |
3
This is only a summary. You should review the more detailed information contained elsewhere in this prospectus and in the Statement of Additional Information prior to making an investment in the Fund, especially the information set forth under the heading Risks.
The Fund |
Nuveen Municipal Value Fund 2 (the Fund) is a newly organized, diversified, closed-end management investment company. |
The Offering |
The Fund is offering 11,500,000 common shares of beneficial interest at $15.00 per share through a group of underwriters (the Underwriters) led by Citigroup Global Markets Inc., Nuveen Investments, LLC (Nuveen), Ameriprise Advisor Services, Inc., BB&T Capital Markets, a division of Scott & Stringfellow, Inc., Deutsche Bank Securities Inc., J.J.B. Hilliard, W.L. Lyons, LLC, HSBC Securities (USA) Inc., Janney Montgomery Scott LLC, Ladenburg Thalmann & Co. Inc., Maxim Group LLC, Oppenheimer & Co. Inc., RBC Capital Markets Corporation, Southwest Securities, Inc. and Stifel, Nicolaus & Company, Incorporated. Certain Underwriters participating in this offering or their affiliates, including Citigroup Global Markets Inc. and Deutsche Bank Securities Inc., have an ownership interest in Nuveen Investments, Inc. (Nuveen Investments), the parent company of Nuveen Asset Management (NAM), the Funds investment adviser. The common shares of beneficial interest are called Common Shares in this prospectus. You must purchase at least 100 Common Shares in this offering. The Fund has given the Underwriters an option to purchase up to 1,725,000 additional Common Shares to cover orders in excess of 11,500,000 Common Shares. See Underwriting. Nuveen has agreed to (i) reimburse all organization expenses of the Fund and (ii) pay all offering costs of the Fund (other than sales load) that exceed $0.03 per Common Share. |
Who May Want to Invest |
You should consider your investment goals, time horizons and risk tolerance before investing in the Fund. An investment in the Fund is not appropriate for all investors and is not intended to be a complete investment program. The Fund is designed as a long-term investment and not as a trading vehicle. The Fund may be an appropriate investment for you if you are seeking: |
| Current income exempt from federal income tax, including the alternative minimum tax; |
| Potential for additional total return; |
| Regular monthly dividends which are automatically reinvested, or may be received in cash; |
| A fund that will not leverage its capital structure by issuing preferred shares or other debt instruments; |
| A fund that invests predominately in investment grade quality investments; |
4
| Potential for daily liquidity afforded by listing on the New York Stock Exchange; |
| Exposure to an asset class with historically less volatility than equities; |
| Diversification of your overall investment portfolio; and |
| Professional selection and active management of a municipal securities portfolio. |
However, keep in mind that you will need to assume the risks associated with an investment in the Fund. See Risks. |
Investment Objectives
and Policies |
The Funds primary investment objective is to provide current income exempt from regular federal income tax. The Funds secondary investment objective is to enhance portfolio value and total return. The Funds investment objectives and certain investment policies specifically identified as such are considered fundamental and may not be changed without shareholder approval. The Fund cannot assure you that it will attain its investment objectives. See The Funds Investments and Risks. |
The Fund seeks to achieve its investment objectives by investing in a portfolio of municipal securities, a significant portion of which NAM believes are underrated and undervalued, based upon its bottom-up, research-driven investment strategy. Underrated municipal securities are those whose ratings do not, in NAMs opinion, reflect their true creditworthiness. Undervalued municipal securities are securities that, in NAMs opinion, are worth more than the value assigned to them in the marketplace. NAM believes its value oriented strategy offers the opportunity to construct a well diversified portfolio of municipal securities that has the potential to outperform major municipal market benchmarks over the longer term. A municipal securitys market value generally will depend upon its form, maturity, call features, and interest rate, as well as the issuers credit quality or credit rating, all such factors examined in the context of the municipal securities market and interest rate levels and trends. |
Under normal circumstances and as a fundamental policy, the Fund will invest at least 80% of its net assets in municipal securities, the income from which is exempt from regular federal income tax. See The Funds Investments for additional information on the types of securities in which the Fund may invest. Generally, the Fund expects to be fully invested (at least 95% of its assets) in municipal securities, the income from which is exempt from regular federal income tax. It will not invest in municipal securities that pay interest that is taxable under the federal alternative minimum tax applicable to individuals (AMT Bonds).
The Fund may invest in various municipal securities, including municipal bonds and notes, other securities issued to finance and refinance public projects, and other related securities and derivative |
5
instruments creating exposure to municipal securities that provide for the payment of interest income that is exempt from regular federal income tax (collectively, municipal securities). See The Funds InvestmentsMunicipal Securities for additional information on the types of municipal securities in which the Fund may invest. Municipal securities are often issued by state and local governmental entities to finance or refinance public projects, such as roads, schools, and water supply systems. Municipal securities also may be issued on behalf of private entities or for private activities, such as housing, medical and educational facility construction, or for privately owned transportation, electric utility and pollution control projects. Municipal securities may be issued on a long-term basis to provide long-term financing. The repayment of such debt may be secured generally by a pledge of the full faith and credit taxing power of the issuer, a limited or special tax, or any other revenue source, including project revenues, which may include tolls, fees and other user charges, lease payments, and mortgage payments. Municipal securities also may be issued to finance projects on a short-term interim basis, anticipating repayment with the proceeds of the later issuance of long-term debt. The Fund may purchase municipal securities in the form of bonds, notes, leases or certificates of participation; structured as callable or non-callable; with payment forms that include fixed coupon, variable rate, zero coupon, capital appreciation bonds, tender option bonds, and residual interest bonds or inverse floating rate securities. Such municipal securities also may be acquired through investments in pooled vehicles, partnerships, or other investment companies. |
The Fund also may invest in certain derivative instruments in pursuit of its investment objectives. Such instruments include financial futures contracts, swap contracts (including interest rate and credit default swaps), options on financial futures, options on swap contracts, or other derivative instruments. NAM may use derivative instruments to seek to enhance return, to hedge some of the risk of the Funds investments in municipal securities or as a substitute for a position in the underlying asset. These types of strategies may generate taxable income. See The Funds InvestmentsDerivatives. |
Under normal circumstances: |
| The Fund will invest at least 80% of its net assets in investment grade quality municipal securities. Investment grade quality securities are those that are, at the time of investment, either (i) rated by one of the nationally recognized statistical rating organizations (NRSROs) that rate such securities within the four highest letter grades (including BBB or Baa or better by Standard & Poors Corporation Ratings Group, a division of The McGraw-Hill Companies (S&P), Moodys Investors Services, Inc. (Moodys) or Fitch Ratings, Inc. (Fitch)), or (ii) unrated by any NRSRO but judged to be of comparable quality by NAM. Investment grade securities may include securities that, at the time of investment, are rated below investment grade by S&P, Moodys or Fitch, so long as at least one NRSRO rates such securities within the four highest grades (such securities are |
6
commonly referred to as split-rated securities). The Fund estimates that, upon completing its invest-up, the average credit quality of its investments will be A+. |
| The Fund may invest up to 20% of its net assets in municipal securities that at the time of investment are rated below investment grade or are unrated by any NRSRO but judged to be of comparable quality by NAM. The Fund may invest up to 10% of its net assets in municipal securities rated below B-/B3 or that are unrated by any NRSRO but judged to be of comparable quality by NAM; however, the Fund does not currently intend to invest more than 5% of its net assets in such municipal securities. This means that the Fund may invest up to 5% of its net assets in municipal securities, the issuer of which is having financial difficulties, such as being in default on its obligations to pay principal or interest thereon when due or that is involved in bankruptcy or insolvency proceedings (such securities are commonly referred to as distressed securities). Municipal securities of below investment grade quality are regarded as having predominately speculative characteristics with respect to capacity to pay interest and repay principal, and are commonly referred to as junk bonds. |
| As a fundamental policy, the Fund will not leverage its capital structure by issuing senior securities such as preferred shares or debt instruments. However, the Fund may borrow for temporary, emergency or other purposes as permitted by the Investment Company Act of 1940, as amended, (the 1940 Act) and invest in certain instruments, including inverse floating rate securities, that have the economic effect of financial leverage. |
| The Fund will not invest more than 15% of its net assets in residual interest bonds or inverse floating rate securities. The Fund does not currently intend to invest more than 5% of its net assets in such bonds or securities. |
| The Fund may invest up to 15% of its net assets in municipal securities that, at the time of investment, are illiquid (i.e., securities that are not readily marketable). See RisksIlliquid Securities Risk. |
| The Fund will generally invest in municipal securities with intermediate or long-term maturities. Initially, the Fund is expected to have a weighted average maturity of 15 to 30 years. The weighted average maturity of securities held by the Fund may be shortened or lengthened, depending on market conditions and on an assessment by the Funds portfolio manager of which segments of the municipal securities market offer the most favorable relative investment values and opportunities for tax-exempt income and total return. |
7
| The Fund will not invest more than 25% of its net assets in municipal securities in any one industry or in any one state of origin and no more than 5% of its net assets in any one issuer. |
| The Fund will not invest more than 10% of its net assets in tobacco settlement bonds. |
See The Funds InvestmentsInvestment Objectives and Policies.
During temporary defensive periods or in order to keep the Funds cash fully invested, including during the period when the net proceeds of the offering of Common Shares are being invested, the Fund may deviate from its investment policies and objectives. During such periods, the Fund may invest up to 100% of its net assets in short-term investments, including high quality, short-term securities that may be either tax-exempt or taxable. The Fund intends to invest in taxable short-term investments only in the event that suitable tax-exempt short-term investments are not available at reasonable prices and yields. Investment in taxable short-term investments would result in a portion of your dividends being subject to regular federal income tax. Such transactions will be used solely to reduce risk. There can be no assurance that such strategies will be successful. For a more complete discussion of the Funds portfolio composition, see The Funds Investments. |
Distributions |
Commencing with the first distribution, the Fund will pay monthly distributions to holders of Common Shares (Common Shareholders) at a level rate (stated in terms of a fixed cents per Common Share dividend rate) based on the Funds projected performance. The Funds ability to maintain a level Common Share dividend rate will depend on a number of factors. As portfolio and market conditions change, the rate of dividends on the Common Shares and the Funds distribution policy could change. Over time, the Fund will distribute all of its net investment income. In addition, the Fund intends to distribute, at least annually, the net capital gain and taxable ordinary income, if any, to Common Shareholders. The Fund expects to declare its initial Common Share distribution approximately 30 to 45 days, and to pay that distribution approximately 60 to 90 days, from the completion of this offering, depending on market conditions. |
As explained more fully below in Tax Matters, at least annually, the Fund may elect to retain rather than distribute all or a portion of any net capital gain (which is the excess of net long-term capital gain over net short-term capital loss) otherwise allocable to Common Shareholders and pay U.S. federal income tax on the retained gain. As provided under federal tax law, Common Shareholders of record as of the end of the Funds taxable year will include their attributable share of the retained gain in their income for the year as a long-term capital gain, and will be entitled to an income tax credit or refund for the tax deemed paid on their behalf by the Fund. The Fund may treat the cash value of tax credit and refund amounts in connection with retained capital |
8
gains as a substitute for equivalent cash distributions. See Distributions and Dividend Reinvestment Plan. |
The Fund reserves the right to change its distribution policy and the basis for establishing the rate of its monthly distributions at any time and may do so without prior notice to Common Shareholders. |
Automatic Reinvestment |
Distributions will be automatically reinvested in additional Common Shares under the Funds Dividend Reinvestment Plan unless a Common Shareholder elects to receive cash. See Distributions, Dividend Reinvestment Plan and Tax Matters. |
Investment Adviser |
NAM will be the Funds investment adviser, responsible for investing the Funds net assets. NAM, a registered investment adviser, is a wholly owned subsidiary of Nuveen Investments. Founded in 1898, Nuveen Investments and its affiliates had approximately $134 billion of assets under management as of September 30, 2008, of which approximately $60.7 billion was in municipal securities. Regarding this approximately $60.7 billion of tax-exempt municipal securities, approximately $32.2 billion, $14.1 billion, $12.8 billion and $1.7 billion represent assets relating to closed-end municipal bond funds, open-end municipal bond funds, retail municipal managed accounts and institutional municipal managed accounts, respectively. According to Thomson Wealth Management, Nuveen is the leading sponsor of closed-end funds as measured by the number of funds (120) and the amount of fund assets under management (approximately $43.8 billion) as of September 30, 2008. |
On November 13, 2007, Nuveen Investments was acquired by an investor group led by Madison Dearborn Partners, LLC, a private equity firm based in Chicago, Illinois (the MDP Acquisition). The investor group led by Madison Dearborn Partners, LLC includes affiliates of Merrill Lynch & Co., Inc. (Merrill Lynch), which has since been acquired by Bank of America Corporation (Bank of America). NAM has adopted policies and procedures that address arrangements involving NAM and Bank of America and its affiliates that may give rise to certain conflicts of interest. For additional information regarding the MDP Acquisition, see Management of the FundNuveen Investments. |
The Fund is dependent upon services and resources provided by its investment adviser, NAM, and therefore the investment advisers parent Nuveen Investments. Nuveen Investments significantly increased its level of debt in connection with the MDP Acquisition. As of September 30, 2008, Nuveen Investments had outstanding approximately $3.6 billion in aggregate principal amount of indebtedness, $288 million of cash on hand and $250 million available under a revolving line of credit. While Nuveen Investments believes that monies generated from operations and cash on hand will be adequate to fund debt service requirements, capital expenditures and working capital requirements for the |
9
foreseeable future, there can be no assurance that Nuveen Investments business will generate sufficient cash flow from operations or that future borrowings will be available in an amount sufficient to enable Nuveen Investments to pay its indebtedness or to fund its other liquidity needs. Nuveen Investments ability to continue to fund these items may be affected by general economic, financial, competitive, legislative, legal and regulatory factors and by its ability to refinance outstanding indebtedness with scheduled maturities beginning in 2014. Nuveen Investments believes that potential adverse changes to the overall financial position and business operations of Nuveen Investments would not adversely affect NAMs credit research and portfolio management operations and would not otherwise adversely affect NAMs ability to fulfill its obligations to the Fund under the Funds investment management agreement. The risks, uncertainties and other factors related to Nuveen Investments business, the effects of which may cause its assets under management, earnings, revenues, and/or profit margins to decline, are described in its filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission, which are publicly available. |
The Fund will pay NAM an annual management fee, payable monthly, in a maximum amount equal to 0.60% of the Funds average daily Managed Assets (as defined below). This maximum fee is equal to the sum of a fund-level fee and a complex-level fee. The fund-level fee is a maximum of 0.40% of the Funds average total daily Managed Assets, with lower fees for assets that exceed $125 million. The complex-level fee is a maximum of 0.20% of the Funds daily Managed Assets based on the daily managed assets of all Nuveen-branded closed-end and open-end registered investment companies organized in the U.S. (collectively, the Nuveen Funds) (as managed assets is defined in each Nuveen Funds investment management agreement with NAM, which generally includes assets attributable to any preferred shares that may be outstanding and any borrowings (including the issuance of commercial paper or notes)), with lower fee levels for complex-level assets that exceed $55 billion. |
Managed Assets means the total assets of the Fund (including proceeds from the Funds use of financial leverage, whether or not reflected in the Funds financial statements for purposes of generally accepted accounting principles, such as, but not limited to, proceeds from tender option bond trusts) minus the sum of accrued liabilities (other than Fund liabilities incurred for the express purpose of creating financial leverage).
Based on complex-level assets of approximately $53.6 billion as of December 31, 2008, the complex-level fee would be 0.20% of Managed Assets and the total fee to NAM would be 0.60% of Managed Assets (assuming Managed Assets of $125 million). For more information on fees and expenses, including fees attributable to Common Shares, see Management of the Fund.
10
Listing |
The Common Shares have been approved for listing on the New York Stock Exchange, subject to notice of issuance. See Description of SharesCommon Shares. The trading or ticker symbol of the Common Shares is NUW. |
Custodian and Transfer Agent |
State Street Bank and Trust Company will serve as the Funds custodian and transfer agent. See Custodian and Transfer Agent. |
Special Risk
Considerations |
Investment in the Fund involves special risk considerations, which are summarized below. The Fund is designed as a long-term investment and not as a trading vehicle. The Fund is not intended to be a complete investment program. See Risks for a more complete discussion of the special risk considerations of an investment in the Fund. |
No Prior History. The Fund is a newly organized, diversified, closed-end management investment company with no history of operations. |
Investment and Market Risk. An investment in the Funds Common Shares is subject to investment risk, including the possible loss of the entire principal amount that you invest. Your investment in Common Shares represents an indirect investment in the municipal securities owned by the Fund, which generally trade in the over-the-counter markets. Your Common Shares at any point in time may be worth less than your original investment, even after taking into account the reinvestment of Fund dividends and distributions. See RisksInvestment and Market Risk |
Current Economic Conditions Credit Crisis Liquidity and Volatility Risk. The markets for credit instruments, including municipal securities, have experienced periods of extreme illiquidity and volatility since the latter half of 2007. General market uncertainty and consequent repricing risk have led to market imbalances of sellers and buyers, which in turn have resulted in significant valuation uncertainties in a variety of debt securities, including municipal securities. These conditions resulted, and in many cases continue to result in, greater volatility, less liquidity, widening credit spreads and a lack of price transparency, with many debt securities remaining illiquid and of uncertain value. These market conditions may make valuation of some of the Funds municipal securities uncertain and/or result in sudden and significant valuation increases or declines in its holdings. In addition, illiquidity and volatility in the credit markets may directly and adversely affect the setting of dividend rates on the Common Shares. |
In response to the current national economic downturn, governmental cost burdens may be reallocated among federal, state and local governments. In addition, laws enacted in the future by Congress or state legislatures or referenda could extend |
11
the time for payment of principal and/or interest, or impose other constraints on enforcement of such obligations, or on the ability of municipalities to levy taxes. Issuers of municipal securities might seek protection under the bankruptcy laws. |
See Risks Current Economic Conditions Credit Crisis Liquidity and Volatility Risk and RisksMunicipal Securities Market Risk. |
Market Discount from Net Asset Value and Expected Reductions in Net Asset Value. Shares of closed-end investment companies like the Fund frequently trade at prices lower than their net asset value, which creates a risk of loss for investors when they sell shares purchased in the initial public offering. This characteristic is a risk separate and distinct from the risk that the Funds net asset value could decrease as a result of investment activities. Shares of closed-end investment companies like the Fund have during some periods traded at prices higher than net asset value and have during other periods traded at prices lower than net asset value. Proceeds from the sale of Common Shares in this offering will be reduced by 4.5% (the amount of the sales load as a percentage of the offering price), making the Funds net asset value per Common Share equal to $14.325, before deducting offering expenses. Net asset value and net asset value per Common Share are then further reduced by the amount of offering expenses paid by the Fund (estimated to be up to an additional $0.03 per Common Share). The Common Shares are designed primarily for long-term investors, and you should not view the Fund as a vehicle for short-term trading purposes. See RisksMarket Discount from Net Asset Value and Expected Reductions in Net Asset Value. |
Credit and Below Investment Grade Risk. Credit risk is the risk that one or more municipal securities in the Funds portfolio will decline in price, or the issuer thereof will fail to pay interest or principal when due, because the issuer experiences a decline in its financial status. The Fund may invest up to 20% (measured at the time of investment) of its net assets in municipal securities that are rated below investment grade or that are unrated but judged to be of comparable quality by NAM. The Fund may invest up to 10% of its net assets in municipal securities rated below B-/B3 or that are unrated but judged to be of comparable quality by NAM; however, the Fund does not currently intend to invest more than 5% of its net assets in such municipal securities. If a municipal security satisfies the rating requirements described above at the time of investment and is subsequently downgraded below that rating, the Fund will not be required to dispose of the security. If a downgrade occurs, NAM will consider what action, including the sale of the security, is in the best interests of the Fund and its shareholders. Municipal securities of below investment grade quality are regarded as having predominately speculative characteristics with respect to the issuers capacity to |
12
pay interest and repay principal when due, and are susceptible to default or decline in market value due to adverse economic and business developments. Also, to the extent that the rating assigned to a municipal security in the Funds portfolio is downgraded by any NRSRO, the market price and liquidity of such security may be adversely affected. The market values for municipal securities of below investment grade quality tend to be volatile, and these securities are less liquid than investment grade municipal securities. For these reasons, an investment in the Fund, compared with a portfolio consisting solely of investment grade securities, may experience the following: |
| increased price sensitivity resulting from a deteriorating economic environment and changing interest rates; |
| greater risk of loss due to default or declining credit quality; |
| adverse issuer specific events that are more likely to render the issuer unable to make interest and/or principal payments; and |
| the possibility that a negative perception of the below investment grade market develops, resulting in the price and liquidity of below investment grade securities becoming depressed, and this negative perception could last for a significant period of time. |
See RisksMarket Discount From Net Asset Value and Expected Reductions in Net Asset Value and RisksCredit and Below Investment Grade Risk. |
Interest Rate Risk. Generally, when market interest rates rise, bond prices fall, and vice versa. Interest rate risk is the risk that the municipal securities in the Funds portfolio will decline in value because of increases in market interest rates. In typical market interest rate environments, the prices of longer-term municipal securities generally fluctuate more than prices of shorter-term municipal securities as interest rates change. Because the Fund will invest primarily in longer-term municipal securities, the Common Share net asset value and market price per share will fluctuate more in response to changes in market interest rates than if the Fund invested primarily in shorter-term municipal securities. Because the values of lower-rated and comparable unrated debt securities are affected both by credit risk and interest rate risk, the price movements of such lower grade securities are not typically highly correlated to the fluctuations of the prices of investment grade quality securities in response to changes in interest rates. The Funds investments in inverse floating rate securities, as described herein under Inverse Floating Rate Securities Risk, will tend to increase Common Share interest rate risk. See RisksInterest Rate Risk. |
Municipal Securities Market Risk. The amount of public information available about the municipal securities in the Funds |
13
portfolio is generally less than that for corporate equities or bonds, and the Funds investment performance may therefore be more dependent on NAMs analytical abilities than if the Fund were to invest in stocks or taxable bonds. The secondary market for municipal securities, particularly the below investment grade municipal securities in which the Fund may invest, also tends to be less well-developed or liquid than many other securities markets, which may adversely affect the Funds ability to sell its municipal securities at attractive prices. See RisksMunicipal Securities Market Risk and RisksSpecial Risks Related to Certain Municipal Securities. |
Reinvestment Risk. Reinvestment risk is the risk that income from the Funds portfolio will decline if and when the Fund invests the proceeds from matured, traded or called municipal securities at market interest rates that are below the portfolios current earnings rate. A decline in income could affect the Common Shares market price or your overall returns. See RisksReinvestment Risk. |
Inverse Floating Rate Securities Risk. The Fund may invest in inverse floating rate securities. Typically, inverse floating rate securities represent beneficial interests in a special purpose trust (sometimes called a tender option bond trust) formed by a third party sponsor for the purpose of holding municipal bonds. See Municipal SecuritiesInverse Floating Rate Securities. In general, income on inverse floating rate securities will decrease when interest rates increase and increase when interest rates decrease. Investments in inverse floating rate securities may subject the Fund to the risks of reduced or eliminated interest payments and losses of principal. In addition, inverse floating rate securities may increase or decrease in value at a greater rate than the underlying interest rate, which effectively leverages the Funds investment. As a result, the market value of such securities generally will be more volatile than that of fixed rate securities. |
Any economic effect of leverage through the Funds purchase of inverse floating rate securities will create an opportunity for increased Common Share net income and returns, but will also create the possibility that Common Share long-term returns will be diminished if the cost of leverage exceeds the return on the inverse floating rate securities purchased by the Fund. |
The amount of fees paid to NAM for investment advisory services will be higher if the Fund uses financial leverage because the fees will be calculated based on the Funds Managed Assets. Managed Assets include assets financed through the creation of tender option bond trusts, but exclude Fund liabilities representing financial leverage, which may create a conflict of interest between NAM and the Common Shareholders. |
Inverse floating rate securities have varying degrees of liquidity based upon the liquidity of the underlying securities deposited in |
14
a tender option bond trust. The market price of inverse floating rate securities is more volatile than the underlying securities due to leverage. In circumstances where the Fund has a need for cash and the securities in a tender option bond trust are not actively trading, the Fund may be required to sell its inverse floating rate securities at less than favorable prices, or liquidate other Fund portfolio holdings. See RisksInverse Floating Rate Securities Risk. |
Tax Risk. The value of the Funds investments and its net asset value may be adversely affected by changes in tax rates and policies. Because interest income from municipal securities normally is not subject to regular federal income taxation, the attractiveness of municipal securities in relation to other investment alternatives is affected by changes in federal income tax rates or changes in the tax-exempt status of interest income from municipal securities. Additionally, the Fund is not a suitable investment for individual retirement accounts, for other tax-exempt or tax-deferred accounts or for investors who are not sensitive to the federal income tax consequences of their investments. See RisksTax Risk.
Inflation Risk. Inflation risk is the risk that the value of assets or income from investment will be worth less in the future as inflation decreases the value of money. As inflation increases, the real value of the Common Shares and distributions can decline. See RisksInflation Risk. |
Derivatives Risk, Including the Risk of Swaps. The Funds use of derivatives involves risks different from, and possibly greater than, the risks associated with investing directly in the investments underlying the derivatives. Whether the Funds use of derivatives is successful will depend on, among other things, if NAM correctly forecasts market values, interest rates and other applicable factors. If NAM incorrectly forecasts these and other factors, the investment performance of the Fund will be unfavorably affected. In addition, the derivatives market is largely unregulated. It is possible that developments in the derivatives market could adversely affect the Funds ability to successfully use derivative instruments.
The Fund may enter into debt-related derivatives instruments including credit swap default contracts and interest rate swaps. Like most derivative instruments, the use of swaps is a highly specialized activity that involves investment techniques and risks different from those associated with ordinary portfolio securities transactions. In addition, the use of swaps requires an understanding by NAM of not only of the referenced asset, rate or index, but also of the swap itself. See RisksDerivatives Risk, Including the Risk of Swaps, RisksCounterparty Risk, RisksHedging Risk and the Statement of Additional Information.
15
Counterparty Risk. Changes in the credit quality of the companies that serve as the Funds counterparties with respect to derivatives, insured municipal securities or other transactions supported by another partys credit will affect the value of those instruments. Certain entities that have served as counterparties in the markets for these transactions have recently incurred significant financial hardships including bankruptcy and losses as a result of exposure to sub-prime mortgages and other lower quality credit investments that have experienced recent defaults or otherwise suffered extreme credit deterioration. As a result, such hardships have reduced these entities capital and called into question their continued ability to perform their obligations under such transactions. By using such derivatives or other transactions, the Fund assumes the risk that its counterparties could experience similar financial hardships. See RisksCounterparty Risk.
Hedging Risk. The Funds use of derivatives or other transactions to reduce risks involves costs and will be subject to NAMs ability to predict correctly changes in the relationships of such hedge instruments to the Funds portfolio holdings or other factors. No assurance can be given that NAMs judgment in this respect will be correct. In addition, no assurance can be given that the Fund will enter into hedging or other transactions at times or under circumstances in which it may be advisable to do so. See RisksHedging Risk.
Reliance on Investment Adviser. The Fund is dependent upon services and resources provided by its investment adviser, NAM, and therefore the investment advisers parent, Nuveen Investments. There can be no assurance that an investment adviser, through its own business or the financial support of its affiliates, will generate sufficient cash flow from operations or that future borrowings will be available in an amount sufficient to enable the investment adviser to pay its indebtedness or to fund its other liquidity needs. Furthermore, the investment advisers ability to continue to fund these items may be affected by general economic, financial, competitive, legislative, legal and regulatory factors. For additional information on NAM and Nuveen Investments, see Management of the FundAdditional Information Related to the Investment Adviser and Nuveen Investments. See also RisksReliance on Investment Adviser.
Anti-Takeover Provisions. The Funds Declaration of Trust (the Declaration) and the Funds By-laws (the By-laws) include provisions that could limit the ability of other entities or persons to acquire control of the Fund or convert the Fund to open-end status. These provisions could have the effect of depriving the Common Shareholders of opportunities to sell their Common Shares at a premium over the then current market price of the Common Shares. See Certain Provisions in the Declaration of Trust and By-LawsAnti-Takeover Provisions and RisksAnti-Takeover Provisions. |
16
The purpose of the table below is to help you understand all fees and expenses that you, as a Common Shareholder, would bear directly or indirectly. The expenses shown in the table are based on estimated amounts for the Funds first year of operations and assume that the Fund issues 11,500,000 Common Shares. The Funds actual expenses may vary from the estimated expenses shown in the table. See Management of the Fund and Dividend Reinvestment Plan.
Shareholder Transaction Expenses |
|||
Sales Load Paid by You (as a percentage of offering price) |
4.50 | % | |
Offering Expenses Borne by the Fund (as a percentage of offering price)(1) |
0.20 | % | |
Dividend Reinvestment Plan Fees |
0 | (2) | |
Percentage of Net Assets |
|||
Annual Expenses |
|||
Management Fees: |
|||
Fund-Level Fees(3) |
0.42 | % | |
Complex-Level Fees(3) |
0.21 | % | |
Other Expenses(4)(5) |
0.10 | % | |
Total Annual Expenses |
0.73 | % | |
The following example illustrates the expenses (including (i) the sales load of $45 and (ii) estimated offering expenses of this offering of $2) that you would pay on a $1,000 investment in Common Shares, assuming (1) total annual expenses of 0.73% and (2) a 5% annual return:(6)
1 Year |
3 Years |
5 Years |
10 Years | |||
$54 | $69 | $86 | $133 |
The example should not be considered a representation of future expenses. Actual expenses may be higher or lower.
(1) |
Nuveen has agreed to (i) reimburse all organization expenses of the Fund and (ii) pay offering costs of the Fund (other than sales load) that exceed $0.03 per Common Share. Based on an estimated offering size of $172,500,000 (11,500,000 Common Shares), the Fund would pay a maximum of $345,000 of offering costs and Nuveen would pay all offering costs in excess of $345,000, which are currently estimated to be $420,000. |
(2) |
You will be charged a $2.50 service charge and pay brokerage charges if you direct State Street Bank and Trust Company, as agent for the Common Shareholders (the Plan Agent), to sell your Common Shares held in a dividend reinvestment account. |
(3) |
At the highest fee breakpoint. See Management of the FundInvestment Management Agreement. |
(4) |
Estimated expenses based on the current fiscal year. Expenses attributable to the Funds investments, if any, in other investment companies, including closed-end funds and exchange-traded funds, are currently estimated not to exceed 0.01%. See The Funds InvestmentsOther Investment Companies. |
(5) |
Other Expenses do not include any interest attributable to inverse floating rate securities created by selling a fixed-rate bond to a broker-dealer for deposit into the special purpose trust and |
17
receiving in turn the residual interest in the trust (self-deposited inverse floating rate securities). The Fund does not currently expect to create self-deposited inverse floating rate securities. To the extent the Fund creates self-deposited inverse floating rate securities, the Fund would recognize interest expenses because accounting rules require the Fund to treat interest paid by such trusts as having been paid (indirectly) by the Fund. Because the Fund would also recognize a corresponding amount of additional interest earned (also indirectly), the Funds net asset value per share, net investment income, and total return would not be affected by this accounting treatment. |
(6) |
The example assumes that the estimated Total Annual Expenses set forth in the Annual Expenses table are accurate and do not include any interest attributable to self-deposited inverse floating rate securities and that all dividends and distributions are reinvested at net asset value. Actual expenses may be greater or less than those assumed. Moreover, the Funds actual rate of return may be greater or less than the hypothetical 5% return shown in the example. |
18
The Fund is a newly organized, diversified, closed-end management investment company registered under the 1940 Act. The Fund was organized as a Massachusetts business trust on November 19, 2008, pursuant to a Declaration governed by the laws of The Commonwealth of Massachusetts. As a newly organized entity, the Fund has no operating history. The Funds principal office is located at 333 West Wacker Drive, Chicago, Illinois 60606, and its telephone number is (800) 257-8787.
The net proceeds of the offering of Common Shares will be approximately $164,392,500 ($189,051,375 if the Underwriters exercise the over-allotment option in full) after payment of the estimated offering costs. Nuveen has agreed to (i) reimburse all organization expenses of the Fund and (ii) pay all offering costs (other than sales load) that exceed $0.03 per Common Share. The Fund will invest the net proceeds of the offering in accordance with the Funds investment objectives and policies as stated below. It is presently anticipated that the Fund will be able to invest substantially all of the net proceeds in accordance with the Funds investment objectives and policies within approximately three to four months after the completion of the offering. Pending such investment, it is anticipated that the proceeds will be invested in short-term or long-term securities issued by the U.S. Government or its agencies or instrumentalities or in high quality, short-term money market instruments.
Investment Objectives and Policies
The Funds primary investment objective is to provide current income exempt from regular federal income tax. The Funds secondary investment objective is to enhance portfolio value and total return.
Under normal circumstances and as a fundamental policy, the Fund will invest at least 80% of its net assets in municipal securities, the income from which is exempt from regular federal income tax. Generally, the Fund expects to be fully invested (at least 95% of its assets) in such municipal securities and will not invest in AMT Bonds.
The Fund seeks to achieve its investment objectives by investing in a portfolio of municipal securities, a significant portion of which NAM believes are underrated and undervalued, based upon its bottom-up, research-driven investment strategy. Underrated municipal securities are those whose ratings do not, in NAMs opinion, reflect their true creditworthiness. Undervalued municipal securities are securities that, in NAMs opinion, are worth more than the value assigned to them in the marketplace. NAM believes its value oriented strategy offers the opportunity to construct a well diversified portfolio of municipal securities that has the potential to outperform major municipal market benchmarks over the longer term. A municipal securitys market value generally will depend upon its form, maturity, call features, and interest rate, as well as the issuers credit quality or credit rating, all such factors examined in the context of the municipal securities market and interest rate levels and trends. NAM may at times believe that securities associated with a particular municipal market sector (for example, electric utilities), or issued by a particular municipal issuer, are undervalued. NAM may purchase such a security for the Funds portfolio because it represents a market sector or issuer that NAM considers undervalued, even if the value of the particular security appears to be consistent with the value of similar securities. Municipal securities of particular types (e.g., hospital bonds, industrial revenue bonds or securities issued by a particular municipal issuer) may be undervalued because there is a temporary excess of supply in that market sector, or because of a general decline in the market
19
price of municipal securities of the market sector for reasons that do not apply to the particular municipal securities that are considered undervalued. The Funds investment in underrated or undervalued municipal securities will be based on NAMs belief that their yield is higher than that available on securities bearing equivalent levels of interest rate risk, credit risk and other forms of risk, and that their prices will ultimately rise (relative to the market) to reflect their true value. The Fund attempts to increase its portfolio value relative to the municipal bond market by prudent selection of municipal securities regardless of the direction the market may move. Any capital appreciation realized by the Fund will generally result in the distribution of taxable capital gains to Common Shareholders.
The Fund may invest in various municipal securities, including municipal bonds and notes, other securities issued to finance and refinance public projects, and other related securities and derivative instruments creating exposure to municipal bonds, notes and securities that provide for the payment of interest income that is exempt from regular federal income tax. Municipal securities are often issued by state and local governmental entities to finance or refinance public projects, such as roads, schools, and water supply systems. Municipal securities also may be issued on behalf of private entities or for private activities, such as housing, medical and educational facility construction, or for privately owned transportation, electric utility and pollution control projects. Municipal securities may be issued on a long-term basis to provide long-term financing. The repayment of such debt may be secured generally by a pledge of the full faith and credit taxing power of the issuer, a limited or special tax, or any other revenue source, including project revenues, which may include tolls, fees and other user charges, lease payments, and mortgage payments. Municipal securities also may be issued to finance projects on a short-term interim basis, anticipating repayment with the proceeds of the later issuance of long-term debt. The Fund may purchase municipal securities in the form of bonds, notes, leases or certificates of participation; structured as callable or non-callable; with payment forms that include fixed coupon, variable rate, zero coupon, capital appreciation bonds, tender option bonds, and residual interest bonds or inverse floating rate securities; or acquired through investments in pooled vehicles, partnerships, or other investment companies.
The Fund also may invest in certain derivative instruments in pursuit of its investment objectives. Such instruments include financial futures contracts, swap contracts (including interest rate and credit default swaps), options on financial futures, options on swap contracts, or other derivative instruments. NAM may use derivative instruments to seek to enhance return, to hedge some of the risk of the Funds investments in municipal securities or as a substitute for a position in the underlying asset. These types of hedging strategies may generate taxable income. See The Funds InvestmentsDerivatives.
Under normal circumstances:
| The Fund will invest at least 80% of its net assets in investment grade quality municipal securities. Investment grade quality securities are those that are, at the time of investment either, (i) rated by one of the NRSROs that rate such securities within the four highest letter grades (including BBB or Baa or better by S&P, Moodys or Fitch), or (ii) unrated by any NRSRO but judged to be of comparable quality by NAM. Investment grade securities may include split-rated securities. The Fund estimates that, upon completing its invest-up, the average credit quality of its investments will be A+. |
| The Fund may invest up to 20% of its net assets in municipal securities that at the time of investment are rated below investment grade or are unrated by any NRSRO but judged to be of comparable quality by NAM. The Fund may invest up to 10% of its net assets in municipal securities rated below B-/B3 or that are unrated by any NRSRO but judged to be of comparable quality by NAM; however, the Fund does not currently intend to invest more than 5% of its net assets in such municipal securities. This means that the Fund may invest up to 5% of its net assets in municipal securities, the issuer of which is having financial difficulties, such as being in default on its obligations to pay principal or interest thereon when due or that is involved in bankruptcy or insolvency proceedings (such securities are commonly referred to as distressed securities). Municipal securities of below investment grade quality are regarded as having |
20
predominately speculative characteristics with respect to capacity to pay interest and repay principal, and are commonly referred to as junk bonds. |
| As a fundamental policy, the Fund will not leverage its capital structure by issuing senior securities such as preferred shares or debt instruments. However, the Fund may borrow for temporary, emergency or other purposes as permitted by the 1940 Act and invest in certain instruments, including inverse floating rate securities, that have the economic effect of financial leverage. |
| The Fund will not invest more than 15% of its net assets in residual interest bonds or inverse floating rate securities. The Fund does not currently intend to invest more than 5% of its net assets in such bonds or securities. |
| The Fund may invest up to 15% of its net assets in municipal securities that, at the time of investment, are illiquid (i.e., securities that are not readily marketable). See RisksIlliquid Securities Risk. |
| The Fund will generally invest in municipal securities with intermediate or long-term maturities. Initially, the Fund is expected to have a weighted average maturity of 15 to 30 years. The weighted average maturity of securities held by the Fund may be shortened or lengthened, depending on market conditions and on an assessment by the Funds portfolio manager of which segments of the municipal securities market offer the most favorable relative investment values and opportunities for tax-exempt income and total return. |
| The Fund will not invest more than 25% of its net assets in municipal securities in any one industry or in any one state of origin of municipal securities and no more than 5% of its net assets in any one issuer. |
| The Fund will not invest more than 10% of its net assets in tobacco settlement bonds. Tobacco settlement bonds are bonds that are secured or payable solely from the collateralization of the proceeds from class action or other litigation against the tobacco industry. See RisksSector and Industry Risk. |
The credit quality policies noted above apply only at the time a security is purchased, and the Fund is not required to dispose of a security in the event that a rating agency downgrades its assessment of the credit characteristics of a particular issue. In determining whether to retain or sell such a security, NAM may consider such factors as NAMs assessment of the credit quality of the issuer of such security, the price at which such security could be sold and the rating, if any, assigned to such security by other rating agencies. A general description of the ratings of S&P, Moodys and Fitch of municipal securities is set forth in Appendix A to the Statement of Additional Information.
The Fund may purchase municipal securities that are additionally secured by insurance, bank credit agreements or escrow accounts. The credit quality of companies that provide such credit enhancements will affect the value of those securities. Although the insurance feature is designed to reduce certain financial risks, the premiums for insurance and the higher market price paid for insured obligations may reduce the Funds income. The Fund may use any insurer, regardless of its rating. A municipal security typically will be deemed to have the rating of its insurer. However, in the event an insurer has a credit rating below the rating of an underlying municipal security or is perceived by the market to have such a lower rating, the municipal security rating would be the more relevant rating and the value of the municipal security would more closely, if not entirely, reflect such rating. As a result, the value of insurance associated with a municipal security may decline and may not add any value. The insurance feature does not guarantee the full payment of principal and interest of an insured obligation, the market value of the insured obligation or the net asset value of the Common Shares represented by such insured obligation.
During temporary defensive periods or in order to keep the Funds cash fully invested, including during the period when the net proceeds of the offering of Common Shares are being invested, the Fund may deviate from its investment policies and objectives. During such periods, the Fund may invest up to 100% of its net assets in short-term investments, including high quality, short-term securities that may be
21
either tax-exempt or taxable. The Fund intends to invest in taxable short-term investments only in the event that suitable tax-exempt short-term investments are not available at reasonable prices and yields. Investment in taxable short-term investments would result in a portion of your dividends being subject to regular federal income tax. Such transactions will be used solely to reduce risk. There can be no assurance that such strategies will be successful. For more information, see the Statement of Additional Information under Tax Matters.
The Funds investment objectives and certain investment policies specifically identified as such are considered fundamental and may not be changed without shareholder approval. All of the Funds other investment policies are not considered to be fundamental by the Fund and can be changed by the Funds Board of Trustees without a vote of the Common Shareholders.
The Fund cannot change its investment objectives or fundamental policies without the approval of the holders of a majority of the outstanding Common Shares. When used with respect to particular shares of the Fund, a majority of the outstanding shares means (i) 67% or more of the shares present at a meeting, if the holders of more than 50% of the shares are present or represented by proxy or (ii) more than 50% of the shares, whichever is less.
NAM Investment Philosophy and Process
NAM is the Funds investment adviser, responsible for investing the Funds net assets. NAM, a registered investment adviser, is a wholly-owned subsidiary of Nuveen Investments. Founded in 1898, Nuveen Investments and its affiliates had approximately $134 billion of assets under management as of September 30, 2008, of which approximately $60.7 billion was in municipal securities. Regarding this approximately $60.7 billion of tax-exempt municipal securities, approximately $32.2 billion, $14.1 billion, $12.8 billion and $1.7 billion represent assets relating to closed-end municipal bond funds, open-end municipal bond funds, retail municipal managed accounts and institutional municipal managed accounts, respectively. See Management of the Fund.
Investment Philosophy. NAM believes that the unique tax treatment of municipal securities and the structural characteristics in the municipal securities market create attractive opportunities to enhance the after-tax total return and diversification of the investment portfolios of taxable investors. NAM believes that these unique characteristics also present unique risks that may be managed to realize the benefits of the asset class. NAM considers the following factors:
After-Tax Income Potential. The primary source of total return from municipal securities comes from the tax-exempt income derived therefrom. NAM believes that, at acceptable levels of credit risk and maturity principal risk, the municipal securities market offers the potential for higher after-tax income when compared with other fixed income markets.
Managing Multi-Faceted Risks. Risk in the municipal securities market is derived from multiple sources, including credit risk at the issuer and sector levels, structural risks such as call risk, yield curve risk, and legislative and tax-related risks. NAM believes that managing these risks at both the individual security and Fund portfolio levels is an important element of realizing the after-tax income and total return potential of the asset class.
Opportunities to Identify Underrated and Undervalued Municipal Securities. Within the state and national municipal securities markets, there are issuers with a wide array of financing purposes, security terms, offering structures and credit quality. NAM believes that the size, depth and other characteristics of the state and national municipal securities markets offer a broad opportunity set of individual issuers in securities that may be underrated and undervalued relative to the general market.
Market Inefficiencies. NAM believes that the scale and intricacy of the municipal securities market often results in pricing anomalies and other inefficiencies that can be identified and capitalized on through trading strategies.
22
Investment Process. NAM employs a bottom-up, research-driven investment strategy that seeks to identify underrated and undervalued municipal securities and sectors to potentially outperform the general municipal securities market over time. The primary elements of NAMs investment process are:
Credit Analysis and Surveillance. NAM focuses on bottom-up, fundamental analysis of municipal securities issuers. Analysts screen each sector for issuers that meet the fundamental tests of creditworthiness and favor those securities with demonstrable growth potential, solid coverage of debt service and a priority lien on hard assets, dedicated revenue streams or tax resources. As part of NAMs overall risk management process, analysts actively monitor the credit quality of portfolio holdings.
Sector Analysis. Organized by sector, analysts continually assess the key issues and trends affecting each sector in order to maintain a sector outlook. Evaluating such factors as historical default rates and average credit spreads within each sector, analysts provide top-down analysis that supports decisions to overweight or underweight a given sector in a portfolio.
Managing Risk. NAM seeks to manage portfolio risks, including, principally, exposure to individual credits and sectors and exposure to calls, and to manage a portfolios interest rate sensitivity within tolerance bands relative to the relevant benchmark.
Trading Strategies. Through its trading strategies, NAM seeks to enhance portfolio value by trading to take advantage of inefficiencies found in the municipal market. This may entail selling issues NAM deems to be overvalued and purchasing issues NAM considers to be undervalued.
Sell Discipline. NAM generally sells securities when it (i) determines a security has become overvalued or over-rated, (ii) identifies credit deterioration, or (iii) modifies a portfolio strategy, such as sector allocation.
Portfolio Composition and Other Information
The Funds portfolio will be composed principally of the following investments. More detailed information about the Funds portfolio investments are contained in the Statement of Additional Information under Portfolio Composition.
Municipal Securities
General. The Fund may invest in various municipal securities, including municipal bonds and notes, other securities issued to finance and refinance public projects, and other related securities and derivative instruments creating exposure to municipal bonds, notes and securities that provide for the payment of interest income that is exempt from regular federal income tax (as previously defined, municipal securities). Municipal securities are often issued by state and local governmental entities to finance or refinance public projects such as roads, schools, and water supply systems. Municipal securities may also be issued on behalf of private entities or for private activities, such as housing, medical and educational facility construction, or for privately owned transportation, electric utility and pollution control projects. Municipal securities may be issued on a long term basis to provide permanent financing. The repayment of such debt may be secured generally by a pledge of the full faith and credit taxing power of the issuer, a limited or special tax, or any other revenue source, including project revenues, which may include tolls, fees and other user charges, lease payments and mortgage payments. Municipal securities may also be issued to finance projects on a short-term interim basis, anticipating repayment with the proceeds of the later issuance of long-term debt. The Fund may purchase municipal securities in the form of bonds, notes, leases or certificates of participation; structured as callable or non-callable; with payment forms including fixed coupon, variable rate, zero coupon, capital appreciation bonds, tender option bonds, and residual interest bonds or inverse floating
23
rate securities; or acquired through investments in pooled vehicles, partnerships or other investment companies. Inverse floating rate securities are securities that pay interest at rates that vary inversely with changes in prevailing short-term tax-exempt interest rates and represent a leveraged investment in an underlying municipal security, which could have the economic effect of financial leverage.
Municipal securities are either general obligation or revenue bonds and typically are issued to finance public projects (such as roads or public buildings), to pay general operating expenses or to refinance outstanding debt. Municipal securities also may be issued on behalf of private entities or for private activities, such as housing, medical and educational facility construction, or for privately owned industrial development and pollution control projects. General obligation bonds are backed by the full faith and credit, or taxing authority, of the issuer and may be repaid from any revenue source; revenue bonds may be repaid only from the revenues of a specific facility or source. The Fund also may purchase municipal securities that represent lease obligations, municipal notes, pre-refunded municipal bonds, private activity bonds, tender option bonds and other related securities and derivative instruments that create exposure to municipal bonds, notes and securities and that provide for the payment of interest income that is exempt from regular federal income tax.
The yields on municipal securities depend on a variety of factors, including prevailing interest rates and the condition of the general money market and the municipal bond market, the size of a particular offering, the maturity of the obligation and the rating of the issue. The market value of municipal securities will vary with changes in interest rate levels and as a result of changing evaluations of the ability of their issuers to meet interest and principal payments.
A municipal securitys market value generally will depend upon its form, maturity, call features, and interest rate, as well as the credit quality of the issuer, all such factors examined in the context of the municipal securities market and interest rate levels and trends.
Municipal Leases and Certificates of Participation. The Fund also may purchase municipal securities that represent lease obligations and certificates of participation in such leases. These carry special risks because the issuer of the securities may not be obligated to appropriate money annually to make payments under the lease. A municipal lease is an obligation in the form of a lease or installment purchase that is issued by a state or local government to acquire equipment and facilities. Income from such obligations generally is exempt from state and local taxes in the state of issuance. Leases and installment purchase or conditional sale contracts (which normally provide for title to the leased asset to pass eventually to the governmental issuer) have evolved as a means for governmental issuers to acquire property and equipment without meeting the constitutional and statutory requirements for the issuance of debt. The debt issuance limitations are deemed to be inapplicable because of the inclusion in many leases or contracts of non-appropriation clauses that relieve the governmental issuer of any obligation to make future payments under the lease or contract unless money is appropriated for such purpose by the appropriate legislative body on a yearly or other periodic basis. In addition, such leases or contracts may be subject to the temporary abatement of payments in the event the issuer is prevented from maintaining occupancy of the leased premises or utilizing the leased equipment or facilities. Although the obligations may be secured by the leased equipment or facilities, the disposition of the property in the event of non-appropriation or foreclosure might prove difficult, time consuming and costly, and result in a delay in recovering, or the failure to recover fully, the Funds original investment. To the extent that the Fund invests in unrated municipal leases or participates in such leases, the credit quality rating and risk of cancellation of such unrated leases will be monitored on an ongoing basis. In order to reduce this risk, the Fund will only purchase municipal securities representing lease obligations where NAM believes the issuer has a strong incentive to continue making appropriations until maturity.
A certificate of participation represents an undivided interest in an unmanaged pool of municipal leases, an installment purchase agreement or other instruments. The certificates are typically issued by
24
a municipal agency, a trust or other entity that has received an assignment of the payments to be made by the state or political subdivision under such leases or installment purchase agreements. Such certificates provide the Fund with the right to a pro rata undivided interest in the underlying municipal securities. In addition, such participations generally provide the Fund with the right to demand payment, on not more than seven days notice, of all or any part of the Funds participation interest in the underlying municipal securities, plus accrued interest.
Municipal Notes. Municipal securities in the form of notes generally are used to provide for short-term capital needs, in anticipation of an issuers receipt of other revenues or financing, and typically have maturities of up to three years. Such instruments may include tax anticipation notes, revenue anticipation notes, bond anticipation notes, tax and revenue anticipation notes and construction loan notes. Tax anticipation notes are issued to finance the working capital needs of governments. Generally, they are issued in anticipation of various tax revenues, such as income, sales, property, use and business taxes, and are payable from these specific future taxes. Revenue anticipation notes are issued in expectation of receipt of other kinds of revenue, such as federal revenues available under federal revenue sharing programs. Bond anticipation notes are issued to provide interim financing until long-term bond financing can be arranged. In most cases, the long-term bonds then provide the funds needed for repayment of the bond anticipation notes. Tax and revenue anticipation notes combine the funding sources of both tax anticipation notes and revenue anticipation notes. Construction loan notes are sold to provide construction financing. Mortgage notes insured by the Federal Housing Authority secure these notes; however, the proceeds from the insurance may be less than the economic equivalent of the payment of principal and interest on the mortgage note if there has been a default. The anticipated revenues from taxes, grants or bond financing generally secure the obligations of an issuer of municipal notes. An investment in such instruments, however, presents a risk that the anticipated revenues will not be received or that such revenues will be insufficient to satisfy the issuers payment obligations under the notes or that refinancing will be otherwise unavailable.
Pre-Refunded Municipal Securities. The principal of, and interest on, pre-refunded municipal securities are no longer paid from the original revenue source for the securities. Instead, the source of such payments is typically an escrow fund consisting of U.S. Government securities. The assets in the escrow fund are derived from the proceeds of refunding bonds issued by the same issuer as the pre-refunded municipal securities. Issuers of municipal securities use this advance refunding technique to obtain more favorable terms with respect to securities that are not yet subject to call or redemption by the issuer. For example, advance refunding enables an issuer to refinance debt at lower market interest rates, restructure debt to improve cash flow or eliminate restrictive covenants in the indenture or other governing instrument for the pre-refunded municipal securities. However, except for a change in the revenue source from which principal and interest payments are made, the pre-refunded municipal securities remain outstanding on their original terms until they mature or are redeemed by the issuer.
Private Activity Bonds. Private activity bonds, formerly referred to as industrial development bonds, are issued by or on behalf of public authorities to obtain funds to provide privately operated housing facilities, airport, mass transit or port facilities, sewage disposal, solid waste disposal or hazardous waste treatment or disposal facilities and certain local facilities for water supply, gas or electricity. Other types of private activity bonds, the proceeds of which are used for the construction, equipment, repair or improvement of privately operated industrial or commercial facilities, may constitute municipal securities, although the current federal tax laws place substantial limitations on the size of such issues. Under current law, a significant portion of the private activity bond market is subject to the alternative minimum tax. The Fund will only invest in private activity bonds that are not AMT Bonds. See Tax Matters.
Inverse Floating Rate Securities. Inverse floating rate securities (sometimes referred to as inverse floaters) are securities whose interest rates bear an inverse relationship to the interest rate on another security or the value of an index. Generally, inverse floating rate securities represent beneficial
25
interests in a special purpose trust formed by a third party sponsor for the purpose of holding municipal bonds. The special purpose trust typically sells two classes of beneficial interests or securities: short-term floating rate municipal securities (sometimes referred to as short-term floaters or tender option bonds), which are sold to third party investors, and inverse floating rate municipal securities, which the Fund would purchase. The short-term floating rate securities have first priority on the cash flow from the municipal bonds held by the special purpose trust. Typically, a third party, such as a bank, broker-dealer or other financial institution, grants the floating rate security holders the option, at periodic intervals, to tender their securities to the institution and receive the face value thereof. As consideration for providing the option, the financial institution receives periodic fees. The holder of the short-term floater effectively holds a demand obligation that bears interest at the prevailing short-term, tax-exempt rate. However, an institution will not be obligated to accept tendered short-term floaters in the event of certain defaults or a significant downgrade in the credit rating assigned to the bond issuer. For its inverse floating rate investment, the Fund receives the residual cash flow from the special purpose trust. Because the holder of the short-term floater is generally assured liquidity at the face value of the security, the Fund as the holder of the inverse floater assumes the interest rate cash flow risk and the market value risk associated with the municipal security deposited into the special purpose trust. The volatility of the interest cash flow and the residual market value will vary with the degree to which the trust is leveraged. This is expressed in the ratio of the face value of the short-term floaters in relation to the residual inverse floaters that are issued by the special purpose trust. The Fund expects to make limited investments in inverse floaters, with leverage ratios that may vary between one and three times. In addition, all voting rights and decisions to be made with respect to any other rights relating to the municipal bonds held in the special purpose trust are passed through to the Fund, as the holder of the residual inverse floating rate securities.
Because increases in either the interest rate on the securities or the value of indexes (with which inverse floaters maintain their inverse relationship) reduce the residual interest paid on inverse floaters, inverse floaters value is generally more volatile than that of fixed rate bonds. Inverse floaters have varying degrees of liquidity based upon the liquidity of the underlying securities deposited in a tender option bond trust. The market price of inverse floating rate securities is more volatile than the underlying securities due to leverage. These securities generally will underperform the market of fixed rate bonds in a rising interest rate environment, but tend to outperform the market of fixed rate bonds when interest rates decline or remain relatively stable. Although volatile, inverse floaters typically offer the potential for yields exceeding the yields available on fixed rate bonds with comparable credit quality, coupon, call provisions and maturity.
Tender Option Bonds. The Fund may also invest in tender option bonds, as described above, issued by special purpose trusts. Tender option bonds may take the form of short-term floating rate securities or the option period may be substantially longer. Generally, the interest rate earned will be based upon the market rates for municipal securities with maturities or remarketing provisions that are comparable in duration to the periodic interval of the tender option, which may vary from weekly, to monthly, to extended periods of one year or multiple years. Since the option feature has a shorter term than the final maturity or first call date of the underlying bond deposited in the trust, the Fund as the holder of the tender option bond relies upon the terms of the agreement with the financial institution furnishing the option as well as the credit strength of that institution. As further assurance of liquidity, the terms of the trust provide for a liquidation of the municipal security deposited in the trust and the application of the proceeds to pay off the tender option bond. The trusts that are organized to issue both short-term floating rate securities and inverse floaters generally include liquidation triggers to protect the investor in the tender option bond. Generally, the trusts do not have recourse to the investors in the residual inverse floating rate securities.
Special Taxing Districts. Special taxing districts are organized to plan and finance infrastructure developments to induce residential, commercial and industrial growth and redevelopment. The bond
26
financing methods such as tax increment finance, tax assessment, special services district and Mello-Roos bonds, are generally payable solely from taxes or other revenues attributable to the specific projects financed by the bonds without recourse to the credit or taxing power of related or overlapping municipalities. They often are exposed to real estate development-related risks and can have more taxpayer concentration risk than general tax-supported bonds, such as general obligation bonds.
Further, the fees, special taxes, or tax allocations and other revenues that are established to secure such financings are generally limited as to the rate or amount that may be levied or assessed and are not subject to increase pursuant to rate covenants or municipal or corporate guarantees. The bonds could default if development failed to progress as anticipated or if larger taxpayers failed to pay the assessments, fees and taxes as provided in the financing plans of the districts.
When-Issued and Delayed Delivery Transactions
The Fund may buy and sell municipal securities on a when-issued or delayed delivery basis, making payment or taking delivery at a later date, normally within 15 to 45 days of the trade date. This type of transaction may involve an element of risk because no interest accrues on the securities prior to settlement and, because securities are subject to market fluctuations, the value of the securities at time of delivery may be less (or more) than cost. A separate account of the Fund will be established with its custodian consisting of cash, cash equivalents, or liquid securities having a market value at all times at least equal to the amount of the commitment.
Zero Coupon Bonds
A zero coupon bond is a bond that does not pay interest either for the entire life of the obligation or for an initial period after the issuance of the obligation. When held to its maturity, its return comes from the difference between the purchase price and its maturity value. A zero coupon bond is normally issued and traded at a deep discount from face value. Zero coupon bonds allow an issuer to avoid or delay the need to generate cash to meet current interest payments and, as a result, may involve greater credit risk than bonds that pay interest currently or in cash. The market prices of zero coupon bonds are affected to a greater extent by changes in prevailing levels of interest rates and thereby tend to be more volatile in price than securities that pay interest periodically. In addition, the Fund would be required to distribute the income on any of these instruments as it accrues, even though the Fund will not receive all of the income on a current basis or in cash. Thus, the Fund may have to sell other investments, including when it may not be advisable to do so, to make income distributions to its shareholders.
Structured Notes
The Fund may utilize structured notes and similar instruments for investment purposes and also for hedging purposes. Structured notes are privately negotiated debt obligations where the principal and/or interest is determined by reference to the performance of a benchmark asset, market or interest rate (an embedded index), such as selected securities, an index of securities or specified interest rates, or the differential performance of two assets or markets. The terms of such structured instruments normally provide that their principal and/or interest payments are to be adjusted upwards or downwards (but not ordinarily below zero) to reflect changes in the embedded index while the structured instruments are outstanding. As a result, the interest and/or principal payments that may be made on a structured product may vary widely, depending upon a variety of factors, including the volatility of the embedded index and the effect of changes in the embedded index on principal and/or interest payments. The rate of return on structured notes may be determined by applying a multiplier to the performance or differential performance of the referenced index or indices or other assets. Application of a multiplier involves leverage that will serve to magnify the potential for gain and the risk of loss. These types of investments may generate taxable income.
27
Derivatives
The Fund may invest in certain derivative instruments in pursuit of its investment objectives. Such instruments include financial futures contracts, swap contracts (including interest rate and credit default swaps), options on financial futures, options on swap contracts or other derivative instruments. In particular, the Fund may use credit default swaps and interest rate swaps. Credit default swaps may require initial premium (discount) payments as well as periodic payments (receipts) related to the interest leg of the swap or to the default of a reference obligation. If the Fund is a seller of a contract, the Fund would be required to pay the par (or other agreed upon) value of a referenced debt obligation to the counterparty in the event of a default or other credit event by the reference issuer, such as a U.S. or foreign corporate issuer, with respect to such debt obligations. In return, the Fund would receive from the counterparty a periodic stream of payments over the term of the contract provided that no event of default has occurred. If no default occurs, the Fund would keep the stream of payments and would have no payment obligations. As the seller, the Fund would be subject to investment exposure on the notional amount of the swap. If the Fund is a buyer of a contract, the Fund would have the right to deliver a referenced debt obligation and receive the par (or other agreed-upon) value of such debt obligation from the counterparty in the event of a default or other credit event (such as a credit downgrade) by the reference issuer, such as a U.S. or foreign corporation, with respect to its debt obligations. In return, the Fund would pay the counterparty a periodic stream of payments over the term of the contract provided that no event of default has occurred. If no default occurs, the counterparty would keep the stream of payments and would have no further obligations to the Fund. Interest rate swaps involve the exchange by the Fund with a counterparty of their respective commitments to pay or receive interest, such as an exchange of fixed-rate payments for floating rate payments. The Fund will usually enter into interest rate swaps on a net basis; that is, the two payment streams will be netted out in a cash settlement on the payment date or dates specified in the instrument, with the Fund receiving or paying, as the case may be, only the net amount of the two payments.
NAM may use derivative instruments to seek to enhance return, to hedge some of the risk of the Funds investments in municipal securities or as a substitute for a position in the underlying asset. These types of strategies may generate taxable income.
There is no assurance that these derivative strategies will be available at any time or that NAM will determine to use them for the Fund or, if used, that the strategies will be successful.
Other Investment Companies
The Fund may invest up to 10% of its net assets in securities of other open- or closed-end investment companies (including exchange-traded funds (often referred to as ETFs)) that invest primarily in municipal securities of the types in which the Fund may invest directly. The Fund may invest in investment companies that are advised by NAM or its affiliates to the extent permitted by applicable law and/or pursuant to exemptive relief from the Securities and Exchange Commission. As a stockholder in an investment company, the Fund will bear its ratable share of that investment companys expenses, and would remain subject to payment of the Funds advisory and administrative fees with respect to assets so invested. Common Shareholders would therefore be subject to duplicative expenses to the extent the Fund invests in other investment companies.
NAM will take expenses into account when evaluating the investment merits of an investment in the investment company relative to available municipal security investments. In addition, because the securities of other investment companies may be leveraged and subject to leverage risk, the Fund may indirectly be subject to those risks. See RisksOther Investment Companies Risk.
28
Portfolio Turnover
The Fund may engage in portfolio trading when considered appropriate, but short-term trading will not be used as the primary means of achieving the Funds investment objectives. Although the Fund cannot accurately predict its annual portfolio turnover rate, it is generally not expected to exceed 25% under normal circumstances. However, there are no limits on the Funds rate of portfolio turnover, and investments may be sold without regard to length of time held when, in NAMs opinion, investment considerations warrant such action. A higher portfolio turnover rate would result in correspondingly greater brokerage commissions and other transactional expenses that are borne by the Fund. Although these commissions and expenses are not reflected in the Funds Total Annual Expenses on page 17 of this prospectus, they will be reflected in the Funds total return. In addition, high portfolio turnover may result in the realization of net short-term capital gains by the Fund which, when distributed to shareholders, will be taxable as ordinary income. See Tax Matters.
29
The Fund is a diversified, closed-end management investment company designed primarily as a long-term investment and not as a trading vehicle. The Fund is not intended to be a complete investment program and, due to the uncertainty inherent in all investments, there can be no assurance that the Fund will achieve its investment objectives. Your Common Shares at any point in time may be worth less than your original investment, even after taking into account the reinvestment of Fund dividends and distributions.
No Prior History
The Fund is a newly organized, diversified, closed-end management investment company and has no operating history.
Investment and Market Risk
An investment in the Funds Common Shares is subject to investment risk, including the possible loss of the entire principal amount that you invest. Your investment in Common Shares represents an indirect investment in the municipal securities owned by the Fund, which generally trade in the over-the-counter markets. Your Common Shares at any point in time may be worth less than your original investment, even after taking into account the reinvestment of Fund dividends and distributions. In addition, if the current national economic downturn deteriorates into a prolonged recession, the ability of municipalities to collect revenue and service their obligations could be materially and adversely affected.
Current Economic Conditions Credit Crisis Liquidity and Volatility Risk
The markets for credit instruments, including municipal securities, have experienced periods of extreme illiquidity and volatility since the latter half of 2007. General market uncertainty and consequent repricing risk have led to market imbalances of sellers and buyers, which in turn have resulted in significant valuation uncertainties in a variety of debt securities, including municipal securities. These conditions resulted, and in many cases continue to result in, greater volatility, less liquidity, widening credit spreads and a lack of price transparency, with many debt securities remaining illiquid and of uncertain value. These market conditions may make valuation of some of the Funds municipal securities uncertain and/or result in sudden and significant valuation increases or declines in its holdings. A significant decline in the value of the Funds portfolio would likely result in a significant decline in the value of your investment in Common Shares. In addition, illiquidity and volatility in the credit markets may directly and adversely affect the setting of dividend rates on the Common Shares. This volatility may also impact the liquidity of inverse floating rate securities in the Funds portfolio. See RisksInverse Floating Rate Securities Risk.
In response to the current national economic condition, governmental cost burdens may be reallocated among federal, state and local governments. In addition, laws enacted in the future by Congress or state legislatures or referenda could extend the time for payment of principal and/or interest, or impose other constraints on enforcement of such obligations, or on the ability of municipalities to levy taxes. Issuers of municipal securities might seek protection under the bankruptcy laws. See Risks Municipal Securities Market Risk.
Market Discount from Net Asset Value and Expected Reductions in Net Asset Value
Shares of closed-end investment companies like the Fund frequently trade at prices lower than their net asset value, which creates a risk of loss for investors when they sell shares purchased in the
30
initial public offering. This characteristic is a risk separate and distinct from the risk that the Funds net asset value could decrease as a result of investment activities. Shares of closed-end investment companies like the Fund have during some periods traded at prices higher than net asset value and have during other periods traded at prices lower than net asset value. Proceeds from the sale of Common Shares in this offering will be reduced by 4.5% (the amount of the sales load as a percentage of the offering price), making the Funds net asset value per Common Share equal to $14.325, before deducting offering expenses. The net asset value of the Fund and the net asset value per Common Share are then further reduced by the amount of offering expenses paid by the Fund (estimated to be up to an additional $0.03 per Common Share). Whether investors will realize gains or losses upon the sale of the Common Shares will depend not upon the Funds net asset value but entirely upon whether the market price of the Common Shares at the time of sale is above or below the investors purchase price for the Common Shares. Because the market price of the Common Shares will be determined by factors such as relative supply of and demand for the Common Shares in the market, general market and economic conditions, and other factors beyond the control of the Fund, the Fund cannot predict whether the Common Shares will trade at, below or above net asset value or at, below or above the initial public offering price. The Common Shares are designed primarily for long-term investors, and you should not view the Fund as a vehicle for short-term trading purposes.
Credit and Below Investment Grade Risk
Credit risk is the risk that one or more municipal securities in the Funds portfolio will decline in price, or the issuer thereof will fail to pay interest or principal when due, because the issuer experiences a decline in its financial status. In general, lower-rated municipal securities carry a greater degree of risk that the issuer will lose its ability to make interest and principal payments, which could have a negative impact on the Funds net asset value or dividends. Ratings may not accurately reflect the actual credit risk associated with a municipal security. The Fund may invest up to 20% of its net assets in municipal securities that are rated below investment grade at the time of investment or that are unrated but judged to be of comparable quality by NAM. The Fund may invest up to 10% of its net assets in municipal securities rated below B-/B3 or that are unrated but judged to be of comparable quality by NAM; however, the Fund does not currently intend to invest more than 5% of its net assets in such municipal securities. If a municipal security satisfies the rating requirements described above at the time of investment and is subsequently downgraded below that rating, the Fund will not be required to dispose of the security. If a downgrade occurs, NAM will consider what action, including the sale of the security, is in the best interests of the Fund and its shareholders. Municipal securities of below investment grade quality, commonly referred to as junk bonds, are regarded as having predominately speculative characteristics with respect to capacity to pay interest and repay principal when due, and are susceptible to default or decline in market value due to adverse economic and business developments. Also, to the extent that the rating assigned to a municipal security in the Funds portfolio is downgraded by any NRSRO, the market price and liquidity of such security may be adversely affected. The market values for municipal securities of below investment grade quality tend to be volatile, and these securities are less liquid than investment grade municipal securities. Issuers of below investment grade securities are more vulnerable to financial setbacks and recession than more creditworthy issuers, which may impair their ability to make interest and principal payments. It is likely that the current economic recession may severely disrupt the market for such securities and have an adverse impact on the value of such securities. In addition, it is likely that continued economic deterioration may adversely affect the ability of such issuers to repay principal and pay interest on these securities and increase the incidence of default for such securities. For these reasons, an investment in the Fund, compared with a portfolio consisting solely of investment grade securities, may experience the following:
| increased price sensitivity resulting from a deteriorating economic environment and changing interest rates; |
31
| greater risk of loss due to default or declining credit quality; |
| adverse issuer specific events that are more likely to render the issuer unable to make interest and/or principal payments; and |
| the possibility that a negative perception of the below investment grade market develops, resulting in the price and liquidity of below investment grade securities becoming depressed, and this negative perception could last for a significant period of time. |
Adverse changes in economic conditions are more likely to lead to a weakened capacity of a below investment grade issuer to make principal payments and interest payments compared to an investment grade issuer. The principal amount of below investment grade securities outstanding has proliferated in the past decade as an increasing number of issuers have used below investment grade securities for financing. The current economic downturn may severely affect the ability of highly leveraged issuers to service their debt obligations or to repay their obligations upon maturity. As the national economy experiences the current economic downturn, resulting in decreased tax and other revenue streams of municipal issuers, or in the event interest rates rise sharply, increasing the interest cost on variable rate instruments and negatively impacting economic activity, the number of defaults by below investment grade municipal issuers is likely to increase. Similarly, down-turns in profitability in specific industries could adversely affect private activity bonds. The market values of lower quality debt securities tend to reflect individual developments of the issuer to a greater extent than do higher quality securities, which react primarily to fluctuations in the general level of interest rates. Factors having an adverse impact on the market value of lower quality securities may have an adverse impact on the Funds net asset value and the market value of its Common Shares. In addition, the Fund may incur additional expenses to the extent it is required to seek recovery upon a default in payment of principal or interest on its portfolio holdings. In certain circumstances, the Fund may be required to foreclose on an issuers assets and take possession of its property or operations. In such circumstances, the Fund would incur additional costs in disposing of such assets and potential liabilities from operating any business acquired.
The secondary market for below investment grade securities may not be as liquid as the secondary market for more highly rated securities, a factor that may have an adverse effect on the Funds ability to dispose of a particular security. There are fewer dealers in the market for below investment grade municipal securities than the market for investment grade municipal securities. The prices quoted by different dealers for below investment grade municipal securities may vary significantly, and the spread between the bid and ask price is generally much larger for below investment grade municipal securities than for higher quality instruments. Under adverse market or economic conditions, the secondary market for below investment grade securities could contract further, independent of any specific adverse changes in the condition of a particular issuer, and these instruments may become illiquid. As a result, the Fund could find it more difficult to sell these securities or may be able to sell the securities only at prices lower than if such securities were widely traded. Prices realized upon the sale of such lower rated or unrated securities, under these circumstances, may be less than the prices used in calculating the Funds net asset value.
Issuers of such below investment grade securities are highly leveraged and may not have available to them more traditional methods of financing. Therefore, the risk associated with acquiring the securities of such issuers generally is greater than is the case with higher rated securities. For example, during an economic downturn or a sustained period of rising interest rates, highly leveraged issuers of below investment grade securities may experience financial stress. During such periods, such issuers may not have sufficient revenues to meet their interest payment obligations. The issuers ability to service its debt obligations also may be adversely affected by specific developments, the issuers inability to meet specific projected forecasts or the unavailability of additional financing. The risk of loss from default by the issuer is significantly greater for the holders of below investment grade securities because such securities are generally unsecured and are often subordinated to other creditors
32
of the issuer. Prices and yields of below investment grade securities will fluctuate over time and, during periods of economic uncertainty, volatility of below investment grade securities may adversely affect the Funds net asset value. In addition, investments in below investment grade zero coupon bonds rather than income-bearing below investment grade securities, may be more speculative and may be subject to greater fluctuations in value due to changes in interest rates.
The Fund may invest up to 10% of its net assets in distressed securities; however, the Fund does not currently intend to invest more than 5% of its net assets in distressed securities. Distressed securities are securities issued by companies having financial difficulties, such as being in default on their obligations to pay principal or interest thereon when due or that are involved in bankruptcy or insolvency proceedings. The issuers of such securities may be in transition, out of favor, financially leveraged or troubled, or potentially troubled, and may be or have recently been involved in major strategic actions, restructurings, bankruptcy, reorganization or liquidation. These characteristics of these companies can cause their securities to be particularly risky, although they also may offer the potential for high returns. These companies securities may be considered speculative, and the ability of the companies to pay their debts on schedule could be affected by adverse interest rate movements, changes in the general economic climate, economic factors affecting a particular industry or specific developments within the companies. Distressed securities frequently do not produce income while they are outstanding and may require the Fund to bear certain extraordinary expenses in order to protect and recover its investment.
Investments in lower rated or unrated securities may present special tax issues for the Fund to the extent that the issuers of these securities default on their obligations pertaining thereto, and the federal income tax consequences to the Fund as a holder of such distressed securities may not be clear.
Interest Rate Risk
Generally, when market interest rates rise, bond prices fall, and vice versa. Interest rate risk is the risk that the municipal securities in the Funds portfolio will decline in value because of increases in market interest rates. In typical market interest rate environments, the prices of longer-term municipal securities generally fluctuate more than prices of shorter-term municipal securities as interest rates change. Because the Fund will invest primarily in longer-term municipal securities, the Common Share net asset value and market price per share will fluctuate more in response to changes in market interest rates than if the Fund invested primarily in shorter-term municipal securities. Because the values of lower-rated and comparable unrated debt securities are affected both by credit risk and interest rate risk, the price movements of such lower grade securities are not typically highly correlated to the fluctuations of the prices of investment grade quality securities in response to changes in interest rates. The Funds investments in inverse floating rate securities, as described herein under Inverse Floating Rate Securities Risk, will tend to increase Common Share interest rate risk.
Municipal Securities Market Risk
Investing in the municipal securities market involves certain risks. The municipal market is one in which dealer firms make markets in bonds on a principal basis using their proprietary capital, and during the recent market turmoil these firms capital was severely constrained. As a result, some firms were unwilling to commit their capital to purchase and to serve as a dealer for municipal bonds. The amount of public information available about the municipal securities in the Funds portfolio is generally less than that for corporate equities or bonds, and the Funds investment performance may therefore be more dependent on NAMs analytical abilities than if the Fund were to invest in stocks or taxable bonds. The secondary market for municipal securities, particularly the below investment grade bonds in which the Fund may invest, also tends to be less well-developed or liquid than many other securities markets, which may adversely affect the Funds ability to sell its municipal securities at attractive prices or at prices approximating those at which the Fund currently values them.
33
The ability of municipal issuers to make timely payments of interest and principal may be diminished during general economic downturns and as governmental cost burdens are reallocated among federal, state and local governments. In addition, laws enacted in the future by Congress or state legislatures or referenda could extend the time for payment of principal and/or interest, or impose other constraints on enforcement of such obligations, or on the ability of municipalities to levy taxes. Issuers of municipal securities might seek protection under the bankruptcy laws. In the event of bankruptcy of such an issuer, the Fund could experience delays in collecting principal and interest and the Fund may not, in all circumstances, be able to collect all principal and interest to which it is entitled. To enforce its rights in the event of a default in the payment of interest or repayment of principal, or both, the Fund may take possession of and manage the assets securing the issuers obligations on such securities, which may increase the Funds operating expenses. Any income derived from the Funds ownership or operation of such assets may not be tax-exempt.
Revenue bonds issued by state or local agencies to finance the development of low-income, multi-family housing involve special risks in addition to those associated with municipal securities generally, including that the underlying properties may not generate sufficient income to pay expenses and interest costs. These bonds are generally non-recourse against the property owner, may be junior to the rights of others with an interest in the properties, may pay interest that changes based in part on the financial performance of the property, may be prepayable without penalty and may be used to finance the construction of housing developments which, until completed and rented, do not generate income to pay interest.
Reinvestment Risk
Reinvestment risk is the risk that income from the Funds portfolio will decline if and when the Fund invests the proceeds from matured, traded or called bonds at market interest rates that are below the portfolios current earnings rate. A decline in income could affect the Common Shares market price or your overall returns.
Inverse Floating Rate Securities Risk
The Fund may invest in inverse floating rate securities. Typically, inverse floating rate securities represent beneficial interests in a special purpose trust (sometimes called a tender option bond trust) formed by a third party sponsor for the purpose of holding municipal bonds. See Municipal SecuritiesInverse Floating Rate Securities. In general, income on inverse floating rate securities will decrease when interest rates increase and increase when interest rates decrease. Investments in inverse floating rate securities may subject the Fund to the risks of reduced or eliminated interest payments and losses of principal.
Inverse floating rate securities may increase or decrease in value at a greater rate than the underlying interest rate, which effectively leverages the Funds investment. As a result, the market value of such securities generally will be more volatile than that of fixed rate securities.
Any economic effect of leverage through the Funds purchase of inverse floating rate securities will create an opportunity for increased Common Share net income and returns, but will also create the possibility that Common Share long-term returns will be diminished if the cost of leverage exceeds the return on the inverse floating rate securities purchased by the Fund.
The amount of fees paid to NAM for investment advisory services will be higher if the Fund uses financial leverage because the fees will be calculated based on the Funds Managed Assets. Managed Assets include proceeds from the Funds use of financial leverage, whether or not reflected in the Funds financial statements for purposes of generally accepted accounting principles, such as, but not
34
limited to, proceeds from tender option bond trusts, but exclude Fund liabilities incurred for the express purpose of creating financial leverage, which may create a conflict of interest between NAM and the Common Shareholders.
There is no assurance that the Funds strategy of investing in inverse floating rate securities will be successful.
Inverse floating rate securities have varying degrees of liquidity based, among other things, upon the liquidity of the underlying securities deposited in a tender option bond trust. The market price of inverse floating rate securities is more volatile than the underlying securities due to leverage. In circumstances where the Fund has a need for cash and the securities in a tender option bond trust are not actively trading, the Fund may be required to sell its inverse floating rate securities at less than favorable prices, or liquidate other Fund portfolio holdings.
Insurance Risk
The Fund may purchase municipal securities that are secured by insurance, bank credit agreements or escrow accounts. The credit quality of the companies that provide such credit enhancements will affect the value of those securities. Certain significant providers of insurance for municipal securities have recently incurred significant losses as a result of exposure to sub-prime mortgages and other lower credit quality investments that have experienced recent defaults or otherwise suffered extreme credit deterioration. As a result, such losses have reduced the insurers capital and called into question their continued ability to perform their obligations under such insurance if they are called upon to do so in the future. While an insured municipal security will typically be deemed to have the rating of its insurer, if the insurer of a municipal security suffers a downgrade in its credit rating or the market discounts the value of the insurance provided by the insurer, the rating of the underlying municipal security will be more relevant and the value of the municipal security would more closely, if not entirely, reflect such rating. In such a case, the value of insurance associated with a municipal security would decline and may not add any value. The insurance feature of a municipal security does not guarantee the full payment of principal and interest through the life of an insured obligation, the market value of the insured obligation or the net asset value of the Common Shares represented by such insured obligation.
Tax Risk
To qualify for the favorable U.S. federal income tax treatment generally accorded to regulated investment companies, among other things, the Fund must derive in each taxable year at least 90% of its gross income from certain prescribed sources. If for any taxable year the Fund does not qualify as a regulated investment company, all of its taxable income (including its net capital gain) would be subject to tax at regular corporate rates without any deduction for distributions to stockholders, and such distributions would be taxable as ordinary dividends to the extent of the Funds current and accumulated earnings and profits.
The value of the Funds investments and its net asset value may be adversely affected by changes in tax rates and policies. Because interest income from municipal securities normally is not subject to regular federal income taxation, the attractiveness of municipal securities in relation to other investment alternatives is affected by changes in federal income tax rates or changes in the tax-exempt status of interest income from municipal securities. Any proposed or actual changes in such rates or exempt status, therefore, can significantly affect the demand for and supply, liquidity and marketability of municipal securities. This could in turn affect the Funds net asset value and ability to acquire and dispose of municipal securities at desirable yield and price levels. Additionally, the Fund is not a suitable investment for individual retirement accounts, for other tax-exempt or tax-deferred accounts or for investors who are not sensitive to the federal income tax consequences of their investments. See Tax Matters.
35
Taxability Risk
The Fund will invest in municipal securities in reliance at the time of purchase on an opinion of bond counsel to the issuer that the interest paid on those securities will be excludable from gross income for federal income tax purposes, and NAM will not independently verify that opinion. Subsequent to the Funds acquisition of such a municipal security, however, the security may be determined to pay, or to have paid, taxable income. As a result, the treatment of dividends previously paid or to be paid by the Fund as exempt-interest dividends could be adversely affected, subjecting the Funds shareholders to increased federal income tax liabilities.
Under highly unusual circumstances, the IRS may determine that a municipal bond issued as tax-exempt should in fact be taxable. If the Fund held such a bond, it might have to distribute taxable ordinary income dividends or reclassify as taxable income previously distributed as exempt-interest dividends.
Distributions of ordinary taxable income (including any net short-term capital gain) will be taxable to shareholders as ordinary income (and not eligible for favorable taxation as qualified dividend income), and capital gain dividends will be subject to capital gains taxes. See Tax Matters.
Other Investment Companies Risk
The Fund may invest in the securities of other investment companies. Such securities may be leveraged. As a result, the Fund may be indirectly exposed to leverage through an investment in such securities. Utilization of leverage is a speculative investment technique and involves certain risks. An investment in securities of other investment companies that are leveraged may expose the Fund to higher volatility in the market value of such securities and the possibility that the Funds long-term returns on such securities (and, indirectly, the long-term returns of the Common Shares) will be diminished.
Inflation Risk
Inflation risk is the risk that the value of assets or income from investment will be worth less in the future as inflation decreases the value of money. As inflation increases, the real value of the dividends paid to Common Shareholders can decline.
Sector and Industry Risk
The Fund may invest up to 25% of its net assets in municipal securities in any one industry or in any one state of origin. In addition, subject to the concentration limits of the Funds investment policies and guidelines, the Fund may invest a significant portion of its net assets in certain sectors of the municipal securities market, such as hospitals and other health care facilities, charter schools and other private educational facilities, special taxing districts and start-up utility districts, and private activity bonds including industrial development bonds on behalf of transportation companies such as airline companies, whose credit quality and performance may be more susceptible to economic, business, political, regulatory and other developments than other sectors of municipal issuers. If the Fund invests a significant portion of its net assets in the sectors noted above, the Funds performance may be subject to additional risk and variability. To the extent that the Fund focuses its net assets in the hospital and healthcare facilities sector, for example, the Fund will be subject to risks associated with such sector, including adverse government regulation and reduction in reimbursement rates, as well as government approval of products and services and intense competition. Securities issued with respect to special taxing districts will be subject to various risks, including real-estate development related risks and taxpayer concentration risk. Further, the fees, special taxes or tax allocations and other revenues
36
established to secure the obligations of securities issued with respect to special taxing districts are generally limited as to the rate or amount that may be levied or assessed and are not subject to increase pursuant to rate covenants or municipal or corporate guarantees. Charter schools and other private educational facilities are subject to various risks, including the reversal of legislation authorizing or funding charter schools, the failure to renew or secure a charter, the failure of a funding entity to appropriate necessary funds and competition from alternatives such as voucher programs. Issuers of municipal utility securities can be significantly affected by government regulation, financing difficulties, supply and demand of services or fuel and natural resource conservation. The transportation sector, including airports, airlines, ports and other transportation facilities, can be significantly affected by changes in the economy, fuel prices, labor relations, insurance costs and government regulation.
The Fund may invest up to 10% of its net assets in tobacco settlement bonds. Tobacco settlement bonds are municipal securities that are backed solely by expected revenues to be derived from lawsuits involving tobacco related deaths and illnesses which were settled between certain states and American tobacco companies. Tobacco settlement bonds are secured by an issuing states proportionate share in the Master Settlement Agreement (MSA). The MSA is an agreement, reached out of court in November 1998 between 46 states and nearly all of the U.S. tobacco manufacturers. Under the terms of the MSA, the actual amount of future settlement payments by tobacco manufacturers is dependent on many factors, including, but not limited to, annual domestic cigarette shipments, reduced cigarette consumption, increased taxes on cigarettes, inflation, financial capability of tobacco companies, continuing litigation and the possibility of tobacco manufacturer bankruptcy. Payments made by tobacco manufacturers could be negatively impacted if the decrease in tobacco consumption is significantly greater than the forecasted decline. See the Statement of Additional Information for additional information about tobacco settlement bonds and the MSA.
Special Risks Related to Certain Municipal Securities
The Fund may invest in municipal leases and certificates of participation in such leases. Municipal leases and certificates of participation involve special risks not normally associated with general obligations or revenue bonds. Leases and installment purchase or conditional sale contracts (which normally provide for title to the leased asset to pass eventually to the governmental issuer) have evolved as a means for governmental issuers to acquire property and equipment without meeting the constitutional and statutory requirements for the issuance of debt. The debt issuance limitations are deemed to be inapplicable because of the inclusion in many leases or contracts of non-appropriation clauses that relieve the governmental issuer of any obligation to make future payments under the lease or contract unless money is appropriated for such purpose by the appropriate legislative body on a yearly or other periodic basis. In addition, such leases or contracts may be subject to the temporary abatement of payments in the event the governmental issuer is prevented from maintaining occupancy of the leased premises or utilizing the leased equipment. Although the obligations may be secured by the leased equipment or facilities, the disposition of the property in the event of non-appropriation or foreclosure might prove difficult, time consuming and costly, and may result in a delay in recovering or the failure to fully recover the Funds original investment. In the event of non-appropriation, the issuer would be in default and taking ownership of the assets may be a remedy available to the Fund, although the Fund does not anticipate that such a remedy would normally be pursued. To the extent that the Fund invests in unrated municipal leases or participates in such leases, the credit quality rating and risk of cancellation of such unrated leases will be monitored on an ongoing basis. Certificates of participation, which represent interests in unmanaged pools of municipal leases or installment contracts, involve the same risks as the underlying municipal leases. In addition, the Fund may be dependent upon the municipal authority issuing the certificates of participation to exercise remedies with respect to the underlying securities. Certificates of participation also entail a risk of default or bankruptcy, both of the issuer of the municipal lease and also the municipal agency issuing the certificate of participation.
37
Derivatives Risk, Including the Risk of Swaps
The Funds use of derivatives involves risks different from, and possibly greater than, the risks associated with investing directly in the investments underlying the derivatives. Whether the Funds use of derivatives is successful will depend on, among other things, if NAM correctly forecasts market values, interest rates and other applicable factors. If NAM incorrectly forecasts these and other factors, the investment performance of the Fund will be unfavorably affected. In addition, the derivatives market is largely unregulated. It is possible that developments in the derivatives market could adversely affect the Funds ability to successfully use derivative instruments.
The Fund may enter into debt-related derivatives instruments including credit swap default contracts and interest rate swaps. Like most derivative instruments, the use of swaps is a highly specialized activity that involves investment techniques and risks different from those associated with ordinary portfolio securities transactions. In addition, the use of swaps requires an understanding by NAM of not only of the referenced asset, rate or index, but also of the swap itself. Because they are two-party contracts and because they may have terms of greater than seven days, swap agreements may be considered to be illiquid. Moreover, the Fund bears the risk of loss of the amount expected to be received under a swap agreement in the event of the default or bankruptcy of a swap agreement counterparty. It is possible that developments in the swaps market, including potential government regulation, could adversely affect the Funds ability to terminate existing swap agreements or to realize amounts to be received under such agreements. See also, Counterparty Risk, Hedging Risk and the Statement of Additional Information.
Counterparty Risk
Changes in the credit quality of the companies that serve as the Funds counterparties with respect to derivatives, insured municipal securities or other transactions supported by another partys credit will affect the value of those instruments. Certain entities that have served as counterparties in the markets for these transactions have recently incurred significant financial hardships including bankruptcy and losses as a result of exposure to sub-prime mortgages and other lower quality credit investments that have experienced recent defaults or otherwise suffered extreme credit deterioration. As a result, such hardships have reduced these entities capital and called into question their continued ability to perform their obligations under such transactions. By using such derivatives or other transactions, the Fund assumes the risk that its counterparties could experience similar financial hardships.
Hedging Risk
The Funds use of derivatives or other transactions to reduce risk involves costs and will be subject to NAMs ability to predict correctly changes in the relationships of such hedge instruments to the Funds portfolio holdings or other factors. No assurance can be given that NAMs judgment in this respect will be correct. In addition, no assurance can be given that the Fund will enter into hedging or other transactions at times or under circumstances in which it may be advisable to do so.
Deflation Risk
Deflation risk is the risk that prices throughout the economy decline over time, which may have an adverse effect on the market valuation of companies, their assets and revenues. In addition, deflation may have an adverse effect on the creditworthiness of issuers and may make issuer default more likely, which may result in a decline in the value of the Funds portfolio.
38
Illiquid Securities Risk
The Fund may invest up to 15% of its net assets in municipal securities and other instruments that, at the time of investment, are illiquid. Illiquid securities are securities that are not readily marketable and may include some restricted securities, which are securities that may not be resold to the public without an effective registration statement under the Securities Act of 1933, as amended (the Securities Act), if they are unregistered, may be sold only in a privately negotiated transaction or pursuant to an exemption from registration. Illiquid securities involve the risk that the securities will not be able to be sold at the time desired by the Fund or at prices approximating the value at which the Fund is carrying the securities on its books.
Reliance on Investment Adviser
The Fund is dependent upon services and resources provided by its investment adviser, NAM, and therefore the investment advisers parent, Nuveen Investments. There can be no assurance that an investment adviser, through its own business or the financial support of its affiliates, will generate sufficient cash flow from operations or that future borrowings will be available in an amount sufficient to enable the investment adviser to pay its indebtedness or to fund its other liquidity needs. Furthermore, the investment advisers ability to continue to fund these items may be affected by general economic, financial, competitive, legislative, legal and regulatory factors. For additional information on NAM and Nuveen Investments, see Management of the FundAdditional Information Related to the Investment Adviser and Nuveen Investments.
Certain Affiliations
Certain broker-dealers may be considered to be affiliated persons of the Fund, NAM and/or Nuveen. Absent an exemption from the Securities and Exchange Commission or other regulatory relief, the Fund generally is precluded from effecting certain principal transactions with affiliated brokers, and its ability to purchase securities being underwritten by an affiliated broker or a syndicate including an affiliated broker, or to utilize affiliated brokers for agency transactions, is subject to restrictions. This could limit the Funds ability to engage in securities transactions and take advantage of market opportunities. In addition, unless and until the underwriting syndicate is broken in connection with the initial public offering of the Common Shares, the Fund will be precluded from effecting principal transactions with brokers who are members of the syndicate. See also Management of the FundNuveen Investments and Investment Adviser.
Anti-Takeover Provisions
The Declaration and By-laws include provisions that could limit the ability of other entities or persons to acquire control of the Fund or convert the Fund to open-end status. These provisions could have the effect of depriving the Common Shareholders of opportunities to sell their Common Shares at a premium over the then current market price of the Common Shares. See Certain Provisions in the Declaration of Trust and By-Laws.
Investment Limitations
The Fund has adopted certain investment limitations designed to limit investment risk and maintain portfolio diversification. See Investment Objectives and Policies in the Statement of Additional Information for information about these limitations and a complete list of the Funds fundamental and non-fundamental investment policies.
39
Quality of Investments
Under normal circumstances the Fund will invest at least 80% of its net assets in investment grade quality municipal securities. Investment grade quality securities are those that are, at the time of investment either, (i) rated by one of the NRSROs that rate such securities within the four highest letter grades (including BBB or Baa or better by S&P, Moodys or Fitch), or (ii) unrated by any NRSRO but judged to be of comparable quality by NAM. Investment grade securities may include split-rated securities.
No Preferred Shares
Unless otherwise approved by shareholders, the Fund will not leverage its capital structure by issuing senior securities such as preferred shares or debt instruments. However, the Fund may borrow for temporary, emergency or other purposes as permitted by the 1940 Act and invest in certain instruments, including inverse floating rate securities, that have the economic effect of financial leverage.
Derivative Instruments
As previous noted, the Fund may invest in certain derivative instruments in pursuit of its investment objectives. Such instruments include financial futures contracts, swap contracts (including interest rate and credit default swaps), options on financial futures, options on swap contracts, or other derivative instruments. NAM may use derivative instruments to seek to enhance return, to hedge some of the risk of the Funds investments in municipal securities or as a substitute for a position in the underlying asset. These types of hedging strategies may generate taxable income.
Trustees and Officers
The Board of Trustees is responsible for the Funds management, including supervision of the duties performed by NAM. The names and business addresses of the Funds trustees and officers and their principal occupations and other affiliations during the past five years are set forth under Management of the Fund in the Statement of Additional Information.
Investment Adviser
NAM, 333 West Wacker Drive, Chicago, Illinois 60606, a registered investment adviser, is a wholly owned subsidiary of Nuveen Investments. Founded in 1898, Nuveen Investments and its affiliates had approximately $134 billion of assets under management as of September 30, 2008, of which approximately $60.7 billion was in municipal securities. Regarding this approximately $60.7 billion of tax-exempt municipal securities, approximately $32.2 billion, $14.1 billion, $12.8 billion and $1.7 billion represent assets relating to closed-end municipal bond funds, open-end municipal bond funds, retail municipal managed accounts and institutional municipal managed accounts, respectively. At such time as the Fund receives an exemptive order permitting it to do so, or as otherwise permitted by the 1940 Act or the rules thereunder, the Fund may, without obtaining approval of the Common Shareholders, retain an unaffiliated subadviser to perform some or all of the portfolio management functions on the Funds behalf.
NAM will be responsible for investing the Funds net assets. NAM also is responsible for managing the Funds business affairs and providing certain clerical, bookkeeping and other administrative services. Thomas Spalding will serve as the Funds portfolio manager.
40
Thomas Spalding, CFA is Vice President and Senior Investment Officer of Nuveen Investments. He has direct investment responsibility for $8.5 billion of municipal bond assets in several national uninsured closed-end funds. He joined Nuveen in 1976 as assistant portfolio manager and has been the portfolio manager of the Nuveen Municipal Value Fund, Nuveens first closed-end exchange traded fund, since its inception in 1987. Mr. Spalding previously served on the Endowment Fund Board of Trustees for the American Red Cross.
Additional information about the portfolio managers compensation, other accounts managed by him and other information is provided in the Statement of Additional Information. The Statement of Additional Information is available free of charge by calling (800) 257-8787 or by visiting Nuveens website at www.nuveen.com.
Nuveen Investments
On November 13, 2007, Nuveen Investments was acquired by an investor group led by Madison Dearborn Partners, LLC, a private equity firm based in Chicago, Illinois (previously defined as the MDP Acquisition). The investor group led by Madison Dearborn Partners, LLC includes affiliates of Merrill Lynch, which has since been acquired by Bank of America. NAM has adopted policies and procedures that address arrangements involving NAM and Bank of America and its affiliates that may give rise to certain conflicts of interest.
Additional Information Related to the Investment Adviser and Nuveen Investments
The Fund is dependent upon services and resources provided by its adviser NAM and therefore the investment advisers parent Nuveen Investments. Nuveen Investments significantly increased its level of debt in connection with the MDP Acquisition. As of September 30, 2008, Nuveen Investments had outstanding approximately $3.6 billion in aggregate principal amount of indebtedness, $288 million of cash on hand and $250 million available under a revolving line of credit. While Nuveen Investments believes that monies generated from operations and cash on hand will be adequate to fund debt service requirements, capital expenditures and working capital requirements for the foreseeable future, there can be no assurance that Nuveen Investments business will generate sufficient cash flow from operations or that future borrowings will be available in an amount sufficient to enable Nuveen Investments to pay its indebtedness or to fund its other liquidity needs. Nuveen Investments ability to continue to fund these items and to service debt may be affected by general economic, financial, competitive, legislative, legal and regulatory factors and by its ability to refinance outstanding indebtedness with scheduled maturities beginning in 2014. Nuveen Investments believes that potential adverse changes to its overall financial position and business operations would not adversely affect NAMs credit research and portfolio management operations and would not otherwise adversely affect NAMs ability to fulfill its obligations to the Fund under the Funds investment management agreement. The risks, uncertainties and other factors related to Nuveen Investments business, the effects of which may cause its assets under management, earnings, revenues, and/or profit margins to decline, are described in its filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission, which are publicly available.
Investment Management Agreement
Pursuant to an investment management agreement between NAM and the Fund, the Fund has agreed to pay an annual management fee for the services and facilities provided by NAM, payable on a monthly basis, based on the sum of a fund-level fee and a complex-level fee, as described below, according to the following schedule.
41
Fund-Level Fee. The fund-level fee shall be applied according to the following schedule:
Fund-Level Average Daily Managed Assets(1) |
Fund-Level Fee Rate |
||
Up to $125 million |
0.4000 | % | |
$125 million to $250 million |
0.3875 | % | |
$250 million to $500 million |
0.3750 | % | |
$500 million to $1 billion |
0.3625 | % | |
$1 billion to $2 billion |
0.3500 | % | |
$2 billion and over |
0.3375 | % |
Complex-Level Fee. The effective rates of the complex-level fee at various specified complex-wide asset levels are as indicated in the following table:
Complex-Level Asset Breakpoint Level(1) |
Effective Rate at Breakpoint Level |
||
$55 billion |
0.2000 | % | |
$56 billion |
0.1996 | % | |
$57 billion |
0.1989 | % | |
$60 billion |
0.1961 | % | |
$63 billion |
0.1931 | % | |
$66 billion |
0.1900 | % | |
$71 billion |
0.1851 | % | |
$76 billion |
0.1806 | % | |
$80 billion |
0.1773 | % | |
$91 billion |
0.1691 | % | |
$125 billion |
0.1599 | % | |
$200 billion |
0.1505 | % | |
$250 billion |
0.1469 | % | |
$300 billion |
0.1445 | % |
(1) | For this Fund, managed assets means the total assets of the Fund (including proceeds from the Funds use of financial leverage, whether or not reflected in the Funds financial statements for purposes of generally accepted accounting principles, such as, but not limited to, proceeds from tender option bond trusts) minus the sum of accrued liabilities (other than Fund liabilities incurred for the express purpose of creating financial leverage). The complex-level fee is based on the aggregate daily managed assets (as managed assets is defined in each Nuveen Funds investment management agreement with NAM, which generally includes assets attributable to any preferred shares that may be outstanding and any borrowings (including the issuance of commercial paper or notes)) of the Nuveen Funds. The complex-level fee was based on approximately $53.6 billion as of December 31, 2008. |
In addition to NAMs management fee, the Fund pays all other costs and expenses of its operations, including compensation of its trustees (other than those affiliated with NAM), custodian, transfer agency and dividend disbursing expenses, legal fees, expenses of independent registered accounting firm, expenses of repurchasing shares, expenses of preparing, printing and distributing shareholder reports, notices, proxy statements and reports to governmental agencies, listing fees and taxes, if any. All fees and expenses are accrued daily and deducted before payment distributions to shareholders.
The basis for the Board of Trustees initial approval of the Funds investment management agreement will be provided in the Funds initial shareholder report. The basis for subsequent continuations of the Funds investment management agreement will be provided in annual or semi-annual reports to shareholders for the periods during which such continuations occur.
42
The Fund will determine the net asset value of its shares daily, as of the close of regular session trading on the New York Stock Exchange (normally 4:00 p.m. New York time). Net asset value is computed by dividing the value of all assets of the Fund (including accrued interest and dividends), less all liabilities (including accrued expenses and dividends declared but unpaid), by the total number of shares outstanding.
In determining net asset value, expenses are accrued and applied daily and securities and other assets for which market quotations are available are valued at market value. The prices of municipal bonds are provided by a pricing service approved by the Funds Board of Trustees. When market price quotes are not readily available (which is usually the case for municipal securities), the pricing service, or, in the absence of a pricing service for a particular security, the Funds Board of Trustees, or its designee, may establish fair market value using a wide variety of market data including yields or prices of municipal bonds of comparable quality, type of issue, coupon, maturity and rating, market quotes or indications of value from securities dealers, evaluations of anticipated cash flows or collateral, general market conditions and other information and analysis, including the obligors credit characteristics considered relevant by the pricing service or the Board of Trustees designee. Exchange-listed securities are generally valued at the last sales price on the securities exchange on which such securities are primarily traded. Securities traded on a securities exchange for which there are no transactions on a given day or securities not listed on a securities exchange are valued at the mean of the closing bid and asked prices. Securities reported on NASDAQ are valued at the NASDAQ Official Closing Price. Temporary investments in securities that have variable rate and demand features qualifying them as short-term investments are valued at amortized cost, which approximates market value.
Commencing with the first distribution, the Fund will pay monthly distributions to Common Shareholders. Distributions will be reinvested in additional Common Shares under the Funds Dividend Reinvestment Plan unless a Common Shareholder elects to receive cash.
Monthly distributions will be paid at a level rate (stated in terms of a fixed cents per Common Share dividend rate) based on the Funds projected performance. The Funds ability to maintain a level Common Share dividend rate will depend on a number of factors. As portfolio and market conditions change, the rate of dividends on the Common Shares and the Funds distribution policy could change. Over time, the Fund will distribute all of its net investment income. In addition, the Fund intends to distribute, at least annually, the net capital gain and taxable ordinary income, if any, to Common Shareholders. The Fund expects to declare its initial Common Share distribution approximately 30 to 45 days, and to pay that distribution approximately 60 to 90 days, from the completion of this offering, depending on market conditions.
To permit the Fund to maintain a more stable monthly distribution, the Fund may initially distribute less than the entire amount of net investment income earned in a particular period. Any such undistributed net investment income would be available to supplement future distributions. As a result, the distributions paid by the Fund for any particular monthly period may be more or less than the amount of net investment income actually earned by the Fund during the period.
Undistributed net investment income will be included in the Funds net asset value and, correspondingly, distributions from undistributed net investment income will be deducted from the Funds net asset value.
43
As explained more fully below in Tax Matters, at least annually, the Fund may elect to retain rather than distribute all or a portion of any net capital gain (which is the excess of net long-term capital gain over net short-term capital loss) otherwise applicable to Common Shareholders and pay U.S. federal income tax on the retained gain. As provided under federal tax law, Common Shareholders of record as of the end of the Funds taxable year will include their attributable share of the retained net capital gain in their income for the year as a long-term capital gain (regardless of their holding period in the Common Shares), and will be entitled to an income tax credit or refund for the tax deemed paid on their behalf by the Fund. The Fund may treat the cash value of tax credit and refund amounts in connection with retained capital gains as a substitute for equivalent cash distributions. In addition, the Fund may make total distributions during a given calendar year in an amount that exceeds the Funds net investment income and net realized long-term capital gains for that calendar year, in which case the excess would normally be treated by shareholders as return of capital for tax purposes.
The Fund reserves the right to change its distribution policy and the basis for establishing the rate of its monthly distributions at any time and may do so without prior notice to Common Shareholders.
44
If your Common Shares are registered directly with the Fund or if you hold your Common Shares with a brokerage firm that participates in the Funds Dividend Reinvestment Plan (the Plan), your distributions, including any capital gain distributions, will automatically be reinvested in additional Common Shares under the Plan unless you request otherwise. If you elect not to participate in the Plan, or are not eligible to participate because your brokerage firm does not participate in the Plan, you will receive all distributions in cash paid by check mailed directly to you or your brokerage firm by State Street Bank and Trust Company, as dividend paying agent. The tax consequences of a distribution are the same regardless of whether such distribution is reinvested or received in cash. See Tax Matters below.
Under the Plan, the number of Common Shares you will receive will be determined as follows:
(1) If the Common Shares are trading at or above net asset value at the time of valuation, the Fund will issue new shares at a price equal to the greater of (i) net asset value per Common Share on that date or (ii) 95% of the market price on that date.
(2) If Common Shares are trading below net asset value at the time of valuation, the Plan Agent will receive the dividend or distribution in cash and will purchase Common Shares in the open market, on the New York Stock Exchange or elsewhere, for the participants accounts. It is possible that the market price for the Common Shares may increase before the Plan Agent has completed its purchases. Therefore, the average purchase price per share paid by the Plan Agent may exceed the market price at the time of valuation, resulting in the purchase of fewer shares than if the dividend or distribution had been paid in Common Shares issued by the Fund. The Plan Agent will use all dividends and distributions received in cash to purchase Common Shares in the open market within 30 days of the valuation date. Interest will not be paid on any uninvested cash payments. The Plan provides that if Common Shares start trading at or above net asset value before the Plan Agent has completed its purchases, the Plan Agent may cease purchasing Common Shares in the open market, and may invest the uninvested portion in new shares at a price equal to the greater of (i) net asset value per Common Share determined on the last business day immediately prior to the purchase date or (ii) 95% of the market price on that date.
You may withdraw from the Plan at any time by giving written notice to the Plan Agent. If you withdraw or the Plan is terminated, you will receive whole shares in your account under the Plan and you will receive a cash payment for any fraction of a share in your account. If you wish, the Plan Agent will sell your shares and send you the proceeds, minus brokerage commissions and a $2.50 service fee.
The Plan Agent maintains all shareholders accounts in the Plan and gives written confirmation of all transactions in the accounts, including information you may need for tax records. Common Shares in your account will be held by the Plan Agent in non-certificated form. Any proxy you receive will include all Common Shares you have received under the Plan.
There is no brokerage charge for reinvestment of your dividends or distributions in Common Shares. However, all participants will pay a pro rata share of brokerage commissions incurred by the Plan Agent when it makes open market purchases.
Automatically reinvesting dividends and distributions does not mean that you do not have to pay income taxes due upon receiving dividends and distributions.
As noted above, if you hold your Common Shares with a brokerage firm that does not participate in the Plan, you will not be able to participate in the Plan and any dividend reinvestment may be effected on different terms than those described above. Consult your financial advisor for more information.
45
The Fund reserves the right to amend or terminate the Plan if in the judgment of the Board of Trustees the change is warranted. There is no direct service charge to participants in the Plan; however, the Fund reserves the right to amend the Plan to include a service charge payable by the participants. Additional information about the Plan may be obtained from State Street Bank and Trust Company, Attn: Computershare Nuveen Investments, P.O. Box 43071, Providence, Rhode Island 02940-3071, (800) 257-8787.
Common Shares
The Declaration authorizes the issuance of an unlimited number of Common Shares. The Common Shares being offered have a par value of $0.01 per share and have equal rights to the payment of dividends and the distribution of assets upon liquidation of the Fund. The Common Shares being offered will, when issued, be fully paid and, subject to matters discussed under Certain Provisions in the Declaration of Trust and By-Laws, non-assessable, and will have no preemptive or conversion rights or rights to cumulative voting. As previously noted, unless otherwise approved by shareholders, the Fund will not issue senior securities such as preferred shares or debt instruments. However, if the Fund issues preferred shares, the Common Shareholders will not be entitled to receive any cash distributions from the Fund unless all accrued dividends on preferred shares have been paid, and unless asset coverage (as defined in the 1940 Act) with respect to preferred shares would be at least 200% after giving effect to the distributions. See Other Shares below.
The Common Shares have been approved for listing on the New York Stock Exchange, subject to notice of issuance. The Fund intends to hold annual meetings of shareholders so long as the Common Shares are listed on a national securities exchange and such meetings are required as a condition to such listing. The Fund will not issue share certificates.
Proceeds from the sale of Common Shares in this offering will be reduced by 4.5% (the amount of the sales load as a percentage of the offering price), making the Funds net asset value per Common Share equal to $14.325, before deducting offering expenses. Net asset value of the Fund and the net asset value per Common Share are then further reduced by the amount of offering expenses paid by the Fund (estimated to be an additional 0.20% as a percentage of the offering price). Nuveen has agreed to (i) reimburse all organization expenses of the Fund and (ii) pay all offering costs of the Fund (other than sales load) that exceed $0.03 per Common Share. See Use of Proceeds.
Unlike open-end funds, closed-end funds like the Fund do not continuously offer shares and do not provide daily redemptions. Rather, if a shareholder determines to buy additional Common Shares or sell shares already held, the shareholder may conveniently do so by trading on the exchange through a broker or otherwise. Shares of closed-end investment companies may frequently trade on an exchange at prices lower than net asset value. Shares of closed-end investment companies like the Fund have, during some periods, traded at prices higher than net asset value and, during other periods, have traded at prices lower than net asset value. Because the market value of the Common Shares may be influenced by such factors as dividend levels (which are in turn affected by expenses), dividend stability, net asset value, relative demand for and supply of such shares in the market, general market and economic conditions, and other factors beyond the Funds control, the Fund cannot guarantee you that Common Shares will trade at a price equal to or higher than net asset value in the future. The Common Shares are designed primarily for long-term investors, and investors in the Common Shares should not view the Fund as a vehicle for trading purposes. See Repurchase of Fund Shares; Conversion to Open-End Fund below and in the Statement of Additional Information.
46
Other Shares
As previously noted, as a fundamental investment policy, the Fund will not issue senior securities such as preferred shares or debt instruments without the approval of Common Shareholders. However, the Declaration authorizes the issuance of an unlimited number of preferred shares in one or more classes or series, with rights as determined by the Board of Trustees, by action of the Board of Trustees without the approval of the Common Shareholders. For additional information, see the Statement of Additional Information under Description of SharesPreferred Shares.
CERTAIN PROVISIONS IN THE DECLARATION OF TRUST AND BY-LAWS
Shareholder and Trustee Liability. Under Massachusetts law, shareholders could, under certain circumstances, be held personally liable for the Funds obligations. However, the Declaration contains an express disclaimer of shareholder liability for the Funds debts or obligations and requires that notice of such limited liability be given in each agreement, obligation or instrument entered into or executed by the Fund or the trustees. The Declaration further provides for indemnification out of the Funds assets and property for all loss and expense of any shareholder held personally liable for the Funds obligations. Thus, the risk of a shareholder incurring financial loss on account of shareholder liability is limited to circumstances in which the Fund would be unable to meet its obligations. The Fund believes that the likelihood of such circumstances is remote.
The Declaration provides that the Funds obligations are not binding upon the Funds trustees individually, but only upon the Funds assets and property, and that the trustees shall not be liable for errors of judgment or mistakes of fact or law. Nothing in the Declaration, however, protects a trustee against any liability to which he or she would otherwise be subject by reason of willful misfeasance, bad faith, gross negligence or reckless disregard of the duties involved in the conduct of his or her office.
Anti-Takeover Provisions. The Declaration and By-laws include provisions that could limit the ability of other entities or persons to acquire control of the Fund or to convert the Fund to open-end status. The By-laws require the Board of Trustees be divided into three classes with staggered terms. See the Statement of Additional Information under Management of the Fund. This provision of the By-laws could delay for up to two years the replacement of a majority of the Board of Trustees. If preferred shares are issued, holders of preferred shares, voting as a separate class, will be entitled to elect two of the Funds trustees. In addition, the Declaration requires a vote by holders of at least two-thirds of the Common Shares and, if issued, preferred shares, voting together as a single class, except as described below, to authorize (1) a conversion of the Fund from a closed-end to an open-end investment company, (2) a merger or consolidation of the Fund, or a series or class of the Fund, with any corporation, association, trust or other organization or a reorganization of the Fund, or a series or class of the Fund, (3) a sale, lease or transfer of all or substantially all of the Funds assets (other than in the regular course of the Funds investment activities), (4) in certain circumstances, a termination of the Fund, or a series or class of the Fund or (5) a removal of trustees by shareholders, and then only for cause, unless, with respect to (1) through (4), such transaction has already been authorized by the affirmative vote of two-thirds of the total number of trustees fixed in accordance with the Declaration or the By-laws, in which case the affirmative vote of the holders of at least a majority of the Funds Common Shares and, if issued, preferred shares outstanding at the time, voting together as a single class, would be required; provided, however, that where only a particular class or series is affected (or, in the case of removing a trustee, when the trustee has been elected by only one class), only the required vote by the applicable class or series will be required. Approval of shareholders would not be required, however, for any transaction, whether deemed a merger, consolidation, reorganization or otherwise whereby the Fund issues shares in connection with the acquisition of assets (including those subject to liabilities) from any other investment company or similar entity. In the case of the conversion of the Fund to an open-
47
end investment company, or in the case of any of the foregoing transactions constituting a plan of reorganization that adversely affects the holders of any outstanding preferred shares, the action in question also would require the affirmative vote of the holders of at least two-thirds of the preferred shares outstanding at the time, voting as a separate class, or, if such action has been authorized by the affirmative vote of two-thirds of the total number of trustees fixed in accordance with the Declaration or the By-laws, the affirmative vote of the holders of at least a majority of the preferred shares outstanding at the time, voting as a separate class. None of the foregoing provisions may be amended except by the vote of at least two-thirds of the Common Shares and, if issued, preferred shares, voting together as a single class. The votes required to approve the conversion of the Fund from a closed-end to an open-end investment company or to approve transactions constituting a plan of reorganization that adversely affects the holders of any outstanding preferred shares are higher than those required by the 1940 Act. The Board of Trustees believes that the provisions of the Declaration relating to such higher votes are in the best interest of the Fund and its shareholders.
The provisions of the Declaration and By-laws described above could have the effect of depriving the Common Shareholders of opportunities to sell their Common Shares at a premium over the then current market price of the Common Shares by discouraging a third party from seeking to obtain control of the Fund in a tender offer or similar transaction. The overall effect of these provisions is to render more difficult the accomplishment of a merger or the assumption of control by a third party. They provide, however, the advantage of potentially requiring persons seeking control of the Fund to negotiate with its management regarding the price to be paid and facilitating the continuity of the Funds investment objectives and policies. The Funds Board of Trustees has considered the foregoing anti-takeover provisions and concluded that they are in the best interests of the Fund and its Common Shareholders.
Reference should be made to the Declaration and By-laws on file with the Securities and Exchange Commission for the full text of these provisions.
REPURCHASE OF FUND SHARES; CONVERSION TO OPEN-END FUND
The Fund is a closed-end investment company and as such its shareholders will not have the right to cause the Fund to redeem their shares. Instead, the Common Shares will trade in the open market at a price that will be a function of several factors, including dividend levels (which are in turn affected by expenses), net asset value, dividend stability, relative demand for and supply of such shares in the market, general market and economic conditions and other factors. Because shares of closed-end investment companies frequently may trade at prices lower than net asset value, the Funds Board of Trustees has currently determined that, at least annually, it will consider action that might be taken to reduce or eliminate any material discount from net asset value in respect of Common Shares, which may include the repurchase of such shares in the open market or in private transactions, the making of a tender offer for such shares at net asset value, or the conversion of the Fund to an open-end investment company. The Fund cannot assure you that its Board of Trustees will decide to take any of these actions, or that share repurchases or tender offers will actually reduce market discount.
If the Fund converted to an open-end investment company, the Common Shares would no longer be listed on the New York Stock Exchange or elsewhere. In contrast to a closed-end investment company, shareholders of an open-end investment company may require the company to redeem their shares at any time (except in certain circumstances as authorized by the 1940 Act or the rules thereunder) at their net asset value, less any redemption charge that is in effect at the time of redemption. See the Statement of Additional Information under Repurchase of Fund Shares; Conversion to Open-End Fund for a discussion of the voting requirements applicable to the conversion of the Fund to an open-end investment company.
48
Before deciding whether to take any action if the Common Shares trade below net asset value, the Board of Trustees would consider all relevant factors, including the extent and duration of the discount, the liquidity of the Funds portfolio, the impact of any action that might be taken on the Fund or its shareholders, and market considerations. Based on these considerations, even if the Funds shares should trade at a discount, the Board of Trustees may determine that, in the interest of the Fund and its shareholders, no action should be taken. See the Statement of Additional Information under Repurchase of Fund Shares; Conversion to Open-End Fund for a further discussion of possible action to reduce or eliminate such discount to net asset value.
The following discussion of U.S. federal income tax matters is based on the advice of Bell, Boyd & Lloyd LLP, special counsel to the Fund.
The discussions below and certain disclosure in the Statement of Additional Information provide general tax information related to an investment in the Common Shares. Because tax laws are complex and often change, you should consult your tax advisor about the tax consequences of an investment in the Fund. The following tax discussion assumes that you are a U.S. shareholder and that you hold the Common Shares as a capital asset.
The Fund intends to elect to be treated and to qualify each year as a regulated investment company (RIC) under Subchapter M of the Code. In order to qualify as a RIC, the Fund must satisfy certain requirements regarding the sources of its income, the diversification of its assets and the distribution of its income. As a RIC, the Fund is not expected to be subject to federal income tax. The Fund primarily invests in municipal securities issued by states, cities and local authorities and certain possessions and territories of the U.S. (such as Puerto Rico or Guam) or municipal securities whose income is otherwise exempt from regular federal income tax. Thus, substantially all of the Funds dividends paid to you should qualify as exempt-interest dividends. A shareholder treats an exempt-interest dividend as interest on state and local bonds exempt from regular federal income tax. Federal income tax law imposes an alternative minimum tax with respect to corporations, individuals, trusts and estates. Interest on certain municipal securities, such as certain private activity bonds, is included as an item of tax preference in determining the amount of a taxpayers alternative minimum taxable income. The Fund will not invest in AMT Bonds. To the extent that the Fund received income from such municipal securities, a portion of the dividends paid by the Fund, although exempt from regular federal income tax, would be taxable to shareholders to the extent that their tax liability is determined under the federal alternative minimum tax. The Fund will annually provide a report indicating the percentage of the Funds income attributable to municipal securities subject to the federal alternative minimum tax. Corporations are subject to special rules in calculating their federal alternative minimum taxable income with respect to interest from municipal obligations that are not AMT Bonds.
In addition to exempt-interest dividends, the Fund also may distribute to its shareholders amounts that are treated as long-term capital gain or ordinary income (which may include short-term capital gains). These distributions may be subject to federal, state and local taxation, depending on a shareholders situation. If so, they are taxable whether or not such distributions are reinvested. Capital gain distributions are generally taxable at rates applicable to long-term capital gains regardless of how long a shareholder has held its shares. Long-term capital gains are currently taxable at a maximum rate of 15%. Absent further legislation, the maximum 15% rate on long-term capital gains will increase to 20% for taxable years beginning after December 31, 2010. The Fund does not expect that any part of its distributions to shareholders from its investments will qualify for the dividends-received deduction available to corporate shareholders or as qualified dividend income available to noncorporate shareholders.
49
As a regulated investment company, the Fund will not be subject to federal income tax in any taxable year provided that it meets certain distribution requirements. As described in Distributions above, the Fund may retain for investment some (or all) of its net capital gain. If the Fund retains any net capital gain or investment company taxable income, it will be subject to tax at regular corporate rates on the amount retained. If the Fund retains any net capital gain, it may designate the retained amount as undistributed capital gains in a notice to its shareholders who, if subject to federal income tax on long-term capital gains, (i) will be required to include in income for federal income tax purposes, as long-term capital gain, their share of such undistributed amount; (ii) will be entitled to credit their proportionate shares of the tax paid by the Fund on such undistributed amount against their federal income tax liabilities, if any; and (iii) will be entitled to claim refunds to the extent the credit exceeds such liabilities. For federal income tax purposes, the tax basis of shares owned by a shareholder of the Fund will be increased by an amount equal to the difference between the amount of undistributed capital gains included in the shareholders gross income and the tax deemed paid by the shareholder under clause (ii) of the preceding sentence.
Dividends declared by the Fund in October, November or December and paid during the following January may be treated as having been received by shareholders in the year the distributions were declared.
Each shareholder will receive an annual statement summarizing the shareholders dividend and capital gains distributions.
The redemption, sale or exchange of Common Shares normally will result in capital gain or loss to holders of Common Shares who hold their shares as capital assets. Generally a shareholders gain or loss will be long-term capital gain or loss if the shares have been held for more than one year even though the increase in value in such Common Shares is attributable to tax-exempt interest income. Present law taxes both long-term and short-term capital gains of corporations at the same rates applicable to ordinary income. For non-corporate taxpayers, however, long-term capital gains are currently taxed at a maximum rate of 15%, while short-term capital gains and other ordinary income are currently taxed at ordinary income rates. As noted above, absent further legislation, the 15% maximum rate applicable to long-term capital gains will increase to 20% for taxable years beginning after December 31, 2010. Any loss on the sale of Common Shares that have been held for six months or less will be disallowed to the extent of any distribution of exempt-interest dividends received with respect to such Common Shares. If a shareholder sells or otherwise disposes of Common Shares before holding them for six months, any loss on the sale or disposition will be treated as a long-term capital loss to the extent of any capital gain dividends received by the Common Shareholder. Any loss realized on a sale or exchange of shares of the Fund will be disallowed to the extent those shares of the Fund are replaced by other substantially identical shares of the Fund within a period of 61 days beginning 30 days before and ending 30 days after the date of disposition of the original shares. In that event, the basis of the replacement shares of the Fund will be adjusted to reflect the disallowed loss.
Any interest on indebtedness incurred or continued to purchase or carry the Funds shares to which exempt-interest dividends are allocated is not deductible. Under certain applicable rules, the purchase or ownership of shares may be considered to have been made with borrowed funds even though such funds are not directly used for the purchase or ownership of the shares. In addition, if you receive social security or certain railroad retirement benefits, you may be subject to U.S. federal income tax on a portion of such benefits as a result of receiving investment income, including exempt-interest dividends and other distributions paid by the Fund.
As with all investment companies, the Fund may be required to withhold U.S. federal income tax at the current rate of 28% of all taxable distributions payable to a shareholder if the shareholder fails to provide the Fund with his or her correct taxpayer identification number or to make required
50
certifications, or if the shareholder has been notified by the IRS that he or she is subject to backup withholding. Backup withholding is not an additional tax; rather, it is a way in which the IRS ensures it will collect taxes otherwise due. Any amounts withheld may be credited against a shareholders U.S. federal income tax liability.
The Fund may invest in other securities the federal income tax treatment of which is uncertain or subject to recharacterization by the IRS. To the extent the tax treatment of such securities or their income differs from the tax treatment expected by the Fund, it could affect the timing or character of income recognized by the Fund, requiring the Fund to purchase or sell securities, or otherwise change its portfolio, in order to comply with the tax rules applicable to regulated investment companies under the Code.
51
Citigroup Global Markets Inc., Nuveen Investments, LLC, Ameriprise Advisor Services, Inc., BB&T Capital Markets, a division of Scott & Stringfellow, Inc., Deutsche Bank Securities Inc., J.J.B. Hilliard, W.L. Lyons, LLC, HSBC Securities (USA) Inc., Janney Montgomery Scott LLC, Ladenburg Thalmann & Co. Inc., Maxim Group LLC, Oppenheimer & Co. Inc., RBC Capital Markets Corporation, Southwest Securities, Inc. and Stifel, Nicolaus & Company, Incorporated are acting as representatives of the underwriters (the Underwriters) named below. Subject to the terms and conditions stated in the underwriting agreement, dated the date of this prospectus, each Underwriter named below has agreed to purchase, and the Fund has agreed to sell to that Underwriter, the number of Common Shares set forth opposite the Underwriters name.
Underwriter |
Number of Common Shares | |
Citigroup Global Markets Inc. |
6,585,000 | |
Nuveen Investments, LLC |
775,000 | |
Ameriprise Advisor Services, Inc. |
245,000 | |
BB&T Capital Markets, a division of Scott & Stringfellow, Inc. |
375,000 | |
Deutsche Bank Securities Inc. |
75,000 | |
J.J.B. Hilliard, W.L. Lyons, LLC |
110,000 | |
HSBC Securities (USA) Inc. |
75,000 | |
Janney Montgomery Scott LLC |
220,000 | |
Ladenburg Thalmann & Co. Inc. |
75,000 | |
Maxim Group LLC |
235,000 | |
Oppenheimer & Co. Inc. |
350,000 | |
RBC Capital Markets Corporation |
1,225,000 | |
Southwest Securities, Inc. |
85,000 | |
Stifel, Nicolaus & Company, Incorporated |
425,000 | |
D.A. Davidson & Co. |
50,000 | |
David A. Noyes & Company |
50,000 | |
Dominick & Dominick LLC |
50,000 | |
Howe Barnes Hoefer & Arnett, Inc. |
50,000 | |
Huntleigh Securities Corporation |
50,000 | |
Newbridge Securities Corporation |
50,000 | |
Regal Securities, Inc. |
50,000 | |
Stephens Inc. |
50,000 | |
Summit Brokerage Services, Inc. |
50,000 | |
Andrew Garrett Inc. |
15,000 | |
Brean Murray, Carret & Co., LLC |
15,000 | |
City Securities Corporation |
15,000 | |
Dawson James Securities Inc. |
15,000 | |
Johnston, Lemon & Co. Incorporated |
15,000 | |
LaSalle St. Securities, L.L.C. |
15,000 | |
McGinn, Smith & Co., Inc. |
15,000 | |
Morgan Wilshire Securities, Inc. |
15,000 | |
Muriel Siebert & Co., Inc. |
15,000 | |
Northeast Securities, Inc. |
15,000 | |
Torrey Pines Securities, Inc. |
15,000 | |
Wayne Hummer Investments L.L.C. |
15,000 | |
William Blair & Company, L.L.C. |
15,000 | |
Total: |
11,500,000 | |
52
The underwriting agreement provides that the obligations of the Underwriters to purchase the Common Shares included in this offering are subject to approval of legal matters by counsel and to other conditions. The Underwriters are obligated to purchase all the Common Shares (other than those covered by the over-allotment option described below) if they purchase any of the Common Shares.
The Underwriters propose to offer some of the Common Shares directly to the public at the public offering price set forth on the cover page of this prospectus and some of the Common Shares to dealers at the public offering price less a concession not to exceed $0.45 per Common Share. The sales load the Fund will pay of $0.675 per Common Share is equal to 4.5% of the initial public offering price. The Underwriters may allow, and the dealers may reallow, a concession not to exceed $0.10 per Common Share on sales to other dealers. If all of the Common Shares are not sold at the initial public offering price, the representatives may change the public offering price and other selling terms. Investors must pay for any Common Shares purchased on or before February 27, 2009. The representatives have advised the Fund that the Underwriters do not intend to confirm any sales to any accounts over which they exercise discretionary authority.
Additional Compensation
NAM (and not the Fund) has agreed to pay to Citigroup Global Markets Inc., from its own assets, a structuring fee for advice relating to the structure, design and organization of the Fund as well as services related to the sale and distribution of the Common Shares in the amount of $2,156,250. The structuring fee paid to Citigroup Global Markets Inc. will not exceed 1.25% of the total public offering price of the Common Shares sold in this offering.
In contrast to the underwriting discounts and commissions (earned under the underwriting agreement by the underwriting syndicate as a group), the structuring fee will be earned by and paid to Citigroup Global Markets Inc. by NAM (and not the Fund) for advice to NAM on the design and structuring of, and marketing assistance with respect to, the Fund and the distribution of its Common Shares, as described above.
The total amount of the Underwriter compensation payments described above will not exceed 4.5% of the total public offering price of the Common Shares offered hereby. The sum total of all compensation to the Underwriters in connection with this public offering of Common Shares, including the sales load and the structuring fee payable to Citigroup Global Markets Inc. and other expenses, will be limited to not more than 9.0% of the total public offering price of the Common Shares sold in this offering.
The Fund has granted the Underwriters an option exercisable for 45 days from the date of this prospectus, to purchase up to 1,725,000 additional Common Shares at the public offering price, less the sales load. The Underwriters may exercise the option solely for the purpose of covering over-allotments, if any, in connection with this offering. To the extent the option is exercised, each Underwriter will be obligated, subject to certain conditions, to purchase a number of additional Common Shares approximately proportionate to such Underwriters initial purchase commitment.
The Fund and NAM have agreed that, for a period of 180 days from the date of this prospectus, they will not, without the prior written consent of Citigroup Global Markets Inc., on behalf of the Underwriters, dispose of or hedge any Common Shares or any securities convertible into or exchangeable for Common Shares. Citigroup Global Markets Inc., in its sole discretion, may release any of the securities subject to these lock-up agreements at any time without notice.
Prior to this offering, there has been no public market for the Common Shares. Consequently, the initial public offering price for the Common Shares was determined by negotiation among the Fund, NAM and the representatives. There can be no assurance, however, that the price at which the Common
53
Shares will sell in the public market after this offering will not be lower than the initial public offering price or that an active trading market in the Common Shares will develop and continue after this offering. The Common Shares have been authorized for listing on the New York Stock Exchange, subject to official notice of issuance, under the trading or ticker symbol NUW.
In connection with the requirements for listing the Common Shares on the New York Stock Exchange, the Underwriters have undertaken to sell lots of 100 or more Common Shares to a minimum of 400 beneficial owners in the United States. The minimum investment requirement is 100 Common Shares.
The following table shows the sales load that the Fund will pay to the Underwriters in connection with this offering. These amounts are shown assuming both no exercise and full exercise of the Underwriters option to purchase additional Common Shares.
Paid by the Fund | ||||||
No Exercise |
Full Exercise | |||||
Per Share |
$ | 0.675 | $ | 0.675 | ||
Total |
$ | 7,762,500 | $ | 8,926,875 | ||
Certain Underwriters may make a market in the Common Shares after trading in the Common Shares has commenced on the New York Stock Exchange. No Underwriter, however, is obligated to conduct market-making activities, and any such activities may be discontinued at any time without notice, at the sole discretion of the Underwriter. No assurance can be given as to the liquidity of, or the trading market for, the Common Shares as a result of any market-making activities undertaken by any Underwriter. This prospectus is to be used by any Underwriter in connection with the offering and, during the period in which a prospectus must be delivered, with offers and sales of the Common Shares in market-making transactions in the over-the-counter market at negotiated prices related to prevailing market prices at the time of the sale.
In connection with the offering, certain Underwriters may purchase and sell Common Shares in the open market. These transactions may include short sales, syndicate covering transactions and stabilizing transactions. Short sales involve syndicate sales of Common Shares in excess of the number of Common Shares to be purchased by the Underwriters in the offering, which creates a syndicate short position. Covered short sales are sales of Common Shares made in an amount up to the number of Common Shares represented by the Underwriters over-allotment option. In determining the source of Common Shares to close out the covered syndicate short position, the Underwriters will consider, among other things, the price of Common Shares available for purchase in the open market as compared to the price at which they may purchase Common Shares through the over-allotment option. Transactions to close out the covered syndicate short position involve either purchases of Common Shares in the open market after the distribution has been completed or the exercise of the over-allotment option. The Underwriters may also make naked short sales of Common Shares in excess of the over-allotment option. The Underwriters must close out any naked short position by purchasing Common Shares in the open market. A naked short position is more likely to be created if the Underwriters are concerned that there may be downward pressure on the price of Common Shares in the open market after pricing that could adversely affect investors who purchase in the offering. Stabilizing transactions consist of bids for or purchases of Common Shares in the open market while the offering is in progress.
The Underwriters may impose a penalty bid. Penalty bids permit the Underwriters to reclaim a selling concession from a syndicate member when Common Shares originally sold by that syndicate member are re-sold into the market during a specified period after the distribution of the Common Shares has been completed, including when Citigroup Global Markets Inc. repurchases Common Shares originally sold by the syndicate member in order to cover syndicate short positions or make stabilizing purchases.
54
Any of these activities may have the effect of preventing or retarding a decline in the market price of Common Shares. They may also cause the price of Common Shares to be higher than the price that would otherwise exist in the open market in the absence of these transactions. The Underwriters may conduct these transactions on the New York Stock Exchange or in the over-the-counter market, or otherwise. If the Underwriters commence any of these transactions, they may discontinue them at any time.
A prospectus in electronic format may be made available on the websites maintained by one or more of the Underwriters. Other than the prospectus in electronic format, the information on any such Underwriters website is not part of this prospectus. The representatives may agree to allocate a number of Common Shares to the Underwriters for sale to their online brokerage account holders. The representatives will allocate Common Shares to Underwriters that may make Internet distributions on the same basis as other allocations. In addition, Common Shares may be sold by the Underwriters to securities dealers who resell Common Shares to online brokerage account holders.
The Fund anticipates that, from time to time, certain Underwriters may act as brokers or dealers in connection with the execution of the Funds portfolio transactions after they have ceased to be Underwriters and, subject to certain restrictions, may act as brokers while they are Underwriters. Certain Underwriters have performed investment banking and advisory services for NAM and its affiliates from time to time, for which they have received customary fees and expenses. Certain Underwriters may, from time to time, engage in transactions with or perform services for NAM and its affiliates in the ordinary course of business.
In connection with the MDP Acquisition of Nuveen Investments in November 2007, certain Underwriters or their affiliates, including Citigroup Global Markets Inc. and Deutsche Bank Securities Inc., acquired an equity interest in Nuveen Investments, the parent of NAM.
The Fund and NAM each have agreed to indemnify the Underwriters against certain liabilities, including liabilities under the Securities Act, or to contribute to payments the Underwriters may be required to make because of any of those liabilities.
Prior to the public offering of Common Shares, NAM purchased Common Shares from the Fund in an amount satisfying the net worth requirements of Section 14(a) of the 1940 Act.
The principal business address of Citigroup Global Markets Inc. is 388 Greenwich Street, New York, New York 10013. The principal business address of Nuveen Investments, LLC is 333 West Wacker Driver, Chicago, Illinois 60606.
The custodian of the Funds assets is State Street Bank and Trust Company, One Lincoln Street, Boston, Massachusetts 02110. The Custodian performs custodial, fund accounting and portfolio accounting services. The Funds transfer, shareholder services and dividend paying agent is also State Street Bank and Trust Company, 250 Royall Street, Canton, Massachusetts 02021.
Certain legal matters in connection with the Common Shares will be passed upon for the Fund by Bell, Boyd & Lloyd LLP, Chicago, Illinois, and for the Underwriters by Simpson Thacher & Bartlett LLP, New York, New York. Bell, Boyd & Lloyd LLP and Simpson Thacher & Bartlett LLP may rely as to certain matters of Massachusetts law on the opinion of Bingham McCutchen LLP, Boston, Massachusetts. Ernst & Young LLP, an independent registered public accounting firm, provides auditing services to the Fund.
55
STATEMENT OF ADDITIONAL INFORMATION
Page | ||
3 | ||
5 | ||
7 | ||
21 | ||
34 | ||
35 | ||
37 | ||
39 | ||
41 | ||
42 | ||
46 | ||
46 | ||
47 | ||
48 | ||
49 | ||
A-1 | ||
B-1 |
56
11,500,000 Shares
Nuveen Municipal Value Fund 2
Common Shares
$15.00 per share
PROSPECTUS
February 24, 2009
Citi
Nuveen Investments, LLC
Ameriprise Advisor Services, Inc.
BB&T Capital Markets
Deutsche Bank Securities
J.J.B. Hilliard, W.L. Lyons, LLC
HSBC
Janney Montgomery Scott LLC
Ladenburg Thalmann & Co. Inc.
Maxim Group LLC
Oppenheimer & Co.
RBC Capital Markets
Southwest Securities
Stifel Nicolaus
EPR-NUW-0209D
Until March 21, 2009 (25 days after the date of this prospectus), all dealers that buy, sell or trade the Common Shares, whether or not participating in this offering, may be required to deliver a prospectus. This is in addition to the dealers obligation to deliver a prospectus when acting as underwriters and with respect to their unsold allotments or subscriptions.
NUVEEN MUNICIPAL VALUE FUND 2
STATEMENT OF ADDITIONAL INFORMATION
Nuveen Municipal Value Fund 2 (the Fund) is a newly organized, diversified, closed-end management investment company.
This Statement of Additional Information relating to common shares of the Fund (Common Shares) does not constitute a prospectus, but should be read in conjunction with the Funds prospectus relating thereto dated February 24, 2009 (the Prospectus). This Statement of Additional Information does not include all information that a prospective investor should consider before purchasing Common Shares. Investors should obtain and read the Funds Prospectus prior to purchasing such shares. A copy of the Funds Prospectus, annual and semi-annual reports to shareholders when available, and other information about the Fund may be obtained without charge by calling (800) 257-8787, by writing to the Fund or from the Funds website (http://www.nuveen.com). The information contained in, or that can be accessed through, the Funds website is not part of the Funds Prospectus or this Statement of Additional Information. You may also obtain a copy of the Funds Prospectus on the Securities and Exchange Commissions website (http://www.sec.gov). Capitalized terms used but not defined in this Statement of Additional Information have the meanings ascribed to them in the Prospectus.
1
Page | ||
3 | ||
5 | ||
7 | ||
21 | ||
34 | ||
35 | ||
37 | ||
39 | ||
41 | ||
42 | ||
46 | ||
46 | ||
47 | ||
48 | ||
49 | ||
A-1 | ||
B-1 |
This Statement of Additional Information is dated February 24, 2009.
2
INVESTMENT OBJECTIVES AND POLICIES
The Funds primary investment objective is to provide current income exempt from regular federal income tax. The Funds secondary investment objective is to enhance portfolio value and total return.
Under normal circumstances and as a fundamental policy, the Fund will invest at least 80% of its net assets in municipal securities, the income from which is exempt from regular federal income tax. Generally, the Fund expects to be fully invested (at least 95% of its assets) in such municipal securities. The Fund will not invest in municipal securities that pay interest that is taxable under the federal alternative minimum tax applicable to individuals (AMT Bonds).
The Fund seeks to achieve its investment objectives by investing in a portfolio of municipal securities (defined below), a significant portion of which NAM believes are underrated and undervalued, based upon its bottom-up, research-driven investment strategy. Underrated municipal securities are those whose ratings do not, in NAMs opinion, reflect their true creditworthiness. Undervalued municipal securities are securities that, in NAMs opinion, are worth more than the value assigned to them in the marketplace. NAM believes its value oriented strategy offers the opportunity to construct a well diversified portfolio of municipal securities that has the potential to outperform major municipal market benchmarks over the longer term. A municipal securitys market value generally will depend upon its form, maturity, call features, and interest rate, as well as the issuers credit quality or credit rating, all such factors examined in the context of the municipal securities market and interest rate levels and trends. NAM may at times believe that securities associated with a particular municipal market sector (for example, electric utilities), or issued by a particular municipal issuer, are undervalued. NAM may purchase such a security for the Funds portfolio because it represents a market sector or issuer that NAM considers undervalued, even if the value of the particular security appears to be consistent with the value of similar securities. Municipal securities of particular types (e.g., hospital bonds, industrial revenue bonds or securities issued by a particular municipal issuer) may be undervalued because there is a temporary excess of supply in that market sector, or because of a general decline in the market price of municipal securities of the market sector for reasons that do not apply to the particular municipal securities that are considered undervalued. The Funds investment in underrated or undervalued municipal securities will be based on NAMs belief that their yield is higher than that available on securities bearing equivalent levels of interest rate risk, credit risk and other forms of risk, and that their prices will ultimately rise (relative to the market) to reflect their true value. The Fund attempts to increase its portfolio value relative to the municipal bond market by prudent selection of municipal securities regardless of the direction the market may move. Any capital appreciation realized by the Fund will generally result in the distribution of taxable capital gains to Common Shareholders.
The Fund may invest in various municipal securities, including municipal bonds and notes, other securities issued to finance and refinance public projects, and other related securities and derivative instruments creating exposure to municipal securities that provide for the payment of interest income that is exempt from regular federal income tax (collectively, municipal securities). Municipal securities are often issued by state and local governmental entities to finance or refinance public projects, such as roads, schools, and water supply systems. Municipal securities also may be issued on behalf of private entities or for private activities, such as housing, medical and educational facility construction, or for privately owned transportation, electric utility and pollution control projects. Municipal securities may be issued on a long-term basis to provide long-term financing. The repayment of such debt may be secured generally by a pledge of the full faith and credit taxing power of the issuer, a limited or special tax, or any other revenue source, including project revenues, which may include tolls, fees and other user charges, lease payments, and mortgage payments. Municipal securities also may be issued to finance projects on a short-term interim basis, anticipating repayment with the proceeds of the later issuance of long-term debt. The Fund may purchase municipal securities in the form of bonds, notes, leases or certificates of participation; structured as callable or non-callable; with payment forms that include fixed coupon, variable rate, zero coupon, capital appreciation bonds, tender-option bonds, and residual interest bonds or inverse floating rate securities. Such municipal securities may also be acquired through investments in pooled vehicles, partnerships, or other investment companies.
3
The Fund also may invest in certain derivative instruments in pursuit of its investment objectives. Such instruments include financial futures contracts, swap contracts (including interest rate and credit default swaps), options on financial futures, options on swap contracts, or other derivative instruments. NAM may use derivative instruments to seek to enhance return, to hedge some of the risk of the Funds investments in municipal securities or as a substitute for a position in the underlying asset. These types of strategies may generate taxable income.
Under normal circumstances:
| The Fund will invest at least 80% of its net assets in investment grade quality municipal securities. Investment grade quality securities are those that are, at the time of investment, either (i) rated by one of the nationally recognized statistical rating organizations (NRSROs) that rate such securities within the four highest letter grades (including BBB or Baa or better by Standard & Poors Corporation Ratings Group, a division of The McGraw-Hill Companies (S&P), Moodys Investors Services, Inc. (Moodys) or Fitch Ratings, Inc. (Fitch)), or (ii) unrated by any NRSRO but judged to be of comparable quality by NAM. Investment grade securities may include split-rated securities. The Fund estimates that upon completing its invest-up, the average credit quality of its investments will be A+. |
| The Fund may invest up to 20% of its net assets in municipal securities that at the time of investment are rated below investment grade or are unrated by any NRSRO but judged to be of comparable quality by NAM. The Fund may invest up to 10% of its net assets in municipal securities rated below B-/B3 or that are unrated by any NRSRO but judged to be of comparable quality by NAM; however, the Fund does not currently intend to invest more than 5% of its net assets in such municipal securities. This means that the Fund may invest up to 5% of its net assets in municipal securities, the issuer of which is having financial difficulties, such as being in default on its obligations to pay principal or interest thereon when due or that is involved in bankruptcy or insolvency proceedings (such securities are commonly referred to as distressed securities). Municipal securities of below investment grade quality are regarded as having predominately speculative characteristics with respect to capacity to pay interest and repay principal, and are commonly referred to as junk bonds. |
| As a fundamental policy, the Fund will not leverage its capital structure by issuing senior securities such as preferred shares or debt instruments. However, the Fund may borrow for temporary, emergency or other purposes as permitted by the Investment Company Act of 1940, as amended (the 1940 Act), and invest in certain instruments, including inverse floating rate securities, that have the economic effect of financial leverage. |
| The Fund will not invest more than 15% of its net assets in residual interest bonds or inverse floating rate securities. The Fund does not currently intend to invest more than 5% of its net assets in such bonds or securities. |
| The Fund may invest up to 15% of its net assets in municipal securities that, at the time of investment, are illiquid (i.e., securities that are not readily marketable). |
| The Fund will generally invest in municipal securities with intermediate or long-term maturities. Initially, the Fund is expected to have a weighted average maturity of 15 to 30 years. The weighted average maturity of securities held by the Fund may be shortened or lengthened, depending on market conditions and on an assessment by the Funds portfolio manager of which segments of the municipal securities market offer the most favorable relative investment values and opportunities for tax-exempt income and total return. |
| The Fund will not invest more than 25% of its net assets in municipal securities in any one industry or in any one state of origin and no more than 5% of its net assets in any one issuer. |
| The Fund will not invest more than 10% of its net assets in tobacco settlement bonds. Tobacco settlement bonds are secured or payable solely from the collateralization of the proceeds from class action or other litigation against the tobacco industry. |
4
The credit quality policies noted above apply only at the time a security is purchased, and the Fund is not required to dispose of a security in the event that a rating agency downgrades its assessment of the credit characteristics of a particular issue. In determining whether to retain or sell such a security, NAM may consider such factors as NAMs assessment of the credit quality of the issuer of such security, the price at which such security could be sold and the rating, if any, assigned to such security by other rating agencies. A general description of the ratings of S&P, Moodys and Fitch of municipal securities is set forth in Appendix A to this Statement of Additional Information.
A more complete description of the Funds investment objectives and policies is set forth in the Funds Prospectus.
Except as described below, the Fund, as a fundamental policy, may not, without the approval of the holders of a majority of the outstanding Common Shares:
(1) Issue senior securities, as defined in the Investment Company Act of 1940, as amended (the 1940 Act), except as otherwise described in the Prospectus;
(2) Borrow money, except as permitted by the 1940 Act and exemptive orders granted under the 1940 Act;
(3) Act as underwriter of another issuers securities, except to the extent that the Fund may be deemed to be an underwriter within the meaning of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended (the Securities Act), in connection with the purchase and sale of portfolio securities;
(4) Invest more than 25% of its total assets in securities of issuers in any one industry, provided, however, that such limitation shall not apply to municipal securities other than those municipal securities backed only by the assets and revenues of non-governmental users;1
(5) Purchase or sell real estate, but this shall not prevent the Fund from investing in municipal securities secured by real estate or interests therein or foreclosing upon and selling such real estate;
(6) Purchase or sell physical commodities unless acquired as a result of ownership of securities or other instruments (but this shall not prevent the Fund from purchasing or selling options, futures contracts or derivative instruments or from investing in securities or other instruments backed by physical commodities);
(7) Make loans, except as permitted by the 1940 Act and exemptive orders granted under the 1940 Act;2 and
(8) With respect to 75% of the value of the Funds total assets, purchase any securities (other than obligations issued or guaranteed by the U.S. Government or by its agencies or instrumentalities), if as a result more than 5% of the Funds total assets would then be invested in securities of a single issuer or if as a result the Fund would hold more than 10% of the outstanding voting securities of any single issuer.
1 | For purposes of this restriction, governments and their political subdivisions are not members of any industry. |
2 | Section 21 of the 1940 Act makes it unlawful for a registered investment company, like the Fund, to lend money or other property if (i) the investment companys policies set forth in its registration statement do not permit such a loan or (ii) the borrower controls or is under common control with the investment company. |
5
For the purpose of applying the limitation set forth in subparagraph (8) above, a governmental issuer shall be deemed the single issuer of a security when its assets and revenues are separate from other governmental entities and its securities are backed only by its assets and revenues. Similarly, in the case of a non-governmental issuer, if the security is backed only by the assets and revenues of the non-governmental issuer, then such non-governmental issuer would be deemed to be the single issuer. Where a security is also backed by the enforceable obligation of a superior or unrelated governmental or other entity (other than a bond insurer), it shall also be included in the computation of securities owned that are issued by such governmental or other entity. Where a security is guaranteed by a governmental entity or some other facility, such as a bank guarantee or letter of credit, such a guarantee or letter of credit would be considered a separate security and would be treated as an issue of such government, other entity or bank. When a municipal security is insured by bond insurance, it shall not be considered a security that is issued or guaranteed by the insurer; instead, the issuer of such municipal security will be determined in accordance with the principles set forth above. The foregoing restrictions do not limit the percentage of the Funds assets that may be invested in municipal securities insured by any given insurer.
Under the 1940 Act, the Fund may invest only up to 10% of its total assets in the aggregate in shares of other investment companies and only up to 5% of its total assets in any one investment company, provided the investment does not represent more than 3% of the voting stock of the acquired investment company at the time such shares are purchased. As a stockholder in any investment company, the Fund will bear its ratable share of that investment companys expenses, and will remain subject to payment of the Funds management, advisory and administrative fees with respect to assets so invested. Holders of Common Shares (Common Shareholders) would therefore be subject to duplicative expenses to the extent the Fund invests in other investment companies. In addition, the securities of other investment companies may be leveraged and therefore will be subject to the same leverage risks described herein.
In addition to the foregoing fundamental investment policies, the Fund is also subject to the following non-fundamental restrictions and policies, which may be changed by the Board of Trustees. The Fund may not:
(1) sell securities short, unless the Fund owns or has the right to obtain securities equivalent in kind and amount to the securities sold at no added cost, and provided that transactions in options, futures contracts, options on futures contracts, or other derivative instruments are not deemed to constitute selling securities short;
(2) purchase securities of open-end or closed-end investment companies except in compliance with the 1940 Act or any exemptive relief obtained thereunder;
(3) enter into futures contracts or related options or forward contracts, if more than 30% of the Funds net assets would be represented by futures contracts or more than 5% of the Funds net assets would be committed to initial margin deposits and premiums on futures contracts and related options; and
(4) purchase securities of companies for the purpose of exercising control, except as otherwise permitted in the Funds Prospectus and Statement of Additional Information.
The restrictions and other limitations set forth above will apply only at the time of purchase of securities and will not be considered violated unless an excess or deficiency occurs or exists immediately after and as a result of an acquisition of securities.
The Fund may be subject to certain restrictions imposed by either guidelines of one or more NRSROs that may issue ratings for commercial paper or notes, or, if the Fund borrows from a lender, by the lender. These guidelines may impose asset coverage or portfolio composition requirements that are more stringent than those imposed on the Fund by the 1940 Act. If these restrictions were to apply, it is not anticipated that these covenants or guidelines would impede NAM from managing the Funds portfolio in accordance with the Funds investment objectives and policies.
6
In addition to and supplementing the Prospectus section, The Funds InvestmentsPortfolio Composition and Other Information, the Funds portfolio will be composed principally of the investments described below.
MUNICIPAL SECURITIES
Municipal securities are either general obligation or revenue bonds and typically are issued to finance public projects (such as roads or public buildings), to pay general operating expenses or to refinance outstanding debt.
Municipal securities may also be issued on behalf of private entities or for private activities, such as housing, medical and educational facility construction, or for privately owned industrial development and pollution control projects. General obligation bonds are backed by the full faith and credit, or taxing authority, of the issuer and may be repaid from any revenue source; revenue bonds may be repaid only from the revenues of a specific facility or source. The Fund may also purchase municipal securities that represent lease obligations, municipal notes, pre-refunded municipal bonds, private activity bonds, tender option bonds and other forms of municipal bonds and securities.
Municipal securities of below investment grade quality (Ba/BB or below) are commonly referred to as junk bonds. Issuers of securities rated Ba/BB or B are regarded as having current capacity to make principal and interest payments but are subject to business, financial or economic conditions which could adversely affect such payment capacity. Municipal securities rated Baa or BBB or above are considered investment grade securities; municipal securities rated Baa are considered medium grade obligations that lack outstanding investment characteristics and have speculative characteristics, while municipal securities rated BBB are regarded as having adequate capacity to pay principal and interest. Municipal securities rated Aaa or AAA in which the Fund may invest may have been so rated on the basis of the existence of insurance guaranteeing the timely payment, when due, of all principal and interest. Municipal securities rated below investment grade quality are obligations of issuers that are considered predominately speculative with respect to the issuers capacity to pay interest and repay principal according to the terms of the obligation and, therefore, carry greater investment risk, including the possibility of issuer default and bankruptcy and increased market price volatility. Municipal securities rated below investment grade tend to be less marketable than higher-quality securities because the market for them is less broad. The market for municipal securities unrated by any NRSRO is even narrower. During periods of thin trading in these markets, the spread between bid and asked prices is likely to increase significantly and the Fund may have greater difficulty selling its portfolio securities. The Fund will be more dependent on NAMs research and analysis when investing in these securities.
The Fund may invest up to 10% of its net assets in distressed securities; however, the Fund does not currently intend to invest more than 5% of its net assets in distressed securities. Distressed securities are securities issued by companies having financial difficulties, such as being in default on their obligations to pay principal or interest thereon when due or that are involved in bankruptcy or insolvency proceedings. The issuers of such securities may be in transition, out of favor, financially leveraged or troubled, or potentially troubled, and may be or have recently been involved in major strategic actions, restructurings, bankruptcy, reorganization or liquidation. These characteristics of these issuers can cause their securities to be particularly risky, although they also may offer the potential for high returns. These issuers securities may be considered speculative, and the ability of the issuers to pay their debts on schedule could be affected by adverse interest rate movements, changes in the general economic climate, economic factors affecting a particular industry or specific developments within the issuers. Distressed securities frequently do not produce income while they are outstanding and may require the Fund to bear certain extraordinary expenses in order to protect and recover its investment.
Investments in lower rated or unrated securities may present special tax issues for the Fund to the extent that the issuers of these securities default on their obligations pertaining thereto, and the federal income tax consequences to the Fund as a holder of such distressed securities may not be clear.
7
A general description of Moodys, S&Ps and Fitchs ratings of municipal securities is set forth in Appendix A hereto. The ratings of Moodys, S&P and Fitch represent their opinions as to the quality of the municipal securities they rate. It should be emphasized, however, that ratings are general and are not absolute standards of quality. Consequently, municipal securities with the same maturity, coupon and rating may have different yields while obligations of the same maturity and coupon with different ratings may have the same yield.
The Fund will generally invest in municipal securities with intermediate or long-term maturities. Initially, the Fund is expected to have a weighted average maturity of 15 to 30 years. The weighted average maturity of securities held by the Fund may be shortened or lengthened, depending on market conditions and on an assessment by the Funds portfolio manager of which segments of the municipal securities market offer the most favorable relative investment values and opportunities for tax-exempt income and total return. During temporary defensive periods (e.g., times when, in NAMs opinion, temporary imbalances of supply and demand or other temporary dislocations in the tax-exempt securities market adversely affect the price at which long-term or intermediate-term municipal securities are available), and in order to keep the Funds cash fully invested, including the period during which the net proceeds of an offering are being invested, the Fund may invest any percentage of its net assets in short-term investments including high quality, short-term securities that may be either tax-exempt or taxable and up to 10% of its net assets in securities of other open or closed-end investment companies that invest primarily in municipal securities of the type in which the Fund may invest directly. The Fund intends to invest in taxable short-term investments only in the event that suitable tax-exempt short-term investments are not available at reasonable prices and yields, as determined by NAM, and in amounts limited to ensure that the Fund is eligible to pay exempt-interest dividends (as described in Tax Matters below). Tax-exempt short-term investments include various obligations issued by state and local governmental issuers, such as tax-exempt notes (bond anticipation notes, tax anticipation notes and revenue anticipation notes or other such municipal bonds maturing in three years or less from the date of issuance) and municipal commercial paper. The Fund will invest only in taxable short-term investments which are U.S. government securities or securities rated within the highest grade by Moodys, S&P or Fitch, and which mature within one year from the date of purchase or carry a variable or floating rate of interest. See Appendix A for a general description of Moodys, S&Ps and Fitchs ratings of securities in such categories. Taxable short-term investments of the Fund may include certificates of deposit issued by U.S. banks with assets of at least $1 billion, or commercial paper or corporate notes, bonds or debentures with a remaining maturity of one year or less, or repurchase agreements. To the extent the Fund invests in taxable investments, the Fund will not at such times be in a position to achieve its investment objective of tax-exempt income.
The foregoing policies as to ratings of portfolio investments will apply only at the time of the purchase of a security, and the Fund will not be required to dispose of securities in the event Moodys, S&P or Fitch downgrades its assessment of the credit characteristics of a particular issuer.
Obligations of issuers of municipal securities are subject to the provisions of bankruptcy, insolvency and other laws affecting the rights and remedies of creditors. In addition, the obligations of such issuers may become subject to the laws enacted in the future by Congress, state legislatures or referenda extending the time for payment of principal or interest, or both, or imposing other constraints upon enforcement of such obligations or upon municipalities to levy taxes. There is also the possibility that, as a result of legislation or other conditions, the power or ability of any issuer to pay, when due, the principal of, and interest on, its municipal securities may be materially affected.
The Fund may invest up to 25% of its net assets in municipal securities in any one industry or in any one state of origin. In addition, subject to the concentration limits of the Funds investment policies and guidelines, the Fund may invest a significant portion of its net assets in certain sectors of the municipal securities market, such as hospitals and other health care facilities, charter schools and other private educational facilities, special taxing districts and start-up utility districts and private activity bonds including industrial development bonds on behalf of transportation companies such as airline companies, whose credit quality and performance may be more susceptible to economic, business, political, regulatory and other developments than other sectors of municipal
8
issuers. If the Fund invests a significant portion of its net assets in the sectors noted above, the Funds performance may be subject to additional risk and variability. To the extent that the Fund focuses its net assets in the hospital and healthcare facilities sector, for example, the Fund will be subject to risks associated with such sector, including adverse government regulation and reduction in reimbursement rates, as well as government approval of products and services and intense competition. Securities issued with respect to special taxing districts will be subject to various risks, including real-estate development related risks and taxpayer concentration risk. Further, the fees, special taxes or tax allocations and other revenues established to secure the obligations of securities issued with respect to special taxing districts are generally limited as to the rate or amount that may be levied or assessed and are not subject to increase pursuant to rate covenants or municipal or corporate guarantees. Charter schools and other private educational facilities will be subject to various risks, including the reversal of legislation authorizing or funding charter schools, the failure to renew or secure a charter, the failure of a funding entity to appropriate necessary funds and competition from alternatives such as voucher programs. Issuers of municipal utility securities can be significantly affected by government regulation, financing difficulties, supply and demand of services or fuel and natural resource conservation. The transportation sector, including airports, airlines, ports and other transportation facilities, can be significantly affected by changes in the economy, fuel prices, labor relations, insurance costs and government regulation.
Tobacco Settlement Bonds. Included in the general category of municipal securities described in the Funds prospectus are tobacco settlement bonds. The Fund may invest up to 10% of its net assets in tobacco settlement bonds, which are municipal securities that are backed solely by expected revenues to be derived from lawsuits involving tobacco related deaths and illnesses which were settled between certain states and American tobacco companies. Tobacco settlement bonds are secured by an issuing states proportionate share in the Master Settlement Agreement (MSA). The MSA is an agreement, reached out of court in November 1998 between 46 states and nearly all of the U.S. tobacco manufacturers. The MSA provides for annual payments in perpetuity by the manufacturers to the states in exchange for releasing all claims against the manufacturers and a pledge of no further litigation. Tobacco manufacturers pay into a master escrow trust based on their market share, and each state receives a fixed percentage of the payment as set forth in the MSA. A number of states have securitized the future flow of those payments by selling bonds pursuant to indentures or through distinct governmental entities created for such purpose. The principal and interest payments on the bonds are backed by the future revenue flow related to the MSA. Annual payments on the bonds, and thus risk to the Fund, are highly dependent on the receipt of future settlement payments to the state or its governmental entity.
The actual amount of future settlement payments, is further dependent on many factors, including, but not limited to, annual domestic cigarette shipments, reduced cigarette consumption, increased taxes on cigarettes, inflation, financial capability of tobacco companies, continuing litigation and the possibility of tobacco manufacturer bankruptcy. The initial and annual payments made by the tobacco companies will be adjusted based on a number of factors, the most important of which is domestic cigarette consumption. If the volume of cigarettes shipped in the U.S. by manufacturers participating in the settlement decreases significantly, payments due from them will also decrease. Demand for cigarettes in the U.S. could continue to decline due to price increases needed to recoup the cost of payments by tobacco companies. Demand could also be affected by: anti-smoking campaigns, tax increases, reduced advertising, enforcement of laws prohibiting sales to minors; elimination of certain sales venues such as vending machines; and the spread of local ordinances restricting smoking in public places. As a result, payments made by tobacco manufacturers could be negatively impacted if the decrease in tobacco consumption is significantly greater than the forecasted decline. A market share loss by the MSA companies to non-MSA participating tobacco manufacturers would cause a downward adjustment in the payment amounts. A participating manufacturer filing for bankruptcy also could cause delays or reductions in bond payments. The MSA itself has been subject to legal challenges and has, to date, withstood those challenges.
The Fund intends to invest in taxable short-term investments only in the event that suitable tax-exempt short-term investments are not available at reasonable prices and yields. Investment in taxable short-term investments would result in a portion of your dividends being subject to regular federal income tax. Such
9
transactions will be used solely to reduce risk. There can be no assurance that such strategies will be successful. For more information, see Tax Matters.
Municipal Leases and Certificates of Participation. Also included within the general category of municipal securities described in the Funds Prospectus are municipal leases, certificates of participation in such lease obligations or installment purchase contract obligations (hereinafter collectively called Municipal Lease Obligations) of municipal authorities or entities. Although a Municipal Lease Obligation does not constitute a general obligation of the municipality for which the municipalitys taxing power is pledged, a Municipal Lease Obligation is ordinarily backed by the municipalitys covenant to budget for, appropriate and make the payments due under the Municipal Lease Obligation. However, certain Municipal Lease Obligations contain nonappropriation clauses which provide that the municipality has no obligation to make lease or installment purchase payments in future years unless money is appropriated for such purpose on a yearly basis. In the case of a non-appropriation lease, the Funds ability to recover under the lease in the event of non-appropriation or default will be limited solely to the repossession of the leased property, without recourse to the general credit of the lessee, and disposition or releasing of the property might prove difficult. To the extent that the Fund invests in unrated municipal leases or participates in such leases, the credit quality rating and risk of cancellation of such unrated leases will be monitored on an ongoing basis. In order to reduce this risk, the Fund will only purchase Municipal Lease Obligations where NAM believes the issuer has a strong incentive to continue making appropriations until maturity.
HEDGING STRATEGIES AND OTHER USES OF DERIVATIVES
The Fund may periodically engage in hedging transactions, and otherwise use various types of derivative instruments, described below, to reduce risk, to effectively gain particular market exposures, to seek to enhance returns, and to reduce transaction costs, among other reasons.
Hedging is a term used for various methods of seeking to preserve portfolio capital value by offsetting price changes in one investment through making another investment whose price should tend to move in the opposite direction.
A derivative is a financial contract whose value is based on (or derived from) a traditional security (such as a stock or a bond), an asset (such as a commodity like gold), or a market index (such as the Lehman Municipal Bond Index). Some forms of derivatives may trade on exchanges, while non-standardized derivatives, which tend to be more specialized and complex, trade in over-the-counter or a one-on-one basis. It may be desirable and possible in various market environments to partially hedge the portfolio against fluctuations in market value due to market interest rate or credit quality fluctuations, or instead to gain a desired investment exposure, by entering into various types of derivative transactions, including financial futures and index futures as well as related put and call options on such instruments, structured notes, or interest rate swaps on taxable or tax-exempt securities or indexes (which may be forward-starting), credit default swaps, and options on interest rate swaps, among others.
These transactions present certain risks. In particular, the imperfect correlation between price movements in the futures contract and price movements in the securities being hedged creates the possibility that losses on the hedge by the Fund may be greater than gains in the value of the securities in the Funds portfolio. In addition, futures and options markets may not be liquid in all circumstances. As a result, in volatile markets, the Fund may not be able to close out the transaction without incurring losses substantially greater than the initial deposit. Losses due to hedging transactions will reduce the Funds net asset value which in turn could reduce yield. Net gains, if any, from hedging and other portfolio transactions will be distributed as taxable distributions to shareholders. The Fund will not make any investment (whether an initial premium or deposit or a subsequent deposit) other than as necessary to close a prior investment if, immediately after such investment, the sum of the amount of its premiums and deposits would exceed 15% of the Funds net assets. The Fund will invest in these instruments only in markets believed by NAM to be active and sufficiently liquid. Successful implementation of most hedging strategies would generate taxable income.
10
Both parties entering into a financial futures contract are required to post an initial deposit, typically equal to from 1% to 5% of the total contract price. Typically, option holders enter into offsetting closing transactions to enable settlement in cash rather than take delivery of the position in the future of the underlying security. Interest rate swap and credit default swap transactions are typically entered on a net basis, meaning that the two payment streams are netted out with the Fund receiving or paying, as the case may be, only the net amount of the two payments. The Fund will only sell covered futures contracts, which means that the Fund segregates assets equal to the amount of the obligations.
Bond Futures and Forward Contracts. Bond futures contracts are agreements in which one party agrees to deliver to the other an amount of cash equal to a specific dollar amount times the difference between the value of a specific bond at the close of the last trading day of the contract and the price at which the agreement is made. No physical delivery of securities is made. Forward contracts are agreements to purchase or sell a specified security or currency at a specified future date (or within a specified time period) and price set at the time of the contract. Forward contracts are usually entered into with banks, foreign exchange dealers or broker-dealers and are usually for less than one year, but may be renewed. Forward contracts are generally purchased or sold in over-the-counter (OTC) transactions.
Under regulations of the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (the CFTC) currently in effect, which may change from time to time, with respect to futures contracts purchased by the Fund, the Fund will set aside in a segregated account liquid securities with a value at least equal to the value of instruments underlying such futures contracts less the amount of initial margin on deposit for such contracts. The current view of the staff of the Securities and Exchange Commission is that the Funds long and short positions in futures contracts must be collateralized with cash or certain liquid assets held in a segregated account or covered in order to counter the impact of any potential leveraging.
Parties to a futures contract must make initial margin deposits to secure performance of the contract. There are also requirements to make variation margin deposits from time to time as the value of the futures contract fluctuates.
Options on Currency Futures Contracts. Currency futures contracts are standardized agreements between two parties to buy and sell a specific amount of a currency at a set price on a future date. While similar to currency forward contracts, currency futures contracts are traded on commodities exchanges and are standardized as to contract size and delivery date. An option on a currency futures contract gives the holder of the option the right to buy or sell a position in a currency futures contract, at a set price and on or before a specified expiration date. Trading options on international (non-U.S.) currency futures contracts is relatively new. The ability to establish and close out positions on such options is subject to the maintenance of a liquid secondary market.
The Fund and NAM have claimed, respectively, an exclusion from registration as a commodity pool operator and as a commodity trading advisor under the Commodity Exchange Act (the CEA) and, therefore, neither the Fund, NAM, nor their officers and directors, are subject to the registration requirements of the CEA or regulation as a commodity pool operator or a commodity trading adviser under the CEA. The Fund reserves the right to engage in transactions involving futures and options thereon to the extent allowed by CFTC regulations in effect from time to time and in accordance with the Funds policies. In addition, certain provisions of the Code (as defined under Tax MattersFederal Income Tax Matters) may limit the extent to which the Fund may enter into futures contracts or engage in options transactions. See Tax Matters.
Index Futures. An index future is a bilateral agreement pursuant to which two parties agree to take or make delivery of an amount of cash-rather than any security-equal to a specified dollar amount times the difference between the index value at the close of the last trading day of the contract and the price at which the index future was originally written. Thus, an index future is similar to traditional financial futures except that settlement is made in cash. The Fund may invest in index futures or similar contracts if available in a form, with market liquidity and settlement and payment features, acceptable to the Fund.
11
Index Options. The Fund may also purchase put or call options on U.S. Government or tax-exempt bond index futures and enter into closing transactions with respect to such options to terminate an existing position. Options on index futures are similar to options on debt instruments except that an option on an index future gives the purchaser the right, in return for the premium paid, to assume a position in an index contract rather than an underlying security at a specified exercise price at any time during the period of the option. Upon exercise of the option, the delivery of the futures position by the writer of the option to the holder of the option will be accompanied by delivery of the accumulated balance of the writers futures margin account which represents the amount by which the market price of the index futures contract, at exercise, is less than the exercise price of the option on the index future.
Bond index futures and options transactions would be subject to risks similar to transactions in financial futures and options thereon as described above.
In addition to the general risks associated with hedging strategies and the use of derivatives set forth above, there are several risks associated with the use of futures contracts and futures options as hedging techniques.
Futures contracts on U.S. Government securities historically have reacted to an increase or decrease in interest rates in a manner similar to that in which the underlying U.S. Government securities reacted. To the extent, however, that the Fund enters into such futures contracts, the value of such futures will not vary in direct proportion to the value of the Funds holdings of municipal securities. Thus, the anticipated spread between the price of the futures contract and the hedged security may be distorted due to differences in the nature of the markets. The spread also may be distorted by differences in initial and variation margin requirements, the liquidity of such markets and the participation of speculators in such markets.
Futures exchanges may limit the amount of fluctuation permitted in certain futures contract prices during a single trading day. The daily limit establishes the maximum amount that the price of a futures contract may vary either up or down from the previous days settlement price at the end of the current trading session. Once the daily limit has been reached in a futures contract subject to the limit, no more trades may be made on that day at a price beyond that limit. The daily limit governs only price movements during a particular trading day and therefore does not limit potential losses because the limit may work to prevent the liquidation of unfavorable positions. For example, futures prices have occasionally moved to the daily limit for several consecutive trading days with little or no trading, thereby preventing prompt liquidation of positions and subjecting some holders of futures contracts to substantial losses.
Interest Rate Transactions and Total Return Swaps. The Fund may enter into various interest rate transactions, such as interest rate swaps and the purchase or sale of interest rate caps and floors, as well as total return swaps and other debt related derivative instruments. The Fund may enter into these transactions in order to seek to hedge the value of the Funds portfolio to seek to increase its return, to preserve a return or spread on a particular investment or portion of its portfolio, or to seek to protect against any increase in the price of securities the Fund anticipates purchasing at a later date.
Interest rate swaps involve the exchange by the Fund with a counterparty of their respective commitments to pay or receive interest, such as an exchange of fixed-rate payments for floating rate payments. In a total return swap, the Fund exchanges with another party their respective commitments to pay or receive the total return of an underlying asset and a floating local short-term interest rate.
The Fund may use an interest rate cap, which would require it to pay a premium to the cap counterparty and would entitle it, to the extent that a specified variable rate index exceeds a predetermined fixed rate, to receive from the counterparty payment of the difference based on the notional amount. The Fund would use interest rate swaps or caps only with the intent to reduce or eliminate the risk that an increase in short-term interest rates could have on Common Share net earnings as a result of leverage.
12
The Fund will usually enter into swaps or caps on a net basis; that is, the two payment streams will be netted out in a cash settlement on the payment date or dates specified in the instrument, with the Fund receiving or paying, as the case may be, only the net amount of the two payments. The Fund intends to maintain in a segregated account with its custodian cash or liquid securities having a value at least equal to the Funds net payment obligations under any swap transaction, marked-to-market daily. If the interest rate swap transaction is entered into on other than a net basis, the full amount of the Funds obligations will be accrued on a daily basis, and the full amount of the Funds obligations will be segregated by the Fund.
The use of swaps and caps is a highly specialized activity that involves investment techniques and risks different from those associated with ordinary portfolio security transactions, including the risk that the counterparty may be unable to fulfill the transaction. If there is a default by the other party to such a transaction, the Fund will have contractual remedies pursuant to the agreements related to the transaction. If NAM is incorrect in its forecasts of market values, interest rates and other applicable factors, the investment performance of the Fund will be unfavorably affected. Depending on the state of interest rates in general, the Funds use of interest rate swaps or caps could enhance or harm the overall performance on the Common Shares. To the extent there is a decline in interest rates, the value of the interest rate swap or cap could decline, and could result in a decline in the net asset value of the Common Shares. In addition, if short-term interest rates are lower than the Funds fixed rate of payment on the interest rate swap, the swap will reduce Common Share net earnings. If, on the other hand, short-term interest rates are higher than the fixed rate of payment on the interest rate swap, the swap will enhance Common Share net earnings. Buying interest rate caps could enhance the performance of the Common Shares by providing a maximum leverage expense. Buying interest rate caps could also decrease the net earnings of the Common Shares in the event that the premium paid by the Fund to the counterparty exceeds the additional amount the Fund would have been required to pay had it not entered into the cap agreement.
Swaps and caps do not involve the delivery of securities or other underlying assets or principal. Accordingly, the risk of loss with respect to swaps is limited to the net amount of payments that the Fund is contractually obligated to make. If the counterparty defaults, the Fund would not be able to use the anticipated net receipts under the swap or cap to offset payments. Depending on whether the Fund would be entitled to receive net payments from the counterparty on the swap or cap, such a default could negatively impact the performance of the Common Shares. In addition, because they are two-party contracts and because they may have terms of greater than seven days, swaps and caps may be considered to be illiquid. It is possible that developments in the swaps and caps markets, including potential government regulation, could adversely affect the Funds ability to terminate existing agreements or to realize amounts to be received under such agreements.
Although this will not guarantee that the counterparty does not default, the Fund will not enter into a swap or cap transaction with any counter-party that NAM believes does not have the financial resources to honor its obligation under the swap or cap transaction. Further, NAM will continually monitor the financial stability of a counterparty to a swap or cap transaction in an effort to proactively protect the Funds investments.
In addition, at the time the swap or cap transaction reaches its scheduled termination date, there is a risk that the Fund would not be able to obtain a replacement transaction or that the terms of the replacement would not be as favorable as on the expiring transaction. If this occurs, it could have a negative impact on the performance of the Funds Common Shares.
Repurchase Agreements. The Fund may enter into repurchase agreements (the purchase of a security coupled with an agreement to resell that security at a higher price) with respect to its permitted investments. The Funds repurchase agreements will provide that the value of the collateral underlying the repurchase agreement will always be at least equal to the repurchase price, including any accrued interest earned on the agreement, and will be marked-to-market daily. The agreed-upon repurchase price determines the yield during the Funds holding period.
Repurchase agreements are considered to be loans collateralized by the underlying security that is the subject of the repurchase contract. The Fund will only enter into repurchase agreements with registered securities
13
dealers or domestic banks that, in NAMs opinion, present minimal credit risk. The risk to the Fund is limited to the ability of the issuer to pay the agreed-upon repurchase price on the delivery date; however, although the value of the underlying collateral at the time the transaction is entered into always equals or exceeds the agreed-upon repurchase price, if the value of the collateral declines there is a risk of loss of both principal and interest. In the event of default, the collateral may be sold but the Fund might incur a loss if the value of the collateral declines, and might incur disposition costs or experience delays in connection with liquidating the collateral. In addition, if bankruptcy proceedings are commenced with respect to the seller of the security, realization upon the collateral by the Fund may be delayed or limited. NAM will monitor the value of the collateral at the time the transaction is entered into and at all times subsequent during the term of the repurchase agreement in an effort to determine that such value always equals or exceeds the agreed-upon repurchase price. In the event the value of the collateral declines below the repurchase price, NAM will demand additional collateral from the issuer to increase the value of the collateral to at least that of the repurchase price, including interest.
SEGREGATION OF ASSETS
As a closed-end investment company registered with the Securities and Exchange Commission, the Fund is subject to the federal securities laws, including the 1940 Act, the rules thereunder, and various interpretive provisions of the Securities and Exchange Commission and Securities and its staff. In accordance with these laws, rules and positions, the Fund must set aside (often referred to as asset segregation) liquid assets, or engage in other Securities and Exchange Commission or staff-approved measures, to cover open positions with respect to certain kinds of derivatives instruments. In the case of forward currency contracts that are not contractually required to cash settle, for example, the Fund must set aside liquid assets equal to such contracts full notional value while the positions are open. With respect to forward currency contracts that are contractually required to cash settle, however, the Fund is permitted to set aside liquid assets in an amount equal to the Funds daily marked-to-market net obligations (i.e., the Funds daily net liability) under the contracts, if any, rather than such contracts full notional value. The Fund reserves the right to modify its asset segregation policies in the future to comply with any changes in the positions from time to time articulated by the Securities and Exchange Commission or its staff regarding asset segregation.
The Fund generally will use its assets to cover its obligations as required by the 1940 Act, the rules thereunder, and applicable positions of the Securities and Exchange Commission and its staff. As a result of their segregation, such assets may not be used for other operational purposes. NAM will monitor the Funds use of derivatives and will take action as necessary for the purpose of complying with the asset segregation policy stated above. Such actions may include the sale of the Funds portfolio investments.
SHORT-TERM INVESTMENTS
Short-Term Taxable Fixed Income Securities. For temporary defensive purposes or to keep cash on hand fully invested, the Fund may invest up to 100% of its net assets in cash equivalents and short-term taxable fixed-income securities, although the Fund intends to invest in taxable short-term investments only in the event that suitable tax-exempt short-term investments are not available at reasonable prices and yields. Short-term taxable fixed income investments are defined to include, without limitation, the following:
(1) U.S. government securities, including bills, notes and bonds differing as to maturity and rates of interest that are either issued or guaranteed by the U.S. Treasury or by U.S. government agencies or instrumentalities. U.S. government agency securities include securities issued by (a) the Federal Housing Administration, Farmers Home Administration, Export-Import Bank of the United States, Small Business Administration, and the Government National Mortgage Association, whose securities are supported by the full faith and credit of the United States; (b) the Federal Home Loan Banks, Federal Intermediate Credit Banks, and the Tennessee Valley Authority, whose securities are supported by the right of the agency to borrow from the U.S. Treasury; (c) the Federal National Mortgage Association, whose securities are supported by the discretionary authority of the U.S. government to purchase certain obligations of the agency or instrumentality; and (d) the Student Loan Marketing Association, whose securities are supported
14
only by its credit. While the U.S. government provides financial support to such U.S. government-sponsored agencies or instrumentalities, no assurance can be given that it always will do so since it is not so obligated by law. The U.S. government, its agencies, and instrumentalities do not guarantee the market value of their securities. Consequently, the value of such securities may fluctuate.
(2) Certificates of Deposit issued against funds deposited in a bank or a savings and loan association. Such certificates are for a definite period of time, earn a specified rate of return, and are normally negotiable. The issuer of a certificate of deposit agrees to pay the amount deposited plus interest to the bearer of the certificate on the date specified thereon. Under current Federal Deposit Insurance Company regulations, the maximum insurance payable as to any one certificate of deposit is $250,000; therefore, certificates of deposit purchased by the Fund may not be fully insured.
(3) Repurchase agreements, which involve purchases of debt securities. At the time the Fund purchases securities pursuant to a repurchase agreement, it simultaneously agrees to resell and redeliver such securities to the seller, who also simultaneously agrees to buy back the securities at a fixed price and time. This assures a predetermined yield for the Fund during its holding period, since the resale price is always greater than the purchase price and reflects an agreed-upon market rate. Such actions afford an opportunity for the Fund to invest temporarily available cash. The Fund may enter into repurchase agreements only with respect to obligations of the U.S. government, its agencies or instrumentalities; certificates of deposit; or bankers acceptances in which the Fund may invest. Repurchase agreements may be considered loans to the seller, collateralized by the underlying securities. The risk to the Fund is limited to the ability of the seller to pay the agreed-upon sum on the repurchase date; in the event of default, the repurchase agreement provides that the Fund is entitled to sell the underlying collateral. If the value of the collateral declines after the agreement is entered into, and if the seller defaults under a repurchase agreement when the value of the underlying collateral is less than the repurchase price, the Fund could incur a loss of both principal and interest. The investment adviser monitors the value of the collateral at the time the action is entered into and at all times during the term of the repurchase agreement. The investment adviser does so in an effort to determine that the value of the collateral always equals or exceeds the agreed-upon repurchase price to be paid to the Fund. If the seller were to be subject to a federal bankruptcy proceeding, the ability of the Fund to liquidate the collateral could be delayed or impaired because of certain provisions of the bankruptcy laws.
(4) Commercial paper, which consists of short-term unsecured promissory notes, including variable rate master demand notes issued by corporations to finance their current operations. Master demand notes are direct lending arrangements between the Fund and a corporation. There is no secondary market for such notes. However, they are redeemable by the Fund at any time. NAM will consider the financial condition of the corporation (e.g., earning power, cash flow, and other liquidity measures) and will continuously monitor the corporations ability to meet all of its financial obligations, because the Funds liquidity might be impaired if the corporation were unable to pay principal and interest on demand. Investments in commercial paper will be limited to commercial paper rated in the highest categories by a major rating agency and which mature within one year of the date of purchase or carry a variable or floating rate of interest.
Short-Term Tax-Exempt Municipal Securities. Short-term tax-exempt municipal securities are securities that are exempt from regular federal income tax and mature within three years or less from the date of issuance. Short-term tax-exempt municipal income securities are defined to include, without limitation, the following:
Bond Anticipation Notes (BANs) are usually general obligations of state and local governmental issuers which are sold to obtain interim financing for projects that will eventually be funded through the sale of long-term debt obligations or bonds. The ability of an issuer to meet its obligations on its BANs is primarily dependent on the issuers access to the long-term municipal bond market and the likelihood that the proceeds of such bond sales will be used to pay the principal and interest on the BANs.
Tax Anticipation Notes (TANs) are issued by state and local governments to finance the current operations of such governments. Repayment is generally to be derived from specific future tax revenues. TANs
15
are usually general obligations of the issuer. A weakness in an issuers capacity to raise taxes due to, among other things, a decline in its tax base or a rise in delinquencies, could adversely affect the issuers ability to meet its obligations on outstanding TANs.
Revenue Anticipation Notes (RANs) are issued by governments or governmental bodies with the expectation that future revenues from a designated source will be used to repay the notes. In general, they also constitute general obligations of the issuer. A decline in the receipt of projected revenues, such as anticipated revenues from another level of government, could adversely affect an issuers ability to meet its obligations on outstanding RANs. In addition, the possibility that the revenues would, when received, be used to meet other obligations could affect the ability of the issuer to pay the principal and interest on RANs.
Construction Loan Notes are issued to provide construction financing for specific projects. Frequently, these notes are redeemed with funds obtained from the Federal Housing Administration.
Bank Notes are notes issued by local government bodies and agencies, such as those described above to commercial banks as evidence of borrowings. The purposes for which the notes are issued are varied but they are frequently issued to meet short-term working capital or capital-project needs. These notes may have risks similar to the risks associated with TANs and RANs.
Tax-Exempt Commercial Paper (Municipal Paper) represent very short-term unsecured, negotiable promissory notes issued by states, municipalities and their agencies. Payment of principal and interest on issues of municipal paper may be made from various sources, to the extent the funds are available therefrom. Maturities of municipal paper generally will be shorter than the maturities of TANs, BANs or RANs. There is a limited secondary market for issues of Municipal Paper.
Certain municipal securities may carry variable or floating rates of interest whereby the rate of interest is not fixed but varies with changes in specified market rates or indices, such as a bank prime rate or a tax-exempt money market index.
While the various types of notes described above as a group represent the major portion of the short-term tax-exempt note market, other types of notes are available in the marketplace and the Fund may invest in such other types of notes to the extent permitted under its investment objectives, policies and limitations. Such notes may be issued for different purposes and may be secured differently from those mentioned above.
ILLIQUID SECURITIES
The Fund may invest up to 15% of its net assets in municipal securities and other instruments that, at the time of investment, are illiquid (i.e., securities that are not readily marketable). For this purpose, illiquid securities may include, but are not limited to, restricted securities (securities the disposition of which is restricted under the federal securities laws), securities that may only be resold pursuant to Rule 144A under the Securities Act, that are deemed to be illiquid, and certain repurchase agreements. The Board of Trustees or its delegate has the ultimate authority to determine which securities are liquid or illiquid. The Board of Trustees has delegated to NAM the day-to-day determination of the illiquidity of any security held by the Fund, although it has retained oversight and ultimate responsibility for such determinations. No definitive liquidity criteria are used. The Board of Trustees has directed NAM when making liquidity determinations to look for such factors as (i) the nature of the market for a security (including the institutional private resale market; the frequency of trades and quotes for the security; the number of dealers willing to purchase or sell the security; the amount of time normally needed to dispose of the security; and the method of soliciting offers and the mechanics of transfer), (ii) the terms of certain securities or other instruments allowing for the disposition to a third party or the issuer thereof (e.g., certain repurchase obligations and demand instruments), and (iii) other relevant factors. The assets used to cover OTC derivatives used by the Fund will be considered illiquid until the OTC derivatives are sold to qualified dealers who agree that the Fund may repurchase them at a maximum price to be calculated by a formula set forth in an agreement. The cover for an OTC derivative subject to this procedure would be considered illiquid only to the extent that the maximum repurchase price under the formula exceeds the intrinsic value of the derivative.
16
Restricted securities may be sold only in privately negotiated transactions or in a public offering with respect to which a registration statement is in effect under the Securities Act. Where registration is required, the Fund may be obligated to pay all or part of the registration expenses and a considerable period may elapse between the time of the decision to sell and the time the Fund may be permitted to sell a security under an effective registration statement. If, during such a period, adverse market conditions were to develop, the Fund might obtain a less favorable price than that which prevailed when it decided to sell. Illiquid securities will be priced at fair value as determined in good faith by the Board of Trustees or its delegatee. If, through the appreciation of illiquid securities or the depreciation of liquid securities, the Fund should be in a position where more than 50% of the value of its net assets is invested in illiquid securities, including restricted securities that are not readily marketable, the Fund will take such steps as are deemed advisable by NAM, if any, to protect liquidity.
INVERSE FLOATING RATE SECURITIES AND TENDER OPTION BONDS
Inverse Floating Rate Securities. Inverse floating rate securities (sometimes referred to as inverse floaters) are securities whose interest rates bear an inverse relationship to the interest rate on another security or the value of an index. Generally, inverse floating rate securities represent beneficial interests in a special purpose trust formed by a third party sponsor for the purpose of holding municipal bonds. The special purpose trust typically sells two classes of beneficial interests or securities: short-term floating rate municipal securities (sometimes referred to as short-term floaters or tender option bonds), which are sold to third party investors, and inverse floating rate municipal securities, which the Fund would purchase. The short-term floating rate securities have first priority on the cash flow from the municipal bonds held by the special purpose trust. Typically, a third party, such as a bank, broker-dealer or other financial institution, grants the floating rate security holders the option, at periodic intervals, to tender their securities to the institution and receive the face value thereof. As consideration for providing the option, the financial institution receives periodic fees. The holder of the short-term floater effectively holds a demand obligation that bears interest at the prevailing short-term, tax-exempt rate. However, an institution will not be obligated to accept tendered short-term floaters in the event of certain defaults or a significant downgrade in the credit rating assigned to the bond issuer. For its inverse floating rate investment, the Fund receives the residual cash flow from the special purpose trust. Because the holder of the short-term floater is generally assured liquidity at the face value of the security, the Fund as the holder of the inverse floater assumes the interest rate cash flow risk and the market value risk associated with the municipal security deposited into the special purpose trust. The volatility of the interest cash flow and the residual market value will vary with the degree to which the trust is leveraged. This is expressed in the ratio of the face value of the short-term floaters in relation to the residual inverse floaters that are issued by the special purpose trust. The Fund expects to make limited investments in inverse floaters, with leverage ratios that may vary between one and three times. In addition, all voting rights and decisions to be made with respect to any other rights relating to the municipal bonds held in the special purpose trust are passed through to the Fund, as the holder of the residual inverse floating rate securities.
Because increases in either the interest rate on the securities or the value of indexes (with which inverse floaters maintain their inverse relationship) reduce the residual interest paid on inverse floaters, inverse floaters value is generally more volatile than that of fixed rate bonds. Inverse floaters have varying degrees of liquidity based upon, among other things, the liquidity of the underlying securities deposited in a tender option bond trust. The market price of inverse floating rate securities is more volatile than the underlying securities due to leverage. These securities generally will underperform the market of fixed rate bonds in a rising interest rate environment, but tend to outperform the market of fixed rate bonds when interest rates decline or remain relatively stable. Although volatile, inverse floaters typically offer the potential for yields exceeding the yields available on fixed rate bonds with comparable credit quality, coupon, call provisions and maturity.
Tender Option Bonds. The Fund may also invest in tender option bonds, as described above, issued by special purpose trusts. Tender option bonds may take the form of short-term floating rate securities or the option period may be substantially longer. Generally, the interest rate earned will be based upon the market rates for municipal securities with maturities or remarketing provisions that are comparable in duration to the periodic interval of the tender option, which may vary from weekly, to monthly, to extended periods of one year or
17
multiple years. Since the option feature has a shorter term than the final maturity or first call date of the underlying bond deposited in the trust, the Fund as the holder of the tender option bond relies upon the terms of the agreement with the financial institution furnishing the option as well as the credit strength of that institution. As further assurance of liquidity, the terms of the trust provide for a liquidation of the municipal security deposited in the trust and the application of the proceeds to pay off the tender option bond. The trusts that are organized to issue both short-term floating rate securities and inverse floaters generally include liquidation triggers to protect the investor in the tender option bond. Generally, the trusts do not have recourse to the investors in the residual inverse floating rate securities.
AUCTION RATE SECURITIES
Municipal securities also include auction rate municipal securities and auction rate preferred securities issued by closed-end investment companies that invest primarily in municipal securities (collectively, auction rate securities). In certain recent market environments, auction failures have been widespread, which may adversely affect the liquidity and price of auction rate securities. Provided that the auction mechanism is successful, auction rate securities usually permit the holder to sell the securities in an auction at par value at specified intervals. The dividend is reset by Dutch auction in which bids are made by broker-dealers and other institutions for a certain amount of securities at a specified minimum yield. The dividend rate set by the auction is the lowest interest or dividend rate that covers all securities offered for sale. While this process is designed to permit auction rate securities to be traded at par value, there is a risk that an auction will fail due to insufficient demand for the securities. Moreover, between auctions, there may be no secondary market for these securities, and sales conducted on a secondary market may not be on terms favorable to the seller. Thus, with respect to liquidity and price stability, auction rate securities may differ substantially from cash equivalents, notwithstanding the frequency of auctions and the credit quality of the security. The Funds investments in auction rate securities of closed-end funds are subject to the limitations prescribed by the 1940 Act. The Fund will indirectly bear its proportionate share of any management and other fees paid by such closed-end funds in addition to the advisory fees payable directly by the Fund.
WHEN-ISSUED AND DELAYED DELIVERY TRANSACTIONS
The Fund may buy and sell municipal securities on a when-issued or delayed delivery basis, making payment or taking delivery at a later date, normally within 15 to 45 days of the trade date. On such transactions, the payment obligation and the interest rate are fixed at the time the purchaser enters into the commitment. Beginning on the date the Fund enters into a commitment to purchase securities on a when-issued or delayed delivery basis, the Fund is required under the rules of the Securities and Exchange Commission to maintain in a separate account liquid assets, consisting of cash, cash equivalents or liquid securities having a market value at all times of at least equal to the amount of any delayed payment commitment. Income generated by any such assets which provide taxable income for federal income tax purposes is includable in the taxable income of the Fund and, to the extent distributed, will be taxable distributions to shareholders. The Fund may enter into contracts to purchase securities on a forward basis (i.e., where settlement will occur more than 60 days from the date of the transaction) only to the extent that the Fund specifically collateralizes such obligations with a security that is expected to be called or mature within 60 days before or after the settlement date of the forward transaction. The commitment to purchase securities on a when-issued, delayed delivery or forward basis may involve an element of risk because no interest accrues on the bonds prior to settlement and at the time of delivery the market value may be less than their cost.
OTHER INVESTMENTS
Zero Coupon Securities. The Funds investments in debt securities may be in the form of a zero coupon bond. Zero coupon bonds are debt obligations that do not entitle the holder to any periodic payments of interest for the entire life of the obligation. When held to its maturity, its return comes from the difference between the purchase price and its maturity value. These instruments are typically issued and traded at a deep discount from
18
their face amounts. The amount of the discount varies depending on such factors as the time remaining until maturity of the securities, prevailing interest rates, the liquidity of the security and the perceived credit quality of the issuer. The market prices of zero coupon bonds generally are more volatile than the market prices of debt instruments that pay interest currently and in cash and are likely to respond to changes in interest rates to a greater degree than do other types of securities having similar maturities and credit quality. In order to satisfy a requirement for qualification to be taxed as a regulated investment company under the Code (as defined under Tax MattersFederal Income Tax Matters), an investment company, such as the Fund, must distribute each year at least 90% of its investment company taxable income (as described under Tax MattersFederal Income Tax Matters), including the original issue discount accrued on zero coupon bonds. Because the Fund will not on a current basis receive cash payments from the issuer of these securities in respect of any accrued original issue discount, in some years the Fund may have to distribute cash obtained from selling other portfolio holdings of the Fund in order to avoid unfavorable tax consequences. In some circumstances, such sales might be necessary in order to satisfy cash distribution requirements to its Common Shareholders even though investment considerations might otherwise make it undesirable for the Fund to sell securities at such time. Under many market conditions, investments in zero coupon bonds may be illiquid, making it difficult for the Fund to dispose of them or determine their current value.
Structured Notes. The Fund may utilize structured notes and similar instruments for investment purposes and also for hedging purposes. Structured notes are privately negotiated debt obligations where the principal and/or interest is determined by reference to the performance of a benchmark asset, market or interest rate (an embedded index), such as selected securities, an index of securities or specified interest rates, or the differential performance of two assets or markets. The terms of such structured instruments normally provide that their principal and/or interest payments are to be adjusted upwards or downwards (but not ordinarily below zero) to reflect changes in the embedded index while the structured instruments are outstanding. As a result, the interest and/or principal payments that may be made on a structured product may vary widely, depending upon a variety of factors, including the volatility of the embedded index and the effect of changes in the embedded index on principal and/or interest payments. The rate of return on structured notes may be determined by applying a multiplier to the performance or differential performance of the referenced index or indices or other assets. Application of a multiplier involves leverage that will serve to magnify the potential for gain and the risk of loss. These types of investments may generate taxable income.
DEFENSIVE POSITION; INVEST-UP PERIOD
During temporary defensive periods or in order to keep the Funds cash fully invested, including the period during which the net proceeds of the offering of Common Shares are being invested, the Fund may deviate from its investment policies and objectives and may not be able to achieve its investment objectives. Moreover, during temporary defensive periods (e.g., times when, in NAMs opinion, temporary imbalances of supply and demand or other temporary dislocations in the tax-exempt securities market adversely affect the price at which long-term or intermediate-term municipal securities are available), and in order to keep the Funds cash fully invested, including the period during which the proceeds of the offering are being invested, the Fund may invest any percentage of its net assets in short-term investments including high quality, short-term debt securities that may be either tax-exempt or taxable and up to 10% of its net assets in securities of other open- or closed-end investment companies (including exchange-traded funds (often referred to as ETFs)) that invest primarily in municipal securities of the types in which the Fund may invest directly. The Fund intends to invest in taxable short-term investments only in the event that suitable tax-exempt short-term investments are not available at reasonable prices and yields. Tax-exempt short-term investments include various obligations issued by state and local governmental issuers, such as tax-exempt notes (bond anticipation notes, tax anticipation notes and revenue anticipation notes or other such municipal securities maturing in three years or less from the date of issuance) and municipal commercial paper. The Fund will invest only in taxable short-term investments which are U.S. government securities or securities rated within the highest grade by Fitch, Moodys or S&P, and which mature within one year from the date of purchase or carry a variable or floating rate of interest. Taxable short-term
19
investments of the Fund may include certificates of deposit issued by U.S. banks with assets of at least $1 billion, or commercial paper or corporate notes, bonds or debentures with a remaining maturity of one year or less, or repurchase agreements. See The Funds InvestmentsRepurchase Agreements. To the extent the Fund invests in taxable investments, the Fund will not at such times be in a position to achieve its investment objective of tax-exempt income. For a more complete discussion of the Funds portfolio composition, see the Funds Prospectus under The Funds Investments.
OTHER INVESTMENT COMPANIES
The Fund may invest up to 10% of its net assets in securities of other open- or closed-end investment companies (including ETFs) that invest primarily in municipal securities of the types in which the Fund may invest directly. The Fund generally expects that it may invest in other investment companies either during periods when it has large amounts of uninvested cash, such as the period shortly after the Fund receives the proceeds of the offering of its Common Shares, or during periods when there is a shortage of attractive municipal securities available in the market. The Fund may invest in investment companies that are advised by NAM or its affiliates to the extent permitted by applicable law and/or pursuant to exemptive relief from the Securities and Exchange Commission. As a shareholder in an investment company, the Fund will bear its ratable share of that investment companys expenses, and would remain subject to payment of the Funds advisory and administrative fees with respect to assets so invested. Common Shareholders would therefore be subject to duplicative expenses to the extent the Fund invests in other investment companies.
NAM will take expenses into account when evaluating the investment merits of an investment in the investment company relative to available municipal security instruments. In addition, because the securities of other investment companies may be leveraged and subject to the same leverage risk, the Fund may indirectly be subject to those risks described in the Funds Prospectus. Market value will tend to fluctuate more than the yield generated by unleveraged shares.
PORTFOLIO TRADING AND TURNOVER RATE
Portfolio trading may be undertaken to accomplish the Funds investment objectives. In addition, a security may be sold and another of comparable quality purchased at approximately the same time to take advantage of what NAM believes to be a temporary price disparity between the two securities. Temporary price disparities between two comparable securities may result from supply and demand imbalances where, for example, a temporary oversupply of certain securities may cause a temporarily low price for such securities, as compared with other securities of like quality and characteristics. The Fund may also engage to a limited extent in short-term trading consistent with its investment objectives. Securities may be sold in anticipation of a market decline (a rise in interest rates) or purchased in anticipation of a market rise (a decline in interest rates) and later sold, but the Fund will not engage in trading solely to recognize a gain.
The Fund may engage in portfolio trading when considered appropriate, but short-term trading will not be used as the primary means of achieving the Funds investment objectives. Although the Fund cannot accurately predict its annual portfolio turnover rate, it is generally not expected to exceed 25% under normal circumstances. However, there are no limits on the Funds rate of portfolio turnover, and investments may be sold without regard to length of time held when, in NAMs opinion, investment considerations warrant such action. A higher portfolio turnover rate would result in correspondingly greater brokerage commissions and other transactional expenses that are borne by the Fund. Although these commissions and expenses are not reflected in the Funds Total Annual Expenses on page 17 of the Funds Prospectus, they will be reflected in the Funds total return. In addition, high portfolio turnover may result in the realization of net short-term capital gains by the Fund which, when distributed to shareholders, will be taxable as ordinary income. See Tax Matters.
20
TRUSTEES AND OFFICERS
The management of the Fund, including general supervision of the duties performed for the Fund under the investment management agreement with NAM (the management agreement), is the responsibility of the Board of Trustees of the Fund. The number of trustees of the Fund is nine, one of whom is an interested person (as the term interested person is defined in the 1940 Act) and eight of whom are not interested persons (referred to herein as independent trustees). None of the independent trustees has ever been a trustee, director or employee of, or consultant to, Nuveen, NAM or their affiliates. The Board of Trustees is divided into three classes, Class I, Class II and Class III, the Class I trustees serving until the 2010 annual meeting, the Class II trustees serving until the 2011 annual meeting and the Class III trustees serving until the 2012 annual meeting, in each case until their respective successors are elected and qualified, as described below. Currently, William C. Hunter, Judith M. Stockdale and Carole E. Stone are slated in Class I, John P. Amboian, David J. Kundert and Terence J. Toth are slated in Class II and Robert P. Bremner, Jack B. Evans, and William J. Schneider are slated in Class III. The officers of the Fund serve annual terms and are elected on an annual basis. The names, business addresses and birthdates of the trustees and officers of the Fund, their principal occupations and other affiliations during the past five years, the number of portfolios each oversees and other directorships they hold are set forth below. The trustees of the Fund are directors or trustees, as the case may be, of 72 Nuveen-sponsored open-end funds (the Nuveen Mutual Funds) and 120 Nuveen-sponsored closed-end funds (collectively with the Nuveen Mutual Funds, the Nuveen Funds).
Name, Business Address |
Position(s) |
Term of Office |
Principal Occupation(s) |
Number of Portfolios in Fund Complex Overseen by Trustee |
Other Directorships Held by Trustee | |||||
Independent Trustees: |
||||||||||
Robert P. Bremner 333 West Wacker Drive Chicago, IL60606 (8/22/40) |
Chairman of the Board and Trustee |
Length of service Since inception |
Private Investor and Management Consultant. | 192 | N/A |
21
Name, Business Address |
Position(s) |
Term of Office |
Principal Occupation(s) |
Number of Portfolios in Fund Complex Overseen by Trustee |
Other Directorships Held by Trustee | |||||
Jack B. Evans 333 West Wacker Drive Chicago, IL 60606 (10/22/48) |
Trustee | Length of service Since inception Class III |
President, The Hall-Perrine Foundation, a private philanthropic corporation (since 1996); Director and Vice Chairman, United Fire Group, a publicly held company; Member of the Board of Regents for the State of Iowa University System; Director, Gazettte Companies; Life Trustee of Coe College and Iowa College Foundation; Member of the Advisory Council of the Department of Finance in the Tippie College of Business, University of Iowa; formerly, Director, Alliant Energy; formerly, Director, Federal Reserve Bank of Chicago; formerly, President and Chief Operating Officer, SCI Financial Group, Inc., a regional financial services firm. | 192 | See Principal Occupation description |
22
Name, Business Address |
Position(s) |
Term of Office |
Principal Occupation(s) |
Number of Portfolios in Fund Complex Overseen by Trustee |
Other Directorships Held by Trustee | |||||
William C. Hunter 333 West Wacker Drive Chicago, IL 60606 (3/6/48) |
Trustee | Length of service Since inception |
Dean, Tippie College of Business, University of Iowa (since July 2006); Director (since 1997), Credit Research Center at Georgetown University; Director (since 2004) of Xerox Corporation; Director (since 2005), Beta Gamma Sigma International Honor Society; formerly Director, SS&C Technologies, Inc. (May 2005-October 2005); formerly, Dean and Distinguished Professor of Finance, School of Business at the University of Connecticut (2003-2006); previously, Senior Vice President and Director of Research at the Federal Reserve Bank of Chicago (1995-2003). | 192 | See Principal Occupation description |
23
Name, Business Address |
Position(s) |
Term of Office |
Principal Occupation(s) |
Number of Portfolios in Fund Complex Overseen by Trustee |
Other Directorships Held by Trustee | |||||
David J. Kundert 333 West Wacker Drive Chicago, IL 60606 (10/28/42) |
Trustee | Length of service Since inception Class II |
Director, Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Company; retired (since 2004) as Chairman, JPMorgan Fleming Asset Management, President and CEO, Banc One Investment Advisors Corporation, and President, One Group Mutual Funds; prior thereto, Executive Vice President, Bank One Corporation and Chairman and CEO, Banc One Investment Management Group; Member of the Board of Regents, Luther College; member of the Wisconsin Bar Association; member of Board of Directors, Friends of Boerner Botanical Gardens; Member of Investment Committee, Greater Milwaukee Foundation. | 192 | See Principal Occupation description | |||||
William J. Schneider 333 West Wacker Drive Chicago, IL 60606 (9/24/44) |
Trustee | Length of service Since inception Class III |
Chairman, formerly, Senior Partner and Chief Operating Officer (retired 2004) of Miller-Valentine Partners Ltd., a real estate investment company; Director, Dayton Development Coalition; formerly, Member, Business Advisory Council, Cleveland Federal Reserve Bank. | 192 | See Principal Occupation description |
24
Name, Business Address |
Position(s) |
Term of Office and Length of |
Principal |
Number of Portfolios in Fund Complex Overseen by Trustee |
Other Directorships Held by Trustee | |||||
Judith M. Stockdale 333 West Wacker Drive Chicago, IL 60606 (12/29/47) |
Trustee | Length of service Since inception Class I |
Executive Director, Gaylord and Dorothy Donnelley Foundation (since 1994); prior thereto, Executive Director, Great Lakes Protection Fund (1990-1994). | 192 | N/A | |||||
Carole E. Stone 333 West Wacker Drive Chicago, IL 60606 (6/28/47) |
Trustee | Length of service Since inception Class I |
Director, Chicago Board Options Exchange (since 2006); Commissioner, New York State Commission on Public Authority Reform (since 2005); formerly, Director, New York State Division of the Budget (2000-2004), Chair, Public Authorities Control Board (2000-2004), Director, Local Government Assistance Corporation (2000-2004), formerly Chair, New York Racing Association Oversight Board (2005-2007). | 192 | See Principal Occupation description |
25
Name, Business Address |
Position(s) |
Term of Office |
Principal Occupation(s) |
Number of Portfolios in Fund Complex Overseen by Trustee |
Other Directorships Held by Trustee | |||||
Terence J. Toth 333 West Wacker Drive Chicago, IL 60606 (9/29/59) |
Trustee | Length of service Since inception Class II |
Director, Legal & General Investment Management (since 2008); Private Investor (since 2007); CEO and President, Northern Trust Investments (2004-2007); Executive Vice President, Quantitative Management & Securities Lending (2000-2004); prior thereto, various positions with Northern Trust Company (since 1994); Member: Goodman Theatre Board (since 2004); Chicago Fellowship Board (since 2005), University of Illinois Leadership Council Board (since 2007) and Catalyst Schools of Chicago Board (since 2008); formerly Member: Northern Trust Mutual Funds Board (2005-2007), Northern Trust Japan Board (2004-2007), Northern Trust Securities Inc. Board (2003-2007) and Northern Trust Hong Kong Board (1997-2004). | 192 | N/A |
26
Name, Business Address |
Position(s) |
Term of Office |
Principal Occupation(s) |
Number of Portfolios in Fund Complex Overseen by Trustee |
Other Directorships Held by Trustee | |||||
Interested Trustee: |
||||||||||
John P. Amboian* 333 West Wacker Drive Chicago, IL 60606 (6/14/61) |
Trustee | Length of service Since inception Class II |
Chief Executive Officer (since July 2007) and Director (since 1999) of Nuveen Investments, Inc.; Chief Executive Officer (since 2007) of Nuveen Asset Management and Nuveen Investments Advisors, Inc.; formerly, President (1999-2004) of Nuveen Advisory Corp. and Nuveen Institutional Advisory Corp.** | 192 | See Principal Occupation description |
* | Mr. Amboian is an interested person of the Trust, as defined in the 1940 Act, by reason of his positions with Nuveen Investments, Inc. (Nuveen Investments) and certain of its subsidiaries. |
** | Nuveen Advisory Corp. and Nuveen Institutional Advisory Corp. were reorganized into NAM, effective January 1, 2005. |
27
Name, Business Address |
Position(s) |
Term of Office |
Principal Occupation(s) |
Number of | ||||
Officers of the Trust: |
||||||||
Gifford R. Zimmerman 333 West Wacker Drive Chicago, IL 60606 (9/9/56) |
Chief Administrative Officer |
TermUntil July 2009 Length of |
Managing Director (since 2002), Assistant Secretary and Associate General Counsel of Nuveen Investments, LLC; Managing Director (since 2002) and Assistant Secretary and Associate General Counsel of Nuveen Asset Management; Managing Director (since 2004) and Assistant Secretary (since 1994) of Nuveen Investments, Inc.; Vice President and Assistant Secretary of NWQ Investment Management Company, LLC (since 2002); Vice President and Assistant Secretary of Nuveen Investments Advisers Inc. (since 2002); Managing Director, Associate General Counsel and Assistant Secretary of Symphony Asset Management LLC (since 2003); Vice President and Assistant Secretary of Tradewinds Global Investors, LLC and Santa Barbara Asset Management, LLC (since 2006), and Nuveen HydePark Group, LLC and Nuveen Investment Solutions, Inc. (since 2007); formerly, Managing Director (2002-2004), General Counsel (1998-2004) and Assistant Secretary of Nuveen Advisory Corp. and Nuveen Institutional Advisory Corp.*; Chartered Financial Analyst. | 192 | ||||
Williams Adams IV 333 West Wacker Drive Chicago, IL 60606 (6/9/55) |
Vice President |
TermUntil July 2009 Length of ServiceSince inception |
Executive Vice President, U.S. Structured Products of Nuveen Investments, LLC, (since 1999), prior thereto, Managing Director of Structured Investments. | 120 | ||||
Cedric H. Antosiewicz 333 West Wacker Drive Chicago, IL 60606 (1/11/62) |
Vice President |
TermUntil July 2009 Length of ServiceSince inception |
Managing Director, (since 2004), previously, Vice President (1993-2004) of Nuveen Investments LLC. | 120 |
28
Name, Business Address |
Position(s) |
Term of Office |
Principal Occupation(s) |
Number of | ||||
Michael T. Atkinson 333 West Wacker Drive Chicago, IL 60606 (2/3/66) |
Vice President | TermUntil July 2009 Length of |
Vice President of Nuveen Investments, LLC (since 2002) and Nuveen Asset Management (since 2005). | 192 | ||||
Lorna C. Ferguson 333 West Wacker Drive Chicago, IL 60606 (10/24/45) |
Vice President | TermUntil July 2009 Length of inception |
Managing Director (since 2004), formerly, Vice President of Nuveen Investments, LLC; Managing Director (since 2005) of Nuveen Asset Management; Managing Director (2004-2005), formerly, Vice President (1998-2004) of Nuveen Advisory Corp. and Nuveen Institutional Advisory Corp.* | 192 | ||||
Stephen D. Foy 333 West Wacker Drive Chicago, IL 60606 (5/31/54) |
Vice President and Controller |
TermUntil July 2009 Length of |
Vice President (since 1993) and Funds Controller (since 1998) of Nuveen Investments, LLC; Vice President (since 2005) of Nuveen Asset Management; formerly, Vice President and Funds Controller of Nuveen Investments, Inc. (1998-2004); Certified Public Accountant. | 192 | ||||
Walter M. Kelly 333 West Wacker Drive Chicago, IL 60606 (2/24/70) |
Chief Compliance Officer and Vice President |
TermUntil July 2009 Length of Service |
Senior Vice President (since 2008), formerly, Vice President, formerly, Assistant Vice President and Assistant General Counsel (2003-2006) of Nuveen Investments, LLC; Senior Vice President (since 2008) and Assistant Secretary (since 2003), formerly, Vice President (2006-2008) of Nuveen Asset Management; previously, Assistant Vice President and Assistant Secretary of the Nuveen Funds (2003-2006). | 192 | ||||
David J. Lamb 333 West Wacker Drive Chicago, IL 60606 (3/22/63) |
Vice President | TermUntil July 2009 Service inception |
Vice President of Nuveen Investments, LLC (since 2000) and Nuveen Asset Management (since 2005); Certified Public Accountant. | 192 | ||||
Tina M. Lazar 333 West Wacker Drive Chicago, IL 60606 (8/27/61) |
Vice President | TermUntil July 2009 Service |
Vice President of Nuveen Investments, LLC (since 1999) and Nuveen Asset Management (since 2005). | 192 |
29
Name, Business Address |
Position(s) |
Term of Office |
Principal Occupation(s) |
Number of | ||||
Larry W. Martin 333 West Wacker Drive Chicago, IL 60606 (7/27/51) |
Vice President and Assistant Secretary |
TermUntil July 2009 Length of inception |
Vice President, Assistant Secretary and Assistant General Counsel of Nuveen Investments, LLC; Vice President (since 2005) and Assistant Secretary of Nuveen Investments, Inc.; Vice President (since 2005) and Assistant Secretary (since 1997) of Nuveen Asset Management; Vice President and Assistant Secretary of Nuveen Investments Advisers Inc. (since 2002), NWQ Investment Management Company, LLC (since 2002), Symphony Asset Management LLC (since 2003), Tradewinds Global Investors, LLC and Santa Barbara Asset Management LLC (since 2006) and of Nuveen HydePark Group, LLC and Nuveen Investment Solutions, Inc. (since 2007); formerly, Vice President and Assistant Secretary of Nuveen Advisory Corp. and Nuveen Institutional Advisory Corp.* | 192 | ||||
Kevin J. McCarthy 333 West Wacker Drive Chicago, IL 60606 (3/26/66) |
Vice President and Secretary |
TermUntil July 2009 Length of |
Managing Director (since 2008), formerly, Vice President (2007-2008) of Nuveen Investments, LLC; Managing Director, Assistant General Counsel (since 2008) and Assistant Secretary (since 2007), formerly, Vice President (2007-2008) of Nuveen Asset Management; Vice President and Assistant Secretary (since 2007) of Nuveen Investment Advisers Inc., Nuveen Investment Institutional Services Group LLC, NWQ Investment Management Company, LLC, Tradewinds Global Investors, LLC, NWQ Holdings, LLC, Symphony Asset Management LLC, Santa Barbara Asset Management, LLC, Nuveen HydePark Group, LLC and Nuveen Investment Solutions, Inc.; prior thereto, Partner, Bell, Boyd & Lloyd LLP (1997-2007). | 192 |
30
Name, Business Address |
Position(s) |
Term of Office |
Principal Occupation(s) |
Number of | ||||
John V. Miller 333 West Wacker Drive Chicago, IL 60606 (4/10/67) |
Vice President |
TermUntil July 2009 Length of |
Managing Director (since 2007), formerly, Vice President (2002-2007) of Nuveen Asset Management and Nuveen Investments, LLC; Chartered Financial Analyst. | 192 | ||||
Christopher M. Rohrbacher 333 West Wacker Drive Chicago, IL 60606 (8/1/71) |
Vice President and Assistant Secretary |
TermUntil July 2009 Length of |
Vice President and Assistant Secretary of Nuveen Investments, LLC (since 2008); Vice President and Assistant Secretary of Nuveen Asset Management (since 2008); prior thereto, Associate, Skadden, Arps, Slate Meagher & Flom LLP (2002-2008) | 192 | ||||
James F. Ruane 333 West Wacker Drive Chicago, IL 60606 (7/3/62) |
Vice President and Assistant Secretary |
TermUntil July 2009 Length of |
Vice President of Nuveen Investments, LLC (since 2007); prior thereto, Partner, Deloitte & Touche USA LLP (2005-2007), formerly, senior tax manager (2002-2005); Certified Public Accountant. | 192 | ||||
Mark L. Winget 333 West Wacker Drive Chicago, IL 60606 (12/21/68) |
Vice President and Assistant Secretary |
TermUntil July 2009 Length of |
Vice President and Assistant Secretary of Nuveen Investments, LLC (since 2008); Vice President and Assistant Secretary of Nuveen Asset Management (since 2008); prior thereto, Counsel, Vedder Price P.C. (1997-2007). | 192 |
* | Nuveen Advisory Corp. and Nuveen Institutional Advisory Corp. were reorganized into NAM, effective January 1, 2005. |
BOARD COMMITTEES
The Board of Trustees has five standing committees: the Executive Committee, the Audit Committee, the Nominating and Governance Committee, the Dividend Committee and the Compliance, Risk Management and Regulatory Oversight Committee. Because the Fund is newly organized, none of the committees have met during the Funds last fiscal year. The executive committee will meet once prior to the commencement of the Funds operations.
Robert P. Bremner, Chair, Judith M. Stockdale and John P. Amboian, serve as members of the Executive Committee of the Board of Trustees of the Fund. The Executive Committee, which meets between regular meetings of the Board of Trustees, is authorized to exercise all of the powers of the Board of Trustees.
The Audit Committee monitors the accounting and reporting policies and practices of the Fund, the quality and integrity of the financial statements of the Fund, compliance by the Fund with legal and regulatory requirements and the independence and performance of the external and internal auditors. The members of the Audit Committee are Robert P. Bremner, Jack B. Evans, David J. Kundert, Chair, William J. Schneider and Terence J. Toth.
The Nominating and Governance Committee is composed of the independent trustees of the Fund. The Nominating and Governance Committee operates under a written charter adopted and approved by the Board of
31
Trustees. The Nominating and Governance Committee is responsible for trustee selection and tenure; selection and review of committees; and Board education and operations. In addition, the Nominating and Governance Committee monitors performance of legal counsel and other service providers; periodically reviews and makes recommendations about any appropriate changes to trustee compensation; and has the resources and authority to discharge its responsibilities, including retaining special counsel and other experts or consultants at the expense of the Fund. In the event of a vacancy on the Board, the Nominating and Governance Committee receives suggestions from various sources as to suitable candidates. Suggestions should be sent in writing to Lorna Ferguson, Manager of Board Relations, Nuveen Investments, 333 West Wacker Drive, Chicago, IL 60606. The Nominating and Governance Committee sets appropriate standards and requirements for nominations for new trustees and reserves the right to interview all candidates and to make the final selection of any new trustees. The members of the Nominating and Governance Committee are Robert P. Bremner, Chair, Jack B. Evans, William C. Hunter, David J. Kundert, William J. Schneider, Judith M. Stockdale, Carole E. Stone and Terence J. Toth.
The Dividend Committee is authorized to declare distributions on the Funds shares including, but not limited to, regular and special dividends, capital gains and ordinary income distributions. The members of the Dividend Committee are Jack B. Evans, Judith M. Stockdale and Terence J. Toth.
The Compliance, Risk Management and Regulatory Oversight Committee is responsible for the oversight of compliance issues, risk management, and other regulatory matters affecting the Fund that are not otherwise the jurisdiction of the other committees. As part of its duties regarding compliance matters, the Committee is responsible for the oversight of the Pricing Procedures of the Fund and the Valuation Group. The members of the Compliance, Risk Management and Regulatory Oversight Committee are William J. Schneider, Chair, William C. Hunter, Judith M. Stockdale and Carole E. Stone. The Committee has adopted a written charter.
INDEPENDENT CHAIRMAN
The trustees have elected Robert P. Bremner as the independent Chairman of the Board of Trustees. Specific responsibilities of the Chairman include (a) presiding at all meetings of the Board of Trustees and of the shareholders; (b) seeing that all orders and resolutions of the trustees are carried into effect; and (c) maintaining records of and, whenever necessary, certifying all proceedings of the trustees and the shareholders.
Class I trustees will serve until the annual meeting of shareholders in 2010; Class II trustees will serve until the annual meeting of shareholders in 2011; and Class III trustees will serve until the annual meeting of shareholders in 2012. As each trustees term expires, shareholders will be asked to elect trustees and such trustees shall be elected for a term expiring at the time of the third succeeding annual meeting subsequent to their election or thereafter in each case when their respective successors are duly elected and qualified. These provisions could delay for up to two years the replacement of a majority of the Board of Trustees. See the Funds Prospectus under Certain Provisions in the Declaration of Trust and By-Laws.
32
SHARE OWNERSHIP
The following table sets forth the dollar range of equity securities beneficially owned by each trustee as of October 31, 2008:
Name of Trustee |
Dollar Range of Equity Securities in the Fund |
Aggregate Dollar Range of Equity Securities in All Registered Investment Companies Overseen by Trustee in Family of Investment Companies | ||
John M. Amboian |
None | Over $100,000 | ||
Robert P. Bremner |
None | Over $100,000 | ||
Jack B. Evans |
None | Over $100,000 | ||
William C. Hunter |
None | Over $100,000 | ||
David J. Kundert |
None | Over $100,000 | ||
William S. Schneider |
None | Over $100,000 | ||
Judith M. Stockdale |
None | Over $100,000 | ||
Carole E. Stone |
None | $10,001 - $50,000 | ||
Terence J. Toth |
None | $10,001 - $50,000 |
No trustee who is not an interested person of the Fund or his immediate family member owns beneficially or of record, any security of NAM, Nuveen or any person (other than a registered investment company) directly or indirectly controlling, controlled by or under common control with NAM or Nuveen.
COMPENSATION
The following table sets forth estimated compensation to be paid by the Fund projected during the Funds first full fiscal year after commencement of operation. The Fund does not have a retirement or pension plan. The officers and trustees affiliated with Nuveen serve without any compensation from the Fund. The Fund has a deferred compensation plan (the Plan) that permits any trustee who is not an interested person of the Fund to elect to defer receipt of all or a portion of his or her compensation as a trustee. The deferred compensation of a participating trustee is credited to a book reserve account of the Fund when the compensation would otherwise have been paid to the trustee. The value of the trustees deferral account at any time is equal to the value that the account would have had if contributions to the account had been invested and reinvested in shares of one or more of the eligible Nuveen funds. At the time for commencing distributions from a trustees deferral account, the trustee may elect to receive distributions in a lump sum or over a period of five years. The Fund will not be liable for any other funds obligations to make distributions under the Plan.
Aggregate Compensation from Fund(1) |
Amount of Total Compensation That Has Been Deferred(2) |
Total Compensation from Fund and Fund Complex(3) | |||||||
Robert P. Bremner |
$ | 797 | $ | 19,868 | $ | 216,138 | |||
Jack B. Evans |
660 | 29,023 | 189,578 | ||||||
William C. Hunter |
552 | 101,987 | 120,659 | ||||||
David J. Kundert |
624 | 106,695 | 128,240 | ||||||
William J. Schneider |
647 | 118,534 | 140,917 | ||||||
Judith M. Stockdale |
596 | 34,396 | 160,362 | ||||||
Carole E. Stone |
552 | | 171,750 | ||||||
Terence J. Toth(4) |
552 | 23,664 | 28,695 |
(1) | Based on the estimated compensation to be earned by the independent trustees for the 12-month period ending December 31, 2009, representing the Funds first full fiscal year, for services to the Fund. |
33
(2) | Pursuant to a deferred compensation agreement with certain of the Nuveen Funds, deferred amounts are treated as though an equivalent dollar amount has been invested in shares of one or more eligible Nuveen funds. Total deferred fees for the Funds (including the return from the assumed investment in the eligible Nuveen Funds) payable are stated above. |
(3) | Based on the compensation paid (including any amounts deferred) for the one year period ending for services to the Nuveen open-end and closed-end funds. |
(4) | Mr. Toth was appointed to the Board of Trustees of the Nuveen Funds, effective July 1, 2008. |
Independent trustees receive a $100,000 annual retainer plus (a) a fee of $3,250 per day for attendance in person or by telephone at a regularly scheduled meeting of the Board of Trustees; (b) a fee of $2,500 per meeting for attendance in person where such in-person attendance is required and $1,500 per meeting for attendance by telephone or in person where in-person attendance is not required at a special, non-regularly scheduled board meeting; (c) a fee of $2,000 per meeting for attendance in person or by telephone at an Audit Committee meeting; (d) a fee of $2,000 per meeting for attendance in person at a Compliance, Risk Management and Regulatory Oversight Committee meeting where in-person attendance is required and $1,000 per meeting for attendance by telephone where in-person attendance is not required; (e) a fee of $1,000 per meeting for attendance in person or by telephone for a meeting of the Dividend Committee; and (f) a fee of $500 per meeting for attendance in person at all other committee meetings ($1,000 for shareholder meetings) on a day on which no regularly scheduled board meeting is held in which in-person attendance is required and $250 per meeting for attendance by telephone or in person at such committee meetings (excluding shareholder meetings) where in-person attendance is not required and $100 per meeting when the Executive Committee acts as pricing committee for IPOs, plus, in each case, expenses incurred in attending such meetings. In addition to the payments described above, the independent Chairman of the Board of Trustees receives $50,000, the chairpersons of the Audit Committee, the Dividend Committee and the Compliance, Risk Management and Regulatory Oversight Committee receive $7,500 and the chairperson of the Nominating and Governance Committee receives $5,000 as additional retainers. Independent trustees also receive a fee of $2,500 per day for site visits to entities that provide services to the Nuveen Funds on days on which no regularly scheduled board meeting is held. When ad hoc committees are organized, the Nominating and Governance Committee will at the time of formation determine compensation to be paid to the members of such committee; however, in general, such fees will be $1,000 per meeting for attendance in person at any ad hoc committee meeting where in-person attendance is required and $500 per meeting for attendance by telephone or in person at such meetings where in-person attendance is not required. The annual retainer, fees and expenses are allocated among the Nuveen Funds on the basis of relative net asset sizes, although fund management may, in its discretion, establish a minimum amount to be allocated to each fund.
The Fund has no employees. Its officers are compensated by Nuveen Investments or its affiliates.
NAM, the Funds investment adviser, is responsible for determining the Funds overall investment strategy and its implementation. NAM also is responsible for managing operations and the Funds business affairs and providing certain clerical, bookkeeping and other administrative services to the Fund. For additional information regarding the management services performed by NAM, including biographies of each of the Funds portfolio managers and further information about the investment management agreement between the Fund and NAM, see Management of the Fund in the Funds Prospectus.
NAM, 333 West Wacker Drive, Chicago, Illinois 60606, a registered investment adviser, is a wholly-owned subsidiary of Nuveen Investments. Founded in 1898, Nuveen Investments and its affiliates had approximately $134 billion of assets under management as of September 30, 2008, of which approximately $60.7 billion was in municipal securities. Regarding this approximately $60.7 billion of tax-exempt municipal securities, approximately $32.2 billion, $14.1 billion, $12.8 billion and $1.7 billion represent assets relating to closed-end bond municipal funds, open-end municipal bond funds, retail municipal managed accounts and institutional
34
municipal managed accounts, respectively. According to data from Thomson Wealth Management, Nuveen Investments is the leading sponsor of closed-end exchange-traded funds as measured by number of funds (120) and the amount of fund assets under management (approximately $43.8 billion) as of September 30, 2008.
Nuveen Investments provides high quality investment services designed to help secure the long-term goals of institutions and high net worth investors as well as the consultants and financial advisors who serve them. Nuveen Investments markets its growing range of specialized investment solutions under the high-quality brands of HydePark, NWQ, Nuveen, Rittenhouse, Santa Barbara, Symphony and Tradewinds.
Unless otherwise indicated, the information below is provided as of the date of this Statement of Additional Information.
Portfolio Management Team. Thomas Spalding is the Funds portfolio manager at NAM and has primary responsibility for the day-to-day implementation of the Funds investment strategy.
In addition to managing the Fund, Mr. Spalding is also primarily responsible for the day-to-day portfolio management of the following accounts. Information is provided as of October 31, 2008 unless otherwise indicated:
Type of Account Managed |
Number of Accounts | Assets* | |||
Registered Investment Company |
12 | $ | 8.4 billion | ||
Other Pooled Investment Vehicles |
0 | $ | 0 | ||
Other Accounts |
5 | $ | 15 million |
* | None of the assets in these accounts are subject to an advisory fee based on performance. |
Compensation. The Funds portfolio managers compensation consists of three basic elementsbase salary, cash bonus and long-term incentive compensation. The compensation strategy is to annually compare overall compensation, to the market in order to create a compensation structure that is competitive and consistent with similar financial services companies. As discussed below, several factors are considered in determining each portfolio managers total compensation. In any year these factors may include, among others, the effectiveness of the investment strategies recommended by the portfolio managers investment team, the investment performance of the accounts managed by the portfolio manager, and the overall performance of Nuveen Investments (the parent company of NAM). Although investment performance is a factor in determining the portfolio managers compensation, it is not necessarily a decisive factor. The portfolio managers performance is evaluated in part by comparing managers performance against a specified investment benchmark. This fund-specific benchmark is a customized subset (limited to bonds in each funds specific state and with certain maturity parameters) of the S&P/Investortools Municipal Bond index, an index comprised of bonds held by managed municipal bond fund customers of Standard & Poors Securities Pricing, Inc. that are priced daily and whose fund holdings aggregate at least $2 million. As of October 31, 2008, the S&P/Investortools Municipal Bond index was comprised of 52,959 securities with an aggregate current market value of $1,009 billion.
Base salary. The Funds portfolio manager is paid a base salary that is set at a level determined by NAM in accordance with its overall compensation strategy discussed above. NAM is not under any current contractual obligation to increase a portfolio managers base salary.
Cash bonus. The Funds portfolio manager is also eligible to receive an annual cash bonus. The level of this bonus is based upon evaluations and determinations made by each portfolio managers supervisors, along with reviews submitted by his peers. These reviews and evaluations often take into account a number of factors, including the effectiveness of the investment strategies recommended to NAMs investment team, the
35
performance of the accounts for which he serves as portfolio manager relative to any benchmarks established for those accounts, his effectiveness in communicating investment performance to stockholders and their representatives, and his contribution to NAMs investment process and to the execution of investment strategies. The cash bonus component is also impacted by the overall performance of Nuveen Investments in achieving its business objectives.
Long-term incentive compensation. In connection with the acquisition of Nuveen Investments, by a group of investors lead by Madison Dearborn Partners LLC in November 2007, certain employees, including portfolio managers, received profit interests in Nuveen Investments. These profit interests entitle the holders to participate in the appreciation in the value of Nuveen Investments beyond the issue date and vest over five to seven years, or earlier in the case of a liquidity event.
Conflicts of Interest. Each portfolio managers simultaneous management of the registrant and the other accounts noted above may present actual or apparent conflicts of interest with respect to the allocation and aggregation of securities orders placed on behalf of the Registrant and the other account. NAM; however, believes that such potential conflicts are mitigated by the fact that NAM has adopted several policies that address potential conflicts of interest, including best execution and trade allocation policies that are designed to ensure (1) that portfolio management is seeking the best price for portfolio securities under the circumstances, (2) fair and equitable allocation of investment opportunities among accounts over time and (3) compliance with applicable regulatory requirements. All accounts are to be treated in a non-preferential manner, such that allocations are not based upon account performance, fee structure or preference of the portfolio manager. In addition, NAM has adopted a Code of Conduct that sets forth policies regarding conflicts of interest.
Beneficial Ownership of Securities. As of the date of this Statement of Additional Information, Mr. Spalding does not beneficially own any stock issued by the Fund.
Unless earlier terminated as described below, the Funds management agreement with NAM will remain in effect until August 1, 2010. The management agreement continues in effect from year to year so long as such continuation is approved at least annually by (1) the Board of Trustees or the vote of a majority of the outstanding voting securities of the Fund and (2) a majority of the trustees who are not interested persons of any party to the management agreement, cast in person at a meeting called for the purpose of voting on such approval. The management agreement may be terminated at any time, without penalty, by either the Fund or NAM upon 60 days written notice, and is automatically terminated in the event of its assignment as defined in the 1940 Act.
The Fund, NAM, Nuveen and other related entities have adopted codes of ethics that essentially prohibit certain of their personnel, including the Funds portfolio managers, from engaging in personal investments that compete or interfere with, or attempt to take advantage of a clients, including the Funds, anticipated or actual portfolio transactions, and are designed to assure that the interests of clients, including Fund shareholders, are placed before the interests of personnel in connection with personal investment transactions. Text-only versions of the codes of ethics of the Fund, NAM and Nuveen can be viewed online or downloaded from the EDGAR Database on the Securities and Exchange Commissions internet web site at www.sec.gov. You may also review and copy those documents by visiting the Securities and Exchange Commissions Public Reference Room in Washington, DC. Information on the operation of the Public Reference Room may be obtained by calling the Securities and Exchange Commission at 202-942-8090. In addition, copies of those codes of ethics may be obtained, after mailing the appropriate duplicating fee, by writing to the Securities and Exchange Commissions Public Reference Section, 100 F Street, N.E., Washington, DC 20549 or by e-mail request at publicinfo@sec.gov.
The Fund invests its assets generally in municipal securities. On rare occasions the Fund may acquire, directly or through a special purpose vehicle, equity securities of certain issuers whose securities the Fund already owns when such securities have deteriorated or are expected shortly to deteriorate significantly in credit
36
quality. The purpose of acquiring equity securities generally will be to acquire control of the issuer and to seek to prevent the credit deterioration or facilitate the liquidation or other workout of the distressed issuers credit problem. In the course of exercising control of a distressed issuer, NAM may pursue the Funds interests in a variety of ways, which may entail negotiating and executing consents, agreements and other arrangements, and otherwise influencing the management of the issuer. NAM does not consider such activities proxy voting for purposes of Rule 206(4)-6 under the Investment Advisers Act of 1940, as amended (the Advisers Act), but nevertheless provides reports to the Funds Board of Trustees on its control activities on a quarterly basis.
In the rare event that an issuer were to issue a proxy or that the Fund were to receive a proxy issued by a cash management security, NAM would either engage an independent third party to determine how the proxy should be voted or vote the proxy with the consent, or based on the instructions, of the Funds Board of Trustees or its representative. A member of NAMs legal department would oversee the administration of the voting and ensure that records maintained in accordance with Rule 206(4)-6 of the Advisers Act were filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission on Form N-PX, provided to the Funds Board of Trustees and made available to shareholders as required by applicable rules.
In the event of a conflict of interest that might arise when voting proxies for the Fund, NAM will defer to the recommendation of an independent third party engaged to determine how the proxy should be voted, or, alternatively, members of NAMs legal and compliance departments, in consultation with the Board of Trustees, will examine the conflict of interest and seek to resolve such conflict in the best interest of the Fund. If a member of NAMs legal or compliance department or the Board of Trustees has a personal conflict of interest, that member will refrain from participating in the consultation.
Information regarding how the Fund voted proxies relating to portfolio securities during the most recent twelve-month period ended June 30 will be available without charge by calling (800) 257-8787 or by accessing the Securities and Exchange Commissions website at http://www.sec.gov.
PORTFOLIO TRANSACTIONS AND BROKERAGE
Subject to the supervision of the Board of Trustees, NAM is responsible for decisions to purchase and sell securities for the Fund, the negotiation of the prices to be paid and the allocation of transactions among various dealer firms. Transactions on stock exchanges involve the payment by the Fund of brokerage commissions. There generally is no stated commission in the case of securities traded in the OTC market but the price paid by the Fund usually includes an undisclosed dealer commission or mark-up. Transactions in the OTC market can also be placed with broker-dealers who act as agents and charge brokerage commissions for effecting OTC transactions. The Fund may place its OTC transactions either directly with principal market makers, or with broker-dealers if that is consistent with NAMs obligation to obtain best qualitative execution. In certain instances, the Fund may make purchases of underwritten issues at prices that include underwriting fees.
Portfolio securities may be purchased directly from an underwriter or in the OTC market from the principal dealers in such securities, unless it appears that a better price or execution may be obtained through other means. Portfolio securities will not be purchased from Nuveen or its affiliates or affiliates of NAM except in compliance with the 1940 Act.
It is NAMs policy to seek the best execution under the circumstances of each trade. NAM will evaluate price as the primary consideration, with the financial condition, reputation and responsiveness of the dealer considered secondary in determining best execution. Given the best execution obtainable, it will be NAMs practice to select dealers that, in addition, furnish research information (primarily credit analyses of issuers and general economic reports) and statistical and other services to NAM. It is not possible to place a dollar value on information and statistical and other services received from dealers. Since it is only supplementary to NAMs own research efforts, the receipt of research information is not expected to reduce significantly NAMs expenses.
37
While NAM will be primarily responsible for the placement of the business of the Fund, NAMs policies and practices in this regard must be consistent with the foregoing and will, at all times, be subject to review by the Board of Trustees of the Fund.
NAM may manage other investment accounts and investment companies for other clients that may invest in the same types of securities as the Fund and that may have investment objectives similar to those of the Fund. NAM seeks to allocate portfolio transactions equitably whenever concurrent decisions are made to purchase or sell assets or securities by the Fund and another advisory account. If an aggregated order cannot be filled completely, allocations will generally be made on a pro rata basis. An order may not be allocated on a pro rata basis where, for example (i) consideration is given to portfolio managers who have been instrumental in developing or negotiating a particular investment; (ii) consideration is given to an account with specialized investment policies that coincide with the particulars of a specific investment; (iii) pro rata allocation would result in odd-lot or de minimis amounts being allocated to a portfolio or other client; or (iv) where NAM reasonably determines that departure from a pro rata allocation is advisable. There may also be instances where the Fund will not participate at all in a transaction that is allocated among other accounts. While these allocation procedures could have a detrimental effect on the price or amount of the securities available to the Fund from time to time, it is the opinion of the Board of Trustees that the benefits available from NAMs management outweigh any disadvantage that may arise from NAMs larger management activities and its need to allocate securities.
38
COMMON SHARES
For a description of the Funds Common Shares, see Description of SharesCommon Shares in the Funds Prospectus.
PREFERRED SHARES
As a fundamental policy, the Fund will not leverage its capital structure by issuing senior securities such as preferred shares or debt instruments without the approval of the Common Shareholders. However, the Declaration authorizes the issuance of an unlimited number of preferred shares in one or more classes or series, with rights as determined by the Board of Trustees of the Fund, by action of the Board of Trustees without the approval of the Common Shareholders. The terms of any preferred shares that may be issued by the Fund may be the same as, or different from, the terms described below, subject to applicable law and the Declaration.
Limited Issuance of Preferred Shares. Under the 1940 Act, the Fund could issue preferred shares with an aggregate liquidation value of up to one-half of the value of the Funds total net assets, measured immediately after issuance of the preferred shares. Liquidation value means the original purchase price of the shares being liquidated plus any accrued and unpaid dividends. In addition, the Fund is not permitted to declare any cash dividend or other distribution on its Common Shares unless the liquidation value of the preferred shares is less than one-half of the value of the Funds total net assets (determined after deducting the amount of such dividend or distribution) immediately after the distribution.
Distribution Preference. Any preferred shares would have complete priority over the Common Shares as to distribution of assets.
Liquidation Preference. In the event of any voluntary or involuntary liquidation, dissolution or winding up of the affairs of the Fund, holders of preferred shares would be entitled to receive a preferential liquidating distribution (expected to equal the original purchase price per share plus accumulated and unpaid dividends thereon, whether or not earned or declared) before any distribution of assets is made to Common Shareholders. After payment of the full amount of the liquidating distribution to which they are entitled, holders of preferred shares will not be entitled to any further participation in any distribution of assets by the Fund. A consolidation or merger of the Fund with or into any Massachusetts business trust or corporation or a sale of all or substantially all of the assets of the Fund shall not be deemed to be a liquidation, dissolution or winding up of the Fund.
Voting Rights. In connection with any issuance of preferred shares, the Fund must comply with Section 18(i) of the 1940 Act, which requires, among other things, that preferred shares be voting shares and have equal voting rights with Common Shares. Except as otherwise indicated in this Statement of Additional Information and except as otherwise required by applicable law, holders of preferred shares would vote together with Common Shareholders as a single class.
In connection with the election of the Funds trustees, holders of preferred shares, voting as a separate class, would be entitled to elect two of the Funds trustees, and the remaining trustees would be elected by Common Shareholders and holders of preferred shares, voting together as a single class. In addition, if at any time dividends on the Funds outstanding preferred shares would be unpaid in an amount equal to two full years dividends thereon, the holders of all outstanding preferred shares, voting as a separate class, would be entitled to elect a majority of the Funds trustees until all dividends in arrears have been paid or declared and set apart for payment.
The affirmative vote of the holders of a majority of the Funds outstanding preferred shares of any class or series, as the case may be, voting as a separate class, would be required to, among other things, (1) take certain actions that would affect the preferences, rights, or powers of such class or series or (2) authorize or issue any
39
class or series ranking prior to the preferred shares. Except as may otherwise be required by law, (1) the affirmative vote of the holders of at least two-thirds of the Funds preferred shares outstanding at the time, voting as a separate class, would be required to approve any conversion of the Fund from a closed-end to an open-end investment company and (2) the affirmative vote of the holders of at least two-thirds of the outstanding preferred shares, voting as a separate class, would be required to approve any plan of reorganization (as such term is used in the 1940 Act) adversely affecting such shares; provided however, that such separate class vote would be a majority vote if the action in question has previously been approved, adopted or authorized by the affirmative vote of two-thirds of the total number of trustees fixed in accordance with the Declaration or the By-laws. The affirmative vote of the holders of a majority of the outstanding preferred shares, voting as a separate class, would be required to approve any action not described in the preceding sentence requiring a vote of security holders under Section 13(a) of the 1940 Act including, among other things, changes in a Funds investment objectives or changes in the investment restrictions described as fundamental policies under Investment Restrictions in this Statement of Additional Information. The class or series vote of holders of preferred shares described above would in each case be in addition to any separate vote of the requisite percentage of Common Shares and preferred shares necessary to authorize the action in question.
The foregoing voting provisions would not apply with respect to the Funds preferred shares if, at or prior to the time when a vote was required, such shares would have been (1) redeemed or (2) called for redemption and sufficient funds would have been deposited in trust to effect such redemption.
Redemption, Purchase and Sale of Preferred Shares. The terms of the preferred shares may provide that they are redeemable by the Fund at certain times, in whole or in part, at the original purchase price per share plus accumulated dividends, that the Fund may tender for or purchase preferred shares and that the Fund may subsequently resell any shares so tendered for or purchased. Any redemption or purchase of preferred shares by the Fund would reduce the leverage applicable to Common Shares, while any resale of such shares by the Fund would increase such leverage.
In the event of any future issuance of preferred shares, the Fund likely would apply for ratings from an NRSRO. In such event, as long as preferred shares are outstanding, the composition of the Funds portfolio would reflect guidelines established by such NRSRO. Based on previous guidelines established by such NRSROs for the securities of other issuers, the Fund anticipates that the guidelines may impose asset coverage or portfolio composition requirements that are more stringent than those imposed on the Fund by the 1940 Act. However, at this time, no assurance can be given as to the nature or extent of the guidelines that may be imposed in connection with obtaining a rating of any preferred shares.
BORROWINGS
As a fundamental policy, the Fund will not issue commercial paper or notes (Borrowings). However, the Declaration authorizes the Fund, without prior approval of the Common Shareholders, to borrow money. In this connection, the Fund may issue Borrowings (including bank borrowings or commercial paper) and may secure any such Borrowings by mortgaging, pledging or otherwise subjecting as security the Funds assets. In connection with such Borrowings, the Fund may be required to maintain minimum average balances with the lender or to pay a commitment or other fee to maintain a line of credit. Any such requirements would increase the cost of any such Borrowings over the stated interest rate. Under the requirements of the 1940 Act, the Fund, immediately after any Borrowings, must have an asset coverage of at least 300%. With respect to any such Borrowings, asset coverage means the ratio that the value of the total assets of the Fund, less all liabilities and indebtedness not represented by senior securities (as defined in the 1940 Act), bears to the aggregate amount of such Borrowings represented by senior securities issued by the Fund. Certain types of Borrowings may result in the Fund being subject to covenants in credit agreements relating to asset coverages or portfolio composition or otherwise. In addition, the Fund may be subject to certain restrictions imposed by guidelines of one or more rating agencies that may issue ratings on commercial paper or notes issued by the Fund. Such restrictions may be more stringent than those imposed by the 1940 Act.
40
The rights of lenders to the Fund to receive interest on and repayment of principal of any such Borrowings would be senior to those of the Common Shareholders, and the terms of any such Borrowings may contain provisions that limit certain activities of the Fund, including the payment of dividends to Common Shareholders in certain circumstances. Further, the 1940 Act would (in certain circumstances) grant to the lenders to the Fund certain voting rights in the event of default in the payment of interest on or repayment of principal. In the event that such provisions would impair the Funds status as a regulated investment company under the Code (as defined under Tax MattersFederal Income Tax Matters), the Fund would repay the Borrowings. Any Borrowings will likely be ranked senior or equal to all other existing and future Borrowings of the Fund. The Fund also may borrow up to an additional 5% of its total assets for temporary purposes.
REPURCHASE OF FUND SHARES; CONVERSION TO OPEN-END FUND
The Fund is a closed-end investment company and as such its shareholders will not have the right to cause the Fund to redeem their shares. Instead, the Funds Common Shares will trade in the open market at a price that will be a function of several factors, including dividend levels (which are in turn affected by expenses), net asset value, dividend stability, relative demand for and supply of such shares in the market, general market and economic conditions and other factors. Because shares of a closed-end investment company may frequently trade at prices lower than net asset value, the Funds Board of Trustees has currently determined that, at least annually, it will consider action that might be taken to reduce or eliminate any material discount from net asset value in respect of Common Shares, which may include the repurchase of such shares in the open market or in private transactions, the making of a tender offer for such shares at net asset value, or the conversion of the Fund to an open-end investment company. There can be no assurance, however, that the Board of Trustees will decide to take any of these actions, or that share repurchases or tender offers, if undertaken, will reduce market discount.
The staff of the Securities and Exchange Commission currently requires that any tender offer made by a closed-end investment company for its shares must be at a price equal to the net asset value of such shares on the close of business on the last day of the tender offer. Any service fees incurred in connection with any tender offer made by the Fund will be borne by the Fund and will not reduce the stated consideration to be paid to tendering shareholders.
Subject to its investment limitations, the Fund may borrow to finance the repurchase of shares or to make a tender offer. Interest on any Borrowings to finance share repurchase transactions or the accumulation of cash by the Fund in anticipation of share repurchases or tenders will reduce the Funds net income. Any share repurchase, tender offer or borrowing that might be approved by the Board of Trustees would have to comply with the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended, and the 1940 Act and the rules and regulations thereunder.
Although the decision to take action in response to a discount from net asset value will be made by the Board of Trustees at the time it considers such issue, it is the Boards present policy, which may be changed by the Board, not to authorize repurchases of Common Shares or a tender offer for such shares if (1) such transactions, if consummated, would (a) result in the delisting of the Common Shares from the New York Stock Exchange or elsewhere, or (b) impair the Funds status as a regulated investment company under the Code (which would make the Fund a taxable entity, causing the Funds income to be taxed at the corporate level in addition to the taxation of shareholders who receive dividends from the Fund) or as a registered closed-end investment company under the 1940 Act; (2) the Fund would not be able to liquidate portfolio securities in an orderly manner and consistent with the Funds investment objectives and policies in order to repurchase shares; or (3) there is, in the Boards judgment, any (a) material legal action or proceeding instituted or threatened challenging such transactions or otherwise materially adversely affecting the Fund, (b) general suspension of or limitation on prices for trading securities on the New York Stock Exchange or elsewhere, (c) declaration of a banking moratorium by Federal or state authorities or any suspension of payment by United States or state banks in which the Fund invests, (d) material limitation affecting the Fund or the issuers of its portfolio securities by Federal or state authorities on the extension of credit by lending institutions or on the exchange of
41
non-U.S. currency, (e) commencement of war, armed hostilities or other international or national calamity directly or indirectly involving the United States, or (f) other event or condition that would have a material adverse effect (including any adverse tax effect) on the Fund or its shareholders if shares were repurchased. The Board of Trustees of the Fund may in the future modify these conditions in light of experience.
Conversion to an open-end company would require the approval of the holders of at least two-thirds of the Funds Common Shares outstanding at the time, voting together as a single class. See the Funds Prospectus under Certain Provisions in the Declaration of Trust and By-Laws for a discussion of voting requirements applicable to conversion of the Fund to an open-end investment company. If the Fund converted to an open-end investment company, the Funds Common Shares would no longer be listed on the New York Stock Exchange or elsewhere. In contrast to a closed-end investment company, shareholders of an open-end investment company may require the company to redeem their shares on any business day (except in certain circumstances as authorized by or under the 1940 Act or rules thereunder) at their net asset value, less such redemption charge, if any, as might be in effect at the time of redemption. In order to avoid maintaining large cash positions or liquidating favorable investments to meet redemptions, open-end investment companies typically engage in a continuous offering of their shares. Open-end investment companies are thus subject to periodic asset in-flows and out-flows that can complicate portfolio management. The Board of Trustees of the Fund may at any time propose conversion of the Fund to an open-end investment company depending upon their judgment as to the advisability of such action in light of circumstances then prevailing.
The repurchase by the Fund of its shares at prices below net asset value will result in an increase in the net asset value of those shares that remain outstanding. However, there can be no assurance that share repurchases or tenders at or below net asset value will result in the Funds shares trading at a price equal to their net asset value. Nevertheless, the fact that the Funds shares may be the subject of repurchase or tender offers at net asset value from time to time, or that the Fund may be converted to an open-end investment company, may reduce any spread between market price and net asset value that might otherwise exist.
In addition, a purchase by the Fund of its Common Shares will decrease the Funds total assets, which would likely have the effect of increasing the Funds expense ratio.
Before deciding whether to take any action if the Funds Common Shares trade below net asset value, the Board of Trustees would consider all relevant factors, including the extent and duration of the discount, the liquidity of the Funds portfolio, the impact of any action that might be taken on the Fund or its shareholders, and market considerations. Based on these considerations, even if the Funds shares should trade at a discount, the Board of Trustees may determine that, in the interest of the Fund and its shareholders, no action should be taken.
FEDERAL INCOME TAX MATTERS
The following discussion of U.S. federal income tax matters is based on the advice of Bell, Boyd & Lloyd LLP, special counsel to the Fund.
The following is intended to be a general summary of certain U.S. federal income tax consequences of investing, holding and disposing of Common Shares of the Fund. It is not intended to be a complete discussion of all such federal income tax consequences, nor does it purport to deal with all categories of investors (including Common Shareholders with large positions in the Fund). Investors are advised to consult with their own tax advisors before investing in the Fund.
The Fund intends to elect to be treated, and to qualify each year, as a regulated investment company, under Subchapter M of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986, as amended (the Code), and to satisfy conditions which
42
enable dividends on Common Shares which are attributable to interest on municipal securities to be exempt from federal income tax in the hands of owners of such stock, subject to the possible application of the federal alternative minimum tax.
To qualify for the favorable U.S. federal income tax treatment generally accorded to regulated investment companies, the Fund must, among other things, (a) derive in each taxable year at least 90% of its gross income from dividends, interest, payments with respect to securities loans and gains from the sale or other disposition of stock, securities or non-U.S. currencies, or other income derived with respect to its business of investing in such stock, securities or currencies, or net income derived from interests in qualified publicly traded partnerships, as defined in the Code; (b) diversify its holdings so that, at the end of each quarter of each taxable year, (i) at least 50% of the value of the Funds assets is represented by cash and cash items (including receivables), U.S. Government securities, the securities of other regulated investment companies and other securities, with such other securities of any one issuer limited for the purposes of this calculation to an amount not greater than 5% of the value of the Funds total assets and not greater than 10% of the outstanding voting securities of such issuer, and (ii) not more than 25% of the value of its total assets is invested in the securities (other than U.S. Government securities or the securities of other regulated investment companies) of a single issuer, or two or more issuers that the Fund controls and are engaged in the same, similar or related trades or businesses, or the securities of one or more qualified publicly traded partnerships; and (c) distribute each year an amount equal to or greater than the sum of 90% of its investment company taxable income (as that term is defined in the Code, but without regard to the deduction for dividends paid) and 90% of its net tax-exempt interest.
As a regulated investment company, the Fund generally will not be subject to U.S. federal income tax on its investment company taxable income and net capital gain (the excess of net long-term capital gain over net short-term capital loss), if any, that it distributes to shareholders. The Fund may retain for investment its net capital gain. However, if the Fund retains any net capital gain or any investment company taxable income, it will be subject to tax at regular corporate rates on the amount retained. If the Fund retains any net capital gain, it may designate the retained amount as undistributed capital gains in a notice to its shareholders who, if subject to U.S. federal income tax on long-term capital gains, (i) will be required to include in income for U.S. federal income tax purposes, as long-term capital gain, their share of such undistributed amount, and (ii) will be entitled to credit their proportionate shares of the tax paid by the Fund on such undistributed amount against their U.S. federal income tax liabilities, if any, and to claim refunds to the extent the credit exceeds such liabilities. For U.S. federal income tax purposes, the tax basis of shares owned by a shareholder of the Fund will be increased by an amount equal to the difference between the amount of undistributed capital gains included in the shareholders gross income and the tax deemed paid by the shareholder under clause (ii) of the preceding sentence. The Fund intends to distribute to its shareholders, at least annually, substantially all of its investment company taxable income and the net capital gain not otherwise retained by the Fund.
Amounts not distributed on a timely basis in accordance with a calendar year distribution requirement are subject to a nondeductible 4% excise tax. To prevent imposition of the excise tax, the Fund must distribute during each calendar year an amount at least equal to the sum of (1) 98% of its ordinary taxable income (not taking into account any capital gains or losses) for the calendar year, (2) 98% of its capital gains in excess of its capital losses (adjusted for certain ordinary losses) for the one-year period ending October 31 of the calendar year, and (3) any ordinary taxable income and capital gains for previous years that were not distributed during those years and on which the Fund paid no U.S. federal income tax. To prevent application of the excise tax, the Fund intends to make its distributions in accordance with the calendar year distribution requirement.
If the Fund failed to qualify as a regulated investment company or failed to satisfy the 90% distribution requirement in any taxable year, the Fund would be taxed in the same manner as an ordinary corporation on its taxable income (even if such income were distributed to its shareholders) and distributions to shareholders would not be deductible by the Fund in computing its taxable income. Additionally, all distributions out of earnings and profits would be taxed to shareholders as ordinary dividend income. Such distributions generally would be eligible (i) to be treated as qualified dividend income, as discussed below in the case of noncorporate
43
shareholders and (ii) for the dividends received deduction under Section 243 of the Code (the Dividends Received Deduction) in the case of corporate shareholders.
The Fund intends to qualify to pay exempt-interest dividends, as defined in the Code, on its Common Shares by satisfying the requirement that, at the close of each quarter of its taxable year, at least 50% of the value of its total assets consist of tax-exempt municipal bonds. Exempt-interest dividends are dividends or any part thereof (other than a capital gain dividend) paid by the Fund which are attributable to interest on municipal bonds and are so designated by the Fund. Exempt-interest dividends will be exempt from U.S. federal income tax, subject to the possible application of the federal alternative minimum tax. Gains of the Fund that are attributable to market discount on certain municipal securities are treated as ordinary income to the extent of accrued market discount on the bond.
A portion of the Funds expenditures that would otherwise be deductible may not be allowed as deductions by reason of the Funds investment in municipal securities (with such disallowed portion, in general, being the same percentage of the Funds aggregate expenses as the percentage of the Funds aggregate income (other than capital gain income) that constitutes exempt-interest income from municipal securities). A similar disallowance rule also applies to interest expense paid or incurred by the Fund, if any. Such disallowed deductions, if any, will reduce the amount that the Fund can designate as exempt-interest dividends by the disallowed amount. As a result, income distributions by the Fund in excess of the amount of the Funds exempt-interest dividends may be taxable as ordinary income.
The Funds investment in zero coupon bonds will cause it to realize income prior to the receipt of cash payments with respect to these bonds. Such income will be accrued daily by the Fund and, in order to avoid a tax payable by the Fund, the Fund may be required to liquidate securities that it might otherwise continue to hold in order to generate cash so that the Fund may make required distributions to its shareholders.
Distributions to shareholders of net investment income received by the Fund from taxable temporary investments, if any, and of net short-term capital gains realized by the Fund, if any, will be taxable to its shareholders as ordinary income. Distributions by the Fund of net capital gain (i.e., the excess of net long-term capital gain over net short-term capital loss), if any, are taxable as long-term capital gain, regardless of the length of time the shareholder has owned the shares with respect to which such distributions are made. The amount of taxable income allocable to the Funds shares will depend upon the amount of such income realized by the Fund, but is not generally expected to be significant. Distributions, if any, in excess of the Funds earnings and profits will first reduce the adjusted tax basis of a shareholders shares and, after that basis has been reduced to zero, will constitute capital gain to the shareholder (assuming the shares are held as a capital asset). For taxable years beginning before January 1, 2011, qualified dividend income received by noncorporate shareholders is taxed at rates equivalent to long-term capital gain tax rates, which reach a maximum of 15%. Qualified dividend income generally includes dividends from domestic corporations and dividends from non-U.S. corporations that meet certain specified criteria. For taxable years beginning on or after January 1, 2011, qualified dividend income will no longer be taxed at the rates applicable to long-term capital gains, and the maximum individual tax rate on long-term capital gains will increase to 20%, unless Congress enacts legislation providing otherwise. As long as the Fund qualifies as a regulated investment company under the Code, it is not expected that any part of its distributions to shareholders from its investments will qualify for the dividends-received deduction available to corporate shareholders or as qualified dividend income in the case of noncorporate shareholders.
The Internal Revenue Service (the IRS) indicates that the Fund is required to designate distributions paid with respect to its Common Shares and its preferred shares as consisting of a portion of each type of income distributed by the Fund. The portion of each type of income deemed received by the holders of each class of shares will be equal to the portion of total Fund dividends received by such class. Thus, the Fund will designate dividends paid as exempt-interest dividends in a manner that allocates such dividends between the holders of the Common Shares and the preferred shares in proportion to the total dividends paid to each such class during or with respect to the taxable year, or otherwise as required by applicable law. Capital gain dividends and ordinary income dividends will similarly be allocated between the two classes.
44
The Code provides that interest on indebtedness incurred or continued to purchase or carry the Funds shares to which exempt-interest dividends are allocated is not deductible. Under rules used by the IRS for determining when borrowed funds are considered used for the purpose of purchasing or carrying particular assets, the purchase or ownership of shares may be considered to have been made with borrowed funds even though such funds are not directly used for the purchase or ownership of such shares.
The interest on private activity bonds in most instances is not federally tax-exempt to a person who is a substantial user of a facility financed by such bonds or a related person of such substantial user. As a result, the Fund may not be an appropriate investment for a shareholder who is considered either a substantial user or a related person within the meaning of the Code. In general, a substantial user of a facility includes a nonexempt person who regularly uses a part of such facility in his trade or business. Related persons are in general defined to include persons among whom there exists a relationship, either by family or business, which would result in a disallowance of losses in transactions among them under various provisions of the Code (or if they are members of the same controlled group of corporations under the Code), including a partnership and each of its partners (and certain members of their families), an S corporation and each of its shareholders (and certain members of their families) and various combinations of these and other relationships. The foregoing is not a complete description of all of the provisions of the Code covering the definitions of substantial user and related person.
Although dividends generally will be treated as distributed when paid, dividends declared in October, November or December, payable to shareholders of record on a specified date in one of those months and paid during the following January, will be treated as having been distributed by the Fund (and received by the shareholders) on December 31 of the year declared.
Certain of the Funds investment practices are subject to special provisions of the Code that, among other things, may defer the use of certain deductions or losses of the Fund, affect the holding period of securities held by the Fund and alter the character of the gains or losses realized by the Fund. These provisions may also require the Fund to recognize income or gain without receiving cash with which to make distributions in the amounts necessary to satisfy the requirements for maintaining regulated investment company status and for avoiding income and excise taxes. The Fund will monitor its transactions and may make certain tax elections in order to mitigate the effect of these rules and prevent disqualification of the Fund as a regulated investment company.
The redemption, sale or exchange of Common Shares normally will result in capital gain or loss to holders of Common Shares who hold their shares as capital assets. Generally, a shareholders gain or loss will be long-term capital gain or loss if the shares have been held for more than one year even though the increase in value in such Common Shares is attributable to tax-exempt interest income. Present law taxes both long-term and short-term capital gains of corporations at the same rates applicable to ordinary income. For non-corporate taxpayers, however, long-term capital gains are currently taxed at a maximum rate of 15%, while short-term capital gains and other ordinary income are currently taxes at ordinary income rates. Absent further legislation, the 15% maximum rate applicable to long-term capital gains will increase to 20% for taxable years beginning after December 31, 2010. Any loss on the sale of Common Shares that have been held for six months or less will be disallowed to the extent of any distribution of exempt-interest dividends received with respect to such Common Shares. If a shareholder sells or otherwise disposes of Common Shares before holding them for six months, any loss on the sale or disposition will be treated as a long-term capital loss to the extent of any capital gain dividends received by the Common Shareholder. Any loss realized on a sale or exchange of shares of the Fund will be disallowed to the extent those shares of the Fund are replaced by other substantially identical shares of the Fund within a period of 61 days beginning 30 days before and ending 30 days after the date of disposition of the original shares. In that event, the basis of the replacement shares of the Fund will be adjusted to reflect the disallowed loss.
Federal income tax law imposes an alternative minimum tax with respect to corporations, individuals, trusts and estates. Interest on certain private activity bonds is included as an item of tax preference in determining the amount of a taxpayers alternative minimum taxable income. The Fund will not invest in AMT Bonds. To the
45
extent that the Fund received income from municipal securities subject to the federal alternative minimum tax, a portion of the dividends paid by the Fund, although otherwise exempt from U.S. federal income tax, would be taxable to its shareholders to the extent that their tax liability is determined under the federal alternative minimum tax. The Fund will annually provide a report indicating the percentage of the Funds income attributable to municipal securities subject to the federal alternative minimum tax. In addition, for certain corporations, federal alternative minimum taxable income is increased by 75% of the difference between an alternative measure of income (adjusted current earnings) and the amount otherwise determined to be the alternative minimum taxable income. Interest on all municipal securities, and therefore a distribution by the Fund that would otherwise be tax-exempt, is included in calculating a corporations adjusted current earnings. Certain small corporations are not subject to the federal alternative minimum tax.
Tax-exempt income, including exempt-interest dividends paid by the Fund, is taken into account in calculating the amount of social security and railroad retirement benefits that may be subject to federal income tax.
The Fund may be required to withhold U.S. federal income tax from all taxable distributions and redemption proceeds payable to shareholders who fail to provide the Fund with their correct taxpayer identification number or to make required certifications, or who have been notified by the IRS that they are subject to backup withholding. The backup withholding percentage is 28% for amounts paid through 2010, after which time the rate will increase to 31% absent legislative change. Corporate shareholders and certain other shareholders specified in the Code generally are exempt from such backup withholding. This withholding is not an additional tax. Any amounts withheld may be credited against the shareholders federal income tax liability, provided the required information is furnished to the IRS.
The Code provides that every shareholder required to file a tax return must include for information purposes on such return the amount of tax-exempt interest received during the taxable year, including any exempt-interest dividends received from the Fund.
The Financial Statements of the Fund as of January 20, 2009 appearing in this Statement of Additional Information have been audited by Ernst & Young LLP, an independent registered public accounting firm, as set forth in their report thereon appearing elsewhere herein, and are included in reliance upon such report given upon the authority of such firm as experts in accounting and auditing. Ernst & Young LLP provides auditing services to the Fund. The principal business address of Ernst & Young LLP is 233 South West Wacker Drive, Chicago, Illinois 60606.
The custodian of the assets of the Fund is State Street Bank and Trust Company, One Federal Street, Boston, Massachusetts 02110. The custodian performs custodial, fund accounting and portfolio accounting services. The Funds transfer, shareholder services and dividend paying agent is also State Street Bank and Trust Company, 250 Royall Street, Canton, Massachusetts 02021.
46
A Registration Statement on Form N-2, including amendments thereto, relating to the shares of the Fund offered hereby, has been filed by the Fund with the Securities and Exchange Commission, Washington, D.C. The Funds Prospectus and this Statement of Additional Information do not contain all of the information set forth in the Registration Statement, including any exhibits and schedules thereto. For further information with respect to the Fund and the shares offered hereby, reference is made to the Funds Registration Statement. Statements contained in the Funds Prospectus and this Statement of Additional Information as to the contents of any contract or other document referred to are not necessarily complete and in each instance reference is made to the copy of such contract or other document filed as an exhibit to the Registration Statement, each such statement being qualified in all respects by such reference. Copies of the Registration Statement may be inspected without charge at the Securities and Exchange Commissions principal office in Washington, D.C., and copies of all or any part thereof may be obtained from the Securities and Exchange Commission upon the payment of certain fees prescribed by the Securities and Exchange Commission.
47
REPORT OF INDEPENDENT REGISTERED PUBLIC ACCOUNTING FIRM
The Board of Trustees and Shareholder
Nuveen Municipal Value Fund 2
We have audited the accompanying statement of assets and liabilities of Nuveen Municipal Value Fund 2 (the Fund) as of January 20, 2009, and the related statement of operations for the period from November 19, 2008 (date of organization) through January 20, 2009. These financial statements are the responsibility of the Funds management. Our responsibility is to express an opinion on these financial statements based on our audit.
We conducted our audit in accordance with the standards of the Public Company Accounting Oversight Board (United States). Those standards require that we plan and perform the audit to obtain reasonable assurance about whether the financial statements are free of material misstatement. We were not engaged to perform an audit of the Funds internal control over financial reporting. Our audit included consideration of internal control over financial reporting as a basis for designing audit procedures that are appropriate in the circumstances, but not for the purpose of expressing an opinion on the effectiveness of the Funds internal control over financial reporting. Accordingly, we express no such opinion. An audit also includes examining, on a test basis, evidence supporting the amounts and disclosures in the financial statements, assessing the accounting principles used and significant estimates made by management, and evaluating the overall financial statement presentation. We believe that our audit provides a reasonable basis for our opinion.
In our opinion, the financial statements referred to above present fairly, in all material respects, the financial position of Nuveen Municipal Value Fund 2 at January 20, 2009, and the results of its operations for the period from November 19, 2008 (date of organization) through January 20, 2009, in conformity with US generally accepted accounting principles.
/s/ Ernst & Young LLP
Chicago, Illinois
January 21, 2009
48
NUVEEN MUNICIPAL VALUE FUND 2
Statement of Assets and Liabilities
January 20, 2009
Assets: |
|||
Cash |
$ | 100,275 | |
Offering costs |
400,000 | ||
Receivable from Adviser |
15,000 | ||
Total assets |
515,275 | ||
Liabilities: |
|||
Accrued offering costs |
400,000 | ||
Payable for organization expenses |
15,000 | ||
Total liabilities |
415,000 | ||
Net assets |
$ | 100,275 | |
Common Shares outstanding |
7,000 | ||
Net asset value per Common Share outstanding ($100,275 divided by 7,000 Common Shares outstanding) |
$ | 14.325 | |
Net assets consist of: |
|||
Common Shares, $0.01 par value; unlimited number of shares authorized, 7,000 Common Shares outstanding |
$ | 70 | |
Paid-in surplus |
100,205 | ||
Net assets |
$ | 100,275 | |
NUVEEN MUNICIPAL VALUE FUND 2
Statement of Operations
Period from November 19, 2008 (date of organization) through January 20, 2009
Investment income |
$ | | ||
Expenses: |
||||
Organization expenses |
15,000 | |||
Expense reimbursement |
(15,000 | ) | ||
Total expenses |
| |||
Net investment income |
$ | | ||
(1) | THE FUND |
Nuveen Municipal Value Fund 2 (the Fund) was organized as a Massachusetts business trust on November 19, 2008. The Fund has been inactive since that date except for matters relating to its organization and registration as a diversified, closed-end management investment company registered under the Investment Company Act of 1940, as amended, and the Securities Act of 1933, as amended, and the sale of 7,000 Common Shares to Nuveen Asset Management, the Funds investment adviser (the Adviser), a wholly owned subsidiary of Nuveen Investments, Inc. (Nuveen).
The Fund seeks to provide current income exempt from regular federal income tax and secondarily to enhance portfolio value and total return. The Fund seeks to achieve its investment objectives by investing in a portfolio of municipal securities that the Adviser believes are underrated and undervalued based on its bottom-up, research-driven investment strategy.
49
(2) | SIGNIFICANT ACCOUNTING POLICIES |
The preparation of financial statements in conformity with U.S. generally accepted accounting principles requires management to make estimates and assumptions that affect the reported amounts of assets and liabilities at the date of the financial statements and the reported amounts of increases and decreases in net assets from operations during the reporting period. Actual results may differ from those estimates.
(3) | ORGANIZATION EXPENSES AND OFFERING COSTS |
Nuveen Investments, LLC (the Distributor), a wholly owned subsidiary of Nuveen, has agreed to (i) reimburse all organization expenses of the Fund (approximately $15,000) and (ii) pay all offering costs (other than sales load) that exceed $0.03 per Common Share. Based on an estimated offering size of $200,000,000 (13,333,333 Common Shares), the Fund would pay a maximum of $400,000 of offering costs and Nuveen would pay all offering costs in excess of $400,000, which is currently estimated to be $375,000. The Funds share of offering costs will be recorded as a reduction of the proceeds from the sale of the Common Shares upon commencement of Fund operations.
(4) | INVESTMENT MANAGEMENT AGREEMENT |
Pursuant to an investment management agreement between the Adviser and the Fund, the Fund has agreed to pay an annual management fee for the services and facilities provided by the Adviser, payable on a monthly basis, based on the sum of a fund-level fee and a complex-level fee, as described below.
Fund-Level Fee: The annual fund-level fee, payable monthly, shall be applied according to the following schedule:
Fund-Level Average Daily Managed Assets (1) |
Fund-Level Fee Rate |
||
First $125 million |
0.4000 | % | |
Next $125 million |
0.3875 | ||
Next $250 million |
0.3750 | ||
Next $500 million |
0.3625 | ||
Next $1 billion |
0.3500 | ||
$2 billion and over |
0.3375 |
Complex-Level Fee: The annual complex-level fee, payable monthly, shall be applied according to the schedule below. Based on complex-level assets of $53.6 billion as of December 31, 2008, the complex-level fee rate would be 0.20%.
Complex-Level Asset Breakpoint Level (1) |
Effective Rate at Breakpoint Level |
||
$55 billion |
0.2000 | % | |
$56 billion |
0.1996 | ||
$57 billion |
0.1989 | ||
$60 billion |
0.1961 | ||
$63 billion |
0.1931 | ||
$66 billion |
0.1900 | ||
$71 billion |
0.1851 | ||
$76 billion |
0.1806 | ||
$80 billion |
0.1773 | ||
$91 billion |
0.1691 | ||
$125 billion |
0.1599 | ||
$200 billion |
0.1505 | ||
$250 billion |
0.1469 | ||
$300 billion |
0.1445 |
50
(1) | For this Fund, managed assets means the total assets of the Fund (including proceeds from the Funds use of financial leverage, whether or not reflected in the Funds financial statements for purposes of generally accepted accounting principles, such as, but not limited to, proceeds from tender option bond trusts) minus the sum of accrued liabilities (other than Fund liabilities incurred for the express purpose of creating financial leverage). The complex-level fee is based on the aggregate daily managed assets (as managed assets is defined in each Nuveen Funds investment management agreement with NAM, which generally includes assets attributable to any preferred shares that may be outstanding and any borrowings (including the issuance of commercial paper or notes)) of the Nuveen Funds. |
The management fee compensates the Adviser for overall investment advisory and administrative services and general office facilities. The Fund pays no compensation directly to those of its Trustees who are affiliated with the Adviser or to its officers, all of whom receive remuneration for their services to the Fund from the Adviser or its affiliates.
(5) | INCOME TAXES |
The Fund intends to comply with the requirements of Subchapter M of the Internal Revenue Code applicable to regulated investment companies. The Fund intends to distribute substantially all of its net investment income to shareholders. In any year when the Fund realizes net capital gains, the Fund may choose to distribute all or a portion of its net capital gains to shareholders, or alternatively, to retain all or a portion of its net capital gains and pay Federal corporate income taxes on such retained gains.
51
Ratings of Investments
Standard & Poors CorporationA brief description of the applicable Standard & Poors Corporation Ratings Group, a division of The McGraw-Hill Companies (Standard & Poors or S&P), rating symbols and their meanings (as published by S&P) follows:
A Standard & Poors issue credit rating is a current opinion of the creditworthiness of an obligor with respect to a specific financial obligation, a specific class of financial obligations, or a specific financial program (including ratings on medium term note programs and commercial paper programs). It takes into consideration the creditworthiness of guarantors, insurers, or other forms of credit enhancement on the obligation and takes into account the currency in which the obligation is denominated. The issue credit rating is not a recommendation to purchase, sell, or hold a financial obligation, inasmuch as it does not comment as to market price or suitability for a particular investor.
Issue credit ratings are based on current information furnished by the obligors or obtained by Standard & Poors from other sources it considers reliable. Standard & Poors does not perform an audit in connection with any credit rating and may, on occasion, rely on unaudited financial information. Credit ratings may be changed, suspended, or withdrawn as a result of changes in, or unavailability of, such information, or based on other circumstances.
Issue credit ratings can be either long-term or short-term. Short-term ratings are generally assigned to those obligations considered short-term in the relevant market. In the U.S., for example, that means obligations with an original maturity of no more than 365 daysincluding commercial paper.
Short-term ratings are also used to indicate the creditworthiness of an obligor with respect to put features on long-term obligations. The result is a dual rating, in which the short-term rating addresses the put feature, in addition to the usual long-term rating. Medium-term notes are assigned long-term ratings.
LONG-TERM ISSUE CREDIT RATINGS
Issue credit ratings are based in varying degrees, on the following considerations:
1. Likelihood of paymentcapacity and willingness of the obligor to meet its financial commitment on an obligation in accordance with the terms of the obligation;
2. Nature of and provisions of the obligation; and
3. Protection afforded by, and relative position of, the obligation in the event of bankruptcy, reorganization, or other arrangement under the laws of bankruptcy and other laws affecting creditors rights.
The issue ratings definitions are expressed in terms of default risk. As such, they pertain to senior obligations of an entity. Junior obligations are typically rated lower than senior obligations, to reflect the lower priority in bankruptcy, as noted above. (Such differentration applies when an entity has both senior and subordinated obligations, secured and unsecured obligations, or operating company and holding company obligations.) Accordingly, in the case of junior debt, the rating may not conform exactly with the category definition.
AAA
An obligation rated AAA has the highest rating assigned by Standard & Poors. The obligors capacity to meet its financial commitment on the obligation is extremely strong.
A-1
AA
An obligation rated AA differs from the highest-rated obligations only in small degree. The obligors capacity to meet its financial commitment on the obligation is very strong.
A
An obligation rated A is somewhat more susceptible to the adverse effects of changes in circumstances and economic conditions than obligations in higher-rated categories. However, the obligors capacity to meet its financial commitment on the obligation is still strong.
BBB
An obligation rated BBB exhibits adequate protection parameters. However, adverse economic conditions or changing circumstances are more likely to lead to a weakened capacity of the obligor to meet its financial commitment on the obligation.
BB, B, CCC, CC, and C
Obligations rated BB, B, CCC, CC, and C are regarded as having significant speculative characteristics. BB indicates the least degree of speculation and C the highest. While such obligations will likely have some quality and protective characteristics, these may be outweighed by large uncertainties or major exposures to adverse conditions.
BB
An obligation rated BB is less vulnerable to nonpayment than other speculative issues. However, it faces major ongoing uncertainties or exposure to adverse business, financial, or economic conditions, which could lead to the obligors inadequate capacity to meet its financial commitment on the obligation.
B
An obligation rated B is more vulnerable to nonpayment than obligations rated BB, but the obligor currently has the capacity to meet its financial commitment on the obligation. Adverse business, financial, or economic conditions will likely impair the obligors capacity or willingness to meet its financial commitment on the obligation.
CCC
An obligation rated CCC is currently vulnerable to nonpayment and is dependent upon favorable business, financial, and economic conditions for the obligor to meet its financial commitment on the obligation. In the event of adverse business, financial, or economic conditions, the obligor is not likely to have the capacity to meet its financial commitment on the obligation.
CC
An obligation rated CC is currently highly vulnerable to nonpayment.
C
A Subordinated debt or preferred stock obligation rated C is CURRENTLY HIGHLY VULNERABLE to nonpayment. The C rating may be used to cover a situation where a bankruptcy petition has been filed or similar action has been taken, but payments on this obligation are being continued. A C also will be assigned to a preferred stock issue in arreas on dividends or sinking fund payments, but that is currently paying.
A-2
D
An obligation rated D is in payment default. The D rating category is used when payments on an obligation are not made on the date due even if the applicable grace period has not expired, unless Standard & Poors believes that such payments will be made during such grace period. The D rating also will be used upon the filing of a bankruptcy petition or the taking of a similar action if payments on an obligation are jeopardized.
Plus (+) or minus (-). The ratings from AA to CCC may be modified by the addition of a plus or minus sign to show relative standing within the major rating categories.
r
This symbol is attached to the ratings of instruments with significant noncredit risks. It highlights risks to principal or volatility of expected returns which are not addressed in the credit rating.
N.R.
This indicates that no rating has been requested, that there is insufficient information on which to base a rating, or that Standard & Poors does not rate a particular obligation as a matter of policy.
Short-Term Issue Credit Ratings
A-1
A short-term obligation rated A-1 is rated in the highest category by Standard & Poors. The obligors capacity to meet its financial commitment on the obligation is strong. Within this category, certain obligations are designated with a plus sign (+). This indicates that the obligors capacity to meet its financial commitment on these obligations is extremely strong.
A-2
A short-term obligation rated A-2 is somewhat more susceptible to the adverse effects of changes in circumstances and economic conditions than obligations in higher rating categories. However, the obligors capacity to meet its financial commitment on the obligation is satisfactory.
A-3
A short-term obligation rated A-3 exhibits adequate protection parameters. However, adverse economic conditions or changing circumstances are more likely to lead to a weakened capacity of the obligor to meet its financial commitment on the obligation.
B
A short-term obligation rated B is regarded as having significant speculative characteristics. The obligor currently has the capacity to meet its financial commitment on the obligation; however, it faces major ongoing uncertainties which could lead to the obligors inadequate capacity to meet its financial commitment on the obligation.
C
A short-term obligation rated C is currently vulnerable to nonpayment and is dependent upon favorable business, financial, and economic conditions for the obligor to meet its financial commitment on the obligation.
D
A short-term obligation rated D is in payment default. The D rating category is used when payments on an obligation are not made on the date due even if the applicable grace period has not expired, unless Standard & Poors believes that such payments will be made during such grace period. The D rating also will be used upon the filing of a bankruptcy petition or the taking of a similar action if payments on an obligation are jeopardized.
A-3
Moodys Investors Service, Inc.A brief description of the applicable Moodys Investors Service, Inc. (Moodys) rating symbols and their meanings (as published by Moodys) follows:
Municipal Bonds
Aaa
Bonds that are rated Aaa are judged to be of the best quality. They carry the smallest degree of investment risk and are generally referred to as gilt edged. Interest payments are protected by a large or by an exceptionally stable margin and principal is secure. While the various protective elements are likely to change, such changes as can be visualized are most unlikely to impair the fundamentally strong position of such issues.
Aa
Bonds that are rated Aa are judged to be of high quality by all standards. Together with the Aaa group they comprise what are generally known as high grade bonds. They are rated lower than the best bonds because margins of protection may not be as large as in Aaa securities or fluctuation of protective elements may be of greater amplitude or there may be other elements present that make the long-term risks appear somewhat larger than in Aaa securities.
A
Bonds that are rated A possess many favorable investment attributes and are to be considered as upper medium grade obligations. Factors giving security to principal and interest are considered adequate, but elements may be present that suggest a susceptibility to impairment sometime in the future.
Baa
Bonds that are rated Baa are considered as medium grade obligations, i.e., they are neither highly protected nor poorly secured. Interest payments and principal security appear adequate for the present but certain protective elements may be lacking or may be characteristically unreliable over any great length of time. Such bonds lack outstanding investment characteristics and in fact have speculative characteristics as well.
Ba
Bonds that are rated Ba are judged to have speculative elements; their future cannot be considered as well assured. Often the protection of interest and principal payments may be very moderate and thereby not well safeguarded during both good and bad times over the future. Uncertainty of position characterizes bonds in this class.
B
Bonds that are rated B generally lack characteristics of the desirable investment. Assurance of interest and principal payments or of maintenance of other terms of the contract over any long period of time may be small.
Caa
Bonds that are rated Caa are of poor standing. Such issues may be in default or there may be present elements of danger with respect to principal or interest.
Ca
Bonds that are rated Ca represent obligations that are speculative in a high degree. Such issues are often in default or have other marked shortcomings.
A-4
C
Bonds that are rated C are the lowest rated class of bonds, and issues so rated can be regarded as having extremely poor prospects of ever attaining any real investment standing.
#(hatchmark): Represents issues that are secured by escrowed funds held in cash, held in trust, invested and reinvested in direct, non-callable, non-prepayable United States government obligations or non-callable, non-prepayable obligations unconditionally guaranteed by the U.S. Government, Resolution Funding Corporation debt obligations.
Con. (...): Bonds for which the security depends upon the completion of some act or the fulfillment of some condition are rated conditionally. These are bonds secured by (a) earnings of projects under construction, (b) earnings of projects unseasoned in operation experience, (c) rentals that begin when facilities are completed, or (d) payments to which some other limiting condition attaches. The parenthetical rating denotes probable credit stature upon completion of construction or elimination of the basis of the condition.
(P) : When applied to forward delivery bonds, indicates the rating is provisional pending delivery of the bonds. The rating may be revised prior to delivery if changes occur in the legal documents or the underlying credit quality of the bonds.
Note: Moodys applies numerical modifiers 1, 2 and 3 in each generic rating classification from Aa through Caa. The modifier 1 indicates that the issue ranks in the higher end of its generic rating category; the modifier 2 indicates a mid-range ranking; and the modifier 3 indicates that the issue ranks in the lower end of its generic rating category.
Short-Term Loans
MIG 1/VMIG 1
This designation denotes superior credit quality. Excellent protection is afforded by established cash flows, highly reliable liquidity support, or demonstrated broad-based access to the market for refinancing.
MIG 2/VMIG 2
This designation denotes strong credit quality. Margins of protection are ample, although not as large as in the preceding group.
MIG 3/VMIG 3
This designation denotes acceptable credit quality. Liquidity and cash-flow protection may be narrow, and market access for refinancing is likely to be less well-established.
SG
This designation denotes speculative-grade credit quality. Debt instruments in this category may lack sufficient margins of protection.
Commercial Paper
Issuers (or supporting institutions) rated Prime-1 have a superior ability for repayment of senior short-term debt obligations. Prime-1 repayment ability will normally be evidenced by the following characteristics:
| Leading market positions in well-established industries. |
| High rates of return on funds employed. |
| Conservative capitalization structures with moderate reliance on debt and ample asset protection. |
A-5
| Broad margins in earnings coverage of fixed financial charges and high internal cash generation. |
| Well-established access to a range of financial markets and assured sources of alternate liquidity. |
Issuers (or supporting institutions) rated Prime-2 have a strong ability for repayment of senior short-term debt obligations. This will normally be evidenced by many of the characteristics cited above but to a lesser degree. Earnings trends and coverage ratios, while sound, may be more subject to variation than is the case for Prime-2 securities. Capitalization characteristics, while still appropriate, may be more affected by external conditions. Ample alternate liquidity is maintained.
Issuers (or supporting institutions) rated Prime-3 have an acceptable ability for repayment of senior short-term debt obligations. The effect of industry characteristics and market composition may be more pronounced. Variability in earnings and profitability may result in changes in the level of debt protection measurements and the requirement for relatively high financial leverage. Adequate alternate liquidity is maintained.
Issuers rated Not Prime do not fall within any of the Prime rating categories.
Fitch Ratings, Inc.A brief description of the applicable Fitch Ratings, Inc. (Fitch) ratings symbols and meanings (as published by Fitch) follows:
Long-Term Credit Ratings
Investment Grade
AAA
Highest credit quality. AAA ratings denote the lowest expectation of credit risk. They are assigned only in case of exceptionally strong capacity for timely payment of financial commitments. This capacity is highly unlikely to be adversely affected by foreseeable events.
AA
Very high credit quality. AA ratings denote a very low expectation of credit risk. They indicate very strong capacity for timely payment of financial commitments. This capacity is not significantly vulnerable to foreseeable events.
A
High credit quality. A ratings denote a low expectation of credit risk. The capacity for timely payment of financial commitments is considered strong. This capacity may, nevertheless, be more vulnerable to changes in circumstances or in economic conditions than is the case for higher ratings.
BBB
Good credit quality. BBB ratings indicate that there is currently a low expectation of credit risk. The capacity for timely payment of financial commitments is considered adequate, but adverse changes in circumstances and in economic conditions are more likely to impair this capacity. This is the lowest investment-grade category.
Speculative Grade
BB
Speculative. BB ratings indicate that there is a possibility of credit risk developing, particularly as the result of adverse economic change over time; however, business or financial alternatives may be available to allow financial commitments to be met. Securities rated in this category are not investment grade.
A-6
B
Highly speculative. B ratings indicate that significant credit risk is present, but a limited margin of safety remains. Financial commitments are currently being met; however, capacity for continued payment is contingent upon a sustained, favorable business and economic environment.
CCC, CC, C
High default risk. Default is a real possibility. Capacity for meeting financial commitments is solely reliant upon sustained, favorable business or economic developments. A CC rating indicates that default of some kind appears probable. C ratings signal imminent default.
DDD, DD, and D Default
The ratings of obligations in this category are based on their prospects for achieving partial or full recovery in a reorganization or liquidation of the obligor. While expected recovery values are highly speculative and cannot be estimated with any precision, the following serve as general guidelines. DDD obligations have the highest potential for recovery, around 90%-100% of outstanding amounts and accrued interest. DD indicates potential recoveries in the range of 50%-90%, and D the lowest recovery potential, i.e., below 50%. Entities rated in this category have defaulted on some or all of their obligations. Entities rated DDD have the highest prospect for resumption of performance or continued operation with or without a formal reorganization process. Entities rated DD and D are generally undergoing a formal reorganization or liquidation process; those rated DD are likely to satisfy a higher portion of their outstanding obligations, while entities rated D have a poor prospect for repaying all obligations.
Short-Term Credit Ratings
A short-term rating has a time horizon of less than 12 months for most obligations, or up to three years for U.S. public finance securities, and thus places greater emphasis on the liquidity necessary to meet financial commitments in a timely manner.
F1
Highest credit quality. Indicates the strongest capacity for timely payment of financial commitments; may have an added + to denote any exceptionally strong credit feature.
F2
Good credit quality. A satisfactory capacity for timely payment of financial commitments, but the margin of safety is not as great as in the case of the higher ratings.
F3
Fair credit quality. The capacity for timely payment of financial commitments is adequate; however, near-term adverse changes could result in a reduction to non-investment grade. B Speculative. Minimal capacity for timely payment of financial commitments, plus vulnerability to near-term adverse changes in financial and economic conditions.
B
Speculative Minimal capacity for timely payment of financial commitments, plus vulnerability to near-term adverse changes in financial and economic conditions.
C
High default risk. Default is a real possibility. Capacity for meeting financial commitments is solely reliant upon a sustained, favorable business and economic environment.
A-7
D
Default. Denotes actual or imminent payment default.
Notes to Long-term and Short-term ratings:
+ or - may be appended to a rating to denote relative status within major rating categories. Such suffixes are not added to the AAA Long-term rating category, to categories below CCC, or to Short-term ratings other than F1.
NR indicates that Fitch Ratings does not rate the issuer or issue in question.
Withdrawn: A rating is withdrawn when Fitch Ratings deems the amount of information available to be inadequate for rating purposes, or when an obligation matures, is called, or refinanced.
Rating Watch: Ratings are placed on Rating Watch to notify investors that there is a reasonable probability of a rating change and the likely direction of such change. These are designated as Positive, indicating a potential upgrade, Negative, for a potential downgrade, or Evolving, if ratings may be raised, lowered or maintained. Rating Watch is typically resolved over a relatively short period.
A Rating Outlook indicates the direction a rating is likely to move over a one to two year period. Outlooks may be positive, stable, or negative. A positive or negative Rating Outlook does not imply a rating change is inevitable. Similarly, ratings for which outlooks are stable could be downgraded before an outlook moves to positive or negative if circumstances warrant such an action. Occasionally, Fitch Ratings may be unable to identify the fundamental trend. In these cases, the Rating Outlook may be described as evolving.
A-8
TAXABLE EQUIVALENT YIELD TABLE
The taxable equivalent yield is the current yield you would need to earn on a taxable investment in order to equal a stated tax-free yield on a municipal investment. To assist you to more easily compare municipal investments like the Fund with taxable alternative investments, the table below presents the approximate taxable equivalent yields for individuals for a range of hypothetical tax-free yields assuming the stated marginal federal tax rates for 2008 listed below. This table should not be considered a representation or guarantee of future results.
TAXABLE EQUIVALENT OF TAX-FREE YIELDS*
TAX-FREE YIELDS
SINGLE-RETURN |
JOINT-RETURN BRACKET |
FEDERAL TAX RATE |
4.00% | 4.25% | 4.50% | 4.75% | 5.00% | 5.25% | 5.50% | |||||||||
0-$8,025 |
0-$16,050 | 10.0% | 4.44% | 5.00% | 5.56% | 6.11% | ||||||||||||
$8,025-$32,550 |
$16,050-$65,100 | 15.0% | 4.71% | 5.29% | 5.88% | 6.47% | ||||||||||||
$32,550-$78,850 |
$65,100-$131,450 | 25.0% | 5.33% | 6.00% | 6.67% | 7.33% | ||||||||||||
$78,850-$164,550 |
$131,450-$200,300 | 28.0% | 5.56% | 6.25% | 6.94% | 7.64% | ||||||||||||
$164,550-$357,700 |
$200,300-$357,700 | 33.0% | 5.97% | 6.72% | 7.46% | 8.21% | ||||||||||||
Over $357,700 |
Over $357,700 | 35.0% | 6.15% | 6.92% | 7.69% | 8.46% |
5.75% |
6.00% | 6.25% | 6.50% | 6.75% | 7.00% | 7.25% | 7.50% | |||||||
6.67% | 7.22% | 7.78% | 8.33% | |||||||||||
7.06% | 7.65% | 8.24% | 8.82% | |||||||||||
8.00% | 8.67% | 9.33% | 10.00% | |||||||||||
8.33% | 9.03% | 9.72% | 10.42% | |||||||||||
8.96% | 9.70% | 10.45% | 11.19% | |||||||||||
9.23% | 10.00% | 10.77% | 11.54% |
* | Please note that the table does not reflect (i) any federal limitations on the amounts of allowable itemized deductions, phase-outs of personal or dependent exemption credits or other allowable credits, (ii) any state or local taxes imposed, or (iii) any alternative minimum taxes or any taxes other than federal personal income taxes. |
B-1
Nuveen Municipal Value Fund 2
Common Shares
STATEMENT OF ADDITIONAL INFORMATION
February 24, 2009