Significant accounting policies, continued
Term loans (Floating rate loans). The funds may invest in term loans, which are debt securities and are often rated below investment grade at the time of purchase. Term loans are generally subject to legal or contractual restrictions on resale and generally have longer settlement periods than conventional debt securities. Term loans involve special types of risk, including credit risk, interest-rate risk, counterparty risk, and risk associated with extended settlement. The liquidity of term loans, including the volume and frequency of secondary market trading in such loans, varies significantly over time and among individual loans. During periods of infrequent trading, valuing a term loan can be more difficult and buying and selling a term loan at an acceptable price can be more difficult and delayed, which could result in a loss.
The funds' ability to receive payments of principal, interest and other amounts in connection with term loans will depend primarily on the financial condition of the borrower. The funds' failure to receive scheduled payments on a term loan due to a default, bankruptcy or other reason would adversely affect the funds' income and would likely reduce the value of its assets. Transactions in loan investments typically take a significant amount of time (i.e., seven days or longer) to settle. This could pose a liquidity risk to the funds and, if the funds' exposure to such investments is substantial, it could impair the funds' ability to meet redemptions. Because term loans may not be rated by independent credit rating agencies, a decision to invest in a particular loan could depend exclusively on the subadvisor’s credit analysis of the borrower and/or term loan agents. There is greater risk that the funds may have limited rights to enforce the terms of an underlying loan than for other types of debt instruments.
At August 31, 2024, Capital Appreciation Value Fund had $223,890, in unfunded loan commitments outstanding.
Mortgage and asset-backed securities. The funds may invest in mortgage-related securities, such as mortgage-backed securities, and other asset-backed securities, which are debt obligations that represent interests in pools of mortgages or other income-bearing assets, such as consumer loans or receivables. Such securities often involve risks that are different from the risks associated with investing in other types of debt securities. Mortgage-backed and other asset-backed securities are subject to changes in the payment patterns of borrowers of the underlying debt. When interest rates fall, borrowers are more likely to refinance or prepay their debt before its stated maturity. This may result in the funds having to reinvest the proceeds in lower yielding securities, effectively reducing the funds' income. Conversely, if interest rates rise and borrowers repay their debt more slowly than expected, the time in which the mortgage-backed and other asset-backed securities are paid off could be extended, reducing the funds' cash available for reinvestment in higher yielding securities. The timely payment of principal and interest of certain mortgage-related securities is guaranteed with the full faith and credit of the U.S. Government. Pools created and guaranteed by non-governmental issuers, including government-sponsored corporations (e.g., FNMA), may be supported by various forms of insurance or guarantees, but there can be no assurance that private insurers or guarantors can meet their obligations under the insurance policies or guarantee arrangements. The funds are also subject to risks associated with securities with contractual cash flows including asset-backed and mortgage related securities such as collateralized mortgage obligations, mortgage pass-through securities and commercial mortgage-backed securities. The value, liquidity and related income of these securities are sensitive to changes in economic conditions, including real estate value, pre-payments, delinquencies and/or defaults, and may be adversely affected by shifts in the market’s perception of the issuers and changes in interest rates.
Payment-in-kind bonds. The funds may invest in payment-in-kind bonds (PIK Bonds). PIK Bonds allow the issuer, at its option, to make current interest payments on the bonds either in cash or in additional bonds. The market prices of PIK Bonds are affected to a greater extent by interest rate changes and thereby tend to be more volatile than securities which pay cash interest periodically. Income on these securities is computed at the contractual rate specified and is added to the principal balance of the bond. This income is required to be distributed to shareholders. Because no cash is received at the time income accrues on these securities, the funds may need to sell other investments to make distributions.
Security transactions and related investment income. Investment security transactions are accounted for on a trade date plus one basis for daily NAV calculations. However, for financial reporting purposes, investment transactions are reported on trade date. Interest income is accrued as earned. Interest income includes coupon interest and amortization/accretion of premiums/discounts on debt securities. Debt obligations may be placed in a non-accrual status and related interest income may be reduced by stopping current accruals and writing off interest receivable when the collection of all or a portion of interest has become doubtful. Dividend income is recorded on ex-date, except for dividends of certain foreign securities where the dividend may not be known until after the ex-date. In those cases, dividend income, net of withholding taxes, is recorded when the fund becomes aware of the dividends. Non-cash dividends, if any, are recorded at the fair market value of the securities received. Distributions received on securities that represent a tax return of capital and/or capital gain, if any, are recorded as a reduction of cost of investments and/or as a realized gain, if amounts are estimable. Gains and losses on securities sold are determined on the basis of identified cost and may include proceeds from litigation. Return of capital distributions from underlying funds, if any, are treated as a reduction of cost.
During the year ended August 31, 2024, Core Bond Fund realized a loss of $10,228 on the disposal of investments not meeting the fund’s investment guidelines, which was reimbursed by the subadvisor.
Securities lending. The funds may lend their securities to earn additional income. The funds receive collateral from the borrower in an amount not less than the market value of the loaned securities. The funds may invest their cash collateral in JHCT, an affiliate of the funds, which has a floating NAV and is registered with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) as an investment company. JHCT is a prime money market fund and invests in short-term money market investments. Each fund will receive the benefit of any gains and bear any losses generated by JHCT with respect to the cash collateral.
The funds have the right to recall loaned securities on demand. If a borrower fails to return loaned securities when due, then the lending agent is responsible and indemnifies the funds for the lent securities. The lending agent uses the collateral received from the borrower to purchase replacement securities of the same issue, type, class and series of the loaned securities. If the value of the collateral is less than the purchase cost of replacement securities, the lending agent is responsible for satisfying the shortfall but only to the extent that the shortfall is not due to any decrease in the value of JHCT.
Although the risk of loss on securities lent is mitigated by receiving collateral from the borrower and through lending agent indemnification, the funds could experience a delay in recovering securities or could experience a lower than expected return if the borrower fails to return the securities on a timely basis. During the existence of the loan, the funds will receive from the borrower amounts equivalent to any dividends, interest or other distributions on the loaned securities, as well as interest on such amounts. The funds receive compensation for lending their securities by retaining a portion of the return on the investment of the collateral and compensation from fees earned from borrowers of the securities. Securities lending income received by the funds is net of fees retained by the securities lending agent. Net income received from JHCT is a component of securities lending income as recorded on the Statements of operations.
