In accordance with Accounting Standards Codification 820 “Fair Value Measurement” (“ASC 820”), all investments held by Neuberger Berman High Yield Strategies Fund Inc. (the “Fund”) are carried at the value that Management believes the Fund would receive upon selling an investment in an orderly transaction to an independent buyer in the principal or most advantageous market for the investment under current market conditions. Various inputs, including the volume and level of activity for the asset or liability in the market, are considered in valuing the Fund's investments, some of which are discussed below. At times, Management may need to apply significant judgment to value investments in accordance with ASC 820.
ASC 820 established a three-tier hierarchy of inputs to create a classification of value measurements for disclosure purposes. The three-tier hierarchy of inputs is summarized in the three broad Levels listed below.
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Level 1 – unadjusted quoted prices in active markets for identical investments
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Level 2 – other observable inputs (including quoted prices for similar investments, interest rates, prepayment speeds, credit risk, amortized cost, etc.)
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Level 3 – unobservable inputs (including the Fund's own assumptions in determining the fair value of investments)
The inputs or methodology used for valuing an investment are not necessarily an indication of the risk associated with investing in those securities.
The value of the Fund's investments in debt securities is determined by Management primarily by obtaining valuations from independent pricing services based on bid quotations, or if quotations are not available, by methods that include various considerations based on security type (generally Level 2 inputs). In addition to the consideration of yields or prices of securities of comparable quality, coupon, maturity and type, indications as to values from dealers, and general market conditions, the following is a description of other Level 2 inputs and related valuation techniques used by independent pricing services to value certain types of debt securities held by the Fund:
Corporate Bonds. Inputs used to value corporate debt securities generally include relevant credit information, observed market movements, sector news, U.S. Treasury yield curve or relevant benchmark curve, and other market information, which may include benchmark yield curves, reported trades, broker-dealer quotes, issuer spreads, comparable securities, and reference data, such as market research publications, when available (“Other Market Information”).
Convertible Bonds. Inputs used to value convertible bonds generally include underlying stock data, conversion rates, credit specific details, relevant listed bond and preferred stock prices and Other Market Information.
Collateralized Loan Obligations (CLOs). The value of collateralized loan obligations is primarily determined by cash flow data, relevant loan pricing data and market color, and research from market participants and trading desks (Level 2 or 3 inputs).
Asset-Backed Securities and Mortgage-Backed Securities. Inputs used to value asset-backed securities generally include models that consider a number of factors, which may include the following: prepayment speeds, cash flows, spread adjustments and Other Market Information.
High Yield Securities. Inputs used to value high yield securities generally include a number of observations of equity and credit default swap curves related to the issuer and Other Market Information.
The value of loan assignments is determined by Management primarily by obtaining valuations from independent pricing services based on broker quotes (generally Level 2 or Level 3 inputs depending on the number of quotes available).
The value of the Fund's Mandatory Redeemable Preferred Shares is estimated to be their liquidation preference (Level 2 inputs).
