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Oppenheimer Strategic Income Fund |
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Prospectus dated January 28, 2009 |
Oppenheimer Strategic Income Fund is a mutual fund that seeks high current income by investing mainly in debt securities in three market sectors: debt securities of foreign governments and companies, U.S. government securities, and lower-rated high-yield securities of U.S. and foreign companies.
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This prospectus contains important information about the Fund's objective, investment policies, strategies and risks. It also contains important information about how to buy and sell shares of the Fund and other account features. Please read this prospectus carefully before you invest and keep it for future reference about your account. |
As with all mutual funds, the Securities and Exchange Commission has not approved or disapproved the Fund's securities nor has it determined that this prospectus is accurate or complete. It is a criminal offense to represent otherwise.
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Oppenheimer Strategic Income Fund |
Contents |
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| ABOUT THE FUND |
3 | The Fund's Investment Objective and Principal Investment Strategies |
4 | Main Risks of Investing in the Fund |
8 | The Fund's Past Performance |
9 | Fees and Expenses of the Fund |
12 | About the Fund's Investments |
22 | How the Fund is Managed |
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| ABOUT YOUR ACCOUNT |
23 | About Your Account |
24 | Choosing a Share Class |
31 | The Price of Fund Shares |
33 | How to Buy, Sell and Exchange Shares |
46 | Dividends, Capital Gains and Taxes |
49 | Financial Highlights |
ABOUT THE FUND
The Fund's Investment Objective and Principal Investment Strategies
WHAT IS THE FUND'S INVESTMENT OBJECTIVE? The Fund seeks high current income by investing mainly in debt securities.
THE FUND'S MAIN INVESTMENT STRATEGIES. The Fund invests mainly in debt securities of issuers in three market sectors:
- Foreign governments and companies,
- U.S. Government securities, and
- Lower rated high-yield securities of U.S. and foreign companies (commonly referred to as "junk bonds").
What is a Debt Security? A debt security is a security representing money borrowed by the issuer that must be repaid, specifying the amount of principal, the interest or discount rate, and the time or times at which payments are due.
Under normal market conditions, the Fund invests in each of the three market sectors. However, the Fund is not required to invest in all three sectors at all times, and the amount of its assets in each of the three sectors will vary over time. The Fund can invest up to 100% of its assets in any one sector at any time, if the Fund's portfolio manager believes that the Fund can achieve its objective without undue risk. The Fund's foreign investments may include debt securities of issuers in both developed or emerging markets. The Fund has no requirements regarding the range of maturities of the debt securities it can buy or the market capitalization of the issuers of those securities.
The Fund's investments typically include:
- Foreign and U.S. Government bonds and notes,
- Collateralized mortgage obligations (CMOs),
- Other mortgage-related securities,
- Lower-grade, high-yield domestic and foreign corporate debt obligations,
- Participation interests in loans and investments in loan pools,
The Fund's debt securities may be rated by nationally recognized statistical rating organizations such as Moody's Investors Service ("Moody's") or Standard & Poor's Ratings Services ("Standard &Poor's") or may be unrated. Lower-grade debt securities are those rated below "Baa" by Moody's or below "BBB" by Standard & Poor's or that have comparable ratings from other nationally-recognized rating organizations. Additionally, unrated debt securities may be determined to be comparable to securities rated below investment grade by the Manager. The Fund can buy investment-grade securities, although it normally invests a substantial part of its assets in debt securities below investment-grade, and can do so without limit.
The Fund also uses certain types of derivative instruments for investment purposes or hedging including: options, futures, forward contracts, swaps, certain mortgage-related securities and "structured" notes.
HOW THE PORTFOLIO MANAGER DECIDES WHAT SECURITIES TO BUY OR SELL. In selecting securities, the Fund's portfolio manager analyzes the overall investment opportunities and risks among the three sectors in which the Fund invests. The portfolio manager seeks to build a broadly diversified portfolio to try to moderate the special risks of investing in high-yield debt instruments and foreign securities. The Fund's diversification strategies, with respect to securities in different sectors and securities issued by different companies or governments, are intended to help reduce the volatility of the Fund's share prices while seeking current income. The Fund may try to take advantage of any lack of correlation in the movement of securities prices among the three sectors. The portfolio manager currently focuses on the following factors, which may vary in particular cases and may change over time:
- Securities offering high current income,
- Securities whose market prices tend to move in different directions (to seek overall portfolio diversification), and
- Relative values among the three major market sectors in which the Fund invests.
The Fund may sell securities that the portfolio manager believes are no longer favorable with regard to the above factors.
WHO IS THE FUND DESIGNED FOR? The Fund is designed primarily for investors seeking high current income from a fund that invests in a variety of domestic and foreign debt securities, including government securities and lower-grade debt securities. Those investors should be willing to assume the greater risks of short-term share price fluctuations and the special credit risks that are typical for a fund that invests mainly in lower grade fixed-income securities and foreign securities. The Fund does not seek capital appreciation. Because the Fund's income will fluctuate, it is not designed for investors needing an assured level of current income. The Fund is intended to be a long-term investment, not a short-term trading vehicle. The Fund is not a complete investment program and may not be appropriate for all investors. You should carefully consider your own investment goals and risk tolerance before investing in the Fund.
Main Risks of Investing in the Fund
All investments have some degree of risk. The value of the Fund's shares fluctuates as the value of the Fund's investments changes, and may decline. The value of the Fund's investments may change because of broad changes in the markets in which the Fund invests or from more specific factors like those described below. There is also the risk that poor security selection could cause the Fund to underperform other funds with similar objectives. When you redeem your shares, they may be worth more or less than what you paid for them. These risks mean that you can lose money by investing in the Fund.
MAIN RISKS OF INVESTING IN DEBT SECURITIES. Debt securities (also referred to as "fixed-income securities") may be subject to credit risk, interest rate risk, prepayment risk and extension risk. Credit risk is the risk that the issuer of a security might not make interest and principal payments on the security as they become due. If an issuer fails to pay interest or to repay principal, the Fund's income or share value might be reduced. The extent of this risk varies based on the terms of the particular security and the financial condition of the issuer. Adverse news about an issuer or a downgrade in an issuer's credit rating, for any reason, can reduce the market value of the issuer's securities. The value of debt securities are also subject to change when prevailing interest rates change. When prevailing interest rates fall, the values of already-issued debt securities generally rise. When prevailing interest rates rise, the values of already-issued debt securities generally fall, and they may sell at a discount from their face amount or from the amount the Fund paid for them. Interest rate changes generally have a greater effect on longer-term debt securities than on shorter-term securities. When interest rates fall, the issuers of debt securities may prepay principal more quickly than expected and the Fund may be required to reinvest the proceeds at a lower interest rate. This is referred to as "prepayment risk." When interest rates rise, debt securities may be repaid more slowly than expected and the value of the Fund's holdings may fall sharply. This is referred to as "extension risk." Interest rate changes may have different effects on variable or floating rate securities than they do on securities with fixed interest rates.
Special Risks of Lower-Grade Securities. Lower-grade securities may offer opportunities for larger returns than higher-grade securities but may be subject to wider market fluctuations and greater risk of loss of income and principal than investment-grade securities. While investment-grade securities are subject to risks of non-payment of interest and principal, in general those risks are greater for higher-yielding lower-grade bonds, whether rated or unrated. There also may be less of a market for lower-grade securities and therefore they may be harder to sell at an acceptable price.
Because the Fund can invest without limit in lower-grade securities, the Fund's credit risks are greater than those of funds that buy only investment-grade securities.
FIXED-INCOME MARKET RISKS. Recent developments relating to subprime mortgages have adversely affected fixed-income securities markets in the United States, Europe and elsewhere. The values of many types of debt securities have been reduced, including debt securities that are not related to mortgage loans. These developments have reduced the willingness of some lenders to extend credit and have made it more difficult for borrowers to obtain financing on attractive terms or at all. In addition, broker-dealers and other market participants have been less willing to make a market in some types of debt instruments, which has impacted the liquidity of those instruments. These developments may also have a negative effect on the broader economy. There is a risk that the lack of liquidity or other adverse credit market conditions may hamper the Fund's ability to sell the debt securities in which it invests or to find and purchase suitable debt instruments.
SECTOR ALLOCATION RISK. In allocating investments among its three principal market sectors, the Fund seeks to take advantage of the potential lack of performance correlation between those sectors. There is the risk that the Manager's evaluations regarding the sectors' relative performance may be incorrect and those sectors may all perform in a similar manner under certain market conditions.
RISKS OF FOREIGN INVESTING. While foreign securities may offer special investment opportunities, they are also subject to special risks. Foreign issuers are usually not subject to the same accounting and disclosure requirements as U.S. companies are subject to, which may make it difficult to evaluate a foreign company's operations or financial condition. A change in value of a foreign currency against the U.S. dollar will result in a change in the U.S. dollar value of securities denominated in that foreign currency and of any income or distributions the Fund may receive on those securities. Additionally, the value of foreign investments may be affected by exchange control regulations, expropriation or nationalization of a company's assets, foreign taxes, higher transaction and other costs, delays in settlement of transactions, changes in economic or monetary policy in the U.S. or abroad, or other political and economic factors.
Foreign Currency Risk. A change in the value of a foreign currency against the U.S. dollar will result in a change in the U.S. dollar value of securities denominated in that foreign currency. If the U.S. dollar rises in value against a foreign currency, a security denominated in that currency will be worth less in U.S. dollars and if the U.S. dollar decreases in value against a foreign currency, a security denominated in that currency will be worth more in U.S. dollars. The dollar value of foreign investments may also be affected by exchange controls.
The Fund can also invest in derivative instruments linked to foreign currencies. The change in value of a foreign currency against the U.S. dollar will result in a change in the U.S. dollar value of derivatives linked to that foreign currency.
Special Risks of Developing and Emerging Markets. Developing or emerging market countries generally have less developed securities markets or exchanges. Securities of companies in developing or emerging market countries may be more difficult to sell at an acceptable price and their prices may be more volatile than securities of companies in countries with more mature markets. Settlements of trades may be subject to greater delays so that the proceeds of a sale of a security may not be received on a timely basis. The economies of developing or emerging market countries may be more dependent on relatively few industries that may be highly vulnerable to local and global changes. Developing or emerging market countries may have less developed legal and accounting systems, and investments in those countries may be subject to greater risks of government restrictions, including confiscatory taxation, expropriation or nationalization of company assets, restrictions on foreign owner ship of local companies and restrictions on withdrawing assets from the country. Their governments may also be more unstable than the governments of more developed countries. The value of the currency of a developing or emerging market country may fluctuate more than the currencies of countries with more mature markets. Investments in companies in developing or emerging market countries may be considered speculative.
Time-Zone Arbitrage. The Fund may invest in securities of foreign issuers that are traded in U.S. or foreign markets. If the Fund invests a significant amount of its assets in securities traded in foreign markets, it may be exposed to "time-zone arbitrage" attempts by investors seeking to take advantage of differences in the values of foreign securities that might result from events that occur after the close of the foreign securities market on which a security is traded and before the close of the New York Stock Exchange (the "NYSE") that day, when the Fund's net asset value is calculated. If such time-zone arbitrage were successful, it might dilute the interests of other shareholders. However, the Fund's use of "fair value pricing" under certain circumstances, to adjust the closing market prices of foreign securities to reflect what the Manager and the Board believe to be their fair value, may help deter those activities.
RISKS OF DERIVATIVE INVESTMENTS. Derivatives may be volatile and may involve significant risks. Derivative transactions may require the payment of premiums and can increase portfolio turnover. For example, if a call option sold by the Fund were exercised on an investment that had increased in value above the call price, the Fund would be required to sell the investment at the call price and would not be able to realize any additional profit.
Certain derivative investments held by the Fund may be illiquid, making it difficult to close out an unfavorable position. The underlying security or other instrument on which a derivative is based, or the derivative itself, may not perform the way the Manager expects it to. As a result, the Fund could realize little or no income or lose principal from the investment, or a hedge might be unsuccessful. The Fund may also lose money on a derivative investment if the issuer fails to pay the amount due.
For some derivatives, it is possible for the Fund to lose more than the amount invested in the derivative instrument.
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There is no assurance that the Fund will achieve its investment objective. Debt securities are subject to credit and interest rate risks that can affect their values and the share prices of the Fund. The values of high-yield debt securities can fluctuate substantially because of interest rate changes and perceptions about the high-yield market among investors. Foreign debt securities can be volatile, and the price of the Fund's shares can go up and down substantially, particularly in emerging markets. The Fund is likely to be more volatile and have more risks than funds that focus on U.S. government securities and investment-grade bonds, but its sector diversification strategy may help make it less volatile than funds that focus solely on investments in high-yield bonds or a single foreign sector, such as emerging markets.
An investment in the Fund is not a deposit of any bank and is not insured or guaranteed by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation or any other government agency.
The Fund's Past Performance
The bar chart and table below show one measure of the risks of investing in the Fund by showing changes in the Fund's performance. The bar chart shows the yearly performance of the Fund's Class A shares for the last 10 calendar years.
For the period from 1/1/08 through 12/31/08, the cumulative return before taxes for Class A shares was -16.50%. Sales charges and taxes are not included in the calculations of return in this bar chart, and if those charges and taxes were included, the returns may be less than those shown. During the period shown in the bar chart, the highest return before taxes for a calendar quarter was 6.55% (2nd qtr 03) and the lowest return before taxes for a calendar quarter was -11.16% (4th qtr 08).
The following table shows the average annual total returns of each class of the Fund's shares before taxes compared to broad-based market indices. After-tax returns are also shown for Class A shares. They are calculated using the highest individual Federal income tax rates in effect during the periods shown and do not reflect the impact of state or local taxes. The after-tax returns are based on certain assumptions mandated by regulation and your actual after-tax returns may differ from those shown, depending on your individual tax situation. After-tax returns will vary for the other share classes and are not relevant to investors who hold their shares through tax-deferred or tax-exempt arrangements (for example, individual retirement accounts, 401(k) plans, 529 plans or tax-exempt institutional investors). The Fund's past investment performance, before and after taxes, is not necessarily an indication of how the Fund will perform in the future.
Average Annual Total Returns for the periods ended December 31, 2008 | 1 Year | 5 Years | 10 Years (or life of class, if less) |
Class A Shares (inception 10-16-89) | | | |
Return Before Taxes | (20.47%) | 1.32% | 4.15% |
Return After Taxes on Distributions | (22.05%) | (0.86%) | 1.49% |
Return After Taxes on Distributions and Sale of Fund Shares | (13.16%) | (0.04%) | 1.93% |
Class B Shares (inception 11-30-92) | (21.10%) | 1.22% | 4.19% |
Class C Shares (inception 5-26-95) | (17.74%) | 1.60% | 3.91% |
Class N Shares (inception 3-1-01) | (17.40%) | 1.94% | 4.32% |
Class Y Shares (inception 1-26-98) | (16.12%) | 2.61% | 4.92% |
Barclays Capital Aggregate Bond Index | 5.24% | 4.65% | 5.63% |
(reflects no deduction for fees, expenses or taxes) | | | 5.53%* |
Citigroup World Government Bond Index | 10.89% | 6.05% | 5.90% |
(reflects no deduction for fees, expenses or taxes) | | | 8.00%* |
* From 2-28-01
The average annual total returns measure the performance of a hypothetical account and assume that all dividends and capital gains distributions have been reinvested in additional shares. The Fund's performance is compared to the performance of the Barclays Capital Aggregate Bond Index (formerly known as the Lehman Brothers Aggregate Bond Index), an unmanaged index of U.S. corporate and government bonds, and the Citigroup World Government Bond Index, an unmanaged index of debt securities of major foreign government bond markets. The index performance includes income reinvestment but does not reflect any transaction costs, fees, expenses or taxes. The calculation of the Fund's performance reflects the following sales charges: for Class A, the current maximum initial sales charge of 4.75%; for Class B, the contingent deferred sales charge of 5% for the "1 Year" period and 2% for the "5 Years" period; and for Class C and Class N, the 1% contingent deferred sales charge for the " 1 Year" period. There is no sales charge for Class Y shares. Because Class B shares convert to Class A shares 72 months after purchase, the Class B "10 Year" performance does not include any contingent deferred sales charge and is based on the Class A performance for the period after 72 months.
Fees and Expenses of the Fund
The following tables are provided to help you understand the fees and expenses you may pay if you buy and hold shares of the Fund. Shareholders pay certain expenses directly, such as sales charges. The Fund pays other expenses for management of its assets, administration, distribution of its shares and other services. Since those expenses are paid from the Fund's assets, all shareholders pay those expenses indirectly.
The numbers below are based on the Fund's expenses during its fiscal year ended September 30, 2008. Expenses may vary in future years.
Shareholder Fees (charges paid directly from your investment): | | | |
| Class A Shares | Class B Shares | Class C Shares | Class N Shares | Class Y Shares |
Maximum Sales Charge (Load) on purchases (as % of offering price) | 4.75% | None | None | None | None |
Maximum Deferred Sales Charge (Load) (as % of the lower of the original offering price or redemption proceeds) | None1 | 5%2 | 1%3 | 1%4 | None |
Annual Fund Operating Expenses (deducted from Fund assets): (% of average daily net assets) | | |
| Class A Shares | Class B Shares | Class C Shares | Class N Shares | Class Y Shares |
Management Fees | 0.51% | 0.51% | 0.51% | 0.51% | 0.51% |
Distribution and/or Service (12b-1) Fees | 0.25% | 1.00% | 1.00% | 0.50% | n/a |
Other Expenses5 | 0.15% | 0.22% | 0.15% | 0.31% | 0.15% |
Acquired Fund Fees and Expenses6 | 0.02% | 0.02% | 0.02% | 0.02% | 0.02% |
Total Annual Operating Expenses7 | 0.93% | 1.75% | 1.68% | 1.34% | 0.68% |
1. A Class A contingent deferred sales charge may apply to redemptions of investments of $1 million or more or to certain retirement plan redemptions. See "How to Buy Shares" for details.
2. Applies to redemptions in the first year after purchase. The contingent deferred sales charge gradually declines from 5% to 1% during years one through six and is eliminated after that.
3. Applies to shares redeemed within 12 months of purchase.
4. Applies to shares redeemed within 18 months of a retirement plan's first purchase of Class N shares.
5. "Other expenses" include transfer agent fees, custodial fees, and accounting and legal expenses that the Fund pays. The Transfer Agent has voluntarily undertaken to the Fund to limit the transfer agent fees to 0.35% of average daily net assets per fiscal year for all classes. That undertaking may be amended or withdrawn at any time. For the Fund's fiscal year ended September 30, 2008, the transfer agent fees did not exceed that e xpense limitation. The Fund also receives certain credits from the Fund's custodian that, during the fiscal year, reduced its custodial expenses for all share classes by less than 0.01% of average daily net assets.
6. "Acquired Fund Fees and Expenses" includes fees and expenses incurred indirectly by the Fund with respect to the Fund's investments in Oppenheimer Institutional Money Market Fund, Oppenheimer Master Loan Fund, LLC and Oppenheimer Master Event-Linked Bond Fund, LLC. The calculation of the "Acquired Fund Fees and Expenses" is based on the total annual expense ratios of those funds, without giving effect to any fee waivers or reimbursements. Any material change in the Fund's allocations to Acquired Funds might increase or decrease those expenses.
7. The Manager will voluntarily waive fees and/or reimburse Fund expenses in an amount equal to the indirect management fees incurred through the Fund's investment in Oppenheimer Institutional Money Market Fund, Oppenheimer Master Loan Fund, L LC and Oppenheimer Master Event-Linked Bond Fund, LLC. After all of the above waivers and credits, the actual "Total Annual Operating Expenses", as percentages of average daily net assets were 0.89% for Class A shares, 1.71% for Class B shares, 1.64% for Class C shares, 1.30% for Class N shares and 0.64% for Class Y shares.
EXAMPLES. The following examples are intended to help you compare the cost of investing in the Fund with the cost of investing in other mutual funds. The examples assume that you invest $10,000 in a class of shares of the Fund for the time periods indicated and reinvest your dividends and distributions. These examples also assume that your investment has a 5% return each year and that the Fund's operating expenses remain the same. The Fund's expenses will vary over time, however, and your actual costs may be higher or lower.
The first example assumes that you redeem all of your shares at the end of the periods. The second example assumes that you keep your shares. Based on these assumptions your expenses would be as follows:
If shares are redeemed: | 1 Year | 3 Years | 5 Years | 10 Years |
Class A Shares | $566 | $759 | $967 | $1,569 |
Class B Shares | $679 | $856 | $1,157 | $1,659* |
Class C Shares | $272 | $534 | $920 | $2,003 |
Class N Shares | $237 | $427 | $739 | $1,623 |
Class Y Shares | $70 | $218 | $380 | $849 |
If shares are not redeemed: | 1 Year | 3 Years | 5 Years | 10 Years |
Class A Shares | $566 | $759 | $967 | $1,569 |
Class B Shares | $179 | $556 | $957 | $1,659* |
Class C Shares | $172 | $534 | $920 | $2,003 |
Class N Shares | $137 | $427 | $739 | $1,623 |
Class Y Shares | $70 | $218 | $380 | $849 |
In the first example, expenses include the initial sales charge for Class A and the applicable Class B, Class C and Class N contingent deferred sales charges. In the second example, the Class A expenses include the sales charge, but Class B, Class C and Class N expenses do not include contingent deferred sales charges. There is no sales charge on Class Y shares.
* Since Class B shares automatically convert to Class A shares 72 months after purchase, the Class B expenses for years 7 through 10 are based on Class A expenses.
In evaluating the Fund's expenses, it is important to remember that mutual funds offer you the opportunity to combine your resources with those of many other investors to obtain professional portfolio management, exposure to a larger number of markets and issuers, reliable custody for investment assets, liquidity, and convenient recordkeeping and reporting services. Funds also offer investment benefits to individuals without the expense and inconvenience of buying and selling individual securities. Because a fund is a pooled investment, however, shareholders may bear certain fund operating costs as a result of the activities of other fund investors. Because some investors may use fund services more than others, or may have smaller accounts or more frequent account activity, those activities may increase the Fund's overall expenses, which are indirectly borne by all of the Fund's shareholders.
About the Fund's Investments
The allocation of the Fund's portfolio among different types of investments will vary over time and the Fund's portfolio might not always include all of the different types of investments described below. The Statement of Additional Information contains more detailed information about the Fund's investment policies and risks.
THE FUND'S PRINCIPAL INVESTMENT POLICIES AND RISKS. The following strategies and types of investments are the ones that the Fund considers to be the most important in seeking to achieve its investment objective and the following risks are those the Fund expects its portfolio to be subject to as a whole.
DEBT SECURITIES. The Fund may invest in debt securities, including: foreign and U.S. Government bonds and notes, collateralized mortgage obligations and other mortgage-related securities, asset-backed securities, participation interests in loans, investments in loan pools, "structured" notes, lower-grade, high-yield domestic and foreign corporate debt obligations, and "zero-coupon" and "stripped" securities.
Debt securities may be subject to the following risks:
- Interest Rate Risk. The values of debt securities usually change when prevailing interest rates change. When interest rates rise, the values of outstanding debt securities generally fall, and those securities may sell at a discount from their face amount. When interest rates fall, the values of already-issued debt securities generally rise. However, when interest rates fall, the Fund's investments in new securities may be at lower yields and may reduce the Fund's income. The values of longer-term debt securities usually change more than the values of shorter-term debt securities when interest rates change.
The Fund may also buy zero-coupon or "stripped" securities, which may be particularly sensitive to interest rate changes. Interest rate changes may have different effects on the values of mortgage-related securities because of prepayment and extension risks.
- Prepayment Risk. Certain fixed-income securities are subject to the risk of unanticipated prepayment. That is the risk that when interest rates fall, borrowers will prepay the loans that underlie these securities more quickly than expected, causing the issuer of the security to repay the principal prior to the security's expected maturity. The Fund may need to reinvest the proceeds at a lower interest rate, reducing its income. Securities subject to prepayment risk generally offer less potential for gains when prevailing interest rates fall. If the Fund buys those securities at a premium, accelerated prepayments on those securities could cause it to lose a portion of its principal investment represented by the premium. The impact of prepayments on the price of a security may be difficult to predict and may increase the security's price volatility. Interest-only and principal-only securities are especially sensitive to interest rate changes, which can affect not only their prices but can also change the income flows and prepayment assumptions about those investments.
- Extension Risk. If interest rates rise rapidly, repayments of principal on certain debt securities may occur at a slower rate than expected and the expected maturity of those securities could lengthen as a result. Those securities generally have a greater potential for loss when prevailing interest rates rise, which could cause their value to fall sharply.
- Credit Risk. Debt securities are also subject to credit risk. Credit risk is the risk that the issuer of a security might not make interest and principal payments on the security as they become due. Securities directly issued by the U.S. Treasury and certain agencies that are backed by the full faith and credit of the U.S. Government have little credit risk, and other U.S. Government securities generally have lower credit risks, while securities issued by private issuers or certain foreign governments generally have greater credit risks. If an issuer fails to pay interest, the Fund's income might be reduced, and if an issuer fails to repay principal, the values of the security might fall. The extent of this risk varies based on the terms of the particular security and the financial condition of the issuer. A downgrade in an issuer's credit rating or other adverse news about an issuer can reduce the market value of that issuer's securities.
Credit Quality. The Fund may invest in securities that are rated or unrated. "Investment grade" securities are rated in one of the top four rating categories by nationally-recognized statistical rating organizations such as Moody's Investors Service or Standard & Poor's Ratings Services. "Lower grade" securities are those that are rated below those categories.
Credit ratings evaluate the expectation that scheduled interest and principal payments will be made in a timely manner. They do not reflect any judgment of market risk. Rating agencies might not always change their credit rating of an issuer in a timely manner to reflect events that could affect the issuer's ability to make timely payments on its obligations. In selecting securities for the Fund's portfolio and evaluating their income potential and credit risk, the Manager does not rely solely on ratings by rating organizations but evaluates business and economic factors affecting issuers as well. The ratings definitions of the principal ratings organizations are included in an Appendix to the Statement of Additional Information.
U.S. Government Securities. The Fund invests in securities issued or guaranteed by the U.S. Government or its agencies and instrumentalities. Some of those securities are directly issued by the U.S. Treasury and are backed by the full faith and credit of the U.S. Government. "Full faith and credit" means that the taxing power of the U.S. Government is pledged to the payment of interest and repayment of principal on a security.
Some securities issued by U.S. Government agencies, such as Government National Mortgage Corporation pass-through mortgage obligations ("Ginnie Maes"), are also backed by the full faith and credit of the U.S. Government. Others are supported by the right of the agency to borrow an amount from the U.S. Government (for example, "Fannie Mae" bonds issued by Federal National Mortgage Corporation and "Freddie Mac" obligations issued by Federal Home Loan Mortgage Corporation). Others are supported only by the credit of the agency (for example obligations issued by the Federal Home Loan Banks). On September 7, 2008, the Federal Housing Finance Agency, a new independent regulatory agency, placed the Federal National Mortgage Corporation and Federal Home Loan Mortgage Corporation into conservatorship and the U.S. Department of Treasury made a commitment to purchase mortgage-backed securities from the companies through December 2009. The U.S. Department of Treasury also entered into a new secured lendin g credit facility with those companies and a Preferred Stock Purchase Agreement. Under those agreements, the Treasury will ensure that each company maintains a positive net worth.
U.S. Treasury Securities. Treasury securities are backed by the full faith and credit of the United States for payment of interest and repayment of principal and have little credit risk. Some of the securities that are issued directly by the U.S. Treasury are: Treasury bills (having maturities of one year or less when issued), Treasury notes (having maturities of from one to ten years when issued), Treasury bonds (having maturities of more than ten years when issued) and Treasury Inflation-Protection Securities ("TIPS"). While U.S. Treasury securities have little credit risk, they are subject to price fluctuations from changes in interest rates prior to their maturity.
Mortgage-Related Government Securities. The Fund can buy interests in pools of residential or commercial mortgages, in the form of collateralized mortgage obligations ("CMOs") and other "pass-through" mortgage securities. They may be issued or guaranteed by the U.S. Government, or its agencies and instrumentalities. CMOs may be issued in different series, each having different interest rates and maturities.
CMOs that are U.S. Government securities have collateral to secure payment of interest and principal. The collateral is either in the form of mortgage pass-through certificates issued or guaranteed by a U.S. agency or instrumentality or mortgage loans insured by a U.S. Government agency. The prices and yields of CMOs are determined, in part, by assumptions about the rate of payments of the underlying mortgages and are subject to prepayment and extension risks.
Private-Issuer Securities. The Fund can also invest in securities issued by private issuers, including mortgage-backed securities.
Mortgage-Related Private Issuer Securities. Primarily these investments include multi-class debt or pass-through certificates secured by mortgage loans, which may be issued by banks, savings and loans, mortgage bankers and other non-governmental issuers. Private-issuer securities may include mortgage-backed securities with respect to both residential and commercial properties.
CMOs and other mortgage-related securities issued by private issuers are not U.S. Government securities. Those securities are subject to greater credit risks than U.S. Government securities. Private issuer securities are subject to the credit risks of the issuers as well as to interest rate risks, although in some cases they may be supported by insurance or guarantees. The prices and yields of private issuer mortgage-related securities are also subject to prepayment and extension risk.
Asset-Backed Securities. Asset-backed securities are fractional interests in pools of loans, other assets or receivables. They are issued by trusts or other special purpose vehicles and are collateralized by the loans, other assets or receivables that make up the pool. The trust or other issuer passes the income from the underlying pool to the investor. Neither the Fund nor the Manager selects the loans or other assets that are included in the pools or the collateral backing those pools. Asset-backed securities are subject to interest rate risk and credit risk. Certain asset-backed securities are subject to prepayment and extension risks.
Forward Rolls. The Fund can enter into "forward roll" transactions (also referred to as "mortgage dollar rolls") with respect to mortgage-related securities. In this type of transaction, the Fund sells a mortgage-related security to a buyer and simultaneously agrees to repurchase a similar security at a later date at a set price. During the period between the sale and the repurchase, the Fund will not be entitled to receive interest and principal payments on the securities that have been sold. The Fund will bear the risk that the market value of the securities might decline below the price at which the Fund is obligated to repurchase them or that the counterparty might default in its obligations.
A substantial portion of the Fund's assets may be subject to forward roll transactions at any given time.
Zero-Coupon Securities. The Fund may invest in convertible "zero-coupon" securities, which pay no interest prior to their maturity date or another specified date in the future but are issued at a discount from their face value. Interest rate changes generally cause greater fluctuations in the prices of zero-coupon securities than in interest-paying securities of the same or similar maturities. The Fund may be required to pay a dividend of the imputed income on a zero-coupon security at a time when it has not actually received the income.
Stripped Securities. "Stripped" securities are the separate income or principal components of a debt security, such as Treasury securities whose coupons have been stripped by a Federal Reserve Bank. Some mortgage related securities may be stripped, with each component having a different proportion of principal or interest payments. One class might receive all the interest payments, all the principal payments or some proportional amount of interest and principal. Interest rate changes may cause greater fluctuations in the prices of stripped securities than in other debt securities of the same or similar maturities. The market for these securities may be limited, making it difficult for the Fund to sell its holdings at an acceptable price. The Fund may be required to pay out the imputed income on a stripped security as a dividend, at a time when it has not actually received the income.
Participation Interest in Loans. These securities represent an undivided fractional interest in a loan obligation of a borrower. They are typically purchased from banks or dealers that have made the loan, or are members of the loan syndicate, and that act as the servicing agent for the interest. The loans may be to foreign or U.S. companies. Participation interests are subject to the credit risk of the servicing agent as well as the credit risk of the borrower. If a fund purchases a participation interest, it may be only able to enforce its rights through the lender. The Fund can also buy interests in trusts and other entities that hold loan obligations. In that case the Fund will be subject to the trust's credit risks as well as the credit risks of the underlying loans.
Investments in Loan Investment Pools. The Fund can also buy interests in trusts and other pooled entities that invest primarily or exclusively in loan obligations, including entities sponsored or advised by the Manager or an affiliate. The loans underlying these investments may include loans to foreign or U.S. borrowers, may be collateralized or uncollateralized and may be rated above or below investment grade or may be unrated. The Manager expects that from time to time investments in loan investment pools may exceed 15% of the Fund's net assets.
These investments are subject to the risk of default by the borrower, interest rate and prepayment risk, as well as credit risks of the pooled entity that holds the loan obligations.
High-Yield, Lower-Grade Debt Securities. The Fund may invest in high-yield, lower-grade, fixed-income securities of U.S. and foreign issuers. Those securities may include, among others: bonds, debentures, notes, preferred stock, loan participation interests, "structured" notes, commercial mortgage-backed securities, and asset-backed securities. There are no limits on the amount of the Fund's assets that can be invested in securities rated below investment grade. The Fund may invest in securities rated as low as "C" or "D" or that are in default at the time the Fund buys them. Those securities are generally considered speculative.
Price Arbitrage. Because the Fund may invest in high yield bonds that may trade infrequently, investors might seek to trade fund shares based on their knowledge or understanding of the value of those securities (this is sometimes referred to as "price arbitrage"). If such price arbitrage were successful, it might interfere with the efficient management of the Fund's portfolio and the Fund may be required to sell securities at disadvantageous times or prices to satisfy the liquidity requirements created by that activity. Successful price arbitrage might also dilute the value of fund shares held by other shareholders.
FOREIGN INVESTMENTS. The Fund can buy a variety of securities issued by foreign governments and companies, as well as "supra-national" entities, such as the World Bank. The Fund's foreign investments primarily include bonds, debentures and notes. The Fund's foreign investments can be denominated in U.S. dollars or in foreign currencies. While foreign securities may offer special investment opportunities, they are also subject to special risks.
DIVERSIFICATION AND CONCENTRATION. The Fund is a diversified fund. It attempts to reduce its exposure to the risks of individual stocks by diversifying its investments across a broad number of different companies. The Fund will not concentrate more than 25% of its total assets in issuers in any one industry. At times, however, the Fund may emphasize investments in some industries more than others.
DERIVATIVE INVESTMENTS. The Fund can invest in a number of different types of "derivative" investments. A derivative is an investment whose value depends on (or is derived from) the value of an underlying security, asset, interest rate, index or currency. Derivatives may allow the Fund to increase or decrease its exposure to certain markets or risks.
The Fund may use derivatives to seek to increase its investment return or for hedging purposes. The Fund is not required to use derivatives in seeking its investment objective or for hedging and might not do so.
Options, futures, forward contracts, swaps, "structured" notes, and certain mortgage-related securities are some of the derivatives that the Fund may use. The Fund may also use other types of derivatives that are consistent with its investment strategies or hedging purposes.
"Structured" Notes. "Structured" notes are specially-designed derivative debt investments. The terms of the instrument may be "structured" by the purchaser and the issuer of the note. Payments of principal or interest on these notes may be linked to the value of an index (such as a currency or securities index), an individual security, or a commodity. The value of these notes will normally rise or fall in response to the changes in the performance of the underlying security, index or commodity.
Structured notes are subject to interest rate risk. Structured notes are also subject to credit risk both with respect to the borrower (referred to as "counter-party" risk) and with respect to the issuer of the underlying investment. If the underlying investment or index does not perform as anticipated, the investment might pay less interest than the stated coupon payment or repay less principal upon maturity. The price of structured notes may be very volatile and they may have a limited trading market, making it difficult to value them or sell them at an acceptable price.
In some cases, the Fund may invest in structured notes that pay an amount based on a multiple of the relative change in value of the asset or reference. This type of note increases the potential for income but at a greater risk of loss than a typical debt security of the same maturity and credit quality.
Credit Default Swaps. A credit default swap enables an investor to buy or sell protection against a credit event, such as an issuer's failure to make timely payments of interest or principal, bankruptcy or restructuring. The terms of the instrument are generally negotiated by the Fund and the swap counterparty. A swap may be embedded within a structured note or other derivative instrument.
Generally, if the Fund buys credit protection using a credit default swap, the Fund will make fixed payments to the counterparty and if a credit event occurs, the Fund will deliver the defaulted bonds underlying the swap to the swap counterparty and the counterparty will pay the Fund par for the bonds. If the Fund sells credit protection using a credit default swap, generally the Fund will receive fixed payments from the counterparty and if a credit event occurs, the Fund will pay the swap counterparty par for the defaulted bonds underlying the swap and the swap counterparty will deliver the bonds to the Fund. If the credit swap is on a basket of securities, the notional value of the swap is reduced by the par amount of the defaulted bonds, and the fixed payments are then made on the reduced notional value.
Credit default swaps are subject to credit risk on the underlying investment and to counterparty credit risk. If the counterparty fails to meet its obligations the Fund may lose money. Credit default swaps are also subject to the risk that the Fund will not properly assess the cost of the underlying investment. If the Fund is selling credit protection, there is a risk that a credit event will occur and that the Fund will have to pay par value on defaulted bonds. If the Fund is buying credit protection, there is a risk that no credit event will occur and the Fund will receive no benefit for the premium paid.
Interest Rate Swaps. In an interest rate swap, the Fund and another party exchange the right to receive interest payments on a security or other reference rate. For example, they might swap the right to receive floating rate payments for the right to receive fixed rate payments. The terms of the instrument are generally negotiated by the Fund and the swap counterparty. An interest rate swap may be embedded within a structured note or other derivative instrument.
Interest rate swaps are subject to interest rate risk and credit risk. An interest rate swap transaction could result in losses if the underlying asset or reference does not perform as anticipated. Interest Rate swaps are also subject to counterparty risk. If the counterparty fails to meet its obligations, the Fund may lose money.
Total Return Swaps. In a total return swap transaction, one party agrees to pay the other party an amount equal to the total return on a defined underlying asset or a non-asset reference during a specified period of time. The underlying asset might be a security or basket of securities or a non-asset reference such as a securities index. In return, the other party would make periodic payments based on a fixed or variable interest rate or on the total return from a different underlying asset or non-asset reference.
Total return swaps could result in losses if the underlying asset or reference does not perform as anticipated. Total return swaps can have the potential for unlimited losses. They are also subject to counterparty risk. If the counterparty fails to meet its obligations, the Fund may lose money.
Hedging. Hedging transactions are intended to reduce the risks of securities in the Fund's portfolio. If the Fund uses a hedging instrument at the wrong time or judges market conditions incorrectly, however, the hedge might be unsuccessful or could reduce the Fund's return or create a loss.
The Fund is not required to use derivatives in seeking its investment objective or for hedging and might not do so.
Risks of Derivative Investments. Derivatives may be volatile and may involve significant risks. Derivative transactions may require the payment of premiums and can increase portfolio turnover. For example, if a call option sold by the Fund were exercised on an investment that had increased in value above the call price, the Fund would be required to sell the investment at the call price and would not be able to realize any additional profit. Certain derivative investments held by the Fund may be illiquid, making it difficult to close out an unfavorable position. The underlying security or other instrument on which a derivative is based, or the derivative itself, may not perform the way the Manager expects it to. As a result, the Fund could realize little or no income or lose principal from the investment, or a hedge might be unsuccessful.
OTHER INVESTMENT STRATEGIES AND RISKS. The Fund can also use the investment techniques and strategies described below. The Fund might not use all of these techniques or strategies or might only use them from time to time.
Common Stock and Other Equity Investments. Equity securities include common stock, preferred stock, rights, warrants and certain debt securities that are convertible into common stock. Equity investments may be exchange-traded or over-the-counter securities. Common stock represents an ownership interest in a company. It ranks below preferred stock and debt securities in claims for dividends and in claims for assets of the issuer in a liquidation or bankruptcy.
Preferred stock has a set dividend rate and ranks ahead of common stocks and behind debt securities in claims for dividends and for assets of the issuer in a liquidation or bankruptcy. The dividends on preferred stock may be cumulative (they remain a liability of the company until paid) or non-cumulative. The fixed dividend rate of preferred stocks may cause their prices to behave more like those of debt securities. When interest rates rise, the value of preferred stock having a fixed dividend rate tends to fall.
A convertible security is one that can be converted into or exchanged for a set amount of common stock of an issuer within a particular period of time at a specified price or according to a price formula. Convertible debt securities pay interest and convertible preferred stocks pay dividends until they mature or are converted, exchanged or redeemed. Convertible securities may provide more income than common stock but they generally provide less income than comparable non-convertible debt securities. Convertible securities are subject to credit and interest rate risk. The credit ratings of convertible securities generally has less impact on the value of the securities than they do for non-convertible debt securities, however.
Risks of Investing in Equity Securities. Stocks and other equity securities fluctuate in price in response to changes in equity markets in general. Equity markets may experience great short-term volatility and may fall sharply at times. Different markets may behave differently from each other and U.S. equity markets may move in the opposite direction from one or more foreign markets.
The prices of equity securities generally do not all move in the same direction at the same time and a variety of factors can affect the price of a particular company's securities. These factors may include: poor earnings reports, a loss of customers, litigation, or changes in government regulations affecting the company or its industry.
When-Issued and Delayed-Delivery Transactions. The Fund may purchase securities on a "when-issued" basis and may purchase or sell such securities on a "delayed-delivery" basis. When-issued and delayed-delivery securities are purchased at a price that is fixed at the time of the transaction, with payment and delivery of the security made at a later date. During the period between purchase and settlement, the Fund makes no payment to the issuer and no interest accrues to the Fund from the investment.
The securities are subject to changes in value from market fluctuations during the period until settlement and the value of the security on the delivery date may be more or less than the Fund paid. The Fund may lose money if the value of the security declines below the purchase price.
Illiquid and Restricted Securities. Investments that do not have an active trading market, or that have legal or contractual limitations on their resale, are generally referred to as "illiquid" securities. Illiquid securities may be difficult to value or to sell promptly at an acceptable price or may require registration under applicable securities laws before they can be sold publicly. Securities that have limitations on their resale are referred to as "restricted securities." Certain restricted securities that are eligible for resale to qualified institutional purchasers may not be regarded as illiquid.
The Fund will not invest more than 15% of its net assets in illiquid securities. The Manager monitors the Fund's holdings of illiquid securities on an ongoing basis to determine whether to sell any of those securities to maintain adequate liquidity.
Loans of Portfolio Securities. The Fund may loan its portfolio securities to brokers, dealers and financial institutions to seek income. The Fund has entered into a securities lending agreement with The Goldman Sachs Trust Company, doing business as Goldman Sachs Agency Lending ("Goldman Sachs") for that purpose. Under the agreement, Goldman Sachs will generally bear the risk that a borrower may default on its obligation to return loaned securities. The Fund, however, will be responsible for the risks associated with the investment of cash collateral, including any collateral invested in an affiliated money market fund. The Fund may lose money on its investment of cash collateral or may fail to earn sufficient income on its investment to meet its obligations to the borrower.
The Fund's portfolio loans must comply with the collateralization and other requirements of the Fund's securities lending agreement, its securities lending procedures and applicable government regulations.
The Fund limits loans of portfolio securities to not more than 25% of its net assets.
Conflicts of Interest. The investment activities of the Manager and its affiliates in regard to other accounts they manage may present conflicts of interest that could disadvantage the Fund and its shareholders. The Manager or its affiliates may provide investment advisory services to other funds and accounts that have investment objectives or strategies that differ from, or are contrary to, those of the Fund. That may result in another fund or account holding investment positions that are adverse to the Fund's investment strategies or activities. Other funds or accounts advised by the Manager or its affiliates may have conflicting interests arising from investment objectives that are similar to those of the Fund. Those funds and accounts may engage in, and compete for, the same types of securities or other investments as the Fund or invest in securities of the same issuers that have different, and possibly conflicting, characteristics. The trading and other investment activities of th ose other funds or accounts may be carried out without regard to the investment activities of the Fund and, as a result, the value of securities held by the Fund or the Fund's investment strategies may be adversely affected. The Fund's investment performance will usually differ from the performance of other accounts advised by the Manager or its affiliates and the Fund may experience losses during periods in which other accounts advised by the Manager or its affiliates achieve gains. The Manager has adopted policies and procedures designed to address potential conflicts of interest identified by the Manager; however, such policies and procedures may also limit the Fund's investment activities and affect its performance.
Investments in Oppenheimer Institutional Money Market Fund. The Fund can invest its free cash balances in Class E shares of Oppenheimer Institutional Money Market Fund, to provide liquidity or for defensive purposes. The Fund invests in Oppenheimer Institutional Money Market Fund, rather than purchasing individual short-term investments, to seek a higher yield than it could obtain on its own. Oppenheimer Institutional Money Market Fund is a registered open-end management investment company, regulated as a money market fund under the Investment Company Act of 1940, as amended, and is part of the Oppenheimer Family of Funds. It invests in a variety of short-term, high-quality, dollar-denominated money market instruments issued by the U.S. Government, domestic and foreign corporations, other financial institutions, and other entities. Those investments may have a higher rate of return than the investments that would be available to the Fund directly. At the time of an investment, the Fund cannot always predict what the yield of the Oppenheimer Institutional Money Market Fund will be because of the wide variety of instruments that fund holds in its portfolio. The return on those investments may, in some cases, be lower than the return that would have been derived from other types of investments that would provide liquidity. As a shareholder, the Fund will be subject to its proportional share of the expenses of Oppenheimer Institutional Money Market Fund's Class E shares, including its advisory fee. However, the Manager will waive a portion of the Fund's advisory fee to the extent of the Fund's share of the advisory fee paid to the Manager by Oppenheimer Institutional Money Market Fund.
Temporary Defensive and Interim Investments. For temporary defensive purposes in times of adverse or unstable market, economic or political conditions, the Fund can invest up to 100% of its assets in investments that may be inconsistent with the Fund's principal investment strategies. Generally, the Fund would invest in shares of Oppenheimer Institutional Money Market Fund or in the types of money market instruments in which Oppenheimer Institutional Money Market Fund invests or in other short-term U.S. Government securities. The Fund might also hold these types of securities as interim investments pending the investment of proceeds from the sale of Fund shares or the sale of Fund portfolio securities or to meet anticipated redemptions of Fund shares. To the extent the Fund invests in these securities, it might not achieve its investment objective.
Portfolio Turnover. A change in the securities held by the Fund is known as "portfolio turnover." The Fund may engage in active and frequent trading to try to achieve its investment objective and may have a portfolio turnover rate of over 100% annually. Increased portfolio turnover may result in higher brokerage fees or other transaction costs, which can reduce performance. If the Fund realizes capital gains when it sells investments, it generally must pay those gains to shareholders, increasing its taxable distributions. The Financial Highlights table at the end of this prospectus shows the Fund's portfolio turnover rates during past fiscal years.
CHANGES TO THE FUND'S INVESTMENT POLICIES. The Fund's fundamental investment policies cannot be changed without the approval of a majority of the Fund's outstanding voting shares; however, the Fund's Board can change non-fundamental policies without a shareholder vote. Significant policy changes will be described in supplements to this prospectus. The Fund's investment objective is a fundamental policy. Other investment restrictions that are fundamental policies are listed in the Fund's Statement of Additional Information. An investment policy is not fundamental unless this prospectus or the Statement of Additional Information states that it is.
PORTFOLIO HOLDINGS
The Fund's portfolio holdings are included in semi-annual and annual reports that are distributed to its shareholders within 60 days after the close of the applicable reporting period. The Fund also discloses its portfolio holdings in its Statements of Investments on Form N-Q, which are public filings that are required to be made with the Securities and Exchange Commission within 60 days after the end of the Fund's first and third fiscal quarters. Therefore, the Fund's portfolio holdings are made publicly available no later than 60 days after the end of each of its fiscal quarters.
A description of the Fund's policies and procedures with respect to the disclosure of its portfolio holdings is available in the Fund's Statement of Additional Information.
How the Fund is Managed
THE MANAGER. OppenheimerFunds, Inc., the Manager, chooses the Fund's investments and handles its day-to-day business. The Manager carries out its duties, subject to the policies established by the Fund's Board of Trustees, under an investment advisory agreement that states the Manager's responsibilities. The agreement sets the fees the Fund pays to the Manager and describes the expenses that the Fund is responsible to pay to conduct its business.
The Manager has been an investment adviser since 1960. The Manager and a subsidiary managed funds with more than 6 million shareholder accounts as of December 31, 2008. The Manager is located at Two World Financial Center, 225 Liberty Street, 11th Floor, New York, New York 10281-1008.
Advisory Fees. Under the Investment Advisory Agreement, the Fund pays the Manager an advisory fee, calculated on the daily net assets of the Fund, at an annual rate that declines on additional assets as the Fund grows: 0.75% of the first $200 million of average annual net assets of the Fund, 0.72% of the next $200 million, 0.69% of the next $200 million, 0.66% of the next $200 million, 0.60% of the next $200 million, 0.50% of the next $4 billion and 0.48% of average annual net assets in excess of $5 billion. The Fund's advisory fee for the period ended September 30, 2008 was 0.51% of average annual net assets for each class of shares.
A discussion regarding the basis for the Board of Trustees' approval of the Fund's investment advisory contract is available in the Fund's Annual Report to shareholders for the period ended September 30, 2008.
Portfolio Managers. The Fund's portfolio is managed by Arthur P. Steinmetz, who has been primarily responsible for the day-to-day management of the Fund's investments since October 1989 and has been sole portfolio manager and Vice President of the Fund since May 2003.
Mr. Steinmetz has been the Director of Fixed Income of the Manager since January 2009, Vice President of the Manager since October 2003 and of HarbourView Asset Management Corporation since March 2000. He is a portfolio manager and an officer of other portfolios in the OppenheimerFunds complex.
The Statement of Additional Information provides additional information about the portfolio manager's compensation, other accounts he manages and his ownership of Fund shares.
ABOUT YOUR ACCOUNT
About Your Account
Where Can You Buy Fund Shares? Oppenheimer funds may be purchased either directly or through a variety of "financial intermediaries" that offer Fund shares to their clients. Financial intermediaries include securities dealers, financial advisors, brokers, banks, trust companies, insurance companies and the sponsors of fund "supermarkets," fee-based advisory or wrap fee programs or college and retirement savings programs.
WHAT CLASSES OF SHARES DOES THE FUND OFFER? The Fund offers investors five different classes of shares. The different classes of shares represent investments in the same portfolio of securities, but the classes are subject to different expenses and will usually have different share prices. When you buy shares, be sure to specify the class of shares you wish to purchase. If you do not choose a class, your investment will be made in Class A shares.
Class A Shares. If you buy Class A shares, you will pay an initial sales charge on investments up to $1 million for regular accounts or lesser amounts for certain retirement plans or if you qualify for certain fee waivers. The amount of the sales charge will vary depending on the amount you invest. The sales charge rates for different investment amounts are listed in "About Class A Shares" below.
Class B Shares. If you buy Class B shares, you will pay no sa les charge at the time of purchase, but you will pay an annual asset-based sales charge (distribution fee) over a period of approximately six years. If you sell your shares within 6 years after buying them, you will normally pay a contingent deferred sales charge. The amount of the contingent deferred sales charge varies depending on how long you own your shares, as described in "About Class B Shares" below.
Class C Shares. If you buy Class C shares, you will pay no sales charge at the time of purchase, but you will pay an ongoing asset-based sales charge. If you sell your shares within 12 months after buying them, you will normally pay a contingent deferred sales charge of 1.0%, as described in "About Class C Shares" below.
Class N Shares. Class N shares are available only through certain retirement plans. If you buy Class N shares, you pay no sales charge at the time of purchase, but you will pay an ongoing asset-base d sales charge. If you sell your shares within 18 months after the retirement plan's first purchase of Class N shares, you may pay a contingent deferred sales charge of 1.0%, as described in "About Class N Shares" below.
Class Y Shares. Class Y shares are offered only to certain institutional investors that have a special agreement with the Distributor and to present or former officers, directors, trustees and employees (and their eligible family members) of the Fund, the Manager and its affiliates, its parent company and the subsidiaries of its parent company, and retirement plans established for the benefit of such individuals. See "About Class Y Shares" below.
Certain sales charge waivers may apply to purchases or redemptions of Class A, Class B, Class C, or Class N shares. More information about those waivers is available in the Fund's Statement of Additional Information, or by clicking on the hyperlink "Sales Charges & Breakpoints" under the heading "Fund Information" on the OppenheimerFunds website at "www.oppenheimerfunds.com."
WHAT IS THE MINIMUM INVESTMENT? In most cases, you can buy Fund shares with a minimum initial investment of $1,000 and make additional investments with as little as $50. The minimum additional investment requirement does not apply to reinvested dividends from the Fund or from other Oppenheimer funds or to omnibus account purchases. A $25 minimum applies to additional investments through an Asset Builder Plan, an Automatic Exchange Plan or a government allotment plan established before November 1, 2002. Reduced initial minimums are available in certain circumstances, including under the following investment plans:
- For most types of retirement accounts that OppenheimerFunds offers, the minimum initial investment is $500.
- For certain retirement accounts that have automatic investments through salary deduction plans, there is no minimum initial investment.
- For an Asset Builder Plan or Automatic Exchange Plan or a government allotment plan, the minimum initial investment is $500.
- For certain fee-based programs that have an agreement with the Distributor, a minimum initial investment of $250 applies.
Minimum Account Balance. A $12 annual "minimum balance fee" is assessed on Fund accounts with a value of less than $500. The fee is automatically deducted from each applicable Fund account annually in September. See the Statement of Additional Information for information about the circumstances under which this fee will not be assessed. Small accounts may be involuntarily redeemed by the Fund if the value has fallen below $500 for reasons other than a decline in the market value of the shares.
Choosing a Share Class
CHOOSING A SHARE CLASS. Once you decide that the Fund is an appropriate investment for you, deciding which class of shares is best suited to your needs depends on a number of factors that you should discuss with your financial advisor. The Fund's operating costs that apply to a share class and the effect of the different types of sales charges on your investment will affect your investment results over time. For example, the net asset value and the dividends of Class B, Class C, and Class N shares will be reduced by additional expenses borne by those classes such as the asset-based sales charge.
Two of the factors to consider are how much you plan to invest and, while future financial needs cannot be predicted with certainty, how long you plan to hold your investment. For example, with larger purchases that qualify for a reduced initial sales charge on Class A shares, the effect of paying an initial sales charge on purchases of Class A shares may be less over time than the effect of the asset-based sales charges on Class B, Class C, or Class N shares. For retirement plans that qualify to purchase Class N shares, Class N will generally be the most advantageous share class. If your goals and objectives change over time and you plan to purchase additional shares, you should re-evaluate each of the factors to see if you should consider a different class of shares.
The discussion below is not intended to be investment advice or a recommendation, because each investor's financial considerations are different. The discussion below assumes that you will purchase only one class of shares and not a combination of shares of different classes. These examples are based on approximations of the effects of current sales charges and expenses projected over time, and do not detail all of the considerations in selecting a class of shares. You should analyze your options carefully with your financial advisor before making that choice.
- Investing for the Shorter Term. While the Fund is meant to be a long-term investment, if you have a relatively short-term investment horizon (that is, if you do not plan to hold your shares for six years or more), you should consider investing in Class C shares. That is because of the effect of the initial sales charge on Class A shares or the Class B contingent deferred sales charge if you redeem within six years.
- Investing for the Longer Term. If you are investing less than $100,000 for the longer term and do not expect to need access to your money for six years or more, Class B shares may be appropriate.
- Amount of Your Investment. Your choice will also depend on how much you plan to invest. For shorter-term investments of less than $100,000, Class C shares might be the appropriate choice because there is no initial sales charge on Class C shares, and the contingent deferred sales charge does not apply to shares you redeem after holding them for one year or more. However, if you plan to invest more than $100,000, and as your investment horizon increases toward six years, Class C shares might not be as advantageous as Class A shares. That is because over time the ongoing asset-based sales charge on Class C shares will have a greater impact on your account than the reduced front-end sales charge available for Class A share purchases of $100,000 or more. If you invest $1 million or more, in most cases Class A shares will be the most advantageous choice, no matter how long you intend to hold your shares.
The Distributor normally will not accept purchase orders from a single investor for more than $100,000 of Class B shares or for $1 million or more of Class C shares. Dealers or other financial intermediaries purchasing shares for their customers in omnibus accounts are responsible for determining the suitability of a particular share class for an investor. Are There Differences in Account Features That Matter to You? Some account features may not be available for all share classes. Other features may not be advisable because of the effect of the contingent deferred sales charge. Therefore, you should carefully review how you plan to use your investment account before deciding which class of shares to buy.
How Do Share Classes Affect Payments to Your Financial Intermediary? The Class B, Class C, and Class N contingent deferred sales charges and asset-based sales charges have the same purpose as the front-end sales charge or contingent deferred sales charge on Class A shares: to compensate the Distributor for concessions and expenses it pays to brokers, dealers and other financial intermediaries for selling Fund shares. Those financial intermediaries may receive different compensation for selling different classes of shares. The Manager or Distributor may also pay dealers or other financial intermediaries additional amounts from their own resources based on the value of Fund shares held by the intermediary for its own account or held for its customers' accounts. For more information about those payments, see "Payments to Financial Intermediaries and Service Providers" below.
ABOUT CLASS A SHARES. Class A shares are sold at their offering price, which is the net asset value of the shares (described below) plus, in most cases, an initial sales charge. The Fund receives the amount of your investment, minus the sales charge, to invest for your account. In some cases, Class A purchases may qualify for a reduced sales charge or a sales charge waiver, as described below or in the Statement of Additional Information.
The Class A sales charge rate varies depending on the amount of your purchase. A portion or all of the sales charge may be retained by the Distributor or paid to your broker, dealer or other financial intermediary as a concession. The current sales charge rates and concessions paid are shown in the table below. There is no initial sales charge on Class A purchases of $1 million or more, but a contingent deferred sales charge (described below) may apply.
Amount of Purchase | Front-End Sales Charge As a Percentage of Offering Price | Front-End Sales Charge As a Percentage of Net Amount Invested | Concession As a Percentage of Offering Price |
Less than $50,000 | 4.75% | 4.98% | 4.00% |
$50,000 or more but less than $100,000 | 4.50% | 4.71% | 3.75% |
$100,000 or more but less than $250,000 | 3.50% | 3.63% | 2.75% |
$250,000 or more but less than $500,000 | 2.50% | 2.56% | 2.00% |
$500,000 or more but less than $1 million | 2.00% | 2.04% | 1.60% |
Due to rounding, the actual sales charge for a particular transaction may be higher or lower than the rates listed above.
Reduced Class A Sales Charges. Under a "Right of Accumulation" or a "Letter of Intent" you may be eligible to buy Class A shares of the Fund at the reduced sales charge rates that would apply to a larger purchase. The Fund reserves the right to modify or to cease offering these programs at any time.
- Right of Accumulation. To qualify for the reduced Class A sales charge that would apply to a larger purchase than you are currently making, you can add the value of shares you or your spouse currently own or other purchases you are currently making to the value of your Class A share purchase of the Fund. You may count Class A, Class B and Class C shares of the Fund and other Oppenheimer funds and Class A, Class B, Class C, Class G and Class H units in adviser sold Section 529 plans, for which the Manager or the Distributor serves as the "Program Manager" or "Program Distributor." In totaling your holdings, you may count shares held in:
° your individual accounts (including IRAs, 403(b) plans and eligible 529 plans),
° your joint accounts with your spouse,
° accounts you or your spouse hold as trustees or custodians on behalf of
your children who are minors.
A fiduciary can apply rights of accumulation to all shares purchased for a trust, estate or other fiduciary account that has multiple accounts (including employee benefit plans for the same employer and Single K plans for the benefit of a sole proprietor).
Your Class A shares of Oppenheimer Money Market Fund, Inc. or Oppenheimer Cash Reserves on which you have not paid a sales charge will not be counted for this purpose.
If you are buying shares directly from the Fund, you must inform the Distributor of your eligibility and holdings at the time of your purchase in order to qualify for the Right of Accumulation. If you are buying shares through a financial intermediary you must notify the intermediary of your eligibility for the Right of Accumulation at the time of your purchase. To count eligible shares held in accounts at other firms, you may be requested to provide the Distributor or your current financial intermediary with a copy of account statements showing your current holdings of the Fund, other eligible Oppenheimer funds or qualifying 529 plans. To determine which Class A sales charge rate you qualify for on your current purchase the Distributor or other intermediary through which you are buying shares will calculate the value of your eligible shares based on their current offering price. Shares purchased under a Letter of Intent may also qualify as eligible holdings under a Right of Accumulation.
- Letter of Intent. You may also qualify for reduced Class A sales charges by submitting a Letter of Intent to the Distributor. A Letter of Intent is a written statement of your intention to purchase a specified value of Class A, Class B or Class C shares of the Fund or other Oppenheimer funds or Class A, Class B, Class C, Class G or Class H unit purchases in adviser sold Section 529 plans, for which the Manager or Distributor serves as the Program Manager or Program Distributor, over a 13-month period. The total amount of your intended purchases will determine the reduced sales charge rate that will apply to your Class A share purchases during that period. You must notify the Distributor or your financial intermediary of any qualifying 529 plan purchases or purchases through other financial intermediaries.
Purchases of Class N or Class Y shares, purchases made by reinvestment of dividends or capital gains distributions from the Fund or other Oppenheimer funds, purchases of Class A shares with redemption proceeds under the "reinvestment privilege" described below, and purchases of Class A shares of Oppenheimer Money Market Fund, Inc. or Oppenheimer Cash Reserves on which a sales charge has not been paid do not count as "qualified shares" for satisfying the terms of a Letter of Intent.
Submitting a Letter of Intent does not obligate you to purchase the specified amount of shares. If you do not complete the anticipated purchases, you will be charged the difference between the sales charge that you paid and the sales charge that would apply to the actual value of shares you purchased. A certain portion of your shares will be held in escrow by the Fund's Transfer Agent for this purpose. Please refer to "How to Buy Shares – Letters of Intent" in the Fund's Statement of Additional Information for more information about Letters of Intent and these escrow provisions. You may also be able to apply the Right of Accumulation to purchases you make under a Letter of Intent.
Class A Contingent Deferred Sales Charge. There is no initial sales charge on Class A purchases of shares of one or more of the Oppenheimer funds totaling $1 million or more. However, those Class A shares may be subject to a 1.0% contingent deferred sales charge if they are redeemed within an 18 month "holding period" measured from the beginning of the calendar month in which they were purchased (except for shares purchased in certain retirement plans, as described below). That sales charge will be calculated on the lesser of the original net asset value of the redeemed shares or the aggregate net asset value of the redeemed shares at the time of redemption.
The Class A contingent deferred sales charge does not apply to shares purchased by the reinvestment of dividends or capital gain distributions and will not exceed the aggregate amount of the concessions the Distributor pays on all of your purchases of Class A shares, of all Oppenheimer funds, that are subject to the contingent deferred sales charge.
The Distributor pays concessions from its own resources equal to 1.0% of Class A purchases of $1 million or more (other than purchases by certain retirement plans). The concession will not be paid on shares purchased by exchange or shares that were previously subject to a front-end sales charge and concession.
Class A Purchases by Certain Retirement Plans. There is no initial sales charge on purchases of Class A shares of the Fund by retirement plans that have $1 million or more in plan assets or by certain retirement plans or platforms offered through financial intermediaries or other service providers.
In addition, there is no contingent deferred sales charge on redemptions of certain Class A retirement plan shares offered through financial intermediaries or other service providers. There is no contingent deferred sales charge on redemptions of Class A group retirement plan shares purchased after March 1, 2007 except for shares of certain group retirement plans that were established prior to March 1, 2007 ("grandfathered retirement plans"). Shares purchased in grandfathered retirement plans are subject to the contingent deferred sales charge if they are redeemed within 18 months after purchase.
The Distributor does not pay a concession on Class A retirement plan purchases after March 1, 2007 except on purchases by grandfathered retirement plans and plans that have $5 million or more in plan assets. The concession for grandfathered retirement plan purchases after March 1, 2007 is 0.25%. For purchases of Class A shares by retirement plans that have $5 million or more in plan assets (within the first six months from the time the account was established), the Distributor may pay financial intermediaries concessions equal to 0.25% of the purchase price from its own resources at the time of sale. Those payments are subject to certain exceptions described in "Retirement Plans" in the Statement of Additional Information.
ABOUT CLASS B SHARES. Class B shares are sold at net asset value per share without an initial sales charge. However, if Class B shares are redeemed within six years from the beginning of the calendar month in which they were purchased, a contingent deferred sales charge will be deducted from the redemption proceeds. Class B shares are also subject to an asset-based sales charge that is calculated daily based on an annual rate of 0.75%. The Class B contingent deferred sales charge and asset-based sales charge are paid to compensate the Distributor for providing distribution-related services to the Fund in connection with the sale of Class B shares.
The amount of the Class B contingent deferred sales charge will depend on the number of years since you invested, according to the following schedule:
Years since Beginning of Month in Which Purchase Order was Accepted | Contingent Deferred Sales Charge on Redemptions in That Year (As % of Amount Subject to Charge) |
0-1 | 5.0% |
1-2 | 4.0% |
2-3 | 3.0% |
3-4 | 3.0% |
4-5 | 2.0% |
5-6 | 1.0% |
More than 6 | None |
In the table, a "year" is a 12-month period. In applying the contingent deferred sales charge, all purchases are considered to have been made on the first regular business day of the month in which the purchase was made.
Automatic Conversion of Class B Shares. Class B shares automatically convert to Class A shares six years (72 months) after you purchase them. This conversion eliminates the Class B asset-based sales charge, however, the shares will be subject to the ongoing Class A fees and expenses. The conversion is based on the relative net asset value of the two classes, and no sales load or other charge is imposed. When any Class B shares that you hold convert to Class A shares, all other Class B shares that were acquired by reinvesting dividends and distributions on the converted shares will also convert. For further information on the conversion feature and its tax implications, see "Class B Conversion" in the Statement of Additional Information.
ABOUT CLASS C SHARES. Class C shares are sold at net asset value per share without an initial sales charge. However, if Class C shares are redeemed within a holding period of 12 months from the beginning of the calendar month in which they were purchased, a contingent deferred sales charge of 1.00% may be deducted from the redemption proceeds. Class C shares are also subject to an asset-based sales charge that is calculated daily based on an annual rate of 0.75%. The Class C contingent deferred sales charge and asset-based sales charge are paid to compensate the Distributor for providing distribution-related services to the Fund in connection with the sale of Class C shares.
ABOUT CLASS N SHARES. Class N shares are offered to retirement plans (including IRAs and 403(b) plans) that purchase $500,000 or more of Oppenheimer funds Class N shares or to group retirement plans (which do not include IRAs and 403(b) plans) held in omnibus accounts that have assets of $500,000 or more or have 100 or more eligible participants. See "Availability of Class N shares" in the Statement of Additional Information for other circumstances in which Class N shares are available for purchase.
Class N shares are sold at net asset value without an initial sales charge. Class N shares are subject to an asset-based sales charge that is calculated daily based on an annual rate of 0.25%. A contingent deferred sales charge of 1.00% will be imposed on the redemption of Class N shares, if:
- The group retirement plan is terminated, or Class N shares of all Oppenheimer funds are terminated as an investment option of the plan, and the Class N shares are redeemed within 18 months after the plan's first purchase of Class N shares of any Oppenheimer fund; or
- Class N shares are redeemed within 18 months after an IRA or 403(b) plan's first purchase of Class N shares of any Oppenheimer fund.
Retirement plans that offer Class N shares may impose charges on plan participant accounts. For more information about buying and selling shares through a retirement plan, see the section "Investment Plans and Services - Retirement Plans" below.
ABOUT CLASS Y SHARES. Class Y shares are sold at net asset value per share without a sales charge directly to institutional investors that have special agreements with the Distributor for this purpose. They may include insurance companies, registered investment companies, employee benefit plans and Section 529 plans, among others.
An institutional investor that buys Class Y shares for its customers' accounts may impose charges on those accounts. The procedures for buying, selling, exchanging and transferring the Fund's other classes of shares (other than the time those orders must be received by the Distributor or Transfer Agent at their Colorado office) and some of the special account features available to investors buying those other classes of shares do not apply to Class Y shares. Instructions for buying, selling, exchanging or transferring Class Y shares must be submitted by the institutional investor, not by its customers for whose benefit the shares are held.
Present or former officers, directors, trustees and employees (and their eligible family members) of the Fund, the Manager, its affiliates, its parent company and the subsidiaries of its parent company, and retirement plans established for the benefit of such individuals, are also permitted to purchase Class Y shares of the Fund.
The Price of Fund Shares
THE PRICE OF FUND SHARES. Shares may be purchased at their offering price which is the net asset value per share plus any initial sales charge that applies. Shares are redeemed at their net asset value per share less any contingent deferred sales charge that applies. The net asset value that applies to a purchase or redemption order is the next one calculated after the Distributor receives the order, in proper form as described in this prospectus, or after any agent appointed by the Distributor receives the order in proper form as described in this prospectus. Your financial intermediary can provide you with more information regarding the time you must submit your purchase order and whether the intermediary is an authorized agent for the receipt of purchase and redemption orders.
Net Asset Value. The Fund calculates the net asset value of each class of shares as of the close of the New York Stock Exchange (the "NYSE"), on each day the NYSE is open for trading (referred to in this prospectus as a "regular business day"). The NYSE normally closes at 4:00 p.m., Eastern time, but may close earlier on some days.
The Fund determines the net assets of each class of shares by subtracting the class-specific expenses and the amount of the Fund's liabilities attributable to the share class from the market value of the Fund's securities and other assets attributable to the share class. The Fund's "other assets" might include, for example, cash and interest or dividends from its portfolio securities that have been accrued but not yet collected. The Fund's securities are valued primarily on the basis of current market quotations.
The net asset value per share for each share class is determined by dividing the net assets of the class by the number of outstanding shares of that class.
Fair Value Pricing. If market quotations are not readily available or (in the Manager's judgment) do not accurately reflect the fair value of a security, or if after the close of the principal market on which a security held by the Fund is traded and before the time as of which the Fund's net asset value is calculated that day, an event occurs that the Manager learns of and believes in the exercise of its judgment will cause a material change in the value of that security from the closing price of the security on the principal market on which it is traded, that security may be valued by another method that the Board believes would more accurately reflect the security's fair value.
In determining whether current market prices are readily available and reliable, the Manager monitors the information it receives in the ordinary course of its investment management responsibilities. It seeks to identify significant events that it believes, in good faith, will affect the market prices of the securities held by the Fund. Those may include events affecting specific issuers (for example, a halt in trading of the securities of an issuer on an exchange during the trading day) or events affecting securities markets (for example, a foreign securities market closes early because of a natural disaster).
The Board has adopted valuation procedures for the Fund and has delegated the day-to-day responsibility for fair value determinations to the Manager's "Valuation Committee." Those determinations may include consideration of recent transactions in comparable securities, information relating to the specific security, developments in the markets and their performance, and current valuations of foreign or U.S. indices. Fair value determinations by the Manager are subject to review, approval and ratification by the Board at its next scheduled meeting after the fair valuations are determined.
The Fund's use of fair value pricing procedures involves subjective judgments and it is possible that the fair value determined for a security may be materially different from the value that could be realized upon the sale of that security. Accordingly, there can be no assurance that the Fund could obtain the fair value assigned to a security if it were to sell the security at approximately the same time at which the Fund determines its net asset value per share.
Pricing Foreign Securities. The Fund may use fair value pricing more frequently for securities primarily traded on foreign exchanges. Because many foreign markets close hours before the Fund values its foreign portfolio holdings, significant events, including broad market movements, may occur during that time that could potentially affect the values of foreign securities held by the Fund.
The Manager believes that foreign securities values may be affected by volatility that occurs in U.S. markets after the close of foreign securities markets. The Manager's fair valuation procedures therefore include a procedure whereby foreign securities prices may be "fair valued" to take those factors into account.
Because some foreign securities trade in markets and on exchanges that operate on weekends and U.S. holidays, the values of some of the Fund's foreign investments may change on days when investors cannot buy or redeem Fund shares.
Contingent Deferred Sales Charge. If you redeem shares during their applicable contingent deferred sales charge holding period, the contingent deferred sales charge generally will be deducted from the redemption proceeds. In some circumstances you may be eligible for one of the waivers described in "Sales Charge Waivers" below and in the "Sales Charge Arrangements and Waivers" Appendix to the Statement of Additional Information. You must advise the Transfer Agent or your financial intermediary of your eligibility for a waiver when you place your redemption request.
A contingent deferred sales charge will be based on the net asset value of the redeemed shares at the time of redemption or the original net asset value, whichever is lower. A contingent deferred sales charge is not imposed on:
- any increase in net asset value over the initial purchase price,
- shares purchased by the reinvestment of dividends or capital gains distributions, or
- shares eligible for a sales charge waiver (see "Sales Charge Waivers" below).
The Fund redeems shares in the following order:
- shares acquired by the reinvestment of dividends or capital gains distributions,
- other shares that are not subject to the contingent deferred sales charge, and
- shares held the longest during the holding period.
You are not charged a contingent deferred sales charge when you exchange shares of the Fund for shares of other Oppenheimer funds. However, if you exchange your shares within the applicable holding period, your original holding period will carry over to the shares you acquire, even if the new fund has a different holding period.
SALES CHARGE WAIVERS. The Fund and the Distributor offer the following opportunities to purchase shares without front-end or contingent deferred sales charges. The Fund reserves the right to amend or discontinue these programs at any time without prior notice.
- Dividend Reinvestment. Dividends or capital gains distributions may be reinvested in shares of the Fund, or any of the other Oppenheimer funds into which shares of the Fund may be exchanged, without a sales charge.
- Exchanges of Shares. There is no sales charge on exchanges of shares except for exchanges of Class A shares of Oppenheimer Money Market Fund, Inc. or Oppenheimer Cash Reserves on which you have not paid a sales charge.
- Reinvestment Privilege. There is no sales charge on reinvesting the proceeds from redemptions of Class A shares or Class B shares that occurred within the previous six months if you paid an initial or contingent deferred sales charge on the redeemed shares. This reinvestment privilege does not apply to reinvestment purchases made through automatic investment options. You must advise the Distributor, the Transfer Agent or your financial intermediary that you qualify for the waiver at the time you submit your purchase order.
In addition, the "Sales Charge Waivers" Appendix to the Statement of Additional Information provides detailed information about certain other initial sales charge and contingent deferred sales charge waivers and arrangements. A description of those sales charge waivers and arrangements is available for viewing on the OppenheimerFunds website at www.oppenheimerfunds.com (follow the hyperlink "Sales Charges & Breakpoints," under the heading "Fund Information") and may also be ordered by calling 1.800.225.5677. You must advise the Distributor, the Transfer Agent or your financial intermediary that you qualify for one of those waivers at the time you submit your purchase order or redemption request.
How to Buy, Sell and Exchange Shares
HOW TO BUY SHARES. You can buy shares in several ways. The Distributor has appointed certain financial intermediaries, including brokers, dealers and others, as servicing agents to accept purchase and redemption orders. The Distributor or servicing agent must receive your order, in proper form, by the close of the NYSE for you to receive that day's offering price. If your order is received on a day when the NYSE is closed or after it has closed, the order will receive the next offering price that is determined. To be in proper form, your purchase order must comply with the procedures described below. The Distributor, in its sole discretion, may reject any purchase order for the Fund's shares.
Buying Shares Through a Financial Intermediary. You can buy shares through any servicing agent (a broker, dealer, or other financial intermediary) that has a sales agreement with the Distributor. Your servicing agent will place your order with the Distributor on your behalf. A servicing agent may charge a processing fee for that service. Your account information will be shared with the financial intermediary designated as the dealer of record for the account.
Buying Shares Through the Distributor. We recommend that you discuss your investment with a financial advisor before you make a purchase to be sure that the Fund is appropriate for you. If you want to purchase shares directly from the Distributor, complete an OppenheimerFunds new account application and mail it with a check payable in U.S. dollars to "OppenheimerFunds Distributor, Inc." to the address on the back cover. If you do not list a dealer on your application, the Distributor is designated as the broker-dealer of record, but solely for the purpose of acting as your agent to purchase the shares and Class A shares are your only purchase option. Class B, Class C or Class N shares may not be purchased by a new investor directly from the Distributor without the investor designating another registered broker-dealer. However, if a current investor no longer has a broker-dealer of record for an existing Class B, Class C or Class N account, the Distributor is automatically designated as the broker-dealer of record, but solely for the purpose of acting as your agent to purchase the shares.
- Involuntary Redemptions. In some circumstances, involuntary redemptions may be made to repay the Distributor for losses from the cancellation of share purchase orders.
Identification Requirements. Federal regulations may require the Fund to obtain your name, your date of birth (for a natural person), your residential street address or principal place of business, and your Social Security Number, Employer Identification Number or other government-issued identification when you open an account. Additional information may be required to open a corporate account or in certain other circumstances. The Fund or the Transfer Agent may use this information to verify your identity. The Fund may not be able to establish an account if the necessary information is not received. The Fund may also place limits on account transactions while it is in the process of verifying your identity. Additionally, if the Fund is unable to verify your identity after your account is established, the Fund may be required to redeem your shares and close your account.
Suspension of Share Offering. The offering of Fund shares may be suspended during any period in which the determination of net asset value is suspended, and may be suspended by the Board at any time the Board believes it is in the Fund's best interest to do so.
HOW TO SELL SHARES. You can generally redeem (sell) some or all of your shares on any regular business day. You may redeem your shares by writing a letter, by wire, by telephone or on the internet. You can also set up an Automatic Withdrawal Plan to redeem shares on a regular basis. The redemption of Fund shares may be suspended under certain circumstances described in the Statement of Additional Information. If you have questions about any of these procedures, and especially if you are redeeming shares in a special situation, such as due to the death of the owner or from a retirement plan account, please call your financial intermediary or the Transfer Agent for assistance.
Redemption Price. Your shares will be redeemed at net asset value less any applicable sales charge or other fees. The net asset value used will be the next one calculated after your order is received, in proper form, by the Transfer Agent or your authorized financial intermediary. To be in proper form, your redemption order must comply with the procedures described below. The redemption price for shares will change from day-to-day because the value of the securities in the Fund's portfolio and the Fund's expenses fluctuate. The redemption price will normally differ for each class of shares. The redemption price of your shares may be more or less than their original cost.
Redemptions "In-Kind." Shares may be "redeemed in-kind" under certain circumstances (such as a lack of liquidity in the Fund's portfolio to meet redemptions). That means that the redemption proceeds will be paid in securities from the Fund's portfolio. If the Fund redeems your shares in-kind, you may bear transaction costs and will bear market risks until such securities are converted into cash.
Options for Receiving Redemption Proceeds
- By Check. The Fund will normally send redemption proceeds by check to the address on your account statement.
- By AccountLink. If you have linked your Fund account to your bank account with AccountLink (described below), you may have redemption proceeds transferred directly into your account. Normally the transfer to your bank is initiated on the bank business day after the redemption. You will not receive dividends on the proceeds of redeemed shares while they are waiting to be transferred.
- By Wire. You can arrange to have redemption proceeds sent by Federal Funds wire to an account at a bank that is a member of the Federal Reserve wire system. The redemption proceeds will normally be transmitted on the next bank business day after the shares are redeemed. You will not receive dividends on the proceeds of redeemed shares while they are waiting to be transmitted.
Checkwriting. To write checks against your Fund account, you may request that privilege on your account application. To establish checkwriting privileges for an existing account, contact the Transfer Agent for signature cards. The signature cards must be signed (with a signature guarantee) by all owners on the account and returned to the Transfer Agent. Shareholders with joint accounts may choose to have checks paid with only one owner's signature. If you previously signed a signature card to establish checkwriting in another Oppenheimer fund with the same registration, simply call the Transfer Agent (at the number on the back cover) to request checkwriting for this Fund. Checks will be sent to you when all of the required information is received.
- Checks may be written to the order of whomever you wish, but may not be cashed at the bank the checks are payable through or by the Fund's custodian bank.
- Checks must be written for at least $500. Checks will not be accepted if they are written for less than $500, including checks that indicate a $100 minimum.
- Checks cannot be paid if they are written for more than your account value. Remember, your account may fluctuate in value and you should not write a check close to the total account value.
- If your Fund account number has changed, don't use your existing checks. New checks will be sent to you.
- You may not write a check that would require the Fund to redeem shares that were purchased by check or Asset Builder Plan payments within the prior 10 days.
- Checkwriting privileges are not available for accounts holding shares that are subject to a contingent deferred sales charge.
- Checkwriting privileges are not available for shares that are held in a retirement account.
Payment Delays. Payment for redeemed shares is usually made within seven days after the Transfer Agent receives redemption instructions in proper form. For accounts registered in the name of a broker-dealer, payment will normally be forwarded to the broker-dealer within three business days. The Transfer Agent may delay processing redemption payments for recently purchased shares until the purchase payment has cleared. That delay may be as much as 10 days from the date the shares were purchased. That delay may be avoided if you purchase shares by Federal Funds wire or certified check. Under unusual circumstances, the right to redeem shares or the payment of redemption proceeds may be delayed or suspended as permitted under the Investment Company Act.
THE OPPENHEIMERFUNDS EXCHANGE PRIVILEGE. You can exchange all or part of your Fund shares for shares of the same class of other Oppenheimer funds that offer the exchange privilege. For example, you can exchange Class A shares of the Fund only for Class A shares of another fund. You can obtain a list of the Oppenheimer funds that are currently available for exchanges by calling a service representative at the telephone number on the back of this prospectus. The funds available for exchange can change from time to time. The Fund may amend, suspend or terminate the exchange privilege at any time. You will receive 60 days' notice of any material change in the exchange privilege unless applicable law allows otherwise.
The OppenheimerFunds exchange privilege affords investors the ability to switch their investments among Oppenheimer funds if their investment needs change. However, there are limits on that privilege. Frequent purchases, redemptions and exchanges of Fund shares may interfere with the Manager's ability to manage the Fund's investments efficiently, increase its transaction and administrative costs and/or affect its performance, depending on various factors, such as the size of the Fund, the nature of its investments, the amount of Fund assets the portfolio manager maintains in cash or cash equivalents, the aggregate dollar amount and the number and frequency of trades.
If large dollar amounts are involved in exchange or redemption transactions, the Fund might be required to sell portfolio securities at unfavorable times to meet those transaction requests, and the Fund's brokerage or administrative expenses might be increased. Therefore, the Manager and the Fund's Board have adopted the following policies and procedures to detect and prevent frequent and/or excessive exchanges or purchase and redemption activity, while addressing the needs of investors who seek liquidity in their investment and the ability to exchange shares as their investment needs change. There is no guarantee that those policies and procedures, described below, will be sufficient to identify and deter all excessive short-term trading.
Limitations on Frequent Exchanges
30-Day Hold. If a direct shareholder exchanges shares of another Oppenheimer fund account for shares of the Fund, his or her Fund account will be "blocked" from exchanges into any other fund for a period of 30 calendar days from the date of the exchange, subject to certain exceptions described below. Likewise, if a Fund shareholder exchanges Fund shares for shares of another eligible Oppenheimer fund, that fund account will be "blocked" from further exchanges for 30 calendar days. The block will apply to the full account balance and not just to the amount exchanged into the account. For example, if a shareholder exchanged $2,000 from one fund into another fund in which the shareholder already owned shares worth $10,000, then, following the exchange, the full account balance ($12,000 in this example) would be blocked from exchanges into another fund for a period of 30 calendar days. A shareholder whose account is registered on the Fund's books showing the name, address and tax ID number of the beneficial owner is a "direct shareholder."
Exceptions to 30-Day Hold
- Exchanges Into Money Market Funds. A direct shareholder will be permitted to exchange shares of a stock or bond fund for shares of an eligible money market fund any time, even if the shareholder has exchanged shares into the stock or bond fund during the prior 30 days. However, all of the shares held in that money market fund would then be blocked from further exchanges into another fund for 30 calendar days.
- Dividend Reinvestments and Class B Share Conversions. The reinvestment of dividends or distributions from one fund to purchase shares of another fund and the conversion of Class B shares into Class A shares will not be considered exchanges for purposes of imposing the 30-day limit.
- Asset Allocation Programs. Investment programs by Oppenheimer "funds-of-funds" that entail rebalancing investments in underlying Oppenheimer funds will not be subject to these limits. However, third-party asset allocation and rebalancing programs will be subject to the 30-day limit described above. Asset allocation firms that want to exchange shares held in accounts on behalf of their customers must identify themselves to the Transfer Agent and execute an acknowledgement and agreement to abide by these policies with respect to their customers' accounts. "On-demand" exchanges outside the parameters of portfolio rebalancing programs will also be subject to the 30-day limit.
- Automatic Exchange Plans. Accounts that receive exchange proceeds through automatic or systematic exchange plans that are established through the Transfer Agent will not be subject to the 30-day block as a result of those automatic or systematic exchanges but may be blocked from exchanges, under the 30-day limit, if they receive proceeds from other exchanges.
- Redemptions of Shares. These exchange policy limits do not apply to redemptions of shares. Shareholders are permitted to redeem their shares on any regular business day, subject to the terms of this prospectus.
Limitations on Exchanges in Omnibus Accounts. If you hold your Fund shares through a financial adviser or other firm such as a broker-dealer, a bank, an insurance company separate account, an investment adviser, an administrator or a trustee of a retirement plan that holds your shares in an account under its name (these are sometimes referred to as "omnibus" or "street name" accounts), that financial intermediary may impose its own restrictions or limitations to discourage short-term or excessive trading. You should consult your financial intermediary to find out what trading restrictions, including limitations on exchanges, may apply. The Fund, the Distributor, the Manager and the Transfer Agent encourage those financial intermediaries to apply the Fund's policies to their customers who invest indirectly in the Fund. However, the Transfer Agent may not be able to detect excessive short-term trading activity in accounts maintained in "omnibus" or "street name" form where the underlying beneficial owners are not identified. The Transfer Agent will attempt to monitor overall purchase and redemption activity in those accounts to seek to identify patterns that may suggest excessive trading by the underlying owners. If evidence of possible excessive trading activity is observed by the Transfer Agent, the financial intermediary that is the registered owner will be asked to review the account activity, and to confirm to the Transfer Agent and the Fund that appropriate action has been taken to curtail any excessive trading activity.
Other Limitations on Exchanges. There are a number of other special conditions and limitations that apply to certain types of exchanges. Those conditions and circumstances are described in the section "How to Exchange Shares" in the Statement of Additional Information. For information about sales charges that may apply to exchanges of shares see the sections "Contingent Deferred Sales Charges" and "Sales Charge Arrangements and Waivers" above.
Requirements for Exchanges of Shares. To exchange shares of the Fund, you must meet several conditions. The Fund may amend the following requirements at any time:
- Shares of the fund selected for exchange must be available for sale in your state of residence.
- The selected fund must offer the exchange privilege.
- You must meet the minimum purchase requirements for the selected fund.
- Generally, exchanges may be made only between identically registered accounts, unless all account owners send written exchange instructions with a signature guarantee.
- Before exchanging into a fund, you should obtain its prospectus and should read it carefully.
Timing of Exchange Transactions. Exchanged shares are normally redeemed from one fund and the proceeds are reinvested in the fund selected for exchange on the same regular business day on which the Transfer Agent or its agent (such as a financial intermediary holding the investor's shares in an "omnibus" or "street name" account) receives an exchange request that conforms to these policies. The request must be received by the close of the NYSE that day in order to receive that day's net asset value on the exchanged shares. For requests received after the close of the NYSE the shares being exchanged will be valued at the next net asset value calculated after the request is received. The Transfer Agent may delay transmitting the proceeds from an exchange for up to five business days, however, if it determines, in its discretion, that an earlier transmittal of the redemption proceeds would be detrimental to either the fund from which shares are being exchanged or the fund into which the ex change is being made. The exchange proceeds will be invested in the new fund at the next net asset value calculated after the proceeds are received. In the event that a delay in the reinvestment of proceeds occurs, the Transfer Agent will notify you or your financial intermediary.
Taxes on Exchanges. For tax purposes, an exchange of shares of the Fund is considered a sale of those shares and a purchase of the shares of the fund into which you are exchanging. Therefore, an exchange may result in a capital gain or loss for tax purposes.
OTHER LIMITS ON SHARE TRANSACTIONS. The Fund may impose other limits on transactions that it believes would be disruptive and may refuse any purchase or exchange order.
- Right to Refuse Purchase and Exchange Orders. The Distributor and/or the Transfer Agent may refuse any purchase or exchange order in their discretion and are not obligated to provide notice before rejecting an order.
- Right to Terminate or Suspend Account Privileges. The Transfer Agent may, in its discretion, limit or terminate trading activity by any person, group or account that it believes would be disruptive, even if the activity has not exceeded the policies outlined in this prospectus. As part of the Transfer Agent's procedures to detect and deter excessive trading activity, the Transfer Agent may review and consider the history of frequent trading activity in all accounts in the Oppenheimer funds known to be under common ownership or control. The Transfer Agent may send a written warning to a shareholder that the Transfer Agent believes may be engaging in disruptive or excessive trading activity; however, the Transfer Agent reserves the right to suspend or terminate the ability to purchase or exchange shares, with or without warning, for any account that the Transfer Agent determines, in the exercise of its discretion, has engaged in such trading activity.
HOW TO SUBMIT SHARE TRANSACTION REQUESTS. Share transactions may be requested by telephone or internet, in writing, through your financial advisor, or by establishing one of the Investor Services plans described below. Certain transactions may also be submitted by fax.
Internet and Telephone Transaction Requests. Purchase, redemption and exchange requests may be submitted on the OppenheimerFunds internet website, www.oppenheimerfunds.com. Those requests may also be made by calling the telephone number on the back cover and either speaking to a service representative or accessing PhoneLink, the OppenheimerFunds automated telephone system that enables shareholders to perform certain account transactions automatically using a touch-tone phone.
You will need to obtain a user I.D. and password to execute transactions through PhoneLink or on the internet. Some internet and telephone transactions require the Oppenheimer AccountLink feature, described below, that links your Fund account with an account at a U.S. bank or other financial institution. The Transfer Agent will record any telephone calls to verify data concerning transactions.
The following policies apply to internet and telephone transactions:
- Purchases through AccountLink that are submitted through PhoneLink or on the internet are limited to $100,000.
- Purchases through AccountLink that are submitted by calling a service representative are limited to $250,000.
- Redemptions that are submitted by telephone or on the internet and request the proceeds to be paid by check, must be made payable to all owners of record of the shares and must be sent to the address on the account statement. Telephone or internet redemptions paid by check may not exceed $100,000 in any seven-day period. This service is not available within 30 days of changing the address on an account.
- Redemptions by telephone or on the internet that are sent to your bank account through AccountLink are not subject to any dollar limits.
- Exchanges submitted by telephone or on the internet may be made only between accounts that are registered with the same name(s) and address.
- Shares for which share certificates have been issued may not be redeemed or exchanged by telephone or on the internet.
- Shares held in an OppenheimerFunds-sponsored qualified retirement plan account may not be redeemed or exchanged by telephone or on the internet.
The Transfer Agent has adopted procedures to confirm that telephone and internet instructions are genuine. Callers are required to provide service representatives with tax identification numbers and other account data and PhoneLink and internet users are required to use PIN numbers. The Transfer Agent will also send you written confirmations of share transactions. The Transfer Agent and the Fund will not be liable for losses or expenses that occur from telephone or internet instructions reasonably believed to be genuine.
Telephone or internet transaction privileges may be modified, suspended or terminated by the Fund at any time. The Fund will provide you notice of such changes whenever it is required to do so by applicable law.
Purchases and Redemptions by Federal Funds Wire. Shares purchased through the Distributor may be paid for by Federal Funds wire. Redemption proceeds may also be transmitted by wire. The minimum wire purchase or redemption is $2,500. There is a $10 fee for each wire redemption request. Before sending a wire purchase, call the Distributor's Wire Department at 1.800.225.5677 to notify the Distributor of the wire and to receive further instructions. To set up wire redemptions on your account or to arrange for a wire redemption, call the Transfer Agent at the telephone number on the back of this prospectus for information.
Written Transaction Requests. You can send purchase, exchange or redemption requests to the Transfer Agent at the address on the back cover. Your request must include:
- For existing accounts, the Fund account number (from your account statement);
- For new accounts, a completed account application;
- For purchases, a check payable to the Fund or to OppenheimerFunds Distributor, Inc.;
- For redemptions, any special payment instructions;
- For redemptions or exchanges, the dollar amount or number of shares to be redeemed or exchanged;
- For redemptions or exchanges, any share certificates that have been issued (exchanges or redemptions of shares for which certificates have been issued cannot be processed until the Transfer Agent receives the certificates);
- For individuals, the names and signatures of all registered owners exactly as they appear in the account registration;
- For corporations, partnerships or other businesses or as a fiduciary, the name of the entity as it appears in the account registration and the names and titles of any individuals signing on its behalf; and
- Other documents requested by the Transfer Agent to assure that the person purchasing, redeeming or exchanging shares is properly identified and has proper authorization to carry out the transaction.
Certain Requests Require a Signature Guarantee. To protect you and the Fund from fraud, the following redemption requests must be in writing and must include a signature guarantee. A notary public seal will not be accepted for these requests (other situations might also require a signature guarantee):
- You wish to redeem more than $100,000 and receive a check;
- The redemption check is not payable to all shareholders listed on the account statement;
- The redemption check is not sent to the address of record on your account statement;
- Shares are being transferred to a Fund account with a different owner or name; or
- Shares are being redeemed by someone (such as an Executor) other than the owners.
Where Can You Have Your Signature Guaranteed? The Transfer Agent will accept a signature guarantee from a number of financial institutions, including:
- a U.S. bank, trust company, credit union or savings association,
- a foreign bank that has a U.S. correspondent bank,
- a U.S. registered dealer or broker in securities, municipal securities or government securities, or
- a U.S. national securities exchange, a registered securities association or a clearing agency.
Fax Requests. You may send requests for certain types of account transactions to the Transfer Agent by fax. Please call the number on the back of this prospectus for information about which transactions may be handled this way. Transaction requests submitted by fax are subject to the same rules and restrictions as the written, telephone and internet requests described in this prospectus. However, requests that require a signature guarantee may not be submitted by fax.
Submitting Transaction Requests Through Your Financial Intermediary. You can submit purchase, redemption or exchange requests through any broker, dealer or other financial intermediary that has a special agreement with the Distributor. The broker, dealer or other intermediary will place the order with the Distributor on your behalf. A broker or dealer may charge a processing fee for that service. If your shares are held in the name of your financial intermediary, you must redeem them through that intermediary. Intermediaries that perform account transactions for their clients by participating in "Networking" through the National Securities Clearing Corporation are responsible for obtaining their clients' permission to perform those transactions, and are responsible to their clients who are shareholders of the Fund if the intermediary performs any transaction erroneously or improperly.
Client Account Exchanges by Financial Intermediaries. The Fund and the Transfer Agent permit brokers, dealers and other financial intermediaries to submit exchange requests on behalf of their customers, unless that authority has been revoked. The Fund or the Transfer Agent may limit or refuse exchange requests submitted by such financial intermediaries if, in the Transfer Agent's judgment, exercised in its discretion, the exchanges would be disruptive to any of the funds involved in the transaction.
INVESTMENT PLANS AND SERVICES
AccountLink. You can use our AccountLink feature to link your Fund account with an account at a U.S. bank or other financial institution that is an Automated Clearing House (ACH) member. AccountLink lets you:
- transmit funds electronically to purchase shares by internet, by telephone or automatically through an Asset Builder Plan. The purchase payment will be debited from your bank account.
- have the Transfer Agent send redemption proceeds or dividends and distributions directly to your bank account.
AccountLink privileges should be requested on your account application or on your broker-dealer's settlement instructions if you buy your shares through a broker-dealer. For an established account, you can request AccountLink privileges by sending signature-guaranteed instructions and proper documentation to the Transfer Agent. AccountLink privileges will apply to each shareholder listed in the registration on the account as well as to the financial intermediary's representative of record unless and until the Transfer Agent terminates or receives written instructions terminating or changing those privileges. After you establish AccountLink for your account, any change you make to your bank account information must be made by signature-guaranteed instructions to the Transfer Agent signed by all shareholders on the account. Please call the Transfer Agent for more information.
Asset Builder Plan. Under an Asset Builder Plan, you may purchase shares of the Fund automatically. An Asset Builder Plan is available only if you have established AccountLink with a bank or other financial institution. Payments to purchase Fund shares will be debited from your linked account.
To establish an Asset Builder Plan at the time you initially purchase Fund shares, complete the "Asset Builder Plan" information on the account application. To add an Asset Builder Plan to an existing account, use the Asset Builder Enrollment Form. You may change the amount of your Asset Builder payment or you can terminate your automatic investments at any time by writing to the Transfer Agent. The Transfer Agent requires a reasonable period (approximately 10 days) after receipt of your instructions to implement the requested changes. For more details, see the account application, the Asset Builder Enrollment Form and the Statement of Additional Information. Those documents are available by contacting the Distributor or may be downloaded from our website at www.oppenheimerfunds.com. The Fund reserves the right to amend, suspend or discontinue offering Asset Builder Plans at any time without prior notice.
Automatic Redemption and Exchange Plans. The Fund has several plans that enable you to redeem shares automatically or exchange them for shares of another Oppenheimer fund on a regular basis. Please call the Transfer Agent or consult the Statement of Additional Information for details.
Retirement Plans. The Distributor offers a number of different retirement plans that individuals and employers can use. The procedures for buying, selling, exchanging and transferring shares, and the account features applicable to other share classes, generally do not apply to Class N shares offered through a group retirement plan. However, the time that transaction requests must be received in order to purchase, redeem or exchange shares at the net asset value calculated on any business day is the same for all share classes. Purchase, redemption, exchange and transfer requests for a group retirement plan must be submitted by the plan administrator, not by plan participants. Retirement plans that hold shares of Oppenheimer funds in an omnibus account for the benefit of plan participants (other than OppenheimerFunds-sponsored Single DB Plus plans) are not permitted to make initial purchases of Class A shares that would be subject to a contingent deferred sales charge. Class B shares are not offered to new omnibus group retirement plans. The types of retirement plans that the Distributor offers include:
- Individual Retirement Accounts (IRAs). These include regular IRAs, Roth IRAs, SIMPLE IRAs and rollover IRAs.
- SEP-IRAs. These are Simplified Employee Pension Plan IRAs for small business owners or self-employed individuals.
- 403(b)(7) Custodial Plans. These are tax-deferred plans for employees of eligible tax-exempt organizations, such as schools, hospitals and charitable organizations.
- 401(k) Plans. These are special retirement plans for employees of businesses.
- Pension and Profit-Sharing Plans. These plans are designed for businesses and self-employed individuals.
Retirement Plan Accounts. To open an OppenheimerFunds retirement plan account, please call the Distributor for retirement plan documents, which include applications and important plan information.
Less Paper, Less Waste. To avoid sending duplicate copies of Fund materials to households, the Fund will mail only one copy of each prospectus, annual and semi-annual report and annual notice of the Fund's privacy policy to shareholders having the same last name and address on the Fund's records. The consolidation of these mailings, called "householding," benefits the Fund through lower printing costs and reduced mailing expense.
If you prefer to receive multiple copies of these materials, you may call the Transfer Agent at the number on the back of this prospectus or you may notify the Transfer Agent in writing. Multiple copies of prospectuses, reports and privacy notices will be sent to you commencing within 30 days after the Transfer Agent receives your request to stop householding.
DISTRIBUTION AND SERVICE (12b-1) PLANS
Service Plan for Class A Shares. The Fund has adopted a Service Plan for Class A shares that reimburses the Distributor for a portion of the costs of maintaining accounts and providing services to Class A shareholders. The Fund makes these payments quarterly, calculated at an annual rate of up to 0.25% of the Class A shares daily net assets. The Distributor currently uses all of those fees to pay brokers, dealers, banks and other financial intermediaries for providing personal service and maintaining the accounts of their customers that hold Class A shares.
Distribution and Service Plans for Class B, Class C and Class N Shares. The Fund has adopted Distribution and Service Plans for Class B, Class C and Class N shares to pay the Distributor for distributing those share classes, maintaining accounts and providing shareholder services. Under the plans, the Fund pays the Distributor an asset-based sales charge for Class B and Class C shares calculated at an annual rate of 0.75% of the daily net assets of those classes and for Class N shares calculated at 0.25% of the daily net assets of that class. The Fund also pays a service fee under the plans at an annual rate of 0.25% of the daily net assets of Class B, Class C and Class N. Altogether, these fees increase the Class B and Class C annual expenses by 1.00% and increase the Class N annual expenses by 0.50%, calculated on the daily net assets of the applicable class. Because these fees are paid out of the Fund's assets on an ongoing basis, over time they will increase the cost of your investment and may cost you more than other types of sales charges.
Use of Plan Fees: The Distributor uses the service fees to compensate brokers, dealers, banks and other financial intermediaries for maintaining accounts and providing personal services to Class B, Class C or Class N shareholders in the applicable share class. The Distributor normally pays intermediaries the 0.25% service fee in advance for the first year after shares are purchased and then pays that fee periodically.
Class B Shares: The Distributor currently pays a sales concession of 3.75% of the purchase price of Class B shares to dealers from its own resources at the time of sale. Including the advance of the service fee, the total amount paid by the Distributor to the dealer at the time of sale of Class B shares is therefore 4.00% of the purchase price. The Distributor normally retains the Class B asset-based sales charge. However, for ongoing purchases of Class B shares by certain retirement plans, the Distributor may pay the intermediary the asset-based sales charge and service fee during the first year after purchase instead of paying a sales concession and the first year's service fees at the time of purchase. See the Statement of Additional Information for exceptions.
Class C Shares: At the time of a Class C share purchase, the Distributor generally pays financial intermediaries a sales concession of 0.75% of the purchase price from its own resources. Therefore, the total amount, including the advance of the service fee, that the Distributor pays the intermediary at the time of a Class C share purchase is 1.00% of the purchase price. The Distributor normally retains the asset-based sales charge on Class C share purchases during the first year and then pays that fee to the intermediary as an ongoing concession. For Class C share purchases in certain omnibus group retirement plans or through the OppenheimerFunds Record(k)eeper Pro program, the Distributor pays the intermediary the asset-based sales charge during the first year instead of paying a sales concession at the time of purchase. The Distributor pays the service fees it receives on those shares to the intermediary or to FASCore, LLC for providing shareholder services to those acco unts. See the Statement of Additional Information for exceptions to these arrangements.
Class N Shares: At the time of a Class N share purchase, the Distributor generally pays financial intermediaries a sales concession of 0.75% of the purchase price from its own resources. Therefore, the total amount, including the advance of the service fee, that the Distributor pays the intermediary at the time of a Class N purchase is 1.00% of the purchase price. The Distributor normally retains the asset-based sales charge on Class N shares. For Class N shares purchased in certain omnibus group retirement plans the Distributor may pay the intermediary the asset-based sales charge and service fee during the first year instead of paying a sales concession and the first year's service fees at the time of purchase. See the Statement of Additional Information for exceptions to these arrangements.
PAYMENTS TO FINANCIAL INTERMEDIARIES AND SERVICE PROVIDERS. The Manager and the Distributor, in their discretion, may also make payments to brokers, dealers and other financial intermediaries or to service providers for distribution and/or shareholder servicing activities. Those payments are made out of the Manager's and/or the Distributor's own resources and/or assets, including from the revenues or profits derived from the advisory fees the Manager receives from the Fund. Those cash payments, which may be substantial, are paid to many firms having business relationships with the Manager and Distributor and are in addition to any distribution fees, servicing fees, or transfer agency fees paid directly or indirectly by the Fund to these financial intermediaries and any commissions the Distributor pays to these firms out of the sales charges paid by investors. Payments by the Manager or Distributor from their own resources are not reflected in the tables in the "Fees and Expenses of the Fund" section of this prospectus because they are not paid by the Fund.
The financial intermediaries that may receive those payments include firms that offer and sell Fund shares to their clients, or provide shareholder services to the Fund, or both, and receive compensation for those activities. The financial intermediaries that may receive payments include your securities broker, dealer or financial adviser, sponsors of fund "supermarkets," sponsors of fee-based advisory or wrap fee programs, sponsors of college and retirement savings programs, banks, trust companies and other intermediaries offering products that hold Fund shares, and insurance companies that offer variable annuity or variable life insurance products.
In general, these payments to financial intermediaries can be categorized as "distribution-related" or "servicing" payments. Payments for distribution-related expenses, such as marketing or promotional expenses, are often referred to as "revenue sharing." Revenue sharing payments may be made on the basis of the sales of shares attributable to that intermediary, the average net assets of the Fund and other Oppenheimer funds attributable to the accounts of that intermediary and its clients, negotiated lump sum payments for distribution services provided, or similar fees. In some circumstances, revenue sharing payments may create an incentive for a financial intermediary or its representatives to recommend or offer shares of the Fund or other Oppenheimer funds to its customers. These payments also may give an intermediary an incentive to cooperate with the Distributor's marketing efforts. A revenue sharing payment may, for example, qualify the Fund for preferred status with the intermediary recei ving the payment or provide representatives of the Distributor with access to representatives of the intermediary's sales force, in some cases on a preferential basis over funds of competitors. Additionally, as firm support, the Manager or Distributor may reimburse expenses related to educational seminars and "due diligence" or training meetings (to the extent permitted by applicable laws or the rules of the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority ("FINRA"), formerly known as the NASD) designed to increase sales representatives' awareness about Oppenheimer funds, including travel and lodging expenditures. However, the Manager does not consider a financial intermediary's sale of shares of the Fund or other Oppenheimer funds when selecting brokers or dealers to effect portfolio transactions for the funds.
Various factors are used to determine whether to make revenue sharing payments. Possible considerations include, without limitation, the types of services provided by the intermediary, sales of Fund shares, the redemption rates on accounts of clients of the intermediary or overall asset levels of Oppenheimer funds held for or by clients of the intermediary, the willingness of the intermediary to allow the Distributor to provide educational and training support for the intermediary's sales personnel relating to the Oppenheimer funds, the availability of the Oppenheimer funds on the intermediary's sales system, as well as the overall quality of the services provided by the intermediary and the Manager or Distributor's relationship with the intermediary. The Manager and Distributor have adopted guidelines for assessing and implementing each prospective revenue sharing arrangement. To the extent that financial intermediaries receiving distribution-related payments from the Manager or Distributor s ell more shares of the Oppenheimer funds or retain more shares of the funds in their client accounts, the Manager and Distributor benefit from the incremental management and other fees they receive with respect to those assets.
Payments may also be made by the Manager, the Distributor or the Transfer Agent to financial intermediaries to compensate or reimburse them for administrative or other client services provided such as sub-transfer agency services for shareholders or retirement plan participants, omnibus accounting or sub-accounting, participation in networking arrangements, account set-up, recordkeeping and other shareholder services. Payments may also be made for administrative services related to the distribution of Fund shares through the intermediary. Firms that may receive servicing fees include retirement plan administrators, qualified tuition program sponsors, banks and trust companies, and others. These fees may be used by the service provider to offset or reduce fees that would otherwise be paid directly to them by certain account holders, such as retirement plans.
The Statement of Additional Information contains more information about revenue sharing and service payments made by the Manager or the Distributor. Your broker, dealer or other financial intermediary may charge you fees or commissions in addition to those disclosed in this prospectus. You should ask your financial intermediary for details about any such payments it receives from the Manager or the Distributor and their affiliates, or any other fees or expenses it charges.
Dividends, Capital Gains and Taxes
DIVIDENDS AND DISTRIBUTIONS. The Fund intends to declare and pay dividends monthly from its net investment income. The Fund may also realize capital gains on the sale of portfolio securities, in which case it may make distributions out of any net short-term or long-term capital gains annually. The Fund may also make supplemental distributions of dividends and capital gains following the end of its fiscal year. The Fund has no fixed dividend rate and cannot guarantee that it will pay any dividends or capital gains distributions in a particular year.
Dividends and distributions are paid separately for each share class. The dividends and capital gains distributions paid on Class A and Class Y shares will generally be higher than those on Class B, Class C and Class N shares, since those share classes normally have higher expenses than Class A and Class Y shares.
Options for Receiving Dividends and Distributions. When you open your Fund account, you can specify on your application how you want to receive distributions of dividends and capital gains. To change that option, you must notify the Transfer Agent. There are four payment options available:
- Reinvest All Distributions in the Fund. You can elect to reinvest all dividends and capital gains distributions in additional shares of the Fund.
- Reinvest Only Dividends or Capital Gains. You can elect to reinvest some types of distributions in the Fund while receiving the other types of distributions by check or having them sent to your bank account through AccountLink. Different treatment is available for distributions of dividends, short-term capital gains and long-term capital gains.
- Receive All Distributions in Cash. You can elect to receive all dividends and capital gains distributions by check or have them sent to your bank through AccountLink.
- Reinvest Your Distributions in Another Oppenheimer Fund. You can reinvest all of your dividends and capital gains distributions in another Oppenheimer fund that is available for exchanges. You must have an existing account in the same share class in the selected fund.
TAXES. If your shares are not held in a tax-deferred retirement account, you should be aware of the following tax consequences of investing in the Fund. Fund distributions, whether taken in cash or in additional shares, are subject to Federal income tax and may be subject to state or local taxes. Distributions paid from short-term capital gains and net investment income are taxable as ordinary income and distributions from net long-term capital gain are taxable as long-term capital gains no matter how long you have held your shares. In taxable years beginning before 2011, long-term capital gains of individuals and other non-corporate taxpayers are taxed at a special reduced rate.
In the case of individuals and other non-corporate taxpayers, for taxable years beginning before 2011, certain dividends (including certain dividends from foreign corporations) are taxable at the lower rate applicable to long-term capital gains. In the case of certain corporations, some dividends are eligible for the dividends-received deduction. To the extent the Fund's distributions are paid from these types of dividends, and provided certain other shareholder level requirements are satisfied, the Fund's individual and non-corporate shareholders will be eligible to claim the reduced tax rate for the distributions and the Fund's corporate shareholders will be eligible to claim the dividends-received deduction.
Foreign countries may impose withholding and other taxes on the Fund's dividend and interest income. Provided that at the end of the fiscal year more than 50% of the Fund's assets are invested in stocks and securities of foreign corporations or governments, the Fund may make an election under the Internal Revenue Code allowing shareholders to take a credit or deduction on their Federal income tax returns for the foreign taxes paid by the Fund.
After the end of each calendar year the Fund will send you and the Internal Revenue Service statements showing the amount of any taxable distributions you received in the previous year and will separately identify any portion of these distributions that qualify for taxation as long-term capital gains or for any other special tax treatment.
The Fund has qualified and intends to qualify each year to be taxed as a regulated investment company under the Internal Revenue Code by satisfying certain income, asset diversification and income distribution requirements, but reserves the right not to so qualify. In each year that it qualifies as a regulated investment company, the Fund will not be subject to federal income taxes on its income that it distributes to shareholders.
If you are neither a lawful permanent resident nor a citizen of the United States, or if you are a foreign entity, the Fund's ordinary income dividends (which include distributions of net short-term capital gain) generally will be subject to a 30% U.S. withholding tax, unless a lower rate applies under an income tax treaty. For the Fund's taxable year beginning September 1, 2008, certain distributions that are designated by the Fund as interest-related dividends or short-term gain dividends and paid to a foreign shareholder may be eligible for an exemption from U.S. withholding tax. To the extent the Fund's distributions are derived from dividends, they will not be eligible for this exemption.
By law, your dividends and redemption proceeds will be subject to a withholding tax if you are not a corporation and have not provided a taxpayer identification number or social security number or if the number you have provided is incorrect.
Avoid "Buying a Distribution." If you buy shares on or just before the ex-dividend date, or just before the Fund declares a capital gains distribution, you will pay the full price for the shares and then receive a portion of the price back as a taxable dividend or capital gain.
Remember, There May be Taxes on Transactions. Because the Fund's share prices fluctuate, you may have a capital gain or loss when you sell or exchange your shares. A capital gain or loss is the difference between the price you paid for the shares and the price you receive when you sell or exchange them. Any capital gain is subject to capital gains tax.
Returns of Capital Can Occur. In certain cases, distributions made by the Fund may be considered a non-taxable return of capital to shareholders, resulting in a reduction in the basis in their shares. If this occurs, the Fund will notify you.
This information is only a summary of certain Federal income tax information about your investment. You are encouraged to consult your tax adviser about the effect of an investment in the Fund on your particular tax situation and about any changes to the Internal Revenue Code that may occur from time to time. Additional information about the tax effects of investing in the Fund is contained in the Statement of Additional Information.
Financial Highlights
The Financial Highlights Table is presented to help you understand the Fund's financial performance for the past five fiscal years. Certain information reflects financial results for a single Fund share. The total returns in the table represent the rate that an investor would have earned (or lost) on an investment in the Fund (assuming reinvestment of all dividends and distributions). This information has been audited by Deloitte & Touche LLP, the Fund's independent registered public accounting firm, whose report, along with the Fund's financial statements, is included in the Statement of Additional Information, which is available upon request. KPMG LLP has been appointed as the independent registered public accounting firm to the Fund for fiscal year end 2009. See the Statement of Additional Information for additional information.
FINANCIAL HIGHLIGHTS
Financial Highlights Tables
Class A Year Ended September 30, | 2008 | 2007 | 2006 | 2005 | 2004 |
Per Share Operating Data | | | | | |
Net asset value, beginning of period | $4.41 | $4.18 | $4.34 | $4.23 | $4.08 |
Income (loss) from investment operations: | | | | | |
Net investment income | .241 | .231 | .211 | .211 | .20 |
Net realized and unrealized gain (loss) | (.40) | .23 | (.05) | .19 | .15 |
Total from investment operations | (.16) | .46 | .16 | .40 | .35 |
Dividends and/or distributions to shareholders: | | | | | |
Dividends from net investment income | (.29) | (.23) | (.32) | (.29) | (.20) |
Net asset value, end of period | $3.96 | $4.41 | $4.18 | $4.34 | $4.23 |
| | | | | |
Total Return, at Net Asset Value2 | (4.01)% | 11.14% | 3.77% | 9.77% | 8.73% |
| | | | | |
Ratios/Supplemental Data | | | | | |
Net assets, end of period (in thousands) | $7,719,384 | $6,430,790 | $5,077,400 | $4,766,576 | $4,117,666 |
Average net assets (in thousands) | $7,560,427 | $5,655,265 | $4,888,392 | $4,392,321 | $4,025,554 |
Ratios to average net assets:3 | | | | | |
Net investment income | 5.44% | 5.25% | 5.03% | 4.82% | 4.69% |
Total expenses | 0.91%4 | 0.90%4 | 0.93% | 0.94% | 0.95% |
Expenses after payments, waivers and/or reimbursements and reduction to custodian expenses | 0.89% | 0.89% | 0.92% | 0.94% | 0.95% |
Portfolio turnover rate5 | 71% | 72% | 96% | 103% | 90% |
1. Per share amounts calculated based on the average shares outstanding during the period.
2. Assumes an investment on the business day before the first day of the fiscal period, with all dividends and distributions reinvested in additional shares on the reinvestment date, and redemption at the net asset value calculated on the last business day of the fiscal period. Sales charges are not reflected in the total returns. Total returns are not annualized for periods less than one full year. Returns do not reflect the deduction of taxes that a shareholder would pay on fund distributions or the redemption of fund shares.
3. Annualized for periods less than one full year.
4. Total expenses including indirect expenses from affiliated funds, excluding investments in Master Funds, were as follows:
Year Ended September 30, 2008 0.92%
Year Ended September 30, 2007 0.91%
5. The portfolio turnover rate excludes purchase and sale transactions of To Be Announced (TBA) mortgage-related securities as follows:
Purchase Transactions Sale Transactions
Year Ended September 30, 2008 $1,979,370,856 $1,852,400,340
Year Ended September 30, 2007 $3,319,818,108 $3,509,387,791
Year Ended September 30, 2006 $4,097,005,267 $4,231,030,059
Year Ended September 30, 2005 $4,436,804,790 $4,469,108,355
Year Ended September 30, 2004 $5,593,936,243 $5,563,251,032Class B Year Ended September 30, | 2008 | 2007 | 2006 | 2005 | 2004 |
Per Share Operating Data | | | | | |
Net asset value, beginning of period | $4.42 | $4.20 | $4.35 | $4.24 | $4.10 |
Income (loss) from investment operations: | | | | | |
Net investment income | .201 | .191 | .181 | .171 | .16 |
Net realized and unrealized gain (loss) | (.39) | .22 | (.05) | .20 | .15 |
Total from investment operations | (.19) | .41 | .13 | .37 | .31 |
Dividends and/or distributions to shareholders: | | | | | |
Dividends from net investment income | (.25) | (.19) | (.28) | (.26) | (.17) |
Net asset value, end of period | $3.98 | $4.42 | $4.20 | $4.35 | $4.24 |
| | | | | |
Total Return, at Net Asset Value2 | (4.54)% | 9.99% | 3.23% | 8.94% | 7.66% |
| | | | | |
Ratios/Supplemental Data | | | | | |
Net assets, end of period (in thousands) | $483,485 | $569,523 | $718,742 | $ 918,651 | $1,163,555 |
Average net assets (in thousands) | $540,865 | $635,237 | $802,936 | $1,021,022 | $1,424,322 |
Ratios to average net assets:3 | | | | | |
Net investment income | 4.61% | 4.43% | 4.25% | 4.05% | 4.16% |
Total expenses | 1.73%4 | 1.71%4 | 1.71% | 1.70% | 1.69% |
Expenses after payments, waivers and/or reimbursements and reduction to custodian expenses | 1.71% | 1.70% | 1.71% | 1.69% | 1.69% |
Portfolio turnover rate5 | 71% | 72% | 96% | 103% | 90% |
1. Per share amounts calculated based on the average shares outstanding during the period.
2. Assumes an investment on the business day before the first day of the fiscal period, with all dividends and distributions reinvested in additional shares on the reinvestment date, and redemption at the net asset value calculated on the last business business day of the fiscal period. Sales charges are not reflected in the total returns. Total returns are not annualized for periods less than one full year. Returns do not reflect the deduction of taxes that a shareholder would pay on fund distributions or the redemption of fund shares.
3. Annualized for periods less than one full year.
4. Total expenses including indirect expenses from affiliated funds, excluding investments in Master Funds, were as follows:
Year Ended September 30, 2008 1.74%
Year Ended September 30, 2007 1.72%
5. The portfolio turnover rate excludes purchase and sale transactions of To Be Announced (TBA) mortgage-related securities as follows:
Purchase Transactions Sale Transactions
Year Ended September 30, 2008 $1,979,370,856 $1,852,400,340
Year Ended September 30, 2007 $3,319,818,108 $3,509,387,791
Year Ended September 30, 2006 $4,097,005,267 $4,231,030,059
Year Ended September 30, 2005 $4,436,804,790 $4,469,108,355
Year Ended September 30, 2004 $5,593,936,243 $5,563,251,032Class C Year Ended September 30, | 2008 | 2007 | 2006 | 2005 | 2004 |
Per Share Operating Data | | | | | |
Net asset value, beginning of period | $4.40 | $4.18 | $4.33 | $4.22 | $4.07 |
Income (loss) from investment operations: | | | | | |
Net investment income | .201 | .191 | .181 | .171 | .17 |
Net realized and unrealized gain (loss) | (.38) | .22 | (.05) | .20 | .15 |
Total from investment operations | (.18) | .41 | .13 | .37 | .32 |
Dividends and/or distributions to shareholders: | | | | | |
Dividends from net investment income | (.26) | (.19) | (.28) | (.26) | (.17) |
Net asset value, end of period | $3.96 | $4.40 | $4.18 | $4.33 | $4.22 |
| | | | | |
Total Return, at Net Asset Value2 | (4.52)% | 10.06% | 3.22% | 8.96% | 7.95% |
| | | | | |
Ratios/Supplemental Data | | | | | |
Net assets, end of period (in thousands) | $1,493,804 | $1,086,918 | $857,843 | $788,217 | $710,085 |
Average net assets (in thousands) | $1,381,340 | $959,439 | $814,425 | $748,199 | $716,206 |
Ratios to average net assets:3 | | | | | |
Net investment income | 4.68% | 4.49% | 4.27% | 4.07% | 4.06% |
Total expenses | 1.66%4 | 1.66%4 | 1.68% | 1.69% | 1.69% |
Expenses after payments, waivers and/or reimbursements and reduction to custodian expenses | 1.64% | 1.65% | 1.68% | 1.69% | 1.69% |
Portfolio turnover rate5 | 71% | 72% | 96% | 103% | 90% |
1. Per share amounts calculated based on the average shares outstanding during the period.
2. Assumes an investment on the business day before the first day of the fiscal period, with all dividends and distributions reinvested in additional shares on the reinvestment date, and redemption at the net asset value calculated on the last business day of the fiscal period. Sales charges are not reflected in the total returns. Total returns are not annualized for periods less than one full year. Returns do not reflect the deduction of taxes that a shareholder would pay on fund distributions or the redemption of fund shares.
3. Annualized for periods less than one full year.
4. Total expenses including indirect expenses from affiliated funds, excluding investments in Master Funds, were as follows:
Year Ended September 30, 20081.67%
Year Ended September 30, 20071.67%
5. The portfolio turnover rate excludes purchase and sale transactions of To Be Announced (TBA) mortgage-related securities as follows:
Purchase TransactionsSale Transactions
Year Ended September 30, 2008$1,979,370,856$1,852,400,340
Year Ended September 30, 2007$3,319,818,108$3,509,387,791
Year Ended September 30, 2006$4,097,005,267$4,231,030,059
Year Ended September 30, 2005$4,436,804,790$4,469,108,3 55
Year Ended September 30, 2004$5,593,936,243$5,563,251,032Class N Year Ended September 30, | 2008 | 2007 | 2006 | 2005 | 2004 |
Per Share Operating Data | | | | | |
Net asset value, beginning of period | $4.41 | $4.19 | $4.34 | $4.23 | $4.08 |
Income (loss) from investment operations: | | | | | |
Net investment income | .221 | .211 | .191 | .191 | .17 |
Net realized and unrealized gain (loss) | (.39) | .22 | (.04) | .19 | .16 |
Total from investment operations | (.17) | .43 | .15 | .38 | .33 |
Dividends and/or distributions to shareholders: | | | | | |
Dividends from net investment income | (.27) | (.21) | (.30) | (.27) | (.18) |
Net asset value, end of period | $3.97 | $4.41 | $4.19 | $4.34 | $4.23 |
| | | | | |
Total Return, at Net Asset Value2 | (4.17)% | 10.42% | 3.60% | 9.27% | 8.28% |
| | | | | |
Ratios/Supplemental Data | | | | | |
Net assets, end of period (in thousands) | $186,353 | $145,685 | $108,324 | $83,287 | $52,969 |
Average net assets (in thousands) | $175,884 | $126,935 | $ 94,281 | $69,480 | $40,043 |
Ratios to average net assets:3 | | | | | |
Net investment income | 5.03% | 4.84% | 4.62% | 4.37% | 4.19% |
Total expenses | 1.32%4 | 1.32%4 | 1.33% | 1.40% | 1.38% |
Expenses after payments, waivers and/or reimbursements and reduction to custodian expenses | 1.30% | 1.31% | 1.33% | 1.40% | 1.38% |
Portfolio turnover rate5 | 71% | 72% | 96% | 103% | 90% |
1. Per share amounts calculated based on the average shares outstanding during the period.
2. Assumes an investment on the business day before the first day of the fiscal period, with all dividends and distributions reinvested in additional shares on the reinvestment date, and redemption at the net asset value calculated on the last business day of the fiscal period. Sales charges are not reflected in the total returns. Total returns are not annualized for periods less than one full year. Returns do not reflect the deduction of taxes that a shareholder would pay on fund distributions or the redemption of fund shares.
3. Annualized for periods less than one full year.
4. Total expenses including indirect expenses from affiliated funds, excluding investments in Master Funds, were as follows:
Year Ended September 30, 20081.33%
Year Ended September 30, 20071.33%
5. The portfolio turnover rate excludes purchase and sale transactions of To Be Announced (TBA) mortgage-related securities as follows:
Purchase TransactionsSale Transactions
Year Ended September 30, 2008$1,979,370,856$1,852,400,340
Year Ended September 30, 2007$3,319,818,108$3,509,387,791
Year Ended September 30, 2006$4,097,005,267$4,231,030,059
Year Ended September 30, 2005$4,436,804,790$4,469,108,355
Year Ended September 30, 2004$5,593,936,243$5,563,251,032Class Y Year Ended September 30, | 2008 | 2007 | 2006 | 2005 | 2004 |
Per Share Operating Data | | | | | |
Net asset value, beginning of period | $4.39 | $4.17 | $4.32 | $4.22 | $4.07 |
Income (loss) from investment operations: | | | | | |
Net investment income | .251 | .241 | .221 | .211 | .21 |
Net realized and unrealized gain (loss) | (.38) | .22 | (.04) | .19 | .14 |
Total from investment operations | (.13) | .46 | .18 | .40 | .35 |
Dividends and/or distributions to shareholders: | | | | | |
Dividends from net investment income | (.30) | (.24) | (.33) | (.30) | (.20) |
Net asset value, end of period | $3.96 | $4.39 | $4.17 | $4.32 | $4.22 |
| | | | | |
Total Return, at Net Asset Value2 | (3.33)% | 11.28% | 4.35% | 9.73% | 8.80% |
| | | | | |
Ratios/Supplemental Data | | | | | |
Net assets, end of period (in thousands) | $313,760 | $347,689 | $179,309 | $62,824 | $150,699 |
Average net assets (in thousands) | $220,416 | $260,589 | $118,239 | $68,656 | $213,632 |
Ratios to average net assets:3 | | | | | |
Net investment income | 5.68% | 5.61% | 5.38% | 4.84% | 4.80% |
Total expenses | 0.66%4 | 0.56%4 | 0.58% | 1.16% | 1.29% |
Expenses after payments, waivers and/or reimbursements and reduction to custodian expenses | 0.64% | 0.55% | 0.58% | 0.80% | 0.90% |
Portfolio turnover rate5 | 71% | 72% | 96% | 103% | 90% |
1. Per share amounts calculated based on the average shares outstanding during the period.
2. Assumes an investment on the business day before the first day of the fiscal period, with all dividends and distributions reinvested in additional shares on the reinvestment date, and redemption at the net asset value calculated on the last business day of the fiscal period. Sales charges are not reflected in the total returns. Total returns are not annualized for periods less than one full year. Returns do not reflect the deduction of taxes that a shareholder would pay on fund distributions or the redemption of fund shares.
3. Annualized for periods less than one full year.
4. Total expenses including indirect expenses from affiliated funds, excluding investments in Master Funds, were as follows:
Year Ended September 30, 20080.67%
Year Ended September 30, 20070.57%
5. The portfolio turnover rate excludes purchase and sale transactions of To Be Announced (TBA) mortgage-related securities as follows:
Purchase TransactionsSale Transactions
Year Ended September 30, 2008$1,979,370,856$1,852,400,340
Year Ended September 30, 2007$3,319,818,108$3,509,387,791
Year Ended September 30, 2006$4,097,005,267$4,231,030,059
Year Ended September 30, 2005$4,436,804,790$4,469,108,355
Year Ended September 30, 2004$5,593,936,243$5,563,251,032INFORMATION AND SERVICES
STATEMENT OF ADDITIONAL INFORMATION. This document includes additional information about the Fund's investment policies, risks, and operations. It is incorporated by reference into this prospectus (it is legally part of this prospectus).
ANNUAL AND SEMI-ANNUAL REPORTS. The Fund's Annual and Semi-Annual Reports provide additional information about the Fund's investments and performance. The Annual Report includes a discussion of market conditions and investment strategies that significantly affected the Fund's performance during its last fiscal year.
How to Request More InformationYou can request the above documents, the notice explaining the Fund's privacy policy, and other information about the Fund, without charge, by:
Telephone: | Call OppenheimerFunds Services toll-free: 1.800.CALL OPP (225.5677) |
Mail: | Use the following address for regular mail: OppenheimerFunds Services P.O. Box 5270 Denver, Colorado 80217-5270 |
| Use the following address for courier or express mail: OppenheimerFunds Services 12100 East Iliff Avenue Suite 300 Aurora, Colorado 80014 |
Internet: | You may request documents, and read or download certain documents at www.oppenheimerfunds.com |
Information about the Fund including the Statement of Additional Information can be reviewed and copied at the SEC's Public Reference Room in Washington, D.C. Information on the operation of the Public Reference Room may be obtained by calling the SEC at 1.202.942.8090. Reports and other information about the Fund are available on the EDGAR database on the SEC's Internet website at www.sec.gov. Copies may be obtained after payment of a duplicating fee by electronic request at the SEC's e-mail address: publicinfo@sec.gov or by writing to the SEC's Public Reference Section, Washington, D.C. 20549-0102.
No one has been authorized to provide any information about the Fund or to make any representations about the Fund other than what is contained in this prospectus. This prospectus is not an offer to sell shares of the Fund, nor a solicitation of an offer to buy shares of the Fund, to any person in any state or other jurisdiction where it is unlawful to make such an offer.
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The Fund's SEC File No.: 811-5724 PR0230.001.0109 |
Oppenheimer Strategic Income Fund
Supplement dated March 31, 2009 to the
Prospectus dated January 28, 2009
This supplement amends the Prospectus of Oppenheimer Strategic Income Fund (the "Fund") dated January 28, 2009.
Effective April 1, 2009, the section titled "How the Fund is Managed – Portfolio Managers," on page 22 of the Prospectus, is deleted in its entirety and is replaced by the following:
Portfolio Managers. The Fund’s portfolio is managed by Arthur P. Steinmetz, the lead portfolio manager, Krishna Memani, Joseph Welsh and Caleb Wong, who are primarily responsible for the day-to-day management of the Fund's investments. Mr. Steinmetz has been a portfolio manager and Vice President of the Fund since October 1989 and a Vice President of the Fund since May 2003. Messrs. Memani, Welsh and Wong are portfolio managers and Vice Presidents of the Fund beginning April 1, 2009.
Mr. Steinmetz has been Director of Fixed-Income Investments of the Manager since January 2009 and a Senior Vice President of the Manager since March 1993. He is a portfolio manager and an officer of other portfolios in the OppenheimerFunds complex.
Mr. Memani has been a Senior Vice President and Head of the Investment Grade Fixed Income Team of the Manager since March 2009. Mr. Memani was a Managing Director and Head of the U.S. and European Credit Analyst Team at Deutsche Bank Securities from June 2006 through January 2009. He was the Chief Credit Strategist at Credit Suisse Securities from August 2002 through March 2006. He was a Managing Director and Senior Portfolio Manager at Putnam Investments from September 1998 through June 2002. He is a portfolio manager and an officer of other portfolios in the OppenheimerFunds complex.
Mr. Welsh, CFA, has been the Head of the Manager's High Yield Corporate Debt Team since April 2009 and a Vice President of the Manager since December 2000. He was an Assistant Vice President of the Manager from December 1996 to November 2000 and a high yield bond analyst of the Manager from January 1995 to December 1996. He was a senior bond analyst with W.R. Huff Asset Management from November 1991 to December 1994. Mr. Welsh is a portfolio manager and officer of other portfolios in the OppenheimerFunds complex.
Mr. Wong has been a Vice President of the Manager since June 1999 and has worked in fixed-income quantitative research and risk management for the Manager since July 1996. He has been a member of the Manager’s Asset Allocation Committee since April 2005. Mr. Wong is a portfolio manager and an officer of other portfolios in the OppenheimerFunds complex.
March 31, 2009 PS0230.034
Oppenheimer New Jersey Municipal Fund | Oppenheimer RochesterTM Ohio Municipal Fund |
Oppenheimer Pennsylvania Municipal Fund | Oppenheimer RochesterTM Virginia Municipal Fund |
Oppenheimer Portfolio Series | Oppenheimer Select Value Fund |
Oppenheimer Portfolio Series: Fixed Income Active | Oppenheimer Senior Floating Rate Fund |
Allocation Fund | Oppenheimer Small- & Mid- Cap Value Fund |
Oppenheimer Quest Balanced Fund | Oppenheimer Strategic Income Fund |
Oppenheimer Quest International Value Fund, Inc.SM | Oppenheimer Transition 2010 Fund |
Oppenheimer Quest Opportunity Value Fund | Oppenheimer Transition 2015 Fund |
Oppenheimer Real Estate Fund | Oppenheimer Transition 2020 Fund |
Oppenheimer Rising Dividends Fund, Inc. | Oppenheimer Transition 2025 Fund |
Oppenheimer RochesterTM Arizona Municipal Fund | Oppenheimer Transition 2030 Fund |
Oppenheimer RochesterTM Maryland Municipal Fund | Oppenheimer Transition 2040 Fund |
Oppenheimer RochesterTM Massachusetts Municipal Fund | Oppenheimer Transition 2050 Fund |
Oppenheimer RochesterTM Michigan Municipal Fund | Oppenheimer U S Government Trust |
Oppenheimer RochesterTM Minnesota Municipal Fund | Oppenheimer Value Fund |
Oppenheimer RochesterTM National Municipals | RochesterTM Fund Municipals |
Oppenheimer RochesterTM North Carolina Municipal Fund | |
Prospectus Supplement dated May 15, 2009
This supplement amends the Prospectus of each of the above referenced funds (each a "Fund") as follows and is in addition to any other supplement(s):
| 1. | The sub-section titled "Right of Accumulation" in the section titled "Choosing a Share Class – About Class A Shares – Reduced Class A Sales Charges" is deleted in its entirety and is replaced by the following: |
| · | Right of Accumulation. To qualify for the reduced Class A sales charge that would apply to a larger purchase than you are currently making, you can add the value of shares that you and your spouse currently own, and other purchases that you are currently making, to the value of your Class A share purchase of the Fund. You may count Class A, Class B and Class C shares of the Fund and other Oppenheimer funds and Class A, Class B, Class C, Class G and Class H units in adviser sold Section 529 plans, for which the Manager or the Distributor serves as the "Program Manager" or "Program Distributor. " The Distributor or the financial intermediary through which you are buying shares will determine the value of the shares you currently own based on the greater of their current offering price or the amount you paid for the shares. For purposes of calculating that value, the Distributor will only take into consideration the value of shares owned as of December 31, 2007 and any shares purchased subsequently. The value of any shares that you have redeemed and the value of Class A shares of Oppenheimer Money Market Fund, Inc. or Oppenheimer Cash Reserves on which you have not paid a sales charge will not be counted for this purpose. |
In totaling your holdings, you may count shares held in:
| · | your individual accounts (including IRAs, 403(b) plans and eligible 529 plans), |
| · | your joint accounts with your spouse, |
| · | accounts you or your spouse hold as trustees or custodians on behalf of your children who are minors. |
A fiduciary can apply rights of accumulation to all shares purchased for a trust, estate or other fiduciary account that has multiple accounts (including employee benefit plans for the same employer and Single K plans for the benefit of a sole proprietor).
If you are buying shares directly from the Fund, you must inform the Distributor of your eligibility and holdings at the time of your purchase in order to qualify for the Right of Accumulation. If you are buying shares through a financial intermediary you must notify the intermediary of your eligibility for the Right of Accumulation at the time of your purchase.
To count eligible shares held in accounts at other firms, you may be requested to provide the Distributor or your current financial intermediary with a copy of account statements showing your current holdings of the Fund, other eligible Oppenheimer funds or qualifying 529 plans. Shares purchased under a Letter of Intent may also qualify as eligible holdings under a Right of Accumulation.
| 2. | The following is added to the section titled "How to Buy, Sell and Exchange Shares – How to Buy Shares " at the end of the paragraph titled "Buying Shares Through the Distributor": |
If you submit a purchase request to the Distributor without designating the fund you wish to invest in, your investment will be made in Class A shares of Oppenheimer Money Market Fund, Inc. This policy does not apply to purchases by or for certain retirement plans or accounts. For more information regarding undesignated investments, please call the Transfer Agent at the number on the back cover of this prospectus.
| 3. | The third bullet point in the section titled "How to Submit Share Transaction Requests – Internet and Telephone Transaction Requests" is deleted in its entirety and is replaced by the following : |
| · | Redemptions that are submitted by telephone or on the internet and request the proceeds to be paid by check, must be made payable to all owners of record of the shares and must be sent to the address on the account statement. Telephone or internet redemptions paid by check may not exceed $100,000 in any seven-day period. This service is not available within 15 days after changing the address on an account. |
May 15, 2009
PS0000.051