Objectives and Approach

The Fund aims to provide income with the potential to grow the amount you invested over the medium term. The Fund invests at least two-thirds of its assets in investment grade bonds (which are similar to a loan and pay a fixed or variable interest rate) issued by companies worldwide. Bonds rated as investment grade, as defined by international agencies that provide such ratings, are considered safer than lower rated bonds but typically pay a lower income. The Fund invests directly in these assets or by using derivatives (complex instruments). Derivatives will be used to obtain, increase or reduce exposure to underlying assets and may create leverage. Where leverage is created, the net asset value of the Fund may experience more fluctuation than if there were no leverage. The Fund may also use derivatives for hedging purposes or to manage the Fund more efficiently. The Fund may also invest in asset classes and instruments different from those stated above. The Fund is actively managed in reference to the Bloomberg Global Aggregate Corporate Index (USD Hedged). The index is broadly representative of the securities in which the Fund invests, and provides a suitable target benchmark against which Fund performance will be measured and evaluated over time. The index is not designed to specifically consider environmental or social characteristics. The fund manager has discretion to select investments with weightings different to the index, and that are not in the index, and the Fund may display significant divergence from the index. The Fund promotes environmental and social characteristics by integrating a range of responsible investment measures into the investment process, and ensures that the companies it invests in follow good governance practices. The Fund aims to compare favourably against the index over rolling 12-month periods when assessed using the Columbia Threadneedle ESG (environmental, social and governance) Materiality Rating model, which indicates how much exposure a company has to material ESG risks and opportunities. At least 50% of the Fund is invested in companies that have a strong rating. The Fund also commits to investing at least 20% of its assets in sustainable investments. The Fund excludes companies that derive certain levels of revenue from industries such as, but not limited to, coal and tobacco. It also excludes companies that have direct involvement in nuclear or controversial weapons, and companies determined to have breached international standards and principles. The fund manager engages with companies to encourage improvement of their ESG practices. Columbia Threadneedle Investments is a signatory to the Net Zero Asset Managers Initiative and has committed to an ambition to reach net zero emissions by 2050 or sooner for a range of assets, including the Fund. The fund manager uses its proactive engagement with companies to assist with progressing this and may disinvest from those not meeting the minimum standards. Further information about the environmental or social characteristics promoted by the Fund is available in the SFDR RTS Annex of the Prospectus available at www.columbiathreadneedle.com. The Fund is considered to fall within the scope of Article 8 of SFDR.