Investment Objective
The primary investment objective of the Fund is to seek the preservation of principal and to provide interest income reasonably obtained under prevailing market conditions and rates, consistent with seeking to maintain required liquidity.
Participant Profile
The Fund may be appropriate for Participating Trusts and individual plan participants who seek little fluctuation in the value of their invested principal, a competitive interest rate, and a low level of overall risk.
Fund Trustee and Investment Manager
The trustee and investment manager for the Fund is Invesco Trust Company, a Texas trust company (the “Trustee” or “Investment Manager”).
Fund Sub-Advisor
The investment sub-advisor for the Fund is Invesco Advisers, Inc. Information concerning the sub-advisor can be found in its Form ADV filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission, available at www.sec.gov.
Fund Benchmark
Bloomberg U.S. Treasury Bellwethers 3-Month Index (the "Index").
Management team
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Jennifer Gilmore, CFA
Performance
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The Bloomberg U.S. Treasury Bellwethers 3-Month Index is tracked by Bloomberg to provide performance for the three-month U.S. Treasury Bill. An investment cannot be made directly in an index.
Materials & Resources
Important information
Current and prospective participating trusts are strongly encouraged to review the complete terms of the Declaration of Trust for additional details regarding the Fund and its operations. Further information regarding the Fund, including performance and portfolio holdings, can be found at www.InvescoTrustCompany.com.
The Fund is not guaranteed by Invesco, its subsidiaries or affiliates, including Invesco Advisers, Inc. The Fund is not insured by the FDIC or the Federal Reserve Bank, nor guaranteed by any governmental agency.
Principal Risks of Investing
The Fund is designed to preserve principal investment and provide a competitive level of interest income. However, when investing in the Fund, you should consider the following risks, which are related to direct investments used to implement the Fund’s investment strategy:
Crediting Rate Risk. Stable value funds track the level of market interest rates with a lag. In some circumstances, the Fund’s yield may not reflect prevailing market interest rates. The basic function of the formula used to determine the Fund’s crediting rate is to amortize the performance of the underlying bond portfolios over a period of time, also known as “smoothing.” The formula’s components include duration, yield, market value, book value and fees. An investment contract’s crediting rate provides a fixed return for a period of time until the next rate reset. A stable value portfolio’s crediting rate is the weighted average of all of the investment contracts’ individual crediting rates and the yield on cash held by the stable value portfolio. The investment contract crediting rates may be impacted by large contributions and large redemptions.
Stable Value Liquidity Risk. There is no active market for the wrap agreements purchased by the Fund, and the sale of these agreements is not an available option for satisfying withdrawal request. Investing plans and plan participants are subject to liquidity risk due to various withdrawal restrictions relating to the Fund (see “Withdrawal Limitations” section below).
Stable Value Credit Risk. Repayment of fixed income securities is dependent upon the financial strength of the issuer. There is a possibility that the issuers of these securities will be unable to meet the interest payments or repay the principal. This will reduce the return on the fixed income portfolio and in turn reduce the Fund’s crediting rate. The investment contracts do not cover defaults on fixed income securities in the portfolio.
The performance of underlying investments is reflected in the earnings of the Fund.
Substantial defaults could significantly impact the performance of the Fund and may result in an investment return that falls below the 0% minimum crediting rate stated in the investment contracts. This means that participating trusts or individual plan participants seeking to withdraw their units would not receive back the full amount paid for them. Credit risk is managed through credit research on individual securities and through broad diversification in the holdings of the portfolio.
Wrap Contract Risk. Although the investment contracts are intended to reduce the volatility of investing in fixed–income securities, the use of investment contracts has its own risks. These risks include:
The possibility of default by or deterioration in the creditworthiness of the investment contract provider;
The possibility that the investment contract will no longer provide book value coverage as a result of a breach of the contract’s terms or the occurrence of certain events affecting a plan or its sponsor;
The fact that costs incurred by the Fund to purchase the investment contracts will reduce the Fund’s return, possibly preventing the Fund from performing as well as other high quality fixed–income funds of comparable duration;
The possibility that the Sub–Adviser will be unable to replace an investment contract, in the event that it is terminated, with an agreement having at least as favorable terms and/or costs;
The risk that the investment contract issuer or the Sub–Adviser elects extended termination, which could materially impact the Fund’s performance; and
The risk that greater use of separate account investment contracts creates greater exposure to the insurance companies issuing those contracts.
Underlying Portfolio Related Risks
The following risks are associated with the underlying portfolio investments held in the investment contracts, including investments in commingled investment vehicles, that may be used to implement the Fund’s investment strategy:
Accounts of Affiliates of the Trustee. Affiliates of the Trustee and the Sub–Adviser may trade in securities at the same time as a fund and, therefore, may potentially affect prices or available opportunities. However, all accounts will be treated fairly, as required under the Management Team’s applicable trading policies.
Active Trading Risk. Active trading of portfolio securities may result in added expenses and a lower return.
Changing Fixed Income Market Conditions Risk. The current low interest rate environment was created in part by the Federal Reserve Board and certain foreign central banks keeping the federal funds and equivalent foreign rates near historical lows. Increases in the federal funds and equivalent foreign rates may expose fixed income markets to heightened volatility and reduced liquidity for certain fixed income investments, particularly those with longer maturities. In addition, decreases in fixed income dealer market–making capacity may also potentially lead to heightened volatility and reduced liquidity in the fixed income markets.
Debt Securities Risk. The prices of debt securities held by a fund will be affected by changes in interest rates, the creditworthiness of the issuer and other factors. An increase in prevailing interest rates typically causes the value of existing debt securities to fall and often has a greater impact on longer–duration debt securities and higher quality debt securities. Falling interest rates will cause a fund to reinvest the proceeds of debt securities that have been repaid by the issuer at lower interest rates. Falling interest rates may also reduce a fund’s distributable income because interest payments on floating rate debt instruments held by a fund will decline. A fund could lose money on investments in debt securities if the issuer or borrower fails to meet its obligations to make interest payments and/or to repay principal in a timely manner. Changes in an issuer’s financial strength, the market’s perception of such strength or in the credit rating of the issuer or the security may affect the value of debt securities. A fund’s credit analysis may fail to anticipate such changes, which could result in buying a debt security at an inopportune time or failing to sell a debt security in advance of a price decline or other credit event.
Derivatives Risk. The value of a derivative instrument depends largely on (and is derived from) the value of an underlying security, currency, commodity, interest rate, index or other asset (each referred to as an underlying asset). In addition to risks relating to the underlying assets, the use of derivatives may include other, possibly greater, risks, including counterparty, leverage and liquidity risks. Counterparty risk is the risk that the counterparty to the derivative contract will default on its obligation to pay a fund the amount owed or otherwise perform under the derivative contract. Derivatives create leverage risk because they do not require payment up front equal to the economic exposure created by holding a position in the derivative. As a result, an adverse change in the value of the underlying asset could result in a fund sustaining a loss that is substantially greater than the amount invested in the derivative or the anticipated value of the underlying asset, which may make a fund’s returns more volatile and increase the risk of loss. Derivative instruments may also be less liquid than more traditional investments and a fund may be unable to sell or close out its derivative positions at a desirable time or price. This risk may be more acute under adverse market conditions, during which a fund may be most in need of liquidating its derivative positions. Derivatives may also be harder to value and subject to changing government regulation that could impact a fund’s ability to use certain derivatives or their cost. Derivatives strategies may not always be successful. For example, derivatives used for hedging or to gain or limit exposure to a particular market segment may not provide the expected benefits, particularly during adverse market conditions.
Dollar Roll Transactions Risk. Dollar roll transactions occur in connection with TBA transactions and involve the risk that the market value of the securities a fund is required to purchase may decline below the agreed upon purchase price of those securities. Dollar roll transactions add a form of leverage to a fund’s underlying portfolio, which may make a fund’s returns more volatile and increase the risk of loss. In addition, dollar roll transactions may increase a fund’s portfolio turnover, which may result in increased brokerage costs and may lower a fund’s actual return.
Foreign Government Debt Risk. A fund only invests in U.S. dollar–denominated fixed income securities. Investments in foreign government debt obligations (sometimes referred to as sovereign debt securities) involve certain risks in addition to those relating to foreign securities or debt securities generally. The issuer of the debt or the governmental authorities that control the repayment of the debt may be unable or unwilling to repay principal or interest when due in accordance with the terms of such debt, and a fund may have limited recourse in the event of a default against the defaulting government. Without the approval of debt holders, some governmental debtors have in the past been able to reschedule or restructure their debt payments or declare moratoria on payments.
Foreign Securities and Credit Exposure Risk. U.S. dollar–denominated securities carrying foreign credit exposure may be affected by unfavorable political, economic or governmental developments that could affect payments of principal and interest. Furthermore, foreign investments may be adversely affected by political and social instability, changes in economic or taxation policies, difficulty in enforcing obligations, decreased liquidity or increased volatility. Foreign investments also involve the risk of the possible seizure, nationalization or expropriation of the issuer or foreign deposits (in which a fund could lose its entire investments in a certain market) and the possible adoption of foreign governmental restrictions such as exchange controls.
LIBOR Transition Risk. A fund may have investments in financial instruments that utilize the London Interbank Offered Rate (“LIBOR”) as the reference or benchmark rate for variable interest rate calculations. LIBOR is intended to measure the rate generally at which banks can lend and borrow from one another in the relevant currency on an unsecured basis. Regulators and financial industry working groups in several jurisdictions have worked over the past several years to identify alternative reference rates (“ARRs”) to replace LIBOR and to assist with the transition to the new ARRs. In connection with the transition, on March 5, 2021, the UK Financial Conduct Authority (“FCA”), the regulator that oversees LIBOR, announced that the majority of LIBOR rates would cease to be published or would no longer be representative on January 1, 2022. Consequently, the publication of most LIBOR rates ceased at the end of 2021, but a selection of widely used USD LIBOR rates continues to be published until June 2023 to allow for an orderly transition away from these rates. Additionally, key regulators have instructed banking institutions to cease entering into new contracts that reference these USD LIBOR settings after December 31, 2021, subject to certain limited exceptions.
There remains uncertainty and risks relating to the continuing LIBOR transition and its effects on a fund and the instruments in which a fund invests. For example, there can be no assurance that the composition or characteristics of any ARRs or financial instruments in which a fund invests that utilize ARRs will be similar to or produce the same value or economic equivalence as LIBOR or that these instruments will have the same volume or liquidity. Additionally, although regulators have generally prohibited banking institutions from entering into new contracts that reference those USD LIBOR settings that continue to exist, there remains uncertainty and risks relating to certain “legacy” USD LIBOR instruments that were issued or entered into before December 31, 2021, and the process by which a replacement interest rate will be identified and implemented into these instruments when USD LIBOR is ultimately discontinued. The effects of such uncertainty and risks in “legacy” USD LIBOR instruments held by a fund could result in losses to a fund.
Liquidity Risk. A fund may be unable to sell illiquid investments at the time or price it desires and, as a result, could lose its entire investment in such investments. Liquid securities can become illiquid during periods of market stress. If a significant amount of a fund’s securities become illiquid, a fund may not be able to timely pay withdrawal proceeds and may need to sell securities at significantly reduced prices.
Market Risk. The market values of a fund’s investments will go up and down, sometimes rapidly or unpredictably. Market risk may affect a single issuer, industry or section of the economy, or it may affect the market as a whole. The value of a fund’s investments may go up or down due to general market conditions which are not specifically related to the particular issuer, such as real or perceived adverse economic conditions, changes in the general outlook for revenues or corporate earnings, changes in interest or currency rates, regional or global instability, natural or environmental disasters, widespread disease or other public health issues, war, acts of terrorism or adverse investor sentiment generally. During a general downturn in the financial markets, multiple asset classes may decline in value. When markets perform well, there can be no assurance that specific investments held by a fund will rise in value. Volatility in the underlying market value portfolio should not have an impact on the stability of the Fund’s NAV under normal operating environments because of the smoothing associated with the crediting rate of the investment contracts.
Mortgage– and Asset–Backed Securities Risk. Mortgage– and asset–backed securities, including collateralized debt obligations and collateralized mortgage obligations, are subject to prepayment or call risk, which is the risk that a borrower’s payments may be received earlier or later than expected due to changes in prepayment rates on underlying loans. This could result in a fund reinvesting these early payments at lower interest rates, thereby reducing a fund’s income. Mortgage– and asset–backed securities also are subject to extension risk, which is the risk that an unexpected rise in interest rates could reduce the rate of prepayments, causing the price of the mortgage– and asset–backed securities and a fund’s share price to fall. An unexpectedly high rate of defaults on the mortgages held by a mortgage pool may adversely affect the value of mortgage–backed securities and could result in losses to a fund. Privately–issued mortgage–backed securities and asset–backed securities may be less liquid than other types of securities and a fund may be unable to sell these securities at the time or price it desires. During periods of market stress or high redemptions, a fund may be forced to sell these securities at significantly reduced prices, resulting in losses. Liquid privately– issued mortgage–backed securities and asset–backed securities can become illiquid during periods of market stress. Privately–issued mortgage–related securities are not subject to the same underwriting requirements as those with government or government–sponsored entity guarantees and, therefore, mortgage loans underlying privately issued mortgage–related securities may have less favorable collateral, credit risk, liquidity risk or other underwriting characteristics, and wider variances in interest rate, term, size, purpose and borrower characteristics.
Multimanager Risk. Managers’ individual investing styles may not complement each other. This can result in both higher portfolio turnover and enhanced or reduced concentration in a particular region, country, industry, or investing style compared with an investment with a single manager.
Municipal Securities Risk. The risk of a municipal obligation generally depends on the financial and credit status of the issuer. Constitutional amendments, legislative enactments, executive orders, administrative regulations, voter initiatives, and the issuer’s regional economic conditions may affect the municipal security’s value, interest payments, repayment of principal and a fund’s ability to sell the security.
TBA Transactions Risk. TBA transactions involve the risk of loss if the securities received are less favorable than what was anticipated by a fund when entering into the TBA transaction, or if the counterparty fails to deliver the securities. When a fund enters into a short sale of a TBA mortgage it does not own, it may have to purchase deliverable mortgages to settle the short sale at a higher price than anticipated, thereby causing a loss. As there is no limit on how much the price of mortgage securities can increase, the exposure is unlimited. A fund may not always be able to purchase mortgage securities to close out the short position at a particular time or at an acceptable price. In addition, taking short positions results in a form of leverage which could increase the volatility of a fund’s unit price.
U.S. Government Obligations Risk. Obligations of U.S. Government agencies and authorities receive varying levels of support and may not be backed by the full faith and credit of the U.S. Government, which could affect a fund’s ability to recover should they default. No assurance can be given that the U.S. Government will provide financial support to its agencies and authorities if it is not obligated by law to do so.
When–Issued, Delayed Delivery and Forward Commitment Risks. When–issued and delayed delivery transactions subject a fund to market risk because the value or yield of a security at delivery may be more or less than the purchase price or yield generally available when delivery occurs, and counterparty risk because a fund relies on the buyer or seller, as the case may be, to consummate the transaction. These transactions also have a leveraging effect on a fund because a fund commits to purchase securities that it does not have to pay for until a later date, which increases a fund’s overall investment exposure and, as a result, its volatility.
Zero Coupon or Pay–In–Kind Securities Risk. The value, interest rates, and liquidity of non–cash paying instruments, such as zero coupon and pay–in–kind securities, are subject to greater fluctuation than other types of securities. The higher yields and interest rates on pay–in–kind securities reflect the payment deferral and increased credit risk associated with such instruments and that such investments may represent a higher credit risk than loans that periodically pay interest.
General Investment Related Risks
Business Continuity and Operational Risk. The Trust Company, the Sub–Adviser, the Fund and the Fund’s service providers may experience disruptions or operating errors, such as processing errors or human errors, inadequate or failed internal or external processes, systems or technology failures, or other disruptive events, that could negatively impact and cause disruptions in normal business operations of the Trust Company, the Sub–Adviser, the Fund or the Fund's service providers. The Trust Company has developed a Business Continuity Program (the “Program”) designed to minimize the disruption of normal business operations in the event of an adverse incident affecting the Fund and/or its affiliates. The Program is also designed to enable the Trust Company to reestablish normal business operations in a timely manner during such an adverse incident; however, there are inherent limitations in the Program (including the possibility that contingencies have not been anticipated and procedures do not work as intended) and, under some circumstances (e.g. natural disasters, terrorism, public health crises, power or utility shortages and failures, system failures or malfunctions), the Trust Company, its affiliates and any service providers or vendors used by the Trust Company or such affiliates, could be prevented or hindered from providing services to the Fund for extended periods of time. These circumstances could cause disruptions and negatively impact the Fund's service providers and the Fund's business operations, potentially including an inability to process Fund Unitholder transactions, an inability to calculate the Fund's net asset value and price the Fund's investments, and impediments to trading portfolio securities.
Cybersecurity Risk. The Fund, like all companies, may be susceptible to operational and information security risks. Cybersecurity failures or breaches of the Fund or its service providers or the issuers of securities in which the Fund invests, have the ability to cause disruptions and impact business operations, potentially resulting in financial losses, the inability of Fund unitholders to transact business, violations of applicable privacy and other laws, regulatory fines, penalties, reputational damage, reimbursement or other compensation costs, and/or additional compliance costs. The Fund and its Unitholders could be negatively impacted as a result.
General Investment Risk. The business of the Fund is to invest in securities, including primarily U.S. fixed income securities, and to utilize certain investment techniques that involve various risks. The prices of Fund investments may be volatile and market movements are difficult to predict. In addition, the amount and timing of purchases and withdrawals may a have a negative impact on the Fund’s return. While the Management Team seeks to mitigate investment risks, there can be no assurance that individual plan participants or the participating trust will not incur losses. Individual plan participants should not subscribe to or invest in the Fund unless they can readily bear the consequences of such loss.
Long–Term Investment. An investment in the Fund is suitable for long–term investors. Accordingly, the Fund should not be viewed as a short–term investment vehicle. Moreover, an investment in the Fund is not intended to provide a complete or balanced investment program.
Management Risk. The Fund is actively managed and depends heavily on the Management Team’s judgment about markets, interest rates or the attractiveness, relative values, liquidity, or potential appreciation of particular investments made for the Fund’s portfolio. The Fund could experience losses if these judgments prove to be incorrect. Additionally, legislative, regulatory, or tax developments may adversely affect management of the Fund and, therefore, the ability of the Fund to achieve its investment objective.
Natural Disaster/Epidemic Risk. Natural or environmental disasters, such as earthquakes, fires, floods, hurricanes, tsunamis and other severe weather–related phenomena generally, and widespread disease, including pandemics and epidemics, have been and can be highly disruptive to economies and markets, adversely impacting individual companies, sectors, industries, markets, currencies, interest and inflation rates, credit ratings, investor sentiment, and other factors affecting the value of the Fund’s investments. Given the increasing interdependence among global economies and markets, conditions in one country, market, or region are increasingly likely to adversely affect markets, issuers, and/or foreign exchange rates in other countries, including the United States. These disruptions could prevent the Fund from executing advantageous investment decisions in a timely manner and negatively impact the Fund’s ability to achieve its investment objective. Any such event(s) could have a significant adverse impact on the value and risk profile of the Fund.
Risks Associated with Investing in an Investment Vehicle. The Fund may itself invest in a commingled investment vehicle or similar pooled investment fund. The Fund is subject to the underlying risks of the investment vehicles in which it invests.
No Registration Under U.S. Federal or State Securities Laws. The Fund will not be registered with the SEC as an investment company under the Investment Company Act of 1940 (the “Investment Company Act”) in reliance upon an exemption from the Investment Company Act; therefore, the provisions of the Investment Company Act applicable to registered investment companies (i.e., mutual funds) are not applicable to the Fund. Units of the Fund are exempt from registration under U.S. federal securities laws and, accordingly, this Fund Description does not contain information that would otherwise be included if registration were required. Similar reliance has been placed on exemptions from securities registration and qualification requirements under applicable state securities laws. No assurance can be given that the offering currently qualifies or will continue to qualify under one or more exemptions due to, among other things, the manner of distribution, the existence of similar offerings in the past or in the future, or the retroactive change of any securities laws or regulation.
No Registration with the CFTC. Since the Fund may purchase, sell or trade exchange–traded futures contracts, options thereon, and other commodity interests, the Fund may constitute as a commodity pool under the Commodity Exchange Act, as amended (“CEA”) and the rules of the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (“CFTC”). However, pursuant to CFTC Rule 4.5, the Trustee has claimed an exclusion from the definition of the term “commodity pool operator” (“CPO”) under the CEA and, therefore, is not subject to registration or regulation as a CPO under the CEA. The Trustee has filed a notice to effect the exclusion and will comply with the requirements thereof. The Sub–Adviser, a registered commodity trading advisor (“CTA”) under the CEA, will provide commodity interest trading advice to the Fund as if it was exempt from registration as a CTA with respect to the Fund pursuant to CFTC Rule 4.14(a)(8).