497K 1 d325658d497k.htm EQ/MONEY MARKET PORTFOLIO EQ/Money Market Portfolio

EQ Advisors TrustSM

 

EQ/Money Market Portfolio – Class IA and IB Shares

 

Summary Prospectus dated May 1, 2012

 

 

Before you invest, you may want to review the Portfolio’s Prospectus, which contains more information about the Portfolio and its risks. The Portfolio’s current Prospectus and Statement of Additional Information (“SAI”), dated May 1, 2012, and the Portfolio’s audited financial statements included in its annual report to shareholders dated December 31, 2011, are incorporated by reference into this Summary Prospectus. You can find the Portfolio’s Prospectus, SAI and other information about the Portfolio online at www.axa-equitablefunds.com/allportfolios.aspx. You can also get this information at no cost by calling 1-877-222-2144 or by sending an e-mail request to service@axa-equitable.com. This Summary Prospectus is intended for use in connection with a variable contract as defined in Section 817(d) of the Internal Revenue Code (“Contracts”) and certain other eligible investors and is not intended for use by other investors.

 

 

Investment Objective: Seeks to obtain a high level of current income, preserve its assets and maintain liquidity.

 

FEES AND EXPENSES OF THE PORTFOLIO

 

The following table describes the fees and expenses that you may pay if you buy and hold shares of the Portfolio. The table below does not reflect any fees and expenses associated with variable life insurance contracts and variable annuity certificates and contracts (“Contracts”), which would increase overall fees and expenses. See the Contract prospectus for a description of those fees and expenses.

 

Shareholder Fees

(fees paid directly from your investment)

Not applicable.          

 

Annual Portfolio Operating Expenses
(expenses that you pay each year as a percentage of the value of
your investment)
 
EQ/Money Market Portfolio   Class IA
Shares*
    Class IB
Shares
 

Management Fee

    0.34%        0.34%   

Distribution and/or Service Fees (12b-1 fees)

    0.25%        0.25%   

Other Expenses

    0.12%        0.12%   

Total Annual Portfolio Operating Expenses

    0.71%        0.71%   
*   Expenses have been restated to reflect current fees.

 

Example

 

This Example is intended to help you compare the cost of investing in the Portfolio with the cost of investing in other portfolios. The Example assumes that you invest $10,000 in the Portfolio for the periods indicated and then redeem all of your shares at the end of these periods. The Example also assumes that your investment has a 5% return each year and that the Portfolio’s operating expenses remain the same. This Example does not reflect any Contract-related fees and expenses including redemption fees (if any) at the Contract level. If such fees and expenses were reflected, the total expenses would be higher. Although your actual costs may be higher or lower, based on these assumptions your costs would be:

 

     1 Year     3 Years     5 Years     10 Years  

Class IA Shares

  $ 73      $ 227      $ 395      $ 883   

Class IB Shares

  $ 73      $ 227      $ 395      $ 883   

 

INVESTMENTS, RISKS, AND PERFORMANCE

 

Principal Investment Strategy: The Portfolio invests primarily in a diversified portfolio of high-quality U.S. dollar-denominated money market instruments. The Portfolio will maintain a dollar-weighted average portfolio maturity of 60 days or less.

 

The instruments in which the Portfolio invests include:

 

 

marketable obligations of, or guaranteed as to the timely payment of principal and interest by, the U.S. Government, its agencies or instrumentalities;

 

 

certificates of deposit, bankers’ acceptances, bank notes, time deposits and interest bearing savings deposits issued or guaranteed by:

 

(a) domestic banks (including their foreign branches) or savings and loan associations having total assets of more than $1 billion and which are Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (“FDIC”) members in the case of banks, or insured by the FDIC, in the case of savings and loan associations; or

 

(b) foreign banks (either by their foreign or U.S. branches) having total assets of at least $5 billion and having an issue of either (i) commercial paper rated at least A-1 by Standard & Poor’s Ratings Services (“S&P”) or Prime-1 by Moody’s Investors Service, Inc. (“Moody’s”) or (ii) long term debt rated at least AA by S&P or Aa by Moody’s;

 

 

commercial paper (rated at least A-1 by S&P or Prime-1 by Moody’s or, if not rated, issued by domestic or foreign companies having outstanding debt securities rated at least AA by S&P or Aa by Moody’s) and participation interests in loans extended by banks to such companies;

 

 

mortgage-backed and asset-backed securities that have remaining maturities of less than one year;

 

 

corporate debt obligations with remaining maturities of less than one year, rated at least AA by S&P or Aa by Moody’s, as well as corporate debt obligations rated at least A by S&P or Moody’s, provided the corporation also has outstanding an issue of commercial paper rated at least A-1 by S&P or Prime-1 by Moody’s;

 

 

floating rate or master demand notes; and

 

 

repurchase agreements covering securities in which the Portfolio may invest.

 

If the Adviser believes a security held by the Portfolio is no longer deemed to present minimal credit risk, the Portfolio will dispose of the

 

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security as soon as practicable unless the Trust’s Board of Trustees determines that such action would not be in the best interest of the Portfolio.

 

Purchases of securities that are unrated must be ratified by the Board of Trustees. Because the market value of debt obligations fluctuates as an inverse function of changing interest rates, the Portfolio seeks to minimize the effect of such fluctuations by investing only in instruments with a remaining maturity of 397 calendar days or less at the time of investment. Time deposits with maturities greater than seven days are considered to be illiquid securities.

 

The Portfolio may make use of various other investment strategies, including investing up to 20% of its total assets in U.S. dollar- denominated money market instruments of foreign branches of foreign banks. Normally, the Portfolio invests at least 25% of its net assets in bank obligations.

 

It is not anticipated that any Portfolio affiliate will purchase any distressed assets from the Portfolio, make a capital infusion, enter into a capital support agreement or take other actions to prevent the per share value of the Portfolio from falling below $0.995.

 

The credit quality of the securities held by the Portfolio can change rapidly in certain market environments, and the default of a single holding could have the potential to cause significant NAV deterioration. The Portfolio’s NAV can be severely impacted by forced selling during periods of high redemption pressures and/or illiquid markets. In addition, the actions of a few large investors in the Portfolio may have a significant adverse effect on other shareholders.

 

As prevailing market conditions and the economic environment warrant, and at the discretion of the Portfolio’s Adviser, a percentage of the Portfolio’s total net assets may be un-invested. During such periods, un-invested assets will be held in cash in the Portfolio’s custody account. Cash assets held in the Portfolio’s custody account may be subject to credit and counterparty risk. Cash assets held in the Portfolio’s custody account are not income-generating and would impact the Portfolio’s current yield. Without limitation, such a strategy may be deemed advisable during periods where the interest rate on newly-issued U.S. Treasury securities is extremely low or where no interest rate is paid at all, or when Treasuries are in short supply, or due to a dislocation in the Treasury or broader fixed income markets.

 

A low-interest rate environment may prevent the Portfolio from providing a positive yield, cause the Portfolio to pay Portfolio expenses out of Portfolio assets or impair the Portfolio’s ability to maintain a stable $1.00 NAV. AXA Equitable may, in its sole discretion, maintain a temporary defensive position with respect to the Portfolio. Although not required to do so, as a temporary defensive measure, AXA Equitable Funds Management Group, LLC (“FMG LLC” or the “Manager”) may waive or cause to be waived fees owed by the Portfolio, in attempting to maintain a stable $1.00 NAV.

 

The Manager has been granted relief by the Securities and Exchange Commission to hire, terminate and replace Advisers and amend advisory agreements subject to the approval of the Board of Trustees and without obtaining shareholder approval. However, the Manager may not enter into an advisory agreement on behalf of the Portfolio with an “affiliated person” of the Manager, such as AllianceBernstein L.P., unless the advisory agreement is approved by the Portfolio’s shareholders. The Manager is responsible for overseeing Advisers and recommending their hiring, termination and replacement to the Board of Trustees.

 

Principal Risks: An investment in the Portfolio is not guaranteed, is not a deposit of a bank and is not insured or guaranteed by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation or any other government agency. Although the Portfolio seeks to preserve the value of your investment at $1.00 per share, it is possible to lose money by investing in the Portfolio. Performance may be affected by one or more of the following risks.

 

Banking Industry Sector Risk: To the extent a Portfolio invests in the banking industry, it is exposed to the risks generally associated with such industry, including interest rate risk, credit risk and the risk that regulatory developments relating to the banking industry may affect its investment.

 

Credit Risk: The risk that the issuer or the guarantor of a fixed income security, or the counterparty to a derivatives contract, repurchase agreement, loan of portfolio securities or other transaction, is unable or unwilling, or is perceived (whether by market participants, ratings agencies, pricing services or otherwise) as unable or unwilling, to make timely principal and/or interest payments, or otherwise honor its obligations. Securities are subject to varying degrees of credit risk, which are often reflected in their credit ratings.

 

Foreign Securities Risk: Investments in U.S. dollar denominated securities of foreign issuers or U.S. affiliates of foreign issuers may be subject to additional risks not faced by domestic issuers. These risks include political and economic risks, civil conflicts and war, greater volatility, expropriation and nationalization risks, imposition of taxes or other restrictions on payment of principal and interest and regulatory issues facing issuers in such foreign countries.

 

Interest Rate Risk: The risk that fixed income securities will decline in value because of changes in interest rates. When interest rates decline, the value of a Portfolio’s debt securities generally rises. Conversely, when interest rates rise, the value of a Portfolio’s debt securities generally declines. A Portfolio with a longer average duration will be more sensitive to changes in interest rates than a fund with a shorter average duration.

 

Loan Participation and Assignments Risk: A Portfolio’s investments in loan participations and assignments are subject to the risk that the financial institution acting as agent for all interests in a loan might fail financially. It is also possible that the Portfolio could be held liable as a co-lender.

 

Money Market Risk: Although a money market fund is designed to be a relatively low risk investment, it is not free of risk. Despite the short maturities and high credit quality of a money market portfolio’s investments, increases in interest rates and deteriorations in the credit quality of the instruments the portfolio has purchased may reduce the portfolio’s yield and can cause the price of a money market security to decrease. In addition, a money market portfolio is subject to the risk that the value of an investment may be eroded over time by inflation.

 

Mortgage-Backed and Asset-Backed Securities Risk: The risk that the principal on mortgage- and asset-backed securities held by

 

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a Portfolio will be prepaid, which generally will reduce the yield and market value of these securities. If interest rates fall, the rate of prepaym nts tends to increase as borrowers are motivated to pay off debt and refinance at new lower rates. Rising interest rates may increase the risk of default by borrowers and tend to extend the duration of these secur ties, making them more sensitive to changes in interest rates. As a res lt, in a period of rising interest rates, a Portfolio that holds these types of securities may experience additional volatility and losses. This is known as extension risk. Moreover, declines in the credit quality of and defaults by the issuers of mortgage- and asset-backed securities or ins ability in the markets for such securities may affect the value and liquidi y of such securities, which could result in losses to the Portfolio.

 

Risk/Return Bar Chart and Table

 

The bar chart and table below provide some indication of the risks of investing in the Portfolio by showing changes in the Portfolio’s performa ce from year to year and by showing how the Portfolio’s average annual total returns for the past one, five and ten years through Dec mber 31, 2011 compare to the returns of a broad-based market index. Past performance is not necessarily an indication of future performance.

 

The performance results do not reflect any Contract-related fees and expenses, which would reduce the performance results.

 

Calendar Year Annual Total Returns — Class IB

 

LOGO

 

Best quarter (% and time period)      Worst quarter (% and time period)
1.18% (2006 3rd Quarter)      0.00% (2011 4th Quarter)
The Portfolio’s 7-day yield for the quarter ended December 31, 2011 was 0.00% and the effective yield was 0.00%.

 

Average Annual Total Returns                        
      One
Year
     Five
Years
     Ten
Years
 

EQ/Money Market Portfolio – Class IA Shares

     0.01%         1.52%         1.85%   

EQ/Money Market Portfolio – Class IB Shares

     0.01%         1.35%         1.64%   

Bank of America Merrill Lynch 3-Month Treasury Bill Index

     0.10%         1.49%         1.95%   

 

WHO MANAGES THE PORTFOLIO

 

Investment Manager: FMG LLC

 

Adviser: The Dreyfus Corporation (“Dreyfus”)

 

PURCHASE AND REDEMPTION OF PORTFOLIO SHARES

 

The Portfolio’s shares are currently sold only to insurance company separ te accounts in connection with Contracts issued by AXA Equitable Life Insurance Company (“AXA Equitable”), AXA Life and Annuity Comp ny, other affiliated or unaffiliated insurance companies and to The AXA Equitable 401(k) Plan. Shares also may be sold to other tax-qualified retirement plans, to other portfolios managed by FMG LLC that currently sell their shares to such accounts and plans and other investors eligible under applicable tax regulations.

 

The Portfolio does not have minimum initial or subsequent investment requirements. Shares of the Portfolio are redeemable on any business day upon receipt of a request. All redemption requests will be processed and payment with respect thereto will normally be made within seven days after tender. Please refer to your Contract prospectus for more inf rmation on purchasing and redeeming Portfolio shares.

 

TAX INFORMATION

 

The Portfolio currently only sells its shares to insurance company separ te accounts, qualified plans and other investors eligible under applic ble tax regulations. Accordingly, distributions the Portfolio makes of its net investment income and net realized gains — most or all of which it intends to distribute annually — and redemptions or exchanges of Portf lio shares generally will not be taxable to its shareholders (or to the holders of underlying Contracts or plan participants or beneficiaries). See the prospectus for your Contract for further tax information.

 

PAYMENTS TO BROKER-DEALERS AND OTHER FINANCIAL INTERMEDIARIES

 

This Portfolio is not sold directly to the general public but instead is off red as an underlying investment option for Contracts, retirement plans and other eligible investments. The Portfolio and its related companies may make payments to a sponsoring insurance company (or its affilia es) or other financial intermediary for distribution and/or other services. These payments may create a conflict of interest by influencing the ins rance company or other financial intermediary and your financial adv ser to recommend the Portfolio over another investment or by influencing an insurance company to include the Portfolio as an underl ing investment option in the Contract. The prospectus (or other offeri g document) for your Contract may contain additional information about these payments.

 

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