Variable Funds Trust | Equity | 4.30.2014 | ||||||||||
Guggenheim Variable Funds Trust Summary Prospectus
April 30, 2014, As Supplemented on May 14, 2014
Series Name | ||||||||
Series C | (Money Market Series) |
Before you invest, you may wish to review the Series Prospectus, which contains more information about the Series and its risks. You may obtain the Prospectus and other information about the Series, including the Statement of Additional Information (SAI) and most recent reports to shareholders, at no cost by visiting guggenheiminvestments.com/services/variable-fund-reports, calling 800.820.0888 or e-mailing services@guggenheiminvestments.com.
The Series Prospectus and SAI, each dated April 30, 2014, as revised from time to time, and the Series most recent shareholder reports, are incorporated by reference into this Summary Prospectus.
SUMVTMMK-0414x0415 | guggenheiminvestments.com |
Series C (Money Market Series)
INVESTMENT OBJECTIVE
Series C seeks as high a level of current income as is consistent with preservation of capital by investing in money market securities with varying maturities.
FEES AND EXPENSES OF THE SERIES
This table describes the fees and expenses that you may pay if you buy and hold shares of the Series. The table below does not take into account any of the expenses associated with an investment in variable insurance products offered by participating insurance companies. If such fees and expenses were reflected, the overall expenses would be higher.
SHAREHOLDER FEES (fees paid directly from your investment) |
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Maximum Sales Charge (Load) Imposed on Purchases (as a percentage of offering price) |
None | |||
ANNUAL OPERATING EXPENSES (expenses that you pay each year as a percentage of the value of your investment) |
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Management Fees |
0.50% | |||
Other Expenses |
0.21% | |||
Extraordinary Expense |
0.01 | % | ||
Remaining Other Expenses |
0.20 | % | ||
Total Annual Fund Operating Expenses |
0.71% | |||
Fee Waiver (and/or expense reimbursement)1 |
0.20% | |||
Total Annual Fund Operating Expenses After Fee Waiver (and/or expense reimbursement) |
0.51% |
1 | The Investment Manager has contractually agreed through May 1, 2015 to waive fees and/or reimburse Series expenses to the extent necessary to limit the ordinary operating expenses (exclusive of brokerage costs, dividends on securities sold short, acquired fund fees and expenses, interest, taxes, litigation, indemnification, and extraordinary expenses) (Operating Expenses) of the Series to the annual percentage of 0.50% of average daily net assets of the Series. The Series may have Total Annual Fund Operating Expenses After Fee Waiver greater than the expense cap as a result of any acquired fund fees and expenses or other expenses that are excluded from the calculation. The Investment Manager is entitled to reimbursement by the Series of fees waived or expenses reimbursed during any of the previous 36 months beginning on the date of the expense limitation agreement. The agreement will expire when it reaches its termination or when the investment adviser ceases to serve as such (subject to recoupment rights). |
EXAMPLE
This Example is intended to help you compare the cost of investing in the Series with the cost of investing in other mutual funds. It does not reflect separate account or insurance contract fees and charges, which if reflected would increase expenses.
The Example assumes that you invest $10,000 in the Series for the time periods indicated and reflects expenses whether or not you redeem your shares at the end of those periods. The Example also assumes that your investment has a 5% return each year and that the Series operating expenses remain the same. Although the actual costs may be higher or lower, based on these assumptions your costs would be:
1 Year | 3 Years | 5 Years | 10 Years | |||||||||||
$ | 52 | $ | 206 | $ | 374 | $ | 863 |
PRINCIPAL INVESTMENT STRATEGIES
Series C pursues its objective by investing in a diversified and liquid portfolio of high-quality money market instruments. Generally, the Series is required to invest its assets in the securities of issuers with the highest short-term credit rating, and it may not invest more than 3% of its assets in securities with the second-highest short-term credit rating. Unlike a traditional money market fund, the Series does not seek to maintain a stable share price of $1.00 and it is possible to lose money by investing in the Series. The Series is subject to certain portfolio quality, maturity, diversification and liquidity requirements under the federal securities laws, including the following:
| Maintain a dollar-weighted average portfolio maturity of 60 calendar days or less and a dollar-weighted average life to maturity of 120 calendar days or less |
| Invest only in high-quality, dollar-denominated, short-term obligations |
2 | SUMMARY PROSPECTUS |
A money market instrument is a short-term debt instrument issued by banks or other U.S. corporations, or the U.S. government or state or local governments. Money market instruments have limited maturity dates and may include certificates of deposit, bankers acceptances, variable rate demand notes, fixed-term obligations, commercial paper, asset-backed commercial paper and repurchase agreements. Money market instruments may also include certain securities with limitations on resale (i.e., restricted securities, which include Rule 144A securities that are eligible for resale to qualified institutional buyers).
Security Investors, LLC, also known as Guggenheim Investments (the Investment Manager), attempts to increase return and manage risk by (1) selecting securities that mature at regular intervals over the life of the portfolio; (2) purchasing only instruments that have minimal credit risk, as determined by Guggenheim Investments, and that have received a rating from the requisite nationally recognized statistical rating organizations in one of the two highest short-term categories or an unrated security that is of comparable quality; and (3) constantly evaluating alternative investment opportunities for diversification without additional risk.
PRINCIPAL RISKS
An investment in the Series is not a deposit of a bank and is not insured or guaranteed by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation or any other governmental agency. It is possible to lose money by investing in the Series. The principal risks of investing in the Series are listed below.
Credit RiskThe Series could lose money if the issuer of a bond is unable to repay interest and principal on time or defaults. The issuer of a bond could also suffer a decrease in quality rating, which would affect the volatility of the price and liquidity of the bond.
Interest Rate RiskInvestments in fixed-income securities are subject to the possibility that interest rates could rise sharply, causing the value of the Series securities and share price to decline. Fixed income securities with longer durations are subject to more volatility than those with shorter durations.
Liquidity RiskAlthough the Series primarily invests in a diversified portfolio of high quality instruments of governmental and private issuers, the Series investments may become less liquid as a result of market developments or adverse investor perception.
Market RiskThe market value of the securities held by the Series may fluctuate resulting from factors affecting the individual company or other factors such as changing economic, political or financial market conditions. Moreover, changing economic, political or financial market conditions in one country or geographic region could adversely impact the market value of the securities held by the Series in a different country or geographic region. The Series may not maintain a positive yield. In addition, unlike a traditional money market fund, the Series does not seek to maintain a stable share price of $1.00. As a result, the Series share price, which is its net asset value per share, will vary.
Prepayment RiskSecurities subject to prepayment risk generally offer less potential for gains when interest rates decline, because issuers of the securities may be able to prepay the principal due on the securities, and may offer a greater potential for loss when interest rates rise.
Regulatory and Legal RiskRegulations of money market funds are evolving. New regulations may affect negatively the Series performance, yield and cost. U.S. and other regulators and governmental agencies may implement additional regulations and legislators may pass new laws that affect the investments held by the Series, the strategies used by the Series or the level of regulation applying to the Series (such as regulations related to investments in derivatives). These may impact the investment strategies, performance, costs and operations of the Series.
Restricted Securities RiskRestricted securities generally cannot be sold to the public and may involve a high degree of business, financial and liquidity risk, which may result in substantial losses to the Series.
PERFORMANCE INFORMATION
The following chart and table provide some indication of the risks of investing in the Series by showing changes in the Series share performance from year to year and by showing the Series average annual returns for one, five, and ten years. As with all mutual funds, past performance is not necessarily an indication of how the Series will perform in the future.
The performance figures do not reflect fees and expenses associated with an investment in variable insurance products through which shares of the Series are purchased, and, if such fees and expenses were reflected, the performance figures would be lower.
SUMMARY PROSPECTUS | 3 |
Highest Quarter Return 3Q 2006 1.21% |
Lowest Quarter Return 3Q 2013 -0.15% |
AVERAGE ANNUAL TOTAL RETURNS
(For the periods ended December 31, 2013)
1 Year | 5 Years | 10 Years | ||||||||||
Series C |
-0.52% | -0.47% | 1.21% | |||||||||
The Series seven-day yield for the period ended December 31, 2013 was 0.11%. |
MANAGEMENT OF THE SERIES
INVESTMENT MANAGER
Security Investors, LLC, also known as Guggenheim Investments (the Investment Manager), serves as the investment manager of the Series.
PURCHASE AND SALE OF SERIES SHARES
Shares of the Series are purchased primarily by insurance companies for their separate accounts to fund variable life insurance and variable annuity contracts. Investors do not deal directly with the Series to purchase and redeem shares. Please refer to the prospectus for the variable annuity or variable life insurance contract for information on the allocation of premiums and transfers of accumulated value.
TAX INFORMATION
Shares of the Series are owned by the insurance companies offering the variable annuity or variable life insurance contract. Please see the prospectus for the variable annuity or variable life insurance contract for information regarding the federal income tax treatment of the insurance contract.
PAYMENTS TO INSURANCE COMPANIES AND OTHER FINANCIAL INTERMEDIARIES
If you purchase the Series through a broker/dealer, financial representative or other financial intermediary (such as a bank), the Series and its related companies may pay the financial intermediary for the sale of Series shares and related services. These payments may create a conflict of interest by influencing the financial intermediary to recommend a variable annuity or variable life insurance contract and the Series over another investment. Ask your financial intermediary or visit your financial intermediarys website for more information.
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