497 1 sai.txt STATEMENT OF ADDITIONAL INFORMATION MANAGED ASSETS TRUST MAY 2, 2005 (As revised December 22, 2005) This Statement of Additional Information ("SAI") is not a prospectus. Investors should read this SAI with the Managed Assets Trust's prospectus dated May 2, 2005 and the 2004 annual shareholder report. This SAI is incorporated by reference into the prospectus and is legally a part of the prospectus. Investors may obtain a free copy of the prospectus and annual shareholder report by writing or calling us at: The Travelers Insurance Company Annuity Services One Cityplace Hartford, Connecticut 06103 Phone number 800-842-9368 (toll free) or by accessing the Securities and Exchange Commission's website at http://www.sec.gov. TABLE OF CONTENTS Fund History......................................................... 2 Investment Objective, Policies and Risks............................. 2 Investment Restrictions.............................................. 12 Valuation and Pricing................................................ 14 Distributions........................................................ 14 Trustees and Officers................................................ 14 Code of Ethics....................................................... 20 Declaration of Trust................................................. 20 Investment Advisory Services......................................... 20 Redemptions in Kind.................................................. 26 Brokerage............................................................ 26 Portfolio Turnover Rate.............................................. 27 Fund Administration.................................................. 28 Shareholder Rights................................................... 28 Federal Tax Status of the Fund....................................... 28 Performance.......................................................... 28 Disclosure of Portfolio Holdings..................................... 31 Financial Statements................................................. 34 Additional Information............................................... 34 Appendix A - Ratings................................................. A-1 Appendix B - Proxy Voting Policies and Procedures.................... B-1 FUND HISTORY Managed Assets Trust (the "Fund") is registered with the SEC as a "diversified, open-end investment company" or mutual fund. The Fund was formed as a Massachusetts business trust on October 1, 1981. INVESTMENT OBJECTIVE, POLICIES AND RISKS The Fund's investment objective is to provide a high total investment return through a fully managed investment policy. To achieve this, the adviser adjusts the Fund's overall risk exposure as market and economic trends change by allocating its investments among securities providing for capital growth, capital stability and income. The Fund's fully managed investment policy makes use of equity, debt, convertible and money market instruments. Over longer periods, the investment adviser expects that a larger portion of the Fund's portfolio will consist of equity securities. The Fund's investment objective and, unless noted as fundamental, its investment policies may be changed by the Board of Trustees ("Board") without approval of shareholders or holders of variable annuity and variable life insurance contracts. A change in the Fund's investment objective or policies may result in the Fund having a different investment objective or policies from those that a policyowner selected as appropriate at the time of investment. Listed below for quick reference are the other types of investments that the Fund may make and the Fund's investment techniques. More detailed information about the Fund's investments and investment techniques follows the chart. Investors are reminded that this SAI supplements the information contained in, and should be read with, the Managed Assets Trust's prospectus dated May 2, 2005 and the 2004 annual shareholder report. SECURITY/INVESTMENT TECHNIQUE American Depositary Receipts Asset-Backed Mortgage Securities Bankers' Acceptances Buying Put and Call Options Certificates of Deposit Commercial Paper Convertible Securities Corporate Asset-Backed Securities Debt Securities Equity Securities Floating & Variable Rate Instruments Foreign Securities Futures Contracts High-Yield, High-Risk Debt Securities Index Futures Contracts Investment Company Securities Investment in Unseasoned Companies Investment Grade Debt Securities Options on Foreign Currencies Real Estate-Related Instruments Repurchase Agreements Restricted or Illiquid Securities Short-Term Money Market Instruments Temporary Bank Borrowing U.S. Government Obligations Variable Rate Master Demand Notes Warrants and Rights When-Issued and Delayed-Delivery Securities Writing Covered Call Options This section explains more about the investments and investment techniques listed above. It also includes a brief discussion about the specific risks associated with a particular investment or investment technique. COMMON STOCKS. As stated in the prospectus, the Fund invests in common stocks (equity interests) of issuers of any size. Common stocks represent generally ownership of a corporation. Equities have provided the greatest long-term growth potential but over the short period can be subject to great fluctuations in stock market prices. Market values will go up and down, which means that investors may lose money. Market values are affected by many factors, including business conditions, investor confidence in the economy, current conditions in a particular industry or company. Equities are subject to financial risks relating to an issuer's earnings stability and overall soundness. To the extent that the Fund has invested in equities issued by smaller companies, the fund may be more subject to abrupt or erratic market movements than with securities of larger, more established companies or the market averages in general. WARRANTS AND RIGHTS. The Fund may invest in warrants or rights (including those acquired in units or attached to other securities) that entitle the purchaser to buy equity securities at a specific price for a specific period of time. Warrants and rights have no voting rights, receive no dividends and have no rights with respect to the assets of the issuer. ASSET-BACKED MORTGAGE SECURITIES: Securities of this type include interests in pools of lower-rated debt securities, or consumer loans or mortgages, or complex instruments such as collateralized mortgage obligations and stripped mortgage-backed securities. The value of these securities may be significantly affected by changes in interest rates, the market's perception of the issuers, and the creditworthiness of the parties involved. Some securities may have a structure that makes their reaction to interest rates and other factors difficult to predict, making their value highly volatile. These securities may also be subject to prepayment risk. FLOATING AND VARIABLE RATE INSTRUMENTS Obligations that have a floating or variable rate of interest bear interest at rates that are not fixed, but vary with changes in specified market rates or indices, such as the prime rate, and at specified intervals. Certain of these obligations may carry a demand feature that would permit the holder to tender them back to the issuer at par value prior to maturity. The Fund limits its purchases of floating and variable rate obligations to those of the same quality as it otherwise is allowed to purchase. The advisers or subadvisers monitor on an ongoing basis the ability of an issuer of a demand instrument to pay principal and interest on demand. The Fund's right to obtain payment at par on a demand instrument can be affected by events occurring between the date the Fund elects to demand payment and the date payment is due. Those events may affect the ability of the issuer of the instrument to make payment when due, except when such demand instruments permit same-day settlement. To facilitate settlement, these same-day demand instruments may be held in book entry form at a bank other than the Fund's custodian, subject to a subcustodian agreement approved by the Fund between that bank and the Fund's custodian. The floating and variable rate obligations that the Fund may purchase include certificates of participation in obligations purchased from banks. A certificate of participation gives the Fund an undivided interest in the underlying obligations in the proportion that the Fund's interest bears to the total principal amount of such obligations. Certain of such certificates of participation may carry a demand feature that would permit the holder to tender them back to the issuer prior to maturity. INVESTMENT IN UNSEASONED COMPANIES: The Fund may also invest Fund assets in securities of companies that have operated for less than three years, including the operations of predecessors. Except for Equity Income. Large Cap and Pioneer Fund, the Fund has undertaken that they will not make investments that will result in more than 5% of total assets being invested in the securities of newly formed companies and equity securities that are not readily marketable. Investing in securities of unseasoned companies may, under certain circumstances, involve greater risk than is customarily associated with investment in more established companies. CONVERTIBLE SECURITIES: Convertible Securities, hereby defined as equity securities and not subject to any rating requirements for fixed income securities contained herein, are corporate bonds, notes or preferred shares that are convertible or exchangeable at a stated price or rate into or for the common stock or other equity interest of the issuer. Convertible securities have characteristics similar to both common stock and debt obligations. Although to a lesser degree than with debt securities, the market value of convertible securities tends to decline as interest rates increase and, conversely, to increase as interest rates decline. In addition, because of the conversion feature, the market value of convertible securities tends to vary with fluctuations in the market value of the underlying common stock and, therefore, reacts to variations in the general stock market. As the market price of the underlying common stock declines the convertible security tends to trade increasingly on a yield basis and thus may not depreciate to the same extent as the underlying common stock. Convertible securities are investments that provide a generally more stable stream of income with higher yields than common stocks. However, there can be no assurance of the current income because the issuers of the convertible securities may default on their obligations. Convertible securities generally offer lower interest or dividend yields than non-convertible securities of similar quality because of the potential through the conversion feature for capital appreciation. There can be no assurance of capital appreciation because securities prices fluctuate. Convertible securities generally are subordinated to other similar but non-convertible debt of the same issuer, although convertible bonds enjoy seniority payment rights over all equity securities. Convertible preferred stock is senior to the issuer's common stock. Because of the conversion feature, however, convertible securities typically have lower ratings than similar non-convertible securities. A synthetic convertible security is comprised of two or more distinct securities that together attempt to replicate the characteristics of a convertible security. Synthetic convertible securities combine non-convertible bonds or preferred stock with common stock, warrants or stock call options. The options that form a portion of the synthetic convertible are listed on a securities exchange or on the National Association of Securities Dealers Automated Quotation Systems. The components of a synthetic convertible generally are not offered as a unit but may be purchased and sold by the Fund at different times. Synthetic convertible securities differ from convertible securities in that each component of a synthetic convertible security has a separate market value and responds differently from the others to market fluctuations. Investing in synthetic convertible securities involves the risks normally involved in holding the securities comprising the synthetic convertible security. OPTIONS ON FOREIGN CURRENCIES. As with other kinds of options transactions, the writing of an option contract on foreign currency will constitute only a partial hedge, up to the amount of the premium received. The Fund could be required to sell foreign currencies at disadvantageous exchange rates, thereby incurring losses. The purchase of an option on foreign currency may constitute an effective hedge against exchange rate fluctuations; however, in the event of exchange rate movements adverse to the Fund's position, the Fund may forfeit the entire amount of the premium plus related transaction costs. REAL ESTATE-RELATED INSTRUMENTS: The Fund may engage in the purchase and sale of real estate related instruments including real estate investment trusts, commercial and residential mortgage-backed securities, and real estate financings. Real estate-related instruments are sensitive to factors such as real estate values and property taxes, interest rates, cash flow of underlying real estate assets, over building and the management skill and creditworthiness of the issuer. Real estate-related instruments may also be affected by tax and regulatory requirements, such as those relating to the environment WRITING COVERED CALL OPTIONS. The Fund may write or sell covered call options. By writing a call option, the Fund becomes obligated during the term of the option to deliver the securities underlying the option upon payment of the exercise price. The Fund may only write "covered" options. This means that as long as the Fund is obligated as the writer of a call option, it will own the underlying securities subject to the option or, in the case of call options on U.S. Treasury bills, the Fund might own substantially similar U.S. Treasury bills. Writing call options permits the Fund to obtain, through a receipt of premiums, a greater current return than would be realized on the underlying securities alone. The Fund receives a premium from writing a call option, which it retains whether or not the option is exercised. By writing a call option, the Fund might lose the potential for gain on the underlying security while the option is open. Options on some securities are relatively new, and it is impossible to predict the amount of trading interest that will exist in such options. There can be no assurance that viable markets will develop or continue. The failure of such markets to develop or continue could impair the Fund's ability to use such options to achieve its investment objectives. FOREIGN SECURITIES AND ADRS. The Fund may invest up to 25% of its total assets in foreign securities. These securities may include U.S. dollar-denominated securities, debt securities of foreign governments (including provinces and municipalities) or their agencies or instrumentalities, securities issued or guaranteed by international organizations designated or supported by multiple governments or entities to promote economic reconstruction or development, and securities of foreign corporations and financial institutions. The Fund may invest in American Depositary Receipts ("ADRs"). Due to the absence of established securities markets in certain foreign countries and restrictions in certain countries on direct investment by foreign entities, the Fund may invest in certain issuers through the purchase of sponsored and unsponsored ADRs or other similar securities, such as American Depositary Shares, Global Depositary Shares of International Depositary Receipts. ADRs are receipts typically issued by U.S. banks evidencing ownership of the underlying securities into which they are convertible. These securities may or may not be denominated in the same currency as the underlying securities. Unsponsored ADRs may be created without the participation of the foreign issuer. Holders of unsponsored ADRs generally bear all the costs of the ADR facility, whereas foreign issuers typically bear certain costs in a sponsored ADR. The bank or trust company depository of an unsponsored ADR may be under no obligation to distribute shareholder communications received from the foreign issuer or to pass through voting rights. Subject to any limit on the Fund's investments in foreign securities, there may be no limit on the amount of assets that may be invested in securities of issuers domiciled in a single country or market. To the extent that the Fund's assets are invested substantially in a single country or market, the Fund is more susceptible to the risks of investing in that country or market than it would be if its assets were geographically more diversified. Investments in foreign securities may offer the Fund an opportunity to pursue the performance potential of an overseas market. Such securities, however, also entail risks in addition to the risks of U.S. securities. These risks include differences in accounting, auditing and financial reporting standards, the possibility of expropriation or confiscatory taxation, adverse changes in investment or exchange control regulations, political instability that could affect U.S. investments in foreign countries and potential restrictions on the flow of international capital. Additionally, dividends payable on foreign securities may be subject to foreign taxes withheld prior to distribution. Foreign securities often trade with less frequency and volume than domestic securities and therefore may exhibit greater price volatility. Foreign settlement procedures and trade regulations may involve higher commission rates and risks and expenses not present in U.S. settlements. Changes in foreign exchange rates affects the value of those securities that are denominated or quoted in currencies other than the U.S. dollar. Many of the foreign securities held by the Fund are not registered with, nor are the issuers thereof subject to SEC reporting requirements. Accordingly, there may be less publicly available information about the securities and the foreign company or government issuing them than is available about a domestic company or government entity. Moreover, individual foreign economies may differ favorably or unfavorably from the U.S. economy in such respects as growth of gross national product, rate of inflation, capital reinvestment, resource self-sufficiency and balance of payment positions. Moreover, individual foreign economies may differ favorably or unfavorably from the U.S. economy in such respects as growth of gross national product, rate of inflation, capital reinvestment, resource self-sufficiency and balance of payment positions. BUYING PUT AND CALL OPTIONS. The Fund may purchase put options on securities held, or on futures contracts whose price volatility is expected to closely match that of securities held, as a defensive measure to preserve shareholders' capital when market conditions warrant. The Fund may purchase call options on specific securities, or on futures contracts whose price volatility is expected to closely match that of securities eligible for purchase by the Fund, in anticipation of or as a substitute for the purchase of the securities themselves. These options may be listed on a national exchange or executed in the "over-the-counter" market with a broker-dealer as the counterparty. While the investment adviser anticipates that the majority of option purchases and sales will be executed on a national exchange, put or call options on specific securities or for non-standard terms are likely to be executed directly with a broker-dealer when it is advantageous to do so. Option contracts will be short-term in nature, generally less than nine months in duration. The Fund pays a premium in exchange for the right to purchase (call) or sell (put) a specific number of shares of an equity security or futures contract at a specified price (the strike price) on or before the expiration date of the option contract. In either case, the Fund's risk is limited to the amount of the option premium paid. The Fund may sell put and call options prior to their expiration and, thereby, realize a gain or loss. A call option expires worthless if the price of the related security is below the contract strike price at the time of expiration; a put option expires worthless if the price of the related security is above the contract strike price at the time of expiration. The Fund uses put and call options for bona fide hedging purposes only. The investment adviser identifies liquid securities sufficient to fulfill the call option delivery obligation, and these securities are segregated in an account. Similarly, the investment adviser identifies deliverable securities sufficient to fulfill the put option obligation, which also are segregated. In the case of put options on futures contracts, the investment adviser identifies portfolio securities whose price volatility is expected to match that of the underlying futures contract, and these securities are segregated. FUTURES CONTRACTS. The Fund may use financial futures contracts either as a hedge to protect against anticipated changes in stock prices and interest rates, or to facilitate the purchase or sale of securities or, to a limited extent, to seek to enhance return. Financial futures contracts consist of stock index futures contracts and futures contracts on debt securities ("interest rate futures"). A stock index futures contract is a contractual obligation to buy or sell a specified index of stocks at a future date for a fixed price. An interest rate futures contract is a contract to buy or sell specified debt securities at a future time for a fixed price. When a futures contract is purchased, the Fund sets aside cash or liquid securities equal to the total market value of the futures contract, less the amount of the initial margin. Hedging by use of interest rate futures seeks to protect the portfolio against potential adverse movements in interest rates. When hedging is successful, any depreciation in the value of portfolio securities is substantially offset by appreciation in the value of the futures position. Conversely, any appreciation in the value of the portfolio securities is substantially offset by depreciation in the value of the futures position. Positions taken in the futures markets normally are not held to maturity but instead are liquidated through offsetting transactions that may result in a profit or a loss. Closing out an open futures contract sale or purchase is effected by entering into an offsetting futures contract purchase or sale, respectively, for the same aggregate amount of the stock index or security and the same delivery date. If the offsetting purchase price is less than the original sale price, the Fund realizes a gain; if it is more, the Fund realizes a loss. Conversely, if the offsetting sale price is more than the original purchase price, the Fund realizes a gain; if less, a loss. While futures positions taken by the Fund usually are liquidated in this manner, the Fund may instead make or take delivery of underlying securities whenever it appears economically advantageous for it to do so. In determining gain or loss, transaction costs must also be taken into account. There can be no assurance that the Fund will be able to enter into an offsetting transaction with respect to a particular contract at a particular time. The Fund will not purchase or sell futures contracts or related options for non-hedging purposes if the aggregate initial margin and premiums required to establish such positions exceeds five percent of the fair market value of its net assets, after taking into account unrealized profits and unrealized losses on any such contracts into which it has entered. All stock index and interest rate futures contracts are traded on exchanges that are licensed and regulated by the Commodity Futures Trading Commission ("CFTC"). The Fund further seeks to assure that fluctuations in the price of any futures contracts that it uses for hedging purposes are substantially related to fluctuations in the price of the securities it holds or expects to purchase, although there can be no assurance that the expected result will always be achieved. SPECIAL RISKS RELATING TO FUTURES CONTRACTS. While certain futures contracts may be purchased and sold to reduce certain risks, these transactions may entail other risks. Thus, while the Fund may benefit from the use of such futures, changes in stock price movements or interest rates may result in a poorer overall performance for the Fund than if it had not entered into such futures contracts. Moreover, in the event of an imperfect correlation between the futures position and the portfolio position which is intended to be protected, the desired protection may not be obtained and the Fund may be exposed to risk of loss. The investment adviser attempts to reduce this risk by engaging in futures transactions, to the extent possible, where, in its judgment, there is a significant correlation between changes in the prices of the futures contracts and the prices of any portfolio securities sought to be hedged. Successful use of futures contracts for hedging purposes is also subject to the investment adviser's ability to predict correctly movements in the direction of the market. FORWARD CONTRACTS. A forward contract is an agreement between two parties where one party is obligated to deliver a stated amount of a particular asset at a specified future time, and the other party is obligated to pay a specified amount for the assets at the time of delivery. The Fund may enter into forward contracts to purchase and sell government securities, equity or income securities, foreign currencies or other financial instruments. Forward contracts generally are traded in an interbank market conducted directly between traders (usually large commercial banks) and their customers. Unlike futures contracts, which are standardized contracts, forward contracts can be specifically drawn to meet the needs of the parties to the contract. The contracting parties may agree to offset or terminate the contract before its maturity or may hold the contract to maturity and complete the contemplated exchange. The following discussion summarizes the Fund's principal uses of forward foreign currency exchange contracts ("forward currency contracts"). The Fund may enter into forward currency contracts with stated contract values of up to the value of the Fund's total net assets. A forward currency contract is an obligation to buy (sell) an amount of a specified currency for an agreed price, which may be in U.S. dollars or a foreign currency. In the normal course of business, the Fund exchanges foreign currencies for U.S. dollars and for other foreign currencies; it may buy and sell currencies through forward currency contracts in order to fix a price for securities it has agreed to buy or sell ("transaction hedge"). The Fund also may engage in a "position hedge" whereby it hedges some or all of its investments denominated in a foreign currency (or exposed to foreign currency fluctuations) against a decline in the value of the foreign currency relative to the U.S. dollar by entering into forward currency contracts to sell an amount of that currency approximating the value of some or all of its portfolio securities denominated in that currency or by participating in options or futures contracts with respect to the currency. The Fund also may engage in position hedging with a "proxy" currency (one whose performance is expected to replicate or exceed the performance of the foreign currency relative to the U.S. dollar). The Fund also may enter into an "anticipatory" position hedge with respect to a currency when the Fund is considering the purchase or sale of investments denominated in that currency. In any of these circumstances, the Fund may enter into a "cross hedge" whereby it uses a forward currency contract to purchase or sell one foreign currency for a second currency that is expected to perform more favorably relative to the U.S. dollar if the portfolio manager believes there is a reasonable degree of correlation between movements in the two currencies. These types of hedging can minimize the effect of currency appreciation as well as depreciation but do not eliminate fluctuations in the underlying U.S.-dollar value of the proceeds of or rates of return on the Fund's foreign securities. It is difficult to match precisely the increase in value of a forward contract to the decline in the U.S.-dollar value of the foreign asset that is the subject of the hedge. Shifting the Fund's currency exposure from one foreign currency to another removes the Fund's opportunity to profit from increases in the value of the original currency and involves a risk of increased losses to the Fund if the portfolio manager's projection of future exchange rates is inaccurate. Proxy hedges and cross-hedges may result in losses if the currency used to hedge does not perform in a similar manner to the currency in which hedged securities are denominated. Unforeseen changes in currency prices may result in poorer overall performance for the Fund than if it had not entered into such contracts. The Fund will cover outstanding forward currency contracts by maintaining liquid portfolio securities denominated in, or whose value is tied to, the currency underlying the forward contract or the currency being hedged. To the extent that the Fund is unable to cover its forward currency positions with underlying portfolio securities, the Fund's custodian will segregate cash or other liquid assets having a value equal to the aggregate amount of the Fund's foreign contracts' commitments with respect to position hedges, cross-hedges and anticipatory hedges. If the value of the securities used to cover a position or the value of segregated assets declines, the Fund will find alternative cover or segregate additional cash or liquid assets on a daily basis so that the value of the covered and segregated assets will be equal to the amount of the Fund's commitments with respect to such contracts. As an alternative to segregating assets, the Fund may buy call options permitting the Fund to buy the amount of foreign currency subject to a forward buy contract. While forward contracts are not currently regulated by the CFTC, the CFTC may in the future assert authority to regulate forward contracts. In such event, the Fund's ability to utilize forward contracts may be restricted. In addition, the Fund may not always be able to enter into forward contracts at attractive prices and may be limited in its ability to use these contracts to hedge Fund assets. U.S. GOVERNMENT OBLIGATIONS. As used in this SAI, "U.S. government securities" include securities issued by the U.S. Government, its agencies, instrumentalities and government-sponsored enterprises. U.S. government securities include a variety of Treasury securities that differ only in their interest rates, initial maturities and dates of issuance. Treasury bills have initial maturities of one year or less; Treasury notes have initial maturities of one to ten years; and Treasury bonds generally have initial maturities of greater than ten years at the date of issuance. U.S. government securities include direct obligations of the U.S. Treasury and securities issued or guaranteed by the Federal Housing Administration, Export-Import Bank of the U.S., Small Business Administration, Government National Mortgage Association, Federal Home Loan Mortgage Corporation, The Tennessee Valley Authority, Student Loan Marketing Association and Federal National Mortgage Association. Some U.S. government securities, such as Treasury bills and Government National Mortgage Association pass-through certificates, are supported by the full faith and credit of the U.S.; others, such as securities of Federal Home Loan Banks, are supported by the right of the issuer to borrow from the Treasury; still others, such as bonds issued by the Federal National Mortgage Association, a private corporation, are supported only by the credit of the government-sponsored enterprise. Because the U.S. Government is not obligated by law to provide support to an instrumentality or government-sponsored enterprise, the Fund will invest in those U.S. government securities only when the Fund's investment adviser, Travelers Asset Management International Company LLC ("TAMIC"), determines that the credit risk with respect to the instrumentality or enterprise does not make its securities unsuitable investments. U.S. government securities will not include international agencies or instrumentalities in which the U.S. Government, its agencies, instrumentalities or government-sponsored enterprises participate, such as the World Bank, the Asian Development Bank or the Inter-American Development Bank, or issues insured by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation. WHEN-ISSUED AND DELAYED-DELIVERY SECURITIES. The Fund may, from time to time, purchase new-issue government or agency securities on a "when-issued," "delayed-delivery," or "to-be-announced" basis ("when-issued securities"). The prices of such securities are fixed at the time the commitment to purchase is made and may be expressed in either dollar-price or yield- maintenance terms. Delivery and payment may be at a future date beyond customary settlement time. It is the Fund's customary practice to make when-issued purchases for settlement no more than 90 days beyond the commitment date. The commitment to purchase a when-issued security may be viewed as a senior security, which is marked to market and reflected in the Fund's net asset value daily from the commitment date. While the adviser intends for the Fund to take physical delivery of these securities, offsetting transactions may be made prior to settlement, if it is advantageous to do so. The Fund does not make payment or begin to accrue interest on these securities until settlement date. To invest its assets pending settlement, the Fund normally invests in short-term money market instruments and other securities maturing no later than the scheduled settlement date. The Fund does not intend to purchase when-issued securities for speculative or "leverage" purposes. Consistent with Section 18 of the 1940 Act and the position of the SEC thereunder, when the Fund commits to purchase a security on a when-issued basis, the adviser identifies and places in a segregated account high-grade money market instruments and other liquid securities equal in value to the purchase cost of the when-issued securities. The adviser believes that purchasing securities in this manner will be advantageous to the Fund. However, this practice entails certain additional risks, namely the default of the counterparty on its obligations to deliver the security as scheduled. In this event, the Fund would experience a gain or loss equal to the appreciation or depreciation in value from the commitment date. The adviser employs a rigorous credit quality procedure in determining the counterparties to deal with in purchasing when-issued securities and, in some circumstances, require the counterparty to post cash or some other form of security as margin to protect the value of the delivery obligation pending settlement. VARIABLE RATE MASTER DEMAND NOTES. Variable rate master demand notes are unsecured obligations that permit the Fund to invest different amounts at varying interest rates under arrangements between the Fund (as lender) and the issuer of the note (as borrower). Under the note, the Fund has the right at any time to increase the amount up to the full amount provided by the note agreement, or to decrease the amount, and the borrower has the right to repay at any time up to the full amount of the note without penalty. Notes purchased by the Fund permit it to demand payment of principal and accrued interest at any time (on not more than seven days notice). Notes acquired by the Fund may have maturities of more than one year, provided that: (1) the Fund is entitled to payment of principal and accrued interest upon not more than seven days notice, and (2) the interest rate on such notes is adjusted automatically at periodic intervals, which normally do not exceed 31 days but may extend up to one year. The notes are deemed to have a maturity equal to the longer of the period remaining to the next interest-rate adjustment or the demand notice period. Because these notes are direct lending arrangements between the lender and the borrower, the notes normally are not traded and have no secondary market, although the notes are redeemable and, thus, repayable at any time by the borrower at face value plus accrued interest. Accordingly, the Fund's right to redeem depends on the borrower's ability to pay interest on demand and repay principal. In connection with variable rate master demand notes, the subadviser considers, under standards established by the Board, earning power, cash flow and other liquidity ratios of a borrower and monitors the ability of a borrower to pay principal and interest on demand. These notes are not typically rated by credit rating agencies. Unless rated, the Fund will invest in them only if the investment adviser determines that the issuer meets the criteria established for commercial paper. DEBT SECURITIES. Debt securities held by the Fund may be subject to several types of investment risk, including market or interest-rate risk, which relates to the change in market value caused by fluctuations in prevailing interest rates, and credit risk, which relates to the ability of the issuer to make timely interest payments and to repay the principal upon maturity. Call or income risk relates to corporate bonds during periods of falling interest rates and involves the possibility that securities with high interest rates will be prepaid or "called" by the issuer prior to maturity. Investment-grade debt securities are generally regarded as having adequate capacity to pay interest and repay principal, but have speculative characteristics. Below-investment-grade debt securities (sometimes referred to as "high-yield/high-risk" or "junk" bonds) have greater speculative characteristics. Adverse business, financial, or economic conditions will likely impair capacity or willingness to pay interest and repay principal. The yield on debt instruments over a period of time should reflect prevailing interest rates, which depend on a number of factors, including government action in the capital markets, government fiscal and monetary policy, needs of businesses for capital goods for expansion, and investor expectations as to future inflation. The yield on a particular debt instrument is also affected by the risk that the issuer will be unable to pay principal and interest. The Fund has adopted an operating policy that prohibits it from purchasing any securities rated lower than BBB by S&P, Baa by Moody's or, if unrated by such services, are, in the subadviser's opinion, of equivalent quality, if as a result more than 10% of the Fund's assets that are invested in debt securities would be invested in such securities. Further, the Fund does not purchase any debt securities rated B or lower by either service or their equivalent. Therefore the Fund may invest in corporate debt obligations that are rated below the three highest rating categories of a nationally recognized statistical rating organization (AAA, AA, or A for S&P and Aaa, Aa, or A for Moody's (see the Appendix for more information) or, if unrated, of comparable quality) and may have speculative characteristics or be speculative. Lower-rated or comparable unrated bonds include bonds rated BBB by S&P or Baa by Moody's or below. Credit ratings evaluate the safety of the principal and interest payments but not the market value of high yield bonds. Further, the value of such bonds is likely to fluctuate over time. Lower-rated bonds usually offer higher yields with greater risks than higher-rated bonds. Lower-rated bonds have more risk associated with them that the issuer of such bonds will default on principal and interest payments. This is because of reduced creditworthiness and increased risk of default. Lower-rated securities generally tend to reflect short-term corporate and market developments to a greater extent than higher-rated securities that react primarily to fluctuations in the general level of interest rates. Short-term corporate and market developments affecting the price or liquidity of lower-rated securities could include adverse news affecting major issuers, underwriters, or dealers of lower-rated corporate debt obligations. In addition, since there are fewer investors in lower-rated securities, it may be harder to sell the securities at an optimum time. As a result of these factors, lower-rated securities tend to have more price volatility and carry more risk to principal and income than higher-rated securities. An economic downturn may adversely affect the value of some lower-rated bonds. Such a downturn may especially affect highly leveraged companies or companies in cyclically sensitive industries, where deterioration in a company's cash flow may impair its ability to meet its obligations to pay principal and interest to bondholders in a timely fashion. From time to time, as a result of changing conditions, issuers of lower-rated bonds may seek or may be required to restructure the terms and conditions of securities they have issued. As a result of the restructuring, holders of lower-rated securities may receive less principal and interest than they had bargained for at the time such bonds were purchased. In the event of a restructuring, the Fund may bear additional legal or administrative expenses in order to maximize recovery from an issuer. Additionally, an increase in interest rates may also adversely impact the value of high yield bonds. The secondary trading market for lower rated bonds is generally less liquid than the secondary trading market for higher-rated bonds. Adverse publicity and the perception of investors relating to issuers, underwriters, dealers or underlying business conditions, whether or not warranted by fundamental analysis, may affect the price of liquidity of lower-rated bonds. On occasion, therefore, it may become difficult to price or dispose of a particular security in the portfolio. Many corporate debt obligations, including many lower rated bonds, permit the issuers to call the security and therefore redeem their obligations earlier than the stated maturity dates. Issuers are more likely to call bonds during periods of declining interest rates. In these cases, if the Fund owns a bond that is called, the Fund will receive its return of principal earlier than expected and would likely be required to reinvest the proceeds at a lower interest rate, thus reducing income to the Fund. EVALUATING THE RISKS OF LOWER-RATED SECURITIES. The Fund's subadviser generally follows certain steps to evaluate the risks associated with investing in lower-rated securities. These techniques include: CREDIT RESEARCH. The adviser performs its own credit analysis in addition to using nationally recognized statistical rating organizations and other sources, including discussions with the issuer's management, the judgment of other investment analysts, and its own informed judgment. The credit analysis will consider the issuer's financial soundness, its responsiveness to changes in interest rates and business conditions, and its anticipated cash flow, interest or dividend coverage and earnings. In evaluating an issuer, the adviser or subadviser places special emphasis on the estimated current value of the issuer's assets rather than historical costs. DIVERSIFICATION. The Fund generally invests in securities of many different issuers, industries, and economic sectors to reduce portfolio risk. ECONOMIC ANALYSIS. The adviser also analyzes current developments and trends in the economy and in the financial markets. When investing in lower-rated securities, timing and selection are critical and analysis of the business cycle can be important. Achievement by the Fund's of its investment objective through investing in these bonds may be more dependent on the credit analysis of a lower-rated bond than would be the case if the Fund invested exclusively in higher-rated bonds. MONEY MARKET INSTRUMENTS. Money market instruments are those with remaining maturities of 397 days or less, such as commercial paper (including master demand notes), bank certificates of deposit, bankers' acceptances, and U.S. government securities, some of which may be subject to repurchase agreements. CERTIFICATES OF DEPOSIT. Certificates of deposit are receipts issued by a bank in exchange for the deposit of funds. The issuer agrees to pay the amount deposited plus interest to the bearer of the receipt on the date specified on the certificate. The certificate can usually be traded in the secondary market prior to maturity. Certificates of deposit are limited to U.S. dollar-denominated certificates of U.S. banks that have at least $1 billion in deposits as of the date of their most recently published financial statements (including foreign branches of U.S. banks, U.S. branches of foreign banks that are members of the Federal Reserve System or the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation, and savings and loan associations that are insured by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation). The Fund does not acquire time deposits or obligations issued by the International Bank for Reconstruction and Development, the Asian Development Bank or the Inter-American Development Bank. Additionally, the Fund does not currently intend to purchase such foreign securities (except to the extent that certificates of deposit of foreign branches of U.S. banks may be deemed foreign securities) or purchase certificates of deposit, bankers' acceptances or other similar obligations issued by foreign banks. OBLIGATIONS OF FOREIGN BRANCHES OF U.S. BANKS. The obligations of foreign branches of U.S. banks may be general obligations of the parent bank as well as of the issuing branch. They also may be limited by the terms of a specific obligation and by government regulation. Payment of interest and principal upon these obligations may also be affected by governmental action in the country of domicile of the branch (generally referred to as sovereign risk). In addition, if evidences of ownership of such securities are held outside the U.S., the Fund is subject to the risks associated with the holding of such property overseas. Various provisions of federal law governing domestic branches do not apply to foreign branches of domestic banks. OBLIGATIONS OF U.S. BRANCHES OF FOREIGN BANKS. Obligations of U.S. branches of foreign banks may be general obligations of the parent bank as well as of the issuing branch. They also may be limited by the terms of a specific obligation and by federal and state regulation as well as by governmental action in the country in which the foreign bank has its head office. In addition, there may be less publicly available information about an U.S. branch of a foreign bank than about a domestic bank. BANKERS' ACCEPTANCES. Bankers' acceptances in which the Fund may invest are issued by domestic banks (including their branches located outside the United States and subsidiaries located in Canada), domestic branches of foreign banks, savings and loan associations and similar institutions. Bankers' acceptances typically arise from short-term credit arrangements designed to enable businesses to obtain funds to finance commercial transactions. Generally, an acceptance is a time draft drawn on a bank by an exporter or importer to obtain a stated amount of funds to pay for specific merchandise. The draft is then "accepted" by the bank that, in effect, unconditionally guarantees to pay the face value of the instrument on its maturity date. The acceptance may then be held by the accepting bank as an earning asset, or it may be sold in the secondary market at the going rate of discount for a specific maturity. Although maturities for acceptances can be as long as 270 days, most acceptances have maturities of six months or less. Bankers' acceptances acquired by the Fund must have been accepted by U.S. commercial banks, including foreign branches of U.S. commercial banks, having total deposits at the time of purchase in excess of $1 billion and must be payable in U.S. dollars. COMMERCIAL PAPER RATINGS. The Fund's investments in commercial paper are limited to those rated A-1 by S&P or PRIME-1 by Moody's. These and other ratings of money market instruments are described as follows. Commercial paper rated A-1 by S&P has the following characteristics. Liquidity ratios are adequate to meet cash requirements. The issuer's long-term senior debt is rated A or better, although in some cases BBB credits may be allowed. The issuer has access to at least two additional channels of borrowing. Basic earnings and cash flow have an upward trend with allowance made for unusual circumstances. Typically, the issuer's industry is well established, and the issuer has a strong position within the industry. The rating PRIME-1 is the highest commercial paper rating assigned by Moody's. Among the factors considered by Moody's in assigning ratings are the following: (1) evaluation of the management of the issuer; (2) economic evaluation of the issuer's industry or industries and an appraisal of speculative-type risks which may be inherent in certain areas; (3) evaluation of the issuer's products in relation to competition and customer acceptance; (4) liquidity; (5) amount and quality of long-term debt; (6) trend of earnings over a period of ten years; (7) financial strength of a parent company and the relationships which exist with the issuer; and (8) recognition by the management of obligations which may be present or may arise as a result of public preparations to meet such obligations. Relative strength or weakness of the above factors determines how the issuer's commercial paper is rated within various categories. See the Appendix for information with respect to ratings for other debt or equity securities. OTHER INVESTMENT COMPANIES. The Fund may invest in other investment companies to the extent permitted by the 1940 Act, including investing some or all of its assets in one or more other such investment companies. The Fund indirectly bears its pro rata share of any investment advisory and other fund expenses paid by the funds in which it invests. ILLIQUID SECURITIES. The Fund may make investments in illiquid securities in an amount not exceeding 15% of the Fund's net asset value. Illiquid securities are those that are not readily marketable within seven days in the ordinary course and include restricted securities that may not be publicly sold without registration under the Securities Act of 1933 (the "1933 Act") and certain Rule 144A securities. In most instances such securities are traded at a discount from the market value of unrestricted securities of the same issuer until the restriction is eliminated. If the Fund sells such portfolio securities, it may be deemed an underwriter, as such term is defined in the 1933 Act, with respect to those sales, and registration of such securities under the 1933 Act may be required. The Fund will not bear the expense of such registration. In determining securities subject to the percentage limitation, the Fund will include, in addition to restricted securities, repurchase agreements maturing in more than seven days and other securities not having readily available market quotations, including options traded over-the-counter and other securities subject to restrictions on resale. RULE 144A SECURITIES. Certain Rule 144A securities may be considered illiquid and, therefore, their purchase is subject to the Fund's limitation on the purchase of illiquid securities, unless the adviser under guidelines approved by the Board determines on an ongoing basis that an adequate trading market exists for the securities. If qualified institutional buyers become uninterested for a time in purchasing Rule 144A securities held by the Fund, the Fund's level of illiquidity could increase. The Board has established standards and procedures for determining the liquidity of Rule 144A securities and periodically monitors the adviser's implementation of the standards and procedures. The ability to sell to qualified institutional buyers under Rule 144A has developed in recent years, and the adviser cannot predict how this market will develop. LOANS OF SECURITIES TO BROKER DEALERS. The Fund may lend securities to brokers and dealers pursuant to agreements requiring that the loans be continuously secured by cash, liquid securities, or any combination of cash and liquid securities, as collateral equal at all times in value to at least 102% of the market value of the securities loaned. The Fund will not loan securities if, after a loan, the aggregate of all outstanding securities loans exceeds one-third of the value of the Fund's total assets taken at their current market value. The Fund continues to receive interest or dividends on the securities loaned and simultaneously earns interest on the investment of any cash loan collateral in U.S. Treasury notes, certificates of deposit, other high grade, short-term obligations or interest-bearing cash equivalents. Although voting rights attendant to securities loaned pass to the borrower, such loans may be called at any time and will be called so that the Fund may vote the securities if, in the opinion of the investment adviser, a material event affecting the investment would occur. There may be risks of delay in receiving additional collateral, in recovering the securities loaned, or even loss of rights in the collateral should the borrower of the securities fail financially. However, loans may be made only to borrowers deemed to be of good standing, under standards approved by the Board, when the income to be earned from the loan justifies the risks. REPURCHASE AGREEMENTS. The Fund may invest from time to time in repurchase agreements with approved counterparties. Approved counterparties are limited to national banks or broker-dealers on the Federal Reserve Bank of New York's list of primary reporting dealers, in each case meeting the investment adviser's credit quality standards as presenting minimal risk of default. All repurchase transactions must be collateralized by U.S. government securities with market value no less than 102% of the amount of the transaction, including accrued interest. Repurchase transactions generally mature the next business day but, in the event of a transaction of longer maturity, collateral will be marked-to-market daily and, when required, the counterparty will provide additional cash or qualifying collateral. In executing a repurchase agreement, the Fund purchases eligible securities subject to the counterparty's agreement to repurchase them on a mutually agreed upon date and at a mutually agreed upon price. The purchase and resale prices are negotiated with the counterparty on the basis of current short-term interest rates, which may be more or less than the rate on the securities collateralizing the transaction. The Fund will engage in repurchase agreements only where it takes physical delivery or, in the case of "book-entry" securities, the security is segregated in the counterparty's account at the Federal Reserve for the benefit of the Fund, to perfect the Fund's claim to the collateral for the term of the repurchase agreement in the event the counterparty fails to fulfill its obligation. As the securities collateralizing a repurchase transaction are generally of longer maturity than the term of the transaction, in the event of default by the counterparty on its obligation, the Fund would bear the risks of delay, adverse market fluctuation and any transaction costs in disposing of the collateral. TEMPORARY INVESTMENTS. Permissible temporary investments pending investment or for defensive or cash management purposes may include debt securities, including high-yield, high risk debt securities and money market instruments. These investments also may include preferred stock, corporate bonds and debentures; U.S. government securities; instruments of banks that are members of the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation with assets of at least $1 billion, such as certificates of deposit, demand and time deposits, and bankers' acceptances; prime commercial paper, including master demand notes; repurchase agreements secured by U.S. government securities; or other debt securities. When the Fund is so invested, investment income may increase and constitute a large portion of the Fund's return, and the Fund probably will not participate in market advances or declines to the extent that it would if it were fully invested in stocks. INVESTMENT RESTRICTIONS At a meeting held April 30, 1999, the Fund adopted the following investment policies as fundamental (those that may not be changed without shareholder approval). FUNDAMENTAL POLICIES The Fund, irrespective of any fundamental or non-fundamental operating investment policies, may invest all or a portion of its assets in one or more investment companies without a shareholder vote. The Fund may not: 1. DIVERSIFICATION: with respect to 75% of its assets, purchase a security other than a security issued or guaranteed by the U. S. Government, its agencies, instrumentalities, or government-sponsored enterprises or a security of an investment company if, as a result; (1) more than 5% of the Fund's total assets would be invested in the securities of a single issuer or (2) the Fund would own more than 10% of the outstanding voting securities of any single issuer. 2. INDUSTRY CONCENTRATION: purchase a security if, as a result, more than 25% of the Fund's total assets would be invested in securities of issuers conducting their principal business activities in the same industry. For purposes of this policy, there is no limit on : (1) investments in U. S. government securities, in repurchase agreements covering U. S. government securities, in securities issued by the states, territories or possessions of the United States ("municipal securities") or in foreign government securities; or (2) investment in issuers domiciled in a single jurisdiction. Notwithstanding anything to the contrary, to the extent permitted by the 1940 Act, the Fund may invest in one or more investment companies; provided that, except to the extent that it invests in other investment companies pursuant to Section 12(d)(1)(A) of the 1940 Act, the Fund treats the assets of the investment companies in which it invests as its own for purposes of this policy. 3. BORROWING: borrow money if, as a result, outstanding borrowings would exceed an amount equal to one-third of the Fund's total assets. 4. REAL ESTATE: purchase or sell real estate unless acquired as a result of ownership of securities or other instruments (but this shall not prevent the Fund from investing in securities or other instruments backed by real estate or in securities of companies engaged in the real estate business). 5. LENDING: make loans to other parties if, as a result, more than one-third of its total assets would be loaned to other parties. For purposes of this limitation, entering into repurchase agreements, lending securities, and acquiring any debt security are not deemed to be the making of loans. 6. COMMODITIES: purchase or sell physical commodities unless acquired as a result of ownership of securities or other instruments (but this shall not prevent the Fund from purchasing or selling options and futures contracts and options on futures or from investing in securities or other instruments backed by physical commodities). 7. UNDERWRITING: be an underwriter (as that term is defined in the 1933 Act) of securities issued by other persons except, to the extent that in connection with the disposition of its assets, the Fund may be deemed to be an underwriter. 8. SENIOR SECURITIES: issue any class of senior securities except to the extent consistent with the 1940 Act. NONFUNDAMENTAL POLICIES Effective May 1, 1999, the Fund also complies with the following nonfundamental investment policies. The Fund will not: 1. BORROWING: for purpose of the borrowing limitation, the following are not treated as borrowings to the extent they are fully collateralized: (1) the delayed delivery of purchased securities (such as the purchase of when-issued securities); (2) reverse repurchase agreements; (3) dollar-roll transactions; and (4) the lending of securities ("leverage transactions"). (See Fundamental Policy No. 3 "Borrowing.") 2. LIQUIDITY: invest more than 15% of its net assets in: (1) securities that cannot be disposed of within seven days at their then-current value; (2) repurchase agreements not entitling the holder to payment of principal within seven days; and (3) securities subject to restrictions on the sale of the securities to the public without registration under the 1933 Act ("restricted securities") that are not readily marketable. The Fund may treat certain restricted securities as liquid pursuant to guidelines adopted by the Board. 3. EXERCISING CONTROL OF ISSUERS: make investments for the purpose of exercising control of an issuer. Investments by the Fund in entities created under the laws of foreign countries solely to facilitate investment in securities in that country will not be deemed the making of investments for the purpose of exercising control. 4. OTHER INVESTMENT COMPANIES: invest in securities of another investment company, except to the extent permitted by the 1940 Act. 5. SHORT SALES: sell securities short, unless it owns or has the right to obtain securities equivalent in kind and amount to the securities sold short (short sales "against the box"), and provided that transactions in futures contracts and options are not deemed to constitute selling securities short. 6. PURCHASING ON MARGIN: purchase securities on margin, except that the Fund may use short-term credit for the clearance of its portfolio transactions, and provided that initial and variation margin payments in connection with futures contracts and options on futures contracts shall not constitute purchasing securities on margin. 7. LENDING: lend a security if, as a result, the amount of loaned securities would exceed an amount equal to one-third of the Fund's total assets. 8. PLEDGING: pledge its assets except as permitted by the 1940 Act. VALUATION AND PRICING VALUATION. Current value for the Fund's portfolio securities is determined as follows: securities traded on national securities markets are valued at the closing prices on such markets; securities for which no sales prices were reported and U.S. government and agency obligations are valued at the mean between the last reported bid and ask prices or on the basis of quotations received from unaffiliated reputable brokers or other recognized sources; and, securities that have a remaining maturity of more than 60 days are valued at prices based on market quotations for securities of similar type, yield and maturity. The Fund values short-term money market instruments with maturities of sixty days or less at amortized cost (original purchase cost as adjusted for amortization of premium or accretion of discount) which, when combined with accrued interest receivable, approximates market. All other investments are valued at fair value as determined in good faith in accordance with procedures adopted by the Board. PRICING. We compute the Fund's net asset value per share as of the close of regular trading (currently 4:00 p.m. Eastern time) on the New York Stock Exchange ("Exchange") each day the Exchange is open for business. It is expected that the Exchange will be closed on Saturdays and Sundays and on the observed holidays of New Year's Day, Martin Luther King, Jr. Day, President's Day, Good Friday, Memorial Day, Independence Day, Labor Day, Thanksgiving Day and Christmas Day. The net asset value per share is arrived at by determining the value of the Fund's assets, subtracting its liabilities, and dividing the result by the number of shares outstanding. Fund shares are redeemed at the redemption value next determined after the Fund receives a redemption request. The redemption value is the net asset value adjusted for fractions of a cent and may be more or less than the shareholder's cost depending upon changes in the value of the Fund's portfolio between purchase and redemption. The Fund computes the redemption value as of the close of the Exchange at the end of the day on which it has received all proper documentation from the shareholder. Redemption proceeds normally are wired or mailed either the same or the next business day, but in no event later than seven days thereafter. The Fund may temporarily suspend the right to redeem its shares when: (1) the Exchange is closed, other than customary weekend and holiday closings; (2) trading on the Exchange is restricted; (3) an emergency exists as determined by the SEC so that disposal of the Fund's investments or determination of its net asset value is not reasonably practicable; or (4) the SEC, for the protection of shareholders, so orders. DISTRIBUTIONS The investment adviser intends to distribute dividends from net investment income and all net realized capital gains annually in shares or, at the option of the shareholder, in cash. When the investment adviser makes a distribution, it intends to distribute only net capital gains and such income as the investment adviser has determined, to the best of its ability, to be taxable as ordinary income. Therefore, the investment adviser will not make net investment income distributions on the basis of distributable income as computed on the Fund's books but on a federal taxation basis. TRUSTEES AND OFFICERS Under Massachusetts law, the Board has absolute and exclusive control over the management and disposition of all the Fund's assets. Subject to the provisions of its Declaration of Trust, the Fund's business and affairs are managed by the trustees or other parties so designated by the Board. The Fund's trustees and officers are listed below.
OFFICERS AND INTERESTED TRUSTEES Number of Other Portfolios in Public Term of Fund Complex Company Office and Overseen Director- Positions(s) Length of Principal Occupation During by ships Held Name, Address and Age Held With Fund Time Served Last Five Years Director by Director --------------------- -------------- ----------- --------------------------- ------------- ---------- Elizabeth M. Forget* Chairman of the Since July President, Met Investors Advisory LLC 66 None 260 Madison Ave. Board, Chief 2005 (2000 to present); Executive Vice 11th Floor Executive President (2000 to present) and Chief New York, NY Officer and Marketing Officer (2003 to present), Age 39 President MetLife Investors Group, Inc; President, TAMIC (July 2005 - present); Senior Vice President, Equitable Distributors, Inc. and Vice President, Equitable Life Assurance Society of the United States (1996 to 2000). Paul Cellupica Secretary and Since July Chief Counsel, Securities Products and N/A N/A MetLife, Inc. Chief Legal 2005 Regulation, MetLife Inc. (2004 - present); One MetLife Plaza Officer Vice President and Chief Legal Officer, 27-01 Queens Plaza North TAMIC (July 2005 - present); Assistant Long Island City, NY 11101 Director, Division of Investment Age 41 Management, U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (2001-2003), Senior Special Counsel, Division of Investment Management, Securities and Exchange Commission (2000-2001). Peter Duffy Chief Financial Since July Senior Vice President, MetLife Advisers, N/A N/A MetLife Advisers LLC Officer and 2005 since December 1998; Senior Vice 501 Boylston Street Tresurer President; NELICO; Vice President, Boston, MA 02116 MetLife; formerly, Vice President and Age 49 Treasurer, Zenith Fund Jeffrey P. Halperin Interim Chief Since Assistant Vice President, Corporate Ethics N/A N/A Metropolitan Life Compliance November and Compliance Department, MetLife, Inc. Insurance Company Officer 2005 (October 2002 - present); interim Chief One MetLife Plaza Compliance Officer of funds sponsored by 27-01 Queens Plaza North MetLife and its affiliates (November 2005 Long Island City, NY 11101 - present); Associate, Goldman Sachs & Co. Age 37 (May 2000 - July 2001).
Non-Interested Trustees Other Number of Director- Portfolios in ships in Term of Fund Complex Public Office and Overseen Companies Positions(s) Length of Principal Occupation During by Held by Name, Address and Age Held With Fund Time Served Last Five Years Director Director --------------------- -------------- ----------- --------------------------- ------------- ---------- Robert E. McGill, III Trustee Since 1991 Retired manufacturing executive. Director 39 None 295 Hancock Street (1983-1995), Executive Vice President Williamstown, MA (1989-1994) and Senior Vice President, Age 74 Finance and Administration (1983-1989), The Dexter Corporation (manufacturer of specialty chemicals and materials); Vice Chairman (1990-1992), Director (1983-1995), Life Technologies, Inc. (life science/biotechnology products); Director, (1994-1999), The Connecticut Surety Corporation (insurance); Director (1995-2000), Chemfab Corporation (specialty materials manufacturer); Director (1999-2001), Ravenwood Winery, Inc.; Director (1999-2003), Lydall Inc. (manufacturer of fiber materials); Member, Board of Managers (1974-present), six Variable Annuity Separate Accounts of The Travelers Insurance Company+; Trustee (1990-present), five Mutual Funds sponsored by The Travelers Insurance Company.++ Lewis Mandell Trustee Since 1991 Professor of Finance and Managerial 39 Director 160 Jacobs Hall Economics, University at Buffalo since (2000-present), Buffalo, NY 1998. Dean, School of Management Delaware North Age 62 (1998-2001), University at Buffalo; Dean, Corp. College of Business Administration (hospitality (1995-1998), Marquette University; business) Professor of Finance (1980-1995) and Associate Dean (1993-1995), School of Business Administration, and Director, Center for Research and Development in Financial Services (1980-1995), University of Connecticut; Member, Board of Managers (1990-present), six Variable Annuity Separate Accounts of The Travelers Insurance Company+; Trustee (1990-present), five Mutual Funds sponsored by The Travelers Insurance Company.++ Frances M. Hawk, Trustee Since 1991 Private Investor, (1997-present); 39 None CFA, CFP Portfolio Manager (1992-1997), HLM 108 Oxford Hill Lane Management Company, Inc. (investment Downingtown, PA management); Assistant Treasurer, Age 57 Pensions and Benefits. Management (1989-1992), United Technologies Corporation (broad-based designer and manufacturer of high technology products); Member, Board of Managers (1991-present), six Variable Annuity Separate Accounts of The Travelers Insurance Company+; Trustee (1991-present), five Mutual Funds sponsored by The Travelers Insurance Company.++
+ The six Variable Annuity Separate Accounts are: The Travelers Growth and Income Stock Account for Variable Annuities, The Travelers Quality Bond Account for Variable Annuities, The Travelers Money Market Account for Variable Annuities, Tactical Growth and Income Stock Account for Variable Annuities, Tactical Short-Term Bond Account for Variable Annuities and Tactical Aggressive Stock Account for Variable Annuities. ++ The five Mutual Funds are: Capital Appreciation Fund, Money Market Portfolio, High Yield Bond Trust, Managed Assets Trust and The Travelers Series Trust. * Ms. Forget is an "interested person" within the meaning of the 1940 Act, as amended, by virtue of her position as President of TAMIC. Effective January 1, 2003, Mr. Knight Edwards retired from his directorship on the Board. He remains as an Emeritus Trustee. An Emeritus Trustee is permitted to attend meetings, but has no voting power. COMMITTEES. To operate more efficiently, the Board established two operating committees. The Nominating and Administration Committee recommends candidates for the nomination as members of the Board. The Committee also periodically reviews Board governance procedures, composition of the Board, compensation for the Board of Directors and the Committee monitors the performance of legal counsel employed by the Fund and the independent registered public accounting firm. The Nominating and Administration Committee will consider nominee recommendations by shareholders. Such recommendations should be submitted to the Fund in care of The Travelers Insurance Company, using the address on the cover page of this SAI. For the year ended December 31, 2004, the Nominating and Administration Committee met one time. The Audit Committee monitors the appointment, compensation and termination of the Fund's independent registered public accounting firm. The Audit Committee also monitors the overall quality of the Fund's financial reports and other financial information, the independence and audit work of the Fund's independent registered public accounting firm and the Fund's financial reporting policies, practices and internal controls. For the year ended December 31, 2004, the Audit Committee met two times. For the year ended December 31, 2004, the members of the Nominating and Administration Committee, and the Audit Committee were Robert E. McGill III, Lewis Mandell, and Frances M. Hawk. Trustees do not receive any additional compensation for their committee services. COMPENSATION. Members of the Board who are also officers or employees of MetLife, Inc. ("MetLife") or its subsidiaries are not entitled to any fee for their services to the Fund. Effective May 1, 2005, the members of the Board who are not officers or employees of MetLife or its subsidiaries (the "Independent Trustees") receive an annual retainer of $36,000 for service on the Boards of the five mutual funds sponsored by The Travelers Insurance Company ("TIC")and the six managed separate accounts sponsored by TIC. They also receive a fee of $3,000 for each in-person meeting of such Boards attended and $750 for each telephonic meeting. The Chair of the Audit Committee receives an additional annual fee of $5,000, the Chair of the Nominating and Administration Committee receives an additional fee of $3,000, and the lead Independent Trustee receives an additional fee of $10,000 (when an Independent Trustee assumes the position of lead Trustee). Other than the chairs of the Committees, Trustees do not receive any additional compensation for their committee service. Board Members with 10 years of service may agree to provide services as an emeritus director at age 72. Upon reaching 80 years of age, a Director must elect status as an emeritus director. An emeritus director will receive 50% of the annual retainer and 50% of meeting fees, if attended, but in no event for more than 10 years. The chart below shows the compensation paid to Board Members for the year ended December 31, 2004. Mr. Knight Edwards, as emeritus director, was paid $13,760 for the year ended December 31, 2004.
COMPENSATION TABLE. INTERESTED TRUSTEES AGGREGATE PENSION OR RETIREMENT TOTAL COMPENSATION FROM COMPENSATION FROM BENEFITS ACCRUED AS FUND AND FUND COMPLEX NAME OF PERSON, POSITION FUND(1) PART OF FUND EXPENSES PAID TO DIRECTORS ------------------------ ------- --------------------- ----------------- Elizabeth Forget N/A N/A N/A Chairman and Trustee INDEPENDENT TRUSTEES AGGREGATE PENSION OR RETIREMENT TOTAL COMPENSATION FROM COMPENSATION FROM BENEFITS ACCRUED AS FUND AND FUND COMPLEX NAME OF PERSON, POSITION FUND(1) PART OF FUND EXPENSES PAID TO DIRECTORS (2) ------------------------ ------- --------------------- --------------------- Robert E. McGill, III Trustee $2,634.62 N/A $68,500 Lewis Mandell Trustee $1,923.08 N/A $50,000 Frances M. Hawk, CFA, CFP Trustee $2,096.15 N/A $54,500
(1) No compensation was deferred for any Trustee or Officer under a deferred compensation plan. (2) Affiliated companies of the adviser paid certain meeting fees for the year ended December 31, 2004. The table below sets forth the dollar range of equity securities in the Funds beneficially owned by a Director, and, on an aggregate basis, in all registered investment companies overseen by a Director in the complex of Funds, as of December 31, 2004.
Aggregate Dollar Range of Equity Securities in all Registered Investment Dollar Range of Equity Securities in Companies overseen by Directors in Director the Company Family of Investment Companies Elizabeth Forget None None Robert E. McGill, III None None Lewis Mandell None None Frances M. Hawk None None
CODE OF ETHICS Pursuant to Rule 17j-1 of the 1940 Act, the Fund and its investment advisers have adopted codes of ethics that permit personnel to invest in securities for their own accounts, including securities that may be purchased or held by the funds. All personnel must place the interest of clients first and avoid activities, interests and relationships that might interfere with the duty to make decisions in the best interests of the clients. All personnel securities transactions by employees must adhere to the requirements of the codes and must be conducted in such a manner as to avoid any actual or potential conflict of interest, the appearance of such a conflict, or the abuse of an employee's position of trust and responsibility. DECLARATION OF TRUST The Fund is organized as a Massachusetts business trust. In accordance with certain decisions of the Supreme Judicial Court of Massachusetts, shareholders of such a trust may, under certain circumstances, be held personally liable as partners for the obligations of the trust. Even if the Fund were held to be a partnership, however, the possibility of its shareholders incurring financial loss for that reason appears remote because the Fund's Declaration of Trust contains an express disclaimer of shareholder liability for the Fund's obligations and requires that notice of such disclaimer be given in each agreement, obligation or instrument entered into or executed by the Fund or the trustees. Further, the Declaration of Trust provides for indemnification out of Fund property for any shareholder held personally liable for the Fund's obligations. INVESTMENT ADVISORY SERVICES INVESTMENT ADVISER - TRAVELERS ASSET MANAGEMENT INTERNATIONAL COMPANY LLC ("TAMIC") furnishes investment management services to the Fund in accordance with the terms of an investment advisory agreement that was approved by shareholders on April 23, 1993 (the "Agreement"). TAMIC was incorporated in 1978 under the laws of the State of New York. On February 15, 2000, TAMIC was converted into a Delaware Limited Liability Company. TAMIC is a registered investment adviser that has provided investment advisory services since its incorporation in 1978. Effective July 1, 2005, TAMIC became an indirect wholly owned subsidiary of MetLife, Inc. Prior to that date, TAMIC was an indirect wholly-owned subsidiary of Citigroup Inc. ("Citigroup"). TAMIC's principal offices are located at 242 Trumbull Street, Hartford, Connecticut, 06115. TAMIC also provides investment advice to individual and pooled pension and profit-sharing accounts and non-affiliated insurance companies. Under the terms of the Agreement, TAMIC shall: (1) obtain and evaluate pertinent economic, statistical and financial data and other information relevant to the investment policy of the Fund, affecting the economy generally and individual companies or industries, the securities of which are included in the Fund's portfolio or are under consideration for inclusion therein; (2) be authorized to purchase supplemental research and other services from brokers at an additional cost to the Fund; (3) regularly furnish recommendations to the Board with respect to an investment program for approval, modification or rejection by the Board; (4) take such steps as are necessary to implement the investment program approved by the Board; and (5) regularly report to the Board with respect to implementation of the approved investment program and any other activities in connection with the administration of the Fund's assets. ADVISORY FEES. For furnishing investment management and advisory services to the Fund, TAMIC is paid a fee, computed daily and payable monthly, at an annual rate of 0.50% of the Fund's average daily net assets. For the years ended December 31, 2002, 2003 and 2004 the Fund paid advisory fees of $1,391,141, $1,315,694 and $1,444,024, respectively. Under the Agreement the Company has agreed to reimburse the Fund for the amount by which its aggregate annual expenses, including investment advisory fees but excluding brokerage commissions, interest charges and taxes, exceed 1.25% of the Fund's average net assets for any year. For the years ended December 31, 2002, 2003, and 2004 the Fund received no reimbursements from the Company. THE SUBADVISERS. TIMCO Asset Management, Inc. (formerly "The Travelers Investment Management Company") ("TIMCO"), serves as subadviser to the Fund pursuant to the terms of a subadvisory agreement between TAMIC and TIMCO under which TIMCO is responsible for the day-to-day management of the Fund's common stock investments. TIMCO is located at 100 First Stamford Place, Stamford, CT 06902. Effective December 1, 2005, TIMCO became an indirect wholly-owned subsidiary of Legg Mason, Inc. ("Legg Mason"). Prior to that date, TIMCO was an indirect wholly-owned subsidiary of Citigroup. The subadvisory agreement, which was approved by shareholders of the Fund at a meeting held on April 23, 1993, provides that TAMIC will pay TIMCO for its services a subadvisory fee at a rate equal to 50% of TAMIC's advisory fee. For the years ended December 31, 2002, 2003 and 2004, TAMIC paid TIMCO $695,570, $657,847 and $722,012 respectively, in subadvisory fees. TAMIC has also retained Salomon Brothers Asset Management Inc. ("SaBAM") as subadviser for the fixed income portion of the Fund as of July 1, 2005. Prior to this date, TAMIC directly managed the fixed income portion without a subadviser. SaBAM was established in 1987 and together with SaBAM affiliates in London, Tokyo and Hong Kong, provides a broad range of fixed income and equity investment services to individuals and institutional clients throughout the world. As of June 30, 2005, it had over $82.8 billion in assets under management. SaBAM is located at 399 Park Avenue, New York, New York 10022. Effective December 1, 2005, SaBAM became an indirect wholly-owned subsidiary of Legg Mason. Prior to that date, SaBAM was an indirect wholly-owned subsidiary of Citigroup. The subadvisory agreement provides that TAMIC will pay SaBAM for its services a subadvisory fee of 0.25% of the average daily net assets. PORTFOLIO MANAGERS On June 24, 2005, Citigroup and Legg Mason announced that Citigroup would sell substantially all of its worldwide asset management business, Citigroup Asset Management ("CAM"), to Legg Mason. The transaction subsequently was closed on December 1, 2005, on which date SaBAM and TIMCO, as part of CAM, became indirect wholly owned subsidiaries of Legg Mason. SaBAM and TIMCO and all portfolio management personnel have retained their advisory roles with the Fund and the names of the entities involved in the transaction remain unchanged under a temporary licensing agreement between Citigroup and Legg Mason. SaBAM Mr. Gene Collins and Mr. Kurt Lin are responsible for the day-to-day management of the fixed-income portion of the Fund. Mr. Collins is a managing director of SaBAM and is a Senior Portfolio Manager for fixed income portfolios. Prior to Citigroup's sale of its life and annuity businesses to MetLife, which became effective on July 1, 2005, he was also a Senior Vice President of TAMIC. Since 1986, he has been the Senior Portfolio Manager of the investment portfolios of Primerica Inc., the predecessor company of Citigroup Inc. Since 1998, Mr. Collins has also been the Senior Portfolio Manager of Primerica Life of Canada; a Canadian domiciled insurance company. Mr. Collins has 27 years of experience in investments covering all types of fixed income and equity securities. Mr. Lin is a director of SaBAM. Prior to Citigroup's sale of its life and annuity businesses to MetLife, he was also a Vice President of TAMIC. He also trades corporate bonds, derivatives and currencies. Prior to joining TAMIC in 1997, Mr. Lin was the senior derivatives trader at Smith Barney.
Assets in Other Accounts Managed by Number of Other Accounts Manager by Type of Managed by Manager(s) as of Account: (a) For Accounts Listed Where December 31, 2004 by Type of Registered Investment the Manager's Compensation Account: (a) Registered Company; (b) Other is Based on the Account's Investment Company; (b) Other Pooled Investment Performance, the Number of Pooled Investment Vehicles; Vehicles; (c) Other Accounts and Assets in the Portfolio Manager (c) Other Accounts. Accounts Accounts ------------------- -------- -------- Gene Collins and Kurt Lin (a) 6 (a) $953 million (b) 0 (b) $0 None (c) 11 (c) $3.3 billion
As of December 31, 2004, the dollar range of securities beneficially owned by each portfolio manager in the Fund is shown below: Gene Collins - None Kurt Lin - None TIMCO TIMCO employs a team approach in managing the equity portion of the Fund. However, Mr. Dan Willey and Mr. Louis Scott, are jointly and primarily responsible for the day to day management of the Fund since July 2004. Mr. Willey, Director, President, CEO/Senior Portfolio Manager, is the lead portfolio manager for the TIMCO team. Mr. Willey has been with TIMCO for ten years and has twenty-five years of investment experience. As the lead portfolio manager Mr. Willey has responsibility for monitoring the overall management of the Fund. Mr. Scott, Vice President, joined TIMCO in 1999, and has fifteen years of investment experience. Mr. Scott is the portfolio manager for quantitative equity strategies with a focus on the systematic implementation of model-based strategies. Other team members include Alex Romeo, John Lau and Ethan Madson. A team of researchers, led by Lillyn Teh, PhD, CFA, Director, Head of Quantitative Research, supports the efforts of the portfolio management team. Every member of the team is actively involved in the management of client portfolios. The individuals listed below focus solely on quantitative portfolio management of U.S. equity strategies. The efforts of the implementation team tends to get divided across our large, mid and small cap strategies, whereas the entire focus of the research team is to enhance the stock selection and portfolio construction models which are used in all mandates. Please refer to the table and biographical information below for details on the U.S. Quantitative Equity investment professionals.
Portfolio Management and Trading Years with Years in Years of Name Title/Responsibilities Firm Position Experience Dan Willey Director , President & 10 10 25 CEO/Senior Portfolio Manager John Lau, CFA Director / Portfolio 9 9 10 Manager Louis Scott Director / Portfolio 5 5 15 Manager Alex Romeo, CFA Vice President / 6 6 6 Portfolio Manager Ethan Madson Assistant Vice President 6 6 6 / Trader
DANIEL WILLEY Director, President of TIMCO Asset Management, Inc. ("TIMCO") o Responsible for all investment activities including, portfolio management, research and trading o 25 years of industry experience o Joined TIMCO in 1994 o TIMCO - Portfolio Manager and Head Equity Trader for quantitative equity strategies o SHAWMUT NATIONAL BANK - Head Equity Trader o OFFICE OF THE TREASURER FOR THE STATE OF CONNECTICUT - Head Equity Trader o BANK OF NEW ENGLAND - head trader, portfolio manager, research analyst o TUCKER ANTHONY - Registered Representative o BLYTH EASTMAN DILLION - Registered Representative o Member of the Security Traders Association of Connecticut o BA from St.Mary's Seminary University JOHN LAU, CFA Director Portfolio Manager for equity strategies; has had numerous responsibilities including portfolio management, research, trading, and new product development. o 10 years of experience o Joined TIMCO in 1995 o United Technologies Pratt & Whitney Aircraft Engines - senior design engineer responsible for design simulation projects o Member, Association for Investment Management & Research (AIMR) o Member, American Finance Association o Member, New York Society of Financial Analysts o NASD Licensed (Series 3, Series 7 and Series 63) o MBA from Columbia University; MS in Engineering from the University of California at Berkeley; BS in Engineering from the University of Michigan LOUIS SCOTT Vice President o Portfolio Manager for quantitative equity strategies focusing primarily on the systematic implementation of model-based strategies and contribute to enhancements in existing stock selection models. o 15 years of experience o Joined TIMCO in 1999 o Haglar Mastrovita & Hewitt - developed estimate revision models to complement their fundamental approach to stock selection o Northfield Information Services - provider of quantitative tools for portfolio construction and performance measurement o Pan Agora Asset Management - Currency Portfolio Manager; helped develop domestic and global equity models and the risk models for asset allocation and fixed income products o MS in Applied Mathematics from Brown University; BS from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology ALEXANDER ROMEO, CFA Vice President o Quantitative Analyst for equity strategies responsible for developing stock selection models, risk management and trading strategies; primary focus is on the development of simulations, models and backtests to evaluate earnings, valuation and pricing signals. o 6 years of experience o Joined TIMCO in 1998 o General Dynamics - Systems Engineer o Structured Technology Corporation - Software Developer o End2End - Program Manager o Member, Association of Investment Management and Research (AIMR) o Member, Stamford Society of Investment Analysts, Inc. (SSIA) o NASD Licensed (Series 3, Series 7 and Series 63) o MBA from Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute; MS in Engineering from the University of Texas at Arlington; BS in Engineering from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology ETHAN MADSON Assistant Vice President o Equity Trader for Quantitative Equity Strategies, responsible for domestic equity and futures trading. o 6 years of experience o Joined TIMCO in 1998 o The Hartford, Simsbury, CT - Cash Analyst o NASD Licensed (Series 3, Series 7 and Series 63) o MBA in Finance from The University of Hartford, Barney School of Business, BA from The University of Hartford
Assets in Other Accounts Managed by Number of Other Accounts Manager by Type of Managed by Manager(s) as of Account: (a) For Accounts Listed Where December 31, 2004 by Type of Registered Investment the Manager's Compensation Account: (a) Registered Company; (b) Other is Based on the Account's Investment Company; (b) Other Pooled Investment Performance, the Number of Pooled Investment Vehicles; Vehicles; (c) Other Accounts and Assets in the Portfolio Manager (c) Other Accounts. Accounts Accounts Dan Willey (a) 13 (a) $4.5 billion (b) 0 (b) $0 None (c) 11 (c) $1.2 billion Alexander Romeo (a) 3 (a) $1.1 billion (b) 0 (b) $0 None (c) 0 (c) $0
As of December 31, 2004, the dollar range of securities beneficially owned by each portfolio manager in the Fund is shown below: Dan Wiley - None Alexander Romeo - None PORTFOLIO MANAGER COMPENSATION Citigroup Asset Management ("CAM") investment professionals receive base salary and other employee benefits and are eligible to receive incentive compensation. Base salary is typically determined based on market factors and the skill and experience of individual investment personnel. CAM has recently implemented an investment management incentive and deferred compensation plan (the "Plan") for its investment professionals, including the fund's portfolio manager(s). Each investment professional works as a part of an investment team. The Plan is designed to align the objectives of CAM investment professionals with those of fund shareholders and other CAM clients. Under the Plan a "base incentive pool" is established for each team each year as a percentage of CAM's revenue attributable to the team (largely management and related fees generated by funds and other accounts). A team's revenues are typically expected to increase or decrease depending on the effect that the team's investment performance as well as inflows and outflows have on the level of assets in the investment products managed by the team. The "base incentive pool" of a team is reduced by base salaries paid to members of the team and employee benefits expenses attributable to the team. The investment team's incentive pool is then adjusted to reflect the team's investment performance against the applicable product benchmark (e.g., a securities index) and its ranking among a "peer group" of non-CAM investment managers. Longer-term performance will be more heavily weighted than shorter-term performance in the calculation of the performance adjustment factor. The incentive pool for a team may also be adjusted to reflect other factors (e.g., severance pay to departing members of the team, and discretionary allocations by the applicable CAM chief investment officer from one investment team to another). The incentive pool will be allocated by the applicable CAM chief investment officer to the team leader and, based on the recommendations of the team leader, to the other members of the team. Up to 40% of an investment professional's annual incentive compensation is subject to deferral. Amounts deferred will accrue a return based on the hypothetical returns of a composite of CAM's investment products (where deemed appropriate, approximately half of the deferred amount will accrue a return based on the return of products managed by the applicable investment team). An additional portion of awarded incentive compensation may be received in the form of stock or options to purchase common stock. CAM may from time to time offer other stock purchase or option programs to investment personnel. PORTFOLIO MANAGER MATERIAL CONFLICTS OF INTEREST Potential conflicts of interest may arise when a Fund's portfolio manager has day-to-day management responsibilities with respect to one or more other funds or other accounts, as is the case for the portfolio managers of the Fund. CAM has adopted compliance policies and procedures that are designed to address various conflicts of interest that may arise for its investment advisers and the individuals that they employ. For example, CAM seeks to minimize the effects of competing interests for the time and attention of portfolio managers by assigning portfolio managers to manage funds and accounts that share a similar investment style. CAM has also adopted trade allocation procedures that are designed to facilitate the fair allocation of limited investment opportunities among multiple funds and accounts. There is no guarantee, however, that the policies and procedures adopted by CAM will be able to detect and/or prevent every situation in which an actual or potential conflict may appear. These potential conflicts include: Allocation of Limited Time and Attention. A portfolio manager who is responsible for managing multiple funds and/or accounts may devote unequal time and attention to the management of those funds and/or accounts. As a result, the portfolio manager may not be able to formulate as complete a strategy or identify equally attractive investment opportunities for each of those accounts as might be the case if he or she were to devote substantially more attention to the management of a single fund. The effects of this potential conflict may be more pronounced where funds and/or accounts overseen by a particular portfolio manager have different investment strategies. Allocation of Limited Investment Opportunities. If a portfolio manager identifies a limited investment opportunity that may be suitable for multiple funds and/or accounts, the opportunity may be allocated among these several funds or accounts, which may limit a fund's ability to take full advantage of the investment opportunity. Pursuit of Differing Strategies. At times, a portfolio manager may determine that an investment opportunity may be appropriate for only some of the funds and/or accounts for which he or she exercises investment responsibility, or may decide that certain of the funds and/or accounts should take differing positions with respect to a particular security. In these cases, the portfolio manager may place separate transactions for one or more funds or accounts which may affect the market price of the security or the execution of the transaction, or both, to the detriment or benefit of one or more other funds and/or accounts. Selection of Brokers/Dealers. Portfolio managers may be able to select or influence the selection of the brokers and dealers that are used to execute securities transactions for the funds and/or account that they supervise. In addition to executing trades, some brokers and dealers provide portfolio managers with brokerage and research services (as those terms are defined in Section 28(e) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934), which may result in the payment of higher brokerage fees than might have otherwise be available. These services may be more beneficial to certain funds or accounts than to others. Although the payment of brokerage commissions is subject to the requirement that the portfolio manager determine in good faith that the commissions are reasonable in relation to the value of the brokerage and research services provided to the fund, a portfolio manager's decision as to the selection of brokers and dealers could yield disproportionate costs and benefits among the funds and/or accounts that he or she manages. Variation in Compensation. A conflict of interest may arise where the financial or other benefits available to the portfolio manager differ among the funds and/or accounts that he or she manages. If the structure of the investment adviser's management fee and/or the portfolio manager's compensation differs among funds and/or accounts (such as where certain funds or accounts pay higher management fees or performance-based management fees), the portfolio manager might be motivated to help certain funds and/or accounts over others. The portfolio manager might be motivated to favor funds and/or accounts in which he or she has an interest or in which the investment advisor and/or its affiliates have interests. Similarly, the desire to maintain or raise assets under management or to enhance the portfolio manager's performance record or to derive other rewards, financial or otherwise, could influence the portfolio manager to lend preferential treatment to those funds and/or accounts that could most significantly benefit the portfolio manager. Related Business Opportunities. The investment adviser or its affiliates may provide more services (such as distribution or recordkeeping) for some types of funds or accounts than for others. In such cases, a portfolio manager may benefit, either directly or indirectly, by devoting disproportionate attention to the management of fund and/or accounts that provide greater overall returns to the investment manager and its affiliates. REDEMPTIONS IN KIND If conditions arise that would make it undesirable for the Fund to pay for all redemptions in cash, the Fund may authorize payment to be made in portfolio securities or other property. The Fund has obligated itself under the 1940 Act, however, to redeem for cash all shares presented for redemption in any 90-day period by any one shareholder up to $250,000 or 1% of the Fund's net assets, whichever is less. Securities delivered in payment of redemptions would be valued at the same value assigned to them in computing the net asset value per share. Shareholders receiving such securities would incur brokerage costs when these securities are sold. BROKERAGE Subject to the Board's approval, TAMIC's, SaBAM's and TIMCO's policy, in executing transactions in portfolio securities, is to seek best execution of orders at the most favorable prices. Determining what may constitute best execution and price in the execution of a securities transaction by a broker involves considering, without limitation: o the overall direct net economic result to the Fund, involving both price paid or received and any commissions and other cost paid; o the efficiency with which the transaction is effected; o the ability to effect the transaction at all where a large block is involved; o the availability of the broker to stand ready to execute potentially difficult transactions in the future; and o the financial strength and stability of the broker. Such considerations are judgmental and are weighed by management in determining the overall reasonableness of brokerage commissions paid. Subject to the foregoing, a factor in the selection of brokers is the receipt of research services, analyses and reports concerning issuers, industries, securities, economic factors and trends, and other statistical and factual information. Any such research and other statistical and factual information provided by brokers is considered to be in addition to and not in lieu of services TAMIC, SaBAM or TIMCO is required to perform under its investment advisory or subadvisory agreement. The cost, value, and specific application of such information are indeterminable and hence are not practicably allocable among the Fund and other clients of TAMIC, SaBAM or TIMCO who may indirectly benefit from the availability of such information. Similarly, the Fund may indirectly benefit from information made available as a result of transactions for such clients. Purchases and sales of bonds and money market instruments are usually principal transactions and normally are purchased directly from the issuer or from the underwriter or market maker for the securities. There usually are no brokerage commissions paid for such purchases. Purchases from the underwriters do include the underwriting commission or concession, and purchases from dealers serving as market makers do include the spread between the bid and asked prices. Where transactions are made in the over-the-counter market, the Fund deals with primary market makers unless more favorable prices are otherwise obtainable. Brokerage fees are incurred in connection with futures transactions, and the Fund is required to deposit and maintain funds with brokers as margin to guarantee performance of future obligations. TAMIC, SaBAM or TIMCO may follow a policy of considering the sale of shares of the Fund a factor in the selection of broker-dealers to execute portfolio transactions, subject to the requirements of best execution described above. TAMIC's, SaBAM's and TIMCO's policy with respect to brokerage is and will be reviewed by the Board periodically. Because of the possibility of further regulatory developments affecting the securities exchanges and brokerage practices generally, the foregoing practices may be changed, modified or eliminated. The total brokerage commissions paid by the Fund for the years ended December 31, 2002, 2003 and 2004 were $270,318, $327,317 and $216,367, respectively. No brokerage business was placed with any brokers affiliated with the Fund's investment adviser during the past three years. PORTFOLIO TURNOVER RATE The Fund's investment philosophy is based on the belief that, as in the past, the structure of the United States economy and its securities markets will undergo continuous change. Thus, the fully managed approach puts maximum emphasis on flexibility. Because of this flexibility, the Fund may have a high rate of portfolio turnover and, thus, higher transaction and brokerage costs. Accordingly, the Fund could have a turnover in the range of 100%. A higher turnover rate should not be interpreted as a variation from the Fund's stated investment policy. Portfolio turnover results when the Fund makes a change in its investments from one investment sector (such as the equity market) to another investment sector (such as the bond market), as well as may result in response to redemptions, when the Fund realizes capital gains, and in response to market conditions. The Fund may have a loss if it makes a change in the investment sector in which the greatest proportion of its assets is invested at a time when subsequent market conditions are unfavorable. The Fund's portfolio turnover rates for the years ended December 31, 2003 and 2004 were 84% and 64% respectively. For the fiscal year ended December 31, 2004, the fund held the following securities issued by it's regular brokers or dealers:
Fund Name D=Debt / E=Equity Market Value JP Morgan Chase & Co. E $ 3,047,422 The Goldman Sachs Group, Inc. E $ 1,501,089 Morgan Stanley E $ 1,302,999 The Bear Stearns Cos., Inc. E $ 1,297,291 Lehman Brothers Holdings, Inc. E $ 922,739 Merrill Lynch & Co. E $ 802,233 UBS D $ 2,926,506 JP MorganChase & Co. D $ 2,807,928 Credit Suisse First Boston D $ 921,332 Merrill Lynch & Co. D $ 899,631
FUND ADMINISTRATION Since 1996, The Travelers Insurance Company ("TIC"), an indirect wholly-owned subsidiary of MetLife, Inc., acts as administrator to the Fund. The Fund pays TIC an administration fee calculated at an annual rate of 0.06% of the average daily net assets of the Fund. This fee is calculated daily and paid monthly. TIC has entered into a sub-administrative service agreement with State Street Bank and Trust Company ("State Street"), as of July 1, 2005, to perform the Fund's administrative, pricing and bookkeeping services. TIC pays State Street, as sub-administrator, a fee calculated according to the following fee schedule:
Average Assets Annual Fee Expressed in Basis Points: 1/100 of 1% -------------- ------------------------------------------------- First $100 Million 0.0335% Next $100 Million 0.02% Thereafter up to $12.5 Billion in assets 0.01% Assets exceeding $12.5 Billion 0.001% Minimum $40,000
Smith Barney Fund Management LLC ("SBFM") served as sub-administrator to the Fund until June 30, 2005. For the years ended December 31, 2002, 2003 and 2004, the Fund paid administration fees of $166,937, $157,883 and $173,283, respectively. SBFM voluntarily waived a portion of its fees in the amount of $1,726. In addition, for the year ended December 31, 2004, SBFM reimbursed expenses in the amount of $31,759 in connection with the overpayment of transfer agent fees relating to the period from June 1999 through June 2004. SHAREHOLDER RIGHTS Fund shares are currently sold only to insurance company separate accounts in connection with variable annuity and variable life insurance contracts issued by the Company. Shares are not sold to the general public. Fund shares are sold on a continuing basis, without a sales charge, at the net asset value next computed after the insurance company makes payment to the Fund's custodian. However, separate accounts to which shares are sold may impose sales and other charges, as described in the appropriate contract prospectus. The Fund currently issues one class of shares that participate equally in dividends and distributions and have equal voting, liquidation and other rights. When issued for the consideration described in the prospectus, shares are fully paid and nonassessable by the Fund and have no preference, conversion, exchange or preemptive rights. Shareholders are entitled to one vote for each full share owned and fractional votes for fractional shares. Shares are redeemable, transferable and freely assignable as collateral. There are no sinking fund provisions. (See the accompanying separate account prospectus for a discussion of voting rights applicable to purchasers of variable life insurance contracts.) Although the Fund is not currently aware of any disadvantages to contract owners of either variable annuity or variable life insurance contracts because the Fund's shares are available with respect to both products, an irreconcilable material conflict may conceivably arise between contract owners of different separate accounts investing in the Fund due to differences in tax treatment, management of the Fund's investments, or other considerations. The Fund's Board will monitor events in order to identify any material conflicts between variable annuity contract owners and variable life insurance policy owners, and will determine what action, if any, should be taken in the event of such a conflict. The Fund has delegated to the subadvisers the proxy voting responsibilities for the securities held by the Fund. SaBAM has responsibility for proxies for the fixed-income portion of the Fund and TIMCO has responsibility for proxies for the equity portion of the Fund. Please see Appendix B for more information on proxy voting polices and procedures. FEDERAL TAX STATUS OF THE FUND The following discussion of the federal tax status of the Fund is a general and abbreviated summary based on tax laws and regulations in effect on the date of this statement of additional information. Tax law is subject to change by legislative, administrative or judicial action. Qualification as Regulated Investment Company. The Fund is treated as a separate taxpayer for federal income tax purposes. The Fund intends to elect to be treated as a regulated investment company under Subchapter M of Chapter 1 of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986, as amended (the "Code") and to qualify as a regulated investment company each year. If the Fund: (1) continues to qualify as a regulated investment company, and (2) distributes to its shareholders at least 90% of its investment company taxable income (including for this purpose its net ordinary investment income and realized net short-term capital gains) and 90% of its tax-exempt interest income (reduced by certain expenses) (the "90% distribution requirement"), which the Fund intends to do, then under the provisions of Subchapter M of the Code the Fund should have little or no liability for federal income taxes. In particular, the Fund will not be subject to federal income tax on the portion of its investment company taxable income and net capital gain (i.e., realized net long-term capital gain in excess of realized net short-term capital loss) it distributes to shareholders (or treats as having been distributed to shareholders). The Fund generally will endeavor to distribute (or treat as deemed distributed) to shareholders all of its investment company taxable income and its net capital gain, if any, for each taxable year so that it will not incur federal income taxes on its earnings. The Fund must meet several requirements to maintain its status as a regulated investment company. These requirements include the following: (1) at least 90% of its gross income for each taxable year must be derived from (a) dividends, interest, payments with respect to loaned securities, gains from the sale or disposition of securities (including gains from related investments in foreign currencies), and other income (including gains from options, futures or forward contracts) derived with respect to its business of investing in such securities or currencies; and (b) net income derived from an interest in a "qualified publicly traded partnership"; and (2) at the close of each quarter of the Fund's taxable year, (a) at least 50% of the value of the Fund's total assets must consist of cash, cash items, securities of other regulated investment companies, U.S. government securities and other securities (provided that no more than 5% of the value of the Fund may consist of such other securities of any one issuer, and the Fund may not hold more than 10% of the outstanding voting securities of any issuer), and (b) the Fund must not invest more than 25% of its total assets in the securities of any one issuer (other than U.S. government securities or the securities of other regulated investment companies), the securities of two or more issuers that are controlled by the Fund and that are engaged in the same or similar trades or businesses or related trades or businesses, or the securities of one or more "qualified publicly traded partnerships". Distributions to Avoid Federal Excise Tax A regulated investment company generally must distribute in each calendar year an amount equal to at least the sum of: (1) 98% of its ordinary taxable income for the year, (2) 98% of its capital gain net income for the 12 months ended on October 31 of that calendar year, and (3) any ordinary income or net capital gain income not distributed for prior years (the "excise tax avoidance requirements"). To the extent that a regulated investment company fails to do this, it is subject to a 4% nondeductible federal excise tax on undistributed earnings. However, the excise tax does not apply to a regulated investment company, whose only shareholders during the year are segregated asset accounts of life insurance companies supporting variable life insurance contracts or variable annuity contracts, certain qualified trusts, or parties that contributed in aggregate $250,000 or less in seed money to the Fund. If the Fund has a seed money account that has invested more than $250,000, the Fund must make (and intends to make) the foregoing distributions of income in order to avoid paying the excise tax. Section 817(h) Diversification Requirements The Fund also intends to comply with Section 817(h) of the Code and the regulations issued thereunder, which impose certain investment diversification requirements on life insurance companies' separate accounts that are used to support variable life insurance contracts and variable annuity contracts. A separate account may meet these requirements by investing solely in the shares of a regulated investment company registered under the 1940 Act as an open-end management investment company (such as the Fund) provided that such regulated investment company satisfies the diversification requirements (as well as certain other requirements) of Section 817(h) of the Code and the regulations issued thereunder. These requirements are in addition to the diversification requirements of subchapter M and of the 1940 Act, and may affect the securities in which the Fund may invest. In order to comply with future requirements of Section 817(h) (or related provisions of the Code), the Fund may be required, for example, to alter its investment objectives. The Section 817(h) requirements place certain limitations on the assets of each separate account (or underlying regulated investment company) that may be invested in securities of a single issuer. Specifically, the regulations provide that, except as permitted by a "safe harbor" described below, as of the end of each calendar quarter, or within 30 days thereafter: o no more than 55% of the Fund's total assets may be represented by any one investment o no more than 70% by any two investments o no more than 80% by any three investments o no more than 90% by any four investments Section 817(h) provides, as a safe harbor, that a separate account (or underlying regulated investment company) will be treated as being adequately diversified if the diversification requirements under Subchapter M are satisfied and no more than 55% of the value of the account's total assets are cash and cash items, government securities, and securities of other regulated investment companies. For purposes of Section 817(h), all securities of the same issuer, all interests in the same real property project, and all interests in the same commodity are treated as a single investment. In addition, each U.S. Government agency or instrumentality is treated as a separate issuer, while the securities of a particular foreign government and its agencies, instrumentalities, and political subdivisions are considered securities issued by the same issuer. Compliance with Applicable Requirements If for any taxable year the Fund fails to qualify as a regulated investment company or fails to satisfy the 90% distribution requirement, then all of its taxable income becomes subject to federal, and possibly state, income tax at regular corporate rates (without any deduction for distributions to its shareholders). In addition, if for any taxable year the Fund fails to qualify as a regulated investment company, owners of variable life insurance contracts and variable annuity contracts who have assets directed to the Fund might be taxed currently on the investment earnings under their contracts and thereby lose the benefit of tax deferral. Likewise, if the Fund fails to comply with the diversification (or other) requirements of section 817(h) of the Code and the regulations thereunder, owners of variable life insurance contracts and variable annuity contracts who have assets directed to the Fund would be taxed on the investment earnings under their contracts and thereby lose the benefit of tax deferral. Accordingly, compliance with the above requirements is carefully monitored by the Fund's investment advisers and subadvisers, and the Fund intends to comply with these requirements as they exist or as they may be modified from time to time. Compliance with the tax requirements described above may result in lower total return for the Fund than would otherwise be the case, since, to comply with the above requirements, the investments utilized (and the time at which such investments are entered into and closed out) may be different from what the Fund's investment adviser and subadvisers might otherwise select. INVESTMENTS IN FOREIGN SECURITIES Investment income received from sources within foreign countries, or capital gains earned by the Fund investing in securities of foreign issuers, may be subject to foreign income taxes withheld at the source. In this regard, withholding tax rates in countries with which the United States does not have a tax treaty are often as high as 35% or more. The United States has entered into tax treaties with many foreign countries that may entitle the Fund to a reduced rate of tax or exemption from tax on this related income and gains. The effective rate of foreign tax cannot be determined at this time since the amount of the Fund's assets to be invested within various countries is not now known. The Fund intends that it will operate so as to qualify for applicable treaty-reduced rates of tax. If the Fund acquires stock in certain foreign corporations that receive at least 75% of their annual gross income from passive sources (such as interest, dividends, rents, royalties or capital gain) or hold at least 50% of their total assets in investments producing such passive income ("passive foreign investment companies"), the Fund could be subject to federal income tax and additional interest charges on "excess distributions" received from such companies or gain from the sale of stock in such companies, even if all income or gain actually received by the Fund is timely distributed to its shareholders. The Fund would not be able to pass through to its shareholders any credit or deduction for such a tax. Certain elections may, if available, ameliorate these adverse tax consequences, but any such election requires the Fund to recognize taxable income or gain without the concurrent receipt of cash. If the Fund acquires stock in foreign corporations, it may limit and/or manage its holdings in passive foreign investment companies to minimize its tax liability. Foreign exchange gains and losses realized by the Fund in connection with certain transactions involving non-dollar debt securities, certain foreign currency futures contracts, foreign currency option contracts, foreign currency forward contracts, foreign currencies, or payables or receivables denominated in a foreign currency are subject to Code provisions that generally treat such gains and losses as ordinary income and losses and may affect the amount, timing and character of distributions to shareholders. Any such transactions that are not directly related to the Fund's investment in securities (possibly including speculative currency positions or currency derivatives not used for hedging purposes) could, under future Treasury regulations, produce income not among the types of "qualifying income" from which the Fund must derive at least 90% of its annual gross income. Investments with Original Issue Discount If the Fund invests in certain payment-in-kind instruments, zero coupon securities or certain deferred interest securities (and, in general, any other securities with original issue discount or with market discount if the Fund elects to include market discount in current income) it must accrue income on such investments prior to the receipt of the corresponding cash. However, because the Fund must meet the 90% distribution requirement to qualify as a regulated investment company, the Fund may have to dispose of its portfolio investments under disadvantageous circumstances to generate cash, or may have to leverage itself by borrowing the cash, to satisfy distribution requirements. Options, Futures, and Swaps The Fund's transactions in options contracts and futures contracts are subject to special provisions of the Code that, among other things, may affect the character of gains and losses realized by the Fund (that is, may affect whether gains or losses are ordinary or capital), accelerate recognition of income to the Fund and defer losses of the Fund. These rules (1) could affect the character, amount and timing of distributions to shareholders of the Fund, (2) could require the Fund to "mark to market" certain types of the positions in its portfolio (that is, treat them as if they were closed out) and (3) may cause the Fund to recognize income without receiving cash with which to make distributions in amounts necessary to satisfy the 90% distribution requirement and the excise tax avoidance requirements described above. To mitigate the effect of these rules and prevent disqualification of the Fund as a regulated investment company, management seeks to monitor the Fund's transactions, seeks to make the appropriate tax elections on behalf of the Fund, and seeks to make the appropriate entries in the Fund's books and records when the Fund acquires any option, futures contract or hedged investment. The federal income tax rules applicable to interest rate swaps, caps and floors are unclear in certain respects, and the Fund may be required to account for these transactions in a manner that, in certain circumstances, may limit the degree to which it may utilize these transactions. INVESTOR TAXATION Under current law, owners of variable life insurance contracts and variable annuity contracts and employee benefit plan participants who are indirectly invested in the Fund generally are not subject to federal income tax on Fund earnings or distributions or on gains realized upon the sale or redemption of Fund shares until they are withdrawn from the contract or plan. For information concerning the federal income tax consequences to the owners of variable life insurance contracts and variable annuity contracts, see the prospectuses for such contracts. For information concerning the federal income tax consequences to plan participants, see the summary plan description or contact your plan administrator. OTHER INFORMATION. The discussion of "Tax Consequences of Dividends and Distributions" in the prospectus and the foregoing discussion of federal income tax consequences is a general and abbreviated summary based on tax laws and regulations in effect on the date of the prospectus. Tax law is subject to change by legislative, administrative or judicial action. Each prospective investor should consult his or her own tax advisor as to the tax consequences of investments in the Fund. It is not feasible to comment on all of the federal tax consequences concerning the Fund. No further discussion of those consequences is included in this SAI. For information concerning the federal income tax consequences to the owners of variable life insurance and annuity contracts, see the prospectuses for the contracts. PERFORMANCE The Fund's "average annual total return" figures that are in the prospectus are computed according to a formula prescribed by the SEC. The calculations assume the reinvestment of all dividends and capital gain distributions on the reinvestment dates during the period and the deduction of all recurring expenses that were charged to shareholders' accounts. The figures do not reflect the fees and expenses associated with the variable contract for which this Fund is an investment option. The performance of the Fund will vary in response to fluctuations in market conditions, interest rates, the composition of the Fund's investments, and expenses. These figures are historical and are not a guarantee of future performance. Average Annual Total Return These figures are computed according to formula prescribed by the SEC. The formula is as follows: P (1+T)n =ERV P = a hypothetical initial payment of $1,000 T = average annual total return n = number of years ERV = Ending Redeemable Value of a hypothetical $1,000 investment made at the beginning of a 1-, 5- or 10-year period (or fractional portion thereof). DISCLOSURE OF PORTFOLIO HOLDINGS The Board of Trustees has adopted and approved policies and procedures reasonably designed to protect the confidentiality of the Fund's portfolio holdings information and to seek to prevent the selective disclosure of such information. The Fund reserves the right to modify these policies and procedures at any time without notice. Only the adviser's or, as applicable, the subadvisers' Chief Compliance Officer, or persons designated by the Fund's Chief Compliance Officer (each, an "Authorized Person") are authorized to disseminate nonpublic portfolio information, and only in accordance with the procedures described below. Pursuant to these polices and procedures, the adviser or the subadviser may disclose the Fund's portfolio holdings to unaffiliated parties prior to the time such information has been disclosed to the public through a filing with the SEC only if an Authorized Person determines that (i) there is a legitimate business purpose for the disclosure; and (ii) the recipient is subject to a confidentiality agreement, including a duty not to trade on the nonpublic information. Under the Fund's policies and procedures, a legitimate business purpose includes disseminating or providing access to portfolio information to (i) the Fund's service providers (e.g., custodian, independent auditors) in order for the service providers to fulfill their contractual duties to the Fund; (ii) rating and ranking organizations and mutual fund analysts; (iii) a newly hired subadviser prior to the subadviser commencing its duties; (iv) the adviser of a portfolio or other affiliated investment company portfolio that will be the surviving portfolio in a merger; and (v) firms that provide pricing services, proxy voting services and research and trading services. The Fund's policies and procedures prohibit the dissemination of non-public portfolio information for compensation or other consideration. Any exceptions to these policies and procedures may be made only if approved by the Fund's Chief Compliance Officer as in the best interests of the Fund, and only if such exceptions are reported to the Fund's Board of Trustees at its next regularly scheduled meeting. Dissemination of the Fund's portfolio holdings information to MetLife enterprise employees is limited to persons who are subject to a duty to keep such information confidential and who need to receive the information as part of their duties. As a general matter, the Fund disseminates portfolio holdings to contract owners only in the Annual or Semiannual Reports or in other formats that are generally available on a contemporaneous basis to all such contract owners or the general public. In addition, approximately the third week after the end of each calendar quarter, the Fund publishes the quarterly percentage portfolio holdings for the Fund. The information is also available quarterly on the Fund's website. In addition, disclosure of portfolio holding information will be made in accordance with applicable law or as requested by governmental authorities. FINANCIAL STATEMENTS The Fund's fiscal yearend is December 31st. Financial statements for the Fund's annual and semi-annual periods will be distributed to shareholders of record. KPMG LLP, 757 Third Avenue, New York, NY 10017, was the independent registered public accountant selected to examine and report on the Funds' financial statements for the year ending December 31, 2004. The financial statements for the Fund have been audited by KPMG LLP for the fiscal year ended December 31, 2004. The financial statements of the Fund and the Report of Independent Registered Public Accounting Firm are contained in the Fund's Annual Report, which is incorporated by reference in the Statement of Additional Information. KPMG LLP is not independent of MetLife, Inc., so, as of July 1, 2005, it no longer serves as the independent registered public accountant for the Fund. Deloitte & Touche LLP, 200 Berkeley St., Boston MA 02116, has been retained as the independent registered public accountant for the Fund. ADDITIONAL INFORMATION On April 1, 2005, TIC and its affiliates owned 100% of the Fund's outstanding shares. TIC is a stock insurance company chartered in 1864 in Connecticut and continuously engaged in the insurance business since that time. It is a wholly owned subsidiary of The Travelers Insurance Group Inc., which is indirectly owned, through a wholly owned subsidiary, by MetLife, Inc. The Company's home office is located at One Cityplace, Hartford, Connecticut 06103. State Street Bank and Trust Company, 225 Franklin Street, Boston, MA 02110 is the Fund's custodian. The custodian is responsible for holding all securities and cash of the Fund, receiving and paying for securities purchased, delivering securities sold against payment, receiving and collecting income from investments, and making payments covering expenses of the Fund, all as directed by persons authorized by the Fund. The custodian takes no part in determining the investment policies of the Fund or in deciding which securities are purchased or sold by the Fund. PFPC, Inc., 103 Bellevue Parkway, Wilmington, DE 19809, will maintain the records relating to its function as the transfer agent for the Fund. Sullivan & Worcester LLP serves as Fund counsel. It is located at 1666 K Street, NW, Washington, DC 20006. Except as otherwise stated in its prospectus or as required by law, the Fund reserves the right to change the terms of the offer stated in its prospectus without shareholder approval, including the right to impose or change fees for services provided. No dealer, salesman or other person is authorized to give any information or to make any representation not contained in the Fund's prospectus, this SAI, or any supplemental sales literature issued by the Fund, and no person is entitled to rely on any information or representation not contained in the prospectus. The Fund's prospectus and this SAI omit certain information contained in the Fund's registration statement filed with the SEC, which investors may obtain from the SEC's principal office in Washington, D.C. upon payment of the fee prescribed by the rules and regulations promulgated by the SEC. Otherwise, investors may obtain the Fund's registration for free by accessing the SEC's website at http://www.sec.gov. APPENDIX A COMMERCIAL PAPER RATINGS The Fund's investments in commercial paper are limited to those rated A-1 or A-2 by S&P or PRIME-1 or PRIME-2 by Moody's. These ratings and other money market instruments are described as follows. Commercial paper rated A-1 by S&P has the following characteristics: liquidity ratios are adequate to meet cash requirements. The issuer's long-term senior debt is rated A or better, although in some cases BBB credits may be allowed. The issuer has access to at least two additional channels of borrowing. Basic earnings and cash flow have an upward trend with allowance made for unusual circumstances. Typically, the issuer's industry is well established and the issuer has a strong position within the industry. Commercial paper rated A-2 by S&P indicates that capacity for timely payment is strong. However, the relative degree of safety is not as overwhelming as for issues designated A-1. Commercial paper rated PRIME-1 is the highest commercial paper rating assigned by Moody's. Among the factors considered by Moody's in assigning ratings are the following: (1) evaluation of the management of the issuer; (2) economic evaluation of the issuer's industry or industries and an appraisal of speculative type risks which may be inherent in certain areas; (3) evaluation of the issuer's products in relation to competition and customer acceptance; (4) liquidity; (5) amount and quality of long-term debt; (6) trend of earnings over a period of ten years; (7) financial strength of a parent company and the relationships which exist with the issuer; and (8) recognition by the management of obligations which may be present or may arise as a result of public preparations to meet such obligations. Relative strength or weakness of the above factors determines how the issuer's commercial paper is rated within various categories. Commercial paper rated PRIME-2 has a strong capacity for repayment of short-term promissory obligations. COMMON AND PREFERRED STOCK RATINGS MOODY'S COMMON STOCK RATINGS Moody's presents a concise statement of the important characteristics of a company and an evaluation of the grade (quality) of its common stock. Data presented include: (a) capsule stock information which reveals short and long term growth and yield afforded by the indicated dividend, based on a recent price; (b) a long term price chart which shows patterns of monthly stock price movements and monthly trading volumes; (c) a breakdown of a company's capital account which aids in determining the degree of conservatism or financial leverage in a company's balance sheet; (d) interim earnings for the current year to date, plus three previous years; (e) dividend information; (f) company background; (g) recent corporate developments; (h) prospects for a company in the immediate future and the next few years; and (I) a ten year comparative statistical analysis. This information provides investors with information on what a company does, how it has performed in the past, how it is performing currently, and what its future performance prospects appear to be. These characteristics are then evaluated and result in a grading, or indication of quality. The grade is based on an analysis of each company's financial strength, stability of earnings and record of dividend payments. Other considerations include conservativeness of capitalization, depth and caliber of management, accounting practices, technological capabilities and industry position. Evaluation is represented by the following grades: (1) High Grade (2) Investment Grade (3) Medium Grade (4) Speculative Grade MOODY'S PREFERRED STOCK RATINGS Preferred stock ratings and their definitions are as follows: 1. aaa: An issue that is rated aaa is considered to be a top-quality preferred stock. This rating indicates good asset protection and the least risk of dividend impairment within the universe of preferred stocks. 2. aa: An issue that is rated aa is considered a high-grade preferred stock. This rating indicates that there is a reasonable assurance that earnings and asset protection will remain relatively well maintained in the foreseeable future. 3. a: An issue that is rated a is considered to be an upper-medium grade preferred stock. While risks are judged to be somewhat greater than in the aaa and AA classification, earnings and asset protection are, nevertheless, expected to be maintained at adequate levels. 4. baa: An issue that is rated baa is considered to be a medium-grade preferred stock, neither highly protected nor poorly secured. Earnings and asset protection appear adequate at present but may be questionable over any great length of time. 5. ba: An issue that is rated ba is considered to have speculative elements and its future cannot be considered well assured. Earnings and asset protection may be very moderate and not well safeguarded during adverse periods. Uncertainty of position characterizes preferred stocks in this class. 6. b: An issue that is rated b generally lacks the characteristics of a desirable investment. Assurance of dividend payments and maintenance of other terms of the issue over any long period of time may be small. Moody's applies numerical modifiers 1, 2 and 3 in each rating classification: the modifier 1 indicates that the security ranks in the higher end of its generic rating category, the modifier 2 indicates a midrange ranking, and the modifier 3 indicates that the issue ranks in the lower end of its generic rating category. CORPORATE BOND RATINGS S&P CORPORATE BOND RATINGS An S&P corporate bond rating is a current assessment of the creditworthiness of an obligor, including obligors outside the United States, with respect to a specific obligation. This assessment may take into consideration obligors such as guarantors, insurers, or lessees. Ratings of foreign obligors do not take into account currency exchange and related uncertainties. The ratings are based on current information furnished by the issuer or obtained by S&P from other sources it considers reliable. The ratings are based, in varying degrees, on the following considerations: a. Likelihood of default capacity and willingness of the obligor as to the timely payment of interest and repayment of principal in accordance with the terms of the obligation; b. Nature of and provisions of the obligation; and c. Protection afforded by and relative position of the obligation in the event of bankruptcy, reorganization or other arrangement under the laws of bankruptcy and other laws affecting creditors' rights. PLUS (+) OR MINUS (-): To provide more detailed indications of credit quality, ratings from AA to A may be modified by the addition of a plus or minus sign to show relative standing within the major rating categories. Bond ratings are as follows: 1. AAA - Debt rated AAA has the highest rating assigned by S&P. Capacity to pay interest and repay principal is extremely strong. 2. AA - Debt rated AA has a very strong capacity to pay interest and repay principal and differs from the higher rated issues only in small degree. 3. A - Debt rated A has a strong capacity to pay interest and repay principal although it is somewhat more susceptible to the adverse effects of changes in circumstances and economic conditions than debt in higher rated categories. 4. BBB - Debt rated BBB is regarded as having an adequate capacity to pay interest and repay principal. Although it normally exhibits adequate protection parameters, adverse economic conditions or changing circumstances are more likely to lead to a weakened capacity to pay interest and repay principal for debt in this category than in higher rated categories. 5. BB and B - Debt rated BB and B is regarded, on balance, as predominantly speculative with respect to capacity to pay interest and repay principal in accordance with the terms of the obligation. BB indicates the lowest degree of speculation. While such debt likely will have some quality and protective characteristics, these are outweighed by large uncertainties or major risk exposures to adverse conditions. MOODY'S CORPORATE BOND RATINGS Moody's ratings are as follows: 1. aaa - Bonds that are rated Aaa are judged to be of the best quality. They carry the smallest degree of investment risk and are generally referred to as "gilt-edge". Interest payments are protected by a large or by an exceptionally stable margin and principal is secure. While the various protective elements are likely to change, such changes as can be visualized are not likely to impair the fundamentally strong position of such issues. 2. Aa - Bonds that are rated Aa are judged to be of high quality by all standards. Together with the aaa group they comprise what are generally known as high-grade bonds. Aa bonds are rated lower than Aaa bonds because margins of protection may not be as large as in Aaa securities, fluctuation of protective elements may be of greater amplitude, or there may be other elements present that make the long term risks appear somewhat larger than in Aaa securities. 3. A - Bonds that are rated A possess many favorable investment attributes and are to be considered as upper medium grade obligations. Factors giving security to principal and interest are considered adequate but elements may be present which suggest a susceptibility to impairment sometime in the future. 4. Baa - Bonds that are rated Baa are considered as medium grade obligations, that is, they are neither highly protected nor poorly secured. Interest payments and principal security appear adequate for the present but certain protective elements may be lacking or may be characteristically unreliable over any great length of time. Such bonds lack outstanding investment characteristics and in fact have speculative characteristics as well. 5. Ba - Bonds that are rated Ba are judged to have speculative elements. Their future cannot be considered as well assured. Often the protection of interest and principal payments may be very moderate and thereby not well safeguarded during both good and bad times over the future. Uncertainty of position characterizes bonds in this class. 6. B - Bonds that are rated B generally lack characteristics of the desirable investment. Assurance of interest and principal payments or of maintenance of other terms of the contract over any long period of time may be small. Moody's applies numerical modifiers, 1, 2 and 3 in each generic rating classification from Aa through B in its corporate bond rating system. The modifier 1 indicates that the security ranks in the higher end of its generic rating category; the modifier 2 indicates a midrange ranking; and the modifier 3 indicates that the issue ranks in the lower end of its generic rating category. FITCH CORPORATE BOND RATINGS Fitch ratings are as follows: 1. AAA - Bonds considered to be investment grade and of the highest credit quality. The obligor has an exceptionally strong ability to pay interest and repay principal, which is unlikely to be affected by reasonably foreseeable events. 2. AA - Bonds considered to be investment grade and of very high credit quality. The obligor's ability to pay interest and repay principal is very strong, although not quite as strong as bonds rated "AAA". Because bonds rated in the "AAA" and "AA" categories are not significantly vulnerable to foreseeable future developments, short-term debt of these issuers is generally rated "F-l+". 3. A - Bonds considered to be investment grade and of high credit quality. The obligor's ability to pay interest and repay principal is considered to be strong but may be more vulnerable to adverse changes in economic conditions and circumstances than bonds with higher ratings. 4. BBB - Bonds considered investment grade and of satisfactory credit quality. The obligor's ability to pay interest and repay principal is considered to be adequate. Adverse changes in economic conditions and circumstances are more likely to have adverse impact on these bonds and impair timely payment. The likelihood that the ratings of these bonds will fall below investment grade is higher than for bonds with higher ratings. 5. BB - Bonds are considered speculative. The obligor's ability to pay interest and repay principal may be affected over time by adverse economic changes. However, business and financial alternatives can be identified which could assist the obligor in satisfying its debt service requirements. 6. B - Bonds are considered highly speculative. While bonds in this class are currently meeting debt service requirements, the probability of continued timely payment of principal and interest reflect the obligor's limited margin of safety and the need for reasonable business and economic activity through out the life of the issue. PLUS (+) MINUS (-) - Plus and minus signs are used (except in "AAA" category) with a rating symbol to indicate the relative position of a credit within the rating category. APPENDIX B PROXY VOTING POLICIES AND PROCEDURES Because the voting of proxies for portfolio securities relates to the investment decision making process, responsibility for voting portfolio securities has been delegated to the subadvisers. This appendix includes the policies and procedures the subadvisers use to determine how to vote such proxies. However, these policies and procedures may not address all potential voting issues that surround individual proxy votes, so there may be instances in which the votes may vary from a subadviser's particular policy. Information on how each portfolio voted proxies relating to portfolio securities during the most recent 12 month period ended June 30th is available (1) without charge by calling 800-842-9368 and (2) on the SEC's website at www.sec.gov. TIMCO and SaBAM Proxy Voting Policies and Procedures TIMCO and SaBAM are affiliates of Citigroup Asset Management ("CAM"), a group of investment adviser affiliates of Legg Mason, Inc. ("Legg Mason"). On June 24, 2005, Citigroup and Legg Mason announced that Citigroup would sell substantially all of its worldwide asset management business to Legg Mason. The transaction subsequently was closed on December 1, 2005, on which date TIMCO and SaBAM, as part of CAM, became indirect wholly owned subsidiaries of Legg Mason. TIMCO and SaBAM and all portfolio management personnel retained their advisory roles with the Fund and the names of the entities involved in the transaction remain unchanged under a temporary licensing agreement between Citigroup and Legg Mason. CAM has developed a set of proxy voting policies and procedures (the "Policies") to ensure that the adviser votes proxies relating to securities in the best interest of clients. These Policies remain effective after the transfer to Legg Mason. In voting proxies, the adviser is guided by general fiduciary principles and seeks to act prudently and solely in the best interest of clients. The adviser attempts to consider all factors that could affect the value of the investment and will vote proxies in the manner that it believes will be consistent with efforts to maximize shareholder values. The adviser may utilize an external service provider to provide it with information and/or a recommendation with regard to proxy votes. However, such recommendations do not relieve the adviser of its responsibility for the proxy vote. In the case of a proxy issue for which there is a stated position in the Policies, the adviser generally votes in accordance with such stated position. In the case of a proxy issue for which there is a list of factors set forth in the Policies that CAM considers in voting on such issue, CAM votes on a case-by-case basis in accordance with the general principles set forth above and considering such enumerated factors. In the case of a proxy issue for which there is no stated position or list of factors that CAM considers in voting on such issue, CAM votes on a case-by-case basis in accordance with the general principles set forth above. Issues for which there is a stated position set forth in the Policies or for which there is a list of factors set forth in the Policies that CAM considers in voting on such issues fall into a variety of categories, including election of directors, ratification of auditors, proxy and tender offer defenses, capital structure issues, executive and director compensation, mergers and corporate restructurings, and social and environmental issues. The stated position on an issue set forth in the Policies can always be superseded, subject to the duty to act solely in the best interest of the beneficial owners of accounts, by the investment management professionals responsible for the account whose shares are being voted. Issues applicable to a particular industry may cause CAM to abandon a policy that would have otherwise applied to issuers generally. As a result of the independent investment advisory services provided by distinct CAM business units, there may be occasions when different business units or different portfolio managers within the same business unit vote differently on the same issue. In furtherance of the adviser's goal to vote proxies in the best interest of clients, the adviser follows procedures designed to identify and address material conflicts that may arise between the adviser's interests and those of its clients before voting proxies on behalf of such clients. To seek to identify conflicts of interest, CAM periodically notifies CAM employees (including employees of the adviser) in writing that they are under an obligation (i) to be aware of the potential for conflicts of interest with respect to voting proxies on behalf of client accounts both as a result of their personal relationships and due to special circumstances that may arise during the conduct of CAM's and the adviser's business, and (ii) to bring conflicts of interest of which they become aware to the attention of compliance personnel. The adviser also maintains and considers a list of significant relationships that could present a conflict of interest for the adviser in voting proxies. The adviser is also sensitive to the fact that a significant, publicized relationship between an issuer and a non-CAM affiliate might appear to the public to influence the manner in which the adviser decides to vote a proxy with respect to such issuer. Absent special circumstances or a significant, publicized non-CAM affiliate relationship that CAM or the adviser for prudential reasons treats as a potential conflict of interest because such relationship might appear to the public to influence the manner in which the adviser decides to vote a proxy, the adviser generally takes the position that non-CAM relationships between Legg Mason and an issuer (e.g. investment banking or banking) do not present a conflict of interest for the adviser in voting proxies with respect to such issuer. Such position is based on the fact that the adviser is operated as an independent business unit from other Legg Mason business units as well as on the existence of information barriers between the adviser and certain other Legg Mason business units. CAM maintains a Proxy Voting Committee, of which the adviser personnel are members, to review and address conflicts of interest brought to its attention by compliance personnel. A proxy issue that will be voted in accordance with a stated position on an issue or in accordance with the recommendation of an independent third party is not brought to the attention of the Proxy Voting Committee for a conflict of interest review because the adviser's position is that to the extent a conflict of interest issue exists, it is resolved by voting in accordance with a pre-determined policy or in accordance with the recommendation of an independent third party. With respect to a conflict of interest brought to its attention, the Proxy Voting Committee first determines whether such conflict of interest is material. A conflict of interest is considered material to the extent that it is determined that such conflict is likely to influence, or appear to influence, the adviser's decision-making in voting proxies. If it is determined by the Proxy Voting Committee that a conflict of interest is not material, the adviser may vote proxies notwithstanding the existence of the conflict. If it is determined by the Proxy Voting Committee that a conflict of interest is material, the Proxy Voting Committee is responsible for determining an appropriate method to resolve such conflict of interest before the proxy affected by the conflict of interest is voted. Such determination is based on the particular facts and circumstances, including the importance of the proxy issue and the nature of the conflict of interest. Methods of resolving a material conflict of interest may include, but are not limited to, disclosing the conflict to clients and obtaining their consent before voting, or suggesting to clients that they engage another party to vote the proxy on their behalf. MANAGED ASSETS TRUST STATEMENT OF ADDITIONAL INFORMATION