497K 1 highincomevasummarypsp.htm

OPPENHEIMER

High Income Fund/VA
A series of Oppenheimer Variable Account Funds

Summary Prospectus     April 30, 2010

Share Classes:

     Service Shares

     Non-Service Shares

     Class 3 Shares

     Class 4 Shares

Before you invest, you may want to review the Fund's prospectus, which contains more information about the Fund and its risks. You can find the Fund's prospectus, Statement of Additional Information, Annual Report and other information about the Fund online at https://www.oppenheimerfunds.com/fund/investors/overview/HighIncomeFundVA. You can also get this information at no cost by calling 1.800.225.5677 or by sending an email request to: info@oppenheimerfunds.com.

The Fund's prospectus and Statement of Additional Information ("SAI"), both dated April 30, 2010, and pages 2 through 16 of its most recent Annual Report, dated December 31, 2009, are incorporated by reference into this Summary Prospectus. You can access the Fund's prospectus and SAI at https://www.oppenheimerfunds.com/fund/investors/overview/HighIncomeFundVA. The Fund's prospectus is also available from financial intermediaries who are authorized to sell Fund shares.

Investment Objective. The Fund seeks a high level of current income from investment in high-yield, fixed-income securities.

Fees and Expenses of the Fund. The table below describes the fees and expenses that you may pay if you buy and hold or redeem shares of the Fund. The accompanying prospectus of the participating insurance company provides information on initial or contingent deferred sales charges, exchange fees or redemption fees for that variable life insurance policy, variable annuity or other investment product. The fees and expenses of those products are not charged by the Fund and are not reflected in this table. Expenses would be higher if those fees were included.

Shareholder Fees (fees paid directly from your investment)

Non-Service Shares

Service Shares

Class 3 Shares

Class 4 Shares

Maximum Sales Charge (Load) imposed on purchases (as % of offering price)

None

None

None

None

Maximum Deferred Sales Charge (Load) (as % of the lower of original offering price or redemption proceeds)

None

None

None

None

Redemption Fee (as % of amount redeemed, if applicable)

None

None

1.00%

1.00%

 

Annual Fund Operating Expenses (expenses that you pay each year as a percentage of the value of your investment)

Non-Service Shares

Service Shares

Class 3 Shares

Class 4 Shares

Management Fees

0.75%

0.75%

0.75%

0.75%

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

None

0.25%

None

0.25%

Acquired Fund Fees and Expenses

0.02%

0.02%

0.02%

0.02%

Other Expenses

0.19%

0.21%

0.22%

0.19%

Total Annual Fund Operating Expenses

0.96%

1.23%

0.99%

1.21%

    Fee Waiver and Expense Reimbursement*

(0.11%)

(0.15%)

(0.18%)

(0.13%)

Total Annual Fund Operating Expenses After Fee Waiver and Expense Reimbursement

0.85%

1.08%

0.81%

1.08%

* Since May 1, 2009, the Manager has voluntarily agreed to limit the Fund's total annual operating expenses so that those expenses, as percentages of daily net assets, will not exceed the annual rate of 0.75% for Non-Service and Class 3 shares and 1.00% for Service and Class 4 shares. The Manager has also voluntarily agreed to waive fees and/or reimburse Fund expenses in an amount equal to the indirect management fees incurred through the Fund's investment in Oppenheimer Institutional Money Market Fund. This voluntary expense limitation and indirect management fee waiver and reimbursement may not be amended or withdrawn until one year after the date of this prospectus.


Example. The following example is intended to help you compare the cost of investing in the Fund with the cost of investing in other mutual funds. The example assumes that you invest $10,000 in a class of shares of the Fund for the time periods indicated. The example also assumes that your investment has a 5% return each year and that the Fund's operating expenses remain the same. Although your actual costs may be higher or lower, based on these assumptions your expenses would be as follows, whether or not you redeemed your shares:

 

1 Year

3 Years

5 Years

10 Years

Service Shares

$

111

$

378

$

665

$

1,484

Non-Service Shares

$

87

$

296

$

523

$

1,173

Class 3 Shares

$

83

$

299

$

532

$

1,202

Class 4 Shares

$

111

$

373

$

656

$

1,463

Portfolio Turnover. The Fund pays transaction costs, such as commissions, when it buys and sells securities (or "turns over" its portfolio). A higher portfolio turnover rate may indicate higher transaction costs. These costs, which are not reflected in the annual fund operating expenses or in the examples, affect the Fund's performance. During the most recent fiscal year, the Fund's portfolio turnover rate was 128% of the average value of its portfolio.

Principal Investment Strategies. The Fund invests in a variety of high-yield debt securities and related instruments. Those investments primarily include lower-grade corporate bonds. To a lesser extent, the Fund's investments include foreign corporate and government bonds, as well as swaps, including single name and index-linked credit default swaps.

     Under normal market conditions, the Fund invests at least 65% of its total assets in high-yield, lower-grade, fixed-income securities, also referred to as "junk" bonds. The remainder of the Fund's assets may be invested in other debt securities, common stocks (and other equity securities), cash or cash equivalents, when the Manager believes these investments are consistent with the Fund's objectives. The Fund has no requirements as to the range of maturities of the debt securities it can buy or as to the market capitalization of the issuers of those securities.

     The Fund's debt securities may be rated by nationally recognized statistical rating organizations such as Moody's Investors Service or Standard & Poor's or may be unrated.

     Lower-grade debt securities are those rated below "BBB" by Standard & Poor's or below "Baa" by Moody's Investors Service, or that have comparable ratings from other nationally-recognized rating organizations. Additionally, the portfolio managers may internally assign ratings to certain of the Fund's unrated securities, after assessing their credit quality, in categories equivalent to those of nationally recognized statistical rating organizations. The Fund may also invest in unrated securities, in which case the Manager may internally assign ratings to certain of those securities, after assessing their credit quality, in categories similar to those of nationally recognized statistical rating organizations. The Fund may also invest in unrated securities, in which case the Manager may internally assign ratings to certain of thos securities, after assessing their credit quality, in categories similar to those of nationally recognized statistical rating organizations.

     The Fund may invest in securities of U.S. or foreign issuers. When it does so, the Fund will tend to focus on securities of foreign issuers in developing markets. The Fund also uses certain types of derivative investments to try to enhance income or to try to manage ("hedge") investment risks, including: options, futures contracts, swaps, "structured" notes, and certain mortgage-related securities.

     In selecting securities, the portfolio manager seeks to build a broadly diversified portfolio to try to moderate the special risks of investing in high-yield debt instruments. The portfolio manager currently uses a "bottom up" approach, focusing on the performance of individual securities while considering industry trends. He evaluates an issuer's liquidity, financial strength and earnings power. The Fund's portfolio manager also analyzes the overall investment opportunities and risks in different market sectors, industries and countries. The portfolio manager currently focuses on the following factors, which may vary in particular cases and may change over time:

  • Issuers with earnings growth rates that are faster than the growth rate of the overall economy,

  • Issuers with improvements in relative cash flows and liquidity to help them meet their obligations,

  • Corporate sectors that in the portfolio manager's view are undervalued in the marketplace,

  • changes in the business cycle that might affect corporate profits, and Securities or sectors that will help the overall diversification of the portfolio.

The Fund may sell securities that the portfolio manager believes no longer meet the above criteria.

 

Principal Risks. The price of the Fund's shares can go up and down substantially. The value of the Fund's investments may change because of broad changes in the markets in which the Fund invests or from poor security selection, which could cause the Fund to underperform other funds with similar investment objectives. There is no assurance that the Fund will achieve its investment objective. When you redeem your shares, they may be worth more or less than what you paid for them. These risks mean that you can lose money by investing in the Fund.

Main Risks of Debt Securities. Debt securities may be subject to credit risk, interest rate risk, prepayment risk and extension risk. Credit risk is the risk that the issuer of a security might not make interest and principal payments on the security as they become due. If an issuer fails to pay interest or repay principal, the Fund's income or share value might be reduced. Adverse news about an issuer or a downgrade in an issuer's credit rating, for any reason, can also reduce the market value of the issuer's securities. Interest rate risk is the risk that when prevailing interest rates fall, the values of already-issued debt securities generally rise; and when prevailing interest rates rise, the values of already-issued debt securities generally fall, and may be worth less than the amount the Fund paid for them. When interest rates change, the values of longer-term debt securities usually change more than the values of shorter-term debt securities. When interest rates fall, debt securities may be repaid more quickly than expected and the Fund may be required to reinvest the proceeds at a lower interest rate. This is referred to as "prepayment risk." When interest rates rise, debt securities may be repaid more slowly than expected and the value of the Fund's holdings may fall sharply. This is referred to as "extension risk." Interest rate changes normally have different effects on variable or floating rate securities than they do on securities with fixed interest rates.

     Special Risks of Lower-Grade Securities. Lower-grade securities, whether rated or unrated, may be subject to wider market fluctuation, greater credit risk and greater risk of loss of income and principal than investment-grade securities. The market for lower-grade securities may be less liquid and therefore they may be harder to sell at an acceptable price, especially during times of market volatility or decline.

Because the Fund can invest without limit in lower-grade securities, the Fund's credit risks are greater than those of funds that buy only investment-grade securities.

      Fixed-Income Market Risks. Developments relating to subprime mortgages have adversely affected fixed-income securities markets in the United States, Europe and elsewhere. The values of many types of debt securities have been reduced, including debt securities that are not related to mortgage loans. These developments have reduced the willingness of some lenders to extend credit and have made it more difficult for borrowers to obtain financing on attractive terms or at all. These developments also have had a negative effect on the broader economy. There is a risk that a lack of liquidity or other adverse credit market conditions may hamper the Fund's ability to sell the debt securities in which it invests or to find and purchase suitable debt instruments.

Main Risks of Foreign Investing. Foreign securities are subject to special risks. Foreign issuers are usually not subject to the same accounting and disclosure requirements that U.S. companies are subject to, which may make it difficult for the Fund to evaluate a foreign company's operations or financial condition. A change in the value of a foreign currency against the U.S. dollar will result in a change in the U.S. dollar value of securities denominated in that foreign currency and in the value of any income or distributions the Fund may receive on those securities. The value of foreign investments may be affected by exchange control regulations, foreign taxes, higher transaction and other costs, delays in the settlement of transactions, changes in economic or monetary policy in the United States or abroad, expropriation or nationalization of a company's assets, or other political and economic factors. These risks may be greater for investments in developing or emerging market countries.

     Special Risks of Developing and Emerging Markets. The economies of developing or emerging market countries may be more dependent on relatively few industries that may be highly vulnerable to local and global changes. The governments of developing and emerging market countries may also be more unstable than the governments of more developed countries. These countries generally have less developed securities markets or exchanges, and legal and accounting systems. Securities may be more difficult to sell at an acceptable price and may be more volatile than securities in countries with more mature markets. The value of developing or emerging market currencies may fluctuate more than the currencies of countries with more mature markets. Investments in developing or emerging market countries may be subject to greater risks of government restrictions, including confiscatory taxation, expropriation or nationalization of a company's assets, restrictions on foreign ownership of local companies and restrictions on withdrawing assets from the country. Investments in companies in developing or emerging market countries may be considered speculative.

Main Risks of Derivative Investments. Derivatives may be volatile and may require the payment of premiums, can increase portfolio turnover, may be illiquid, may not perform as expected and the Fund may also lose money on a derivative investment if the issuer fails to pay the amount due.

 

Who Is The Fund Designed For? The Fund's shares are available only as an investment option under certain variable annuity contracts, variable life insurance policies and investment plans offered through insurance company separate accounts of participating insurance companies. The Fund is designed primarily for investors seeking high current income from a fund that invests mainly in lower grade U.S. and foreign debt securities. Those investors should be willing to assume the greater risks of short-term share price fluctuations and the special credit risks that are typical for a fund that invests mainly in lower grade fixed-income securities. The Fund is intended to be a long-term investment, not a short-term trading vehicle. Because the Fund's income will fluctuate, it is not designed for investors needing an assured level of current income. The Fund is not a complete investment program and may not be appropriate for all investors. You should carefully consider your own investment goals and risk tolerance before investing in the Fund.

An investment in the Fund is not a deposit of any bank and is not insured or guaranteed by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation or any other government agency.

The Fund's Past Performance. The bar chart and table below provide some indication of the risks of investing in the Fund by showing changes in the Fund's Non-Service Shares performance from year to year and by showing how the Fund's average annual returns for 1, 5 and 10 years compare with those of a broad measure of market performance. Charges imposed by the insurance accounts that invest in the Fund are not included and the returns would be lower if they were. The Fund's past investment performance is not necessarily an indication of how the Fund will perform in the future. More recent performance information is available by calling the toll-free number on the back of this prospectus and on the Fund's website at:
https://www.oppenheimerfunds.com/fund/investors/overview/HighIncomeFundVA

During the period shown, the highest return before taxes for a calendar quarter was 16.67% (2nd qtr 09) and the lowest return before taxes for a calendar quarter was -71.27% (4th qtr 08).


The following table shows the average annual total returns of each class of the Fund's shares before taxes. 

 

Average Annual Total Returns for the periods ended December 31, 2009

1 Year

5 Years (or life of class, if less)

10 Years (or life of class, if less)

Non-Service Shares (inception 04-30-1986)

25.32%

(21.46%)

(9.06%)

Service Shares (inception 09-18-2001)

25.95%

(21.44%)

(10.51%)

Class 3 Shares (inception 05-01-2007)

26.75%

(39.79%)

N/A

Class 4 Shares (inception 05-01-2007)

26.42%

(39.60%)

N/A

Merrill Lynch High Yield Master Index

56.28%

6.23%

6.77%

(reflects no deductions for fees, expenses or taxes)

4.78%1

8.70%2

1.  From 4-30-07
2.  From 9-30-01


Investment Adviser. OppenheimerFunds, Inc. is the Fund's investment adviser (the "Manager").

Portfolio Manager. Joseph Welsh who has been a Vice President and portfolio manager of the Fund since April 2009. 

Purchase and Sale of Fund Shares. Shares of the Fund may be purchased only by separate investment accounts of participating insurance companies as an underlying investment for variable life insurance policies, variable annuity contracts or other investment products. Individual investors cannot buy shares of the Fund directly. You may only submit instructions for buying or selling shares of the Fund to your insurance company or its servicing agent, not directly to the Fund or its Transfer Agent. The accompanying prospectus of the participating insurance company provides information about how to select the Fund as an investment option.

Taxes. Because shares of the Fund may be purchased only through insurance company separate accounts for variable annuity contracts, variable life insurance policies or other investment products, any dividends and capital gains distributions will be taxable to the participating insurance company, if at all. However, those payments may affect the tax basis of certain types of distributions from those accounts. Special tax rules apply to life insurance companies, variable annuity contracts and variable life insurance contracts. For information on federal income taxation of a life insurance company with respect to its receipt of distributions from the Fund and federal income taxation of owners of variable annuity or variable life insurance contracts, see the accompanying prospectus for the applicable contract.

Payments to Broker-Dealers and Other Financial Intermediaries. The Fund, the Manager, or their related companies may make payments to financial intermediaries, including to insurance companies that offer shares of the Fund as an investment option. These payments for the sale of Fund shares and related services may create a conflict of interest by influencing the intermediary and your salesperson to recommend the Fund over another investment. Ask your salesperson or visit your financial intermediary's website for more information.

For More Information About Oppenheimer High Income Fund/VA

You can access the Fund's prospectus and SAI at https://www.oppenheimerfunds.com/fund/investors/overview/HighIncomeFundVA. You can also request additional information about the Fund or your account:

By Telephone:

Call OppenheimerFunds Services toll-free: 1.800.988.8287

By Mail:

For requests by mail:
OppenheimerFunds Services
P.O. Box 5270
Denver, Colorado 80217-5270

For courier or express mail requests:
OppenheimerFunds Services
12100 East Iliff Avenue, Suite 300
Aurora, Colorado 80014

On the Internet:

You can read or download the Fund's Statement of Additional Information, Annual and Semi-Annual Reports, on the OppenheimerFunds website at: www.oppenheimerfunds.com

PR0640.001.0410