497K 1 summarypro.htm

Oppenheimer
Total Return Bond Fund/VA
Share Classes:
Non-Service Shares
Service Shares
A series of Oppenheimer Variable Account Funds
Summary Prospectus        April 30, 2018

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/TotalReturnBondFundVA. 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, 2018, and through page 41 of its most recent Annual Report, dated December 31, 2017, are incorporated by reference into this Summary Prospectus. You can access the Fund’s prospectus and SAI at https://www.oppenheimerfunds.com/fund/TotalReturnBondFundVA. The Fund’s prospectus is also available from financial intermediaries who are authorized to sell Fund shares.

Investment Objective. The Fund seeks total return.
Fees and Expenses of the Fund. This table 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 Service  
Maximum Sales Charge (Load) imposed on purchases (as % of offering price) None None  

Maximum Deferred Sales Charge (Load) (as % of the lower of original offering price or redemption proceeds) None None  
Annual Fund Operating Expenses1
(expenses that you pay each year as a percentage of the value of your investment)
  Non-Service Shares Service Shares  
Management Fees 0.60% 0.60%  

Distribution and/or Service (12b-1) Fees None 0.25%  

Other Expenses 0.27% 0.27%  

Total Annual Fund Operating Expenses 0.87% 1.12%  

Fee Waiver and/or Expense Reimbursement2 (0.12)% (0.12)%  

Total Annual Fund Operating Expenses After Fee Waiver and/or Expense Reimbursement 0.75% 1.00%  
1. Expenses have been restated to reflect current fees.
2. After discussions with the Fund’s Board, the Manager has contractually agreed to waive fees and/or reimburse the Fund for certain expenses in order to limit “Total Annual Fund Operating Expenses After Fee Waiver and/or Expense Reimbursement” (excluding any applicable dividend expense, taxes, interest and fees from borrowing, any subsidiary expenses, Acquired Fund Fees and Expenses, brokerage commissions, unusual and infrequent expenses and certain other Fund expenses) to annual rates of 0.75% for Non-Service Shares and 1.00% for Service Shares as calculated on the daily net assets of the Fund. This fee waiver and/or expense reimbursement may not be amended or withdrawn for one year from the date of this prospectus, unless approved by the Board.

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. Sales charges and fees for the variable life insurance policy, variable annuity or other investment product offered by participating insurance companies are not charged by the Fund and are not reflected in the Example. Expenses would be higher if those fees were included. 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. Any applicable fee waivers and/or expense reimbursements are reflected in the below examples for the period during which such fee waivers and/or expense reimbursements are in effect. 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  
Non-Service Shares $77 $267 $472 $1,066  

Service Shares $103 $346 $609 $1,360  
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 Example, affect the Fund’s performance. During the most recent fiscal year, the Fund’s portfolio turnover rate was 86% of the average value of its portfolio.
Principal Investment Strategies. Under normal market conditions, the Fund invests at least 80% of its net assets, plus borrowings for investment purposes, in investment-grade debt securities (generally referred to as “bonds”). A debt security is a security representing money borrowed by the issuer that must be repaid. The terms of a debt security specify the amount of principal, the interest rate or discount, and the time or times at which payments are due. Debt securities can include:
Domestic and foreign corporate debt obligations;
Domestic and foreign government debt obligations, including U.S. government securities;
Mortgage-related securities;
Asset-backed securities; and
Other debt obligations.
The portfolio managers’ overall strategy is to build a diversified portfolio of corporate and government bonds. The Fund’s investments in U.S. government securities may include securities issued or guaranteed by the U.S. government or by its agencies or federally-chartered entities referred to as “instrumentalities.” There is no required allocation of the Fund’s assets among the classes of securities, but the Fund focuses mainly on U.S. government securities and investment-grade corporate debt securities. When market conditions change, the portfolio managers might change the Fund’s relative asset allocation.
The Fund can invest up to 20% of its total assets in lower-grade, high-yield debt securities that are below investment-grade (commonly referred to as “junk bonds”). “Investment-grade” debt securities are rated in one of the top four rating categories by nationally recognized statistical rating organizations such as Moody’s or S&P Global Ratings. The Fund may also invest in unrated securities, in which case the Fund’s sub-adviser, OppenheimerFunds, Inc. (the “Sub-Adviser”), may internally assign ratings to certain of those securities, after assessing their credit quality, in investment-grade or below-investment-grade categories similar to those of nationally recognized statistical rating organizations. There can be no assurance, nor is it intended, that the Sub-Adviser’s credit analysis is consistent or comparable with the credit analysis process used by a nationally recognized statistical rating organization.
The Fund has no limitations on the range of maturities of the debt securities in which it can invest and may hold securities with short-, medium- or long-term maturities. The maturity of a security differs from its effective duration, which attempts to measure the expected volatility of a security’s price to interest rate changes. For example, if a bond has an effective duration of three years, a 1% increase in general interest rates would be expected to cause the bond’s value to decrease about 3%. To try to decrease volatility, the Fund seeks to maintain a weighted average effective portfolio duration of three to six years, measured on a dollar-weighted basis using the effective duration of the securities included in its portfolio and the amount invested in each of those securities. However, the duration of the portfolio might not meet that target due to market events or interest rate changes that cause debt securities to be repaid more rapidly or more slowly than expected.
The Fund may invest in foreign debt securities, including securities issued by foreign governments or companies in both developed and emerging markets.
The Fund may also use derivatives to seek increased returns or to try to manage investment risks. Futures, swaps and “structured” notes are examples of some of the types of derivatives the Fund can use.
In selecting investments for the Fund, the Fund’s portfolio managers analyze the overall investment opportunities and risks in different sectors of the debt securities markets by focusing on business cycle analysis and relative values between the corporate and government sectors. The Fund mainly seeks income earnings on the Fund’s investments plus capital appreciation that may arise from decreases in interest rates, from improving credit fundamentals for a particular sector or security or from other investment techniques.
The Fund may sell securities that the portfolio managers believe 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 fall due to adverse changes in the markets in which the Fund invests or because of poor investment selection, which could cause the Fund to underperform other funds with similar investment objectives. There is no assurance that the Fund
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will achieve its investment objective. When you redeem your shares, they may be worth less than what you paid for them. These risks mean that you can lose money by investing in the Fund.
Risks of Investing in Debt Securities. Debt securities may be subject to interest rate risk, duration risk, credit risk, credit spread risk, extension risk, reinvestment risk, prepayment risk and event risk. 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 therefore, those debt securities may be worth less than the amount the Fund paid for them or valued them. When interest rates change, the values of longer-term debt securities usually change more than the values of shorter-term debt securities. Risks associated with rising interest rates are heightened given that interest rates in the U.S. are near historic lows. Duration is a measure of the price sensitivity of a debt security or portfolio to interest rate changes. Duration risk is the risk that longer-duration debt securities will be more volatile and thus more likely to decline in price, and to a greater extent, in a rising interest rate environment than shorter-duration debt securities. 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. “Credit spread” is the difference in yield between securities that is due to differences in their credit quality. There is a risk that credit spreads may increase when the market expects lower-grade bonds to default more frequently. Widening credit spreads may quickly reduce the market values of the Fund’s lower-rated and unrated securities. Some unrated securities may not have an active trading market or may trade less actively than rated securities, which means that the Fund might have difficulty selling them promptly at an acceptable price. Extension risk is the risk that an increase in interest rates could cause prepayments on a debt security to occur at a slower rate than expected. Extension risk is particularly prevalent for a callable security where an increase in interest rates could result in the issuer of that security choosing not to redeem the security as anticipated on the security’s call date. Such a decision by the issuer could have the effect of lengthening the debt security’s expected maturity, making it more vulnerable to interest rate risk and reducing its market value. Reinvestment risk is the risk that when interest rates fall the Fund may be required to reinvest the proceeds from a security’s sale or redemption at a lower interest rate. Callable bonds are generally subject to greater reinvestment risk than non-callable bonds. Prepayment risk is the risk that the issuer may redeem the security prior to the expected maturity or that borrowers may repay the loans that underlie these securities more quickly than expected, thereby causing the issuer of the security to repay the principal prior to the expected maturity. The Fund may need to reinvest the proceeds at a lower interest rate, reducing its income. Event risk is the risk that an issuer could be subject to an event, such as a buyout or debt restructuring, that interferes with its ability to make timely interest and principal payments and cause the value of its debt securities to fall.
Fixed-Income Market Risks. The fixed-income securities market can be susceptible to increases in volatility and decreases in liquidity. Liquidity may decline unpredictably in response to overall economic conditions or credit tightening. During times of reduced market liquidity, the Fund may not be able to readily sell bonds at the prices at which they are carried on the Fund’s books and could experience a loss. If the Fund needed to sell large blocks of bonds to meet shareholder redemption requests or to raise cash, those sales could further reduce the bonds’ prices, particularly for lower-rated and unrated securities. An unexpected increase in redemptions by Fund shareholders (including requests from shareholders who may own a significant percentage of the Fund’s shares), which may be triggered by general market turmoil or an increase in interest rates, as well as other adverse market and economic developments, could cause the Fund to sell its holdings at a loss or at undesirable prices and adversely affect the Fund’s share price and increase the Fund’s liquidity risk, Fund expenses and/or taxable distributions, if applicable. As of the date of this prospectus, interest rates in the U.S. are near historically low levels, increasing the exposure of bond investors to the risks associated with rising interest rates.
Economic and other market developments can adversely affect fixed-income securities markets in the United States, Europe and elsewhere. At times, participants in debt securities markets may develop concerns about the ability of certain issuers of debt securities to make timely principal and interest payments, or they may develop concerns about the ability of financial institutions that make markets in certain debt securities to facilitate an orderly market. Those concerns may impact the market price or value of those debt securities and may cause increased volatility in those debt securities or debt securities markets. Under some circumstances, those concerns may cause reduced liquidity in certain debt securities markets, reducing the willingness of some lenders to extend credit, and making it more difficult for borrowers to obtain financing on attractive terms (or at all). 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.
Risks of Below-Investment-Grade Securities. As compared to investment-grade debt securities, below-investment-grade debt securities (also referred to as “junk” bonds), whether rated or unrated, may be subject to greater price fluctuations and increased credit risk, as the issuer might not be able to pay interest and principal when due, especially during times of weakening economic conditions or rising interest rates. Credit rating downgrades of a single issuer or related similar issuers whose securities the Fund holds in significant amounts could substantially and unexpectedly increase the Fund’s exposure to below-investment-grade securities and the risks associated with them, especially liquidity and default risk. The market for below-investment-grade securities may be less liquid and therefore these securities may be harder to value or sell at an acceptable price, especially during times of market volatility or decline.
Because the Fund can invest up to 20% of its total assets in lower-grade securities, the Fund’s credit risks are greater than those funds that buy only investment grade securities. This restriction is applied at the time of purchase and the Fund may continue to hold a security whose credit rating has been downgraded or, in the case of an unrated security, after the Fund’s
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Sub-Adviser has changed its assessment of the security’s credit quality. As a result, credit rating downgrades or other market fluctuations may cause the Fund’s holdings of below-investment-grade securities to exceed, at times significantly, this restriction for an extended period of time. Credit rating downgrades of a single issuer or related similar issuers whose securities the Fund holds in significant amounts could substantially and unexpectedly increase the Fund’s exposure to below-investment-grade securities and the risks associated with them, especially liquidity and default risk. If the Fund has more than 20% of its total assets invested in below-investment-grade securities, the Sub-Adviser will not purchase additional below-investment-grade securities until the level of holdings in those securities no longer exceeds the restriction.
Risks of Foreign Investing. Foreign securities are subject to special risks. Securities traded in foreign markets may be less liquid and more volatile than those traded in U.S. markets. 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 investments denominated in that foreign currency and in the value of any income or distributions the Fund may receive on those investments. 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. In addition, due to the inter-relationship of global economies and financial markets, changes in political and economic factors in one country or region could adversely affect conditions in another country or region. Investments in foreign securities may also expose the Fund to time-zone arbitrage risk. Foreign securities may trade on weekends or other days when the Fund does not price its shares. As a result, the value of the Fund’s net assets may change on days when you will not be able to purchase or redeem the Fund’s shares. At times, the Fund may emphasize investments in a particular country or region and may be subject to greater risks from adverse events that occur in that country or region. Foreign securities and foreign currencies held in foreign banks and securities depositories may be subject to only limited or no regulatory oversight.
Risks of Developing and Emerging Markets. Investments in developing and emerging markets are subject to all the risks associated with foreign investing, however, these risks may be magnified in developing and emerging markets. Developing or emerging market countries may have less well-developed securities markets and exchanges that may be substantially less liquid than those of more developed markets. Settlement procedures in developing or emerging markets may differ from those of more established securities markets, and settlement delays may result in the inability to invest assets or to dispose of portfolio securities in a timely manner. Securities prices in developing or emerging markets may be significantly more volatile than is the case in more developed nations of the world, and governments of developing or emerging market countries may also be more unstable than the governments of more developed countries. Such countries’ economies may be more dependent on relatively few industries or investors that may be highly vulnerable to local and global changes. Developing or emerging market countries also may be subject to social, political or economic instability. The value of developing or emerging market countries’ 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, restrictions on withdrawing assets from the country, protectionist measures, and practices such as share blocking. In addition, the ability of foreign entities to participate in privatization programs of certain developing or emerging market countries may be limited by local law. Investments in securities of issuers in developing or emerging market countries may be considered speculative.
Risks of Derivative Investments. Derivatives may involve significant risks. Derivatives may be more volatile than other types of investments, may require the payment of premiums, may increase portfolio turnover, may be illiquid, and may not perform as expected. Derivatives are subject to counterparty risk and the Fund may lose money on a derivative investment if the issuer or counterparty fails to pay the amount due. Some derivatives have the potential for unlimited loss, regardless of the size of the Fund’s initial investment. As a result of these risks, the Fund could realize little or no income or lose money from its investment, or a hedge might be unsuccessful. In addition, under new rules enacted and currently being implemented under financial reform legislation, certain over-the-counter derivatives are (or soon will be) required to be executed on a regulated market and/or cleared through a clearinghouse. It is unclear how these regulatory changes will affect counterparty risk, and entering into a derivative transaction with a clearinghouse may entail further risks and costs.
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 other investment plans offered through insurance company separate accounts of participating insurance companies. The Fund is designed primarily for investors seeking total return from a fund that invests mainly in investment-grade debt securities but which can also hold high-yield, below investment-grade securities. Those investors should be willing to assume the risks of a fund that typically invests a significant amount of its assets in corporate-debt securities and the changes in debt securities prices that can occur when interest rates change. 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.
    
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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 calendar year to calendar year and by showing how the Fund’s average annual returns for the periods of time shown in the table 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/TotalReturnBondFundVA
During the period shown, the highest return before taxes for a calendar quarter was 8.52% (3rd Qtr 09) and the lowest return before taxes for a calendar quarter was -29.59% (4th Qtr 08).

The following table shows the average annual total returns before taxes for each class of the Fund’s shares.
Average Annual Total Returns for the periods ended December 31, 2017
  1 Year 5 Years 10 Years  
Non-Service Shares (inception 4/3/1985) 4.59% 3.16% 0.38%  

Service Shares (inception 5/1/2002) 4.38% 2.90% 0.14%  

Bloomberg Barclays Credit Index 6.18% 3.24% 5.42%  
(reflects no deduction for fees, expenses, or taxes)        

Bloomberg Barclays U.S. Aggregate Bond Index 3.54% 2.10% 4.01%  
(reflects no deduction for fees, expenses, or taxes)        

Citigroup Broad Investment Grade Index 3.60% 2.09% 4.07%  
(reflects no deduction for fees, expenses, or taxes)        
Investment Adviser. OFI Global Asset Management, Inc. (the “Manager”) is the Fund’s investment adviser. OppenheimerFunds, Inc. (the “Sub-Adviser”) is its sub-adviser.
Portfolio Managers. Krishna Memani and Peter A. Strzalkowski, CFA, are Vice Presidents of the Fund and have been portfolio managers for 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, provided certain requirements are met, any dividends and capital gains distributions will be taxable to the participating insurance company, if at all. 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 Sub-Adviser, 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.
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For More Information About Oppenheimer Total Return Bond Fund/VA
You can access the Fund’s prospectus and SAI at https://www.oppenheimerfunds.com/fund/TotalReturnBondFundVA. You can also request additional information about the Fund or your account:
Telephone: Call OppenheimerFunds Services toll-free: 1.800.988.8287

Mail: For requests by mail:
OppenheimerFunds Services
P.O. Box 5270
Denver, Colorado 80217-5270
For requests by courier or express mail:
OppenheimerFunds Services
6803 S. Tucson Way
Centennial, CO 80112-3924

Internet: You may request documents, and read or download certain documents at www.oppenheimerfunds.com
    
PR0630.001.0418