Summary prospectus

Delaware Ivy VIP Smid Cap Core

(formerly, Delaware Ivy VIP Small Cap Core)

Before you invest, you may want to review the Portfolio's statutory prospectus (and any supplements thereto), which contains more information about the Portfolio and its risks. You can find the Portfolio's statutory prospectus and other information about the Portfolio, including its statement of additional information and most recent reports to shareholders, online at ivyinvestments.com/prospectus. You can also get this information at no cost by calling 888 923-3355. The Portfolio's statutory prospectus and statement of additional information, both dated April 29, 2022 (and any supplements thereto), are incorporated by reference into this summary prospectus.

On April 30, 2021, the portfolio in this prospectus (Portfolio) became part of Delaware Funds by Macquarie​® and Delaware Management Company became the Portfolio's investment manager (hereinafter, the Portfolio and other legacy Ivy Funds are referred to as Transaction Funds to differentiate them from the other Delaware Funds by Macquarie, the non-Transaction Funds). On or about June 24, 2022, references to Waddell & Reed Services Company, doing business as WI Services Company (WISC), are hereby removed from this prospectus.

What is the Portfolio's investment objective?

Delaware Ivy VIP Smid Cap Core seeks to provide capital appreciation.

What are the Portfolio’s fees and expenses?

This table describes the fees and expenses that you may pay if you buy and hold shares of the Portfolio. The table below does not reflect any fees and expenses imposed under the variable life insurance policies and variable annuity contracts (collectively, Policies) through which this Portfolio is offered. See the Policy prospectus for a description of those fees and expenses.

Annual portfolio operating expenses (expenses that you pay each year as a percentage of the value of your investment)

Class	II
Management fees	0.85%
Distribution and service (12b-1) fees	0.25%
Other expenses	0.07%
Total annual portfolio operating expenses	1.17%

Example

This example is intended to help you compare the cost of investing in the Portfolio with the cost of investing in other mutual funds. The example assumes that you invest $10,000 in the Portfolio for the time periods indicated and then redeem all of your shares at the end of those periods. The example also assumes that your investment has a 5% return each year. Although your actual costs may be higher or lower, based on these assumptions your costs would be:

Class	II
1 year	$119
3 years	$372
5 years	$644
10 years	$1,420

Portfolio turnover

The Portfolio 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 portfolio operating expenses or in the example, affect the Portfolio's performance. During the most recent fiscal year, the Portfolio's portfolio turnover rate was 79% of the average value of its portfolio.

Summary prospectus

What are the Portfolio's principal investment strategies?

Delaware Ivy VIP Smid Cap Core seeks to achieve its objective by investing primarily in various types of equity securities of small- and mid-capitalization companies that Delaware Management Company (Manager) believes have the greatest potential for capital appreciation. Under normal circumstances, at least 80% of the Portfolio’s net assets will be invested, at the time of purchase, in common stocks of small- and mid-capitalization companies. For purposes of this Portfolio, small-capitalization companies typically are companies with market capitalizations similar to those of issuers included in the Russell 2000​® Index at time of purchase and mid-capitalization companies are those within the market capitalization range of the Russell Midcap​® Index at the time of purchase.

The Manager researches individual companies and analyzes economic and market conditions, seeking to identify the securities or market sectors that it believes are the best investments for the Portfolio. The following are descriptions of how the portfolio management team pursues the Portfolio’s investment objective. The Manager strives to identify stocks of small companies that it believes offer above-average opportunities for long-term price appreciation based on: (1) attractive valuations, (2) growth prospects, and (3) strong cash flow. The Portfolio employs bottom-up (stock-by-stock) security selection utilizing quantitative screens, fundamental research, and risk control to evaluate stocks based on both growth and value characteristics. The Manager typically uses a quantitative screen that ranks the attractiveness of an investment based on a combination of valuation measures, earnings expectations, cash flow, and balance-sheet quality. In further evaluating the attractiveness of an investment, the Manager considers factors such as business conditions in the company’s industry and its competitive position in that industry. The Manager conducts fundamental research on certain investments, which often includes reviewing US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) filings, examining financial statements, and meeting with top-level company executives. When constructing the portfolio, the Manager applies controls to ensure the portfolio has risk characteristics that it deems acceptable. These characteristics include, but are not limited to, size, valuation, growth, yield, and earnings consistency. This risk profile is then compared to the benchmark index to ensure the portfolio does not have any unintended risk exposure.

The Manager may permit its affiliates, Macquarie Investment Management Global Limited (MIMGL) and Macquarie Funds Management Hong Kong Limited, to execute Fund security trades on behalf of the Manager. The Manager may also seek quantitative support from MIMGL.

What are the principal risks of investing in the Portfolio?

Investing in any mutual fund involves the risk that you may lose part or all of the money you invest. Over time, the value of your investment in the Portfolio will increase and decrease according to changes in the value of the securities in the Portfolio's portfolio. An investment in the Portfolio may not be appropriate for all investors. The Portfolio's principal risks include:

Market risk — The risk that all or a majority of the securities in a certain market — such as the stock or bond market — will decline in value because of factors such as adverse political or economic conditions, future expectations, investor confidence, or heavy institutional selling.

Industry and sector risk — The risk that the value of securities in a particular industry or sector (such as financial services or manufacturing) will decline because of changing expectations for the performance of that industry or sector.

Company size risk — The risk that investments in small- and/or medium-sized companies may be more volatile than those of larger companies because of limited financial resources or dependence on narrow product lines.

Interest rate risk — The risk that securities will decrease in value if interest rates rise. The risk is generally associated with bonds; however, because small- and medium-sized companies and companies in the real estate sector often borrow money to finance their operations, they may be adversely affected by rising interest rates. A portfolio may be subject to a greater risk of rising interest rates due to the current period of historically low interest rates.

Liquidity risk — The possibility that investments cannot be readily sold within seven calendar days at approximately the price at which a portfolio has valued them.

Government and regulatory risk — The risk that governments or regulatory authorities may take actions that could adversely affect various sectors of the securities markets and affect portfolio performance.

IBOR risk — The risk that changes related to the use of the London Interbank Offered Rate (LIBOR) or similar interbank offered rates (“IBORs,” such as the Euro Overnight Index Average (EONIA)) could have adverse impacts on financial instruments that reference LIBOR or a similar rate. While some instruments may contemplate a scenario where LIBOR or a similar rate is no longer available by providing for an alternative rate setting methodology, not all instruments have such fallback provisions and the effectiveness of replacement rates is uncertain. The abandonment of LIBOR and similar rates could affect the value and liquidity of instruments that reference such rates, especially those that do not have fallback provisions. The use of alternative reference rate products may impact investment strategy performance.

Active management and selection risk — The risk that the securities selected by a portfolio's management will underperform the markets, the relevant indices, or the securities selected by other funds with similar investment objectives and investment strategies. The securities and sectors selected may vary from the securities and sectors included in the relevant index.

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None of the entities noted in this document is an authorized deposit-taking institution for the purposes of the Banking Act 1959 (Commonwealth of Australia) and the obligations of these entities do not represent deposits or other liabilities of Macquarie Bank Limited ABN 46 008 583 542 (Macquarie Bank). Macquarie Bank does not guarantee or otherwise provide assurance in respect of the obligations of these entities. In addition, if this document relates to an investment (a) each investor is subject to investment risk including possible delays in repayment and loss of income and principal invested and (b) none of Macquarie Bank or any other Macquarie Group company guarantees any particular rate of return on or the performance of the investment, nor do they guarantee repayment of capital in respect of the investment.

How has Delaware Ivy VIP Smid Cap Core performed?

The bar chart and table below provide some indication of the risks of investing in the Portfolio by showing changes in the Portfolio's performance from year to year and by showing how the Portfolio's average annual total returns for the periods compare with those of a broad measure of market performance. On April 30, 2021, the Portfolio became part of Delaware Funds by Macquarie​® and Delaware Management Company became the Portfolio’s investment manager. The returns shown from before April 30, 2021 are from the Portfolio’s prior investment manager. The Portfolio's past performance is not necessarily an indication of how it will perform in the future. The returns reflect any expense caps in effect during these periods. The returns would be lower without the expense caps. You may obtain the Portfolio's most recently available month-end performance by calling 888 923-3355 (800 523-1918 on or about June 24, 2022) or by visiting our website at delawarefunds.com/vip-performance.

Prior to April 30, 2012, the Portfolio’s investment objective was to seek long-term accumulation of capital. Effective as of April 30, 2012, the Portfolio changed its investment objective to seeking to provide capital appreciation. Effective April 28, 2017, the Portfolio changed its name and strategy to reflect a greater emphasis on core style companies. Performance prior to April 28, 2017 reflects the Portfolio’s former strategy and may have differed if the Portfolio’s current strategy had been in place.

Effective November 15, 2021, the Portfolio changed its investment strategy. Performance prior to November 15, 2021 reflects the Portfolio's former strategy; its performance may have differed if the Portfolio's current strategy had been in place.

Calendar year-by-year total return (Class II)

During the periods illustrated in this bar chart, Class II’s highest quarterly return was 26.96% for the quarter ended December 31, 2020, and its lowest quarterly return was -29.04% for the quarter ended March 31, 2020.

Average annual total returns for periods ended December 31, 2021

	1 year	5 years	10 years
Class II	20.78%	10.35%	12.94%
Russell 2500™ Index (reflects no deduction for fees, expenses, or taxes)*	18.18%	13.75%	14.15%
Russell 2000​® Index (reflects no deduction for fees, expenses, or taxes)*	14.82%	12.02%	13.23%

* The Portfolio changed its primary broad-based securities index to Russell 2500™ Index as of November 15, 2021. The Portfolio elected to use the new index because it more closely reflects the Portfolio’s investment strategies.

Frank Russell Company is the source and owner of the trademarks, service marks, and copyrights related to the Russell Indexes. Russell​® is a trademark of Frank Russell Company.

Who manages the Portfolio?

Investment manager

Delaware Management Company, a series of Macquarie Investment Management Business Trust (a Delaware statutory trust)

Portfolio managers	Title with Delaware Management Company	Start date on the Portfolio
Francis X. Morris	Senior Managing Director, Chief Investment Officer — US Core Equity	November 2021

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Summary prospectus

Portfolio managers	Title with Delaware Management Company	Start date on the Portfolio
Christopher S. Adams, CFA	Managing Director, Senior Portfolio Manager	November 2021
Michael S. Morris, CFA	Managing Director, Senior Portfolio Manager	November 2021
Donald G. Padilla, CFA	Managing Director, Senior Portfolio Manager	November 2021
David E. Reidinger	Managing Director, Senior Portfolio Manager	November 2021

Sub-Advisors

Macquarie Funds Management Hong Kong Limited (MFMHKL)

Macquarie Investment Management Global Limited (MIMGL)

Purchase and redemption of Portfolio shares

Effective until on or about June 24, 2022: Shares of the Portfolio are currently sold only to separate accounts of Participating Insurance Companies (PICs) to fund benefits payable under the Policies. The Portfolio’s shares are redeemable. Shares are purchased or redeemed at the Portfolio’s NAV per share next calculated after your order is received in good order on any business day. The Portfolio does not have initial and subsequent investment minimums. Please refer to your Policy prospectus for more information on purchasing and redeeming Portfolio shares.

Effective after on or about June 24, 2022: Shares are sold, directly or indirectly, to separate accounts of life insurance companies at net asset value (NAV). Please refer to the variable annuity or variable life insurance product contract prospectus for more information about the purchase and redemption of shares.

Please refer to the Fund’s prospectus and statement of additional information for more details regarding the purchase and sale of Fund shares.

Tax information

The dividends and distributions paid from the Portfolio to the insurance company separate accounts will consist of ordinary income, capital gains, or some combination of both. Because shares of the Portfolio must be purchased through separate accounts used to fund variable annuity contracts or variable life insurance contracts (variable contracts), such dividends and distributions will be exempt from current taxation by contract holders if left to accumulate within a separate account. You should refer to your variable contract prospectus for more information on these tax consequences.

Payments to broker/dealers and other financial intermediaries

If you purchase shares of the Portfolio through a broker/dealer or other financial intermediary (such as an insurance company), the Portfolio and its related companies may pay the intermediary for the sale of Portfolio shares and related services. These payments may create a conflict of interest by influencing the broker/dealer or other intermediary and your salesperson to recommend the Portfolio over another investment. Ask your salesperson or visit your financial intermediary’s website for more information.

 

VIPSUM-SCV 4/22