Putnam VT Growth Opportunities Fund

Fund Summary

Goal

Putnam VT Growth Opportunities Fund seeks capital appreciation.

Fees and expenses

The following table describes the fees and expenses you may pay if you buy and hold shares of the fund. The fees and expenses information does not reflect insurance-related charges or expenses borne by contract holders indirectly investing in the fund. If it did, expenses would be higher.

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

Annual Fund Operating Expenses - Putnam VT Growth Opportunities Fund	Class IA	Class IB
Management fees	0.55%	0.55%
Distribution and service (12b-1) fees		0.25%
Other expenses	0.11%	0.11%
Total annual fund operating expenses	0.66%	0.91%

Example

The following hypothetical example is intended to help you compare the cost of investing in the fund with the cost of investing in other funds. The example does not reflect insurance-related charges or expenses. If it did, expenses would be higher. It assumes that you invest $10,000 in the fund for the time periods indicated and then redeem or hold all your shares at the end of those periods. It assumes a 5% return on your investment each year and that the fund’s operating expenses remain the same. Your actual costs may be higher or lower.

Expense Example - Putnam VT Growth Opportunities Fund - USD ($)	Expense Example, with Redemption, 1 Year	Expense Example, with Redemption, 3 Years	Expense Example, with Redemption, 5 Years	Expense Example, with Redemption, 10 Years
Class IA	67	211	368	822
Class IB	93	290	504	1,120

Portfolio turnover

The fund pays transaction-related costs, such as commissions, when it buys and sells securities (or “turns over” its portfolio). A higher turnover rate may indicate higher transaction costs. These costs, which are not reflected in annual fund operating expenses or the above example, affect fund performance. The fund’s turnover rate in the most recent fiscal year was 59%.

Investments, risks, and performance

Investments

We invest mainly in common stocks of large U.S. companies, with a focus on growth stocks. Growth stocks are issued by companies whose earnings are expected to grow faster than those of similar firms, and whose business growth and other characteristics may lead to an increase in stock price. We may consider, among other factors, a company’s valuation, financial strength, growth potential, competitive position in its industry, projected future earnings, cash flows and dividends when deciding whether to buy or sell investments.

Risks

It is important to understand that you can lose money by investing in the fund.

The value of stocks in the fund’s portfolio may fall or fail to rise over extended periods of time for a variety of reasons, including general financial market conditions, changing market perceptions, changes in government intervention in the financial markets, and factors related to a specific issuer, industry or sector. These and other factors may lead to increased volatility and reduced liquidity in the fund’s portfolio holdings. Growth stocks may be more susceptible to earnings disappointments, and the market may not favor growth-style investing. From time to time, the fund may invest a significant portion of its assets in companies in one or more related industries or sectors, which may make the fund more vulnerable to adverse developments affecting those industries or sectors.

The fund may not achieve its goal, and it is not intended to be a complete investment program. An investment in the fund is not insured or guaranteed by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation or any other government agency.

Performance

The performance information below gives some indication of the risks associated with an investment in the fund by showing the fund’s performance year to year and over time. The performance information does not reflect insurance-related charges or expenses. If it did, performance would be lower. Please remember that past performance is not necessarily an indication of future results.

Annual total returns for class IA shares

Year-to-date performance
through 3/31/18   3.02%

Best calendar quarter
Q1 2012   18.22%

Worst calendar quarter
Q4 2008 −21.27%

Average annual total returns
(for periods ending 12/31/17)

Average Annual Total Returns - Putnam VT Growth Opportunities Fund		1 Year	5 Years	10 Years
Class IA		31.30%	17.21%	10.01%
Class IB		30.90%	16.91%	9.73%
Russell 1000 Growth Index (no deduction for fees or expenses)	[1]	30.21%	17.33%	10.00%

[1] Frank Russell Company is the source and owner of the trademarks, service marks and copyrights related to the Russell Indexes. Russell(R) is a trademark of Frank Russell Company.