The Portfolio seeks long-term capital growth. Income is a secondary objective.

The table below describes the fees and expenses that you may pay if you buy, hold and sell shares of the Portfolio. The table does not include any separate account or policy fees or charges imposed under the variable annuity policies and variable universal life insurance policies for which the Portfolio is an investment option. If they were included, your costs would be higher. Investors should consult the applicable variable annuity policy or variable universal life insurance policy prospectus for more information.

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 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 28% of the average value of its portfolio.

The Portfolio will generally invest in large capitalization companies it believes show sustainable business improvement using a proprietary multi-factor quantitative model that combines financial measures of a stock’s value, growth potential and price momentum with environmental, social, and governance (“ESG”) metrics. The model assigns each security a financial metrics score and an ESG score that are combined on an equal basis to create an overall score. To measure value, American Century Investment Management, Inc., the Portfolio’s Subadvisor, may use ratios of stock price-to-earnings and stock price-to-cash flow. To measure growth, the Subadvisor may use the rate of growth of a company’s earnings and cash flow and changes in its earnings estimates. The Subadvisor arrives at an ESG score by evaluating multiple metrics of each ESG characteristic—environmental, social, and governance. The Subadvisor utilizes internal data and research, as well as third-party commercial data sources and scoring systems, to evaluate each security’s ESG characteristics. To the extent such information is available and relevant for a particular company, the Subadvisor will consider, among others, a company’s carbon emission profile, energy and water usage, or waste generation (environmental), a company’s employee turnover rates, digital privacy, or worker safety (social), and a company’s corporate leadership, including board chair independence and the independence of audit and compensation committees or shareholder rights such as say on pay (governance). If an ESG score is unavailable or incomplete, a security may still be selected for the portfolio if the Subadvisor believes it can evaluate the security qualitatively or if the financial metrics and/or remaining ESG data merit investment. Qualitative review of portfolio securities may include examination of registration statements and other information provided by the company as well as engagement with company management.

Final scores for each security are assigned by the Subadvisor’s multi-factor quantitative model and are evaluated on a sector-specific basis, and the Portfolio seeks to hold securities with the highest scores in their respective sectors. Using this process, the Subadvisor attempts to build a

portfolio that has sustainable competitive advantages, provides better returns without taking on significant additional risk and maintains a stronger ESG profile than the S&P 500^® Index.

Under normal circumstances, the Portfolio invests at least 80% of its assets (net assets plus any borrowing for investment purposes) in sustainable equity securities. Equity securities include common stock, preferred stock and equity-equivalent securities, such as securities convertible into common stock. The Subadvisor defines sustainable equity securities as those that the Subadvisor’s proprietary model assigns an ESG score that is in the top three quartiles (i.e. top 75%) of the ESG scores the model assigns to all the securities in the Portfolio’s primary benchmark, the Standard & Poor's 500^® Index ("S&P 500^® Index"), which ranged from $5.8 billion to $3.1 trillion as of February 29, 2024. Any assets held in cash or cash equivalents do not receive an ESG score and are not considered sustainable for purposes of the Portfolio’s 80% test.

While the Portfolio generally invests in large capitalization companies, it may invest in companies of any market capitalization. The Portfolio defines large capitalization companies as companies with capitalizations in the capitalization range of the S&P 500^® Index.

Although the Subadvisor intends to invest the Portfolio’s assets primarily in securities of U.S. companies, the Portfolio may invest in securities of foreign companies. An issuer of a security is considered to be a U.S. or foreign issuer based on the issuer's “country of risk” (or similar designation) as determined by a third-party such as Bloomberg.

When determining whether to sell a security, the Subadvisor considers, among other things, a security’s price, whether a security’s risk parameters outweigh its return opportunities, general market conditions and whether the security meets the Subadvisor’s ESG criteria.

Market Risk: Changes in markets may cause the value of investments to fluctuate, which could cause the Portfolio to underperform other funds with similar investment objectives and strategies. Such changes may be rapid and unpredictable. From time to time, markets may experience periods of stress as a result of various market, economic and geopolitical factors for potentially prolonged periods that may result in: (i) increased market volatility; (ii) reduced market liquidity; and (iii) increased redemptions of shares. Such conditions may add significantly to the risk of volatility in the net asset value of the Portfolio's shares and adversely affect the Portfolio and its investments.

Portfolio Management Risk: The investment strategies, practices and risk analyses used by the Subadvisor may not produce the desired results or expected returns. The Subadvisor will give consideration to certain ESG criteria when evaluating an investment opportunity. The application of ESG criteria may result in the Portfolio (i) having exposure to certain securities or industry sectors that are significantly different than the composition of the Portfolio's benchmark; and (ii) performing differently than other funds and strategies in its peer group that do not take into account ESG criteria or the Portfolio's benchmark.

Sustainable Investing Risk: The Subadvisor gives consideration to ESG criteria when evaluating investment opportunities for the Portfolio, consistent with the Portfolio’s investment objective and principal investment strategies. The application of ESG criteria may result in the Portfolio forgoing opportunities to buy certain investments when it might otherwise be advantageous to do so, or selling investments for ESG reasons when it might be otherwise disadvantageous for it to do so. The application of ESG criteria may result in the Portfolio (i) having exposure to certain securities or industry sectors that are significantly different than the composition of the Portfolio's benchmark and (ii) performing differently than the Portfolio’s benchmark or other funds and strategies in the Portfolio’s peer group that do not take into account ESG criteria or use different ESG criteria or ESG investment strategies. In addition, sectors and securities of companies that meet the ESG criteria may shift into and out of favor depending on market and economic conditions. The consideration of ESG criteria may adversely affect the Portfolio’s performance. The Portfolio’s ESG criteria may be changed without shareholder approval. Furthermore, ESG information from third-party data providers may be incomplete, inaccurate or unavailable and third party ESG scores and other data may only take into account one or a few of many ESG-related components of portfolio companies, which could cause the Subadvisor to incorrectly assess a company’s ESG characteristics. ESG information, whether from an external and/or internal source, is, by nature and in many instances, based on a qualitative and subjective assessment. Moreover, the third-party data providers may differ in the data they provide for a given security or between industries, or may only take into account one of many ESG-related components of a company.

Equity Securities Risk: Investments in common stocks and other equity securities are particularly subject to the risk of changing economic, stock market, industry and company conditions and the risks inherent in the ability to anticipate such changes that can adversely affect the value of portfolio holdings.

Market Capitalization Risk: Investments in securities issued by small-, mid-, or large-cap companies will be subject to the risks associated with securities issued by companies of the applicable market capitalization.  Securities of small-cap and mid-cap companies may be subject to greater price volatility, significantly lower trading volumes, cyclical, static or moderate growth prospects and greater spreads between their bid and ask

prices than securities of larger companies. Smaller capitalization companies frequently rely on narrower product lines and niche markets and may be more vulnerable to adverse business or market developments.  Securities issued by larger companies may have less growth potential and may not be able to attain the high growth rates of successful smaller companies, especially during strong economic periods.  In addition, larger companies may be less capable of responding quickly to competitive challenges and industry changes, including those resulting from improvements in technology, and may suffer sharper price declines as a result of earnings disappointments.  There is a risk that the securities issued by companies of a certain market capitalization may underperform the broader market at any given time.

Value Stock Risk: Value stocks may never reach what the Subadvisor believes is their full value or they may go down in value. In addition, different types of stocks tend to shift in and out of favor depending on market and economic conditions, and therefore the Portfolio's performance may be lower or higher than that of funds that invest in other types of equity securities.

Foreign Securities Risk: An issuer of a security is considered to be a U.S. or foreign issuer based on the issuer’s “country of risk” (or similar designation) as determined by a third party such as Bloomberg (or another similar third party). The issuer’s “country of risk” is determined based on a number of criteria, which may change from time to time and currently include, but are not limited to, its country of domicile, the primary stock exchange on which it trades, the location from which the majority of its revenue comes, and its reporting currency. Although a Portfolio will generally rely on an issuer’s “country of risk” (or similar designation) as determined by Bloomberg (or another similar third party) when categorizing securities as either U.S. or foreign-based, it is not required to do so.

Investments in foreign (non-U.S.) securities may be riskier than investments in U.S. securities. Foreign regulatory regimes and securities markets can have less stringent investor protections and disclosure standards and less liquid trading markets than U.S. regulatory regimes and securities markets, and can experience political, social and economic developments that may affect the value of investments in foreign securities. Foreign securities may also subject the Portfolio's investments to changes in currency rates. Changes in the value of foreign currencies may make the return on an investment increase or decrease, unrelated to the quality or performance of the investment itself. Economic sanctions may be, and have been, imposed against certain countries, organizations, companies, entities and/or individuals. Economic sanctions and other similar governmental actions or developments could, among other things, effectively restrict or eliminate the Portfolio’s ability to purchase or sell certain foreign securities or groups of foreign securities, and thus may make the Portfolio’s investments in such securities less liquid or more difficult to value. Such sanctions may also cause a decline in the value of securities issued by the sanctioned country or companies located in or economically tied to the sanctioned country. In addition, as a result of economic sanctions and other similar governmental actions or developments, the Portfolio may be forced to sell or otherwise dispose of foreign investments at inopportune times or prices. The Portfolio may seek to hedge against its exposure to changes in the value of foreign currency, but there is no guarantee that such hedging techniques will be successful in reducing any related foreign currency valuation risk.

Growth Stock Risk: If growth companies do not increase their earnings at a rate expected by investors, the market price of the stock may decline significantly, even if earnings show an absolute increase. Growth company stocks also typically lack the dividend yield that can cushion stock prices in market downturns. These risks may be more pronounced in companies that are in the earlier stages of their growth cycle.

Derivatives Risk: Derivatives are investments whose value depends on (or is derived from) the value of an underlying instrument, such as a security, asset, reference rate or index. Derivative strategies may be riskier than investing directly in the underlying instrument and often involve leverage, which may exaggerate a loss, potentially causing the Portfolio to lose more money than it originally invested and would have lost had it invested directly in the underlying instrument. Derivatives may be difficult to sell, unwind and/or value. Derivatives may also be subject to counterparty risk, which is the risk that the counterparty (the party on the other side of the transaction) on a derivative transaction will be unable or unwilling to honor its contractual obligations to the Portfolio. Futures and other derivatives may be more volatile than direct investments in the instrument underlying the contract, and may not correlate perfectly to the underlying instrument. Futures and other derivatives also may involve a small initial investment relative to the risk assumed, which could result in losses greater than if they had not been used. Due to fluctuations in the price of the underlying instrument, the Portfolio may not be able to profitably exercise an option and may lose its entire investment in an option. To the extent that the Portfolio writes or sells an option, if the decline in the value of the underlying instrument is significantly below the exercise price in the case of a written put option or increase above the exercise price in the case of a written call option, the Portfolio could experience a substantial loss. Derivatives may also increase the expenses of the Portfolio.

Correlation Risk: The Portfolio’s performance will be similar to the performance of its benchmark, the S&P 500^® Index. If the Portfolio’s benchmark goes down, it is likely that the Portfolio’s performance will go down. There is no assurance that the investment performance of the Portfolio will equal or exceed that of the S&P 500^® Index.

The following bar chart and table 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 returns compare with those of a broad measure of market performance, as well as an additional index over time. Separate variable annuity and variable universal life insurance account and policy fees and charges are not reflected in the bar chart and table. If they were, returns would be less than those shown. In accordance with new regulatory requirements, the Portfolio has selected the Russell 3000^® Index , which represents a broad measure of market performance, as a replacement for the S&P 500^® Index. The table also includes the average annual returns of the S&P 500^® Index, which is generally representative of the market sectors or types of investments in which the Portfolio invests.

Index returns reflect no deductions for fees, expenses or taxes, except for foreign withholding taxes where applicable.

Performance data for the classes varies based on differences in their fee and expense structures. Past performance is not necessarily an indication of how the Portfolio will perform in the future.

Effective May 1, 2022, the Portfolio replaced its subadvisor, changed its investment objective and modified its principal investment strategies. The past performance in the bar chart and table prior to that date reflects the Portfolio’s prior subadvisor, investment objective and principal investment strategies.

Annual Returns, Initial Class Shares
(by calendar year 2014-2023)

Average Annual Total Returns (for the periods ended December 31, 2023)

The Portfolio seeks long-term capital appreciation.

The table below describes the fees and expenses that you may pay if you buy, hold and sell shares of the Portfolio. The table does not include any separate account or policy fees or charges imposed under the variable annuity policies and variable universal life insurance policies for which the Portfolio is an investment option. If they were included, your costs would be higher. Investors should consult the applicable variable annuity policy or variable universal life insurance policy prospectus for more information.

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 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 52% of the average value of its portfolio.

Under normal circumstances, the Portfolio invests at least 80% of its assets (net assets plus any borrowings for investment purposes) in equity securities or equity-related securities issued by entities in, or tied economically to, emerging markets. The Portfolio may invest in securities issued by entities with market capitalizations at the time of investment of $500 million or more. These securities may be denominated in U.S. or non-U.S. currencies. The Portfolio may also invest in exchange-traded funds (“ETFs”) to obtain this exposure or for other investment purposes. The Portfolio may also invest in American Depositary Receipts, Global Depositary Receipts and non-voting Depositary Receipts. An issuer of a security is considered to be a U.S. or foreign issuer based on the issuer’s “country of risk” (or similar designation) as determined by a third-party such as Bloomberg.

Candriam, the Portfolio’s Subadvisor, defines emerging market countries as those countries that are included in the MSCI Emerging + Frontier Markets Index.

The Subadvisor determines that an investment is tied economically to an emerging market if such investment satisfies either of the following conditions: (i) the issuer’s primary trading market is in an emerging market, or (ii) the investment is included in an index representative of emerging markets, such as MSCI Emerging + Frontier Markets Index.

At times, the Portfolio might increase the relative exposure to investments in a particular region or country. The Portfolio may invest up to 20% of its net assets in securities that are not issued by entities in, or tied economically to, emerging markets. These investments may include equity securities, U.S. government and agency securities and short-term investments, such as cash and cash equivalents.

The Portfolio may also make use of derivative financial instruments for the purpose of hedging or exposure, such as futures, options, swaps, and forwards.

Investment Process: The Subadvisor seeks to create medium to longer-term capital appreciation through investments in emerging market companies that are considered to generate high, and growing, levels of profits by constructing a diversified, conviction based portfolio, aiming for consistent risk-adjusted returns greater than the MSCI Emerging Markets Index.

Investment opportunities are identified via a thematic approach, which seeks to identify and analyze investable longer term structural trends as well as shorter term local and global trends, combined with a bottom-up stock selection methodology based on a proprietary quantitative screening platform to identify companies with attractive profitability levels and sustainable growth trends relative to their country and/or sector. Additionally, this proprietary quantitative screening platform also seeks to limit exposure to industries which do not satisfy the Subadvisor’s environmental, social or governance (“ESG”) criteria such as certain types of extractive industries, tobacco-related industries and industries related to chemical, biological or white phosphorus weapons. By incorporating ESG criteria within the investment process, the Subadvisor identifies other factors that may influence a company's value and competitiveness over the medium- and long-term, which are not always immediately obvious in traditional financial analyses. External factors such as CO2 costs or health and safety standards affect most companies, either positively or negatively, when integrated into their economic model. Some factors offer a new opportunity while others are considered a threat to the business model.

ESG factors are evaluated by the Subadvisor based on data provided by its dedicated and independent ESG research team. The ESG research team conducts an ESG assessment of companies by their potential ability to create value by integrating sustainability into their business activities and the interest of stakeholders within their operating and financial managerial processes. The business activities analysis assesses how companies are exposed to major long-term ESG trends that can strongly influence the environment in which they operate and that may shape their future market challenges and long-term growth. The relationships with stakeholders give rise to opportunities as well as risks, and are therefore determinants of long-term value. The Subadvisor evaluates the extent to which each company incorporates the interests of stakeholders in its long-term strategy.

The ESG assessment is a contributing factor to determine the final assessment of a company, which in turn will determine the weighting of this position in the portfolio.

Finally, the Subadvisor applies a norms-based and controversial activities filter to exclude companies which may represent high risk due to a violation of UN Global Compact principles and exposed to highly controversial activities such as armament, tobacco and thermal coal.

The Subadvisor considers sector, currency, regional and country deviations relative to the MSCI Emerging Markets Index when making investment decisions for the Portfolio. The Subadvisor seeks to reduce risk by investing in securities of a large number of issuers across markets, sectors and countries.

Market Risk: Changes in markets may cause the value of investments to fluctuate, which could cause the Portfolio to underperform other funds with similar investment objectives and strategies. Such changes may be rapid and unpredictable. From time to time, markets may experience periods of stress as a result of various market, economic and geopolitical factors for potentially prolonged periods that may result in: (i) increased market volatility; (ii) reduced market liquidity; and (iii) increased redemptions of shares. Such conditions may add significantly to the risk of volatility in the net asset value of the Portfolio's shares and adversely affect the Portfolio and its investments.

Portfolio Management Risk: The investment strategies, practices and risk analyses used by the Subadvisor may not produce the desired results or expected returns. The quantitative screening performed by the Subadvisor, and the securities selected based on the screening, may not perform as expected. The quantitative screening may adversely affect the Portfolio's performance. There may also be technical issues with the construction and implementation of quantitative models (for example, software or other technology malfunctions, or programming inaccuracies). In addition, the Portfolio's performance will reflect, in part, the Subadvisor's ability to make active qualitative decisions. The application of ESG criteria may result in the Portfolio (i) having exposure to certain securities or industry sectors that are significantly different than the composition of the Portfolio's benchmark; and (ii) performing differently than other funds and strategies in its peer group that do not take into account ESG criteria or the Portfolio's benchmark. In addition, the Subadvisor's exclusionary ESG screen may result in the Portfolio forgoing opportunities to buy certain securities when it might otherwise be advantageous to do so, or selling securities for ESG reasons when it might be otherwise disadvantageous for it to do so.

Depositary Receipts Risk: Investments in depositary receipts may entail the special risks of investing in foreign securities, including currency exchange fluctuations, government regulations, and the potential for political and economic instability.

Equity Securities Risk: Investments in common stocks and other equity securities are particularly subject to the risk of changing economic, stock market, industry and company conditions and the risks inherent in the ability to anticipate such changes that can adversely affect the value of portfolio holdings.

Foreign Securities Risk: An issuer of a security is considered to be a U.S. or foreign issuer based on the issuer’s “country of risk” (or similar designation) as determined by a third party such as Bloomberg (or another similar third party). The issuer’s “country of risk” is determined based on a number of criteria, which may change from time to time and currently include, but are not limited to, its country of domicile, the primary stock exchange on which it trades, the location from which the majority of its revenue comes, and its reporting currency. Although a Portfolio will generally rely on an issuer’s “country of risk” (or similar designation) as determined by Bloomberg (or another similar third party) when categorizing securities as either U.S. or foreign-based, it is not required to do so.

Investments in foreign (non-U.S.) securities may be riskier than investments in U.S. securities. Foreign regulatory regimes and securities markets can have less stringent investor protections and disclosure standards and less liquid trading markets than U.S. regulatory regimes and securities markets, and can experience political, social and economic developments that may affect the value of investments in foreign securities. Foreign securities may also subject the Portfolio's investments to changes in currency rates. Changes in the value of foreign currencies may make the return on an investment increase or decrease, unrelated to the quality or performance of the investment itself. Economic sanctions may be, and have been, imposed against certain countries, organizations, companies, entities and/or individuals. Economic sanctions and other similar governmental actions or developments could, among other things, effectively restrict or eliminate the Portfolio’s ability to purchase or sell certain foreign securities or groups of foreign securities, and thus may make the Portfolio’s investments in such securities less liquid or more difficult to value. Such sanctions may also cause a decline in the value of securities issued by the sanctioned country or companies located in or economically tied to the sanctioned country. In addition, as a result of economic sanctions and other similar governmental actions or developments, the Portfolio may be forced to sell or otherwise dispose of foreign investments at inopportune times or prices. The Portfolio may seek to hedge against its exposure to changes in the value of foreign currency, but there is no guarantee that such hedging techniques will be successful in reducing any related foreign currency valuation risk. These risks may be greater with respect to securities of companies that conduct their business activities in emerging markets or whose securities are traded principally in emerging markets.

Emerging Markets Risk: The risks related to investing in foreign securities are generally greater with respect to securities of companies that conduct their business activities in emerging markets or whose securities are traded principally in emerging markets. The risks of investing in emerging markets are elevated under adverse market conditions and include: (i) smaller trading volumes for such securities and limited access to investments in the event of market closures (including due to local holidays), which result in a lack of liquidity and in greater price volatility; (ii) less government regulation, which could lead to market manipulation, and less extensive, transparent and frequent accounting, auditing, recordkeeping, financial reporting and other requirements, which limit the quality and availability of financial information; (iii) the absence of developed legal systems, including structures governing private or foreign investment or allowing for judicial redress (such as limits on rights and remedies available) for investment losses and injury to private property; (iv) loss resulting from problems in share registration and custody; (v) sensitivity to adverse political or social events affecting the region where an emerging market is located; (vi) particular sensitivity to economic and political disruptions, including adverse effects stemming from wars, sanctions, trade restrictions, recessions, depressions or other economic crises, or reliance on international or other forms of aid, including trade, taxation and development policies; and (vii) the nationalization of foreign deposits or assets.

Exchange-Traded Fund ("ETF") Risk: The risks of owning an ETF generally reflect the risks of owning the underlying securities in which the ETF invests or is designed to track, although lack of liquidity in an ETF’s shares could result in the market price of the ETF’s shares being more volatile than its underlying portfolio securities. Disruptions in the markets for the securities underlying ETFs could result in losses on the investments in ETFs. ETFs also have management fees and transaction costs that may make them more expensive than owning the underlying securities directly.

Liquidity and Valuation Risk: The Portfolio’s investments may be illiquid at the time of purchase or liquid at the time of purchase and subsequently become illiquid due to, among other things, events relating to the issuer of the securities, market events, operational issues, economic conditions, investor perceptions or lack of market participants. The lack of an active trading market may make it difficult to sell or obtain an accurate price for a security. If market conditions or issuer specific developments make it difficult to value securities, the Portfolio may value these securities using more subjective methods, such as fair value pricing. In such cases, the value determined for a security could be different than the value realized upon such security's sale. As a result, an investor could pay more than the market value when buying shares or receive less than the market value when selling shares. This could affect the proceeds of any redemption or the number of shares an investor receives upon purchase. The Portfolio is subject to the risk that it could not meet redemption requests within the allowable time period without significant dilution of remaining investors' interests in the Portfolio. To meet redemption requests or to raise cash to pursue other investment opportunities, the Portfolio may be forced to sell securities at an unfavorable time and/or under unfavorable conditions, which may adversely affect the Portfolio’s performance.

Derivatives Risk: Derivatives are investments whose value depends on (or is derived from) the value of an underlying instrument, such as a security, asset, reference rate or index. Derivative strategies may be riskier than investing directly in the underlying instrument and often involve leverage, which may exaggerate a loss, potentially causing the Portfolio to lose more money than it originally invested and would have lost had it invested directly in the underlying instrument. For example, if the Portfolio is the seller of credit protection in a credit default swap, the Portfolio effectively adds leverage to its portfolio and is subject to the credit exposure on the full notional value of the swap. Derivatives may be difficult to

sell, unwind and/or value. Derivatives may also be subject to counterparty risk, which is the risk that the counterparty (the party on the other side of the transaction) on a derivative transaction will be unable or unwilling to honor its contractual obligations to the Portfolio.

Futures and other derivatives may be more volatile than direct investments in the instrument underlying the contract, and may not correlate perfectly to the underlying instrument. Futures and other derivatives also may involve a small initial investment relative to the risk assumed, which could result in losses greater than if they had not been used.

Due to fluctuations in the price of the underlying instrument, the Portfolio may not be able to profitably exercise an option and may lose its entire investment in an option. To the extent that the Portfolio writes or sells an option, if the decline in the value of the underlying instrument is significantly below the exercise price in the case of a written put option or increase above the exercise price in the case of a written call option, the Portfolio could experience a substantial loss.

Forward commitments entail the risk that the instrument may be worth less when it is issued or received than the price the Portfolio agreed to pay when it made the commitment. The use of foreign currency forwards may result in currency exchange losses due to fluctuations in currency exchange rates or an imperfect correlation between portfolio holdings denominated in a particular currency and the forward contracts entered into by the Portfolio.

Swaps may be subject to counterparty credit, correlation, valuation, liquidity and leveraging risks. Swap transactions tend to shift a Portfolio's investment exposure from one type of investment to another and may entail the risk that a party will default on its payment obligations to the Portfolio. Additionally, applicable regulators have adopted rules imposing certain margin requirements, including minimums on uncleared swaps, which may result in the Portfolio and its counterparties posting higher margin amounts for uncleared swaps. Certain standardized swaps are subject to mandatory central clearing and exchange trading. Central clearing, which interposes a central clearinghouse to each participant’s swap, and exchange trading are intended to reduce counterparty credit risk and increase liquidity but neither makes swap transactions risk-free.

Derivatives may also increase the expenses of the Portfolio.

Market Capitalization Risk: Investments in securities issued by small-, mid-, or large-cap companies will be subject to the risks associated with securities issued by companies of the applicable market capitalization.  Securities of small-cap and mid-cap companies may be subject to greater price volatility, significantly lower trading volumes, cyclical, static or moderate growth prospects and greater spreads between their bid and ask prices than securities of larger companies. Smaller capitalization companies frequently rely on narrower product lines and niche markets and may be more vulnerable to adverse business or market developments.  Securities issued by larger companies may have less growth potential and may not be able to attain the high growth rates of successful smaller companies, especially during strong economic periods.  In addition, larger companies may be less capable of responding quickly to competitive challenges and industry changes, including those resulting from improvements in technology, and may suffer sharper price declines as a result of earnings disappointments.  There is a risk that the securities issued by companies of a certain market capitalization may underperform the broader market at any given time.

Growth Stock Risk: If growth companies do not increase their earnings at a rate expected by investors, the market price of the stock may decline significantly, even if earnings show an absolute increase. Growth company stocks also typically lack the dividend yield that can cushion stock prices in market downturns. These risks may be more pronounced in companies that are in the earlier stages of their growth cycle.

Regulatory Risk: The Portfolio as well as the issuers of the securities and other instruments in which the Portfolio invests are subject to considerable regulation and the risks associated with adverse changes in laws and regulations governing their operations.

Geographic Focus Risk: Issuers that operate in a single country, a small number of countries, or a particular geographic region can be affected similarly by the market, currency, political, economic, regulatory, geopolitical and other conditions in such country or region, and the Portfolio’s performance will be affected by the conditions, in the countries or regions to which the Portfolio is exposed. To the extent the Portfolio focuses its investments in a particular country or region, such as mainland China, Hong Kong or Taiwan, its performance will be more susceptible to adverse developments in such country or region than a more geographically diversified fund.

Currency Risk: Changes in the value of foreign (non-U.S.) currencies relative to the U.S. dollar may adversely affect investments in foreign currencies or in securities that trade in, and receive revenues in, or in derivatives that provide exposure to, foreign currencies. These changes in value can make the return on an investment go up or down, entirely apart from the quality or performance of the investment itself.

The Subadvisor may seek to reduce currency risk by hedging all or part of the exposure to various foreign currencies by engaging in hedging transactions, including swaps, futures, forward currency contracts and other derivatives. The Subadvisor may from time to time attempt to hedge all or a portion of the perceived currency risk by engaging in similar hedging transactions. However, these transactions and techniques may not always work as intended, and in certain cases the Portfolio may be worse off than if it had not engaged in such hedging practices. In addition, certain market conditions may make it impossible or uneconomical to hedge against currency risk.

The following bar chart and table 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 returns compare with those of a broad measure of market performance over time. Separate variable annuity and variable universal life insurance account and policy fees and charges are not reflected in the bar chart and

table. If they were, returns would be less than those shown. The Portfolio has selected the MSCI Emerging Markets Index (Net), which represents a broad measure of market performance, and is generally representative of the market sectors or types of investments in which the Portfolio invests.

Index returns reflect no deductions for fees, expenses or taxes, except for foreign withholding taxes where applicable.

Performance data for the classes varies based on differences in their fee and expense structures. Past performance is not necessarily an indication of how the Portfolio will perform in the future. Effective January 13, 2015, the Portfolio changed its subadvisors and revised its principal investment strategies. The performance in the bar chart and table prior to that date reflects the Portfolio’s prior subadvisors and principal investment strategies.

In addition, one of the Portfolio's subadvisors changed effective January 1, 2018 due to an organizational restructuring whereby all investment personnel of Cornerstone Capital Management Holdings LLC, the former subadvisor, transitioned to MacKay Shields LLC.

Effective May 1, 2021, the Portfolio replaced one of its subadvisors and modified its principal investment strategies. The past performance in the bar chart and table prior to that date reflects the Portfolio's prior subadvisor and principal investment strategies.

Annual Returns, Initial Class Shares
(by calendar year 2014-2023)

Average Annual Total Returns (for the periods ended December 31, 2023)

The Portfolio seeks current income and capital appreciation.

The table below describes the fees and expenses that you may pay if you buy, hold and sell shares of the Portfolio. The table does not include any separate account or policy fees or charges imposed under the variable annuity policies and variable universal life insurance policies for which the Portfolio is an investment option. If they were included, your costs would be higher. Investors should consult the applicable variable annuity policy or variable universal life insurance policy prospectus for more information.

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 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 19% of the average value of its portfolio.

The Portfolio generally invests in a diversified portfolio consisting of equity securities of U.S. companies that have a history of attractive dividend yields and positive growth in operating cash flow. Under normal circumstances, the Portfolio invests at least 80% of its assets (net assets plus any borrowings for investment purposes) in equity securities of dividend-paying U.S. companies across all market capitalizations. The Portfolio may invest up to 15% of its net assets in foreign securities. An issuer of a security is considered to be a U.S. or foreign issuer based on the issuer's "country of risk" (or similar designation) as determined by a third-party such as Bloomberg.

Investment Process: Epoch Investment Partners, Inc., the Portfolio's Subadvisor, invests primarily in companies that generate increasing levels of free cash flow and have management teams that the Subadvisor believes allocate free cash flow effectively to create shareholder value.

The security selection process focuses on free-cash-flow analytics as opposed to traditional accounting-based metrics. The Subadvisor seeks to identify companies with a consistent, straightforward ability to both generate free cash flow and to intelligently allocate it among internal reinvestment opportunities, acquisitions, dividends, share repurchases and/or debt reduction.

The Subadvisor seeks to find and invest in companies that meet its definition of quality-companies that are free cash flow positive or becoming free cash flow positive, and that are led by strong management. The Subadvisor evaluates whether a company has a focus on shareholder yield by analyzing the company's existing cash dividend, the company's share repurchase activities, and the company's debt reduction activities as well as the likelihood of positive changes to each of these criteria, among other factors. Material environmental, social and governance ("ESG") factors are identified and monitored by the Subadvisor. Material ESG factors vary by company and industry, but the Subadvisor pays particular attention to factors relating to climate change and corporate governance. This information is taken into account by the Subadvisor in making investment decisions. Material ESG factors are identified and monitored by the Subadvisor through review of ESG information published by the company (where relevant) or selected specialist third-party research and data providers. While the Subadvisor considers ESG factors in the investment decision-making process of the Portfolio, this does not mean that ESG considerations are the sole or foremost considerations for investment decisions.

The Subadvisor may sell or reduce a position in a security when it believes its investment objectives have been met or if the investment thesis is failing to materialize. The Subadvisor may also sell or reduce a position in a security if it sees an interruption to the dividend policy, a deterioration in fundamentals or when the security is deemed less attractive relative to another security on a return/risk basis.

Market Risk: Changes in markets may cause the value of investments to fluctuate, which could cause the Portfolio to underperform other funds with similar investment objectives and strategies. Such changes may be rapid and unpredictable. From time to time, markets may experience periods of stress as a result of various market, economic and geopolitical factors for potentially prolonged periods that may result in: (i) increased market volatility; (ii) reduced market liquidity; and (iii) increased redemptions of shares. Such conditions may add significantly to the risk of volatility in the net asset value of the Portfolio's shares and adversely affect the Portfolio and its investments.

Portfolio Management Risk: The investment strategies, practices and risk analyses used by the Subadvisor may not produce the desired results or expected returns. The Subadvisor may give consideration to certain ESG criteria when evaluating an investment opportunity. The application of ESG criteria may result in the Portfolio (i) having exposure to certain securities or industry sectors that are significantly different than the composition of the Portfolio's benchmark; and (ii) performing differently than other funds and strategies in its peer group that do not take into account ESG criteria or the Portfolio's benchmark.

Equity Securities Risk: Investments in common stocks and other equity securities are particularly subject to the risk of changing economic, stock market, industry and company conditions and the risks inherent in the ability to anticipate such changes that can adversely affect the value of portfolio holdings.

Dividend-Paying Stock Risk: Emphasis on equity and equity-related securities that produce income or other distributions involves the risk that such securities may fall out of favor with investors and underperform the market. Depending upon market conditions, income producing stocks that meet the Portfolio’s investment criteria may not be widely available and/or may be highly concentrated in only a few market sectors. This may limit the ability of the Portfolio to produce current income while remaining fully diversified. Also, an issuer may reduce or eliminate its income payments or other distributions, particularly during a market downturn. The distributions received may not qualify as income for Portfolio investors.

Value Stock Risk: Value stocks may never reach what the Subadvisor believes is their full value or they may go down in value. In addition, different types of stocks tend to shift in and out of favor depending on market and economic conditions, and therefore the Portfolio's performance may be lower or higher than that of funds that invest in other types of equity securities.

Market Capitalization Risk: Investments in securities issued by small-, mid-, or large-cap companies will be subject to the risks associated with securities issued by companies of the applicable market capitalization.  Securities of small-cap and mid-cap companies may be subject to greater price volatility, significantly lower trading volumes, cyclical, static or moderate growth prospects and greater spreads between their bid and ask prices than securities of larger companies. Smaller capitalization companies frequently rely on narrower product lines and niche markets and may be more vulnerable to adverse business or market developments.  Securities issued by larger companies may have less growth potential and may not be able to attain the high growth rates of successful smaller companies, especially during strong economic periods.  In addition, larger companies may be less capable of responding quickly to competitive challenges and industry changes, including those resulting from improvements in technology, and may suffer sharper price declines as a result of earnings disappointments.  There is a risk that the securities issued by companies of a certain market capitalization may underperform the broader market at any given time.

Foreign Securities Risk: An issuer of a security is considered to be a U.S. or foreign issuer based on the issuer’s “country of risk” (or similar designation) as determined by a third party such as Bloomberg (or another similar third party). The issuer’s “country of risk” is determined based on a number of criteria, which may change from time to time and currently include, but are not limited to, its country of domicile, the primary stock exchange on which it trades, the location from which the majority of its revenue comes, and its reporting currency. Although a Portfolio will generally rely on an issuer’s “country of risk” (or similar designation) as determined by Bloomberg (or another similar third party) when categorizing securities as either U.S. or foreign-based, it is not required to do so.

Investments in foreign (non-U.S.) securities may be riskier than investments in U.S. securities. Foreign regulatory regimes and securities markets can have less stringent investor protections and disclosure standards and less liquid trading markets than U.S. regulatory regimes and securities markets, and can experience political, social and economic developments that may affect the value of investments in foreign securities. Foreign securities may also subject the Portfolio's investments to changes in currency rates. Changes in the value of foreign currencies may make the return on an investment increase or decrease, unrelated to the quality or performance of the investment itself. Economic sanctions may be, and have been, imposed against certain countries, organizations, companies, entities and/or individuals. Economic sanctions and other similar governmental actions or developments could, among other things, effectively restrict or eliminate the Portfolio’s ability to purchase or sell certain foreign securities or groups of foreign securities, and thus may make the Portfolio’s investments in such securities less liquid or more difficult to value. Such sanctions may also cause a decline in the value of securities issued by the sanctioned country or companies located in or economically tied to the sanctioned country. In addition, as a result of economic sanctions and other similar governmental actions or developments, the Portfolio may be forced to sell or otherwise dispose of foreign investments at inopportune times or prices. The Portfolio may seek to hedge against its exposure to changes in the value of foreign currency, but there is no guarantee that such hedging techniques will be successful in reducing any related foreign currency valuation risk.

The following bar chart and table 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 returns compare with those of a broad measure of market performance as well as an additional index and a composite index over time. Separate variable annuity and variable universal life insurance account and policy fees and charges are not reflected in the bar chart and table. If they were, returns would be less than those shown. In accordance with new regulatory requirements, the Portfolio has selected the Russell 3000^® Index, which represents a broad measure of market performance, as a replacement for the Russell 1000^® Value Index. The table also includes the average annual returns of the Russell 1000^® Value Index and the U.S. Equity Yield Component Index, which are generally representative of the market sectors or types of investments in which the Portfolio invests.

Index returns reflect no deductions for fees, expenses or taxes, except for foreign withholding taxes where applicable.

Performance data for the classes varies based on differences in their fee and expense structures. Past performance is not necessarily an indication of how the Portfolio will perform in the future. The Portfolio's subadvisor changed effective January 9, 2017, and its principal investment strategies changed effective March 13, 2017. The past performance in the bar chart and table prior to those dates reflects the Portfolio’s prior subadvisor and principal investment strategies.

Annual Returns, Initial Class Shares
(by calendar year 2014-2023)

Average Annual Total Returns (for the periods ended December 31, 2023)

The Portfolio seeks total return.

The table below describes the fees and expenses that you may pay if you buy, hold and sell shares of the Portfolio. The table does not include any separate account or policy fees or charges imposed under the variable annuity policies and variable universal life insurance policies for which the Portfolio is an investment option. If they were included, your costs would be higher. Investors should consult the applicable variable annuity policy or variable universal life insurance policy prospectus for more information.

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 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 71% of the average value of its portfolio.

The Portfolio, under normal circumstances, invests at least 80% of its assets (net assets plus any borrowing for investment purposes) in securities of issuers in the utilities group of industries and companies deriving a majority of their revenues from their utility operations.

These companies may include, for example, companies that produce electricity, including nuclear and non-nuclear facilities; companies that distribute and transmit natural and manufactured gas; water treatment and other utility companies; and other companies that operate as independent power producers, gas and power marketing and trading specialists and/or integrated energy merchants. The Portfolio will invest at least 25% of its total assets (concentrate its investments) in securities issued by companies in the utilities group of industries. In addition to concentrating on particular industries, the Portfolio may invest a significant percentage of its assets in relatively few companies and may invest up to 25% in a single company. The Portfolio is non-diversified, which means it may invest a greater percentage of its assets in a limited number of issuers than a diversified fund.

FIAM LLC, the Portfolio’s Subadvisor, does not place any emphasis on income when selecting securities, except when it believes that income may have a favorable effect on a security’s market value.

The Subadvisor normally invests the Portfolio’s assets primarily in equity securities.

The Portfolio may invest in domestic and foreign securities without limitation. An issuer of a security is considered to be a U.S. or foreign issuer based on the issuer's "country of risk" (or similar designation) as determined by a third-party such as Bloomberg.

The Subadvisor may also use various techniques, such as buying and selling futures contracts and exchange-traded funds, to increase or decrease a fund’s exposure to changing security prices or other factors that affect security values.

Investment Process: In buying and selling securities for the Portfolio, the Subadvisor relies on fundamental analysis, which involves a bottom-up assessment, including macro and quantitative support, of a company’s potential for success in light of factors including its financial condition, earnings outlook, strategy, management, industry position, and economic and market conditions.

Market Risk: Changes in markets may cause the value of investments to fluctuate, which could cause the Portfolio to underperform other funds with similar investment objectives and strategies. Such changes may be rapid and unpredictable. From time to time, markets may experience periods of stress as a result of various market, economic and geopolitical factors for potentially prolonged periods that may result in: (i) increased market volatility; (ii) reduced market liquidity; and (iii) increased redemptions of shares. Such conditions may add significantly to the risk of volatility in the net asset value of the Portfolio's shares and adversely affect the Portfolio and its investments.

The energy markets have experienced significant volatility, including significant swings in the price of crude oil and natural gas prices, and may experience and have historically experienced relatively high volatility for prolonged periods as a result of factors such as supply, technology, regulation, and market collusion. Such conditions may negatively impact the Portfolio and its shareholders. The Subadvisor may take measures to navigate the conditions of the energy markets, but there is no guarantee that such efforts will be effective or that the Portfolio's performance will correlate with any increase in oil and gas prices.

Portfolio Management Risk: The investment strategies, practices and risk analyses used by the Subadvisor may not produce the desired results or expected returns. Investments selected using quantitative methods or based on models that analyze information and data (“quantitative tools”) may perform differently from the market as a whole. The quantitative tool used by the Subadvisor, and the investments selected based on the quantitative tool, may not perform as expected. The quantitative tool may contain certain assumptions in construction and implementation that may adversely affect the Portfolio’s performance. There may also be technical issues with the construction and implementation of quantitative tools (for example, software or other technology malfunctions, or programming inaccuracies). In addition, the Portfolio’s performance will reflect, in part, the Subadvisor’s ability to make active qualitative decisions and timely adjust the quantitative tool, including the tool’s underlying metrics and data.

Equity Securities Risk: Investments in common stocks and other equity securities are particularly subject to the risk of changing economic, stock market, industry and company conditions and the risks inherent in the ability to anticipate such changes that can adversely affect the value of portfolio holdings.

Utilities Risk: The utilities group of industries can be significantly affected by, among other things, government regulation, interest rate changes, financing difficulties, supply and demand of services or fuel, intense competition, natural resource conservation, and commodity price fluctuations.

Concentration Risk: Because the Portfolio concentrates its investments in securities issued by companies in the utilities group of industries, the Portfolio may be subject to greater risks and market fluctuations than a fund whose portfolio has exposure to a broader range of industries. The Portfolio is particularly susceptible to financial, economic, political, or market events, as well as government regulation, impacting the utilities group of industries, including supply and/or demand for services or fuel, financing costs, conservation efforts, the negative impact of regulation, and other factors. The Portfolio is subject to the risk that: (1) its performance will be closely tied to the performance of the utilities group of industries; (2) its performance will be adversely impacted when such industries experience a downturn; and (3) it will perform poorly during a slump in demand for securities of companies in such industries.

Non-Diversification Risk: The Portfolio is a non-diversified, open-end management investment company under the Investment Company Act of 1940, as amended. A non-diversified fund may have a significant portion of its investments in a smaller number of issuers than a diversified fund. Having a larger percentage of assets in a smaller number of issuers makes a non-diversified fund, like the Portfolio, more susceptible to the risk that one single event or occurrence can have a significant adverse impact upon the Portfolio.

Foreign Securities Risk: An issuer of a security is considered to be a U.S. or foreign issuer based on the issuer’s “country of risk” (or similar designation) as determined by a third party such as Bloomberg (or another similar third party). The issuer’s “country of risk” is determined based on a number of criteria, which may change from time to time and currently include, but are not limited to, its country of domicile, the primary stock exchange on which it trades, the location from which the majority of its revenue comes, and its reporting currency. Although a Portfolio will generally rely on an issuer’s “country of risk” (or similar designation) as determined by Bloomberg (or another similar third party) when categorizing securities as either U.S. or foreign-based, it is not required to do so.

Investments in foreign (non-U.S.) securities may be riskier than investments in U.S. securities. Foreign regulatory regimes and securities markets can have less stringent investor protections and disclosure standards and less liquid trading markets than U.S. regulatory regimes and securities markets, and can experience political, social and economic developments that may affect the value of investments in foreign securities. Foreign securities may also subject the Portfolio's investments to changes in currency rates. Changes in the value of foreign currencies may make the return on an investment increase or decrease, unrelated to the quality or performance of the investment itself. Economic sanctions may be, and have been, imposed against certain countries, organizations, companies, entities and/or individuals. Economic sanctions and other similar governmental actions or developments could, among other things, effectively restrict or eliminate the Portfolio’s ability to purchase or sell certain foreign securities or groups of foreign securities, and thus may make the Portfolio’s investments in such securities less liquid or more difficult to value. Such sanctions may also cause a decline in the value of securities issued by the sanctioned country or companies located in or economically tied to the sanctioned country. In addition, as a result of economic sanctions and other similar governmental actions or developments, the Portfolio may be forced to sell or otherwise dispose of foreign investments at inopportune times or prices. The Portfolio may seek to hedge against its exposure to changes in the value of foreign currency, but there is no guarantee that such hedging techniques will be successful in reducing any related foreign currency valuation risk.

Regulatory Risk: The Portfolio as well as the issuers of the securities and other instruments in which the Portfolio invests are subject to considerable regulation and the risks associated with adverse changes in laws and regulations governing their operations.

The utilities group of industries is subject to significant government regulation and oversight, including regulatory limits on rates, profits and the ability to pay dividends to investors as well as restrictions on a company’s access to new markets, which may adversely affect the Portfolio’s investments in utilities issuers. In addition, deregulation of the utilities group of industries may subject utility companies to greater competition and may reduce their profitability. Together, these risks subject utilities issuers to uncertainty and may result in increased price volatility of securities of issuers in the utilities group of industries.

Exchange-Traded Fund ("ETF") Risk: The risks of owning an ETF generally reflect the risks of owning the underlying securities in which the ETF invests or is designed to track, although lack of liquidity in an ETF’s shares could result in the market price of the ETF’s shares being more volatile than its underlying portfolio securities. Disruptions in the markets for the securities underlying ETFs could result in losses on the investments in ETFs. ETFs also have management fees and transaction costs that may make them more expensive than owning the underlying securities directly.

Dividend-Paying Stock Risk: Emphasis on equity and equity-related securities that produce income or other distributions involves the risk that such securities may fall out of favor with investors and underperform the market. Depending upon market conditions, income producing stocks that meet the Portfolio’s investment criteria may not be widely available and/or may be highly concentrated in only a few market sectors. This may limit the ability of the Portfolio to produce current income while remaining fully diversified. Also, an issuer may reduce or eliminate its income payments or other distributions, particularly during a market downturn. The distributions received may not qualify as income for Portfolio investors.

Derivatives Risk: Derivatives are investments whose value depends on (or is derived from) the value of an underlying instrument, such as a security, asset, reference rate or index. Derivative strategies may be riskier than investing directly in the underlying instrument and often involve leverage, which may exaggerate a loss, potentially causing the Portfolio to lose more money than it originally invested and would have lost had it invested directly in the underlying instrument. For example, if the Portfolio is the seller of credit protection in a credit default swap, the Portfolio effectively adds leverage to its portfolio and is subject to the credit exposure on the full notional value of the swap. Derivatives may be difficult to sell, unwind and/or value. Derivatives may also be subject to counterparty risk, which is the risk that the counterparty (the party on the other side of the transaction) on a derivative transaction will be unable or unwilling to honor its contractual obligations to the Portfolio. Futures and other derivatives may be more volatile than direct investments in the instrument underlying the contract, and may not correlate perfectly to the underlying instrument. Futures and other derivatives also may involve a small initial investment relative to the risk assumed, which could result in losses greater than if they had not been used. Derivatives may also increase the expenses of the Portfolio.

Liquidity and Valuation Risk: The Portfolio’s investments may be illiquid at the time of purchase or liquid at the time of purchase and subsequently become illiquid due to, among other things, events relating to the issuer of the securities, market events, operational issues, economic conditions, investor perceptions or lack of market participants. The lack of an active trading market may make it difficult to sell or obtain an accurate price for a security. If market conditions or issuer specific developments make it difficult to value securities, the Portfolio may value these securities using more subjective methods, such as fair value pricing. In such cases, the value determined for a security could be different than the value realized upon such security's sale. As a result, an investor could pay more than the market value when buying shares or receive less than the market value when selling shares. This could affect the proceeds of any redemption or the number of shares an investor receives upon purchase. The Portfolio is subject to the risk that it could not meet redemption requests within the allowable time period without significant dilution of remaining investors' interests in the Portfolio. To meet redemption requests or to raise cash to pursue other investment opportunities, the Portfolio may be forced to sell securities at an unfavorable time and/or under unfavorable conditions, which may adversely affect the Portfolio’s performance.

The following bar chart and table 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 returns compare with those of a broad measure of market performance as well as an additional index over time. Separate variable annuity and variable universal life insurance account and policy fees and charges are not

reflected in the bar chart and table. If they were, returns would be less than those shown. In accordance with new regulatory requirements, the Portfolio has selected the Russell 3000^® Index, which represents a broad measure of market performance, as a replacement for the MSCI USA IMI Utilities 25/50 Index (Gross). The table also includes the average annual returns of the MSCI USA IMI Utilities 25/50 Index (Gross), which is generally representative of the market sectors or types of investments in which the Portfolio invests.

Index returns reflect no deductions for fees, expenses or taxes, except for foreign withholding taxes where applicable.

Performance data for the classes varies based on differences in their fee and expense structures. Past performance is not necessarily an indication of how the Portfolio will perform in the future. The Portfolio replaced its subadvisor, modified its principal investment strategies and changed its classification from a diversified fund to a non-diversified fund as of November 30, 2018. The past performance in the bar chart and table prior to that date reflects the Portfolio’s prior subadvisor, principal investment strategies and diversification status.

Annual Returns, Initial Class Shares
(by calendar year 2014-2023)

Average Annual Total Returns (for the periods ended December 31, 2023)

The Portfolio seeks long-term capital appreciation.

The table below describes the fees and expenses that you may pay if you buy, hold and sell shares of the Portfolio. The table does not include any separate account or policy fees or charges imposed under the variable annuity policies and variable universal life insurance policies for which the Portfolio is an investment option. If they were included, your costs would be higher. Investors should consult the applicable variable annuity policy or variable universal life insurance policy prospectus for more information.

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 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 85% of the average value of its portfolio.

The Portfolio normally invests at least 80% of its assets (net assets plus any borrowings for investment purposes) in the stocks of companies in the natural resources and natural resources related sectors. Generally, these are companies principally engaged in owning or developing natural resources, or principally engaged in supplying goods, technology and services relating to natural resources. These companies may include, for example, companies involved in exploring, mining, drilling, refining, processing, transporting, distributing, fabricating, dealing in, or owning natural resources, and companies providing environmental services. Natural resources include, but are not limited to, precious metals (e.g., gold, platinum and silver), ferrous and non-ferrous metals (e.g., iron, aluminum and copper), strategic metals (e.g., uranium and titanium), hydrocarbons (e.g., coal, oil and natural gases) and other sources (including alternative sources) of energy, chemicals, paper and forest products, farming products, real estate, food, textile and tobacco products, and other basic commodities.

The Portfolio will invest at least 25% of its total assets (concentrate its investments) in the securities of “hard assets” companies and instruments that derive their value from hard assets. A hard assets company is a company that derives directly or indirectly, at least 50% of its revenues from exploration, development, production, distribution or facilitation of processes relating to hard assets, which are (i) precious metals, (ii) base and industrial metals, (iii) energy, or (iv) other commodities.

The Portfolio invests principally in common stocks, but may also invest in preferred stocks, warrants and convertible securities, including those purchased in initial public offerings, and American Depositary Receipts. The Portfolio may invest in securities issued by exchange-traded funds (“ETFs”). The Portfolio may invest in foreign securities (i.e., securities issued by companies organized under the laws of countries other than the U.S.), including emerging markets securities. An issuer of a security is considered to be a U.S. or foreign issuer based on the issuer's "country of risk" (or similar designation) as determined by a third-party such as Bloomberg.

The Portfolio may also invest in options, futures and options on futures (including those relating to stocks, indexes, foreign currencies and interest rates) and forward contracts, as a substitute for investing directly in an underlying asset, to increase returns, or as part of a hedging strategy. The Portfolio also may engage in short-selling, typically for hedging purposes, such as to limit exposure to a possible market decline in the value of its portfolio securities.

Investment Process: Using fundamental research, the Portfolio’s Subadvisor, Newton Investment Management North America, LLC, seeks stocks of companies with strong positions in their natural resources sector, sustained achievement records and strong financial condition. There are no prescribed limits on the weightings of securities in any particular natural resources sector or in any individual company, and the Portfolio may invest in companies of any market capitalization.

The Subadvisor typically sells a stock when the reasons for buying it no longer apply or when the company begins to show deteriorating fundamentals or poor relative performance or when a stock is fully valued by the market. The Subadvisor may also sell a stock to secure gains, limit losses or redeploy assets into more promising opportunities.

Market Risk: Changes in markets may cause the value of investments to fluctuate, which could cause the Portfolio to underperform other funds with similar investment objectives and strategies. Such changes may be rapid and unpredictable. From time to time, markets may experience periods of stress as a result of various market, economic and geopolitical factors for potentially prolonged periods that may result in: (i) increased market volatility; (ii) reduced market liquidity; and (iii) increased redemptions of shares. Such conditions may add significantly to the risk of volatility in the net asset value of the Portfolio's shares and adversely affect the Portfolio and its investments.

The energy markets have experienced significant volatility, including significant swings in the price of crude oil and natural gas prices, and may experience and have historically experienced relatively high volatility for prolonged periods as a result of factors such as supply, technology, regulation , and market collusion. Such conditions may negatively impact the Portfolio and its shareholders. The Subadvisor may take measures to navigate the conditions of the energy markets, but there is no guarantee that such efforts will be effective or that the Portfolio's performance will correlate with any increase in oil and gas prices.

Portfolio Management Risk: The investment strategies, practices and risk analyses used by the Subadvisor may not produce the desired results or expected returns. Investments selected using quantitative methods or based on models that analyze information and data (“quantitative tools”) may perform differently from the market as a whole. The quantitative tool used by the Subadvisor, and the investments selected based on the quantitative tool, may not perform as expected. The quantitative tool may contain certain assumptions in construction and implementation that may adversely affect the Portfolio’s performance. There may also be technical issues with the construction and implementation of quantitative tools (for example, software or other technology malfunctions, or programming inaccuracies). In addition, the Portfolio’s performance will reflect, in part, the Subadvisor’s ability to make active qualitative decisions and timely adjust the quantitative tool, including the tool’s underlying metrics and data.

Market Capitalization Risk: Investments in securities issued by small-, mid-, or large-cap companies will be subject to the risks associated with securities issued by companies of the applicable market capitalization.  Securities of small-cap and mid-cap companies may be subject to greater price volatility, significantly lower trading volumes, cyclical, static or moderate growth prospects and greater spreads between their bid and ask prices than securities of larger companies. Smaller capitalization companies frequently rely on narrower product lines and niche markets and may be more vulnerable to adverse business or market developments.  Securities issued by larger companies may have less growth potential and may not be able to attain the high growth rates of successful smaller companies, especially during strong economic periods.  In addition, larger companies may be less capable of responding quickly to competitive challenges and industry changes, including those resulting from improvements in technology, and may suffer sharper price declines as a result of earnings disappointments.  There is a risk that the securities issued by companies of a certain market capitalization may underperform the broader market at any given time.

Natural Resources Sector Risk: Investments in the natural resources and related sectors may be affected by numerous factors, including events occurring in nature, inflationary pressures and domestic and international politics. For example, events occurring in nature (such as earthquakes or fires in prime natural resource areas) and political events (such as coups or military confrontations) can affect the overall supply of a natural resource and the value of companies involved in such natural resource. Political risks and other risks to which foreign securities are subject also may affect domestic companies in which the fund invests if they have significant operations or investments in foreign countries. In addition, interest rates, prices of raw materials and other commodities, international economic developments, energy conservation, tax and other government regulations (both domestic and foreign) may affect the supply of and demand for natural resources, which can affect the profitability and value of securities issued by companies in the natural resources sectors.

Commodities and Commodity-Linked Derivatives Risk: Exposure to the commodities markets, such as precious metals, industrial metals, gas and other energy products and natural resources, may subject the Portfolio to greater volatility than investments in traditional securities. The commodities markets may fluctuate widely based on a variety of factors including changes in overall market movements, political and economic events and policies, war, acts of terrorism, weather and natural disasters, and changes in interest rates or inflation rates. Because the value of a commodity-linked derivative instrument and structured note typically are based upon the price movements of physical commodities, the value of these securities will rise or fall in response to changes in the underlying commodities or related index of investment.

Focused Portfolio Risk: Because the Portfolio typically invests in relatively few holdings, a larger percentage of its assets may be invested in a particular issuer or in fewer companies than is typical of other mutual funds. This may increase volatility of the Portfolio’s NAVs. The Portfolio will be more susceptible to adverse economic, political, regulatory or market developments affecting a single issuer than a fund that is invested more broadly.

Regulatory Risk: The Portfolio as well as the issuers of the securities and other instruments in which the Portfolio invests are subject to considerable regulation and the risks associated with adverse changes in laws and regulations governing their operations.

Companies in the natural resources and natural resources related sectors are subject to greater governmental regulation than certain other industries. As a result, changes in regulatory policies, including government regulations (both domestic and foreign) or policies of intergovernmental organizations that may affect the supply of and demand for natural resources, may be more likely to adversely affect the value of securities issued by these companies.

Preferred Shares Risk: Preferred shares represent an equity or ownership interest in an issuer that pays dividends at a specified rate and that has precedence over common shares in the payment of dividends. In the event an issuer is liquidated or declares bankruptcy, the claims of owners of bonds take precedence over the claims of those who own preferred and common shares. If interest rates rise, the fixed dividend on preferred shares may be less attractive, causing the price of preferred shares to decline. Preferred shares may have mandatory sinking fund provisions, as well as provisions allowing the shares to be called or redeemed prior to its maturity, which can have a negative impact on the share's price when interest rates decline.

Initial Public Offering Risk: Initial public offering share prices are frequently volatile due to factors such as the absence of a prior public market, unseasoned trading, the small number of shares available for trading and limited information about the issuer. Investments in initial public offering shares may significantly impact Portfolio performance.

Depositary Receipts Risk: Investments in depositary receipts may entail the special risks of investing in foreign securities, including currency exchange fluctuations, government regulations, and the potential for political and economic instability.

Equity Securities Risk: Investments in common stocks and other equity securities are particularly subject to the risk of changing economic, stock market, industry and company conditions and the risks inherent in the ability to anticipate such changes that can adversely affect the value of portfolio holdings.

Growth Stock Risk: If growth companies do not increase their earnings at a rate expected by investors, the market price of the stock may decline significantly, even if earnings show an absolute increase. Growth company stocks also typically lack the dividend yield that can cushion stock prices in market downturns. These risks may be more pronounced in companies that are in the earlier stages of their growth cycle.

Value Stock Risk: Value stocks may never reach what the Subadvisor believes is their full value or they may go down in value. In addition, different types of stocks tend to shift in and out of favor depending on market and economic conditions, and therefore the Portfolio's performance may be lower or higher than that of funds that invest in other types of equity securities.

Convertible Securities Risk: Convertible securities are typically subordinate to an issuer’s other debt obligations. In part, the total return for a convertible security depends upon the performance of the underlying stock into which it can be converted. Also, issuers of convertible securities are often not as strong financially as those issuing securities with higher credit ratings, are more likely to encounter financial difficulties and typically are more vulnerable to changes in the economy, such as a recession or a sustained period of rising interest rates, which could affect their ability to make interest and principal payments. If an issuer stops making interest and/or principal payments, the Portfolio could lose its entire investment.

Derivatives Risk: Derivatives are investments whose value depends on (or is derived from) the value of an underlying instrument, such as a security, asset, reference rate or index. Derivative strategies may be riskier than investing directly in the underlying instrument and often involve leverage, which may exaggerate a loss, potentially causing the Portfolio to lose more money than it originally invested and would have lost had it invested directly in the underlying instrument. Derivatives may be difficult to sell, unwind and/or value. Derivatives may also be subject to counterparty risk, which is the risk that the counterparty (the party on the other side of the transaction) on a derivative transaction will be unable or unwilling to honor its contractual obligations to the Portfolio. Futures and other derivatives may be more volatile than direct investments in the instrument underlying the contract, and may not correlate perfectly to the underlying instrument. Futures and other derivatives also may involve a small initial investment relative to the risk assumed, which could result in losses greater than if they had not been used. Due to fluctuations in the price of the underlying instrument, the Portfolio may not be able to profitably exercise an option and may lose its entire investment in an option. To the extent that the Portfolio writes or sells an option, if the decline in the value of the underlying instrument is significantly below the exercise price

in the case of a written put option or increase above the exercise price in the case of a written call option, the Portfolio could experience a substantial loss. Forward commitments entail the risk that the instrument may be worth less when it is issued or received than the price the Portfolio agreed to pay when it made the commitment. The use of foreign currency forwards may result in currency exchange losses due to fluctuations in currency exchange rates or an imperfect correlation between portfolio holdings denominated in a particular currency and the forward contracts entered into by the Portfolio. Derivatives may also increase the expenses of the Portfolio.

Foreign Securities Risk: An issuer of a security is considered to be a U.S. or foreign issuer based on the issuer’s “country of risk” (or similar designation) as determined by a third party such as Bloomberg (or another similar third party). The issuer’s “country of risk” is determined based on a number of criteria, which may change from time to time and currently include, but are not limited to, its country of domicile, the primary stock exchange on which it trades, the location from which the majority of its revenue comes, and its reporting currency. Although a Portfolio will generally rely on an issuer’s “country of risk” (or similar designation) as determined by Bloomberg (or another similar third party) when categorizing securities as either U.S. or foreign-based, it is not required to do so.

Investments in foreign (non-U.S.) securities may be riskier than investments in U.S. securities. Foreign regulatory regimes and securities markets can have less stringent investor protections and disclosure standards and less liquid trading markets than U.S. regulatory regimes and securities markets, and can experience political, social and economic developments that may affect the value of investments in foreign securities. Foreign securities may also subject the Portfolio's investments to changes in currency rates. Changes in the value of foreign currencies may make the return on an investment increase or decrease, unrelated to the quality or performance of the investment itself. Economic sanctions may be, and have been, imposed against certain countries, organizations, companies, entities and/or individuals. Economic sanctions and other similar governmental actions or developments could, among other things, effectively restrict or eliminate the Portfolio’s ability to purchase or sell certain foreign securities or groups of foreign securities, and thus may make the Portfolio’s investments in such securities less liquid or more difficult to value. Such sanctions may also cause a decline in the value of securities issued by the sanctioned country or companies located in or economically tied to the sanctioned country. In addition, as a result of economic sanctions and other similar governmental actions or developments, the Portfolio may be forced to sell or otherwise dispose of foreign investments at inopportune times or prices. The Portfolio may seek to hedge against its exposure to changes in the value of foreign currency, but there is no guarantee that such hedging techniques will be successful in reducing any related foreign currency valuation risk. These risks may be greater with respect to securities of companies that conduct their business activities in emerging markets or whose securities are traded principally in emerging markets.

Emerging Markets Risk: The risks related to investing in foreign securities are generally greater with respect to securities of companies that conduct their business activities in emerging markets or whose securities are traded principally in emerging markets. The risks of investing in emerging markets are elevated under adverse market conditions and include: (i) smaller trading volumes for such securities and limited access to investments in the event of market closures (including due to local holidays), which result in a lack of liquidity and in greater price volatility; (ii) less government regulation, which could lead to market manipulation, and less extensive, transparent and frequent accounting, auditing, recordkeeping, financial reporting and other requirements, which limit the quality and availability of financial information; (iii) the absence of developed legal systems, including structures governing private or foreign investment or allowing for judicial redress (such as limits on rights and remedies available) for investment losses and injury to private property; (iv) loss resulting from problems in share registration and custody; (v) sensitivity to adverse political or social events affecting the region where an emerging market is located; (vi) particular sensitivity to economic and political disruptions, including adverse effects stemming from wars, sanctions, trade restrictions, recessions, depressions or other economic crises, or reliance on international or other forms of aid, including trade, taxation and development policies; and (vii) the nationalization of foreign deposits or assets.

Short Selling and Short Exposure Risk: To the extent the Portfolio obtains short exposure through the use of derivatives, the Portfolio would be subject to leverage risk, counterparty risk and other risks associated with the use of derivatives. If a security sold short increases in price, the Portfolio may have to cover its short position at a higher price than the short sale price, resulting in a loss, which could be theoretically unlimited. By contrast, a loss on a long position arises from decreases in the value of the security and is limited by the fact that a security's value cannot go below zero. The Portfolio may have substantial short positions and must borrow those securities to make delivery to the buyer. The Portfolio may not be able to borrow a security that it needs to deliver or it may not be able to close out a short position at an acceptable price and may have to sell related long positions before it had intended to do so. Thus, the Portfolio may not be able to successfully implement its short sale strategy due to limited availability of desired securities or for other reasons. The Portfolio also may be required to pay a premium and other transaction costs, which would increase the cost of the security sold short. The amount of any gain will be decreased, and the amount of any loss increased, by the amount of the premium, dividends, interest or expenses the Portfolio may be required to pay in connection with the short sale.

Until the Portfolio replaces a borrowed security, it is required to maintain a segregated account of cash or liquid assets with the Portfolio's broker or custodian to cover the Portfolio's short position. Generally, securities held in a segregated account cannot be sold unless they are replaced with other liquid assets. The Portfolio's ability to access the pledged collateral may also be impaired in the event the broker fails to comply with the terms of the contract. In such instances the Portfolio may not be able to substitute or sell the pledged collateral. This may limit the Portfolio's investment flexibility, as well as its ability to meet redemption requests or other current obligations.

By investing the proceeds received from selling securities short, the Portfolio could be deemed to be employing a form of leverage, which creates special risks. The use of leverage may increase the Portfolio's exposure to long positions and make any change in the Portfolio's net asset value

greater than it would be without the use of leverage. This could result in increased volatility of returns. There is no guarantee that the Portfolio will leverage its portfolio, or if it does, that the Portfolio's leveraging strategy will be successful or that it will produce a higher return on an investment.

Hard Assets Risk: The Portfolio may be subject to greater risks and market fluctuations than a fund whose portfolio has exposure to a broader range of industries. The Portfolio may be susceptible to financial, economic, political, or market events, as well as government regulation, impacting the hard assets industries (such as the energy and metals industries). Securities of issuers in the precious metals and other hard assets industries are at times volatile and there may be sharp fluctuations in prices, even during periods of rising prices.

Concentration Risk: Because the Portfolio concentrates its investments in the securities of “hard assets” companies and instruments that derive their value from hard assets, the Portfolio may be subject to greater risks and market fluctuations than a fund whose portfolio has exposure to a broader range of industries. The Portfolio is particularly susceptible to financial, economic, political, or market events, as well as government regulation, impacting these companies and instruments, such as volatility in the prices of energy and metals resources. The Portfolio is subject to the risk that: (1) its performance will be closely tied to the performance of those particular companies and instruments; (2) its performance will be adversely impacted when such companies and instruments experience a downturn; and (3) it will perform poorly during a slump in demand for securities of such companies or for such instruments.

Liquidity and Valuation Risk: The Portfolio’s investments may be illiquid at the time of purchase or liquid at the time of purchase and subsequently become illiquid due to, among other things, events relating to the issuer of the securities, market events, operational issues, economic conditions, investor perceptions or lack of market participants. The lack of an active trading market may make it difficult to sell or obtain an accurate price for a security. If market conditions or issuer specific developments make it difficult to value securities, the Portfolio may value these securities using more subjective methods, such as fair value pricing. In such cases, the value determined for a security could be different than the value realized upon such security's sale. As a result, an investor could pay more than the market value when buying shares or receive less than the market value when selling shares. This could affect the proceeds of any redemption or the number of shares an investor receives upon purchase. The Portfolio is subject to the risk that it could not meet redemption requests within the allowable time period without significant dilution of remaining investors' interests in the Portfolio. To meet redemption requests or to raise cash to pursue other investment opportunities, the Portfolio may be forced to sell securities at an unfavorable time and/or under unfavorable conditions, which may adversely affect the Portfolio’s performance.

Exchange-Traded Fund Risk: The risks of owning an ETF generally reflect the risks of owning the underlying securities in which the ETF invests or is designed to track, although lack of liquidity in an ETF’s shares could result in the market price of the ETF’s shares being more volatile than its underlying portfolio securities. Disruptions in the markets for the securities underlying ETFs could result in losses on the investments in ETFs. ETFs also have management fees and transaction costs that may make them more expensive than owning the underlying securities directly.

Rights and Warrants Risk: Rights and warrants may provide a greater potential for profit or loss than an equivalent investment in the underlying securities. Prices of these investments do not necessarily move in tandem with the prices of the underlying securities, and warrants are speculative investments. If a right or warrant is not exercised by the date of its expiration, the Portfolio will lose its entire investment in such right or warrant.

The following bar chart and table 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 returns compare with those of a broad measure of market performance and an additional index over time. Separate variable annuity and variable universal life insurance account and policy fees and charges are not reflected in the bar chart and table. If they were, returns would be less than those shown. In accordance with new regulatory requirements, the Portfolio has selected the MSCI World Index (Net), which represents a broad measure of market performance, as a replacement for the S&P Global Natural Resources Index. The table also includes the average annual returns of the S&P Global Natural Resources Index, which is generally representative of the market sectors or types of investments in which the Portfolio invests.

Index returns reflect no deductions for fees, expenses or taxes, except for foreign withholding taxes where applicable.

Past performance is not necessarily an indication of how the Portfolio will perform in the future.

The Portfolio replaced its subadvisor, changed its investment objective and modified its principal investment strategies as of November 30, 2018. The past performance in the bar chart and table prior to that date reflects the Portfolio’s prior subadvisor, investment objective and principal investment strategies.

The Portfolio's subadvisor changed effective September 1, 2021 due to an organizational restructuring whereby all investment personnel of Mellon Investments Corporation, the former subadvisor, transitioned to Newton Investment Management North America, LLC.

Annual Returns, Initial Class Shares
(by calendar year 2014-2023)

Average Annual Total Returns (for the periods ended December 31, 2023)

The Portfolio seeks capital appreciation.

The table below describes the fees and expenses that you may pay if you buy, hold and sell shares of the Portfolio. The table does not include any separate account or policy fees or charges imposed under the variable annuity policies and variable universal life insurance policies for which the Portfolio is an investment option. If they were included, your costs would be higher. Investors should consult the applicable variable annuity policy or variable universal life insurance policy prospectus for more information.

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 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 155% of the average value of its portfolio.

PineStone Asset Management Inc., the Portfolio’s subadvisor (the “Subadvisor”), seeks to achieve the Portfolio’s investment objective by investing in a portfolio of international equities. The Portfolio may invest in issuers with market capitalizations of any size, though it generally expects to focus on issuers with market capitalization in excess of $1 billion.

Under normal circumstances, the Portfolio invests at least 80% of its assets (net assets plus any borrowings for investment purposes) in equity securities. The Portfolio will normally invest in equity securities of foreign companies operating in at least three countries other than the United States, including emerging market countries. An issuer of a security is considered to be a U.S. or foreign issuer based on the issuer’s “country of risk” (or similar designation) as determined by a third-party such as Bloomberg, Factset or ICE Data Services Inc.

In addition, the Portfolio considers countries represented in the MSCI Emerging Markets Index to be emerging market countries. From time to time, the Portfolio may focus its investments in certain countries or geographic areas, including Europe. Equity securities include common stock, preferred stock, convertible securities and depositary receipts.

The Portfolio may from time to time emphasize one or more sectors in selecting its investments, including the consumer non-cyclical and industrials sectors. In addition, the Portfolio may enter into forward currency contracts to hedge the currency exposure associated with some or all of the Portfolio’s securities, to shift investment exposure from one currency to another, to shift U.S. dollar exposure to achieve a representative

weighted mix of major currencies in its benchmark, or to adjust an underweight country exposure in its portfolio. The Portfolio may also invest in securities issued by other investment companies.

Investment Process:

In pursuing the Portfolio’s investment objective, the Subadvisor employs a bottom-up stock selection approach which results in a portfolio generally ranging from 25 to 45 companies. A bottom-up stock selection approach focuses on the analysis of individual stocks (microeconomic factors) as opposed to the significance of economic cycles and market cycles (macroeconomic factors).

The Subadvisor looks for companies that have growth potential that are believed to be trading at attractive valuations. In doing so, the Subadvisor focuses on companies believed by the portfolio management team to have the following characteristics, among others:

• Competitive advantage in an industry with high barriers to entry;

• Attractive industry with pricing power, organic growth and limited cyclicality;

• Strong management teams with sound corporate governance;

• History of stable profit margins;

• Solid balance sheet with low leverage; and

• Attractive valuation with a stock price below intrinsic value.

In evaluating whether to sell a security, the Subadvisor considers, among other factors, whether in its view the company no longer continues to meet the standards described above and/or the Subadvisor believes there are more attractive opportunities available for investment by the Portfolio.

Market Risk: Changes in markets may cause the value of investments to fluctuate, which could cause the Portfolio to underperform other funds with similar investment objectives and strategies. Such changes may be rapid and unpredictable. From time to time, markets may experience periods of stress as a result of various market, economic and geopolitical factors for potentially prolonged periods that may result in: (i) increased market volatility; (ii) reduced market liquidity; and (iii) increased redemptions of shares. Such conditions may add significantly to the risk of volatility in the net asset value of the Portfolio's shares and adversely affect the Portfolio and its investments.

Portfolio Management Risk: The investment strategies, practices and risk analyses used by the Subadvisor may not produce the desired results or expected returns.

Equity Securities Risk: Investments in common stocks and other equity securities are particularly subject to the risk of changing economic, stock market, industry and company conditions and the risks inherent in the ability to anticipate such changes that can adversely affect the value of portfolio holdings.

Market Capitalization Risk: Investments in securities issued by small-, mid-, or large-cap companies will be subject to the risks associated with securities issued by companies of the applicable market capitalization.  Securities of small-cap and mid-cap companies may be subject to greater price volatility, significantly lower trading volumes, cyclical, static or moderate growth prospects and greater spreads between their bid and ask prices than securities of larger companies. Smaller capitalization companies frequently rely on narrower product lines and niche markets and may be more vulnerable to adverse business or market developments.  Securities issued by larger companies may have less growth potential and may not be able to attain the high growth rates of successful smaller companies, especially during strong economic periods.  In addition, larger companies may be less capable of responding quickly to competitive challenges and industry changes, including those resulting from improvements in technology, and may suffer sharper price declines as a result of earnings disappointments.  There is a risk that the securities issued by companies of a certain market capitalization may underperform the broader market at any given time.

Issuer Risk: An issuer in which the Portfolio invests or to which it has exposure may perform poorly, and the value of its securities may therefore decline, which would negatively affect the Portfolio’s performance. Poor performance may be caused by poor management decisions, competitive pressures, breakthroughs in technology, reliance on suppliers, labor problems or shortages, corporate restructurings, fraudulent disclosures, natural disasters, military confrontations and actions, war, other conflicts, terrorism, disease/virus outbreaks, epidemics or other events, conditions or factors.

Foreign Securities Risk: An issuer of a security is considered to be a U.S. or foreign issuer based on the issuer’s “country of risk” (or similar designation) as determined by a third party such as Bloomberg (or another similar third party). The issuer’s “country of risk” is determined based on a number of criteria, which may change from time to time and currently include, but are not limited to, its country of domicile, the primary stock exchange on which it trades, the location from which the majority of its revenue comes, and its reporting currency. Although a Portfolio will

generally rely on an issuer’s “country of risk” (or similar designation) as determined by Bloomberg (or another similar third party) when categorizing securities as either U.S. or foreign-based, it is not required to do so.

Investments in foreign (non-U.S.) securities may be riskier than investments in U.S. securities. Foreign regulatory regimes and securities markets can have less stringent investor protections and disclosure standards and less liquid trading markets than U.S. regulatory regimes and securities markets, and can experience political, social and economic developments that may affect the value of investments in foreign securities. Foreign securities may also subject the Portfolio's investments to changes in currency rates. Changes in the value of foreign currencies may make the return on an investment increase or decrease, unrelated to the quality or performance of the investment itself. Economic sanctions may be, and have been, imposed against certain countries, organizations, companies, entities and/or individuals. Economic sanctions and other similar governmental actions or developments could, among other things, effectively restrict or eliminate the Portfolio’s ability to purchase or sell certain foreign securities or groups of foreign securities, and thus may make the Portfolio’s investments in such securities less liquid or more difficult to value. Such sanctions may also cause a decline in the value of securities issued by the sanctioned country or companies located in or economically tied to the sanctioned country. In addition, as a result of economic sanctions and other similar governmental actions or developments, the Portfolio may be forced to sell or otherwise dispose of foreign investments at inopportune times or prices. The Portfolio may seek to hedge against its exposure to changes in the value of foreign currency, but there is no guarantee that such hedging techniques will be successful in reducing any related foreign currency valuation risk. These risks may be greater with respect to securities of companies that conduct their business activities in emerging markets or whose securities are traded principally in emerging markets.

Emerging Markets Risk: The risks related to investing in foreign securities are generally greater with respect to securities of companies that conduct their business activities in emerging markets or whose securities are traded principally in emerging markets. The risks of investing in emerging markets are elevated under adverse market conditions and include: (i) smaller trading volumes for such securities and limited access to investments in the event of market closures (including due to local holidays), which result in a lack of liquidity and in greater price volatility; (ii) less government regulation, which could lead to market manipulation, and less extensive, transparent and frequent accounting, auditing, recordkeeping, financial reporting and other requirements, which limit the quality and availability of financial information; (iii) the absence of developed legal systems, including structures governing private or foreign investment or allowing for judicial redress (such as limits on rights and remedies available) for investment losses and injury to private property; (iv) loss resulting from problems in share registration and custody; (v) sensitivity to adverse political or social events affecting the region where an emerging market is located; (vi) particular sensitivity to economic and political disruptions, including adverse effects stemming from wars, sanctions, trade restrictions, recessions, depressions or other economic crises, or reliance on international or other forms of aid, including trade, taxation and development policies; and (vii) the nationalization of foreign deposits or assets.

Convertible Securities Risk: Convertible securities are typically subordinate to an issuer’s other debt obligations. In part, the total return for a convertible security depends upon the performance of the underlying stock into which it can be converted. Also, issuers of convertible securities are often not as strong financially as those issuing securities with higher credit ratings, are more likely to encounter financial difficulties and typically are more vulnerable to changes in the economy, such as a recession or a sustained period of rising interest rates, which could affect their ability to make interest and principal payments. If an issuer stops making interest and/or principal payments, the Portfolio could lose its entire investment.

Depositary Receipts Risk: Investments in depositary receipts may entail the special risks of investing in foreign securities, including currency exchange fluctuations, government regulations, and the potential for political and economic instability.

Derivatives Risk: Derivatives are investments whose value depends on (or is derived from) the value of an underlying instrument, such as a security, asset, reference rate or index. Derivative strategies may be riskier than investing directly in the underlying instrument and often involve leverage, which may exaggerate a loss, potentially causing the Portfolio to lose more money than it originally invested and would have lost had it invested directly in the underlying instrument. Derivatives may be difficult to sell, unwind and/or value. Derivatives may also be subject to counterparty risk, which is the risk that the counterparty (the party on the other side of the transaction) on a derivative transaction will be unable or unwilling to honor its contractual obligations to the Portfolio.

Forward commitments entail the risk that the instrument may be worth less when it is issued or received than the price the Portfolio agreed to pay when it made the commitment. The use of foreign currency forwards may result in currency exchange losses due to fluctuations in currency exchange rates or an imperfect correlation between portfolio holdings denominated in a particular currency and the forward contracts entered into by the Portfolio. Derivatives may also increase the expenses of the Portfolio.

Focused Portfolio Risk: Because the Portfolio typically invests in relatively few holdings, a larger percentage of its assets may be invested in a particular issuer or in fewer companies than is typical of other mutual funds. This may increase volatility of the Portfolio’s NAVs. The Portfolio will be more susceptible to adverse economic, political, regulatory or market developments affecting a single issuer than a fund that is invested more broadly.

Investments in Other Investment Companies Risk: The Portfolio's investment in another investment company may subject the Portfolio indirectly to the risks of that investment company. The Portfolio also will bear its share of the underlying investment company's fees and expenses, which are in addition to the Portfolio's own fees and expenses.

Preferred Stock Risk: Preferred stock is subject to many of the risks associated with debt securities, including interest rate risk. In addition, preferred stocks may not pay dividends, an issuer may suspend payment of dividends on preferred stock at any time, and in certain situations an issuer may call or redeem its preferred stock or convert it to common stock. To the extent that the Portfolio invests a substantial portion of its assets in convertible preferred stocks, declining common stock values may also cause the value of the Portfolio’s investments to decline.

Liquidity and Valuation Risk: The Portfolio’s investments may be illiquid at the time of purchase or liquid at the time of purchase and subsequently become illiquid due to, among other things, events relating to the issuer of the securities, market events, operational issues, economic conditions, investor perceptions or lack of market participants. The lack of an active trading market may make it difficult to sell or obtain an accurate price for a security. If market conditions or issuer specific developments make it difficult to value securities, the Portfolio may value these securities using more subjective methods, such as fair value pricing. In such cases, the value determined for a security could be different than the value realized upon such security's sale. As a result, an investor could pay more than the market value when buying shares or receive less than the market value when selling shares. This could affect the proceeds of any redemption or the number of shares an investor receives upon purchase. The Portfolio is subject to the risk that it could not meet redemption requests within the allowable time period without significant dilution of remaining investors' interests in the Portfolio. To meet redemption requests or to raise cash to pursue other investment opportunities, the Portfolio may be forced to sell securities at an unfavorable time and/or under unfavorable conditions, which may adversely affect the Portfolio’s performance.

Sector Risk: To the extent the Portfolio focuses its investments in particular sectors of the economy, the Portfolio’s performance may be more subject to the risks of volatile economic cycles and/or conditions or developments adversely affecting such sectors than if the Portfolio held a broader range of investments. Individual sectors may fluctuate more widely than the broader market.

At times, the Portfolio may have a significant portion of its assets invested in securities of companies conducting business in a related group of industries within an economic sector, including the consumer staples sector. Companies in the same economic sector may be similarly affected by economic, regulatory, political or market events or conditions, which may make the Portfolio more vulnerable to unfavorable developments in that economic sector than funds that invest more broadly. Generally, the more broadly the Portfolio invests, the more it spreads risk and potentially reduces the risks of loss and volatility. The Portfolio may also be more susceptible to the particular risks that may affect companies in the consumer staples sector than if it were invested in a wider variety of companies in unrelated sectors. Investments in the consumer staples sector involve risks associated with companies that manufacture products and provide staples services directly to the consumer. Performance of companies in the consumer staples sector may be adversely impacted by fluctuations in supply and demand, changes in the global economy, consumer spending, competition, demographics and consumer preferences, and production spending. Companies in the consumer staples sector are also affected by changes in government regulation, global economic, environmental and political events, and economic conditions.

The Portfolio may also be more susceptible to the particular risks that may affect companies in the consumer staples sector than if it were invested in a wider variety of companies in unrelated sectors. Investments in the consumer staples sector involve risks associated with companies that manufacture products and provide staples services directly to the consumer. Performance of companies in the consumer staples sector may be adversely impacted by fluctuations in supply and demand, changes in the global economy, consumer spending, competition, demographics and consumer preferences, and production spending. Companies in the consumer staples sector are also affected by changes in government regulation, global economic, environmental and political events, and economic conditions.

Geographic Focus Risk: The Portfolio may be particularly susceptible to risks related to economic, political, regulatory or other events or conditions, including acts of war or other conflicts in the region, affecting issuers and countries in Europe. Countries in Europe are often closely connected and interdependent, and events in one European country can have an adverse impact on, and potentially spread to, other European countries. Currency devaluations could occur in countries that have not yet experienced currency devaluation to date, or could continue to occur in countries that have already experienced such devaluations. In addition, the private and public sectors’ debt problems of a single European Union (the “EU”) country can pose significant economic risks to the EU as a whole. As a result, the Portfolio’s NAV may be more volatile than the NAV of a more geographically diversified fund. If securities of issuers in Europe fall out of favor, it may cause the Portfolio to underperform other funds that do not focus their investments in this region of the world.

Industrials Sector Risk: The Portfolio’s performance may be closely tied to the performance of industrials issuers and, as a result, may be more volatile than the performance of less focused funds. The prices of securities in the industrials sector can be volatile and can be impacted significantly by supply and demand for certain products and services, product obsolescence and product liability claims, government regulation, exchange rates, world events, general economic conditions and other factors. In addition, certain companies in the industrials sector may be cyclical and have occasional sharp price movements resulting from changes in, among other things, the economy, fuel prices, labor agreements and insurance costs.

The following bar chart and table 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 returns compare with those of a broad measure of market performance over time. Separate variable annuity and variable universal life insurance account and policy fees and charges are not reflected in the bar chart and table. If they were, returns would be less than those shown. The Portfolio has selected the MSCI EAFE^® Index (Net) as a replacement for the MSCI

ACWI^® (All Country World Index) ex USA Index (Net) as its primary benchmark because it believes that the MSCI EAFE^® Index (Net) is more reflective of its principal investment strategies.

Index returns reflect no deductions for fees, expenses or taxes, except for foreign withholding taxes where applicable.

Performance data for the classes varies based on differences in their fee and expense structures. Past performance is not necessarily an indication of how the Portfolio will perform in the future. The Portfolio’s subadvisor changed effective January 1, 2018 due to an organizational restructuring whereby all investment personnel of Cornerstone Capital Management Holdings LLC, the former subadvisor, transitioned to MacKay Shields LLC.

Effective August 28, 2023, the Portfolio replaced its subadvisor, changed its investment objective and modified its principal investment strategies. The past performance in the bar chart and table prior to that date reflects the Portfolio's prior subadvisor, investment objective and principal investment strategies.

Annual Returns, Initial Class Shares
(by calendar year 2014-2023)

Average Annual Total Returns (for the periods ended December 31, 2023)

The Portfolio seeks investment results that correspond to the total return performance (reflecting reinvestment of dividends) of common stocks in the aggregate as represented by the S&P 500^® Index.

The table below describes the fees and expenses that you may pay if you buy, hold and sell shares of the Portfolio. The table does not include any separate account or policy fees or charges imposed under the variable annuity policies and variable universal life insurance policies for which the Portfolio is an investment option. If they were included, your costs would be higher. Investors should consult the applicable variable annuity policy or variable universal life insurance policy prospectus for more information.

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 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 2% of the average value of its portfolio.

The Portfolio normally invests at least 80% of its assets (net assets plus any borrowings for investment purposes) in stocks as represented in the Standard & Poor's 500^® Index ("S&P 500^® Index”) in the same proportion, to the extent feasible.

The Portfolio may invest up to 20% of its total assets in options and futures contracts to maintain cash reserves, while being fully invested, to facilitate trading or to reduce transaction costs. The Portfolio may invest in such derivatives to try to enhance returns or reduce the risk of loss by hedging certain of its holdings.

Investment Process: IndexIQ Advisors LLC, the Portfolio's Subadvisor, uses statistical techniques to determine which stocks are to be purchased or sold to replicate the S&P 500^® Index to the extent feasible. From time to time, adjustments may be made in the Portfolio's holdings because of changes in the composition of the S&P 500^® Index. The correlation between the investment performance of the Portfolio and the S&P 500^® Index is expected to be at least 0.95, before charges, fees and expenses, on an annual basis. A correlation of 1.00 would indicate perfect correlation,

which would be achieved when the net asset value of the Portfolio, including the value of its dividend and capital gains distributions, increases or decreases in exact proportion to changes in the S&P 500^® Index.

Market Risk: Changes in markets may cause the value of investments to fluctuate, which could cause the Portfolio to underperform other funds with similar investment objectives and strategies. Such changes may be rapid and unpredictable. From time to time, markets may experience periods of stress as a result of various market, economic and geopolitical factors for potentially prolonged periods that may result in: (i) increased market volatility; (ii) reduced market liquidity; and (iii) increased redemptions of shares. Such conditions may add significantly to the risk of volatility in the net asset value of the Portfolio's shares and adversely affect the Portfolio and its investments.

Portfolio Management Risk: The investment strategies, practices and risk analyses used by the Subadvisor may not produce the desired results or expected returns.

Equity Securities Risk: Investments in common stocks and other equity securities are particularly subject to the risk of changing economic, stock market, industry and company conditions and the risks inherent in the ability to anticipate such changes that can adversely affect the value of portfolio holdings.

Index Strategy Risk: The Portfolio employs an index strategy that seeks to invest in stocks as represented in the S&P 500^® Index. If the value of the S&P 500^® Index declines, the net asset value of shares of the Portfolio will also decline. Also, the Portfolio’s fees and expenses will reduce the Portfolio’s returns, whereas the S&P 500^® Index is not subject to fees and expenses.

Correlation Risk: The ability to track the S&P 500^® Index may be affected by, among other things, transaction costs; changes in either the composition of the S&P 500^® Index or the number of shares outstanding for the components of the S&P 500^® Index; and timing and amount of purchases and redemptions of the Portfolio's shares. Therefore, there is no assurance that the investment performance of the Portfolio will equal or exceed that of the S&P 500^® Index.

Derivatives Risk: Derivatives are investments whose value depends on (or is derived from) the value of an underlying instrument, such as a security, asset, reference rate or index. Derivative strategies may be riskier than investing directly in the underlying instrument and often involve leverage, which may exaggerate a loss, potentially causing the Portfolio to lose more money than it originally invested and would have lost had it invested directly in the underlying instrument. Derivatives may be difficult to sell, unwind and/or value. Derivatives may also be subject to counterparty risk, which is the risk that the counterparty (the party on the other side of the transaction) on a derivative transaction will be unable or unwilling to honor its contractual obligations to the Portfolio. Futures and other derivatives may be more volatile than direct investments in the instrument underlying the contract, and may not correlate perfectly to the underlying instrument. Futures and other derivatives also may involve a small initial investment relative to the risk assumed, which could result in losses greater than if they had not been used. Due to fluctuations in the price of the underlying instrument, the Portfolio may not be able to profitably exercise an option and may lose its entire investment in an option. To the extent that the Portfolio writes or sells an option, if the decline in the value of the underlying instrument is significantly below the exercise price in the case of a written put option or increase above the exercise price in the case of a written call option, the Portfolio could experience a substantial loss. Derivatives may also increase the expenses of the Portfolio.

Regulatory Risk: The Portfolio as well as the issuers of the securities and other instruments in which the Portfolio invests are subject to considerable regulation and the risks associated with adverse changes in laws and regulations governing their operations.

Market Capitalization Risk: Investments in securities issued by small-, mid-, or large-cap companies will be subject to the risks associated with securities issued by companies of the applicable market capitalization.  Securities of small-cap and mid-cap companies may be subject to greater price volatility, significantly lower trading volumes, cyclical, static or moderate growth prospects and greater spreads between their bid and ask prices than securities of larger companies. Smaller capitalization companies frequently rely on narrower product lines and niche markets and may be more vulnerable to adverse business or market developments.  Securities issued by larger companies may have less growth potential and may not be able to attain the high growth rates of successful smaller companies, especially during strong economic periods.  In addition, larger companies may be less capable of responding quickly to competitive challenges and industry changes, including those resulting from improvements in technology, and may suffer sharper price declines as a result of earnings disappointments.  There is a risk that the securities issued by companies of a certain market capitalization may underperform the broader market at any given time.

The following bar chart and table 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 returns compare with those of a broad measure of market performance over time. Separate variable annuity and variable universal life insurance account and policy fees and charges are not reflected in the bar chart and table. If they were, returns would be less than those shown. The Portfolio has selected the S&P 500^® Index, which represents a broad measure of market performance, and is generally representative of the market sectors or types of investments in which the Portfolio invests.

Index returns reflect no deductions for fees, expenses or taxes, except for foreign withholding taxes where applicable.

Performance data for the classes varies based on differences in their fee and expense structures. Past performance is not necessarily an indication of how the Portfolio will perform in the future. The Portfolio’s subadvisor changed effective January 1, 2018 due to an organizational restructuring whereby all investment personnel of Cornerstone Capital Management Holdings LLC, the former subadvisor, transitioned to MacKay Shields LLC.

The Portfolio's subadvisor changed again effective June 10, 2022 due to the transition of Francis J. Ok, the Portfolio's portfolio manager, from MacKay Shields LLC, a former subadvisor, to IndexIQ Advisors LLC, which is a wholly-owned, indirect subsidiary of New York Life Investment Holdings LLC.

Annual Returns, Initial Class Shares
(by calendar year 2014-2023)

Average Annual Total Returns (for the periods ended December 31, 2023)

The Portfolio seeks long-term capital appreciation.

The table below describes the fees and expenses that you may pay if you buy, hold and sell shares of the Portfolio. The table does not include any separate account or policy fees or charges imposed under the variable annuity policies and variable universal life insurance policies for which the Portfolio is an investment option. If they were included, your costs would be higher. Investors should consult the applicable variable annuity policy or variable universal life insurance policy prospectus for more information.

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 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 26% of the average value of its portfolio.

The Portfolio, under normal circumstances, invests at least 80% of its assets (net assets plus any borrowings for investment purposes) in small capitalization companies. For purposes of the Portfolio, small capitalization companies are generally those that have market capitalizations no larger than the largest capitalized company in the Russell 2000^® Growth Index at the time of the Portfolio's investment (approximately $48.4 billion as of February 29, 2024). The Portfolio may invest in securities of U.S. and foreign companies, including emerging markets companies. An issuer of a security is considered to be a U.S. or foreign issuer based on the issuer's "country of risk" (or similar designation) as determined by a third-party such as Bloomberg.

The Portfolio has two Subadvisors, Segall Bryant & Hamill, LLC (“SBH”) and Brown Advisory LLC (“Brown Advisory”). New York Life Investment Management LLC, the Portfolio’s Manager, believes the Subadvisors’ investment processes and styles are complementary. Each Subadvisor is responsible for managing a portion of the Portfolio’s assets, as designated by the Manager from time to time.

SBH’s Investment Strategy and Process: SBH implements its investment strategy primarily through independent “bottom-up” fundamental research. SBH seeks to construct a portfolio designed to generate risk-adjusted excess return relative to the Portfolio’s benchmark, primarily through stock selection. SBH uses a proprietary discounted cash flow (“DCF”) model for purposes of valuing and generating price targets for individual stocks. The DCF model is utilized for two primary purposes: (i) to understand what assumptions are implied in a stock’s current price; and (ii) to generate an expected value for each stock, based on the team’s internally generated forecasts. SBH typically maintains exposure to most sectors within the Russell 2000^® Growth Index; however, with an active management process, there will be variances in sector exposure relative to

the Russell 2000^® Growth Index. SBH typically invests only in securities of companies whose stock is traded on U.S. markets, including depositary receipts or shares issued by companies incorporated outside of the United States (e.g., American Depositary Receipts (“ADRs”)). SBH may sell a security when conditions have changed and it believes a company’s prospects are no longer attractive, the security’s price has achieved the team’s valuation target, certain objective criteria are met or better relative investment opportunities have been identified.

SBH integrates a company’s environmental, social and corporate governance “ESG” practices within its investment process alongside other non-ESG factors. SBH believes ESG factors may be important drivers of value in conjunction with the underlying strength and potential of a business, however, its consideration of these factors would not necessarily result in a company being included or excluded from the evaluation process but rather would contribute to the overall evaluation of that company.

Brown Advisory’s Investment Strategy and Process: Under normal conditions, Brown Advisory seeks to achieve the Portfolio’s investment objective by investing in equity securities of small capitalization domestic companies. Brown Advisory primarily selects companies it believes have above average growth prospects. Brown Advisory conducts an in-depth analysis of a company’s fundamentals to identify those companies it believes have the potential for long-term earnings growth that is not fully reflected in the security’s price. Brown Advisory employs a bottom-up, fundamental research approach to the identification, examination and selection of securities.

Equity securities include domestic common and preferred stock, convertible debt securities, ADRs, real estate investment trusts (“REITs”) and exchange-traded funds (“ETFs”). The Portfolio may also invest in private placements in these types of securities. The Portfolio invests primarily in ETFs that have an investment objective similar to the Portfolio’s or that otherwise are permitted investments with the Portfolio’s investment policies.

Brown Advisory may sell a security or reduce its position if it believes: (i) the security subsequently fails to meet initial investment criteria; (ii) a more attractively priced security is found; or (iii) the security becomes overvalued relative to the long-term expectation.

Market Risk: Changes in markets may cause the value of investments to fluctuate, which could cause the Portfolio to underperform other funds with similar investment objectives and strategies. Such changes may be rapid and unpredictable. From time to time, markets may experience periods of stress as a result of various market, economic and geopolitical factors for potentially prolonged periods that may result in: (i) increased market volatility; (ii) reduced market liquidity; and (iii) increased redemptions of shares. Such conditions may add significantly to the risk of volatility in the net asset value of the Portfolio's shares and adversely affect the Portfolio and its investments.

Portfolio Management Risk: The investment strategies, practices and risk analyses used by a Subadvisor may not produce the desired results or expected returns. A Subadvisor may give consideration to certain ESG criteria when evaluating an investment opportunity. The application of ESG criteria may result in the Portfolio (i) having exposure to certain securities or industry sectors that are significantly different than the composition of the Portfolio's benchmark; and (ii) performing differently than other funds and strategies in its peer group that do not take into account ESG criteria or the Portfolio's benchmark.

Multi-Manager Risk: The Portfolio’s performance relies on the selection and monitoring of the Subadvisors as well as how the Portfolio’s assets are allocated among those Subadvisors. Performance will also depend on the Subadvisors’ skill in implementing their respective strategy or strategies. The Subadvisors’ investment strategies may not always be complementary to one another and, as a result, the Subadvisors may make decisions that conflict with one another, which may adversely affect the Portfolio’s performance. For example, a Subadvisor may purchase an investment for the Portfolio at the same time that another Subadvisor sells the investment, resulting in higher expenses without accomplishing any net investment result. Alternatively, multiple Subadvisors could purchase the same investment at the same time, causing the Portfolio to pay higher expenses because the Subadvisors did not aggregate their transactions. The multi-manager approach may also cause the Portfolio to invest a substantial percentage of its assets in certain types of securities, which could expose the Portfolio to greater risks associated with those types of securities and lead to large beneficial or detrimental effects on the Portfolio’s performance. The Manager may influence a Subadvisor in terms of its management of a portion of the Portfolio’s assets, including hedging practices, investment exposure and risk management.

A Subadvisor may underperform the market generally and may underperform other subadvisors that the Manager could have selected.

Equity Securities Risk: Investments in common stocks and other equity securities are particularly subject to the risk of changing economic, stock market, industry and company conditions and the risks inherent in the ability to anticipate such changes that can adversely affect the value of portfolio holdings.

Market Capitalization Risk: Investments in securities issued by small-, mid-, or large-cap companies will be subject to the risks associated with securities issued by companies of the applicable market capitalization.  Securities of small-cap and mid-cap companies may be subject to greater price volatility, significantly lower trading volumes, cyclical, static or moderate growth prospects and greater spreads between their bid and ask

prices than securities of larger companies. Smaller capitalization companies frequently rely on narrower product lines and niche markets and may be more vulnerable to adverse business or market developments.  Securities issued by larger companies may have less growth potential and may not be able to attain the high growth rates of successful smaller companies, especially during strong economic periods.  In addition, larger companies may be less capable of responding quickly to competitive challenges and industry changes, including those resulting from improvements in technology, and may suffer sharper price declines as a result of earnings disappointments.  There is a risk that the securities issued by companies of a certain market capitalization may underperform the broader market at any given time.

Growth Stock Risk: If growth companies do not increase their earnings at a rate expected by investors, the market price of the stock may decline significantly, even if earnings show an absolute increase. Growth company stocks also typically lack the dividend yield that can cushion stock prices in market downturns. These risks may be more pronounced in companies that are in the earlier stages of their growth cycle.

Foreign Securities Risk: An issuer of a security is considered to be a U.S. or foreign issuer based on the issuer’s “country of risk” (or similar designation) as determined by a third party such as Bloomberg (or another similar third party). The issuer’s “country of risk” is determined based on a number of criteria, which may change from time to time and currently include, but are not limited to, its country of domicile, the primary stock exchange on which it trades, the location from which the majority of its revenue comes, and its reporting currency. Although a Portfolio will generally rely on an issuer’s “country of risk” (or similar designation) as determined by Bloomberg (or another similar third party) when categorizing securities as either U.S. or foreign-based, it is not required to do so.

Investments in foreign (non-U.S.) securities may be riskier than investments in U.S. securities. Foreign regulatory regimes and securities markets can have less stringent investor protections and disclosure standards and less liquid trading markets than U.S. regulatory regimes and securities markets, and can experience political, social and economic developments that may affect the value of investments in foreign securities. Foreign securities may also subject the Portfolio's investments to changes in currency rates. Changes in the value of foreign currencies may make the return on an investment increase or decrease, unrelated to the quality or performance of the investment itself. Economic sanctions may be, and have been, imposed against certain countries, organizations, companies, entities and/or individuals. Economic sanctions and other similar governmental actions or developments could, among other things, effectively restrict or eliminate the Portfolio’s ability to purchase or sell certain foreign securities or groups of foreign securities, and thus may make the Portfolio’s investments in such securities less liquid or more difficult to value. Such sanctions may also cause a decline in the value of securities issued by the sanctioned country or companies located in or economically tied to the sanctioned country. In addition, as a result of economic sanctions and other similar governmental actions or developments, the Portfolio may be forced to sell or otherwise dispose of foreign investments at inopportune times or prices. The Portfolio may seek to hedge against its exposure to changes in the value of foreign currency, but there is no guarantee that such hedging techniques will be successful in reducing any related foreign currency valuation risk. These risks may be greater with respect to securities of companies that conduct their business activities in emerging markets or whose securities are traded principally in emerging markets.

Emerging Markets Risk: The risks related to investing in foreign securities are generally greater with respect to securities of companies that conduct their business activities in emerging markets or whose securities are traded principally in emerging markets. The risks of investing in emerging markets are elevated under adverse market conditions and include: (i) smaller trading volumes for such securities and limited access to investments in the event of market closures (including due to local holidays), which result in a lack of liquidity and in greater price volatility; (ii) less government regulation, which could lead to market manipulation, and less extensive, transparent and frequent accounting, auditing, recordkeeping, financial reporting and other requirements, which limit the quality and availability of financial information; (iii) the absence of developed legal systems, including structures governing private or foreign investment or allowing for judicial redress (such as limits on rights and remedies available) for investment losses and injury to private property; (iv) loss resulting from problems in share registration and custody; (v) sensitivity to adverse political or social events affecting the region where an emerging market is located; (vi) particular sensitivity to economic and political disruptions, including adverse effects stemming from wars, sanctions, trade restrictions, recessions, depressions or other economic crises, or reliance on international or other forms of aid, including trade, taxation and development policies; and (vii) the nationalization of foreign deposits or assets.

Depositary Receipts Risk: Investments in depositary receipts may entail the special risks of investing in foreign securities, including currency exchange fluctuations, government regulations, and the potential for political and economic instability.

Convertible Securities Risk: Convertible securities are typically subordinate to an issuer’s other debt obligations. In part, the total return for a convertible security depends upon the performance of the underlying stock into which it can be converted. Also, issuers of convertible securities are often not as strong financially as those issuing securities with higher credit ratings, are more likely to encounter financial difficulties and typically are more vulnerable to changes in the economy, such as a recession or a sustained period of rising interest rates, which could affect their ability to make interest and principal payments. If an issuer stops making interest and/or principal payments, the Portfolio could lose its entire investment.

Exchange-Traded Fund ("ETF") Risk: The risks of owning an ETF generally reflect the risks of owning the underlying securities in which the ETF invests or is designed to track, although lack of liquidity in an ETF’s shares could result in the market price of the ETF’s shares being more volatile than its underlying portfolio securities. Disruptions in the markets for the securities underlying ETFs could result in losses on the investments in ETFs. ETFs also have management fees and transaction costs that may make them more expensive than owning the underlying securities directly.

Real Estate Investment Trust ("REITs") Risk: Investments in REITs involve risks associated with direct ownership of real estate, including decline in property values, extended vacancies, increases in property taxes and changes in interest rates. Additionally, the appreciation of securities issued by a REIT depends, in part, on the skills of the REIT’s manager. REITs may not be diversified, may experience substantial cost in the event of borrower or lessee defaults and are subject to heavy cash flow dependency.

Private Placement and Restricted Securities Risk: The Portfolio may invest in privately issued securities, including those which may be resold only in accordance with Rule 144A under the Securities Act of 1933, as amended. Securities acquired in a private placement generally are subject to strict restrictions on resale, and there may be no market or a limited market for the resale of such securities. Therefore, the Portfolio may be unable to dispose of such securities when it desires to do so or at the most favorable price. This potential lack of liquidity also may make it more difficult to accurately value these securities.

Liquidity and Valuation Risk: The Portfolio’s investments may be illiquid at the time of purchase or liquid at the time of purchase and subsequently become illiquid due to, among other things, events relating to the issuer of the securities, market events, operational issues, economic conditions, investor perceptions or lack of market participants. The lack of an active trading market may make it difficult to sell or obtain an accurate price for a security. If market conditions or issuer specific developments make it difficult to value securities, the Portfolio may value these securities using more subjective methods, such as fair value pricing. In such cases, the value determined for a security could be different than the value realized upon such security's sale. As a result, an investor could pay more than the market value when buying shares or receive less than the market value when selling shares. This could affect the proceeds of any redemption or the number of shares an investor receives upon purchase. The Portfolio is subject to the risk that it could not meet redemption requests within the allowable time period without significant dilution of remaining investors' interests in the Portfolio. To meet redemption requests or to raise cash to pursue other investment opportunities, the Portfolio may be forced to sell securities at an unfavorable time and/or under unfavorable conditions, which may adversely affect the Portfolio’s performance.

Sector Risk: To the extent the Portfolio focuses its investments in particular sectors of the economy, the Portfolio’s performance may be more subject to the risks of volatile economic cycles and/or conditions or developments adversely affecting such sectors than if the Portfolio held a broader range of investments. Individual sectors may fluctuate more widely than the broader market.

The following bar chart and table 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 returns compare with those of a broad measure of market performance and an additional index over time. Separate variable annuity and variable universal life insurance account and policy fees and charges are not reflected in the bar chart and table. If they were, returns would be less than those shown. In accordance with new regulatory requirements, the Portfolio has selected the Russell 3000^® Index, which represents a broad measure of market performance, as a replacement for the Russell 2000^® Growth Index. The table also includes the average annual returns of the Russell 2000^® Growth Index, which is generally representative of the market sectors or types of investments in which the Portfolio invests.

Index returns reflect no deductions for fees, expenses or taxes, except for foreign withholding taxes where applicable.

Performance data for the classes varies based on differences in their fee and expense structures. Past performance is not necessarily an indication of how the Portfolio will perform in the future. Effective May 1, 2020, the Portfolio replaced its subadvisor and modified its principal investment strategies. The past performance in the bar chart and table prior to that date reflects the Portfolio’s prior subadvisor and principal investment strategies.

Annual Returns, Initial Class Shares
(by calendar year 2014-2023)

Average Annual Total Returns (for the periods ended December 31, 2023)

The Portfolio seeks long-term growth of capital.

The table below describes the fees and expenses that you may pay if you buy, hold and sell shares of the Portfolio. The table does not include any separate account or policy fees or charges imposed under the variable annuity policies and variable universal life insurance policies for which the Portfolio is an investment option. If they were included, your costs would be higher. Investors should consult the applicable variable annuity policy or variable universal life insurance policy prospectus for more information.

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 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 40% of the average value of its portfolio.

The Portfolio invests primarily in stocks of large-capitalization U.S. companies considered to have above-average earnings growth potential and reasonable stock prices in comparison with expected earnings. The Portfolio generally considers large capitalization companies to be those with market capitalizations within the range of the Russell 1000^® Growth Index at the time of investment (which ranged from $598 million to $3.1 trillion as of February 29, 2024). Under normal circumstances, at least 80% of the Portfolio’s assets will be invested in securities issued by U.S. companies. An issuer of a security is considered to be a U.S. or foreign issuer based on the issuer's "country of risk" (or similar designation) as determined by a third-party such as Bloomberg.

Investment Process: Wellington Management Company LLP, the Portfolio’s Subadvisor (the “Subadvisor”), employs a traditional, bottom-up fundamental research approach to identify securities that possess sustainable growth at reasonable valuations. The Subadvisor seeks to identify companies that have demonstrated above-average growth in the past, then conduct a thorough review of each company’s business model. The goal of this review is to identify companies that can sustain above-average growth because of their superior business models as represented by high returns on capital, strong management, and quality balance sheets. The Subadvisor may sell securities for a variety of reasons, such as to secure gains, limit losses, or redeploy assets into opportunities believed by the Subadvisor to have greater estimated upside return potential relative to downside risk. To better assess strategic business issues that impact the performance of a company, the Subadvisor may also give consideration to financially material environmental, social and/or governance (“ESG”) factors. The Subadvisor has discretion to determine the materiality of, as well as the level at which, financially relevant ESG factors are imbedded into its overall fundamental analysis when making an investment decision.

Market Risk: Changes in markets may cause the value of investments to fluctuate, which could cause the Portfolio to underperform other funds with similar investment objectives and strategies. Such changes may be rapid and unpredictable. From time to time, markets may experience periods of stress as a result of various market, economic and geopolitical factors for potentially prolonged periods that may result in: (i) increased market volatility; (ii) reduced market liquidity; and (iii) increased redemptions of shares. Such conditions may add significantly to the risk of volatility in the net asset value of the Portfolio's shares and adversely affect the Portfolio and its investments.

Portfolio Management Risk: The investment strategies, practices and risk analyses used by the Subadvisor may not produce the desired results or expected returns. The Subadvisor may give consideration to certain ESG criteria when evaluating an investment opportunity. The application of ESG criteria may result in the Portfolio (i) having exposure to certain securities or industry sectors that are significantly different than the composition of the Portfolio’s benchmark; and (ii) performing differently than other funds and strategies in its peer group that do not take into account ESG criteria or the Portfolio’s benchmark.

Equity Securities Risk: Investments in common stocks and other equity securities are particularly subject to the risk of changing economic, stock market, industry and company conditions and the risks inherent in the ability to anticipate such changes that can adversely affect the value of portfolio holdings.

Growth Stock Risk: If growth companies do not increase their earnings at a rate expected by investors, the market price of the stock may decline significantly, even if earnings show an absolute increase. Growth company stocks also typically lack the dividend yield that can cushion stock prices in market downturns. These risks may be more pronounced in companies that are in the earlier stages of their growth cycle.

Market Capitalization Risk: Investments in securities issued by small-, mid-, or large-cap companies will be subject to the risks associated with securities issued by companies of the applicable market capitalization.  Securities of small-cap and mid-cap companies may be subject to greater price volatility, significantly lower trading volumes, cyclical, static or moderate growth prospects and greater spreads between their bid and ask prices than securities of larger companies. Smaller capitalization companies frequently rely on narrower product lines and niche markets and may be more vulnerable to adverse business or market developments.  Securities issued by larger companies may have less growth potential and may not be able to attain the high growth rates of successful smaller companies, especially during strong economic periods.  In addition, larger companies may be less capable of responding quickly to competitive challenges and industry changes, including those resulting from improvements in technology, and may suffer sharper price declines as a result of earnings disappointments.  There is a risk that the securities issued by companies of a certain market capitalization may underperform the broader market at any given time.

The following bar chart and table 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 returns compare with those of a broad measure of market performance as well as an additional index over time. Separate variable annuity and variable universal life insurance account and policy fees and charges are not reflected in the bar chart and table. If they were, returns would be less than those shown. In accordance with new regulatory requirements, the Portfolio has selected the Russell 3000^® Index, which represents a broad measure of market performance, as a replacement for the Russell 1000^® Growth Index. The table also includes the average annual returns of the Russell 1000^® Growth Index, which is generally representative of the market sectors or types of investments in which the Portfolio invests.

Index returns reflect no deductions for fees, expenses or taxes, except for foreign withholding taxes where applicable.

Performance data for the classes varies based on differences in their fee and expense structures. Past performance is not necessarily an indication of how the Portfolio will perform in the future. Effective July 29, 2016, the Portfolio's principal investment strategies were modified in connection with changes to the Portfolio's subadvisor. The past performance in the bar chart and table prior to that date reflects the Portfolio's prior subadvisor and principal investment strategies.

The Portfolio’s subadvisor changed effective January 1, 2018 due to an organizational restructuring whereby all investment personnel of Cornerstone Capital Management Holdings LLC, the former subadvisor, transitioned to MacKay Shields LLC.

Effective May 1, 2021, the Portfolio replaced its subadvisor and modified its principal investment strategies. The past performance in the bar chart and table prior to that date reflects the Portfolio’s prior subadvisor and principal investment strategies.

Annual Returns, Initial Class Shares
(by calendar year 2014-2023)

Average Annual Total Returns (for the periods ended December 31, 2023)

The Portfolio seeks long-term growth of capital.

The table below describes the fees and expenses that you may pay if you buy, hold and sell shares of the Portfolio. The table does not include any separate account or policy fees or charges imposed under the variable annuity policies and variable universal life insurance policies for which the Portfolio is an investment option. If they were included, your costs would be higher. Investors should consult the applicable variable annuity policy or variable universal life insurance policy prospectus for more information.

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 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 60% of the average value of its portfolio.

The Portfolio, under normal circumstances, invests at least 80% of its assets (net assets plus any borrowings for investment purposes) in the securities of U.S. companies with market capitalizations at the time of investment that are similar to the market capitalizations generally within the range of the Russell Midcap^® Index at time of investment (which ranged from $357 million to $87 billion as of February 29, 2024).

The Subadvisor seeks to achieve the Portfolio’s investment objective by allocating the Portfolio’s assets among multiple portfolio management teams of Wellington Management Company LLP, the Portfolio’s Subadvisor (the “Subadvisor”), that employ investment strategies with different investment styles, including Mid Cap Opportunities and Select Mid Cap Value strategies. Each investment strategy has distinct investment philosophies and analytical processes to identify securities for purchase or sale. To better assess strategic business issues that impact the performance of a company, the Subadvisor may also give consideration to financially material environmental, social and/or governance (“ESG”) factors. The Subadvisor has discretion to determine the materiality of, as well as the level at which, financially relevant ESG factors are imbedded into its overall fundamental analysis when making an investment decision.

New York Life Investment Management LLC, the Portfolio’s Manager, in collaboration with Wellington will allocate Portfolio assets among the Subadvisor’s two sub-strategies described below.

Mid Cap Opportunities Strategy: The Subadvisor’s Mid Cap Opportunities team employs a “bottom-up” fundamental research approach to evaluate potential investments with an emphasis on fundamentals, valuation, and earnings expectations. The Mid Cap Opportunities team seeks to invest in high-quality, established mid capitalization companies with strong balance sheets and management teams, and market leadership in their respective industries. The Mid Cap Opportunities team may sell securities when the team believes downside risk is equal to or greater than the upside potential, company fundamentals deteriorate, the team believes valuations are excessive, or market capitalization ceilings are exceeded.

Select Mid Cap Value Strategy: The Subadvisor’s Select Mid Cap Value team employs a contrarian investment approach to investing in the securities of companies the team believes are undervalued. The Select Mid Cap Value team employs a “bottom-up” fundamental research approach and valuation techniques to assess a company’s value on the basis of its earnings power, growth potential, balance sheet, and competitive positioning. The Select Mid Cap Value team may consider selling a security if a stock approaches the team’s target price, company fundamentals deteriorate, the team believes an alternative investment offers a more compelling risk/reward opportunity, or market capitalization ceilings are exceeded.

Market Risk: Changes in markets may cause the value of investments to fluctuate, which could cause the Portfolio to underperform other funds with similar investment objectives and strategies. Such changes may be rapid and unpredictable. From time to time, markets may experience periods of stress as a result of various market, economic and geopolitical factors for potentially prolonged periods that may result in: (i) increased market volatility; (ii) reduced market liquidity; and (iii) increased redemptions of shares. Such conditions may add significantly to the risk of volatility in the net asset value of the Portfolio's shares and adversely affect the Portfolio and its investments.

Portfolio Management Risk: The investment strategies, practices and risk analyses used by the Subadvisor may not produce the desired results or expected returns. There is a risk that if the Portfolio’s strategy of allocating assets among different portfolio management teams does not work as intended, the Portfolio may not achieve its objective or may underperform other funds with similar investment strategies. The investment styles employed by the portfolio managers may not be complementary, which could adversely affect the performance of the Portfolio. The Subadvisor may give consideration to certain ESG criteria when evaluating an investment opportunity. The application of ESG criteria may result in the Portfolio (i) having exposure to certain securities or industry sectors that are significantly different than the composition of the Portfolio’s benchmark; and (ii) performing differently than other funds and strategies in its peer group that do not take into account ESG criteria or the Portfolio’s benchmark.

Equity Securities Risk: Investments in common stocks and other equity securities are particularly subject to the risk of changing economic, stock market, industry and company conditions and the risks inherent in the ability to anticipate such changes that can adversely affect the value of portfolio holdings.

Market Capitalization Risk: Investments in securities issued by small-, mid-, or large-cap companies will be subject to the risks associated with securities issued by companies of the applicable market capitalization.  Securities of small-cap and mid-cap companies may be subject to greater price volatility, significantly lower trading volumes, cyclical, static or moderate growth prospects and greater spreads between their bid and ask prices than securities of larger companies. Smaller capitalization companies frequently rely on narrower product lines and niche markets and may be more vulnerable to adverse business or market developments.  Securities issued by larger companies may have less growth potential and may not be able to attain the high growth rates of successful smaller companies, especially during strong economic periods.  In addition, larger companies may be less capable of responding quickly to competitive challenges and industry changes, including those resulting from improvements in technology, and may suffer sharper price declines as a result of earnings disappointments.  There is a risk that the securities issued by companies of a certain market capitalization may underperform the broader market at any given time.

Growth Stock Risk: If growth companies do not increase their earnings at a rate expected by investors, the market price of the stock may decline significantly, even if earnings show an absolute increase. Growth company stocks also typically lack the dividend yield that can cushion stock prices in market downturns. These risks may be more pronounced in companies that are in the earlier stages of their growth cycle.

Value Stock Risk: Value stocks may never reach what the Subadvisor believes is their full value or they may go down in value. In addition, different types of stocks tend to shift in and out of favor depending on market and economic conditions, and therefore the Portfolio's performance may be lower or higher than that of funds that invest in other types of equity securities.

The following bar chart and table 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 returns compare with those of a broad measure of market performance, as well as two additional indexes over time. Separate variable annuity and variable universal life insurance account and policy fees and charges are not reflected in the bar chart and table. If they were, returns would be less than those shown. In accordance with new regulatory requirements, the Portfolio has selected the Russell 3000^® Index, which represents a broad measure of market performance, as a replacement for the Russell Midcap^® Index. The table also includes the average annual returns of the Russell Midcap^® Index and the S&P MidCap 400^® Index, which are generally representative of the market sectors or types of investments in which the Portfolio invests.

Index returns reflect no deductions for fees, expenses or taxes, except for foreign withholding taxes where applicable.

Performance data for the classes varies based on differences in their fee and expense structures. Past performance is not necessarily an indication of how the Portfolio will perform in the future. The Portfolio’s subadvisor changed effective January 1, 2018 due to an organizational restructuring whereby all investment personnel of Cornerstone Capital Management Holdings LLC, the former subadvisor, transitioned to MacKay Shields LLC.

Effective May 1, 2021, the Portfolio replaced its subadvisor and modified its principal investment strategies. The past performance in the bar chart and table prior to that date reflects the Portfolio’s prior subadvisor and principal investment strategies.

Annual Returns, Initial Class Shares
(by calendar year 2014-2023)

Average Annual Total Returns (for the periods ended December 31, 2023)

The Portfolio seeks long-term growth of capital.

The table below describes the fees and expenses that you may pay if you buy, hold and sell shares of the Portfolio. The table does not include any separate account or policy fees or charges imposed under the variable annuity policies and variable universal life insurance policies for which the Portfolio is an investment option. If they were included, your costs would be higher. Investors should consult the applicable variable annuity policy or variable universal life insurance policy prospectus for more information.

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 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 61% of the average value of its portfolio.

The Portfolio invests, under normal circumstances, at least 80% of its assets (net assets plus any borrowings for investment purposes) in the securities of U.S. companies with market capitalizations at the time of investment that are similar to the Russell 2000^® Index (which ranged from $22 million to $48.4 billion as of February 29, 2024). An issuer of a security is considered to be a U.S. or foreign issuer based on the issuer's "country of risk" (or similar designation) as determined by a third-party such as Bloomberg.

Investment Process: Wellington Management Company LLP, the Portfolio’s Subadvisor (the “Subadvisor”), seeks to achieve the Portfolio’s investment objective by allocating the Portfolio’s assets among multiple internal portfolio management teams that employ investment strategies with different investment styles, including, Small Cap Value Opportunities, Select Small Cap Growth and Small Companies Strategies. Each investment strategy has distinct investment philosophies and analytical processes to identify securities for purchase or sale.

Collectively, the investment styles represent a range of investment philosophies, companies, and industries.

To better assess strategic business issues that impact the performance of a company, the underlying portfolio management teams may also give consideration to financially material environmental, social and/or governance (“ESG”) factors. The underlying portfolio management teams have discretion to determine the materiality of, as well as the level at which, financially relevant ESG factors are imbedded into its overall fundamental analysis when making an investment decision.

Small Cap Value Opportunities Strategy: The Subadvisor’s Small Cap Value Opportunities team seeks to invest in quality companies at a substantial discount that often arises when the market is concerned about the companies’ future. The Small Cap Value Opportunities team believes those concerns can become mispriced due to the presence of biases or change and that research specifically focused on identifying signs of biases and change allows the Small Cap Value Opportunities team to identify mispriced stocks. Change can include secular or cyclical shifts, changes in industry structure, changes in management, or significant shifts in the return on (and of) capital, balance sheet and cash flows. Biases include anchoring (relying too heavily on the first piece of information) and availability (relying on examples that immediately come to mind). The Small Cap Value Opportunities team seeks to maximize a combination of valuation, capital returns, and quality.

Select Small Cap Growth Strategy: The Subadvisor’s Select Small Cap Growth team focuses on identifying investment opportunities in emerging and re-emerging growth companies. Emerging growth companies are companies that are poised to accelerate top-line and / or bottom-line growth, and re-emerging growth companies are companies that are approaching a return to rapid growth. The Select Small Cap Growth team believes the typical profile of an emerging growth company is one that offers disruptive technologies, innovative business models, or is in a rapidly growing market segment. The Select Small Cap Growth team believes that re-emerging growth companies are typically experiencing turnarounds or management changes or are in cyclical industries.

Small Companies Strategy: The Subadvisor’s Small Companies team seeks to construct a broadly diversified portfolio across sectors and industries using fundamental analysis to identify a universe of undervalued and overvalued securities. The Small Companies team employs a traditional, bottom-up fundamental research approach to identify securities with potential positive inflections in business momentum (i.e., whether a company’s share price is trending up or down) that the Small Companies team believes have the most potential to appreciate, while seeking to limit exposure to risk. The Small Companies team also seeks to minimize exposure to risk by diversifying investments over securities issued by a large number of companies across various industries and sectors.

Other Strategies: New York Life Investment Management LLC and/or the Subadvisor may modify the strategies summarized above and allocate the Portfolio’s assets among or to other strategies, such as event-driven, economic sector, or valuation measures, developed or implemented based on, among other factors, changing market conditions.

Market Risk: Changes in markets may cause the value of investments to fluctuate, which could cause the Portfolio to underperform other funds with similar investment objectives and strategies. Such changes may be rapid and unpredictable. From time to time, markets may experience periods of stress as a result of various market, economic and geopolitical factors for potentially prolonged periods that may result in: (i) increased market volatility; (ii) reduced market liquidity; and (iii) increased redemptions of shares. Such conditions may add significantly to the risk of volatility in the net asset value of the Portfolio's shares and adversely affect the Portfolio and its investments.

Portfolio Management Risk: The investment strategies, practices and risk analyses used by the Subadvisor may not produce the desired results or expected returns. There is a risk that if the Portfolio’s strategy of allocating assets among different portfolio management teams does not work as intended, the Portfolio may not achieve its objective or may underperform other funds with similar investment strategies. The investment styles employed by the portfolio managers may not be complementary, which could adversely affect the performance of the Portfolio. The Subadvisor may give consideration to certain ESG criteria when evaluating an investment opportunity. The application of ESG criteria may result in the Portfolio (i) having exposure to certain securities or industry sectors that are significantly different than the composition of the Portfolio's benchmark; and (ii) performing differently than other funds and strategies in its peer group that do not take into account ESG criteria or the Portfolio's benchmark.