market movement and cash flows.
The Portfolio’s investments in fixed income securities may include, but are
not limited to, corporate bonds, U.S. Government securities, mortgage- and asset-backed securities and foreign government securities. The Portfolio may also purchase and sell debt instruments on a
when-issued, delayed delivery, or forward commitment basis where payment and
delivery take place at a future settlement date, including mortgage-backed securities purchased or sold in the to be announced (TBA) market. Generally, substantially all of the
Portfolio’s investments in debt instruments are investment grade quality debt
instruments.
The Portfolio may invest in foreign securities (up to 25% of net assets).
Of the Portfolio’s investments in equity securities, the subadviser focuses on investing
in the stocks of companies that it believes are undervalued compared to their
perceived worth (value companies). Value companies tend to have stock prices that are low relative to their earnings, dividends, assets, or other financial measures. The subadviser normally
invests a portion of the Portfolio’s assets in income-producing equity
securities. While the Portfolio may invest the equity portion of its assets in
companies of any size, the Portfolio primarily invests in companies with large
capitalizations.
The subadviser uses an active bottom-up investment approach to buying and selling investments
for the Portfolio. Investments are selected primarily based on fundamental
analysis of individual issuers and/or instruments in light of the issuer’s financial condition and market, economic, political, and regulatory conditions. Factors considered for equity
securities may include analysis of an issuer’s earnings, cash flows, competitive position, and management ability. Factors considered for debt instruments may include the
instrument’s credit quality, collateral characteristics, and indenture
provisions, and the issuer’s management ability, capital structure,
leverage, and ability to meet its current obligations. The subadviser may also consider environmental, social, and governance (ESG) factors in its fundamental investment analysis
where MFS believes such factors could materially impact the economic value of an
issuer. ESG factors considered may include, but are not limited to, climate change, resource depletion, an issuer’s governance structure and practices, data protection and privacy issues, and
diversity and labor practices. Quantitative screening tools that systematically
evaluate the valuation, price and earnings momentum, earnings quality, and other
factors of the issuer of an equity security or the structure of a debt instrument may also be
considered.
Principal Risks of Investing in the Portfolio
As with any mutual fund, there can be no assurance that the Portfolio’s investment goal
will be met or that the net return on an investment in the Portfolio will exceed what could have been obtained through other investment or savings vehicles. Shares of the Portfolio are not bank deposits and are not guaranteed or insured by any bank, government entity or the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation. If the value of the assets of the Portfolio goes down, you could lose money.
The following is a summary of the principal risks of investing in the Portfolio.
Equity Securities Risk. The Portfolio invests principally in equity securities and is therefore subject to the risk that stock prices will fall and may underperform other asset classes. Individual stock prices
fluctuate from day-to-day and may decline significantly.
When-Issued and Delayed Delivery Transactions Risk. When-issued and delayed delivery securities involve the risk that the security the Portfolio buys will lose
value prior to its delivery. There also is the risk that the security will not be
issued or that the other party to the transaction will not meet its obligation. If this occurs, the Portfolio may lose both the investment opportunity for the assets it set aside to pay for the security and
any gain in the security’s price.
Leverage Risk. The Portfolio may engage in certain transactions that may expose it to leverage risk, such as reverse repurchase agreements, loans of portfolio securities, and the use of when-issued,
delayed delivery or forward commitment transactions and derivatives. The use of
leverage may cause the Portfolio to liquidate portfolio positions at inopportune times in order to meet regulatory asset coverage requirements, fulfill leverage contract terms, or for other reasons.
Leveraging, including borrowing, tends to increase the Portfolio’s exposure to market risk, interest rate risk or other risks, and thus may cause the Portfolio to be more
volatile than if the Portfolio had not utilized leverage.
Counterparty Risk. Counterparty risk is the risk that a counterparty to a security, loan or derivative held by the Portfolio becomes bankrupt or
otherwise fails to perform its obligations due to financial difficulties. The Portfolio may experience significant delays in obtaining any recovery in a bankruptcy or other
reorganization proceeding, and there may be no recovery or limited recovery in such
circumstances.
Convertible Securities
Risk. The values of the convertible securities in which the Portfolio may invest will