Japan Exposure
Risk. The Japanese economy faces a number of long-term problems, including massive government debt, the aging and shrinking of the population, an unstable financial sector and
low domestic consumption. The growth of Japan’s economy has recently lagged
behind that of its Asian neighbors and other major developed economies. The Japanese economy is heavily dependent on international trade and may be adversely affected by trade
tariffs, other protectionist measures, dependence on exports and international
trade, increasing competition from Asia’s other low-cost emerging economies, political and social instability, regional and global conflicts and natural disasters, as well as by commodity
markets fluctuations related to Japan’s limited natural resource supply.
Failure to Match Index Performance Risk. The ability of
the Portfolio to match the performance of the Index may be affected by, among
other things, changes in securities markets, the manner in which performance of the Index is calculated, changes in the composition of the Index, the amount and timing of cash flows into
and out of the Portfolio, commissions, portfolio expenses, and any differences in
the pricing of securities by the Portfolio and the Index. When the Portfolio employs an “optimization” strategy, the Portfolio is subject to an increased risk of tracking error, in that the
securities selected in the aggregate for the Portfolio may perform differently than the
underlying index.
“Passively
Managed” Strategy Risk. The Portfolio will not deviate from its strategy, except to the
extent necessary to comply with federal tax laws. If the Portfolio’s
strategy is unsuccessful, the Portfolio will not meet its investment goal.
Because the Portfolio will not use certain techniques available to other mutual funds to reduce stock market exposure, the Portfolio may be more susceptible to general market declines than other
funds.
Issuer Risk. The value of a security may decline for a number of reasons directly related to the issuer, such as management performance, financial leverage and reduced demand for the issuer’s goods and
services.
Market Risk. The Portfolio’s share price or the market as a whole can decline for many reasons or be adversely affected by a number of factors,
including, without limitation: weakness in the broad market, a particular
industry, or specific holdings; adverse political, regulatory or economic
developments in the United States or abroad; changes in investor psychology; heavy institutional selling;
military confrontations, war,
terrorism and other armed conflicts, disease/virus outbreaks and epidemics;
recessions; taxation and international tax treaties; currency, interest rate and
price fluctuations; and other conditions or events.
Derivatives Risk. A derivative is any financial instrument whose value is based on, and determined by, another security, index, rate or benchmark (i.e., stock options, futures, caps, floors, etc.). To the extent a derivative contract is used to hedge another position in the Portfolio, the Portfolio will be exposed to
the risks associated with hedging described below. To the extent an option, futures
contract, swap, or other derivative is used to enhance return, rather than as a
hedge, the Portfolio will be directly exposed to the risks of the contract. Unfavorable changes in the value of the underlying security, index, rate or benchmark may cause sudden losses.
Gains or losses from the Portfolio’s use of derivatives may be substantially
greater than the amount of the Portfolio’s investment. Certain derivatives
have the potential for undefined loss. Derivatives are also associated with various other risks, including market risk, leverage risk, hedging risk, counterparty risk, valuation risk,
regulatory risk, illiquidity risk and interest rate fluctuations risk. The primary risks associated with the Portfolio’s use of derivatives are market risk, counterparty risk and hedging
risk.
Affiliated Fund Rebalancing
Risk. The Portfolio may be an investment option for other mutual funds for which SunAmerica serves as investment adviser that are managed as “funds of funds.” From
time to time, the Portfolio may experience relatively large redemptions or
investments due to the rebalancing of a fund of funds. In the event of such
redemptions or investments, the Portfolio could be required to sell securities or to invest cash
at a time when it is not advantageous to do so.
The following bar chart illustrates the risks of investing in
the Portfolio by showing changes in the Portfolio’s performance from
calendar year to calendar year and the table compares the Portfolio’s average annual returns to those of the MSCI EAFE Index (net) (a broad-based securities market index), which is
relevant to the Portfolio because it has characteristics similar to the Portfolio’s investment strategies. Fees and expenses incurred at the contract level are not reflected in the bar chart or table. If these amounts were reflected,
returns would be less than