Geographic
Risk. If the Fund invests a significant portion of its assets in issuers located in a single
country, a limited number of countries, or a particular geographic region, it
assumes the risk that economic, political and social conditions in those
countries or that region may have a significant impact on its investment performance.
Currency Risk. Because the Fund’s foreign
investments are generally held in foreign currencies, the Fund could experience
gains or losses based solely on changes in the exchange rate between foreign currencies and the U.S. dollar. Such gains or losses may be substantial.
Market Risk. The Fund’s share price can fall because of weakness in the broad market, a particular industry, or specific holdings or due to adverse
social, political or economic developments here or abroad, changes in investor
psychology, technological disruptions, or heavy institutional selling and other conditions or events (including, for example, military confrontations, war, terrorism, trade wars, disease/virus
outbreaks and epidemics). The prices of individual securities may fluctuate,
sometimes dramatically, from day to day. The prices of stocks and other equity securities tend to be more volatile than those of fixed-income securities.
Securities Lending Risk. Engaging in securities lending could increase the market and credit risk for Fund investments. The Fund may lose money if it
does not recover borrowed securities, the value of the collateral falls, or the
value of investments made with cash collateral declines. The Fund’s loans will be collateralized by securities issued or guaranteed by the U.S. Government or its agencies and instrumentalities,
which subjects the Fund to the credit risk of the U.S. Government or the issuing
federal agency or instrumentality. If the value of either the cash collateral or the Fund’s investments of the cash collateral falls below the amount owed to a borrower, the Fund also may incur losses that
exceed the amount it earned on lending the security. Securities lending also
involves the risks of delay in receiving additional collateral or possible loss
of rights in the collateral if the borrower fails. Another risk of securities lending is the risk that the loaned portfolio securities may not be available to the Fund on a timely basis and the Fund
may therefore lose the opportunity to sell the securities at a desirable price.
Convertible Securities Risk. Convertible security values may be affected by market interest rates, issuer defaults and underlying common stock values; security values
may fall if market interest rates rise and rise if market interest rates fall. Additionally, an issuer may have the right to buy back the securities at
a time unfavorable to the Fund.
Preferred Stock Risk. Unlike common stock, preferred stock generally pays a fixed dividend from a company’s earnings and may have a preference over common stock on the distribution of a company’s
assets in the event of bankruptcy or liquidation. Preferred stockholders’
liquidation rights are subordinate to the company’s debt holders and
creditors. If interest rates rise, the fixed dividend on preferred stocks may be less attractive and the price of preferred stocks may decline. Preferred stockholders typically do not have voting
rights.
Money Market Securities
Risk. An investment in the Fund is subject to the risk that the value of its investments in high-quality short-term obligations (“money market securities”) may be subject
to changes in interest rates, changes in the rating of any money market security and in the ability of an issuer to make payments of interest and principal.
Warrant Risk. A warrant entitles the holder to purchase a specified amount of securities at a pre-determined price.
Warrants may not track the value of the securities the holder is entitled to
purchase and may expire worthless if the market price of the securities is below the exercise
price of the warrant.
The below bar chart and table illustrate the risks of
investing in the Fund by showing changes in the Fund’s performance from
calendar year to calendar year and comparing the Fund’s average annual returns to those of the MSCI EAFE Index (net) (a broad-based securities market index), which is relevant to
the Fund because it has characteristics similar to the Fund’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 those shown. Of course, past performance of the Fund is not necessarily an indication of how the Fund will perform in the future.
BlackRock Investment Management, LLC (“BlackRock”) assumed sub‑advisory
responsibilities on April 30, 2025. Prior to this time, the Fund was subadvised by SunAmerica
Asset Management, LLC.