Form 497 LINCOLN VARIABLE INSURAN
Tweet
Share
E-mailLincoln Variable Insurance Products Trust
LVIP BlackRock Global Growth ETF Allocation Managed Risk Fund
Standard and Service Class
1301 South Harrison Street
Fort Wayne, Indiana 46802
Fort Wayne, Indiana 46802
Prospectus May 1, 2026 , as amended June 9, 2026
LVIP BlackRock Global Growth ETF Allocation Managed Risk Fund (the “Fund”) is a series of the Lincoln Variable Insurance Products Trust (the “Trust”). Shares of the Fund are currently offered only to separate accounts that fund variable annuity and variable life insurance contracts (“variable accounts”) of The Lincoln National Life Insurance Company, its affiliates, and third-party insurance companies. You cannot purchase shares of the Fund directly. This prospectus discusses the information about the Fund that you should know before investing.
We have not authorized any dealer, salesperson, or any other person to give any information, or to make any representation, other than what this prospectus states.
| |
Standard Class |
Service Class |
| Management Fee |
|
|
| Distribution and/or Service (12b-1) Fees |
|
|
| Other Expenses |
|
|
| Acquired Fund Fees and Expenses (AFFE) |
|
|
| Total Annual Fund Operating Expenses (including AFFE)1 |
|
|
| Less Fee Waiver2 |
( |
( |
| Total Annual Fund Operating Expenses (After Fee Waiver) |
|
|
1
2
| |
1 year |
3 years |
5 years |
10 years |
| Standard Class |
$ |
$ |
$ |
$ |
| Service Class |
$ |
$ |
$ |
$ |
LVIP BlackRock Global Growth ETF Allocation Managed Risk Fund1
2LVIP BlackRock Global Growth ETF Allocation Managed Risk Fund
Principal Risks
LVIP BlackRock Global Growth ETF Allocation Managed Risk Fund3
4LVIP BlackRock Global Growth ETF Allocation Managed Risk Fund
LVIP BlackRock Global Growth ETF Allocation Managed Risk Fund5
| |
|
|
| |
|
|
| |
1 year |
5 years |
Since Inception |
Inception Date |
| LVIP BlackRock Global Growth ETF Allocation Managed Risk Fund – Standard Class |
|
|
|
|
| LVIP BlackRock Global Growth ETF Allocation Managed Risk Fund – Service Class |
|
|
|
|
| Morningstar US Core Bond Index (reflects no deductions for fees, expenses or taxes) |
|
- |
|
|
| BlackRock Global Growth ETF Alloc Composite1 (reflects no deductions for fees, expenses or taxes) |
|
|
|
|
1
Investment Adviser and Sub-Advisers
Investment Adviser: Lincoln Financial Investments Corporation (“LFI”)
Investment Sub-Adviser: BlackRock Investment Management, LLC (“BlackRock”)
Investment Sub-Adviser: Milliman Financial Risk Management LLC (“Milliman”)
Portfolio Managers
| LFI Portfolio Managers |
Company Title |
Experience with Fund |
| Jay Shearon |
Vice President and Managing Director |
Since May 2017 |
| Alex Zeng, Ph.D., CFA, CAIA |
Vice President and Managing Director |
Since May 2017 |
| Lu Fan, CFA |
Assistant Vice President and Senior Director |
Since May 2022 |
| BlackRock Portfolio Managers |
Company Title |
Experience with Fund |
| Suzanne Ly, CFA, FRM |
Managing Director |
Since January 2025 |
| Peter Tsang |
Director |
Since January 2025 |
| Milliman Portfolio Managers |
Company Title |
Experience with Fund |
| Jeff Greco, FRM |
Senior Director – Head of Strategy Research |
Since May 2016 |
| Adam Schenck, CFA |
Managing Director, Head of Fund Services |
Since May 2016 |
| Maria Schiopu, CFA |
Senior Director and Head of Portfolio Management |
Since April 2021 |
| Ruby Shi |
Portfolio Manager |
Since August 2019 |
Purchase and Sale of Fund Shares
Fund shares are available as underlying investment options for variable life insurance and variable annuity products issued by The Lincoln National Life Insurance Company (“Lincoln Life”), Lincoln Life & Annuity Company of New York (“LNY”), and unaffiliated insurance companies. These insurance companies are the record owners of the separate accounts holding the Fund’s shares. You do not buy, sell or exchange Fund shares directly – you choose investment options through your variable annuity contract or variable life insurance policy. The insurance companies then cause the separate accounts to purchase and redeem Fund shares according to the investment options you choose. Fund shares also may be available for investment by certain funds of the Lincoln Variable Insurance Products Trust.
6LVIP BlackRock Global Growth ETF Allocation Managed Risk Fund
Tax Information
In general, contract owners are taxed only on Fund amounts they withdraw from their variable accounts. Contract owners should consult their contract Prospectus for more information on the federal income tax consequences to them regarding their indirect investment in the Fund. Contract owners also may wish to consult with their own tax advisors as to the tax consequences of investments in variable contracts and the Fund, including application of state and local taxes.
Payments to Broker-Dealers and other Financial Intermediaries
Shares of the Fund are available only through the purchase of variable contracts issued by certain life insurance companies. Parties related to the Fund (such as the Fund's principal underwriter or investment adviser) may pay such insurance companies (or their related companies) for the sale of Fund shares and related services. These payments may create a conflict of interest and may influence the insurance company to include the Fund as an investment option in its variable contracts. Such insurance companies (or their related companies) may pay broker-dealers or other financial intermediaries (such as banks) for the sale and retention of variable contracts that offer Fund shares. These payments may create a conflict of interest by influencing the broker-dealers or other financial intermediaries to recommend variable contracts that offer Fund shares. The prospectus or other disclosure documents for the variable contracts may contain additional information about these payments, if any. Ask your salesperson or visit your financial intermediary's website for more information.
LVIP BlackRock Global Growth ETF Allocation Managed Risk Fund7
Additional Information about the Fund
Investment Objective and Principal Investment Strategies
The investment objective of the Fund is to seek a balance between current income and growth of capital, with a greater emphasis on growth of capital. The objective is non-fundamental and may be changed without shareholder approval.
The Fund operates under a “fund of funds” structure. The Fund, under normal circumstances, invests substantially all of its assets in iShares exchange-traded funds (“Underlying ETFs”) or financial instruments that provide exposure to such Underlying ETFs. The Underlying ETFs, in turn, invest in equity securities (stocks) and/or fixed income securities (bonds). The Underlying ETF strategy is sub-advised by BlackRock Investment Management, LLC (“BlackRock”). The Underlying ETFs are managed by BlackRock Fund Advisors.
The Fund also seeks to stabilize its overall portfolio volatility and reduce downside exposure with a risk management strategy. This is a type of risk management sometimes referred to as an “overlay” because the risk management portion of the portfolio supplements the Fund’s main investment portfolio.
Underlying ETF Allocation Strategy. Under normal circumstances, approximately 70% of the Fund’s Underlying ETF assets are invested primarily in equity securities (stocks) and approximately 30% of the Fund’s Underlying ETF assets are invested primarily in fixed income securities (bonds).
BlackRock develops the Fund’s asset allocation strategy based on the Fund’s investment objective. The Fund allocates a substantial portion of its assets in Underlying Funds employing a passive investment style (i.e., index funds) or a multi-factor style. The Fund’s largest allocation is to Underlying ETFs that invest primarily in domestic and foreign equity securities, including securities of small- and medium-capitalization companies and those with growth and value characteristics. Small-capitalization companies generally include companies with market capitalizations similar to those within the Russell 2000® Index or a similar broad-based index, and medium-capitalization companies generally include companies with market capitalizations similar to those within the Russell MidCap® Index or a similar broad-based index. The foreign equity securities held by the Underlying ETFs may include companies in emerging markets. The Fund normally maintains investment exposure to at least three countries outside of the U.S. Typically, the Fund invests in a larger number of different countries. The Fund is not required to allocate its investments in any set percentages in any particular countries.
A smaller allocation will be made to Underlying ETFs that invest primarily in domestic and foreign fixed income securities, including mortgage-backed securities, high yield securities (otherwise known as “junk” bonds), and securities backed by the U.S. Treasury.
The financial instruments that are intended to provide exposure similar to the exposure to the Underlying ETFs may include, among other instruments, futures, options, swaps, structured notes and other derivatives. As a result of the Fund’s use of futures, options, swaps, structured notes and other derivatives, the Fund may also hold U.S. Treasury, short term, or other fixed income investments, including loans and notes to address regulatory requirements.
On at least an annual basis, BlackRock will reassess and may make revisions in the Fund’s asset allocation strategy consistent with the Fund’s investment strategy and objective, including revising the weightings among the investments described above and adding or removing Underlying ETFs from the asset allocation strategy. The Adviser will also periodically rebalance the weightings in the Underlying ETFs to the current asset allocation strategy. In general, the Adviser does not anticipate making frequent changes in the asset allocation strategy and will not attempt to time the market. The Adviser uses various analytical tools and third-party research to construct the portfolio. The Underlying ETF selection is made based on the Fund’s particular asset allocation strategy, the Adviser’s desired asset class exposures, and the investment styles and performance of the Underlying ETFs. The Adviser also considers the portfolio characteristics and risk profile for each Underlying ETF over various periods and market environments to assess each Underlying ETF’s suitability as an investment for the Fund. The full list of underlying funds used by the Fund is included in the Fund’s annual and semi-annual reports and quarterly holdings disclosures.
Growth Stocks: Growth stocks are stocks of companies that appear to offer superior opportunities for growth of capital. Growth companies typically pay little or no dividends.
Value Stocks: Value stocks are stocks of companies that appear undervalued according to certain financial measurements of their intrinsic worth, such as price-to-earnings or price-to-book ratios. Value companies tend to have stock prices that are low relative to their earnings, dividends, assets, or other financial measures.
Fixed Income Investments (bonds): Investment grade bonds include securities issued and guaranteed by the U.S. and other governments, securities backed by mortgages, and other assets and securities that are rated Baa by Moody’s Investors Service or BBB- by Standard & Poor’s Corporation or are unrated but determined to be of equivalent quality by the Underlying ETFs’ investment adviser. Below investment grade bonds include high yield securities (otherwise known as “junk” bonds) and are rated to be of lower credit quality than investment grade bonds.
8
Foreign Securities: Foreign (international) securities are securities of companies organized, or having a majority of their assets, or earning a majority of their operating income, outside of the U.S. Emerging market stocks are issued by companies from an emerging country that may have an unstable government, an economy based on only a few industries and/or securities markets that may have limited liquidity.
The full list of Underlying Funds used by the Fund is included in the Fund’s annual and semi-annual reports and quarterly holdings disclosures.
Risk Management Strategy. Milliman Financial Risk Management LLC (“Milliman” or “overlay manager”) implements the Fund’s the risk management strategy. Although up to 20% of the Fund’s assets may be used to implement the risk management strategy, under normal market conditions it is expected that less than 10% of the Fund’s assets will be used for the strategy. While the Adviser maintains overall responsibility for determining the maximum amount of the Fund’s assets which may be used in the risk management strategy, Milliman will determine the specific amount of the Fund’s assets to be used on a daily basis. Milliman will be responsible for the day-to-day trading of assets within the risk management strategy as well as the maintenance of the model used in managing the strategy. The Adviser will remain responsible for the oversight of Milliman’s activities, including the approval of any significant changes to the model. As part of the risk management strategy, Milliman will invest the portion of Fund assets not invested in Underlying Funds in exchange-traded futures contracts, cash collateral to support these contracts and/or high-quality short-term money market investments. Milliman also may use interest rate futures as part of the risk management strategy.
The risk management strategy consists of using hedging instruments (short or long positions in exchange-traded futures contracts) to stabilize the Fund’s overall portfolio volatility and reduce the downside exposure of the Fund during significant market downturns. “Volatility” in this context is a statistical measurement of the frequency and level of changes in the Fund’s returns without regard to the direction of those changes. Volatility may result from rapid and dramatic price swings of securities held directly or indirectly by the Fund. Parameterization and implementation of the volatility forecasting model may be adjusted based upon changes in market conditions.
Milliman uses a proprietary model to monitor and forecast volatility and will adjust the level of exchange-traded futures contracts on that basis. Milliman also adjusts futures positions to realign individual hedges when the Adviser rebalances the portfolio’s asset allocation among Underlying Funds. A futures contract is an agreement between two parties to buy or sell a financial instrument for a set price on a future date. Futures contracts can be purchased or sold by the Fund for less than their contract value, allowing an efficient use of Fund assets for the risk management strategy. The risk management strategy is separate and distinct from any riders or features of your insurance contract.
Milliman selects individual futures contracts on indices of domestic and foreign markets that it believes are highly correlated to the Fund’s investment exposure. Milliman will primarily buy or sell (short) futures contracts on these indices to decrease the Fund’s aggregate economic exposure (from both Underlying Funds and exchange-traded futures) based upon Milliman’s evaluation of market volatility and downside market risk. Short futures contracts increase in value as domestic and/or foreign markets decline. Milliman will seek to hedge currency risks involved in the foreign futures contracts primarily through the use of exchange-traded currency futures contracts. In addition, under certain market conditions, Milliman may purchase or sell exchange-traded interest rate futures to manage interest rate risks in the portfolio. Interest rate futures may be used in an effort to control the volatility of the Fund’s returns and to synthetically earn a yield premium on the Fund’s cash holdings.
Even in periods of low volatility in the markets, Milliman will continue to use the hedging techniques designed to preserve gains in favorable market conditions and reduce losses in adverse market conditions. During or after severe market downturns, however, Milliman will look to harvest gains on the Fund’s short futures positions and the amount of short futures held by the Fund will then decrease. The amount of exchange-traded futures in the Fund will fluctuate daily based upon market conditions.
The Fund may be required to own cash or other liquid assets and post these assets with a broker as collateral to cover its obligation under the futures contracts. The Fund’s investment in these exchange-traded futures and their resulting costs could limit the upside participation of the Fund in strong, appreciating markets relative to unhedged funds. In situations of extreme market volatility, the short positions held in exchange-traded futures could potentially reduce the Fund’s net economic exposure to domestic and foreign securities to a substantial degree.
The Fund’s Board of Trustees may change the Fund’s investment strategies or policies in the interest of shareholders without a shareholder vote, unless those strategies or policies are designated as fundamental.
Principal Risks
All mutual funds carry risk. Accordingly, loss of money is a risk of investing in the Fund. Because the Fund invests its assets in shares of Underlying Funds, the Fund indirectly owns the investments made by the Underlying Funds. By investing in the Fund, therefore, you indirectly assume the same types of risks as investing directly in the Underlying Funds. The Fund's investment performance is affected by each Underlying Fund's investment performance, and the Fund's ability to achieve its investment objective depends, in large part, on each Underlying Fund's ability to meet its investment objective. The following risks reflect the Fund's principal risks, which include the Underlying Funds' principal risks.
9
Market Risk. The value of portfolio investments may decline. As a result, your investment in the Fund may decline in value and you could lose money. A decline in value could result from, among other things, a negative development of the issuer of a security, an industry, a sector of the economy, or the overall securities market. In addition, the occurrence of geopolitical conflicts, war or terrorist activities could have adverse impacts on markets in various and unpredictable ways. For instance, war, terrorism, social unrest, recessions, supply chain disruptions, market manipulation, government defaults, government shutdowns, political changes, diplomatic developments, or the imposition of sanctions, tariffs, and other similar measures, public health emergencies (such as the spread of infectious diseases, pandemics and epidemics) and natural/environmental disasters can all negatively impact the securities markets, which could cause the Fund to lose value.
Stock/Equity Investing Risk. Stocks and other equities generally fluctuate in value more than bonds and may decline significantly over short time periods. Equity prices overall may decline because stock markets tend to move in cycles, with periods of rising and falling prices. Their value may decline due to general weakness or volatility in the stock markets or because of factors that affect a particular company or industry. Equity declines may result from, among other things, political, regulatory, market, economic and/or social developments affecting the relevant market(s). In addition, increased inflation, tightening monetary policy or interest rate increases may negatively affect many issuers, which could have an adverse effect on equity prices.
Fund of Funds Risk. The Fund bears all risks of an Underlying Fund’s investment strategies, including the risk that an Underlying Fund may not meet its investment objective, which may negatively affect the Fund’s performance. Additional fund of funds risk include:
•
Underlying Fund Expenses: Because the Fund owns shares of the Underlying Funds, shareholders of the Fund will indirectly pay a proportional share of the fees and expenses, including applicable management, administration and custodian fees, of the Underlying Funds in which the Fund invests. The Underlying Funds do not charge the Fund any front-end sales loads, contingent deferred sales charges, or Rule 12b-1 fees.
•
Investment Performance: The Fund’s investment performance is directly tied to the performance of its Underlying Funds. If one or more of the Underlying Funds fails to meet its investment objective, a Fund’s performance will be negatively affected. The Fund does not control the investments of Underlying Funds, which may have different investment objectives and may engage in investment strategies that the Fund would not engage in directly. The allocation of investments among the different sub-advisers managing Underlying Funds, with different styles and asset classes, may have a more significant effect on the performance of the Fund when one of these investments is performing more poorly than the other. The Underlying Funds selected by the Adviser for the Fund may underperform the market generally or other funds that could have been selected for the Fund. Investment decisions made by the Adviser may cause the Fund to incur losses or to miss profit opportunities on which it might otherwise have capitalized. The Adviser has, and may in the future, invest the Fund’s assets in Underlying Funds managed by a limited number of sub-advisers, including the Adviser. In such circumstances, the Fund’s performance could be substantially dependent on the performance of these sub-advisers and the Adviser. Similarly, the Adviser’s allocation of the Fund’s assets to a limited number of Underlying Funds may adversely affect the performance of the Fund, and, in such circumstances, it will be more sensitive to the performance and risks associated with those Underlying Funds and any investments in which such Underlying Funds focus. There can be no assurance that the Fund or any Underlying Fund will achieve its investment objective.
•
Asset Allocation: The ability of the Fund to achieve its investment objective depends upon the Adviser’s skill in determining the Fund’s strategic allocation to investment strategies and in selecting an optimal mix of Underlying Funds. The Fund is subject to different risks based on its actual allocation among asset classes and Underlying Funds. The Fund will be affected to varying degrees by stock and bond market risks, among others. The potential impact of the risks related to an asset class depends on the size of the Fund’s investment allocation to it. In addition, the Fund will be subject to those risks affecting the Underlying Funds, including the effects of business and regulatory developments that affect an Underlying Fund or the investment company industry generally as well as the possibility that the value of the underlying securities held by the Underlying Fund could decrease or the Underlying Fund’s portfolio could become illiquid. The liquidity of an Underlying Fund could also be limited as a result of large redemptions or repurchases, as applicable. There is no assurance that allocation decisions will result in the desired effects.
•
Strategy: The Adviser’s evaluations and allocations among asset classes and Underlying Funds may prove incorrect. Further, the Adviser may add or delete Underlying Funds or alter the Fund’s asset allocation at its discretion. A material change in the Underlying Funds selected or in asset allocation (or the lack thereof) could affect both the level of risk and the potential for gain or loss.
•
Limited Portfolio Holdings: Because the Fund may hold large positions in its Underlying Funds, changes in the value of those Underlying Funds’ shares can have an amplified effect on the Fund’s value and total return. Aggregation of Underlying Fund holdings may result in the indirect concentration of assets in a particular industry or group of industries, or in a single issuer, which may increase Fund volatility.
Issuer Risk. The prices of, and the income generated by, portfolio securities may decline in response to various factors directly related to the issuers of such securities. These factors may include reduced demand for an issuer’s goods or services, poor management performance, major litigation, investigations or other controversies related to the issuer, changes in the issuer’s financial conditions or credit rating, changes in government regulations affecting the issuer or its competitive environment, and strategic initiatives such as mergers, acquisitions or dispositions and the market response to any such initiatives.
10
Asset Allocation Risk. With an asset allocation strategy, the amount invested in various asset classes of securities may change over time. Asset allocation could result in an allocation to an underperforming asset class. For example, a fund may be over-weighted in equity securities when the stock market is falling and could underperform other funds that are not as heavily allocated to equities.
Active Management Risk. The portfolio investments are actively-managed, rather than tracking an index or rigidly following certain rules, which may negatively affect investment performance. Consequently, there is the risk that the methods and analyses, including models, tools and data, employed in this process may be flawed or incorrect and may not produce desired results. This could cause the Fund to lose value or its investment results to lag relevant benchmarks or other funds with similar objectives.
Passive Management Risk. Index funds invest in the securities of an index rather than actively selecting among securities. With an indexing strategy there is no attempt to manage volatility, use defensive strategies, or reduce the effects of any long-term period of poor investment performance. Index funds have costs and fees that an index does not have and therefore index funds will not match the performance of the benchmark index.
Concentration Risk. Investments that are concentrated in particular industries, sectors or types of investments may be subject to greater risks of adverse developments in such areas of focus than investments that are spread among a wider variety of industries, sectors or investments. Investments in a select group of securities can be subject to a greater risk of loss and may be more volatile than investments that are more diversified.
Investment Style Factors Risk. There can be no assurance that the multi-factor stock selection process of the Fund will enhance performance. Exposure to such investment factors may detract from performance in some market environments, perhaps for extended periods.
Value Stocks Risk. Value stocks tend to be inexpensive relative to their earnings or assets compared to other types of stocks, such as growth stocks. Value stocks can continue to be inexpensive for long periods of time, may not ever realize their potential value, and may even go down in price. Value stocks can react differently to issuer, political, market and economic developments than the market as a whole or other types of stocks. At times when the value investing style is out of favor, funds that invest in value stocks may underperform other equity funds that employ different investment styles.
Growth Stocks Risk. Growth stocks, due to their relatively high market valuations, typically have been more volatile than value stocks. Growth stocks may not pay dividends, or may pay lower dividends, than value stocks and may be more adversely affected in a down market. The price of a growth stock may experience a larger decline on a forecast of lower earnings, a negative fundamental development, or an adverse market development. The growth style may, over time, go in and out of favor. At times when the growth investing style is out of favor, funds that invest in growth stocks may underperform other equity funds that employ different investment styles.
Small- and Medium-Cap Company Risk. The value of securities issued by small- and medium-sized companies may be subject to more abrupt market movements and may involve greater risks than investments in larger companies. These less developed, lesser-known companies may experience greater risks than those normally associated with larger companies. This is due to the greater business risks of smaller size and limited product lines, markets, distribution channels, and financial and managerial resources. Historically, the price of small and medium capitalization companies has fluctuated more than the larger capitalization stocks included in the S&P 500® Index. The securities of companies with small and medium stock market capitalizations may trade less frequently and in limited volume. Small- and medium-sized companies also may have less certain prospects for growth and greater sensitivity to changing economic conditions. Small- and medium-sized companies also may be subject to interest rate risk, which is generally associated with fixed income securities, because these companies often borrow money to finance their operations; therefore, they may be adversely affected by rising interest rates.
Prices of small- and medium-sized company stocks may fluctuate independently of larger company stock prices. Small- and medium-sized company stocks may decline in price as large company stock prices rise, or rise in price as large company stock prices decline. Many factors may lead to this result, such as current and anticipated global economic conditions or changes in interest rates.
Exchange-Traded Fund (ETF) Risk. ETFs generally reflect the risks of owning the underlying securities they hold, although lack of liquidity in ETF shares could result in the price of the ETF being more volatile. The market price of ETF shares may deviate from an ETF’s net asset value, especially during periods of market volatility, which could result in investors paying significantly more, or less, for the ETF shares. Because ETF shares are exchange traded, trading may be halted due to market conditions or for reasons that, in the view of the exchange, make trading in shares inadvisable, such as extraordinary market volatility. Certain ETFs track the performance of an index. An imperfect correlation between an ETF’s portfolio securities and those in its index, rounding of prices, the timing of cash flows, the ETF’s size, changes to the index and regulatory requirements may cause tracking error, which is the divergence of an ETF’s performance from that of its underlying index. ETFs are subject to investment advisory and other expenses, which are indirectly paid by a fund that invests in ETFs.
Interest Rate Risk. When interest rates change, fixed income securities (i.e., debt obligations) generally will fluctuate in value. These fluctuations in value are greater for fixed income securities, as well as funds, with longer maturities or durations. Duration measures the sensitivity of a security’s price to changes in interest rates. This measure incorporates a security’s yield, maturity, and call features, among other factors. If, for example, the price of a security has a duration of five years, it would be expected that the price of that security would fall approximately five percent if interest rates rose by one percent.
11
In addition, when interest rates rise, certain obligations will be paid off more slowly than anticipated, causing the value of these obligations to fall. Also, proceeds from a current investment in fixed income securities, both interest payments and principal payments, may be reinvested in instruments that offer lower yields than the current investment due in part to market conditions and the interest rate environment at the time of reinvestment.
Numerous factors can cause interest rates to change, including, but not limited to, changes, or the anticipation of changes, to Federal Reserve central bank or government monetary policies and general economic conditions, which may exacerbate the risks associated with changing interest rates. The Federal Reserve, for example, may raise the federal funds rate as part of its efforts to address rising interest rates. During periods of very low or negative interest rates, a Fund may be unable to maintain positive returns. Very low or negative rates may magnify interest rate risk. Changing interest rates, including rates that fall below zero, may have unpredictable effects on the markets, may result in heightened market volatility and may detract from the Fund’s ability to achieve its investment objective.
Credit Risk. Credit risk is the risk that the issuer of a debt obligation will be unable or unwilling to make interest or principal payments on time. Credit risk is often gauged by “credit ratings” assigned by nationally recognized statistical rating organizations (NRSROs). A decrease in an issuer’s credit rating may cause a decline in the value of the issuer’s debt obligations.
The issuer also may have increased interest payments, because an issuer with a lower credit rating generally has to pay a higher interest rate to borrow money. As a result, the issuer’s future earnings and profitability also could be negatively affected. This could further increase the credit risk associated with that debt obligation. Generally, credit risk is higher for corporate and foreign government debt obligations than for U.S. government securities, and higher still for debt rated below investment grade (high yield bonds).
In addition, credit ratings may not reflect the issuer’s current financial condition or events since the security was last rated by a rating agency. Credit ratings also may be influenced by rating agency conflicts of interest or based on historical data that are no longer applicable or accurate. Rising or high interest rates may deteriorate the credit quality of an issuer or counterparty, particularly if an issuer or counterparty faces challenges rolling or refinancing its obligations.
Prepayment/Call Risk. Debt securities are subject to prepayment risk when the issuer can “call” the security, or repay principal, in whole or in part, prior to the security’s maturity. When the Fund reinvests the prepayments of principal it receives, it may receive a rate of interest that is lower than the rate on the called security.
Mortgage-Backed Securities Risk. The value of mortgage-backed securities (commercial and residential) may fluctuate significantly in response to changes in interest rates. During periods of falling interest rates, underlying mortgages may be paid early, lowering the potential total return (pre-payment risk). During periods of rising interest rates, the rate at which the underlying mortgages are pre-paid may slow unexpectedly, causing the maturity of the mortgage-backed securities to increase and their value to decline (maturity extension risk). In either instance, the value of mortgage-backed securities may fluctuate more widely than the value of investment grade debt obligations in response to changes in interest rates.
Below Investment Grade (Junk Bond) Risk. Below investment grade bonds, otherwise known as “high yield” bonds or “junk” bonds, generally have a greater risk of principal loss than investment grade bonds. Below investment grade bonds are often considered speculative and involve significantly higher credit risk and liquidity risk. The value of these bonds may fluctuate more than the value of higher-rated debt obligations, and may decline significantly in periods of general economic difficulty or periods of rising interest rates and may be subject to negative perceptions of the junk bond markets generally and less secondary market liquidity. A liquid security market may not always exist for positions in below investment grade bonds. When secondary markets for these bonds are less liquid than the market for other types of securities, it may be more difficult to value the bonds because such valuation may require more research, and elements of judgments may play a greater role in the valuation because there is less reliable, objective data available. These bonds also are more likely to experience greater fluctuations in value due to changes in the issuer’s credit rating.
Foreign Investments Risk. Foreign investments have additional risks that are not present when investing in U.S. investments. Foreign currency fluctuations or economic or financial instability could cause the value of foreign investments to fluctuate. The value of foreign investments may be reduced by foreign taxes, such as foreign taxes on interest and dividends. Additionally, foreign investments include the risk of loss from foreign government or political actions including, for example, the imposition of exchange controls, the imposition of tariffs, economic and trade sanctions or embargoes, confiscations, and other government restrictions, or from problems in registration, settlement or custody. The governments of certain countries may prohibit or impose substantial restrictions on foreign investing in their capital markets or in certain sectors or industries. Foreign governments may also impose a heavy tax on a company, withhold a company’s payment of interest or dividends, seize assets of a company, take over a company, limit currency convertibility, or repatriation, or bar withdrawal of assets from the country. Investing in foreign investments may involve risks resulting from the reduced availability of public information concerning issuers. Foreign issuers generally are not subject to uniform accounting, auditing, and financial reporting standards or to other regulatory practices and requirements comparable to those applicable to U.S. issuers. The volume of transactions in certain foreign markets remains considerably below that of the U.S. markets. Accordingly, foreign investments may be less liquid and their prices more volatile than comparable investments in U.S. issuers. Investing in local markets may require special procedures or local governmental approvals or other actions, any of which may involve additional costs. These factors also may affect the liquidity of a foreign investment. Foreign brokerage commissions and custodian
12
fees also are generally higher than in the U.S. In addition, certain foreign countries may be subject to terrorism, governmental collapse, regional conflicts and war, which could negatively impact investments in those countries. Recent examples include conflict, loss of life and disaster connected to ongoing armed conflict between Russia and Ukraine in Europe and Hamas and Israel in the Middle East. The extent, duration and impact of these conflicts, related sanctions and retaliatory actions are difficult to ascertain, but could be significant and have severe adverse effects on the region, including significant adverse effects on the regional or global economies and the markets for certain securities and commodities. These impacts could negatively affect a Fund’s investments in securities and instruments that are economically tied to the applicable region, and include (but are not limited to) declines in value and reductions in liquidity.
Emerging Markets Risk. Companies located in emerging markets tend to be less liquid, have more volatile prices, and have significant potential for loss in comparison to investments in developed markets. Emerging market countries may have especially unstable governments, economies based on only a few industries and securities markets that trade a small number of securities. Additional risks of emerging market investments may include: greater social, diplomatic, economic, and political instability; more substantial governmental involvement in the economy; less governmental supervision and regulation of issuers; companies that are newly organized and small; less developed auditing and financial reporting standards, which may result in unavailability of material information about issuers; and less developed legal systems. The impact of infectious diseases in emerging market countries may be greater due to less-established health care systems. Emerging markets also may have different clearance and settlement procedures, which may make it difficult to engage in securities transactions. Settlement problems may result in missed investment opportunities, holding a portion of assets in cash, or delays in disposing of investments. Investments in emerging market countries may be affected by national policies that restrict foreign investment in certain issuers or industries. Sanctions, export and import controls and other intergovernmental actions may be undertaken against an emerging market country, which may result in the devaluation of the country’s currency, a downgrade in the country’s credit rating, and a decline in the value and liquidity of the country’s securities. Sanctions could result in the immediate freeze of securities issued by an emerging market company or government, impairing the ability of the Fund to buy, sell, receive or deliver these securities.
Foreign Currency Risk. Foreign currency risk is the risk that the U.S. dollar value of investments in foreign (non-U.S.) currencies or in securities that trade in, and receive revenues in, foreign (non-U.S.) currencies, may be negatively affected by changes in foreign (non-U.S.) currency rates. Currency exchange rates may fluctuate significantly over short periods of time for a number of reasons, including rates of inflation, balance of payments and governmental surpluses or deficits, intervention (or the failure to intervene) by U.S. or foreign (non-U.S.) governments, central banks or supranational entities such as the International Monetary Fund, or by the imposition of currency controls or other political developments in the United States or abroad.
Regional Risk. The Fund will generally have more exposure to the specific market, currency, economic, political, regulatory, geopolitical, or other risks in the regions or countries, in which it invests. As a result, the Fund could experience substantial illiquidity, volatility or reduction in the value of its investments, as compared to a more geographically-diversified fund.
Derivatives Risk. Derivatives or other similar instruments (referred to collectively as “derivatives”), such as futures, forwards, options, swaps, structured securities and other instruments, are financial contracts whose value depends on, or is derived from, the value of an underlying asset, reference rate or index. Derivatives may involve costs and risks that are different from, or possibly greater than, the costs and risks associated with investing directly in securities and other traditional investments. Derivatives prices can be volatile, may correlate imperfectly with price of the applicable underlying asset, reference rate or index and may move in unexpected ways, especially in unusual market conditions, such as markets with high volatility or large market declines. Some derivatives are particularly sensitive to changes in interest rates. Further, losses could result if the counterparty to a transaction does not perform as promised. Derivatives that involve a small initial investment relative to the investment risk can magnify or otherwise increase investment losses. This is referred to as financial “leverage” due to the potential for greater investment loss. Derivatives are also subject to operational and legal risks.
The performance of a derivative generally largely depends on the performance of its underlying asset, reference rate or index. If using derivative instruments is unsuccessful, performance may be worse than if no derivatives were used. When used for hedging purposes, there is a risk, especially under extreme market conditions, that a derivative may provide no such hedging benefit. Additionally, there is no guarantee that a liquid market will exist for a derivative position or that a derivative position will be able to be terminated, particularly with respect to “over-the-counter” instruments (investments not traded on an exchange). If the Fund is unable to close out a position on an options or futures contract, for example, the Fund would remain subject to the risk of adverse price movements until the Fund is able to close out the position. Changes in the value of a derivative or other similar instrument may also create margin delivery or settlement payment obligations for the Fund. Furthermore, counterparties to over-the-counter derivative contracts present the same types of credit risk as issuers of fixed income securities, including bankruptcy or insolvency. Options and futures contracts are also subject to the creditworthiness of clearing organizations and exchanges. Futures and security options also are subject to the credit risk of futures commission merchants and broker-dealers, respectively. Derivatives can also be difficult to value, especially in declining markets.
Swap agreements may include equity, interest rate, index, total return, commodity, currency and credit default swaps. Swap agreements typically are contracts with a swap dealer, bank, or other institutional entity in which the parties agree to exchange the returns (or differentials in rates of return) earned or realized on a particular set dollar or currency value of predetermined investments or
13
instruments. Currently, some, but not all, swap transactions are subject to central clearing. Non-cleared swap agreements, including credit default swaps, involve greater risks than cleared swaps, including illiquidity risk and counterparty risk. Certain non-cleared swaps are subject to margin requirements that mandate the posting and collection of minimum margin amounts, which is intended to reduce some of the risks associated with these instruments. Eventually many swaps may be centrally cleared and exchange-traded. Although central clearing is expected to decrease counterparty risk because it interposes the central clearinghouse as the counterparty in bilaterally negotiated contracts, central clearing will not make swap transactions risk-free.
The Commodity Futures Trading Commission (“CFTC”) and the various exchanges have established limits referred to as “speculative position limits” on the maximum net long or net short positions that any person may hold or control in a particular futures contract, option on futures contract, and in some cases, over-the-counter transaction that is economically equivalent to certain futures or options contracts on physical commodities. Trading limits are imposed on the number of contracts that any person may trade on a particular trading day. An exchange or the CFTC may order the liquidation of positions found to be in violation of these limits and may impose sanctions or restrictions.
Changes in regulation relating to the Fund’s use of derivatives and related instruments could potentially limit or impact the Fund’s ability to invest in derivatives, limit the Fund’s ability to employ certain strategies that use derivatives, and adversely affect the value or performance or derivatives and the Fund.
Futures Risk. A futures contract is considered a derivative because it derives its value from the price of the underlying security or financial index. Futures contracts may have the economic effect of creating financial leverage by creating additional investment exposure, as well as the potential for greater loss. Losses on futures may exceed the amount invested. There also may be imperfect or negative correlation between the price of the futures contracts and the price of the underlying securities. In addition, there are significant differences between the securities and futures markets that could result in an imperfect correlation between the markets, causing a given hedge not to achieve its objectives. The degree of imperfect correlation depends on several factors such as variations in speculative market demand for futures and differences between the financial instruments being hedged and the instruments underlying the standard contracts available for trading. A decision as to whether, when and how to hedge involves the exercise of skill and judgment, and even a well-conceived hedge may be unsuccessful to some degree because of market behavior or unexpected interest rate trends.
Futures exchanges may limit the amount of fluctuation permitted in certain futures contract prices during a single trading day. Once the daily limit has been reached, no more trades may be made on that day at a price beyond that limit. The daily limit governs only price movements but does not limit potential losses because the limit may work to prevent the liquidation of unfavorable positions.
There can be no assurance that a liquid market will exist at a time when a fund seeks to close out a futures position, and the Fund would remain obligated to meet margin requirements until the position is closed. In addition, there can be no assurance that an active secondary market will continue to exist.
Risk Management Strategy Risk. The success of the Fund’s risk management strategy depends in part on Milliman’s ability, as the overlay manager, to effectively and efficiently implement its risk forecasts and to manage the strategy for the Fund’s benefit. The risk management strategy may depend upon one or more of the overlay manager’s proprietary forecasting models and information and data from one or more third parties to support the proprietary forecasting models. There is no guarantee that the models or the data the models are based on will be accurate or that the Fund can achieve or maintain optimal risk targets. The Fund’s performance may be negatively impacted in certain underlying markets as a result of reliance on these models. In low volatility markets the risk management strategy may not mitigate losses. In addition, the overlay manager may not be able to effectively implement the risk management strategy (through the purchases of exchange-traded and/or interest rate futures) during times of rapidly and unpredictably changing markets, market disruptions, or extreme market events. Any errors in the data or inefficiency in implementation of the models could cause the Fund to underperform or lose more money than investing without the risk management strategy or to not realize potential gains. Even effective implementation of the models may result in underperformance by the Fund in certain markets such as a strong increasing market or a “v-shaped” market. A “v-shaped” market is characterized by a sharp market sell-off followed by a strong market rally that retraces such sell-off, which could cause the Fund to be invested in the underlying market when it declines or to be uninvested when the underlying market appreciates. The constraints of the risk management model may result in underperformance, may limit the Fund’s ability to participate in rising markets and may increase transaction costs. The Fund’s performance may be lower than similar funds that do not use a risk management strategy. Any one of these factors could impact the success of the risk management strategy, and the Fund may not perform as expected. Milliman seeking to manage currency risk could result in losses if currencies do not perform as expected.
The Fund will use short or long futures on indexes to manage the Fund’s volatility. The Fund’s losses on such short futures positions could theoretically be unlimited as there is no limit as to how much the relevant index can appreciate in value.
Hedging Risk. The success of a hedging strategy cannot be guaranteed. Effective hedging requires correctly assessing the degree of correlation between the performance of the instruments used in the hedging strategy and the performance of the investments in the portfolio being hedged, as well as continual recalculation, readjustment, and execution of hedges in an efficient and timely manner. For example, futures contract short positions may not provide an effective hedge because changes in futures contract prices may not
14
track those of the underlying securities or indices they are intended to hedge. Imperfect correlation may prevent the portfolio from achieving the intended hedge or expose the Fund to risk of loss. In addition, it is not possible to hedge fully or perfectly against any risk, and hedging entails its own costs.
Limited Portfolio Holdings Risk. Because the Fund may hold large positions in a small number of Underlying Funds, an increase or decrease in the value of such securities may have a greater impact on the Fund’s value and total return.
Liquidity Risk. Liquidity risk is the risk that the Fund cannot meet requests to redeem Fund-issued shares without significantly diluting the remaining investors’ interest in the Fund. This may result when portfolio holdings may be difficult to value and may be difficult to sell, both at the time or price desired. Liquidity risk may result from increased shareholder redemptions in the Fund. An increase in shareholder redemptions could require the Fund to sell securities at reduced prices, which would in turn reduce the value of the Fund. In addition, the market for a particular holding may become illiquid due to adverse market or economic conditions, completely apart from any specific conditions in the market for a particular security. Actions by governments and regulators may have the effect of reducing market liquidity, market resiliency and money supply, such as through higher interest rates, tighter financial regulations and proposals related to open-end fund liquidity that may prevent the Fund from participating in certain markets. Liquidity risk also refers to the risk that the Fund may be required to hold additional cash or sell other investments in order to obtain cash to close out derivatives or meet the liquidity demands that derivatives can create to make payments of margin, collateral, or settlement payments to counterparties. The Fund may have to sell a security at a disadvantageous time or price to meet such obligations. The Fund’s liquidity risk management program requires that the Fund invest no more than 15% of its net assets in illiquid investments.
Management and Organization
The Board of Trustees (the “Board”) of the Fund oversees the business and affairs of the Fund, and has the power to amend the Fund’s bylaws, to declare and pay dividends, and to generally oversee the Fund’s operations.
Manager of Managers Structure: The Fund operates under a “manager-of-managers” structure. LFI (defined below as the Fund’s investment adviser) has received an SEC exemptive order that permits it, subject to approval of the Board – and without the approval of shareholders – to: (i) select a new sub-adviser or additional sub-advisers for the Fund; (ii) replace a sub-adviser; (iii) enter into new sub-advisory agreements and/or modify the terms of any existing sub-advisory agreement; and (iv) allocate and reallocate the Fund’s assets among LFI and one or more sub-advisers. (The order does not apply to the hiring of a sub-adviser that is an affiliate of LFI.) If a new sub-adviser is hired for the Fund, the Fund will provide its shareholders with information about the new sub-adviser within 90 days of hiring. LFI has the ultimate responsibility (subject to Board oversight) to oversee, monitor and evaluate a sub-adviser’s performance and to recommend the hiring, termination and replacement of a sub-adviser.
Investment Adviser and Sub-Advisers: Lincoln Financial Investments Corporation (“LFI”) is the Fund’s investment adviser. LFI is a registered investment adviser and wholly-owned subsidiary of Lincoln Life. LFI’s address is 150 N. Radnor-Chester Road, Radnor, PA 19087. LFI (or its predecessors) has served as an investment adviser to mutual funds for over 30 years. As of December 31, 2025, LFI had more than $121.1 billion in assets under management.
Lincoln Life is an insurance company organized under Indiana law and is a wholly-owned subsidiary of Lincoln National Corporation (“LNC”). LNC is a publicly-held insurance holding company organized under Indiana law. Through its subsidiaries, LNC provides insurance and financial services nationwide.
The Fund has entered into an Investment Management Agreement with LFI. The Fund operates as a “fund of funds.” In this structure, the Fund invests in other mutual funds, which, in turn, invest directly in portfolio securities. The expenses associated with investing in a fund of funds are generally higher than those for funds that do not invest primarily in other mutual funds because shareholders indirectly pay for a portion of the fees and expenses charged at the underlying fund level. Additionally, LFI may hire one or more sub-advisers who are responsible for the day-to-day investment management of the Fund or the Fund’s risk management strategy. The sub-advisers are paid by LFI from its management fee.
A description of LFI (including the effective advisory fee rate for the most recently completed fiscal year), the Fund’s sub-advisers and the portfolio managers are shown below. The Fund’s statement of additional information (“SAI”) provides additional information about the portfolio managers’ compensation, other accounts managed by the portfolio managers, and the portfolio managers’ ownership of Fund shares.
| Adviser |
LFI (aggregate advisory fee paid to LFI for the fiscal year ended December 31, 2025 was 0.24% of the Fund's average net assets, net of advisory fee waivers). |
| LFI Portfolio Managers |
Jay Shearon, Alex Zeng and Lu Fan are responsible for determining the allocation to, and oversight of, the Fund’s sub-adviser. |
15
| |
Jay Shearon is a Portfolio Manager, Vice President, Managing Director and Team Lead for Multi-Asset strategies within LFI. Mr. Shearon joined LFI in 2015 and is a member of LFI’s Investment Committee, Asset Allocation Committee, and Derivatives Committee, among others. Prior to joining LFI, Mr. Shearon was a Senior Portfolio Manager and Executive Director for Morgan Stanley’s Portfolio Advisory Services team and director of the Custom Investment Outsourcing program. Mr. Shearon holds a B.S.B.A. in finance from Shippensburg University and an M.B.A. in finance from the University of Delaware. |
| |
Alex Zeng, Ph.D., CFA, CAIA, is a Portfolio Manager, Vice President and Managing Director of LFI. Mr. Zeng joined LFI in 2014 and is a member of LFI’s Investment Committee, Asset Allocation Committee, Derivatives Committee, Risk Committee, and Operating Committee, among others. Prior to joining LFI, Mr. Zeng worked on quantitative research portfolio management and analytics for global equity markets for a registered investment adviser from 2011 to 2014. Mr. Zeng holds a B.S. and M.S. in Civil Engineering from Tsinghua University in Beijing, China, and a Ph.D. in Engineering from the University of Maryland, College Park. He is a Chartered Financial Analyst® (CFA) Charterholder and a Chartered Alternative Investment Analyst® (CAIA) Charterholder. |
| |
Lu Fan, CFA, Assistant Vice President & Senior Director, joined Lincoln Financial Group in 2016 and is a member of the Investment Committee, Asset Allocation Committee, Derivatives Committee, and Best Execution Committee. In her current role, Ms. Fan is responsible for providing leadership and functional expertise for continually enhancing the strategy and process of LFI’s global multi-asset risk managed portfolios. Ms. Fan has over 12 years of investment and quantitative research experience. Prior to the current role, she was a quantitative strategist in Market Risk Management team of Lincoln Financial. Prior to joining Lincoln, Ms. Fan was an investment strategist in FIS Group, where she performed portfolio construction and quantitative research for global tactical strategy. Ms. Fan received her Master of Science Degree in Finance from Temple University, and Bachelor of science degree from University of Science and Technology of China. She is a CFA charterholder and is a member of the CFA Society of Philadelphia. |
| Sub-Adviser |
BlackRock Investment Management, LLC (“BlackRock”) is located at 100 Bellevue Parkway, Wilmington, DE 19809. BlackRock is an indirect, wholly-majority-owned subsidiary of BlackRock, Inc., one of the largest publicly traded investment management firms in the United States with approximately $508 billion in assets under management as of December 31, 2025. |
| BlackRock Portfolio Managers |
Suzanne Ly and Peter Tsang are responsible for the day-to-day management of the Fund's risk management overlay. |
| |
Suzanne Ly, CFA, FRM, is Global Head of Model Portfolio Management within the Multi-Asset Strategies & Solutions group. The Multi-Asset Strategies & Solutions (MASS) team is the investment group at the heart of BlackRock's portfolio construction, asset allocation, and active management ecosystem. MASS draws on the full toolkit of BlackRock's index, factor, and alpha-seeking investment capabilities to deliver precise investment outcomes and cutting-edge alpha insights. MASS constructs active asset allocation strategies and whole portfolio solutions across a wide spectrum of commingled funds, separate accounts, model portfolios, and outsourcing solutions in the wealth and institutional channels. Suzanne went through the Grande Ecole system in France and earned a graduate degree in Business Management from ESSEC Business School. |
| |
Peter Tsang, CAIA, is a Director who leads the US Index Asset Allocation team within the MASS PM team for Multi-Asset Strategies & Solutions. The Multi-Asset Strategies & Solutions (MASS) team is the investment group at the heart of BlackRock's portfolio construction, asset allocation, and active management ecosystem. MASS draws on the full toolkit of BlackRock’s index, factor, and alpha-seeking investment capabilities to deliver precise investment outcomes and cutting-edge alpha insights. MASS constructs active asset allocation strategies and whole portfolio solutions across a wide spectrum of commingled funds, separate accounts, model portfolios, and outsourcing solutions in the wealth and institutional channels. Mr. Tsang earned a BA degree in Economics from UC Berkeley and an MBA degree from Berkeley Haas. |
| Sub-Adviser |
Milliman Financial Risk Management LLC (“Milliman”) is located at 71 S. Wacker Drive, 31st Floor, Chicago, IL 60606. Milliman is a wholly-owned subsidiary of Milliman, Inc. Milliman provides investment advisory, hedging, and consulting services on approximately $224.5 billion in assets as of December 31, 2025. |
| Milliman Portfolio Managers |
Jeff Greco, Adam Schenck, Maria Schiopu and Ruby Shi are responsible for the day-to-day management of the Fund's risk management overlay. |
16
| |
Jeff Greco, FRM, joined Milliman in 2012 and is Senior Director – Head of Strategy Research with Milliman. Prior to joining Milliman, Mr. Greco was a risk management professional at Citadel LLC. He also serves as an adjunct professor for the University of Chicago’s Financial Mathematics graduate program. Mr. Greco holds a B.S. and M.S. in mathematics from Carnegie Mellon University and a M.S. in applied mathematics from the University of Chicago. |
| |
Adam Schenck, CFA, joined Milliman in 2005 and is Managing Director, Director of Portfolio Management. Mr. Schenck holds a B.S. in mathematics and computer science from Eckerd College and a M.S. in financial mathematics from The University of Chicago. He is a Chartered Financial Analyst® (CFA) Charterholder. |
| |
Maria Schiopu, CFA, joined Milliman in 2013 and is Senior Director – Head of Portfolio Management with Milliman. Ms. Schiopu holds a B.A. in Mathematics from Northwestern University. She is a Chartered Financial Analyst® (CFA) Charterholder. |
| |
Ruby Shi, Portfolio Manager, joined Milliman in 2018. Ms. Shi is responsible for the oversight of the risk management strategy, including the strategy research and model development, of the Lincoln funds. Prior to 2018, Ms. Shi worked as an Assistant Director, Sr Financial Engineer, for Moody's Analytics and was involved in U.S. residential mortgage back securities valuation and analytics. Ms. Shi holds an M.P.S in Applied Statistics, Cornell University, a B.S. in Actuarial Science, Curtin University of Technology, and a B.S. in Information and Computer Science, Zhongnan University of Economics and Law. She is also an associate of the Society of Actuaries (ASA) and a member of the American Academy of Actuaries (MAAA). |
A discussion regarding the basis for the Board's approval of the Fund's investment advisory and sub-advisory contracts will be available in the Fund's Form N-CSR for the period ended December 31, 2025.
Pricing of Fund Shares
The Fund determines its net asset value per share (“NAV”) as of close of regular trading on the New York Stock Exchange (“NYSE”) (normally 4:00 p.m. New York time, each business day). The Fund’s NAV is the value of a single Fund share. The Fund determines its NAV by adding the values of its portfolio securities and other assets, subtracting its liabilities, and dividing by the number of Fund shares outstanding.
An order for Fund shares received after the close of regular trading on the NYSE will be effected at the NAV determined on the next business day.
The Fund’s portfolio securities may be traded in other markets on days when the NYSE is closed. Therefore, the Fund’s NAV may fluctuate on days when you do not have access to the Fund to purchase or redeem shares.
The Fund typically values its assets based on “market price.” Market price for equities is typically the security’s last sale price on a national securities exchange or over-the-counter, and for debt securities is typically the mean between the bid and ask prices (or the price established by an independent pricing service). Certain short-term fixed income securities are valued based on “amortized cost.”
In certain circumstances, the Fund’s adviser, LFI, may value Fund portfolio securities at “fair value” in accordance with applicable fair value procedures. The fair value of portfolio securities may differ from quoted or published prices for the same securities. Fair value pricing involves subjective judgments, and a security’s fair value price may be materially different than the value realized upon the sale of that security. LFI’s role with respect to fair valuation may present certain conflicts of interest given the impact valuations can have on Fund performance.
The Fund anticipates using fair value pricing for securities primarily traded on U.S. exchanges only under very limited circumstances, such as the unexpected early closing of the exchange on which a security is traded or suspension of trading in the security. The Fund may use fair value pricing more frequently for securities primarily traded in non-U.S. markets, if applicable, because, among other things, most foreign markets close well before the Fund determines its NAV. The earlier close of these non-U.S. markets gives rise to the possibility that significant events, including broad market moves, may have occurred in the interim. If the Fund invests in foreign equity securities, it may frequently value many of those securities using fair value prices based on third-party vendor modeling tools to the extent available.
To the extent the Fund invests in one or more mutual funds, the Fund values underlying mutual fund shares at their respective NAVs. For more information regarding the determination of a mutual fund’s NAV, including when the mutual fund will fair value its portfolio securities and the effects of using fair value pricing, see the mutual fund’s prospectus and SAI.
Purchase and Sale of Fund Shares
Fund shares are available as underlying investment options for variable life insurance and variable annuity products issued by The Lincoln National Life Insurance Company (“Lincoln Life”), Lincoln Life & Annuity Company of New York (“LNY”), and unaffiliated insurance companies. These insurance companies are the record owners of the separate accounts holding the Fund’s shares. You do
17
not buy, sell or exchange Fund shares directly – you choose investment options through your variable annuity contract or variable life insurance policy. The insurance companies then cause the separate accounts to purchase and redeem Fund shares according to the investment options you choose. Fund shares also may be available for investment by certain funds of the Lincoln Variable Insurance Products Trust.
The Fund sells and redeems its shares, without charge, at their NAV next determined after the Fund or its agent receives a purchase or redemption request. The value of Fund shares redeemed may be more or less than original cost.
The Fund normally pays for shares redeemed within seven days after the Fund receives the redemption request. However, the Fund may suspend redemptions or postpone payments for any period when (a) the NYSE closes for other than weekends and holidays; (b) the SEC restricts trading on the NYSE; (c) the SEC determines that an emergency exists, so that the Fund’s disposal of investment securities, or determination of NAV is not reasonably practicable; or (d) the SEC permits, by order, for the protection of Fund shareholders.
The Fund typically expects to pay redemption proceeds using holdings of cash in the Fund’s portfolio, or using the proceeds from sales of portfolio securities. To a lesser extent, the Fund also may use borrowing arrangements to meet redemption requests. Borrowing is typically expected to be used only during stressed or abnormal market conditions, when an increased portion of the Fund’s holdings may be comprised of less liquid investments, or during emergency or temporary circumstances.
Market Timing
Frequent, large, or short-term purchases, redemptions or transfers such as those associated with “market timing” transactions, may adversely affect the Fund and its investment returns. These transactions may dilute the value of Fund shares, interfere with the efficient management of the Fund's portfolio, and increase the Fund's brokerage and administrative costs. As a result, the Fund strongly discourages such trading activity. To protect the Fund and its shareholders from potentially harmful trading activity, the Board has approved certain market timing policies and procedures (the “Market Timing Procedures”). The Board may revise the Market Timing Procedures at any time and without prior notice.
Investors may seek to exploit delays between a change in the value of a Fund's portfolio holdings, and the time when that change is reflected in the NAV of the Fund's shares by purchasing or redeeming shares at NAVs that do not reflect appropriate fair value prices. This risk is more pronounced for funds investing in overseas markets, due to the time differential in pricing between U.S. and overseas markets, and thinly traded securities. The Fund seeks to deter and prevent this activity by the appropriate use of “fair value” pricing of the Fund's portfolio securities.
The Fund seeks to monitor shareholder account activities in order to detect and prevent excessive and disruptive trading practices. The Fund and LFI each reserve the right to reject, restrict, or refuse any purchase order (including exchanges) from any investor, if, in the judgment of the Fund or LFI, the transaction may adversely affect the Fund or its shareholders.
The Fund has entered into agreements with each insurance company that holds Fund shares to help detect and prevent market timing. Under the agreements, an insurance company may be required to (i) provide certain identifying and account information regarding contract owners who invest in Fund shares through the omnibus account; and (ii) restrict further purchases or exchanges of Fund shares by a contract owner whom the Fund has identified as a market timer.
The Fund also may rely on frequent trading policies established by such insurance companies. If the Fund detects potential market timing, the Fund will contact the applicable insurance company and may ask the insurance company to take additional action, if appropriate, based on the particular circumstances.
Fund investors seeking to engage in market timing may deploy a variety of strategies to avoid detection. In addition, Fund shares may be held through omnibus accounts, which generally do not identify trading activity of Fund investors on an individual basis. As a result of these and other operational or technological limitations, there is no guarantee that the Fund will be able to identify or prevent market timing. Moreover, the identification of Fund investors determined to engage in transactions that may adversely affect the Fund or its investors involves judgments that are inherently subjective.
Insurance company sponsors of your contract may impose transfer limitations and other limitations designed to curtail market timing. Please refer to the prospectus and SAI for your variable annuity or variable life contract for details.
Portfolio Holdings Disclosure
A description of the Fund's policies and procedures with respect to the Fund's disclosure of portfolio securities is available in the Fund's SAI.
Share Classes and Distribution Arrangements
The Fund offers two classes of shares: Standard Class and Service Class. The two classes are identical, except that Service Class shares are subject to a distribution (Rule 12b-1) fee which has been adopted pursuant to a distribution and service plan (the “Plan”). Under the Plan, Service Class shares pay annual amounts not exceeding 0.35% of the average daily net assets of the Service Class
18
shares of the Fund. The Fund offers shares to insurance companies for allocation to certain of their variable contracts. The Fund pays its principal underwriter, Lincoln Financial Distributors, Inc. (“LFD”), out of the assets of the Service Class, for activities primarily intended to sell Service Class shares or variable contracts offering Service Class shares. LFD pays third parties for these sales activities pursuant to written agreements with such parties. The 12b-1 fee may be increased by the Fund's Board up to the maximum allowed by the Plan, without shareholder approval, in accordance with the Plan's terms. These fees are paid out of the Service Class assets on an ongoing basis, and over time will increase the cost of your investment and may cost you more than other types of sales charges.
LFI and its affiliates, including LFD, and/or the Fund's sub-advisers or underlying funds, if any, or their affiliates, may pay additional compensation (at their own expense and not as a Fund expense) to certain affiliated or unaffiliated brokers, dealers, or other financial intermediaries (collectively, “financial intermediaries”) in connection with the sale or retention of Fund shares or insurance products that contain the Fund and/or shareholder servicing (“distribution assistance”). The level of payments made to a qualifying financial intermediary in any given year will vary. To the extent permitted by SEC and Financial Industry Regulatory Authority rules and other applicable laws and regulations, LFD may pay or allow its affiliates to pay other promotional incentives or payments to financial intermediaries.
If a mutual fund sponsor, distributor or other party makes greater payments to your financial intermediary for distribution assistance than sponsors or distributors of other mutual funds make to your financial intermediary, your financial intermediary and its salespersons may have a financial incentive to favor sales of shares of the mutual fund complex making the higher payments over another mutual fund complex or over other investment options. You should consult with your financial intermediary and review carefully the disclosure relating to the compensation your financial intermediary receives in connection with the investment products your financial intermediary recommends or sells to you. In certain instances, the payments could be significant and may cause a conflict of interest for your financial intermediary. Any such payments to a financial intermediary will not change the Fund's NAV, or the price of its shares, as such payments are not made from Fund assets.
For more information, please see the SAI.
Distribution Policy
The Fund intends to qualify as a regulated investment company under the Internal Revenue Code, which requires annual distributions of net investment income and net capital gains to shareholders – the insurance company variable accounts. The Fund may distribute net realized capital gains only once a year. Net investment income and capital gain distributions will be automatically reinvested in additional Fund shares of the same class at no charge, and are reflected in variable account values.
Contract owners ordinarily are not taxed on Fund distributions. In general, contract owners are taxed only on Fund amounts they withdraw from their variable accounts. See the “Tax Information” section.
19
Financial Highlights
The financial highlights tables are intended to help you understand the financial performance of the Fund's Standard and Service Class shares for the past five years or since their inception (as applicable). Certain information reflects financial results for a single Fund share. Total investment return is based on the change in net asset value of a share during the period and assumes reinvestment of dividends and distributions at net asset value. The total return in these financial highlights reflects the return set forth in the Fund’s most recent annual report, which may differ slightly from the total return in the bar chart and table in this prospectus as a result of adjustments for financial reporting purposes. Total investment return reflects any waivers and reimbursement of expenses by the Adviser, as applicable. If this is the case, performance would have been lower had the expense limitation not been in effect. This table does not reflect any variable contract expenses. If variable contract expenses were included, the expenses shown would be higher. The information in the table was derived from the financial statements which have been audited by Ernst & Young LLP, the Fund’s Independent Registered Public Accounting Firm, whose report, along with the Fund’s financial statements, is included in the Form N-CSR dated December 31, 2025, which is available upon request.
| |
LVIP BlackRock Global Growth ETF Allocation Managed Risk Fund Standard Class | ||||
| |
Year Ended | ||||
| |
12/31/25 |
12/31/24 |
12/31/23 |
12/31/22 |
12/31/21 |
| Net asset value, beginning of period |
$ 12.735 |
$ 11.749 |
$ 10.747 |
$ 13.578 |
$ 12.586 |
| Income (loss) from investment opera- tions: |
|
|
|
|
|
| Net investment income1 |
0.296 |
0.281 |
0.242 |
0.182 |
0.161 |
| Net realized and unrealized gain (loss) |
1.122 |
1.030 |
1.014 |
(2.429) |
1.426 |
| Total from investment operations |
1.418 |
1.311 |
1.256 |
(2.247) |
1.587 |
| Less dividends and distributions from: |
|
|
|
|
|
| Net investment income |
(0.295) |
(0.296) |
(0.254) |
(0.181) |
(0.171) |
| Net realized gain |
(0.309) |
(0.029) |
— |
(0.403) |
(0.424) |
| Total dividends and distributions |
(0.604) |
(0.325) |
(0.254) |
(0.584) |
(0.595) |
| Net asset value, end of period |
$ 13.549 |
$ 12.735 |
$ 11.749 |
$ 10.747 |
$ 13.578 |
| Total return2 |
11.17% |
11.17% |
11.68% |
(16.52%) |
12.69% |
| Ratios and supplemental data: |
|
|
|
|
|
| Net assets, end of period (000 omitted) |
$66,893 |
$60,575 |
$54,324 |
$47,102 |
$51,501 |
| Ratio of expenses to average net assets3 |
0.32% |
0.32% |
0.32% |
0.31% |
0.30% |
| Ratio of expenses to average net assets prior to expenses waived/reimbursed3 |
0.33% |
0.33% |
0.33% |
0.32% |
0.31% |
| Ratio of net investment income to average net assets |
2.22% |
2.23% |
2.16% |
1.55% |
1.21% |
| Ratio of net investment income to average net assets prior to expenses waived/ reimbursed |
2.21% |
2.22% |
2.15% |
1.54% |
1.20% |
| Portfolio turnover |
7% |
6% |
4% |
5% |
6% |
| 1 |
The average shares outstanding method has been applied for per share information. |
| 2 |
Total return is based on the change in net asset value of a share during the period and assumes reinvestment of dividends and distributions at net asset value. Total return reflects waivers and/or reimbursements, if applicable, by the manager. Performance would have been lower had the waivers and/or reimbursements not been in effect. Total return does not include fees, charges, or expenses imposed by the variable annuity and life insurance contracts for which the Fund serves as an underlying investment vehicle. If total return had taken these into account, performance would have been lower. |
| 3 |
Expense ratios do not include expenses of the Underlying Funds in which the Fund invests. |
20
| |
LVIP BlackRock Global Growth ETF Allocation Managed Risk Fund Service Class | ||||
| |
Year Ended | ||||
| |
12/31/25 |
12/31/24 |
12/31/23 |
12/31/22 |
12/31/21 |
| Net asset value, beginning of period |
$ 12.717 |
$ 11.731 |
$ 10.732 |
$ 13.557 |
$ 12.569 |
| Income (loss) from investment operations: |
|
|
|
|
|
| Net investment income1 |
0.248 |
0.236 |
0.202 |
0.141 |
0.114 |
| Net realized and unrealized gain (loss) |
1.118 |
1.028 |
1.009 |
(2.424) |
1.423 |
| Total from investment operations |
1.366 |
1.264 |
1.211 |
(2.283) |
1.537 |
| Less dividends and distributions from: |
|
|
|
|
|
| Net investment income |
(0.247) |
(0.249) |
(0.212) |
(0.139) |
(0.125) |
| Net realized gain |
(0.309) |
(0.029) |
— |
(0.403) |
(0.424) |
| Total dividends and distributions |
(0.556) |
(0.278) |
(0.212) |
(0.542) |
(0.549) |
| Net asset value, end of period |
$ 13.527 |
$ 12.717 |
$ 11.731 |
$ 10.732 |
$ 13.557 |
| Total return2 |
10.78% |
10.79% |
11.29% |
(16.81%) |
12.31% |
| Ratios and supplemental data: |
|
|
|
|
|
| Net assets, end of period (000 omitted) |
$387,428 |
$385,804 |
$393,684 |
$387,868 |
$500,084 |
| Ratio of expenses to average net assets3 |
0.67% |
0.67% |
0.67% |
0.66% |
0.65% |
| Ratio of expenses to average net assets prior to expenses waived/reimbursed3 |
0.68% |
0.68% |
0.68% |
0.67% |
0.66% |
| Ratio of net investment income to average net assets |
1.87% |
1.88% |
1.81% |
1.20% |
0.86% |
| Ratio of net investment income to average net assets prior to expenses waived/ reimbursed |
1.86% |
1.87% |
1.80% |
1.19% |
0.85% |
| Portfolio turnover |
7% |
6% |
4% |
5% |
6% |
| 1 |
The average shares outstanding method has been applied for per share information. |
| 2 |
Total return is based on the change in net asset value of a share during the period and assumes reinvestment of dividends and distributions at net asset value. Total return reflects waivers and/or reimbursements, if applicable, by the manager. Performance would have been lower had the waivers and/or reimbursements not been in effect. Total return does not include fees, charges, or expenses imposed by the variable annuity and life insurance contracts for which the Fund serves as an underlying investment vehicle. If total return had taken these into account, performance would have been lower. |
| 3 |
Expense ratios do not include expenses of the Underlying Funds in which the Fund invests. |
21
General Information
The use of the Fund by both annuity and life insurance variable accounts is called mixed funding. Due to differences in redemption rates, tax treatment, or other considerations, the interests of contract owners under the variable life accounts may conflict with those of contract owners under the variable annuity accounts. Violation of the federal tax laws by one variable account investing in the Fund could cause the contracts funded through another variable account to lose their tax-deferred status, unless remedial action was taken. The Fund's Board will monitor for any material conflicts and determine what action, if any, the Fund or a variable account should take.
A conflict could arise that requires a variable account to redeem a substantial amount of assets from the Fund. The redemption could disrupt orderly portfolio management to the detriment of those contract owners still investing in the Fund. Also, the Fund could determine that it has become so large that its size materially impairs investment performance. The Fund would then examine its options, which could include imposition of redemption fees or temporarily closing the Fund to new investors.
You can find additional information in the Fund’s SAI, which is on file with the SEC. The Fund incorporates its SAI, dated May 1, 2026, into its prospectus. The Fund will provide a free copy of its SAI upon request.
You can find detailed information about the Fund’s investments in the Fund’s annual and semi-annual reports to shareholders and in Form N-CSR. The annual report discusses the market conditions and investment strategies that significantly affected the Fund’s performance during its last fiscal year. In Form N-CSR, you will find the Fund’s annual and semi-annual financial statements. The Fund will provide a free copy of its annual and semi-annual report upon request.
The SAI, annual and semi-annual reports, and other information such as the Fund’s financial statements are available, free of charge, upon request. For an SAI, annual or semi-annual report or financial statements, either write The Lincoln National Life Insurance Company, P.O. Box 2340, Fort Wayne, Indiana 46801, or by calling toll-free 866-436-8717. You may also call this number to request other information about the Fund, or to make inquiries. The Fund's SAI and annual and semi-annual reports, and other information such as the Fund’s financial statements are available, free of charge, at https://www.lincolnfinancial.com/lvip.
You can also get reports and other information about the Fund on the EDGAR Database on the SEC’s Internet site at https://www.sec.gov. You can get copies of this information, after paying a duplicating fee, by electronic request at the following e-mail address: [email protected].
SEC File No: 811-08090
22
Lincoln Variable Insurance Products Trust
LVIP BlackRock U.S. Growth ETF Allocation Managed Risk Fund
Standard and Service Class
1301 South Harrison Street
Fort Wayne, Indiana 46802
Fort Wayne, Indiana 46802
Prospectus May 1, 2026, as amended June 9, 2026
LVIP BlackRock U.S. Growth ETF Allocation Managed Risk Fund (the “Fund”) is a series of the Lincoln Variable Insurance Products Trust (the “Trust”). Shares of the Fund are currently offered only to separate accounts that fund variable annuity and variable life insurance contracts (“variable accounts”) of The Lincoln National Life Insurance Company, its affiliates, and third-party insurance companies. You cannot purchase shares of the Fund directly. This prospectus discusses the information about the Fund that you should know before investing.
We have not authorized any dealer, salesperson, or any other person to give any information, or to make any representation, other than what this prospectus states.
| |
Standard Class |
Service Class |
| Management Fee |
|
|
| Distribution and/or Service (12b-1) Fees |
|
|
| Other Expenses |
|
|
| Acquired Fund Fees and Expenses (AFFE) |
|
|
| Total Annual Fund Operating Expenses (including AFFE)1 |
|
|
| Less Fee Waiver2 |
( |
( |
| Total Annual Fund Operating Expenses (After Fee Waiver) |
|
|
1
2
| |
1 year |
3 years |
5 years |
10 years |
| Standard Class |
$ |
$ |
$ |
$ |
| Service Class |
$ |
$ |
$ |
$ |
LVIP BlackRock U.S. Growth ETF Allocation Managed Risk Fund1
2LVIP BlackRock U.S. Growth ETF Allocation Managed Risk Fund
Principal Risks
LVIP BlackRock U.S. Growth ETF Allocation Managed Risk Fund3
4LVIP BlackRock U.S. Growth ETF Allocation Managed Risk Fund
| |
|
|
| |
|
|
LVIP BlackRock U.S. Growth ETF Allocation Managed Risk Fund5
| |
1 year |
5 years |
Since Inception |
Inception Date |
| LVIP BlackRock U.S. Growth ETF Allocation Managed Risk Fund – Standard Class |
|
|
|
|
| LVIP BlackRock U.S. Growth ETF Allocation Managed Risk Fund – Service Class |
|
|
|
|
| Morningstar US Core Bond Index (reflects no deductions for fees, expenses or taxes) |
|
- |
|
|
| BlackRock U.S. Growth ETF Alloc Composite1 (reflects no deductions for fees, expenses or taxes) |
|
|
|
|
1
Investment Adviser and Sub-Advisers
Investment Adviser: Lincoln Financial Investments Corporation (“LFI”)
Investment Sub-Adviser: BlackRock Investment Management, LLC (“BlackRock”)
Investment Sub-Adviser: Milliman Financial Risk Management LLC (“Milliman”)
Portfolio Managers
| LFI Portfolio Managers |
Company Title |
Experience with Fund |
| Jay Shearon |
Vice President and Managing Director |
Since May 2017 |
| Alex Zeng, Ph.D., CFA, CAIA |
Vice President and Managing Director |
Since May 2017 |
| Lu Fan, CFA |
Assistant Vice President and Senior Director |
Since May 2022 |
| BlackRock Portfolio Managers |
Company Title |
Experience with Fund |
| Suzanne Ly, CFA, FRM |
Managing Director |
Since January 2025 |
| Peter Tsang |
Director |
Since January 2025 |
| Milliman Portfolio Managers |
Company Title |
Experience with Fund |
| Jeff Greco, FRM |
Senior Director – Head of Strategy Research |
Since May 2016 |
| Adam Schenck, CFA |
Managing Director, Head of Fund Services |
Since May 2016 |
| Maria Schiopu, CFA |
Senior Director and Head of Portfolio Management |
Since April 2021 |
| Ruby Shi |
Portfolio Manager |
Since August 2019 |
Purchase and Sale of Fund Shares
Fund shares are available as underlying investment options for variable life insurance and variable annuity products issued by The Lincoln National Life Insurance Company (“Lincoln Life”), Lincoln Life & Annuity Company of New York (“LNY”), and unaffiliated insurance companies. These insurance companies are the record owners of the separate accounts holding the Fund’s shares. You do not buy, sell or exchange Fund shares directly – you choose investment options through your variable annuity contract or variable life insurance policy. The insurance companies then cause the separate accounts to purchase and redeem Fund shares according to the investment options you choose. Fund shares also may be available for investment by certain funds of the Lincoln Variable Insurance Products Trust.
Tax Information
In general, contract owners are taxed only on Fund amounts they withdraw from their variable accounts. Contract owners should consult their contract Prospectus for more information on the federal income tax consequences to them regarding their indirect investment in the Fund. Contract owners also may wish to consult with their own tax advisors as to the tax consequences of investments in variable contracts and the Fund, including application of state and local taxes.
6LVIP BlackRock U.S. Growth ETF Allocation Managed Risk Fund
Payments to Broker-Dealers and other Financial Intermediaries
Shares of the Fund are available only through the purchase of variable contracts issued by certain life insurance companies. Parties related to the Fund (such as the Fund's principal underwriter or investment adviser) may pay such insurance companies (or their related companies) for the sale of Fund shares and related services. These payments may create a conflict of interest and may influence the insurance company to include the Fund as an investment option in its variable contracts. Such insurance companies (or their related companies) may pay broker-dealers or other financial intermediaries (such as banks) for the sale and retention of variable contracts that offer Fund shares. These payments may create a conflict of interest by influencing the broker-dealers or other financial intermediaries to recommend variable contracts that offer Fund shares. The prospectus or other disclosure documents for the variable contracts may contain additional information about these payments, if any. Ask your salesperson or visit your financial intermediary's website for more information.
LVIP BlackRock U.S. Growth ETF Allocation Managed Risk Fund7
Additional Information about the Fund
Investment Objective and Principal Investment Strategies
The investment objective of the Fund is to seek a balance between current income and growth of capital, with a greater emphasis on growth of capital. The objective is non-fundamental and may be changed without shareholder approval.
The Fund operates under a “fund of funds” structure. The Fund, under normal circumstances, invests substantially all of its assets in iShares exchange-traded funds (“Underlying ETFs”) or financial instruments that provide exposure to such Underlying ETFs. The Underlying ETFs, in turn, invest in domestic equity securities (stocks) and/or domestic fixed income securities (bonds). The Fund, under normal circumstances, through the Underlying ETFs, invests at least 80% of its assets in a portfolio of investments that provides exposure to U.S. securities. The Underlying ETF strategy is sub-advised by BlackRock Investment Management, LLC (“BlackRock”). The Underlying ETFs are managed by BlackRock Fund Advisors.
The Fund also seeks to stabilize its overall portfolio volatility and reduce downside exposure with a risk management strategy. This is a type of risk management sometimes referred to as an “overlay” because the risk management portion of the portfolio supplements the Fund’s main investment portfolio.
Underlying ETF Allocation Strategy. Under normal circumstances, approximately 70% of the Fund’s Underlying ETF assets are invested primarily in domestic equity securities (stocks) and approximately 30% of the Fund’s Underlying ETF assets are invested primarily in domestic fixed income securities (bonds).
BlackRock develops the Fund’s asset allocation strategy based on the Fund’s investment objective. The Fund allocates a substantial portion of its assets in Underlying Funds employing a passive investment style (i.e., index funds) or a multi-factor style. The Fund’s largest allocation is to Underlying ETFs that invest primarily in domestic equity securities, including securities of small- and medium-capitalization companies and those with growth and value characteristics. Small-capitalization companies generally include companies with market capitalizations similar to those within the Russell 2000® Index or a similar broad-based index, and medium-capitalization companies generally include companies with market capitalizations similar to those within the Russell MidCap® Index or a similar broad-based index.
A smaller allocation is made to Underlying ETFs that invest primarily in domestic fixed income securities, including mortgage-backed securities, high yield securities (otherwise known as “junk” bonds), and securities backed by the U.S. Treasury.
The financial instruments that are intended to provide exposure similar to the exposure to the Underlying ETFs may include, among other instruments, futures, options, swaps, structured notes and other derivatives. As a result of the Fund’s use of futures, options, swaps, structured notes and other derivatives, the Fund may also hold U.S. Treasury, short term, or other fixed income investments, including loans and notes to address regulatory requirements.
On at least an annual basis, the BlackRock will reassess and may make revisions in the Fund’s asset allocation strategy consistent with the Fund’s investment strategy and objective, including revising the weightings among the investments described above and adding or removing Underlying ETFs from the asset allocation strategy. The Adviser will also periodically rebalance the weightings in the Underlying ETFs to the current asset allocation strategy. In general, the Adviser does not anticipate making frequent changes in the asset allocation strategy and will not attempt to time the market. The Adviser uses various analytical tools and third-party research to construct the portfolio. The Underlying ETF selection is made based on the Fund’s particular asset allocation strategy, the Adviser’s desired asset class exposures, and the investment styles and performance of the Underlying ETFs. The Adviser also considers the portfolio characteristics and risk profile for each Underlying ETF over various periods and market environments to assess each Underlying ETF’s suitability as an investment for the Fund. The full list of underlying funds used by the Fund is included in the Fund’s annual and semi-annual reports and quarterly holdings disclosures.
Growth Stocks: Growth stocks are stocks of companies that appear to offer superior opportunities for growth of capital. Growth companies typically pay little or no dividends.
Value Stocks: Value stocks are stocks of companies that appear undervalued according to certain financial measurements of their intrinsic worth, such as price-to-earnings or price-to-book ratios. Value companies tend to have stock prices that are low relative to their earnings, dividends, assets, or other financial measures.
Fixed Income Investments (bonds): Investment grade bonds include securities issued and guaranteed by the U.S. and other governments, securities backed by mortgages, and other assets and securities that are rated Baa by Moody’s Investors Service or BBB- by Standard & Poor’s Corporation or are unrated but determined to be of equivalent quality by the Underlying ETFs’ investment adviser. Below investment grade bonds include high yield securities (otherwise known as “junk” bonds) and are rated to be of lower credit quality than investment grade bonds.
Risk Management Strategy. Milliman Financial Risk Management LLC (“Milliman” or “overlay manager”) implements the Fund’s the risk management strategy. Although up to 20% of the Fund’s assets may be used to implement the risk management strategy, under normal market conditions it is expected that less than 10% of the Fund’s assets will be used for the strategy. While the Adviser maintains overall responsibility for determining the maximum amount of the Fund’s assets which may be used in the risk management
8
strategy, Milliman will determine the specific amount of the Fund’s assets to be used on a daily basis. Milliman will be responsible for the day-to-day trading of assets within the risk management strategy as well as the maintenance of the model used in managing the strategy. The Adviser will remain responsible for the oversight of Milliman’s activities, including the approval of any significant changes to the model. As part of the risk management strategy, Milliman will invest the portion of Fund assets not invested in Underlying Funds in exchange-traded futures contracts, cash collateral to support these contracts and/or high-quality short-term money market investments. Milliman also may use interest rate futures as part of the risk management strategy.
The risk management strategy consists of using hedging instruments (short or long positions in exchange-traded futures contracts) to stabilize the Fund’s overall portfolio volatility and reduce the downside exposure of the Fund during significant market downturns. “Volatility” in this context is a statistical measurement of the frequency and level of changes in the Fund’s returns without regard to the direction of those changes. Volatility may result from rapid and dramatic price swings of securities held directly or indirectly by the Fund. Parameterization and implementation of the volatility forecasting model may be adjusted based upon changes in market conditions.
Milliman uses a proprietary model to monitor and forecast volatility and will adjust the level of exchange-traded futures contracts on that basis. Milliman also adjusts futures positions to realign individual hedges when the Adviser rebalances the portfolio’s asset allocation among Underlying Funds. A futures contract is an agreement between two parties to buy or sell a financial instrument for a set price on a future date. Futures contracts can be purchased or sold by the Fund for less than their contract value, allowing an efficient use of Fund assets for the risk management strategy. The risk management strategy is separate and distinct from any riders or features of your insurance contract.
Milliman selects individual futures contracts on indices of domestic and foreign markets that it believes are highly correlated to the Fund’s investment exposure. Milliman will primarily buy or sell (short) futures contracts on these indices to decrease the Fund’s aggregate economic exposure (from both Underlying Funds and exchange-traded futures) based upon Milliman’s evaluation of market volatility and downside market risk. Short futures contracts increase in value as domestic and/or foreign markets decline. Milliman will seek to hedge currency risks involved in the foreign futures contracts primarily through the use of exchange-traded currency futures contracts. In addition, under certain market conditions, Milliman may purchase or sell exchange-traded interest rate futures to manage interest rate risks in the portfolio. Interest rate futures may be used in an effort to control the volatility of the Fund’s returns and to synthetically earn a yield premium on the Fund’s cash holdings.
Even in periods of low volatility in the markets, Milliman will continue to use the hedging techniques designed to preserve gains in favorable market conditions and reduce losses in adverse market conditions. During or after severe market downturns, however, Milliman will look to harvest gains on the Fund’s short futures positions and the amount of short futures held by the Fund will then decrease. The amount of exchange-traded futures in the Fund will fluctuate daily based upon market conditions.
The Fund may be required to own cash or other liquid assets and post these assets with a broker as collateral to cover its obligation under the futures contracts. The Fund’s investment in these exchange-traded futures and their resulting costs could limit the upside participation of the Fund in strong, appreciating markets relative to unhedged funds. In situations of extreme market volatility, the short positions held in exchange-traded futures could potentially reduce the Fund’s net economic exposure to domestic and foreign securities to a substantial degree.
The Fund’s Board of Trustees may change the Fund’s investment strategies or policies in the interest of shareholders without a shareholder vote, unless those strategies or policies are designated as fundamental. The Fund may change its 80% policy of investing in a portfolio of investments that provides exposure to U.S. securities only upon 60 days' notice to shareholders.
Principal Risks
All mutual funds carry risk. Accordingly, loss of money is a risk of investing in the Fund. Because the Fund invests its assets in shares of Underlying Funds, the Fund indirectly owns the investments made by the Underlying Funds. By investing in the Fund, therefore, you indirectly assume the same types of risks as investing directly in the Underlying Funds. The Fund's investment performance is affected by each Underlying Fund's investment performance, and the Fund's ability to achieve its investment objective depends, in large part, on each Underlying Fund's ability to meet its investment objective. The following risks reflect the Fund's principal risks, which include the Underlying Funds' principal risks.
Market Risk. The value of portfolio investments may decline. As a result, your investment in the Fund may decline in value and you could lose money. A decline in value could result from, among other things, a negative development of the issuer of a security, an industry, a sector of the economy, or the overall securities market. In addition, the occurrence of geopolitical conflicts, war or terrorist activities could have adverse impacts on markets in various and unpredictable ways. For instance, war, terrorism, social unrest, recessions, supply chain disruptions, market manipulation, government defaults, government shutdowns, political changes, diplomatic developments, or the imposition of sanctions, tariffs, and other similar measures, public health emergencies (such as the spread of infectious diseases, pandemics and epidemics) and natural/environmental disasters can all negatively impact the securities markets, which could cause the Fund to lose value.
9
Stock/Equity Investing Risk. Stocks and other equities generally fluctuate in value more than bonds and may decline significantly over short time periods. Equity prices overall may decline because stock markets tend to move in cycles, with periods of rising and falling prices. Their value may decline due to general weakness or volatility in the stock markets or because of factors that affect a particular company or industry. Equity declines may result from, among other things, political, regulatory, market, economic and/or social developments affecting the relevant market(s). In addition, increased inflation, tightening monetary policy or interest rate increases may negatively affect many issuers, which could have an adverse effect on equity prices.
Fund of Funds Risk. The Fund bears all risks of an Underlying Fund’s investment strategies, including the risk that an Underlying Fund may not meet its investment objective, which may negatively affect the Fund’s performance. Additional fund of funds risk include:
•
Underlying Fund Expenses: Because the Fund owns shares of the Underlying Funds, shareholders of the Fund will indirectly pay a proportional share of the fees and expenses, including applicable management, administration and custodian fees, of the Underlying Funds in which the Fund invests. The Underlying Funds do not charge the Fund any front-end sales loads, contingent deferred sales charges, or Rule 12b-1 fees.
•
Investment Performance: The Fund’s investment performance is directly tied to the performance of its Underlying Funds. If one or more of the Underlying Funds fails to meet its investment objective, a Fund’s performance will be negatively affected. The Fund does not control the investments of Underlying Funds, which may have different investment objectives and may engage in investment strategies that the Fund would not engage in directly. The allocation of investments among the different sub-advisers managing Underlying Funds, with different styles and asset classes, may have a more significant effect on the performance of the Fund when one of these investments is performing more poorly than the other. The Underlying Funds selected by the Adviser for the Fund may underperform the market generally or other funds that could have been selected for the Fund. Investment decisions made by the Adviser may cause the Fund to incur losses or to miss profit opportunities on which it might otherwise have capitalized. The Adviser has, and may in the future, invest the Fund’s assets in Underlying Funds managed by a limited number of sub-advisers, including the Adviser. In such circumstances, the Fund’s performance could be substantially dependent on the performance of these sub-advisers and the Adviser. Similarly, the Adviser’s allocation of the Fund’s assets to a limited number of Underlying Funds may adversely affect the performance of the Fund, and, in such circumstances, it will be more sensitive to the performance and risks associated with those Underlying Funds and any investments in which such Underlying Funds focus. There can be no assurance that the Fund or any Underlying Fund will achieve its investment objective.
•
Asset Allocation: The ability of the Fund to achieve its investment objective depends upon the Adviser’s skill in determining the Fund’s strategic allocation to investment strategies and in selecting an optimal mix of Underlying Funds. The Fund is subject to different risks based on its actual allocation among asset classes and Underlying Funds. The Fund will be affected to varying degrees by stock and bond market risks, among others. The potential impact of the risks related to an asset class depends on the size of the Fund’s investment allocation to it. In addition, the Fund will be subject to those risks affecting the Underlying Funds, including the effects of business and regulatory developments that affect an Underlying Fund or the investment company industry generally as well as the possibility that the value of the underlying securities held by the Underlying Fund could decrease or the Underlying Fund’s portfolio could become illiquid. The liquidity of an Underlying Fund could also be limited as a result of large redemptions or repurchases, as applicable. There is no assurance that allocation decisions will result in the desired effects.
•
Strategy: The Adviser’s evaluations and allocations among asset classes and Underlying Funds may prove incorrect. Further, the Adviser may add or delete Underlying Funds or alter the Fund’s asset allocation at its discretion. A material change in the Underlying Funds selected or in asset allocation (or the lack thereof) could affect both the level of risk and the potential for gain or loss.
•
Limited Portfolio Holdings: Because the Fund may hold large positions in its Underlying Funds, changes in the value of those Underlying Funds’ shares can have an amplified effect on the Fund’s value and total return. Aggregation of Underlying Fund holdings may result in the indirect concentration of assets in a particular industry or group of industries, or in a single issuer, which may increase Fund volatility.
Issuer Risk. The prices of, and the income generated by, portfolio securities may decline in response to various factors directly related to the issuers of such securities. These factors may include reduced demand for an issuer’s goods or services, poor management performance, major litigation, investigations or other controversies related to the issuer, changes in the issuer’s financial conditions or credit rating, changes in government regulations affecting the issuer or its competitive environment, and strategic initiatives such as mergers, acquisitions or dispositions and the market response to any such initiatives.
Asset Allocation Risk. With an asset allocation strategy, the amount invested in various asset classes of securities may change over time. Asset allocation could result in an allocation to an underperforming asset class. For example, a fund may be over-weighted in equity securities when the stock market is falling and could underperform other funds that are not as heavily allocated to equities.
Active Management Risk. The portfolio investments are actively-managed, rather than tracking an index or rigidly following certain rules, which may negatively affect investment performance. Consequently, there is the risk that the methods and analyses, including models, tools and data, employed in this process may be flawed or incorrect and may not produce desired results. This could cause the Fund to lose value or its investment results to lag relevant benchmarks or other funds with similar objectives.
10
Passive Management Risk. Index funds invest in the securities of an index rather than actively selecting among securities. With an indexing strategy there is no attempt to manage volatility, use defensive strategies, or reduce the effects of any long-term period of poor investment performance. Index funds have costs and fees that an index does not have and therefore index funds will not match the performance of the benchmark index.
Concentration Risk. Investments that are concentrated in particular industries, sectors or types of investments may be subject to greater risks of adverse developments in such areas of focus than investments that are spread among a wider variety of industries, sectors or investments. Investments in a select group of securities can be subject to a greater risk of loss and may be more volatile than investments that are more diversified.
Investment Style Factors Risk. There can be no assurance that the multi-factor stock selection process of the Fund will enhance performance. Exposure to such investment factors may detract from performance in some market environments, perhaps for extended periods.
Value Stocks Risk. Value stocks tend to be inexpensive relative to their earnings or assets compared to other types of stocks, such as growth stocks. Value stocks can continue to be inexpensive for long periods of time, may not ever realize their potential value, and may even go down in price. Value stocks can react differently to issuer, political, market and economic developments than the market as a whole or other types of stocks. At times when the value investing style is out of favor, funds that invest in value stocks may underperform other equity funds that employ different investment styles.
Small- and Medium-Cap Company Risk. The value of securities issued by small- and medium-sized companies may be subject to more abrupt market movements and may involve greater risks than investments in larger companies. These less developed, lesser-known companies may experience greater risks than those normally associated with larger companies. This is due to the greater business risks of smaller size and limited product lines, markets, distribution channels, and financial and managerial resources. Historically, the price of small and medium capitalization companies has fluctuated more than the larger capitalization stocks included in the S&P 500® Index. The securities of companies with small and medium stock market capitalizations may trade less frequently and in limited volume. Small- and medium-sized companies also may have less certain prospects for growth and greater sensitivity to changing economic conditions. Small- and medium-sized companies also may be subject to interest rate risk, which is generally associated with fixed income securities, because these companies often borrow money to finance their operations; therefore, they may be adversely affected by rising interest rates.
Prices of small- and medium-sized company stocks may fluctuate independently of larger company stock prices. Small- and medium-sized company stocks may decline in price as large company stock prices rise, or rise in price as large company stock prices decline. Many factors may lead to this result, such as current and anticipated global economic conditions or changes in interest rates.
Growth Stocks Risk. Growth stocks, due to their relatively high market valuations, typically have been more volatile than value stocks. Growth stocks may not pay dividends, or may pay lower dividends, than value stocks and may be more adversely affected in a down market. The price of a growth stock may experience a larger decline on a forecast of lower earnings, a negative fundamental development, or an adverse market development. The growth style may, over time, go in and out of favor. At times when the growth investing style is out of favor, funds that invest in growth stocks may underperform other equity funds that employ different investment styles.
Exchange-Traded Fund (ETF) Risk. ETFs generally reflect the risks of owning the underlying securities they hold, although lack of liquidity in ETF shares could result in the price of the ETF being more volatile. The market price of ETF shares may deviate from an ETF’s net asset value, especially during periods of market volatility, which could result in investors paying significantly more, or less, for the ETF shares. Because ETF shares are exchange traded, trading may be halted due to market conditions or for reasons that, in the view of the exchange, make trading in shares inadvisable, such as extraordinary market volatility. Certain ETFs track the performance of an index. An imperfect correlation between an ETF’s portfolio securities and those in its index, rounding of prices, the timing of cash flows, the ETF’s size, changes to the index and regulatory requirements may cause tracking error, which is the divergence of an ETF’s performance from that of its underlying index. ETFs are subject to investment advisory and other expenses, which are indirectly paid by a fund that invests in ETFs.
Interest Rate Risk. When interest rates change, fixed income securities (i.e., debt obligations) generally will fluctuate in value. These fluctuations in value are greater for fixed income securities, as well as funds, with longer maturities or durations. Duration measures the sensitivity of a security’s price to changes in interest rates. This measure incorporates a security’s yield, maturity, and call features, among other factors. If, for example, the price of a security has a duration of five years, it would be expected that the price of that security would fall approximately five percent if interest rates rose by one percent.
In addition, when interest rates rise, certain obligations will be paid off more slowly than anticipated, causing the value of these obligations to fall. Also, proceeds from a current investment in fixed income securities, both interest payments and principal payments, may be reinvested in instruments that offer lower yields than the current investment due in part to market conditions and the interest rate environment at the time of reinvestment.
Numerous factors can cause interest rates to change, including, but not limited to, changes, or the anticipation of changes, to Federal Reserve central bank or government monetary policies and general economic conditions, which may exacerbate the risks associated with changing interest rates. The Federal Reserve, for example, may raise the federal funds rate as part of its efforts to address rising
11
interest rates. During periods of very low or negative interest rates, a Fund may be unable to maintain positive returns. Very low or negative rates may magnify interest rate risk. Changing interest rates, including rates that fall below zero, may have unpredictable effects on the markets, may result in heightened market volatility and may detract from the Fund’s ability to achieve its investment objective.
Credit Risk. Credit risk is the risk that the issuer of a debt obligation will be unable or unwilling to make interest or principal payments on time. Credit risk is often gauged by “credit ratings” assigned by nationally recognized statistical rating organizations (NRSROs). A decrease in an issuer’s credit rating may cause a decline in the value of the issuer’s debt obligations.
The issuer also may have increased interest payments, because an issuer with a lower credit rating generally has to pay a higher interest rate to borrow money. As a result, the issuer’s future earnings and profitability also could be negatively affected. This could further increase the credit risk associated with that debt obligation. Generally, credit risk is higher for corporate and foreign government debt obligations than for U.S. government securities, and higher still for debt rated below investment grade (high yield bonds).
In addition, credit ratings may not reflect the issuer’s current financial condition or events since the security was last rated by a rating agency. Credit ratings also may be influenced by rating agency conflicts of interest or based on historical data that are no longer applicable or accurate. Rising or high interest rates may deteriorate the credit quality of an issuer or counterparty, particularly if an issuer or counterparty faces challenges rolling or refinancing its obligations.
Prepayment/Call Risk. Debt securities are subject to prepayment risk when the issuer can “call” the security, or repay principal, in whole or in part, prior to the security’s maturity. When the Fund reinvests the prepayments of principal it receives, it may receive a rate of interest that is lower than the rate on the called security.
Mortgage-Backed Securities Risk. The value of mortgage-backed securities (commercial and residential) may fluctuate significantly in response to changes in interest rates. During periods of falling interest rates, underlying mortgages may be paid early, lowering the potential total return (pre-payment risk). During periods of rising interest rates, the rate at which the underlying mortgages are pre-paid may slow unexpectedly, causing the maturity of the mortgage-backed securities to increase and their value to decline (maturity extension risk). In either instance, the value of mortgage-backed securities may fluctuate more widely than the value of investment grade debt obligations in response to changes in interest rates.
Below Investment Grade (Junk Bond) Risk. Below investment grade bonds, otherwise known as “high yield” bonds or “junk” bonds, generally have a greater risk of principal loss than investment grade bonds. Below investment grade bonds are often considered speculative and involve significantly higher credit risk and liquidity risk. The value of these bonds may fluctuate more than the value of higher-rated debt obligations, and may decline significantly in periods of general economic difficulty or periods of rising interest rates and may be subject to negative perceptions of the junk bond markets generally and less secondary market liquidity. A liquid security market may not always exist for positions in below investment grade bonds. When secondary markets for these bonds are less liquid than the market for other types of securities, it may be more difficult to value the bonds because such valuation may require more research, and elements of judgments may play a greater role in the valuation because there is less reliable, objective data available. These bonds also are more likely to experience greater fluctuations in value due to changes in the issuer’s credit rating.
Derivatives Risk. Derivatives or other similar instruments (referred to collectively as “derivatives”), such as futures, forwards, options, swaps, structured securities and other instruments, are financial contracts whose value depends on, or is derived from, the value of an underlying asset, reference rate or index. Derivatives may involve costs and risks that are different from, or possibly greater than, the costs and risks associated with investing directly in securities and other traditional investments. Derivatives prices can be volatile, may correlate imperfectly with price of the applicable underlying asset, reference rate or index and may move in unexpected ways, especially in unusual market conditions, such as markets with high volatility or large market declines. Some derivatives are particularly sensitive to changes in interest rates. Further, losses could result if the counterparty to a transaction does not perform as promised. Derivatives that involve a small initial investment relative to the investment risk can magnify or otherwise increase investment losses. This is referred to as financial “leverage” due to the potential for greater investment loss. Derivatives are also subject to operational and legal risks.
The performance of a derivative generally largely depends on the performance of its underlying asset, reference rate or index. If using derivative instruments is unsuccessful, performance may be worse than if no derivatives were used. When used for hedging purposes, there is a risk, especially under extreme market conditions, that a derivative may provide no such hedging benefit. Additionally, there is no guarantee that a liquid market will exist for a derivative position or that a derivative position will be able to be terminated, particularly with respect to “over-the-counter” instruments (investments not traded on an exchange). If the Fund is unable to close out a position on an options or futures contract, for example, the Fund would remain subject to the risk of adverse price movements until the Fund is able to close out the position. Changes in the value of a derivative or other similar instrument may also create margin delivery or settlement payment obligations for the Fund. Furthermore, counterparties to over-the-counter derivative contracts present the same types of credit risk as issuers of fixed income securities, including bankruptcy or insolvency. Options and futures contracts are also subject to the creditworthiness of clearing organizations and exchanges. Futures and security options also are subject to the credit risk of futures commission merchants and broker-dealers, respectively. Derivatives can also be difficult to value, especially in declining markets.
12
Swap agreements may include equity, interest rate, index, total return, commodity, currency and credit default swaps. Swap agreements typically are contracts with a swap dealer, bank, or other institutional entity in which the parties agree to exchange the returns (or differentials in rates of return) earned or realized on a particular set dollar or currency value of predetermined investments or instruments. Currently, some, but not all, swap transactions are subject to central clearing. Non-cleared swap agreements, including credit default swaps, involve greater risks than cleared swaps, including illiquidity risk and counterparty risk. Certain non-cleared swaps are subject to margin requirements that mandate the posting and collection of minimum margin amounts, which is intended to reduce some of the risks associated with these instruments. Eventually many swaps may be centrally cleared and exchange-traded. Although central clearing is expected to decrease counterparty risk because it interposes the central clearinghouse as the counterparty in bilaterally negotiated contracts, central clearing will not make swap transactions risk-free.
The Commodity Futures Trading Commission (“CFTC”) and the various exchanges have established limits referred to as “speculative position limits” on the maximum net long or net short positions that any person may hold or control in a particular futures contract, option on futures contract, and in some cases, over-the-counter transaction that is economically equivalent to certain futures or options contracts on physical commodities. Trading limits are imposed on the number of contracts that any person may trade on a particular trading day. An exchange or the CFTC may order the liquidation of positions found to be in violation of these limits and may impose sanctions or restrictions.
Changes in regulation relating to the Fund’s use of derivatives and related instruments could potentially limit or impact the Fund’s ability to invest in derivatives, limit the Fund’s ability to employ certain strategies that use derivatives, and adversely affect the value or performance or derivatives and the Fund.
Futures Risk. A futures contract is considered a derivative because it derives its value from the price of the underlying security or financial index. Futures contracts may have the economic effect of creating financial leverage by creating additional investment exposure, as well as the potential for greater loss. Losses on futures may exceed the amount invested. There also may be imperfect or negative correlation between the price of the futures contracts and the price of the underlying securities. In addition, there are significant differences between the securities and futures markets that could result in an imperfect correlation between the markets, causing a given hedge not to achieve its objectives. The degree of imperfect correlation depends on several factors such as variations in speculative market demand for futures and differences between the financial instruments being hedged and the instruments underlying the standard contracts available for trading. A decision as to whether, when and how to hedge involves the exercise of skill and judgment, and even a well-conceived hedge may be unsuccessful to some degree because of market behavior or unexpected interest rate trends.
Futures exchanges may limit the amount of fluctuation permitted in certain futures contract prices during a single trading day. Once the daily limit has been reached, no more trades may be made on that day at a price beyond that limit. The daily limit governs only price movements but does not limit potential losses because the limit may work to prevent the liquidation of unfavorable positions.
There can be no assurance that a liquid market will exist at a time when a fund seeks to close out a futures position, and the Fund would remain obligated to meet margin requirements until the position is closed. In addition, there can be no assurance that an active secondary market will continue to exist.
Risk Management Strategy Risk. The success of the Fund’s risk management strategy depends in part on Milliman’s ability, as the overlay manager, to effectively and efficiently implement its risk forecasts and to manage the strategy for the Fund’s benefit. The risk management strategy may depend upon one or more of the overlay manager’s proprietary forecasting models and information and data from one or more third parties to support the proprietary forecasting models. There is no guarantee that the models or the data the models are based on will be accurate or that the Fund can achieve or maintain optimal risk targets. The Fund’s performance may be negatively impacted in certain underlying markets as a result of reliance on these models. In low volatility markets the risk management strategy may not mitigate losses. In addition, the overlay manager may not be able to effectively implement the risk management strategy (through the purchases of exchange-traded and/or interest rate futures) during times of rapidly and unpredictably changing markets, market disruptions, or extreme market events. Any errors in the data or inefficiency in implementation of the models could cause the Fund to underperform or lose more money than investing without the risk management strategy or to not realize potential gains. Even effective implementation of the models may result in underperformance by the Fund in certain markets such as a strong increasing market or a “v-shaped” market. A “v-shaped” market is characterized by a sharp market sell-off followed by a strong market rally that retraces such sell-off, which could cause the Fund to be invested in the underlying market when it declines or to be uninvested when the underlying market appreciates. The constraints of the risk management model may result in underperformance, may limit the Fund’s ability to participate in rising markets and may increase transaction costs. The Fund’s performance may be lower than similar funds that do not use a risk management strategy. Any one of these factors could impact the success of the risk management strategy, and the Fund may not perform as expected. Milliman seeking to manage currency risk could result in losses if currencies do not perform as expected.
The Fund will use short or long futures on indexes to manage the Fund’s volatility. The Fund’s losses on such short futures positions could theoretically be unlimited as there is no limit as to how much the relevant index can appreciate in value.
13
Hedging Risk. The success of a hedging strategy cannot be guaranteed. Effective hedging requires correctly assessing the degree of correlation between the performance of the instruments used in the hedging strategy and the performance of the investments in the portfolio being hedged, as well as continual recalculation, readjustment, and execution of hedges in an efficient and timely manner. For example, futures contract short positions may not provide an effective hedge because changes in futures contract prices may not track those of the underlying securities or indices they are intended to hedge. Imperfect correlation may prevent the portfolio from achieving the intended hedge or expose the Fund to risk of loss. In addition, it is not possible to hedge fully or perfectly against any risk, and hedging entails its own costs.
Limited Portfolio Holdings Risk. Because the Fund may hold large positions in a small number of Underlying Funds, an increase or decrease in the value of such securities may have a greater impact on the Fund’s value and total return.
Liquidity Risk. Liquidity risk is the risk that the Fund cannot meet requests to redeem Fund-issued shares without significantly diluting the remaining investors’ interest in the Fund. This may result when portfolio holdings may be difficult to value and may be difficult to sell, both at the time or price desired. Liquidity risk may result from increased shareholder redemptions in the Fund. An increase in shareholder redemptions could require the Fund to sell securities at reduced prices, which would in turn reduce the value of the Fund. In addition, the market for a particular holding may become illiquid due to adverse market or economic conditions, completely apart from any specific conditions in the market for a particular security. Actions by governments and regulators may have the effect of reducing market liquidity, market resiliency and money supply, such as through higher interest rates, tighter financial regulations and proposals related to open-end fund liquidity that may prevent the Fund from participating in certain markets. Liquidity risk also refers to the risk that the Fund may be required to hold additional cash or sell other investments in order to obtain cash to close out derivatives or meet the liquidity demands that derivatives can create to make payments of margin, collateral, or settlement payments to counterparties. The Fund may have to sell a security at a disadvantageous time or price to meet such obligations. The Fund’s liquidity risk management program requires that the Fund invest no more than 15% of its net assets in illiquid investments.
Management and Organization
The Board of Trustees (the “Board”) of the Fund oversees the business and affairs of the Fund, and has the power to amend the Fund’s bylaws, to declare and pay dividends, and to generally oversee the Fund’s operations.
Manager of Managers Structure: The Fund operates under a “manager-of-managers” structure. LFI (defined below as the Fund’s investment adviser) has received an SEC exemptive order that permits it, subject to approval of the Board – and without the approval of shareholders – to: (i) select a new sub-adviser or additional sub-advisers for the Fund; (ii) replace a sub-adviser; (iii) enter into new sub-advisory agreements and/or modify the terms of any existing sub-advisory agreement; and (iv) allocate and reallocate the Fund’s assets among LFI and one or more sub-advisers. (The order does not apply to the hiring of a sub-adviser that is an affiliate of LFI.) If a new sub-adviser is hired for the Fund, the Fund will provide its shareholders with information about the new sub-adviser within 90 days of hiring. LFI has the ultimate responsibility (subject to Board oversight) to oversee, monitor and evaluate a sub-adviser’s performance and to recommend the hiring, termination and replacement of a sub-adviser.
Investment Adviser and Sub-Advisers: Lincoln Financial Investments Corporation (“LFI”) is the Fund’s investment adviser. LFI is a registered investment adviser and wholly-owned subsidiary of Lincoln Life. LFI’s address is 150 N. Radnor-Chester Road, Radnor, PA 19087. LFI (or its predecessors) has served as an investment adviser to mutual funds for over 30 years. As of December 31, 2025, LFI had more than $121.1 billion in assets under management.
Lincoln Life is an insurance company organized under Indiana law and is a wholly-owned subsidiary of Lincoln National Corporation (“LNC”). LNC is a publicly-held insurance holding company organized under Indiana law. Through its subsidiaries, LNC provides insurance and financial services nationwide.
The Fund has entered into an Investment Management Agreement with LFI. The Fund operates as a “fund of funds.” In this structure, the Fund invests in other mutual funds, which, in turn, invest directly in portfolio securities. The expenses associated with investing in a fund of funds are generally higher than those for funds that do not invest primarily in other mutual funds because shareholders indirectly pay for a portion of the fees and expenses charged at the underlying fund level. Additionally, LFI may hire one or more sub-advisers who are responsible for the day-to-day investment management of the Fund or the Fund’s risk management strategy. The sub-advisers are paid by LFI from its management fee.
A description of LFI (including the effective advisory fee rate for the most recently completed fiscal year), the Fund’s sub-advisers and the portfolio managers are shown below. The Fund’s statement of additional information (“SAI”) provides additional information about the portfolio managers’ compensation, other accounts managed by the portfolio managers, and the portfolio managers’ ownership of Fund shares.
| Adviser |
LFI (aggregate advisory fee paid to LFI for the fiscal year ended December 31, 2025 was 0.24% of the Fund's average net assets, net of advisory fee waivers). |
| LFI Portfolio Managers |
Jay Shearon, Alex Zeng and Lu Fan are responsible for determining the allocation to, and oversight of, the Fund’s sub-adviser. |
14
| |
Jay Shearon is a Portfolio Manager, Vice President, Managing Director and Team Lead for Multi-Asset strategies within LFI. Mr. Shearon joined LFI in 2015 and is a member of LFI’s Investment Committee, Asset Allocation Committee, and Derivatives Committee, among others. Prior to joining LFI, Mr. Shearon was a Senior Portfolio Manager and Executive Director for Morgan Stanley’s Portfolio Advisory Services team and director of the Custom Investment Outsourcing program. Mr. Shearon holds a B.S.B.A. in finance from Shippensburg University and an M.B.A. in finance from the University of Delaware. |
| |
Alex Zeng, Ph.D., CFA, CAIA, is a Portfolio Manager, Vice President and Managing Director of LFI. Mr. Zeng joined LFI in 2014 and is a member of LFI’s Investment Committee, Asset Allocation Committee, Derivatives Committee, Risk Committee, and Operating Committee, among others. Prior to joining LFI, Mr. Zeng worked on quantitative research portfolio management and analytics for global equity markets for a registered investment adviser from 2011 to 2014. Mr. Zeng holds a B.S. and M.S. in Civil Engineering from Tsinghua University in Beijing, China, and a Ph.D. in Engineering from the University of Maryland, College Park. He is a Chartered Financial Analyst® (CFA) Charterholder and a Chartered Alternative Investment Analyst® (CAIA) Charterholder. |
| |
Lu Fan, CFA, Assistant Vice President & Senior Director, joined Lincoln Financial Group in 2016 and is a member of the Investment Committee, Asset Allocation Committee, Derivatives Committee, and Best Execution Committee. In her current role, Ms. Fan is responsible for providing leadership and functional expertise for continually enhancing the strategy and process of LFI’s global multi-asset risk managed portfolios. Ms. Fan has over 12 years of investment and quantitative research experience. Prior to the current role, she was a quantitative strategist in Market Risk Management team of Lincoln Financial. Prior to joining Lincoln, Ms. Fan was an investment strategist in FIS Group, where she performed portfolio construction and quantitative research for global tactical strategy. Ms. Fan received her Master of Science Degree in Finance from Temple University, and Bachelor of science degree from University of Science and Technology of China. She is a CFA charterholder and is a member of the CFA Society of Philadelphia. |
| Sub-Adviser |
BlackRock Investment Management, LLC (“BlackRock”) is located at 100 Bellevue Parkway, Wilmington, DE 19809. BlackRock is an indirect, wholly-majority-owned subsidiary of BlackRock, Inc., one of the largest publicly traded investment management firms in the United States with approximately $508 billion in assets under management as of December 31, 2025. |
| BlackRock Portfolio Managers |
Suzanne Ly and Peter Tsang are responsible for the day-to-day management of the Fund's risk management overlay. |
| |
Suzanne Ly, CFA, FRM, is Global Head of Model Portfolio Management within the Multi-Asset Strategies & Solutions group. The Multi-Asset Strategies & Solutions (MASS) team is the investment group at the heart of BlackRock's portfolio construction, asset allocation, and active management ecosystem. MASS draws on the full toolkit of BlackRock's index, factor, and alpha-seeking investment capabilities to deliver precise investment outcomes and cutting-edge alpha insights. MASS constructs active asset allocation strategies and whole portfolio solutions across a wide spectrum of commingled funds, separate accounts, model portfolios, and outsourcing solutions in the wealth and institutional channels. Suzanne went through the Grande Ecole system in France and earned a graduate degree in Business Management from ESSEC Business School. |
| |
Peter Tsang, CAIA, is a Director who leads the US Index Asset Allocation team within the MASS PM team for Multi-Asset Strategies & Solutions. The Multi-Asset Strategies & Solutions (MASS) team is the investment group at the heart of BlackRock's portfolio construction, asset allocation, and active management ecosystem. MASS draws on the full toolkit of BlackRock’s index, factor, and alpha-seeking investment capabilities to deliver precise investment outcomes and cutting-edge alpha insights. MASS constructs active asset allocation strategies and whole portfolio solutions across a wide spectrum of commingled funds, separate accounts, model portfolios, and outsourcing solutions in the wealth and institutional channels. Mr. Tsang earned a BA degree in Economics from UC Berkeley and an MBA degree from Berkeley Haas. |
| Sub-Adviser |
Milliman Financial Risk Management LLC (“Milliman”) is located at 71 S. Wacker Drive, 31st Floor, Chicago, IL 60606. Milliman is a wholly-owned subsidiary of Milliman, Inc. Milliman provides investment advisory, hedging, and consulting services on approximately $224.5 billion in assets as of December 31, 2025. |
| Milliman Portfolio Managers |
Jeff Greco, Adam Schenck, Maria Schiopu and Ruby Shi are responsible for the day-to-day management of the Fund's risk management overlay. |
15
| |
Jeff Greco, FRM, joined Milliman in 2012 and is Senior Director – Head of Strategy Research with Milliman. Prior to joining Milliman, Mr. Greco was a risk management professional at Citadel LLC. He also serves as an adjunct professor for the University of Chicago’s Financial Mathematics graduate program. Mr. Greco holds a B.S. and M.S. in mathematics from Carnegie Mellon University and a M.S. in applied mathematics from the University of Chicago. |
| |
Adam Schenck, CFA, joined Milliman in 2005 and is Managing Director, Director of Portfolio Management. Mr. Schenck holds a B.S. in mathematics and computer science from Eckerd College and a M.S. in financial mathematics from The University of Chicago. He is a Chartered Financial Analyst® (CFA) Charterholder. |
| |
Maria Schiopu, CFA, joined Milliman in 2013 and is Senior Director – Head of Portfolio Management with Milliman. Ms. Schiopu holds a B.A. in Mathematics from Northwestern University. She is a Chartered Financial Analyst® (CFA) Charterholder. |
| |
Ruby Shi, Portfolio Manager, joined Milliman in 2018. Ms. Shi is responsible for the oversight of the risk management strategy, including the strategy research and model development, of the Lincoln funds. Prior to 2018, Ms. Shi worked as an Assistant Director, Sr Financial Engineer, for Moody's Analytics and was involved in U.S. residential mortgage back securities valuation and analytics. Ms. Shi holds an M.P.S in Applied Statistics, Cornell University, a B.S. in Actuarial Science, Curtin University of Technology, and a B.S. in Information and Computer Science, Zhongnan University of Economics and Law. She is also an associate of the Society of Actuaries (ASA) and a member of the American Academy of Actuaries (MAAA). |
A discussion regarding the basis for the Board's approval of the Fund's investment advisory and sub-advisory contracts will be available in the Fund's Form N-CSR for the period ended December 31, 2025.
Pricing of Fund Shares
The Fund determines its net asset value per share (“NAV”) as of close of regular trading on the New York Stock Exchange (“NYSE”) (normally 4:00 p.m. New York time, each business day). The Fund’s NAV is the value of a single Fund share. The Fund determines its NAV by adding the values of its portfolio securities and other assets, subtracting its liabilities, and dividing by the number of Fund shares outstanding.
An order for Fund shares received after the close of regular trading on the NYSE will be effected at the NAV determined on the next business day.
The Fund’s portfolio securities may be traded in other markets on days when the NYSE is closed. Therefore, the Fund’s NAV may fluctuate on days when you do not have access to the Fund to purchase or redeem shares.
The Fund typically values its assets based on “market price.” Market price for equities is typically the security’s last sale price on a national securities exchange or over-the-counter, and for debt securities is typically the mean between the bid and ask prices (or the price established by an independent pricing service). Certain short-term fixed income securities are valued based on “amortized cost.”
In certain circumstances, the Fund’s adviser, LFI, may value Fund portfolio securities at “fair value” in accordance with applicable fair value procedures. The fair value of portfolio securities may differ from quoted or published prices for the same securities. Fair value pricing involves subjective judgments, and a security’s fair value price may be materially different than the value realized upon the sale of that security. LFI’s role with respect to fair valuation may present certain conflicts of interest given the impact valuations can have on Fund performance.
The Fund anticipates using fair value pricing for securities primarily traded on U.S. exchanges only under very limited circumstances, such as the unexpected early closing of the exchange on which a security is traded or suspension of trading in the security. The Fund may use fair value pricing more frequently for securities primarily traded in non-U.S. markets, if applicable, because, among other things, most foreign markets close well before the Fund determines its NAV. The earlier close of these non-U.S. markets gives rise to the possibility that significant events, including broad market moves, may have occurred in the interim. If the Fund invests in foreign equity securities, it may frequently value many of those securities using fair value prices based on third-party vendor modeling tools to the extent available.
To the extent the Fund invests in one or more mutual funds, the Fund values underlying mutual fund shares at their respective NAVs. For more information regarding the determination of a mutual fund’s NAV, including when the mutual fund will fair value its portfolio securities and the effects of using fair value pricing, see the mutual fund’s prospectus and SAI.
Purchase and Sale of Fund Shares
Fund shares are available as underlying investment options for variable life insurance and variable annuity products issued by The Lincoln National Life Insurance Company (“Lincoln Life”), Lincoln Life & Annuity Company of New York (“LNY”), and unaffiliated insurance companies. These insurance companies are the record owners of the separate accounts holding the Fund’s shares. You do
16
not buy, sell or exchange Fund shares directly – you choose investment options through your variable annuity contract or variable life insurance policy. The insurance companies then cause the separate accounts to purchase and redeem Fund shares according to the investment options you choose. Fund shares also may be available for investment by certain funds of the Lincoln Variable Insurance Products Trust.
The Fund sells and redeems its shares, without charge, at their NAV next determined after the Fund or its agent receives a purchase or redemption request. The value of Fund shares redeemed may be more or less than original cost.
The Fund normally pays for shares redeemed within seven days after the Fund receives the redemption request. However, the Fund may suspend redemptions or postpone payments for any period when (a) the NYSE closes for other than weekends and holidays; (b) the SEC restricts trading on the NYSE; (c) the SEC determines that an emergency exists, so that the Fund’s disposal of investment securities, or determination of NAV is not reasonably practicable; or (d) the SEC permits, by order, for the protection of Fund shareholders.
The Fund typically expects to pay redemption proceeds using holdings of cash in the Fund’s portfolio, or using the proceeds from sales of portfolio securities. To a lesser extent, the Fund also may use borrowing arrangements to meet redemption requests. Borrowing is typically expected to be used only during stressed or abnormal market conditions, when an increased portion of the Fund’s holdings may be comprised of less liquid investments, or during emergency or temporary circumstances.
Market Timing
Frequent, large, or short-term purchases, redemptions or transfers such as those associated with “market timing” transactions, may adversely affect the Fund and its investment returns. These transactions may dilute the value of Fund shares, interfere with the efficient management of the Fund's portfolio, and increase the Fund's brokerage and administrative costs. As a result, the Fund strongly discourages such trading activity. To protect the Fund and its shareholders from potentially harmful trading activity, the Board has approved certain market timing policies and procedures (the “Market Timing Procedures”). The Board may revise the Market Timing Procedures at any time and without prior notice.
Investors may seek to exploit delays between a change in the value of a Fund's portfolio holdings, and the time when that change is reflected in the NAV of the Fund's shares by purchasing or redeeming shares at NAVs that do not reflect appropriate fair value prices. This risk is more pronounced for funds investing in overseas markets, due to the time differential in pricing between U.S. and overseas markets, and thinly traded securities. The Fund seeks to deter and prevent this activity by the appropriate use of “fair value” pricing of the Fund's portfolio securities.
The Fund seeks to monitor shareholder account activities in order to detect and prevent excessive and disruptive trading practices. The Fund and LFI each reserve the right to reject, restrict, or refuse any purchase order (including exchanges) from any investor, if, in the judgment of the Fund or LFI, the transaction may adversely affect the Fund or its shareholders.
The Fund has entered into agreements with each insurance company that holds Fund shares to help detect and prevent market timing. Under the agreements, an insurance company may be required to (i) provide certain identifying and account information regarding contract owners who invest in Fund shares through the omnibus account; and (ii) restrict further purchases or exchanges of Fund shares by a contract owner whom the Fund has identified as a market timer.
The Fund also may rely on frequent trading policies established by such insurance companies. If the Fund detects potential market timing, the Fund will contact the applicable insurance company and may ask the insurance company to take additional action, if appropriate, based on the particular circumstances.
Fund investors seeking to engage in market timing may deploy a variety of strategies to avoid detection. In addition, Fund shares may be held through omnibus accounts, which generally do not identify trading activity of Fund investors on an individual basis. As a result of these and other operational or technological limitations, there is no guarantee that the Fund will be able to identify or prevent market timing. Moreover, the identification of Fund investors determined to engage in transactions that may adversely affect the Fund or its investors involves judgments that are inherently subjective.
Insurance company sponsors of your contract may impose transfer limitations and other limitations designed to curtail market timing. Please refer to the prospectus and SAI for your variable annuity or variable life contract for details.
Portfolio Holdings Disclosure
A description of the Fund's policies and procedures with respect to the Fund's disclosure of portfolio securities is available in the Fund's SAI.
Share Classes and Distribution Arrangements
The Fund offers two classes of shares: Standard Class and Service Class. The two classes are identical, except that Service Class shares are subject to a distribution (Rule 12b-1) fee which has been adopted pursuant to a distribution and service plan (the “Plan”). Under the Plan, Service Class shares pay annual amounts not exceeding 0.35% of the average daily net assets of the Service Class
17
shares of the Fund. The Fund offers shares to insurance companies for allocation to certain of their variable contracts. The Fund pays its principal underwriter, Lincoln Financial Distributors, Inc. (“LFD”), out of the assets of the Service Class, for activities primarily intended to sell Service Class shares or variable contracts offering Service Class shares. LFD pays third parties for these sales activities pursuant to written agreements with such parties. The 12b-1 fee may be increased by the Fund's Board up to the maximum allowed by the Plan, without shareholder approval, in accordance with the Plan's terms. These fees are paid out of the Service Class assets on an ongoing basis, and over time will increase the cost of your investment and may cost you more than other types of sales charges.
LFI and its affiliates, including LFD, and/or the Fund's sub-advisers or underlying funds, if any, or their affiliates, may pay additional compensation (at their own expense and not as a Fund expense) to certain affiliated or unaffiliated brokers, dealers, or other financial intermediaries (collectively, “financial intermediaries”) in connection with the sale or retention of Fund shares or insurance products that contain the Fund and/or shareholder servicing (“distribution assistance”). The level of payments made to a qualifying financial intermediary in any given year will vary. To the extent permitted by SEC and Financial Industry Regulatory Authority rules and other applicable laws and regulations, LFD may pay or allow its affiliates to pay other promotional incentives or payments to financial intermediaries.
If a mutual fund sponsor, distributor or other party makes greater payments to your financial intermediary for distribution assistance than sponsors or distributors of other mutual funds make to your financial intermediary, your financial intermediary and its salespersons may have a financial incentive to favor sales of shares of the mutual fund complex making the higher payments over another mutual fund complex or over other investment options. You should consult with your financial intermediary and review carefully the disclosure relating to the compensation your financial intermediary receives in connection with the investment products your financial intermediary recommends or sells to you. In certain instances, the payments could be significant and may cause a conflict of interest for your financial intermediary. Any such payments to a financial intermediary will not change the Fund's NAV, or the price of its shares, as such payments are not made from Fund assets.
For more information, please see the SAI.
Distribution Policy
The Fund intends to qualify as a regulated investment company under the Internal Revenue Code, which requires annual distributions of net investment income and net capital gains to shareholders – the insurance company variable accounts. The Fund may distribute net realized capital gains only once a year. Net investment income and capital gain distributions will be automatically reinvested in additional Fund shares of the same class at no charge, and are reflected in variable account values.
Contract owners ordinarily are not taxed on Fund distributions. In general, contract owners are taxed only on Fund amounts they withdraw from their variable accounts. See the “Tax Information” section.
18
Financial Highlights
The financial highlights tables are intended to help you understand the financial performance of the Fund's Standard and Service Class shares for the past five years or since their inception (as applicable). Certain information reflects financial results for a single Fund share. Total investment return is based on the change in net asset value of a share during the period and assumes reinvestment of dividends and distributions at net asset value. The total return in these financial highlights reflects the return set forth in the Fund’s most recent annual report, which may differ slightly from the total return in the bar chart and table in this prospectus as a result of adjustments for financial reporting purposes. Total investment return reflects any waivers and reimbursement of expenses by the Adviser, as applicable. If this is the case, performance would have been lower had the expense limitation not been in effect. This table does not reflect any variable contract expenses. If variable contract expenses were included, the expenses shown would be higher. The information in the table was derived from the financial statements which have been audited by Ernst & Young LLP, the Fund’s Independent Registered Public Accounting Firm, whose report, along with the Fund’s financial statements, is included in the Form N-CSR dated December 31, 2025, which is available upon request.
| |
LVIP BlackRock U.S. Growth ETF Allocation Managed Risk Fund Standard Class | ||||
| |
Year Ended | ||||
| |
12/31/25 |
12/31/24 |
12/31/23 |
12/31/22 |
12/31/21 |
| Net asset value, beginning of period |
$ 13.930 |
$ 12.557 |
$ 11.387 |
$ 14.317 |
$ 13.260 |
| Income (loss) from investment operations: |
|
|
|
|
|
| Net investment income1 |
0.272 |
0.262 |
0.229 |
0.179 |
0.144 |
| Net realized and unrealized gain (loss) |
0.973 |
1.422 |
1.179 |
(2.546) |
1.773 |
| Total from investment operations |
1.245 |
1.684 |
1.408 |
(2.367) |
1.917 |
| Less dividends and distributions from: |
|
|
|
|
|
| Net investment income |
(0.273) |
(0.273) |
(0.238) |
(0.175) |
(0.176) |
| Net realized gain |
(0.362) |
(0.038) |
— |
(0.388) |
(0.684) |
| Total dividends and distributions |
(0.635) |
(0.311) |
(0.238) |
(0.563) |
(0.860) |
| Net asset value, end of period |
$ 14.540 |
$ 13.930 |
$ 12.557 |
$ 11.387 |
$ 14.317 |
| Total return2 |
8.97% |
13.42% |
12.35% |
(16.51%) |
14.66% |
| Ratios and supplemental data: |
|
|
|
|
|
| Net assets, end of period (000 omitted) |
$30,094 |
$27,473 |
$23,354 |
$20,600 |
$22,196 |
| Ratio of expenses to average net assets3 |
0.31% |
0.31% |
0.31% |
0.31% |
0.30% |
| Ratio of expenses to average net assets prior to expenses waived/reimbursed3 |
0.32% |
0.32% |
0.32% |
0.32% |
0.31% |
| Ratio of net investment income to average net assets |
1.91% |
1.93% |
1.94% |
1.44% |
1.03% |
| Ratio of net investment income to average net assets prior to expenses waived/ reimbursed |
1.90% |
1.92% |
1.93% |
1.43% |
1.02% |
| Portfolio turnover |
9% |
6% |
5% |
7% |
6% |
| 1 |
The average shares outstanding method has been applied for per share information. |
| 2 |
Total return is based on the change in net asset value of a share during the period and assumes reinvestment of dividends and distributions at net asset value. Total return reflects waivers and/or reimbursements, if applicable, by the manager. Performance would have been lower had the waivers and/or reimbursements not been in effect. Total return does not include fees, charges, or expenses imposed by the variable annuity and life insurance contracts for which the Fund serves as an underlying investment vehicle. If total return had taken these into account, performance would have been lower. |
| 3 |
Expense ratios do not include expenses of the Underlying Funds in which the Fund invests. |
19
| |
LVIP BlackRock U.S. Growth ETF Allocation Managed Risk Fund Service Class | ||||
| |
Year Ended | ||||
| |
12/31/25 |
12/31/24 |
12/31/23 |
12/31/22 |
12/31/21 |
| Net asset value, beginning of period |
$ 13.903 |
$ 12.532 |
$ 11.367 |
$ 14.291 |
$ 13.241 |
| Income (loss) from investment operations: |
|
|
|
|
|
| Net investment income1 |
0.221 |
0.213 |
0.187 |
0.135 |
0.094 |
| Net realized and unrealized gain (loss) |
0.968 |
1.419 |
1.173 |
(2.539) |
1.768 |
| Total from investment operations |
1.189 |
1.632 |
1.360 |
(2.404) |
1.862 |
| Less dividends and distributions from: |
|
|
|
|
|
| Net investment income |
(0.222) |
(0.223) |
(0.195) |
(0.132) |
(0.128) |
| Net realized gain |
(0.362) |
(0.038) |
— |
(0.388) |
(0.684) |
| Total dividends and distributions |
(0.584) |
(0.261) |
(0.195) |
(0.520) |
(0.812) |
| Net asset value, end of period |
$ 14.508 |
$ 13.903 |
$ 12.532 |
$ 11.367 |
$ 14.291 |
| Total return2 |
8.58% |
13.03% |
11.96% |
(16.81%) |
14.26% |
| Ratios and supplemental data: |
|
|
|
|
|
| Net assets, end of period (000 omitted) |
$566,096 |
$583,412 |
$580,276 |
$550,993 |
$687,727 |
| Ratio of expenses to average net assets3 |
0.66% |
0.66% |
0.66% |
0.66% |
0.65% |
| Ratio of expenses to average net assets prior to expenses waived/reimbursed3 |
0.67% |
0.67% |
0.67% |
0.67% |
0.66% |
| Ratio of net investment income to average net assets |
1.56% |
1.58% |
1.59% |
1.09% |
0.68% |
| Ratio of net investment income to average net assets prior to expenses waived/ reimbursed |
1.55% |
1.57% |
1.58% |
1.08% |
0.67% |
| Portfolio turnover |
9% |
6% |
5% |
7% |
6% |
| 1 |
The average shares outstanding method has been applied for per share information. |
| 2 |
Total return is based on the change in net asset value of a share during the period and assumes reinvestment of dividends and distributions at net asset value. Total return reflects waivers and/or reimbursements, if applicable, by the manager. Performance would have been lower had the waivers and/or reimbursements not been in effect. Total return does not include fees, charges, or expenses imposed by the variable annuity and life insurance contracts for which the Fund serves as an underlying investment vehicle. If total return had taken these into account, performance would have been lower. |
| 3 |
Expense ratios do not include expenses of the Underlying Funds in which the Fund invests. |
20
General Information
The use of the Fund by both annuity and life insurance variable accounts is called mixed funding. Due to differences in redemption rates, tax treatment, or other considerations, the interests of contract owners under the variable life accounts may conflict with those of contract owners under the variable annuity accounts. Violation of the federal tax laws by one variable account investing in the Fund could cause the contracts funded through another variable account to lose their tax-deferred status, unless remedial action was taken. The Fund's Board will monitor for any material conflicts and determine what action, if any, the Fund or a variable account should take.
A conflict could arise that requires a variable account to redeem a substantial amount of assets from the Fund. The redemption could disrupt orderly portfolio management to the detriment of those contract owners still investing in the Fund. Also, the Fund could determine that it has become so large that its size materially impairs investment performance. The Fund would then examine its options, which could include imposition of redemption fees or temporarily closing the Fund to new investors.
You can find additional information in the Fund’s SAI, which is on file with the SEC. The Fund incorporates its SAI, dated May 1, 2026, into its prospectus. The Fund will provide a free copy of its SAI upon request.
You can find detailed information about the Fund’s investments in the Fund’s annual and semi-annual reports to shareholders and in Form N-CSR. The annual report discusses the market conditions and investment strategies that significantly affected the Fund’s performance during its last fiscal year. In Form N-CSR, you will find the Fund’s annual and semi-annual financial statements. The Fund will provide a free copy of its annual and semi-annual report upon request.
The SAI, annual and semi-annual reports, and other information such as the Fund’s financial statements are available, free of charge, upon request. For an SAI, annual or semi-annual report or financial statements, either write The Lincoln National Life Insurance Company, P.O. Box 2340, Fort Wayne, Indiana 46801, or by calling toll-free 866-436-8717. You may also call this number to request other information about the Fund, or to make inquiries. The Fund's SAI and annual and semi-annual reports, and other information such as the Fund’s financial statements are available, free of charge, at https://www.lincolnfinancial.com/lvip.
You can also get reports and other information about the Fund on the EDGAR Database on the SEC’s Internet site at https://www.sec.gov. You can get copies of this information, after paying a duplicating fee, by electronic request at the following e-mail address: [email protected].
SEC File No: 811-08090
21
ATTACHMENTS / EXHIBITS
Serious News for Serious Traders! Try StreetInsider.com Premium Free!
You May Also Be Interested In
- AES Announces Pricing of $1 Billion of Senior Notes in Public Offering
- Next Health Announces Inaugural Longevity Summit in Nashville Featuring Leading Health Experts
- BlueMagic Group Reports Growing International Demand for Specialized Hair Restoration Procedures
Create E-mail Alert Related Categories
SEC FilingsSign up for StreetInsider Free!
Receive full access to all new and archived articles, unlimited portfolio tracking, e-mail alerts, custom newswires and RSS feeds - and more!
