Virtus Strategy Trust

01/28/2022 | Press release | Distributed by Public on 01/28/2022 09:07

Summary Prospectus by Investment Company (Form 497K)

497K

Summary Prospectus January 28, 2022

Virtus AllianzGI Core Plus Bond Fund

(formerly AllianzGI Core Plus Bond Fund)

Institutional: ACKIX P: ACKPX
R6: ACOSX

Before you invest, you may want to review the fund's prospectus, which contains more information about the fund and its risks. You can find the fund's prospectus, shareholder reports, statement of additional information (SAI), and other information about the fund online at virtus.com/tools-resources/mutual-fund-documents.

You can also get this information at no cost by calling 800-243-1574 or by sending an e-mail to: [email protected]. If you purchase shares of the fund through a broker-dealer or other financial intermediary such as a bank, the prospectus and other information will also be available from your financial intermediary.

The fund's prospectus and SAI, both dated January 28, 2022, are incorporated by reference into this Summary Prospectus.

Beginning on January 1, 2021, as permitted by regulations adopted by the Securities and Exchange Commission, paper copies of the fund's shareholder reports will no longer be sent by mail, unless specifically requested from the fund or from your broker-dealer or financial intermediary. Instead, the reports will be made available on a website, and you will be notified by mail each time a report is posted and provided with a website link to access the report.

You may elect at any time to receive not only shareholder reports but also certain other communications such as prospectuses from the fund electronically, or you may elect to receive all future shareholder reports in paper free of charge to you. If you own your shares directly with the fund, you may make such elections by calling the fund at 1-800-243-1574 or, with respect to requesting electronic delivery, by visiting www.virtus.com. An election made directly with the fund will apply to all Virtus Mutual Funds in which you own shares directly. If you own your shares through a financial intermediary, please contact your financial intermediary to make your request and to determine whether your election will apply to all funds in which you own shares through that intermediary.

Investment Objective

The fund seeks total return, consisting of current income and capital appreciation.

Fees and Expenses

The tables below illustrate the fees and expenses that you may pay if you buy, hold and sell shares of the fund. You may pay other fees, such as brokerage commissions and other fees to financial intermediaries, which are not reflected in the tables and examples below. More information on these and other discounts is available: (i) from your financial professional or other financial intermediary; (ii) under "Sales Charges" on page 155 of the fund's prospectus; (iii) with respect to purchase of shares through specific intermediaries, in Appendix A to the fund's prospectus, entitled "Intermediary Sales Charge Discounts and Waivers;" and (iv) under "Alternative Purchase Arrangements" on page 134 of the fund's statement of additional information.

Shareholder Fees (fees paid directly from your investment) Institutional Class P Class R6
Maximum Sales Charge (load) Imposed on Purchases (as a percentage of offering price) None None None
Maximum Contingent Deferred Sales Charge (CDSC) (load) (as a percentage of the lower of original purchase price or NAV) None None None
Annual Fund Operating Expenses (expenses that you pay each year as a percentage of the
value of your investment)
Institutional Class P Class R6
Management Fees 0.30% 0.30% 0.30%
Distribution and Shareholder Servicing (12b-1) Fees None None None
Other Expenses 0.30% 0.29% 0.30%
Total Annual Fund Operating Expenses 0.60% 0.59% 0.60%
Less: Fee Waiver and/or Expense Reimbursement(1) (0.30)% (0.24)% (0.35)%
Total Annual Fund Operating Expenses After Expense Reimbursement(1) 0.30% 0.35% 0.25%
(1)

Total Annual Fund Operating Expenses After Expense Reimbursement reflect the effect of a contractual agreement by Virtus Investment Advisers ("VIA") to waive its management fee and/or reimburse the fund to the extent that Total Annual Fund Operating Expenses, excluding interest, any other fees or expenses relating to financial leverage or borrowing (such as commitment, amendment and renewal expenses on credit or redemption facilities), tax, extraordinary, unusual or infrequently occurring expenses, brokerage commissions, expenses incurred in connection with any merger or reorganization, dividend expenses, and acquired fund fees and expenses, exceed 0.30% for Institutional Class shares, 0.35% for Class P shares and 0.25% for Class R6 shares through February 1, 2023. Under the Expense Limitation Agreement, VIA may recoup amounts waived or reimbursed in the preceding three years, provided total expenses, including such recoupment, do not exceed the annual expense limit in effect at

the time of such waiver/reimbursement or recoupment. The amount of any such recoupment would have the effect of being shared equally between VIA and Allianz Global Investors U.S. LLC ("AllianzGI U.S.") pursuant to the currently effective subadvisory arrangement between those parties. The Expense Limitation Agreement also permits recoupment by AllianzGI U.S. of amounts waived or reimbursed within the three preceding years under an analogous expense limitation arrangement in effect before VIA became adviser to the fund. The Expense Limitation Agreement is terminable by mutual agreement of Virtus Strategy Trust, AllianzGI U.S. and VIA.

Example

This example is intended to help you compare the cost of investing in the fund with the cost of investing in other mutual funds. The example assumes that you invest $10,000 in the fund for the time periods indicated and then redeem all of your shares at the end of those periods or continued to hold them. The example also assumes that your investment has a 5% return each year, that the fund's operating expenses remain the same and that the expense reimbursement agreement remains in place for the contractual period. Although your actual costs may be higher or lower, based on these assumptions your costs would be:

Share Status 1 Year 3 Years 5 Years 10 Years
Institutional Sold or Held $31 $162 $305 $721
Class P Sold or Held $36 $165 $305 $715
Class R6 Sold or Held $26 $157 $300 $717

Portfolio Turnover

The fund pays transaction costs, such as commissions, when it buys and sells securities (or "turns over" its portfolio). A higher portfolio turnover rate may indicate higher transaction costs and may result in higher taxes when fund shares are held in a taxable account. These costs, which are not reflected in annual fund operating expenses or in the example, affect the fund's performance. During the most recent fiscal year, the fund's portfolio turnover rate was 361% of the average value of its portfolio.

Investments, Risks and Performance

Principal Investment Strategies

The fund seeks to achieve its objective by normally investing at least 80% of its net assets (plus borrowings made for investment purposes) in bonds, notes and other debt instruments, including derivatives that provide exposure to such investments. The fund generally invests in debt securities issued by U.S. and non-U.S. governments and their subdivisions, agencies and government-sponsored enterprises; supranational entities; public and private companies; pass-through securities guaranteed by the U.S. government, its agencies or government-sponsored enterprises; and commercial mortgage- backed securities and other asset-backed securities. The fund's investments in mortgage-related securities may include investments in stripped mortgage-backed securities such as interest-only ("IO") and principal-only ("PO") securities. The Fund retains broad flexibility to obtain exposure to fixed income instruments.

The fund may invest up to 35% of its net assets in debt instruments that, at the time of purchase, are rated below investment grade, or if unrated, determined by the Manager to be of comparable quality (sometimes referred to as "high yield securities" or "junk bonds"). The fund considers a debt instrument to be investment grade based on the highest rating assigned at the time of purchase by Standard and Poor's Global Ratings Services, Moody's Investors Service, Inc., Fitch, Inc., Kroll Bond Rating Agency or DBRS.

The fund may invest up to 10% of its assets in non-U.S. dollar denominated debt securities and instruments of foreign issuers, including those of foreign governments, non-governmental issuers or other entities. The fund typically seeks to fully hedge its exposure to non-U.S. dollar currencies.

In making investments, the fund's portfolio managers will normally seek to maintain an average portfolio duration within two years above or below that of its benchmark, the Bloomberg U.S. Aggregate Bond Index. As of September 30, 2021, the average duration of the Bloomberg U.S. Aggregate Bond Index was 6.70 years.

The fund may use derivatives, such as Treasury futures, options on Treasury futures, interest rate swaps, credit default swaps and credit default swap indices, total return swaps and currency futures and forwards. The fund may use derivatives for a variety of purposes, including: as a hedge against adverse changes in the market price of securities, interest rates, or currency exchange rates; as a substitute for purchasing or selling securities; to increase the fund's return as a non-hedging strategy that may be considered speculative; and to manage portfolio characteristics. Derivatives transactions may have the effect of either magnifying or limiting the fund's gains and losses.

The fund may purchase or sell securities on a when-issued, delayed-delivery or forward commitment basis. Such securities may include mortgage-backed securities acquired or sold in the to-be-announced ("TBA") market and those in a dollar roll transaction.

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The fund may invest in securities that are issued through private offerings without registration with the Securities and Exchange Commission under the Securities Act. The fund may also invest in securities that may be offered and sold only to "qualified institutional buyers" under Rule 144A under the Securities Act.

The fund's use of short-term instruments, especially in connection with the hedging of interest rate risk, may result in significant frequent trading transactions, which can contribute to the fund having a portfolio turnover rate substantially in excess of 300% annually.

Principal Risks

The fund may not achieve its objective(s), and it is not intended to be a complete investment program. The value of the fund's investments that supports your share value may decrease. If between the time you purchase shares and the time you sell shares the value of the fund's investments decreases, you will lose money. Investment values can decrease for a number of reasons. Conditions affecting the overall economy, specific industries or companies in which the fund invests can be worse than expected, and investments may fail to perform as the subadviser expects. As a result, the value of your shares may decrease. Purchase and redemption activities by fund shareholders may impact the management of the fund and its ability to achieve its investment objective(s). The principal risks of investing in the fund are identified below (in alphabetical order after the first eight risks):

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Market Volatility Risk. The value of the securities in the fund may go up or down in response to the prospects of individual companies and/or general economic conditions. Price changes may be short- or long-term. Local, regional or global events such as war, acts of terrorism, the spread of infectious illness or other public health issue, recessions, or other events could have a significant impact on the fund and its investments, including hampering the ability of the fund's portfolio manager(s) to invest the fund's assets as intended.

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Debt Instruments Risk. Debt instruments are subject to greater levels of credit and liquidity risk, may be speculative and may decline in value due to changes in interest rates or an issuer's or counterparty's deterioration or default.

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Interest Rate Risk. The values of debt instruments may rise or fall in response to changes in interest rates, and this risk may be enhanced for securities with longer maturities.

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Variable Distribution Risk. Periodic distributions by investments of variable or floating interest rates vary with fluctuations in market interest rates.

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Mortgage-Backed and Asset-Backed Securities Risk. Changes in interest rates may cause both extension and prepayment risks for mortgage-backed and asset-backed securities. These securities are also subject to risks associated with the non-repayment of underlying collateral, including losses to the fund.

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High-Yield Fixed Income Securities (Junk Bonds) Risk. High-yield or junk bonds are subject to greater levels of credit and liquidity risk, may be speculative and may decline in value due to increases in interest rates or an issuer's deterioration or default.

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Derivatives Risk. Derivatives may include, among other things, futures, options, forwards and swap agreements and may be used in order to hedge portfolio risks, create leverage or attempt to increase returns. Investments in derivatives may result in increased volatility and the fund may incur a loss greater than its principal investment.

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Leverage Risk. When a fund leverages its portfolio by borrowing or certain types of transactions or instruments, including derivatives, fund may be less liquid, may liquidate positions at an unfavorable time, and the volatility of the fund's value may increase.

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Allocation Risk. If the fund's exposure to equities and fixed income securities, or to other asset classes, deviates from the intended allocation, or if the fund's allocation is not optimal for market conditions at a given time, the fund's performance may suffer.

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Call Risk. A fixed-income security may be redeemed before maturity ("called") below its current market price and a call may lead to the reinvestment of proceeds at a lower interest rate, or with higher credit risk or other less favorable characteristics.

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Confidential Information Access Risk. The fund's Manager normally will seek to avoid the receipt of material, non-public information ("Confidential Information") about the issuers of privately placed instruments (which may include Senior Loans, other bank loans and related investments), because such issuers may have or later issue publicly traded securities, and thus the fund may be disadvantaged in comparison to other investors who have received Confidential Information from such issuers.

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Convertible Securities Risk. The value of a convertible security may decline as interest rates rise and/or vary with fluctuations in the market value of the underlying securities. The security will be called for redemption at a time and/or price unfavorable to the fund.

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Counterparty Risk. A counterparty to a derivatives contract, repurchase agreement, a loan of portfolio securities or an unsettled transaction may be unable or unwilling to make timely settlement payments or otherwise honor its obligations to the fund.

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Credit Risk. If the issuer of a debt instrument fails to pay interest or principal in a timely manner, or negative perceptions exist in the market of the issuer's ability to make such payments, the price of the security may decline.

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Currency Rate Risk. Fluctuations in the exchange rates between the U.S. dollar and foreign currencies may negatively affect the value of the fund's shares.

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Focused Investment Risk. To the extent the fund focuses its investments on a limited number of issuers, sectors, industries or geographic regions, it may be subject to increased risk and volatility.

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Foreign Investing Risk. Investing in foreign securities subjects the fund to additional risks such as increased volatility; currency fluctuations; less liquidity; and political, regulatory, economic, and market risk.

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Issuer Risk. The fund will be affected by factors specific to the issuers of securities and other instruments in which the fund invests, including actual or perceived changes in the financial condition or business prospects of such issuers.

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Liquidity Risk. Certain securities may be substantially less liquid than many other securities, such as U.S. Government securities or common stocks. To the extent the fund invests in less liquid securities or the level of liquidity in a particular market is constrained, the lack of an active market for investments may cause delay in disposition or force a sale below fair value.

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Portfolio Turnover Risk. High levels of portfolio turnover increase transaction costs and taxes and may lower investment performance.

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Redemption Risk. One or more large shareholders or groups of shareholders may redeem their holdings in the fund, resulting in an adverse impact on remaining shareholders in the fund by causing the fund to take actions it would not otherwise have taken.

Please see "More Information About Risks Related to Principal Investment Strategies" in the fund's prospectus for a more detailed description of the fund's risks.

Performance Information

The bar chart and table below provide some indication of the potential risks of investing in the fund. The fund's past performance, before and after taxes, is not necessarily an indication of how the fund will perform in the future.

The bar chart shows changes in the fund's performance from year to year over the life of the fund. The table shows how the fund's average annual returns compare to those of a broad-based securities market index. Updated performance information is available at virtus.com or by calling 800-243-1574.

Calendar year total returns for Institutional Class Shares

Returns do not reflect sales charges and would be lower if they did.

Best Quarter: Q2/2020: 5.84% Worst Quarter: Q1/2021: -2.80%

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Average Annual Total Returns (for the periods ended 12/31/21)

Returns reflect deduction of maximum sales charges and full redemption at end of periods shown.

1 Year Since
Inception
(5/30/2018)
Institutional Class

Return Before Taxes

-0.58% 6.21%

Return After Taxes On Distributions

-1.87% 3.77%

Return After Taxes On Distributions and Sale of Fund Shares

-0.52% 3.72%
Class P

Return Before Taxes

-0.64% 6.16%
Class R6

Return Before Taxes

-0.52% 6.26%
Bloomberg U.S. Aggregate Bond Index (reflects no deduction for fees, expenses or taxes) -1.54% 4.45%

The Bloomberg U.S. Aggregate Bond Index measures the U.S. investment grade fixed rate bond market. The index is calculated on a total return basis. The index is unmanaged and not available for direct investment.

After-tax returns are calculated using the historical highest individual federal marginal income tax rates and do not reflect the impact of state and local taxes. After-tax returns are shown only for Institutional Class Shares; after-tax returns for other classes will vary. Actual after-tax returns depend on the investor's tax situation and may differ from those shown. After-tax returns are not relevant to investors who hold fund shares in tax-deferred accounts or to shares held by non-taxable entities. In certain cases, the Return After Taxes on Distributions and Sale of Fund Shares for a period may be higher than other return figures for the same period. This will occur when a capital loss is realized upon the sale of fund shares and provides an assumed tax benefit that increases the return.

Management

The fund's investment adviser is Virtus Investment Advisers, Inc. ("VIA").

The fund's subadviser is Allianz Global Investors U.S. LLC ("AllianzGI U.S.").

Portfolio Management

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Carl W. Pappo, Jr., CFA, lead portfolio manager, managing director and CIO Global Investment Grade Credit, has managed the fund since its inception in 2018.

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Stephen J. Sheehan, CFA, portfolio manager and vice president, has managed the fund since its inception in 2018.

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Michael W. Zazzarino, senior portfolio manager and director, has managed the fund since its inception 2018.

Purchase and Sale of Fund Shares

For Class P and Institutional Class shares, the minimum initial investment in the fund is $1,000,000 and no minimum is needed to add to an existing account, though minimums may be modified for certain financial intermediaries that aggregate trades on behalf of investors.

Class R6 Shares are offered without a minimum initial investment to the following investors in plan level or omnibus accounts only (provided that they do not require or receive any compensation, administrative payments, sub-transfer agency payments or service payments with respect to Class R6 Shares): (i) qualified retirement plans, including, but not limited to, 401(k) plans, 457 plans, employer sponsored 403(b) plans, and defined benefit plans; (ii) banks and trust companies; (iii) insurance companies; (iv) financial intermediaries utilizing such shares in fee-based investment advisory programs; (v) registered investment companies; (vi) 529 portfolios that are advised or sub-advised by Virtus affiliates; and (vii) non-qualified deferred compensation plans. Other institutional investors may be permitted to purchase Class R6 Shares subject to the fund's determination of eligibility and may be subject to a $2,500,000 minimum initial investment requirement.

In general, you may buy or sell shares of the fund by mail or telephone on any business day. You also may buy and sell shares through a financial professional, broker-dealer or other financial intermediary.

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Taxes

The fund's distributions are taxable to you as either ordinary income or capital gains, except when your investment is through a tax-deferred arrangement, such as a 401(k) plan or an individual retirement account. Such tax-deferred arrangements may be taxed later upon withdrawal of monies from those arrangements

Payments to Broker-Dealers and Other Financial Intermediaries

If you purchase shares of the fund through a broker-dealer or other financial intermediary (such as a bank), the fund, its distributor, its investment adviser or their affiliates may pay the intermediary for the sale of fund shares and related services. These payments may create a conflict of interest by influencing the broker-dealer or intermediary and your financial professional to recommend the fund over another investment.

No compensation, administrative payments, sub-transfer agency payments or service payments are paid to brokers or other entities from fund assets or the Distributor's or an affiliate's resources on sales of or investments in Class R6 Shares. Class R6 Shares do not carry sales commissions or pay Rule 12b-1 fees, or make payments to brokers or other entities to assist in, or in connection with, the sale of the fund's shares.

Ask your financial professional or visit your financial intermediary's Web site for more information.