JNL Series Trust

04/29/2024 | Press release | Distributed by Public on 04/29/2024 06:48

Summary Prospectus by Investment Company - Form 497K

Summary Prospectus - April 29, 2024
JNL Multi-Manager Small Cap Value Fund
Class A
Class I
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 and other information about the Fund, including the Statement of Additional Information ("SAI") and most recent reports to shareholders, online at https://www.jackson.com/fund-literature.html. You can also get this information at no cost by calling 1-800-644-4565 (Annuity and Life Service Center), 1-800-599-5651 (NY Annuity and Life Service Center), 1-800-777-7779 (for contracts purchased through a bank or financial institution) or 1-888-464-7779 (for NY contracts purchased through a bank or financial institution), or by sending an email request to [email protected]. The current Prospectus and SAI, both dated April 29, 2024, as amended, are incorporated by reference into (which means they legally are a part of) this Summary Prospectus.
Investment Objective. The investment objective of the Fund is long-term total return.
Expenses. This table describes the fees and expenses that you may pay if you buy, hold and sell shares of the Fund.
The expenses do not reflect the expenses of the variable insurance contracts or the separate account through which you indirectly invest in the Fund, whichever may be applicable, and the total expenses would be higher if they were included.
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.
Shareholder Fees
(fees paid directly from your investment)
Not Applicable
Annual Fund Operating Expenses
(Expenses that you pay each year as a percentage of the value of your investment)
Class A
Management Fee
0.67%
Distribution and/or Service (12b-1) Fees
0.30%
Other Expenses1
0.10%
Acquired Fund Fees and Expenses2
0.04%
Total Annual Fund Operating Expenses
1.11%
1
"Other Expenses" include an Administrative Fee of 0.10% which is payable to Jackson National Asset Management, LLC ("JNAM" or "Adviser").
2
Acquired Fund Fees and Expenses are the indirect expenses of investing in other investment companies. Accordingly, the expense ratio presented in the Financial Highlights section of the prospectus will not correlate to the Total Annual Fund Operating Expenses disclosed above.

Annual Fund Operating Expenses
(Expenses that you pay each year as a percentage of the value of your investment)
Class I
Management Fee
0.67%
Distribution and/or Service (12b-1) Fees
0.00%
Other Expenses1
0.10%
Acquired Fund Fees and Expenses2
0.04%
Total Annual Fund Operating Expenses
0.81%
1
"Other Expenses" include an Administrative Fee of 0.10% which is payable to Jackson National Asset Management, LLC ("JNAM" or "Adviser").
2
Acquired Fund Fees and Expenses are the indirect expenses of investing in other investment companies. Accordingly, the expense ratio presented in the Financial Highlights section of the prospectus will not correlate to the Total Annual Fund Operating Expenses disclosed above.

Expense 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. Also, this example does not reflect the expenses of the variable insurance contracts or the separate account through which you indirectly invest in the Fund, whichever may be applicable, and the total expenses would be higher if they were included. The table below shows the expenses you would pay on a $10,000 investment, assuming (1) 5% annual return; (2) redemption at the end of each time period; and (3) that the Fund operating expenses remain the same. Although your actual costs may be higher or lower, based on these assumptions, your costs would be:
JNL Multi-Manager Small Cap Value Fund Class A
1 year
3 years
5 years
10 years
$113
$353
$612
$1,352

JNL Multi-Manager Small Cap Value Fund Class I
1 year
3 years
5 years
10 years
$83
$259
$450
$1,002

Portfolio Turnover (% of average value of portfolio). 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. These costs, which are not reflected in Annual Fund Operating Expenses or in the Expense Example above, affect the Fund's performance.
Period
1/1/2023 - 12/31/2023
24
%

Principal Investment Strategies. The Fund seeks to achieve its investment objective by investing, under normal circumstances, at least 80% of its assets (net assets plus the amount of any borrowings made for investment purposes) in the equity securities of small-capitalization companies that, when purchased, have market capitalizations between the smallest company and 120% of the largest company in the Morningstar US Small Cap Broad Value Extended Index. As of December 31, 2023, the range of such companies in the Morningstar U.S. Small Cap Broad Value Extended Index was $146.0 million to $14.79 billion.
The Fund has flexibility in the relative weighting of each asset class and expects to vary the percentages of assets invested in each asset class from time to time. JNAM's allocations to the underlying Sub-Advisers will be a function of a variety of factors including each underlying strategy's expected returns, volatility, correlation, and contribution to the Fund's overall risk profile.
Unaffiliated investment managers ("Sub-Advisers") generally provide day to day management for a portion of the Fund's assets (each portion is sometimes referred to as a "sleeve"). Each Sub-Adviser may use different investment strategies in managing Fund assets, acts independently from the others, and uses its own methodology for selecting investments. Jackson National Asset Management, LLC ("JNAM" or "Adviser") is responsible for identifying and retaining the Sub-Advisers for the selected strategies and for monitoring the services provided by the Sub-Advisers. JNAM provides qualitative and quantitative supervision as part of its process for selecting and monitoring the Sub-Advisers. JNAM is also responsible for selecting the Fund's investment strategies and for determining the amount of Fund assets to allocate to each Sub-Adviser. Based on JNAM's ongoing evaluation of the Sub-Advisers, JNAM may adjust allocations among Sub-Advisers.
JNAM also may choose to allocate the Fund's assets to additional Sub-Advisers in the future. There is no assurance that any or all of the strategies discussed in this prospectus will be used by JNAM or the Sub-Advisers.
JNAM may also manage Fund assets directly to seek to enhance returns, or to hedge and to manage the Fund's cash and short-term instruments.
Below are the principal investment strategies for each Sub-Adviser's strategy, but the Sub-Advisers may also implement other investment strategies in keeping with their respective strategy's objective.
Congress Strategy
Congress Asset Management Company, LLP ("Congress") constructs the Congress Strategy by investing in the common stocks of small capitalization ("small-cap") companies.
Congress generally constructs the strategy to consist of 70-110 companies. The Congress Strategy is predominantly focused on investing in companies domiciled within the United States. The strategy can invest in foreign securities, primarily through American Depositary Receipts ("ADRs") and the equity securities of companies incorporated outside of the U.S. that are traded on U.S. exchanges. Investments in ADRs are generally less than 10%.
The Congress Strategy focuses on opportunities that Congress believes have significant upside potential, emphasizing a combination of both valuation and earnings power. Congress employs a fundamental, bottom-up investment approach that includes both financial modeling and qualitative analysis. A stock may be sold, among other reasons, if Congress believes that the company's cumulative valuation and earnings upside potential approaches fair value, better opportunities exist, the company experiences fundamental deterioration, or the market capitalization rises above a targeted range.
Cooke & Bieler Strategy
Cooke & Bieler, L.P. ("C&B") constructs the C&B Small Cap Value Equity Strategy by investing in the common stocks of small capitalization ("small-cap") companies.
C&B manages a relatively focused portfolio of typically 40 to 60 companies that enables C&B to provide adequate diversification while allowing the portfolio to behave differently than the market.
C&B selects securities for the strategy based on an analysis of a company's financial characteristics and an assessment of the quality of a company's management.
WCM Strategy
WCM Investment Management, LLC ("WCM") constructs the WCM Strategy by investing in the common stocks of small capitalization ("small-cap") companies that WCM believes are undervalued.
WCM generally constructs the strategy to consist of 25-40 companies. WCM typically selects shareholder-friendly companies with a durable competitive advantage that are trading at a discount to intrinsic value. Characteristics of these companies include sustained, high returns on invested capital, consistent free cash flow generation, and impressive compounding of net book value over time.
Reinhart Strategy
Reinhart Partners, LLC ("Reinhart") constructs the Reinhart Strategy by investing equity securities issued by small-capitalization ("small-cap") companies.
Reinhart may invest up to 20% of its net assets in securities of foreign issuers, real estate investment trusts ("REITs") and securities of other investment companies, including exchange-traded funds ("ETFs"). Reinhart's investment in other investment companies and ETFs will be within the limits of the Investment Company Act of 1940, as amended. Reinhart's investments in foreign securities may include ADRs.
River Road Strategy
River Road Asset Management, LLC ("River Road") constructs the River Road Strategy by investing primarily in equity securities of small capitalization companies that River Road believes are undervalued. The River Road Strategy may continue to hold securities of a portfolio company that subsequently drops below or appreciates above this capitalization threshold. The River Road Strategy may also invest in companies of other market capitalizations, REITs, BDC-RICs, convertible securities, and foreign stocks.
Principal Risks of Investing in the Fund. An investment in the Fund is not guaranteed. As with any mutual fund, the value of the Fund's shares will change, and you could lose money by investing in the Fund. The principal risks associated with investing in the Fund include:
•
Market risk - Portfolio securities may decline in value due to factors affecting securities markets generally, such as real or perceived adverse economic, political, or regulatory conditions, inflation, changes in interest or currency rates or adverse investor sentiment, public health issues, including widespread disease and virus epidemics or pandemics, war, terrorism or natural disasters, among others. Adverse market conditions may be prolonged and may not have the same impact on all types of securities. The values of securities may fall due to factors affecting a particular issuer, industry or the securities market as a whole.
•
Equity securities risk - Common and preferred stocks represent equity ownership in a company. Stock markets are volatile, and equity securities generally have greater price volatility than fixed-income securities. The price of equity or equity-related securities will fluctuate and can decline and reduce the value of a portfolio investing in equity or equity-related securities. The value of equity or equity-related securities purchased or held by the Fund could decline if the financial condition of the companies the Fund invests in decline or if overall market and economic conditions deteriorate. They may also decline due to factors that affect a particular industry or industries, such as labor shortages or an increase in production costs and competitive conditions within an industry. In addition, they may decline due to general market conditions that are not specifically related to a company or industry, such as real or perceived adverse economic conditions, changes in the general outlook for corporate earnings, changes in interest or currency rates or generally adverse investor sentiment.
•
Company risk - Investments in U.S. and/or foreign-traded equity securities may fluctuate more than the values of other types of securities in response to changes in a particular company's financial condition.
•
Issuer risk - The value of an individual security or particular type of security can be more volatile than the market as a whole and can perform differently from the market as a whole. A security's value may decline for reasons that directly relate to the issuer, such as management performance, corporate governance, financial leverage and reduced demand for the issuer's goods or services.
•
Small-capitalization investing risk - Investing in smaller companies, some of which may be newer companies or start-ups, generally involves greater risks than investing in larger, more established ones. The securities of companies with smaller market capitalizations often are less widely held and trade less frequently and in lesser quantities, and their market prices often fluctuate more, than the securities of companies with larger market capitalizations.
•
Investment style risk - The returns from a certain investment style may be lower than the returns from the overall stock market. Value stocks may not increase in price if other investors fail to recognize the company's value or the factors that are expected to increase the price of the security do not occur. Over market cycles, different investment styles may sometimes outperform other investment styles (for example, growth investing may outperform value investing).
•
Allocation risk - The Fund's ability to achieve its investment objective depends upon the investment manager's analysis of such factors as macroeconomic trends, outlooks for various industries and asset class valuations, and its ability to select an appropriate mix of asset classes based on its analysis of such factors. TheFund is subject to the risk of changes in market, investment, and economic conditions in the selection and percentages of allocations.
•
Managed portfolio risk - As an actively managed portfolio, the Fund's portfolio manager(s) make decisions to buy and sell holdings in the Fund's portfolio. Because of this, the value of the Fund's investments could decline because the financial condition of an issuer may change (due to such factors as management performance, reduced demand or overall market changes), financial markets may fluctuate or overall prices may decline, the Sub-Adviser's investment techniques could fail to achieve the Fund's investment objective or negatively affect the Fund's investment performance, or legislative, regulatory, or tax developments may affect the investment techniques available to the Sub-Adviser of the Fund. There is no guarantee that the investment objective of the Fund will be achieved.
•
Depositary receipts risk - Depositary receipts, such as American depositary receipts ("ADRs"), global depositary receipts ("GDRs"), and European depositary receipts ("EDRs"), may be issued in sponsored or un-sponsored programs. They may be traded in the over-the-counter ("OTC") market or on a regional exchange, or may otherwise have limited liquidity. The prices of depositary receipts may differ from the prices of securities upon which they are based. In a sponsored program, a security issuer has made arrangements to have its securities traded in the form of depositary receipts. In an un-sponsored program, the issuer may not be directly involved in the creation of the program. Holders of un-sponsored depositary receipts generally bear all the costs of the facility. The depository usually charges fees upon deposit and withdrawal of the underlying securities, the conversion of dividends into U.S. dollars or other currency, the disposition of non-cash distributions, and the performance of other services. Depositary receipts involve many of the same risks as direct investments in foreign securities. These risks include: fluctuations in currency exchange rates, which are affected by international balances of payments and other economic and financial conditions; government intervention; and speculation. With respect to certain foreign countries, there is the possibility of expropriation or nationalization of assets, confiscatory taxation, political and social upheaval, and economic instability. Investments in depositary receipts that are exchange traded or OTC may also subject the Fund to liquidity risk. This risk is enhanced in connection with OTC depositary receipts.
•
Foreign securities risk - Investments in, or exposure to, foreign securities involve risks not typically associated with U.S. investments. These risks include, among others, adverse fluctuations in foreign currency values, possible imposition of foreign withholding or other taxes on income payable on the securities, as well as adverse political, social and economic developments, such as political upheaval, acts of terrorism, financial troubles, sanctions or the threat of new or modified sanctions, or natural disasters. Many foreign securities markets, especially those in emerging market countries, are less stable, smaller, less liquid, and less regulated than U.S. securities markets, and the costs of trading in those markets is often higher than in U.S. securities markets. There may also be less publicly available information about issuers of foreign securities compared to issuers of U.S. securities. In addition, the economies of certain foreign markets may not compare favorably with the economy of the United States with respect to issues such as growth of gross national product, reinvestment of capital, resources and balance of payments position.
•
Real estate investment risk - Risks of investing in real estate securities include falling property values due to increasing vacancies in rental properties, declining rents resulting from economic, legal, tax, cultural, political or technological developments, lack of liquidity, limited diversification, and sensitivity to certain economic factors such as interest-rate changes and other market conditions. When growth is slowing, demand for property decreases and prices may decline, which could impact the value of real estate investments as well as mortgage-backed securities that may be held by the Fund. Real estate company share prices may drop because of the failure of borrowers to pay their loans and poor management, and residential developers, in particular, could be negatively impacted by falling home prices, slower mortgage origination and rising construction costs. The securities of smaller real estate-related issuers can be more volatile and less liquid than securities of larger issuers and their issuers can have more limited financial resources.
•
REIT investment risk - The risks of investing in REITs include certain risks associated with the direct ownership of real estate and the real estate industry in general. These include risks related to general, regional and local economic conditions; difficulties in valuing and disposing of real estate; fluctuations in interest rates and property tax rates; shifts in zoning laws; environmental regulations and other governmental action; cash flow dependency; increased operating expenses; lack of availability of mortgage funds; losses due to natural disasters; overbuilding; losses due to casualty or condemnation; changes in property values and rental rates; the management skill and creditworthiness of the REIT manager; and other factors. REITs may have limited financial resources, may trade less frequently and in limited volume, may engage in dilutive offerings of securities and may be more volatile than other securities. REITs could be adversely affected by failure to maintain their exemptions from registration under the Investment Company Act of 1940, as amended, or failure to qualify for the "dividends paid deduction" under the Internal Revenue Code of 1986, as amended, which allows REITs to reduce their corporate taxable income for dividends paid to their shareholders.


Performance. The performance information shown provides some indication of the risks of investing in the Fund by showing changes in the Fund's performance from year to year and by showing how the Fund's average annual returns compared with those of a broad-based securities market index and an additional index that the Adviser believes more closely reflects the market segments in which the Fund invests. Performance prior to September 28, 2015, reflects the Fund's results when managed by the former sub-adviser, Franklin Advisory Services, LLC. The Fund's past performance is not necessarily an indication of how the Fund will perform in the future.
The returns shown in the bar chart and table do not include charges that will be imposed by variable insurance products. If these amounts were reflected, returns would be less than those shown.
Effective April 26, 2021, the Fund was combined with JNL/PPM America Small Cap Value Fund ("Acquired Fund"), with the Fund as the surviving Fund. The performance shown is the Fund's historic performance and does not reflect the performance of the Acquired Fund.
Effective April 29, 2024, the Morningstar® US Market Extended Index℠ replaced the Morningstar® US Small Cap Broad Value Extended Index℠ as the Fund's broad-based securities market index in accordance with new regulatory disclosure requirements. The Morningstar® US Small Cap Broad Value Extended Index℠ is included as an additional index for the Fund because the Adviser believes it more closely reflects the market segments in which the Fund invests.
Annual Total Returns as of December 31

Class A
Best Quarter (ended 12/31/2020): 28.30%; Worst Quarter (ended 3/31/2020): -34.79%

Annual Total Returns as of December 31

Class I
Best Quarter (ended 12/31/2020): 28.37%; Worst Quarter (ended 3/31/2020): -34.71%

Average Annual Total Returns as of 12/31/2023
1 year
5 year
10 year
JNL Multi-Manager Small Cap Value Fund (Class A)
20.97
%
11.61
%
6.29
%
Morningstar US Market Extended Index (reflects no deduction for fees, expenses, or taxes)
26.22
%
15.15
%
11.51
%
Morningstar US Small Cap Broad Value Extended Index (reflects no deduction for fees, expenses, or taxes)
16.27
%
11.64
%
7.36
%

Average Annual Total Returns as of 12/31/2023
1 year
5 year
10 year
JNL Multi-Manager Small Cap Value Fund (Class I)
21.37
%
11.95
%
6.56
%
Morningstar US Market Extended Index (reflects no deduction for fees, expenses, or taxes)
26.22
%
15.15
%
11.51
%
Morningstar US Small Cap Broad Value Extended Index (reflects no deduction for fees, expenses, or taxes)
16.27
%
11.64
%
7.36
%

Portfolio Management.
Investment Adviser to the Fund:
Jackson National Asset Management, LLC ("JNAM")
Sub-Advisers:
Congress Asset Management Company, LLP ("Congress")
Cooke & Bieler, L.P. ("C&B")
Reinhart Partners, LLC ("Reinhart")
River Road Asset Management, LLC ("River Road")
WCM Investment Management, LLC ("WCM")
Portfolio Managers:
Name:
Joined Fund Management Team In:
Title:
William Harding, CFA
September 2015
Senior Vice President, Chief Investment Officer and Portfolio Manager, JNAM
Sean Hynes, CFA, CAIA
September 2015
Vice President and Portfolio Manager, JNAM
Mark Pliska, CFA
September 2015
Vice President and Portfolio Manager, JNAM
Jeff Kerrigan, CFA
September 2015
Portfolio Manager, Congress
Steve Lyons, CFA
September 2015
Partner, C&B
Michael Meyer, CFA
September 2015
Partner, C&B
Edward O'Connor, CFA
September 2015
Partner, C&B
R. James O'Neil, CFA
September 2015
Partner, C&B
Mehul Trivedi, CFA
September 2015
Partner, C&B
William Weber, CFA
September 2015
Partner, C&B
Andrew Armstrong, CFA
December 2015
Partner, C&B
Wesley Lim, CFA
December 2018
Principal, C&B
Matthew Martinek, CFA
October 2019
Principal and Lead Portfolio Manager, Reinhart
Brent Jesko
October 2019
Principal and Portfolio Manager, Reinhart
J. Justin Akin
April 2021
Senior Portfolio Manager, River Road
R. Andrew Beck
April 2021
Chief Executive Officer & Senior Portfolio Manager, River Road
Jon Detter
August 2018
Portfolio Manager and Business Analyst, WCM
Anthony Glickhouse
August 2018
Portfolio Manager and Business Analyst, WCM
Patrick F. McGee
August 2018
Portfolio Manager and Business Analyst, WCM

Purchase and Redemption of Fund Shares
Only separate accounts of Jackson National Life Insurance Company ("Jackson") or Jackson National Life Insurance Company of New York ("Jackson NY") and series, including fund of funds, of registered investment companies in which either or both of those insurance companies invest may purchase shares of the Fund. You may invest indirectly in the Fund through your purchase of a variable annuity or life insurance contract issued by a separate account of Jackson or Jackson NY that invests directly, or through a fund of funds, in this Fund. Any minimum initial or subsequent investment requirements and redemption procedures are governed by the applicable separate account through which you invest indirectly.
This Fund serves as an underlying investment by insurance companies, affiliated investment companies, and retirement plans for funding variable annuity and life insurance contracts and retirement plans.
Tax Information
The Fund expects to be treated as a partnership for U.S. federal income tax purposes, and does not expect to make regular distributions (other than in redemption of Fund shares) to shareholders, which generally are the participating insurance companies investing in the Fund through separate accounts of Jackson or Jackson NY and mutual funds owned directly or indirectly by such separate accounts. You should consult the prospectus of the appropriate separate account or description of the plan for a discussion of the U.S. federal income tax consequences to you of your contract, policy, or plan.
Payments to Broker-Dealers and Financial Intermediaries
If you invest in the Fund under a variable insurance contract or a plan that offers a variable insurance contract as a plan option through a broker-dealer or other financial intermediary (such as a financial institution), the Fund and its related companies 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 other intermediary and your salesperson to recommend the Fund over another investment. Ask your salesperson or visit your financial intermediary's Website for more information.