JNL Series Trust

04/26/2021 | Press release | Distributed by Public on 04/26/2021 08:11

Filing by Investment Company (SEC Filing - 497K)

Summary Prospectus - April 26, 2021
JNL/T. Rowe Price U.S. High Yield 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 http://connect.rightprospectus.com/Jackson. 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 26, 2021, 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 to seek total return, and secondarily, current income.
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
0.52%
Distribution and/or Service (12b-1) Fees
0.30%
Other Expenses1
0.15%
Acquired Fund Fees and Expenses2
0.02%
Total Annual Fund Operating Expenses3
0.99%
1
'Other Expenses' include an Administrative Fee of 0.15% 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.
3
Expense information has been restated to reflect current fees.

Annual Fund Operating Expenses
(Expenses that you pay each year as a percentage of the value of your investment)
Class I
Management Fee
0.52%
Distribution and/or Service (12b-1) Fees
0.00%
Other Expenses1
0.15%
Acquired Fund Fees and Expenses2
0.02%
Total Annual Fund Operating Expenses3
0.69%
1
'Other Expenses' include an Administrative Fee of 0.15% 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.
3
Expense information has been restated to reflect current fees.

JNAM has contractually agreed to waive a portion of the Fund's management fee in an amount equal to 100% of the net advisory fees payable to an affiliate of the sub-adviser attributable to the Fund's investment in funds managed by that affiliate. The waiver will have the effect of reducing the Acquired Fund Fees and Expenses that are indirectly borne by the Fund. The waiver will continue for at least one year from the date of this Prospectus, so long as the sub-advisory agreement remains in effect, and continue thereafter unless the Board of Trustees approves a change in or elimination of the waiver. The impact of this waiver was less than 0.01% for the previous fiscal year.
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. The example also assumes that the contractual expense limitation agreement is discontinued after one year. Although your actual costs may be higher or lower, based on these assumptions, your costs would be:
JNL/T. Rowe Price U.S. High Yield Fund Class A
1 year
3 years
5 years
10 years
$101
$315
$547
$1,213

JNL/T. Rowe Price U.S. High Yield Fund Class I
1 year
3 years
5 years
10 years
$70
$221
$384
$859

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
1/1/2020 - 12/31/2020
211
%

Portfolio turnover for the period of January 1, 2020 to April 26, 2020 is from the prior sub-adviser, Crescent Capital Group LP.
Principal Investment Strategies. The Fund normally invests at least 80% of its net assets (including any borrowings for investment purposes) in U.S. high yield instruments (commonly referred to as 'junk' bonds), which are debt instruments that are, at the time of purchase, rated below investment grade by a credit rating agency (i.e., Baa3 by Moody's Investors Service, Inc. or below BBB- by S&P Global Ratings or Fitch Ratings, Inc.), or, if not rated by any major credit rating agency, deemed to be below investment grade by T. Rowe Price Associates, Inc. ('Sub-Adviser'). The Fund considers U.S. high yield instruments to include noninvestment-grade bonds, bank loans, and other debt instruments issued by U.S. issuers, as well as bonds denominated in U.S. dollars that are issued by foreign banks and corporations and registered with the SEC for sale in the U.S. (such as Yankee bonds). If a holding is split rated (i.e., rated investment grade by at least one rating agency and below investment grade by another rating agency), the lower rating will be used for purposes of the Fund's 80% investment policy. The Fund focuses its investments on high yield corporate bonds but may also invest in other income producing instruments including bank loans, convertible securities, and preferred stocks. In selecting bonds, the Sub-Adviser generally evaluates the income provided by the bond and the bond's appreciation potential, as well as the issuer's ability to make income and principal payments.
High yield instruments tend to provide high income in an effort to compensate investors for their higher risk of default, which is the failure to make required interest or principal payments. High yield bond issuers include small or relatively new companies lacking the history or capital to merit investment grade status, former blue-chip companies downgraded because of financial problems, companies electing to borrow heavily to finance or avoid a takeover or buyout, and firms with heavy debt loads.
While high yield corporate bonds are typically issued with a fixed interest rate, bank loans have floating interest rates that reset periodically (typically quarterly or monthly). Bank loans represent amounts borrowed by companies or other entities from banks and other lenders. In many cases, the borrowing companies have significantly more debt than equity and the loans have been issued in connection with recapitalizations, acquisitions, leveraged buyouts, or refinancings. The loans held by the Fund may be senior or subordinate obligations of the borrower. The Fund may invest up to 15% of its total assets in bank loans.
The Fund may purchase securities of any maturity, and its weighted average maturity and duration will vary with market conditions.
While most assets will typically be invested in U.S. issued instruments and U.S. dollar-denominated instruments, the Fund may also invest in non-U.S. dollar-denominated bonds of foreign issuers (including securities of issuers in emerging markets). The Fund may invest up to 20% of its total assets in non-U.S. dollar-denominated foreign instruments.
While most assets will typically be invested directly in bonds and other debt instruments, the Fund may buy or sell credit default swaps involving a specific issuer or an index in order to adjust the Fund's overall credit quality, to protect against fluctuations in the prices of certain holdings, to gain exposure to a particular issuer or security, or to manage certain investment risks such as changes in an issuer's creditworthiness.
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:
•
Credit risk - The price of a debt instrument can decline in response to changes in the financial condition of the issuer, borrower, guarantor, counterparty, or other entity responsible for payment. The Fund could lose money if the issuer or guarantor of a fixed-income security, or the counterparty to a derivatives contract, repurchase agreement or a loan of portfolio securities, is unable or unwilling to make timely principal and/or interest payments, or to otherwise honor its obligations.
•
High-yield bonds, lower-rated bonds, and unrated securities risk - High-yield bonds, lower-rated bonds, and unrated securities are broadly referred to as 'junk bonds,' and are considered below 'investment-grade' by national ratings agencies. Junk bonds are subject to the increased risk of an issuer's inability to meet principal and interest payment obligations. As a result, an investment in junk bonds is considered speculative. High-yield bonds may be subject to liquidity risk, and the Fund may not be able to sell a high-yield bond at the price at which it is currently valued.
•
Fixed-income risk - The price of fixed-income securities responds to economic developments, particularly interest rate changes, as well as to perceptions about the credit risk of individual issuers. Rising interest rates generally will cause the price of bonds and other fixed-income debt securities to fall. Falling interest rates may cause an issuer to redeem, call or refinance a security before its stated maturity, which may result in the Fund having to reinvest the proceeds in lower yielding securities. Bonds and other fixed-income debt securities are subject to credit risk, which is the possibility that the credit strength of an issuer will weaken and/or an issuer of a fixed-income security will fail to make timely payments of principal or interest and the security will go into default.
•
Corporate loan, sovereign entity loan, and bank loan risk - Commercial banks, sovereign entities, and other financial institutions or institutional investors make corporate loans to companies or sovereign entities that need capital to grow, restructure, or for infrastructure projects. These instruments are commonly referred to as 'loans' or 'bank loans.' Borrowers generally pay interest on corporate loans at 'floating' rates that change in response to changes in market interest rates such as the London Interbank Offered Rate ('LIBOR') or the prime rates of U.S. banks. As a result, the value of such loan investments is generally less exposed to the adverse effects of interest rate fluctuations than investments that pay a fixed rate of interest. However, the market for certain loans may not be sufficiently liquid, and the Fund may have difficulty selling them. It may take longer than seven days for transactions in loans to settle. As a result, sale proceeds related to the sale of loans may not be available to make additional investments until a substantial period after the sale of the loans. Certain loans may be classified as 'illiquid' securities. Additionally, because a loan may not be considered a security, the Fund may not be afforded the same legal protections afforded securities under federal securities laws. Thus, the Fund generally must rely on contractual provisions in the loan agreement and common-law fraud protections under applicable state law.
•
Interest rate risk - When interest rates increase, fixed-income securities generally will decline in value. Long-term fixed income securities normally have more price volatility than short-term fixed income securities. The value of certain equity investments, such as utilities and real estate-related securities, may also be sensitive to interest rate changes.
•
Call risk - Call risk is the risk that, during a period of falling interest rates, the issuer may redeem a security by repaying it early, which may reduce the Fund's income if the proceeds are reinvested at lower interest rates.
•
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, 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.
•
Derivatives risk - Investments in derivatives, which are financial instruments whose value depends on, or is derived from, the value of underlying assets, reference rates, or indices, can be highly volatile and may be subject to transaction costs and certain risks, such as unanticipated changes in securities prices and global currency investment. Derivatives also are subject to leverage risk, liquidity risk, interest rate risk, market risk, counterparty risk, and credit risk. They also involve the risk of mispricing or improper valuation and the risk that changes in the value of the derivative may not correlate perfectly with the underlying asset, interest rate or index. Gains or losses from derivatives can be substantially greater than the derivatives' original cost. Certain derivatives transactions may subject the Fund to counterparty risk.
•
Liquidity risk - Investments in securities that are difficult to purchase or sell (illiquid or thinly-traded securities) may reduce returns if the Fund is unable to sell the securities at an advantageous time or price or achieve its desired level of exposure to a certain sector. Liquidity risk arises, for example, from small average trading volumes, trading restrictions, or temporary suspensions of trading. To meet redemption requests, the Fund may be forced to sell securities at an unfavorable time and/or under unfavorable conditions.
•
Convertible securities risk - Convertible securities have investment characteristics of both equity and debt securities. Investments in convertible securities may be subject to market risk, credit and counterparty risk, interest rate risk and other risks associated with investments in equity and debt securities, depending on the price of the underlying security and conversion price. While equity securities may offer the potential for greater long-term growth than most debt securities, they generally have higher volatility. The value of convertible and debt securities may fall when interest rates rise. Securities with longer durations tend to be more sensitive to changes in interest rates, generally making them more volatile than securities with shorter durations. Due to their hybrid nature, convertible securities are typically more sensitive to changes in interest rates than the underlying common stock, but less sensitive than a fixed rate corporate bond.
•
Portfolio turnover risk - Frequent changes in the securities held by the Fund, including investments made on a shorter-term basis or in derivative instruments or in instruments with a maturity of one year or less at the time of acquisition, may increase transaction costs, which may reduce performance.
•
Managed portfolio risk - As an actively managed portfolio, 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, or the Sub-Adviser's investment techniques could fail to achieve the Fund's investment objective or negatively affect the Fund's investment performance.
•
Preferred stock risk - Preferred stock represents an equity interest in a company that generally entitles the holder to receive, in preference to the holders of other stocks such as common stocks, dividends and a fixed share of the proceeds resulting from a liquidation of the company.
•
LIBOR replacement risk - The UK Financial Conduct Authority ('FCA') and LIBOR's administrator, ICE Benchmark Administration ('IBA'), have announced that most LIBOR rates will no longer be published after the end of 2021 and a majority of U.S. dollar LIBOR rates will no longer be published after June 30, 2023. It is possible that the FCA may compel the IBA to publish a subset of LIBOR settings after these dates on a 'synthetic' basis, but any such publications would be considered non-representative of the underlying market. The elimination of LIBOR may adversely affect the interest rates on, and value of, certain Fund investments for which the value is tied to LIBOR. Alternatives to LIBOR are established or in development in most major currencies, including the Secured Overnight Financing Rate (SOFR) that is intended to replace U.S. dollar LIBOR. Markets are slowly developing in response to these new reference rates. However, questions around the rate transition's effect on the liquidity of securities and how to appropriately adjust these rates at the time of transition remain undetermined for the Fund. The effects of discontinuation of LIBOR on the Fund will vary, and it is difficult to predict the full impact of the transition away from LIBOR on the Fund until new reference rates and fallbacks for both legacy and new products, instruments and contracts are commercially accepted and market practices become more settled. The transition process may involve, among other things, increased volatility or illiquidity in markets for instruments that currently rely on LIBOR. Any of the effects described above, as well as other unforeseen effects, could adversely impact the performance of the Funds. Since the usefulness of LIBOR as a benchmark could also deteriorate during the transition period, effects could occur prior to the end of 2021.
•
Foreign regulatory risk - The Adviser is a subsidiary of Jackson. Jackson is a wholly owned subsidiary of Jackson Financial Inc., which is a subsidiary of Prudential plc. Prudential plc is a publicly traded company incorporated in the United Kingdom and is not affiliated in any manner with Prudential Financial Inc., a company whose principal place of business is in the United States of America, or with The Prudential Assurance Company Ltd, a subsidiary of M&G plc, a company incorporated in the United Kingdom. Through its ownership structure, the Adviser has a number of global financial industry affiliates. As a result of this structure, and the asset management and financial industry business activities of the Adviser and its affiliates, the Adviser and the Fund may be prohibited or limited in effecting transactions in certain securities. Additionally, the Adviser and the Fund may encounter trading limitations or restrictions because of aggregation issues or other foreign regulatory requirements. Foreign regulators or foreign laws may impose position limits on securities held by the Fund, and the Fund may be limited as to which securities it may purchase or sell, as well as the timing of such purchases or sales. These foreign regulatory limits may increase the Fund's expenses and may limit the Fund's performance.


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 broad-based securities market indices and a composite index which have investment characteristics similar to those of the Fund. Performance prior to April 27, 2020 reflects the Fund's results when managed by the former sub-adviser, Crescent Capital Group LP. 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 June 24, 2019, the Fund was combined with JNL/BlackRock Global Long Short Credit Fund (the 'Acquired Fund'), a series of Jackson Variable Series Trust, 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.

Annual Total Returns as of December 31
Class A
Best Quarter (ended 12/31/2020): 6.24%; Worst Quarter (ended 3/31/2020): -9.89%
Annual Total Returns as of December 31
Class I
Best Quarter (ended 12/31/2020): 6.36%; Worst Quarter (ended 3/31/2020): -9.77%
Average Annual Total Returns as of 12/31/2020
1 year
Life of Fund (April 25, 2016)
JNL/T. Rowe Price U.S. High Yield Fund (Class A)
3.45
%
4.58
%
ICE Bank of America Merrill Lynch U.S. High Yield Constrained Index (reflects no deductions for fees, expenses, or taxes)
6.07
%
7.56
%

Average Annual Total Returns as of 12/31/2020
1 year
Life of Class (September 25, 2017)
JNL/T. Rowe Price U.S. High Yield Fund (Class I)
3.84
%
3.85
%
ICE Bank of America Merrill Lynch U.S. High Yield Constrained Index (reflects no deductions for fees, expenses, or taxes)
6.07
%
5.59
%

Portfolio Management.
Investment Adviser to the Fund:
Jackson National Asset Management, LLC ('JNAM')
Sub-Adviser:
T. Rowe Price Associates, Inc. ('T. Rowe Price')
Portfolio Manager:
Name:
Joined Fund Management Team In:
Title:
Kevin Loome, CFA
April 2020
Vice President, T. Rowe Price

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.