The Fund can invest in derivative instruments including forward foreign currency contracts, futures contracts and options.
The Fund can use forward foreign currency contracts to hedge against adverse movements in the foreign currencies in which portfolio securities are denominated.
The Fund can use futures contracts to seek exposure to certain asset classes, to hedge against adverse movements in the foreign currencies in which portfolio securities are denominated and to manage duration.
The Fund can use options to seek investment return or to mitigate risk and to hedge against adverse movements in the foreign currencies in which portfolio securities are denominated.
In selecting securities, the portfolio managers focus on a security's potential for income with safety of principal and long-term growth of capital. The portfolio managers emphasize a value style of investing, which focuses on undervalued companies with characteristics for improved valuations. The portfolio managers look for catalysts for change that may positively impact a company. This catalyst could come from within the company in the form of new management, operational enhancements, restructuring or reorganization. It could also be an external factor, such as an improvement in industry conditions or a regulatory change. The aim is to uncover these catalysts for change, and then benefit from potential stock price appreciation of the change taking place at the company.
The Fund may dispose of a security when, in the opinion of the portfolio managers, the security reaches the portfolio managers' estimate of value or when the portfolio managers identify a more attractive investment opportunity.
In attempting to meet its investment objective or to manage subscription and redemption requests, the Fund may engage in active and frequent trading of portfolio securities.
Principal Risks of Investing in the Fund
As with any mutual fund investment, loss of money is a risk of investing. An investment in the Fund is not a deposit in a bank and is not insured or guaranteed by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation or any other governmental agency. The risks associated with an investment in the Fund can increase during times of significant market volatility. The principal risks of investing in the Fund are:
Market Risk. The market values of the Fund's investments, and therefore the value of the Fund's shares, will go up and down, sometimes rapidly or unpredictably. Market risk may affect a single issuer, industry or section of the economy, or it may affect the market as a whole. The value of the Fund's investments may go up or down due to general market conditions that are not specifically related to the particular issuer, such as real or perceived adverse economic conditions, changes in the general outlook for revenues or corporate earnings, changes in interest or currency rates, regional or global instability, natural or environmental disasters, widespread disease or other public health issues, war, military conflict, acts of terrorism, economic crisis or adverse investor sentiment generally. During a general downturn in the financial markets, multiple asset classes may decline in value. When markets perform well, there can be no assurance that specific investments held by the Fund will rise in value.
Investing in Stocks Risk. The value of the Fund's portfolio may be affected by changes in the stock markets. Stock markets may experience significant short-term volatility and may fall or rise sharply at times. Adverse events in any part of the equity or fixed-income markets may have unexpected negative effects on other market segments. Different stock markets may behave differently from each other and U.S. stock markets may move in the opposite direction from one or more foreign stock markets.
The prices of individual stocks generally do not all move in the same direction at the same time. However, individual stock prices tend to go up and down more dramatically than those of certain other types of investments, such as bonds. A variety of factors can negatively affect the price of a particular company's stock. These factors may include, but are not limited to: poor earnings reports, a loss of customers, litigation against the
company, general unfavorable performance of the company's sector or industry, or changes in government regulations affecting the company or its industry. To the extent that securities of a particular type are emphasized (for example foreign stocks, stocks of small- or mid-cap companies, growth or value stocks, or stocks of companies in a particular industry), fund share values may fluctuate more in response to events affecting the market for those types of securities.
Debt Securities Risk. The prices of debt securities held by the Fund will be affected by changes in interest rates, the creditworthiness of the issuer and other factors. An increase in prevailing interest rates typically causes the value of existing debt securities to fall and often has a greater impact on longer-duration debt securities and higher quality debt securities. Falling interest rates will cause the Fund to reinvest the proceeds of debt securities that have been repaid by the issuer at lower interest rates. Falling interest rates may also reduce the Fund's distributable income because interest payments on floating rate debt instruments held by the Fund will decline. The Fund could lose money on investments in debt securities if the issuer or borrower fails to meet its obligations to make interest payments and/or to repay principal in a timely manner. Changes in an issuer's financial strength, the market's perception of such strength or in the credit rating of the issuer or the security may affect the value of debt securities. The credit analysis applied to the Fund's debt securities may fail to anticipate such changes, which could result in buying a debt security at an inopportune time or failing to sell a debt security in advance of a price decline or other credit event.
Preferred Securities Risk. Preferred securities are subject to issuer-specific and market risks applicable generally to equity securities. Preferred securities also may be subordinated to bonds or other debt instruments, subjecting them to a greater risk of non-payment, may be less liquid than many other securities, such as common stocks, and generally offer no voting rights with respect to the issuer.
Convertible Securities Risk. The market values of convertible securities are affected by market interest rates, the risk of actual issuer default on interest or principal payments and the value of the underlying common stock into which the convertible security may be converted. Additionally, a convertible security is subject to the same types of market and issuer risks that apply to the underlying common stock. In addition, certain convertible securities are subject to involuntary conversions and may undergo principal write-downs upon the occurrence of certain triggering events, and, as a result, are subject to an increased risk of loss. Convertible securities may be rated below investment grade and therefore considered to have more speculative characteristics and greater susceptibility to default or decline in market value than investment grade securities.
U.S. Government Obligations Risk. Obligations of U.S. government agencies and authorities receive varying levels of support and may not be backed by the full faith and credit of the U.S. government, which could affect the Fund's ability to recover should they default. No assurance can be given that the U.S. government will provide financial support to its agencies and authorities if it is not obligated by law to do so.
Zero Coupon or Pay-In-Kind Securities Risk. The value, interest rates, and liquidity of non-cash paying instruments, such as zero coupon and pay-in-kind securities, are subject to greater fluctuation than other types of securities. The higher yields and interest rates on pay-in-kind securities reflect the payment deferral and increased credit risk associated with such instruments and that such investments may represent a higher credit risk than loans that periodically pay interest.
Small- and Mid-Capitalization Companies Risk. Investing in securities of small- and mid-capitalization companies involves greater risk than customarily is associated with investing in larger, more established companies. Stocks of small- and mid-capitalization companies tend to be more vulnerable to changing market conditions, may have little or no operating history or track record of success, and may have more limited product lines and markets, less experienced management and fewer financial resources than larger companies. These companies' securities may
2 Invesco V.I. Equity and Income Fund