Transamerica Series Trust

04/30/2024 | Press release | Distributed by Public on 04/30/2024 14:13

Summary Prospectus by Investment Company - Form 497K

Transamerica JPMorgan Asset Allocation - Moderate Growth VP
Transamerica JPMorgan Asset Allocation -
Moderate Growth VP
Summary Prospectus May 1, 2024
Class
Initial & Service (No Ticker)
This summary prospectus is designed to provide shareholders with key portfolio information in a clear and concise format. Before you invest, you may want to review the portfolio's prospectus, which contains more information about the portfolio and its risks. You can find the portfolio's prospectus and other information about the portfolio, including the portfolio's statement of additional information and most recent reports to shareholders, online at www.transamericaseriestrust.com. You can also get this information at no cost by calling 866-414-6349 or by sending an e-mail request to [email protected], or from your financial professional. The portfolio's prospectus and statement of additional information, dated May 1, 2024, as supplemented from time to time, and the independent registered public accounting firm's report and financial statements in the portfolio's annual report to shareholders, dated December 31, 2023, are incorporated by reference into this summary prospectus.
Investment Objective:Seeks capital appreciation with current income as a secondary objective.
Fees and Expenses:This table describes the fees and expenses that you may pay if you buy, hold and sell shares of the portfolio, but it does not reflect any charges that are, or may be, imposed under your variable life insurance policy or variable annuity contract. If such charges were reflected, fees would be higher.
Shareholder Fees (fees paid directly from your investment)
Class:
Initial
Service
Maximum sales charge (load) imposed on purchases
(as a percentage of offering price)
None
None
Maximum deferred sales charge (load) (as a
percentage of purchase price or redemption
proceeds, whichever is lower)
None
None
Annual Fund Operating Expenses (expenses that you pay each year as a percentage of the value of your investment)
Class:
Initial
Service
Management fees
0.12%
0.12%
Distribution and service (12b-1) fees
None
0.25%
Other expenses
0.04%
0.04%
Acquired fund fees and expenses1
0.67%
0.67%
Total annual fund operating expenses
0.83%
1.08%
1
Acquired fund fees and expenses reflect the portfolio's pro rata share of the fees and expenses incurred by investing in other investment companies. Acquired fund fees and expenses are not included in the calculation of the ratios of expenses to average net assets shown in the Financial Highlights section of the portfolio's prospectus.
Example:This Example is intended to help you compare the cost of investing in the portfolio with the cost of investing in other mutual funds.
The Example assumes that you invest $10,000 in the portfolio for the time periods indicated and then redeem all shares at the end of those periods. The Example also assumes that your investment
has a 5% return each year and that the portfolio's operating expenses remain the same. The Example does not reflect charges that are, or may be, imposed under your variable life insurance policy or variable annuity contract. If such charges were reflected, costs would be higher. Although your actual costs may be higher or lower, based on these assumptions your costs would be:
1 year
3 years
5 years
10 years
Initial Class
$85
$265
$460
$1,025
Service Class
$110
$343
$595
$1,317
Portfolio Turnover:The portfolio 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 portfolio operating expenses or in the Example, affect the portfolio's performance.
During the most recent fiscal year, the portfolio turnover rate for the portfolio was 36% of the average value of its portfolio.
Principal Investment Strategies:The portfolio is a fund of funds. The portfolio's sub-adviser, J.P. Morgan Investment Management Inc. (the "sub-adviser"), seeks to achieve the portfolio's investment objective by investing its assets primarily in a broad mix of underlying Transamerica funds that TAM has designated as available for investment by the portfolio ("underlying portfolios").
The portfolio expects to normally allocate its assets among underlying portfolios with the goal of achieving exposure targets over time of approximately 70% of its net assets in equities, which may include stocks, real estate securities, commodity-related securities and alternative investments, and approximately 30% of its net assets in fixed-income, which may include bonds, cash equivalents and other debt securities. The actual percentage allocations at any time may vary. The sub-adviser may increase equity exposure to approximately 90% of net assets or may decrease equity exposure to approximately 30%, and may increase fixed-income exposure to approximately 70% of net assets or may decrease fixed-income exposure to approximately 10% of net assets, subject to the sub-adviser's multi-factor risk management framework. The risk management framework is a quantitatively driven process that makes asset allocation recommendations and may suggest a maximum equity exposure and equity exposure reductions based on a set of asset class momentum signals and an expected portfolio level volatility signal. Notwithstanding the portfolio's equity target and any maximum equity exposure limit imposed under the risk management framework, the sub-adviser may elect to allocate fewer assets to equities and more assets to fixed-income when it believes it is advisable to do so. The portfolio may not achieve its stated asset mix goal.
In seeking to achieve the investment objective of the portfolio, the sub-adviser employs an investment process consisting of four integrated components: long-term strategic asset allocation, underlying strategy and portfolio selection, active or tactical asset allocation and the risk management framework. For the first three components, the sub-adviser's portfolio management team draws on the analysis produced by dedicated research and strategy teams who support the investment process by generating qualitative and quantitative research and insights, including on the underlying portfolios. For the fourth component, the portfolio management team draws on the output of the risk management framework.
As part of its investment process, the sub-adviser selects equity and fixed-income underlying portfolios and rebalances the portfolio's assets among the selected underlying portfolios. The underlying portfolios include portfolios sub-advised by the sub-adviser, and consistent with the portfolio's objective and strategies, the sub-adviser is permitted to invest any portion of the portfolio's assets in underlying portfolios which it sub-advises. When choosing among potential underlying portfolios, the sub-adviser faces a conflict of interest because it will receive additional fees when it selects underlying portfolios for which it also acts as sub-adviser. For more information on the sub-adviser's conflicts of interest, see Appendix B - "Portfolio Managers" to the SAI.
Exposure to high yield bonds (commonly known as "junk bonds") and floating rate loans together generally will not exceed 10% of the portfolio's net assets. Junk bonds are high-risk debt securities rated below investment grade (that is, securities rated below BBB by Standard & Poor's or Fitch or below Baa by Moody's or, if unrated, determined to be of comparable quality by the portfolio's sub-adviser).
Each underlying portfolio has its own investment objective, principal investment strategies and investment risks. The sub-adviser for each underlying portfolio decides which securities to purchase and sell for that underlying portfolio. The portfolio's ability to achieve its investment objective depends largely on the performance of the underlying portfolios in which it invests. The "Underlying Portfolios" section of the prospectus lists the underlying portfolios currently available for investment by the portfolio, provides a summary of their respective investment objectives and principal investment strategies, and identifies certain risks of those portfolios.
It is not possible to predict the extent to which the portfolio will be invested in a particular underlying portfolio at any time. The portfolio may be a significant shareholder in certain underlying portfolios.
The portfolio may have exposure to derivatives instruments, such as options, futures or forward contracts and swaps through its investments in the underlying portfolios. The portfolio also may, but is not required to, invest in derivative instruments such as futures contracts for a variety of purposes, including as a means to manage equity and fixed-income exposure (including regularly using derivatives for purposes of complying with the risk management framework) without having to purchase or sell underlying portfolios and to increase the portfolio's return as a non-hedging strategy that may be considered speculative. For example, when
the level of market volatility is increasing, the sub-adviser may limit the portfolio's equity exposure by shorting or selling long futures positions on an index. It is anticipated that any derivatives usage by the portfolio would primarily involve the use of exchange-traded equity index, U.S. Treasury and currency futures, but the portfolio also could utilize other types of derivatives. The use of derivatives may be deemed to involve the use of leverage because the portfolio is not required to invest the full market value of the contract upon entering into the contract but participates in gains and losses on the full contract price and because the portfolio's use of derivative instruments may result in its exposure exceeding 100% of portfolio value. The portfolio may maintain a significant percentage of its assets in cash and cash equivalent instruments, some of which may serve as margin for the portfolio's obligations under derivatives transactions.
TAM may change the underlying portfolios and the sub-adviser may change the portfolio's asset allocations and underlying portfolios at any time without notice to shareholders and without shareholder approval.
Principal Risks:Risk is inherent in all investing. Many factors and risks affect the portfolio's performance, including those described below. The value of your investment in the portfolio, as well as the amount of return you receive on your investment, may fluctuate significantly day to day and over time. You may lose part or all of your investment in the portfolio or your investment may not perform as well as other similar investments. The portfolio, through its investments in underlying portfolios, is subject to the risks of the underlying portfolios. The following is a summary description of principal risks (in alphabetical order after certain key risks) of investing in the portfolio(either directly or through its investments in underlying portfolios). Each risk described below may not apply to each underlying portfolio and an underlying portfolio may be subject to additional or different risks than those described below. An investment in the portfolio is not a bank deposit and is not insured or guaranteed by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation or any other government agency.You may lose money if you invest in this portfolio.
Market - The market prices of the portfolio's securities or other assets may go up or down, sometimes rapidly or unpredictably, due to factors such as economic events, inflation, changes in interest rates, governmental actions or interventions, actions taken by the U.S. Federal Reserve or foreign central banks, market disruptions caused by tariffs, trade disputes or other factors, political developments, armed conflicts, economic sanctions, cybersecurity events, investor sentiment, the global and domestic effects of widespread or local health, weather or climate events, and other factors that may or may not be related to the issuer of the security or other asset. If the market prices of the portfolio's securities and assets fall, the value of your investment in the portfolio could go down.
Economies and financial markets throughout the world are increasingly interconnected. Events or circumstances in one or more countries or regions could be highly disruptive to, and have profound impacts on, global economies or markets. As a result,
whether or not the portfolio invests in securities of issuers located in or with significant exposure to the countries directly affected, the value and liquidity of the portfolio's investments may go down.
Asset Allocation - The portfolio's investment performance is significantly impacted by the portfolio's asset allocation and reallocation from time to time. The value of your investment may decrease if the sub-adviser's judgment about the attractiveness, value or market trends affecting a particular asset class, investment style, technique or strategy, underlying portfolio or other issuer is incorrect.
Equity Securities - Equity securities generally have greater risk of loss than debt securities. Stock markets are volatile and the value of equity securities may go up or down, sometimes rapidly and unpredictably. The market price of an equity security may fluctuate based on overall market conditions, such as real or perceived adverse economic or political conditions or trends, tariffs and trade disruptions, inflation, substantial economic downturn or recession, changes in interest rates, or adverse investor sentiment. The market price of an equity security also may fluctuate based on real or perceived factors affecting a particular industry or industries or the company itself. If the market prices of the equity securities owned by the portfolio fall, the value of your investment in the portfolio will decline. The portfolio may lose its entire investment in the equity securities of an issuer. A change in financial condition or other event affecting a single issuer may adversely impact securities markets as a whole.
Fixed-Income Securities - Risks of fixed-income securities include credit risk, interest rate risk, counterparty risk, prepayment risk, extension risk, valuation risk, and liquidity risk. The value of fixed-income securities may go up or down, sometimes rapidly and unpredictably, due to general market conditions, such as real or perceived adverse economic or political conditions, tariffs and trade disruptions, inflation, changes in interest rates, lack of liquidity in the bond markets or adverse investor sentiment. In addition, the value of a fixed-income security may decline if the issuer or other obligor of the security fails to pay principal and/or interest, otherwise defaults or has its credit rating downgraded or is perceived to be less creditworthy, or the credit quality or value of any underlying assets declines. If the value of fixed-income securities owned by the portfolio falls, the value of your investment will go down. The portfolio may lose its entire investment in the fixed-income securities of an issuer.
Risk Management Framework - The portfolio is subject to a multi-factor risk management framework that is intended to reduce equity exposure under certain market conditions. This framework may impose a maximum equity exposure limit for the portfolio in response to individual asset class momentum signals and a portfolio level volatility signal. The framework is intended to improve the portfolio's absolute and risk-adjusted returns but may not work as intended. The framework may result in the portfolio not achieving its stated asset mix goal or may cause the portfolio to underperform, possibly significantly. Because market conditions change, sometimes rapidly and unpredictably, the success of the framework also will be subject to the sub-adviser's ability to implement the framework in a timely and efficient manner. The framework may result in periods of underperformance, may fail to protect against market declines, may limit the portfolio's ability
to participate in up markets, may cause the portfolio to underperform its benchmark in rising markets, may increase transaction costs at the portfolio and/or underlying portfolio level and may result in substantial losses if it does not work as intended. For example, if the portfolio has reduced its equity exposure to avoid losses in certain market conditions, and the market rises sharply and quickly, there may be a delay in increasing the portfolio's equity exposure, causing the portfolio to forgo gains from the market rebound. The framework incorporates quantitative models and signals. If those models or signals prove to be flawed or for other reasons do not produce the desired results, any decisions made in reliance thereon may expose the portfolio to additional risks and losses. The use of models has inherent risks, and the success of relying on or otherwise using a model depends, among other things, on the accuracy and completeness of the model's development, implementation and maintenance; on the model's assumptions and methodologies; and on the accuracy and reliability of the inputs and output of the model. The framework also serves to reduce the risk to the Transamerica insurance companies that provide guaranteed benefits under certain variable contracts from equity market volatility and to facilitate their provision of those guaranteed benefits. The framework also may have the effect of limiting the amount of guaranteed benefits. The portfolio's performance may be lower than similar portfolios that are not subject to a risk management framework. The use of derivatives in connection with the framework may expose the portfolio to different and potentially greater risks than if it had only invested in underlying portfolios.
Derivatives - The use of derivatives involves a variety of risks, which may be different from, or greater than, the risks associated with investing in traditional securities, such as stocks and bonds. Risks of derivatives include leverage risk, liquidity risk, interest rate risk, valuation risk, market risk, counterparty risk and credit risk. Use of derivatives can increase portfolio losses, increase costs, reduce opportunities for gains, increase portfolio volatility, and not produce the result intended. Certain derivatives have the potential for unlimited loss, regardless of the size of the initial investment. Even a small investment in derivatives can have a disproportionate impact on the portfolio. Derivatives may be difficult or impossible to sell, unwind or value, and the counterparty (including, if applicable, the portfolio's clearing broker, the derivatives exchange or the clearinghouse) may default on its obligations to the portfolio. In certain cases, the portfolio may incur costs and may be hindered or delayed in enforcing its rights against or closing out derivatives instruments with a counterparty, which may result in additional losses. Derivatives are also generally subject to the risks applicable to the assets, rates, indices or other indicators underlying the derivative, including market risk, credit risk, liquidity risk, management risk and valuation risk. Also, suitable derivative transactions may not be available in all circumstances or at reasonable prices. The value of a derivative may fluctuate more or less than, or otherwise not correlate well with, the underlying assets, rates, indices or other indicators to which it relates. Using derivatives also subjects the portfolio to certain operational and legal risks. The portfolio may segregate cash or other liquid assets to cover the funding of its obligations under derivatives contracts or make margin payments when it takes positions in derivatives involving obligations to third parties. Rule 18f-4 under the 1940 Act provides a comprehensive
regulatory framework for the use of derivatives by funds and imposes requirements and restrictions on portfolios using derivatives. Rule 18f-4 could have an adverse impact on the portfolio's performance and its ability to implement its investment strategies and may increase costs related to the portfolio's use of derivatives. The rule may affect the availability, liquidity or performance of derivatives, and may not effectively limit the risk of loss from derivatives.
Underlying Portfolios - Because the portfolio invests its assets in various underlying portfolios, its ability to achieve its investment objective depends largely on the performance of the underlying portfolios in which it invests. Investing in underlying portfolios subjects the portfolio to the risks of investing in the underlying securities or assets held by those underlying portfolios. Each of the underlying portfolios in which the portfolio may invest has its own investment risks, and those risks can affect the value of the underlying portfolios' shares and therefore the value of the portfolio's investments. There can be no assurance that the investment objective of any underlying portfolio will be achieved. To the extent that the portfolio invests more of its assets in one underlying portfolio than in another, the portfolio will have greater exposure to the risks of that underlying portfolio. In addition, the portfolio will bear a pro rata portion of the operating expenses of the underlying portfolios in which it invests. The "List and Description of Underlying Portfolios" section of the portfolio's prospectus identifies certain risks of each underlying portfolio.
Model and Data - If quantitative models, algorithms or calculations (whether proprietary and developed by the sub-adviser or supplied by third parties) ("Models") or information or data supplied by third parties ("Data") prove to be incorrect or incomplete, any decisions made, in whole or part, in reliance thereon expose the portfolio to additional risks. Models can be predictive in nature. The use of predictive Models has inherent risks. The success of relying on or otherwise using Models depends on a number of factors, including the validity, accuracy and completeness of the Model's development, implementation and maintenance, the Model's assumptions, factors, algorithms and methodologies, and the accuracy and reliability of the supplied historical or other Data. Models rely on, among other things, correct and complete Data inputs. If incorrect Data is entered into even a well-founded Model, the resulting information will be incorrect. However, even if Data is input correctly, Model prices may differ substantially from market prices, especially for securities with complex characteristics. Investments selected with the use of Models may perform differently than expected as a result of the design of the Model, inputs into the Model or other factors. There also can be no assurance that the use of Models will result in effective investment decisions for the portfolio.
Management - The value of your investment may go down if the investment manager's or sub-adviser's judgments and decisions are incorrect or otherwise do not produce the desired results, or if the investment strategy does not work as intended. You may also suffer losses if there are imperfections, errors or limitations in the quantitative, analytic or other tools, resources, information and data used, investment techniques applied, or the analyses employed or relied on, by the investment manageror sub-adviser, if such tools, resources, information or data are used incorrectly or otherwise do not work as intended, or if the investment manager's or sub-adviser's investment style is out of favor or otherwise fails
to produce the desired results. Any of these things could cause the portfolio to lose value or its results to lag relevant benchmarks or other funds with similar objectives.
Active Trading - The portfolio may engage in active trading of its portfolio. Active trading will increase transaction costs and could detract from performance. Active trading may be more pronounced during periods of market volatility.
AllocationConflicts - The sub-adviser is subject to conflicts of interest in the selection and allocation of the portfolio's assets among underlying portfolios. The sub-adviser serves as sub-adviser to certain underlying portfolios in which the portfolio may invest. The sub-adviser will receive more revenue when it selects an underlying portfolio it sub-advises for inclusion in the portfolio.
Asset Class Variation - The underlying portfolios invest principally in the securities constituting their asset class (i.e., equity or fixed-income) or underlying index components. However, an underlying portfolio may vary the percentage of its assets in these securities (subject to any applicable regulatory requirements). Depending upon the percentage of securities in a particular asset class held by the underlying portfolios at any given time, and the percentage of the portfolio's assets invested in various underlying portfolios, the portfolio's actual exposure to the securities in a particular asset class may vary substantially from its target allocation for that asset class, and this in turn may adversely affect the portfolio's performance.
Commodities and Commodity-Related Securities - Commodities and commodity-related businesses or industries are subject to changes and volatility in commodity prices generally, regulatory, economic and political developments, weather events and natural disasters, tariffs and trade disruptions, and market disruptions. Commodities and commodity-linked investments may be less liquid than other investments. Commodity-linked investments also are subject to the credit risk associated with the issuer, and their value may decline substantially if the issuer's creditworthiness deteriorates.
Convertible Securities - Convertible securities are subject to risks associated with both fixed-income and equity securities. For example, if market interest rates rise, the value of a convertible security typically falls. In addition, a convertible security is subject to the risk that the issuer will not be able to pay interest or dividends when due, and the market value of the security may change based on the issuer's actual or perceived creditworthiness. Since the convertible security derives a portion of its value from the underlying common stock, the security is also subject to the same types of market and issuer-specific risks that apply to the underlying common stock. Convertible securities generally offer lower interest or dividend yields than non-convertible securities of similar quality.
Counterparty - The portfolio could lose money if the counterparties to derivatives, repurchase agreements and/or other financial contracts entered into for the portfolio do not fulfill their contractual obligations. In addition, the portfolio may incur costs and may be hindered or delayed in enforcing its rights against a counterparty. These risks may be greater to the extent the portfolio has more contractual exposure to a counterparty.
Credit - If an issuer or other obligor (such as a party providing insurance or other credit enhancement) of a security held by the portfolio or a counterparty to a financial contract with the portfolio
is unable or unwilling to meet its financial obligations, or is downgraded or perceived to be less creditworthy (whether by market participants, ratings agencies, pricing services or otherwise), or if the value of any underlying assets declines, the value of your investment will typically decline. A decline may be rapid and/or significant, particularly in certain market environments. In addition, the portfolio may incur costs and may be hindered or delayed in enforcing its rights against an issuer, obligor or counterparty.
Currency - The value of a portfolio's investments in securities denominated in foreign currencies increases or decreases as the rates of exchange between those currencies and the U.S. dollar change. U.S. dollar-denominated securities of foreign issuers may also be affected by currency risk. Currency exchange rates can be volatile and may fluctuate significantly over short periods of time. Currency conversion costs and currency fluctuations could reduce or eliminate investment gains or add to investment losses. A portfolio may be unable or may choose not to hedge its foreign currency exposure or any hedge may not be effective.
Currency Hedging - The portfolio may hedge its currency risk using currency futures, forwards or options. However, hedging strategies and/or these instruments may not always work as intended, and a portfolio may be worse off than if it had not used a hedging strategy or instrument. Certain countries may also impose restrictions on the exchange or export of currency or adverse currency exchange rates and may be characterized by a lack of available currency hedging instruments.
Cybersecurity - Cybersecurity incidents, both intentional and unintentional, may allow an unauthorized party to gain access to portfolio assets, portfolio or shareholder data (including private shareholder information), or proprietary information, cause the portfolio or its service providers (including, but not limited to, the portfolio's investment manager, any sub-adviser(s), transfer agent, distributor, custodian, fund accounting agent and financial intermediaries) to suffer data breaches, data corruption or loss of operational functionality, or prevent portfolio investors from purchasing, redeeming or exchanging shares, receiving distributions or receiving timely information regarding the portfolio or their investment in the portfolio. Cybersecurity incidents may result in financial losses to the portfolio and its shareholders, and substantial costs may be incurred in order to prevent or mitigate any future cybersecurity incidents.
Emerging Markets - Investments in securities of issuers located or doing business in emerging markets are subject to heightened foreign investments risks and may experience rapid and extreme changes in value. Emerging market countries tend to have less developed and less stable economic, political and legal systems and regulatory and accounting standards, may have policies that restrict investment by foreigners or that prevent foreign investors such as the portfolio from withdrawing their money at will, and are more likely to experience nationalization, expropriation and confiscatory taxation. Emerging market securities may have low trading volumes and may be or become illiquid. In addition, there may be significant obstacles to obtaining information necessary for investigations into or litigation against issuers located in or operating in emerging market countries, and shareholders may have limited legal remedies.
Extension - When interest rates rise, payments of fixed-income securities, including asset- and mortgage-backed securities, may occur more slowly than anticipated, causing their market prices to decline.
Floating Rate Loans - Floating rate loans are often made to borrowers whose financial condition is troubled or highly leveraged. These loans frequently are rated below investment grade and are therefore subject to "High-Yield Debt Securities" risk. There is no public market for floating rate loans and the loans may trade infrequently and be subject to wide bid/ask spreads. Many floating rate loans are subject to restrictions on resale. Floating rate loans held by the portfolio may be "covenant lite" loans that contain fewer or less restrictive constraints on the borrower or other borrower-friendly characteristics and offer fewer protections for lenders. Floating rate loans may have trade settlement periods in excess of seven days, which may result in the portfolio not receiving proceeds from the sale of a loan for an extended period. As a result, the portfolio may be subject to greater "Liquidity" risk than a fund that does not invest in floating rate loans and the portfolio may be constrained in its ability to meet its obligations (including obligations to redeeming shareholders). The lack of an active trading market may also make it more difficult to value floating rate loans. Rising interest rates can lead to increased default rates as payment obligations increase.
Focused Investing - To the extent the portfolio invests in a limited number of countries, regions, sectors, industries or market segments, in a limited number of issuers, or in issuers in related businesses or that are subject to related operating risks, the portfolio will be more susceptible to negative events affecting those countries, regions, sectors, industries, segments or issuers, and the value of its shares may be more volatile than if it invested more widely.
Foreign Investments - Investing in securities of foreign issuers or issuers with significant exposure to foreign markets involves additional risks. Foreign markets can be less liquid, less regulated, less transparent and more volatile than U.S. markets. The value of the portfolio's foreign investments may decline, sometimes rapidly or unpredictably, because of factors affecting the particular issuer as well as foreign markets and issuers generally, such as unfavorable government actions, including nationalization, expropriation or confiscatory taxation, reduction of government or central bank support, tariffs and trade disruptions, sanctions, political or financial instability, social unrest or other adverse economic or political developments. Foreign investments may also be subject to different accounting practices and different regulatory, legal, auditing, financial reporting and recordkeeping standards and practices, and may be more difficult to value than investments in U.S. issuers. Certain foreign clearance and settlement procedures may result in an inability to execute transactions or delays in settlement.
Frontier Markets - Frontier market countries generally have smaller economies and even less developed capital markets than emerging market countries. As a result, the risks of investing in emerging market countries are magnified in frontier market countries.
Growth Stocks - Returns on growth stocks may not move in tandem with returns on other categories of stocks or the market as a whole. Growth stocks typically are particularly sensitive to market movements and may involve larger price swings because their market prices tend to reflect future expectations. When it
appears those expectations may not be met, the prices of growth stocks typically fall. Growth stocks may also be more volatile because they often do not pay dividends. The values of growth stocks tend to go down when interest rates rise because the rise in interest rates reduces the current value of future cash flows. Growth stocks as a group may be out of favor and underperform the overall equity market for a long period of time, for example, while the market favors "value" stocks.
High-Yield Debt Securities - High-yield debt securities, commonly referred to as "junk" bonds, are securities that are rated below "investment grade" or are of comparable quality. Changes in interest rates, the market's perception of the issuers, the creditworthiness of the issuers and negative perceptions of the junk bond market generally may significantly affect the value of these bonds. Junk bonds are considered speculative, tend to be volatile, typically have a higher risk of default, tend to be less liquid and more difficult to value than higher grade securities, and may result in losses for the portfolio.
Interest Rate -The value of fixed-income securities generally goes down when interest rates rise. A rise in rates tends to have a greater impact on the prices of longer term or duration securities. Changes in interest rates also may affect the liquidity of the portfolio's investments. A general rise in interest rates may cause investors to sell fixed-income securities on a large scale, which could adversely affect the price and liquidity of fixed-income securities generally and could also result in increased redemptions from the portfolio. Increased redemptions could cause the portfolio to sell securities at inopportune times or depressed prices and result in further losses. The U.S. Federal Reserve has raised interest rates from historically low levels. Any additional interest rate increases in the future may cause the value of fixed-income securities to decrease.
Leveraging - To the extent that the portfolio borrows or uses derivatives or other investments, such as ETFs, that have embedded leverage, your investment may be subject to heightened volatility, risk of loss and costs. Other risks also will be compounded because leverage generally magnifies the effect of a change in the value of an asset and creates a risk of loss of value on a larger pool of assets than the portfolio would otherwise have. Use of leverage may result in the loss of a substantial amount, and possibly all, of the portfolio's assets. The portfolio also may have to sell assets at inopportune times to satisfy its obligations.
Liquidity - The portfolio may make investments that are illiquid or that become illiquid after purchase. Illiquid investments can be difficult to value, may trade at a discount from comparable, more liquid investments, and may be subject to wide fluctuations in value. Liquidity risk may be magnified in rising interest rate or volatile environments. If the portfolio is forced to sell an illiquid investment to meet redemption requests or other cash needs, the portfolio may be forced to sell at a substantial loss or may not be able to sell at all. Liquidity of particular investments, or even entire asset classes, including U.S. Treasury securities, can deteriorate rapidly, particularly during times of market turmoil, and those investments may be difficult or impossible for the portfolio to sell. This may prevent the portfolio from limiting losses.
Loans - Loans are subject to the credit risk of nonpayment of principal or interest. Economic downturns or increases in interest rates may cause an increase in defaults, interest rate risk and liquidity
risk. Loans may or may not be collateralized at the time of acquisition, and any collateral may be relatively illiquid or lose all or substantially all of its value subsequent to investment. The portfolio's investments in loans are also subject to prepayment or call risk.
Preferred Stock - Preferred stocks may pay fixed or adjustable rates of return. Preferred stocks are subject to issuer-specific and market risks applicable generally to equity securities. A company's preferred stocks generally pay dividends only after the company makes required payments to holders of its bonds and other debt. Thus, the market prices of preferred stocks are typically more sensitive to changes in the issuer's creditworthiness than are the prices of debt securities. The market value of preferred stocks generally decreases when interest rates rise.
Prepayment or Call - Many issuers have a right to prepay their fixed-income securities. If this happens, the portfolio will not benefit from the rise in the market price of the securities that normally accompanies a decline in interest rates and may be forced to reinvest the prepayment proceeds in securities with lower yields.
Real Estate Securities - Investments in the real estate industry are subject to risks associated with direct investment in real estate. These risks include declines in the value of real estate, adverse general and local economic conditions, increased competition, overbuilding and changes in laws and regulations affecting real estate, operating expenses, property taxes and interest rates. If the portfolio's real estate-related investments are concentrated in one geographic area or one property type, the portfolio will also be subject to the risks associated with that one area or property type. The value of the portfolio's real estate-related securities will not necessarily track the value of the underlying investments of the issuers of such securities.
REITs - Investing in real estate investment trusts ("REITs") involves unique risks. When the portfolio invests in REITs, it is subject to risks generally associated with investing in real estate. A REIT's performance depends on the types and locations of the properties it owns, how well it manages those properties and cash flow. REITs may have limited financial resources, may trade less frequently and in limited volume, may engage in dilutive offerings, and may be subject to more abrupt or erratic price movements than the overall securities markets. In addition to its own expenses, the portfolio will indirectly bear its proportionate share of any management and other expenses paid by REITs in which it invests. U.S. REITs are subject to a number of highly technical tax-related rules and requirements; and a U.S. REIT's failure to qualify for the favorable U.S. federal income tax treatment generally available to U.S. REITs could result in corporate-level taxation, significantly reducing the return on an investment to the portfolio.
Short Positions - The portfolio may enter into derivatives transactions that have a similar economic effect as short sales such as taking short positions in futures contracts. The portfolio will incur a loss as a result of a short position if the price of the asset sold short increases in value between the date of the short position sale and the date on which an offsetting position is purchased. Because the portfolio's potential loss on a short position arises from increases in the value of the asset sold short, the extent of such loss, like the price of the asset sold short, is potentially unlimited.
Small and Medium Capitalization Companies - The portfolio will be exposed to additional risks as a result of its investments in the securities of small or medium capitalization companies. Small or medium capitalization companies may be more at risk than large capitalization companies because, among other things, they may have limited product lines, operating history, market or financial resources, or because they may depend on a limited management group. Securities of small and medium capitalization companies may be more volatile than and may underperform large capitalization companies, may be harder to sell at times and at prices the portfolio managers believe appropriate and may offer greater potential for losses.
Sovereign Debt - Sovereign debt instruments are subject to the risk that the governmental entity may delay or fail to pay interest or repay principal on its sovereign debt. If a governmental entity defaults, it may ask for more time in which to pay or for further loans, or the debt may be restructured. There may be no established legal process for collecting sovereign debt that a government does not pay, nor are there bankruptcy proceedings through which all or part of the sovereign debt that a governmental entity has not repaid may be collected.
Structure Conflicts - Transamerica Asset Management, Inc. ("TAM"), the portfolio's investment manager, has established an investment program whereby a substantial portion of the portfolio's assets are invested in underlying Transamerica funds. TAM does not consider unaffiliated funds as underlying investment options for these assets, even if unaffiliated funds have better investment performance or lower total expenses.
Tactical Asset Allocation - Tactical asset allocation is an investment strategy that actively adjusts a portfolio's asset allocation. The portfolio's tactical asset management discipline may not work as intended. The portfolio may not achieve its objective and may not perform as well as other funds using other asset management styles, including those based on fundamental analysis (a method of evaluating a security that entails attempting to measure its intrinsic value by examining related economic, financial and other factors) or strategic asset allocation (a strategy that involves periodically rebalancing the portfolio in order to maintain a long-term goal for asset allocation). The sub-adviser's evaluations and assumptions in selecting underlying portfolios, underlying ETFs or individual securities may be incorrect in view of actual market conditions, and may result in owning securities that underperform other securities.
U.S. Government Securities - Securities backed by the Treasury or the full faith and credit of the U.S. government are guaranteed only as to the timely payment of interest and principal when held to maturity. Accordingly, the current market values for these securities will fluctuate with changes in interest rates and the financial condition or credit rating of the U.S. government. Notwithstanding that these securities are backed by the full faith and credit of the U.S. government, circumstances could arise that would prevent the payment of interest or principal. Securities issued by U.S. government-sponsored entities and federal agencies and instrumentalities that are not backed by the full faith and credit of the U.S. government are neither issued nor guaranteed by the U.S. government. U.S. government securities are subject to market risk, interest rate risk and credit risk.
Valuation - Certain investments may be more difficult to value than other types of investments. The sales price the portfolio could receive for any particular portfolio investment may differ from the portfolio's valuation of the investment, particularly for securities that trade in thin or volatile markets, that are priced based upon valuations provided by third party pricing services, or that are valued using a fair value methodology. These differences may increase significantly and affect portfolio investments more broadly during periods of market volatility. Investors who purchase or redeem portfolio shares on days when the portfolio is holding fair-valued securities may receive fewer or more shares or lower or higher redemption proceeds than they would have received if the portfolio had not fair-valued securities or had used a different valuation methodology. The portfolio's ability to value its investments may also be impacted by technological issues and/or errors by pricing services or other third party service providers. Fair value pricing involves subjective judgment, which may prove to be incorrect.
Value Investing - The prices of securities the sub-adviser believes are undervalued may not appreciate as anticipated or may go down. The value approach to investing involves the risk that stocks may remain undervalued, undervaluation may become more severe, or perceived undervaluation may actually represent intrinsic value. Value stocks as a group may be out of favor and underperform the overall equity market for a long period of time, for example, while the market favors "growth" stocks.
Performance:The bar chart and the table below provide some indication of the risks of investing in the portfolio. The bar chart shows how the portfolio's performance has varied from year to year. The table shows how the portfolio's average annual total returns for different periods compare to the returns of a broad measure of market performance, as well as comparison to one or more secondary indices.
The performance calculations do not reflect any charges that are, or may be, imposed under your variable life insurance policy or variable annuity contract. If such charges were reflected, performance would be lower.
As with all mutual funds, past performance is not a prediction of future results. Updated performance information is available on our website at www.transamerica.com/annuities-performance-center or by calling 1-800-851-9777.
Prior to July 1, 2016, the portfolio had a different sub-adviser and used different investment strategies. The performance set forth from May 1, 2014 to that date is attributable to that previous sub-adviser. From April 17, 2012 to May 1, 2014, the portfolio was directly managed by TAM, and performance during that period is attributable to TAM.
Annual Total Returns (calendar years ended December 31) - Initial Class
Quarter Ended
Return
Best Quarter:
12/31/2020
13.87%
Worst Quarter:
3/31/2020
-14.87%
Average Annual Total Returns (periods ended December 31, 2023)
1 Year
5 Years
10 Years
Inception
Date
Initial Class
12.21%
7.85%
5.67%
5/1/2002
Service Class
11.93%
7.59%
5.41%
5/1/2003
FT Wilshire 5000 Full Cap IndexSM1
(reflects no deduction for fees,
expenses or taxes)
26.25%
14.84%
11.21%
Bloomberg US Aggregate Bond Index
(reflects no deduction for fees,
expenses or taxes)
5.53%
1.10%
1.81%
1 As of May 31, 2023, the Wilshire 5000 Total Market IndexSM was rebranded the FT Wilshire 5000 Full Cap IndexSM.
Management:
Investment Manager: Transamerica Asset Management, Inc.
Sub-Adviser: J.P. Morgan Investment Management Inc.
Portfolio Managers:
Matthew Cummings, CFA
Portfolio Manager
since May 2023
Michael Feser, CFA
Portfolio Manager
since April 2016
Jeff Geller, CFA
Portfolio Manager
since April 2016
Grace Koo
Portfolio Manager
since April 2016
Purchase and Sale of Portfolio Shares: Shares of the portfolio may only be purchased or redeemed through variable life insurance policies and variable annuity contracts offered by the separate accounts of participating life insurance companies. Please refer to the corresponding prospectus of the policy or annuity contract that you have chosen for more information about the terms of the offering. Shares of the portfolio may also be sold to the asset allocation portfolios and to other funds of funds.
The portfolio does not have any initial or subsequent investment minimums. However, your insurance company may impose investment minimums.
The portfolio will not be charged and does not intend to pay any 12b-1 fees on Initial Class shares through May 1, 2025. The maximum 12b-1 fee on Initial Class shares is 0.15%. The portfolio reserves the right to pay such fees after that date.
Tax Information: Distributions made by the portfolio to an insurance company separate account, and exchanges and redemptions of portfolio shares made by the separate account, ordinarily do not cause the owners of insurance policies and annuity contracts invested in the separate account to recognize income or gain for federal income tax purposes. Please refer to the corresponding prospectus of the policy or annuity contract that you have chosen for more information regarding the tax consequences of your investment.
Payments to Broker-Dealers and Other Financial Intermediaries: The portfolio is generally only available as an underlying investment option for separate accounts of Transamerica life insurance companies to fund benefits under variable life insurance policies and variable annuity contracts. The portfolio and/or its affiliates may make payments to a Transamerica insurance company (or its affiliates) and to broker-dealers and other financial intermediaries for the sale of variable contracts (and thus, indirectly, the portfolio's shares) and related services. These payments may create a conflict of interest by influencing the Transamerica insurance company or other intermediary to recommend the variable contracts that invest in the portfolio. Ask your salesperson or visit your financial intermediary's website for more information.
In an effort to reduce paper mailings and conserve natural resources, we encourage you to visit our website, www.transamerica.com, to set up an account and enroll in eDelivery.
SPST0524JPMAAMG