Goldman Sachs Variable Insurance Trust

04/29/2024 | Press release | Distributed by Public on 04/29/2024 04:01

Summary Prospectus by Investment Company - Form 497K

Goldman Sachs Variable Insurance Trust
SummaryProspectus
April 29, 2024
GOLDMAN SACHS VARIABLE INSURANCE TRUST
Goldman Sachs Small Cap Equity Insights Fund - Service Shares

Before you invest, you may want to review the Goldman Sachs Small Cap Equity Insights Fund (the "Fund") Prospectus, which contains more information about the Fund and its risks. You can find the Fund's Prospectus, reports to shareholders and other information about the Fund online at http://www.gsamfunds.com/vitfunds. You can also get this information at no cost by calling 800-621-2550 or by sending an e-mail request to [email protected]. The Fund's Prospectus and Statement of Additional Information ("SAI"), both dated April 29, 2024, are incorporated by reference into this Summary Prospectus.
Investment Objective
The Goldman Sachs Small Cap Equity Insights Fund (the "Fund") seeks long-term growth of capital.
Fees and Expenses of the Fund
This table describes the fees and expenses that you may pay if you buy, hold and sell Service Shares of the Fund. This table does not reflect the fees and expenses associated with any variable annuity contract or variable life insurance policy that uses the Fund as an investment option. Had those fees and expenses been included, overall fees and expenses would be higher.
Annual Fund Operating Expenses
(expenses that you pay each year as a percentage of the value of your investment)
Management Fees
0.70%
Distribution and Service (12b-1) Fees
0.25%
Other Expenses
0.17%
Total Annual Fund Operating Expenses
1.12%
Expense Limitation1
(0.05)%
Total Annual Fund Operating Expenses After Expense Limitation
1.07%
1
The Investment Adviser has agreed to reduce or limit "Other Expenses" (excluding acquired fund fees and expenses, transfer agency fees and expenses, taxes, interest, brokerage fees, expenses of shareholder meetings, litigation and indemnification, and extraordinary expenses) to 0.094% of the Fund's average daily net assets through at least April 29, 2025, and prior to such date the Investment Adviser may not terminate the arrangement without the approval of the Board of Trustees.
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. This Example does not reflect the fees and expenses associated with any variable annuity contract or variable life insurance policy that uses the Fund as an investment option. Had those fees and expenses been included, the costs shown below would be higher. The Example assumes that you invest $10,000 in Service Shares of the Fund for the time periods indicated and then redeem all of your Service Shares at the end of those periods. The Example also assumes that your investment has a 5% return each year and that the Fund's operating expenses remain the same (except that the Example incorporates any applicable fee waiver and/or expense limitation arrangements for only the first year). 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
Service Shares
$109
$351
$612
$1,359

Portfolio Turnover
The Fund pays transaction costs when it buys and sells securities or instruments (i.e., "turns over" its portfolio). A high rate of portfolio turnover may result in increased transaction costs, including brokerage commissions, which must be borne by the Fund and its shareholders. These costs are not reflected in the annual fund operating expenses or in the expense example above, but are reflected in the Fund's performance. The Fund's portfolio turnover rate for the fiscal year ended December 31, 2023 was 152% of the average value of its portfolio.
Principal Strategy
The Fund invests, under normal circumstances, at least 80% of its net assets plus any borrowings for investment purposes (measured at time of purchase) ("Net Assets") in a broadly diversified portfolio of equity investments in small-cap U.S. issuers, including foreign issuers that are traded in the United States. Small-cap issuers will generally have public stock market capitalizations between $25 million and $15 billion. The Fund may also invest in securities outside of this capitalization range.
2 Summary Prospectus - Goldman Sachs Small Cap Equity Insights Fund - Service Shares
The Fund uses a quantitative style of management, in combination with a qualitative overlay, that emphasizes fundamentally-based stock selection, careful portfolio construction and efficient implementation. The Fund's investments are selected using fundamental research and a variety of quantitative techniques based on certain investment themes, including, among others, Fundamental Mispricings, High Quality Business Models, Sentiment Analysis and Market Themes & Trends. Fundamental Mispricings seeks to identify high-quality businesses trading at a fair price, which the Investment Adviser believes leads to strong performance over the long-run. High Quality Business Models seeks to identify companies that are generating high-quality revenues with sustainable business models and aligned management incentives. Sentiment Analysis seeks to identify stocks experiencing improvements in their overall market sentiment. Market Themes and Trends seeks to identify companies positively positioned to benefit from themes and trends in the market and macroeconomic environment. As a part of the Investment Adviser's investment selection process, the Investment Adviser utilizes proprietary models that assess a wide range of indicators, which may include certain environmental, social and governance ("ESG") indicators. No one indicator, risk or consideration is determinative in the investment selection process. The Fund may make investment decisions that deviate from those generated by the Investment Adviser's proprietary models, at the discretion of the Investment Adviser. In addition, the Investment Adviser may, in its discretion, make changes to its quantitative techniques, or use other quantitative techniques that are based on the Investment Adviser's proprietary research.
The Fund may also invest in fixed income securities that are considered to be cash equivalents.
The Fund's benchmark index is the Russell 2000® Index.
Principal Risks of the Fund
Loss of money is a risk of investing in the Fund.An investment in the Fund is not a bank deposit and is not insured or guaranteed by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation ("FDIC") or any government agency. The Fund should not be relied upon as a complete investment program. There can be no assurance that the Fund will achieve its investment objective. Investments in the Fund involve substantial risks which prospective investors should consider carefully before investing. The Fund's principal risks are presented below in alphabetical order, and not in the order of importance or potential exposure.
Investment Style Risk. Different investment styles (e.g., "growth", "value" or "quantitative") tend to shift in and out of favor depending upon market and economic conditions and investor sentiment. The Fund may outperform or underperform other funds that invest in similar asset classes but employ different investment styles.
Large Shareholder Transactions Risk. The Fund may experience adverse effects when certain large shareholders purchase or redeem large amounts of shares of the Fund. Such large shareholder redemptions, which may occur rapidly or unexpectedly, may cause the Fund to sell portfolio securities at times when it would not otherwise do so, which may negatively impact the Fund's net asset value ("NAV") and liquidity. Similarly, large Fund share purchases may adversely affect the Fund's performance to the extent that the Fund is delayed in investing new cash or otherwise maintains a larger cash position than it ordinarily would. These transactions may also increase transaction costs. In addition, a large redemption could result in the Fund's current expenses being allocated over a smaller asset base, leading to an increase in the Fund's expense ratio.
Management Risk. A strategy used by the Investment Adviser may fail to produce the intended results. The Investment Adviser attempts to execute a complex strategy for the Fund using proprietary quantitative models. Investments selected using these models may perform differently than expected as a result of the factors used in the models, the weight placed on each factor, changes from the factors' historical trends, and technical and other issues in the construction, implementation and maintenance of the models (including, for example, data problems, unauthorized changes and/or software issues). There is no guarantee that the Investment Adviser's use of these quantitative models will result in effective investment decisions for the Fund. Additionally, commonality of holdings across quantitative money managers may amplify losses.
Market Risk.The value of the securities in which the Fund invests may go up or down in response to the prospects of individual companies, particular sectors or governments and/or general economic conditions throughout the world due to increasingly interconnected global economies and financial markets. Events such as war, military conflict, acts of terrorism, social unrest, natural disasters, recessions, inflation, rapid interest rate changes, supply chain disruptions, sanctions, the spread of infectious illness or other public health threats could also significantly impact the Fund and its investments.
Mid-Cap and Small-Cap Risk. Investments in mid-capitalization and small-capitalization companies involve greater risks than those associated with larger, more established companies. These securities may be subject to more abrupt or erratic price movements and may lack sufficient market liquidity, and these issuers often face greater business risks.
Portfolio Turnover Rate Risk. A high rate of portfolio turnover involves correspondingly greater expenses which must be borne by the Fund and its shareholders.
REIT Risk. Risks associated with investments such as REITs in the real estate industry include, among others: possible declines in the value of real estate; risks related to general and local economic conditions; possible lack of availability of mortgage financing, variations in rental income, neighborhood values or the appeal of property to tenants; interest rates; overbuilding; extended vacancies of properties; increases in competition, property taxes and operating expenses; and changes in zoning laws. REITs whose underlying properties are concentrated in a particular industry or geographic region are subject to risks affecting such industries and regions. The securities of REITs involve greater risks than those associated with larger, more established companies and may be subject to more abrupt or erratic price movements because of interest rate changes, economic conditions and other factors. Securities of such issuers may lack sufficient market liquidity to enable the Fund to effect sales at an advantageous time or without a substantial drop in price.
Stock Risk. Stock prices have historically risen and fallen in periodic cycles. U.S.and foreign stock markets have experienced periods of substantial price volatility in the past and may do so again in the future.
Tax Diversification Risk. The Fund intends to meet the diversification requirements that are applicable to insurance company separate accounts under Subchapter L of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986, as amended (the "Code") (the "Diversification Requirements"). In order for the Fund to qualify for "look through" treatment under the Diversification Requirements, Fund shares must be sold only to persons permitted to hold shares, directly or indirectly (each, a "Permitted Investor"), under Section 817 of the Code and Treasury Regulation 1.817-5(f), as supplemented by published rulings and procedures issued thereunder by the Internal Revenue Service ("IRS"). To the extent an investor in Fund shares no longer qualifies as a Permitted Investor, and
3 Summary Prospectus - Goldman Sachs Small Cap Equity Insights Fund - Service Shares
such investor fails to restore its status as a Permitted Investor or obtain a waiver or closing agreement with respect to such failure from the IRS, the Fund may no longer qualify for "look through" treatment. Therefore, in testing compliance with the Diversification Requirements, an investor in the Fund, such as, for example, an insurance company separate account, no longer would be able to look through the Fund to its underlying investments. Instead, the Fund would be considered a single investment for purposes of the Diversification Requirements.
A failure to satisfy the Diversification Requirements (whether resulting from investors in Fund shares or otherwise) could have significant adverse tax consequences for variable contract owners whose contract values are determined by investment in the Fund. See "Taxation" in the Statement of Additional Information (the "SAI") for more information.
Performance
The bar chart and table below provide an indication of the risks of investing in the Fund by showing: (a) changes in the performance of the Fund's Service Shares from year to year; and (b) how the average annual total returns of the Fund's Service Shares compare to those of a broad-based securities market index.The Fund's past performance is not necessarily an indication of how the Fund will perform in the future.Performance reflects applicable fee waivers and/or expense limitations in effect during the periods shown. In addition, performance reflects Fund level expenses but does not reflect the fees and expenses
associated with any variable annuity contract or variable life insurance policy that uses the Fund as an investment option for any contract or policy. Had performance reflected all of those fees and expenses, performance would have been reduced. Updated performance information is available at no cost at www.gsamfunds.com/vit or by calling the phone number on the back cover of the Prospectus.
CALENDAR YEAR
During the periods shown in the chart above:
Returns
Quarter ended
Best Quarter Return
25.52%
December 31, 2020
Worst Quarter Return
-32.85%
March 31, 2020
AVERAGE ANNUAL TOTAL RETURN
For the period ended December 31, 2023
1 Year
5 Years
10 Years
Inception
Date
Service Shares
18.95%
9.76%
7.53%
8/31/2007
Russell 2000® Index (reflects no deduction for fees or expenses)
16.93%
9.97%
7.15%
Portfolio Management
Goldman Sachs Asset Management, L.P. is the investment adviser for the Fund (the "Investment Adviser" or "GSAM").
Portfolio Managers: Len Ioffe, CFA, Managing Director and Senior Portfolio Manager, has managed the Fund since 2011; Osman Ali, CFA, Managing Director and Senior Portfolio Manager, has managed the Fund since 2012; Dennis Walsh, Managing Director and Senior Portfolio Manager, has managed the Fund since 2013; Takashi Suwabe, Managing Director and Senior Portfolio Manager, has managed the Fund since 2021; and Joseph Kogan, Vice President and Senior Portfolio Manager, has managed the Fund since February 2024.
Buying and Selling Fund Shares
Fund shares are not sold directly to the public. Fund shares may be purchased and redeemed by separate accounts that fund variable annuity and variable life insurance contracts issued by participating insurance companies and other qualified purchasers. Orders received from separate accounts and other qualified purchasers to purchase or redeem Fund shares are effected on business days. Individual investors may
purchase or redeem Fund shares indirectly through variable annuity contracts and variable life insurance policies offered through the separate accounts.
Tax Information
Provided that the Fund and separate accounts investing in the Fund satisfy applicable tax requirements, the Fund will not be subject to federal tax. Special tax rules apply to life insurance companies, variable annuity contracts and variable life insurance contracts. For information on federal income taxation of owners of variable annuity or variable life insurance contracts, see the prospectus for the applicable contract.
Payments to Broker-Dealers and
Other Financial Intermediaries
The Fund and/or its related companies may pay participating insurance companies and securities dealers for the sale of Fund shares and related services. These payments may create a conflict of interest by influencing the insurance company and your salesperson to recommend the Fund over another investment. Ask your salesperson or visit your insurance company's website for more information.
4 Summary Prospectus - Goldman Sachs Small Cap Equity Insights Fund - Service Shares
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