Goldman Sachs Trust

Institutional and Service Shares of the Goldman Sachs Buffered S&P 500 Fund – January, Goldman Sachs Buffered S&P 500 Fund – April, Goldman Sachs Buffered S&P 500 Fund – July, and Goldman Sachs Buffered S&P 500 Fund – October.

The information in this prospectus is not complete and may be changed. We may not sell these securities until the registration statement filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission is effective. This prospectus is not an offer to sell these securities and is not soliciting an offer to buy these securities in any state where the offer or sale is not permitted.

THE SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION HAS NOT APPROVED OR DISAPPROVED THESE SECURITIES OR PASSED UPON THE ADEQUACY OF THIS PROSPECTUS. ANY REPRESENTATION TO THE CONTRARY IS A CRIMINAL OFFENSE.

AN INVESTMENT IN THE FUND IS NOT A BANK DEPOSIT AND IS NOT INSURED BY THE FEDERAL DEPOSIT INSURANCE CORPORATION OR ANY OTHER GOVERNMENT AGENCY. AN INVESTMENT IN THE FUND INVOLVES INVESTMENT RISKS, AND YOU MAY LOSE MONEY IN THE FUND.

THE FUNDS HAVE CHARACTERISTICS UNLIKE TRADITIONAL INVESTMENT PRODUCTS AND WILL NOT BE SUITABLE FOR ALL INVESTORS. CAREFULLY READ THIS PROSPECTUS BEFORE DETERMINING WHETHER A FUND MAY BE A SUITABLE INVESTMENT.

If the Underlying Index experiences returns over a Reset Period, each Fund seeks to provide investment returns that track the performance of the Underlying Index, up to the applicable Cap for that Reset Period. If the Underlying Index experiences returns in excess of the applicable Cap over a Reset Period, each Fund, and therefore its investors, will not fully participate in those excess gains. The Cap is discussed in further detail below.

The Funds’ website (www.[ ]) provides important information about the Funds on a daily basis, including information about the Buffer and the then-current Cap for the applicable Reset Period, the current Outcome Period start and end dates, and information relating to the remaining potential outcomes of an investment in the Funds. Investors considering an investment in the Funds should visit the website for the latest information.

You should consider this investment only if all of the following factors apply to you:

The Goldman Sachs Buffered S&P 500 Fund—January (the “Fund”) seeks long-term capital appreciation.

This table describes the fees and expenses that you may pay if you buy, hold and sell Institutional 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.

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 Institutional Shares of the Fund for the time periods indicated and then redeem all of your Institutional 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:

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. Because the Fund has not yet commenced operations as of the date of the Prospectus, there is no portfolio turnover information quoted for the Fund.

The Fund seeks to achieve a total return, for the period from January 1 to December 31 (an “Outcome Period”), that tracks the S&P 500 Price Return Index (the “Underlying Index”) up to a “cap” while providing a downside “buffer” against losses over the Outcome Period. Although the Fund seeks to implement a targeted outcome strategy, there is no guarantee that the Fund will successfully achieve its investment objective or any targeted outcome. Due to the unique mechanics of the Fund’s strategy, the return an investor can expect to receive from an investment in the Fund has characteristics that are distinct from many other investment vehicles.

The Fund’s initial Outcome Period is the one-year period from January 1, 2022 to December 31, 2022. The targeted outcomes sought by the Fund, which include the buffer and cap discussed below, are based primarily upon the performance of the Underlying Index over successive one-year periods from January 1 to December 31.

If the Underlying Index experiences returns over a Reset Period, the Fund seeks to provide investment returns that track the performance of the Underlying Index, up to the applicable Cap for that Reset Period. If the Underlying Index experiences returns in excess of the applicable Cap over a Reset Period, the Fund, and therefore its investors, will not fully participate in those excess gains. The Cap is discussed in further detail below.

The Buffer and Cap are calculated prior to taking into account Fund fees and expenses. Accordingly, the maximum performance of the Fund over a Reset Period is expected to be lower than the applicable Cap by the amount of Fund fees and expenses. Similarly, the performance of the Fund over an Outcome Period will be exposed to losses beyond the Buffer in the amount of Fund fees and expenses. The Fund’s website (www.[ ]) provides important information about the Fund on a daily basis, including information about the Buffer and the then-current Cap for the applicable Reset Period, the current Outcome Period start and end dates, and information relating to the remaining potential outcomes of an investment in the Fund. Investors considering an investment in the Fund should visit the website for the latest information.

In order to implement the Buffer and Cap, the Fund will primarily invest in FLexible EXchange^® Options (“FLEX Options”) and over-the-counter (“OTC”) and listed options that reference the Underlying Index (together with FLEX Options, “S&P 500 Options”). FLEX Options are customized exchange-traded option contracts available through the Chicago Board Option Exchange. Through FLEX Options, the Fund could customize key contract terms such as exercise prices and expiration dates.

The Fund will purchase and sell call and put S&P 500 Options to create layers within the Fund’s portfolio. One layer is designed to buffer the Fund from losses over an Outcome Period, while another layer is designed to produce returns that track those of the Underlying Index over a Reset Period, up to the applicable Cap for that Reset Period.

The first layer of S&P 500 Options is designed to buffer the Fund from losses of up to 10% if the Underlying Index experiences a loss at the end of an Outcome Period. There is no guarantee that the Fund will be successful in its attempts to provide buffered returns and an investor may lose their entire investment. The Buffer is operative only against the first 10% of Underlying Index losses at the end an Outcome Period. If the Underlying Index has decreased in value by more than 10% at the end of an Outcome Period, the Fund, and therefore its investors, will participate in those losses. The Buffer is calculated prior to taking into account Fund fees and expenses. After deducting Fund fees and expenses, the Buffer is expected to be approximately [ ]%. If an investor purchases shares during an Outcome Period, and the Fund has already decreased in value during that Outcome Period, that investor may not fully benefit from the Buffer for the remainder of the Outcome Period, but will have increased gains available prior to reaching the applicable Cap within the applicable Reset Period. Conversely, during the Outcome Period, if the Fund has already increased in value, then a shareholder investing at that time may experience losses prior to gaining the protection offered by the Buffer.

The second layer of S&P 500 Options is designed to produce returns that track those of the Underlying Index over a Reset Period if the Underlying Index has experienced gains during that Reset Period. However, unlike other investment products, the potential returns an investor can receive from an investment in the Fund are subject to an upside return Cap. This means that if the Underlying Index experiences gains over a Reset Period beyond the level of the applicable Cap for that Reset Period, the Fund will not participate in those excess gains. Therefore, regardless of the performance of the Underlying Index, the applicable Cap, before Fund fees and expenses, is the maximum return an investor can achieve from an investment in the Fund over a Reset Period.

Buffer. The Cap is expected to reset monthly, quarterly, annually or on an ad-hoc basis, in the discretion of the Investment Adviser. The Cap may increase or decrease from one Reset Period to the next or from one Outcome Period to the next. Market conditions that may impact the level of the Cap include, but are not limited to, interest rate levels, the volatility of the Underlying Index, and relationship of put and calls on the underlying S&P 500 Options. The S&P 500 Options strategy to determine the applicable Cap (including the applicable Cap from one Reset Period to the next) will be managed over an entire Outcome Period in a way that seeks to maximize an investor’s upside participation. Any Cap is calculated prior to taking into account Fund fees and expenses.

As the S&P 500 Options mature at the end of a Reset Period or at the end of the one-year Outcome Period, the Fund will enter into a new set of S&P 500 Options, which may increase or decrease the Cap for the subsequent Reset Period or subsequent one-year Outcome Period. The next one-year Outcome Period will begin on January 1, 2023. The Fund is a continuous investment vehicle. It does not terminate and distribute its assets at the conclusion of each Outcome Period.

Approximately one week prior to the end of a Reset Period or an Outcome Period, the Fund will publish on its website (www.[ ]) the anticipated ranges for the Cap for the next Reset Period or Outcome Period. Following the close of business on the last day of a Reset Period or an Outcome Period, the Fund will publish on its website (www.[ ]) the Fund’s final Cap for the next Reset Period or Outcome Period. Investors considering an investment in the Fund should visit the website for the latest information (including the then-current Cap for the applicable Reset Period).

The outcomes sought by the Fund are based upon the Fund’s net asset value (“NAV”) on the first day of an Outcome Period. An Outcome Period begins on the day the S&P 500 Options are first entered into (i.e., on or about January 1^st) and ends approximately one year later. Each S&P 500 Option’s value is ultimately derived from the performance of the Underlying Index during a Reset Period or an Outcome Period. To achieve the desired outcomes for an Outcome Period, an investor must hold Fund shares for the entire Outcome Period. An investor that purchases shares after the commencement of an Outcome Period will likely have purchased shares at a different NAV than the NAV upon which the desired outcomes are based and may experience investment outcomes very different from those sought by the Fund over the entire Outcome Period. An investor that redeems shares prior to the end of an Outcome Period may also experience investment outcomes very different from those sought by the Fund. There is no guarantee that the Fund will be successful in its attempt to provide the targeted outcomes.

The following chart and table illustrate the hypothetical returns that the Fund seeks to provide where an investor holds Fund shares for the entire Outcome Period. The returns shown in the chart and table are based on the hypothetical performance of the Underlying Index in certain illustrative scenarios and do not take into account the deduction of Fund fees and expenses, brokerage commissions, trading fees, taxes and non-routine or extraordinary expenses. There is no guarantee that the Fund will be successful in its attempt to achieve its investment objective or provide any targeted outcome.

The Fund may invest in one or more underlying funds (including exchange-traded funds (“ETFs”)) that seek to track the Underlying Index, including ETFs for which GSAM or an affiliate now or in the future acts as investment adviser or principal underwriter. The Fund intends to also invest directly in fixed income securities (bonds) and equity securities (stocks). These investments may be publicly traded, privately issued, or negotiated. The percentage of the Fund invested in equity and fixed income securities will vary from time to time as the Investment Adviser evaluates such securities’ relative attractiveness and determines the optimal option structure for the Outcome Period. The Fund may invest without restriction as to issuer capitalization, country, currency, maturity or credit rating.

In addition to S&P 500 Options, the Fund may invest in other derivatives, including credit default swaps (including credit default index swaps or “CDX”), total return swaps and futures, which can be used for both hedging purposes and to seek to increase total return. The Fund may also utilize various interest rate-related derivatives, including futures and swaps, to manage the duration of its fixed income positions.

The Fund also may hold cash or invest in cash equivalents in order to collateralize its derivatives positions. Certain underlying funds may invest in derivatives for both hedging purposes and to seek to increase total return.

The Fund’s benchmark index is the S&P 500 Price Index (Net, USD, Unhedged). The S&P 500 Price Index is distinct from the S&P 500 Total Return Index in that it only tracks the performance of the stock prices of the companies included in the index, and does not include returns from dividends paid by the companies included in the S&P 500 Price Return Index.

THE FUND IS NON-DIVERSIFIED UNDER THE INVESTMENT COMPANY ACT OF 1940, AS AMENDED (“INVESTMENT COMPANY ACT”), AND MAY INVEST A LARGER PERCENTAGE OF ITS ASSETS IN ONE OR MORE ISSUERS OR IN FEWER ISSUERS THAN DIVERSIFIED MUTUAL FUNDS.

Loss of money is a risk of investing in the Fund. The investment program of the Fund entails substantial risks and includes alternative investment techniques not employed by traditional mutual funds. The Fund’s investment techniques (if they do not perform as designed) may increase the volatility of performance and the risk of investment loss, including the loss of the entire amount that is invested, and there can be no assurance that the investment objective of the Fund will be achieved. Moreover, certain investment techniques which the Fund may employ in its investment program can substantially increase the adverse impact to which the Fund’s investments may be subject. There is no assurance that the investment processes of the Fund will be successful, that the techniques utilized therein will be implemented successfully or that they are adequate for their intended uses, or that the discretionary element of the investment processes of the Fund will be exercised in a manner that is successful or that is not adverse to 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.

Absence of Regulation Risk. The Fund engages in over-the-counter (“OTC”) transactions, which trade in a dealer network, rather than on an exchange. In general, there is less governmental regulation and supervision of transactions in the OTC markets (in which option contracts and certain options on swaps are generally traded) than of transactions entered into on organized exchanges.

Buffered Loss Risk. There can be no guarantee that the Fund will be successful in its strategy to provide buffered protection against losses if the Underlying Index has decreased beyond the Buffer at the end of an Outcome Period. In the event an investor purchases shares after the commencement of the Outcome Period, the Buffer that the Fund seeks to provide may not be fully available. The Fund does not provide principal protection and an investor may experience significant losses on its investment, including the loss of its entire investment.

Capped Upside Return Risk. The Fund’s strategy seeks to provide returns only up to the applicable Cap over a Reset Period before Fund fees and expenses. In the event that the Underlying Index has gains in excess of the Cap during a Reset Period, the Fund will not participate in those gains beyond the Cap for that Reset Period. In the event an investor purchases Shares after the commencement of an Outcome Period and the Fund has risen in value to a level near to the Cap during a Reset Period, there may be little or no ability for

that investor to experience an investment gain for that Reset Period. A new Cap is established on the first day of each Reset Period and each Outcome Period and is dependent on prevailing market conditions. Accordingly, the Cap may increase or decrease from one Reset Period to the next or from one Outcome Period to the next. The Cap is based on the market costs associated with a series of S&P Options that are purchased and sold in order to seek to obtain the relevant market exposure and the Buffer. The market conditions and other factors that influence the Cap can include, but are not limited to, interest rate levels, the volatility of the Underlying Index, and relationship of put and calls on the underlying S&P 500 Options. Depending on those factors, it is possible that the Cap will limit the Fund’s return during a Reset Period or the entire Outcome Period to a level substantially less than an investor might expect from another comparable equity product that does not employ a Cap and Buffer.

Counterparty Risk. Many of the protections afforded to cleared transactions, such as the security offered by transacting through a clearing house, might not be available in connection with over the counter (“OTC”) transactions. Therefore, in those instances in which the Fund enters into uncleared OTC transactions, the Fund will be subject to the risk that its direct counterparty will not perform its obligations under the transactions and that the Fund will sustain losses.

Derivatives Risk. The Fund’s use of options (including FLEX Options), credit default swaps, total return swaps, futures and other derivative instruments may result in losses. These instruments, which may pose risks in addition to and greater than those associated with investing directly in securities, currencies or other instruments, may be illiquid or less liquid, volatile, difficult to price, and leveraged so that small changes in the value of the underlying instruments may produce disproportionate losses to the Fund and may expire worthless. Certain derivatives are also subject to counterparty risk, which is the risk that the other party in the transaction will not fulfill its contractual obligations. The use of derivatives is a highly specialized activity that involves investment techniques and risks different from those associated with investments in more traditional securities and instruments.

Investments in ETFs Risk. The Fund may invest directly in ETFs, including affiliated ETFs. The Fund’s investments in ETFs will be subject to the restrictions applicable to investments by an investment company in other investment companies, unless relief is otherwise provided under the terms of an SEC exemptive order or SEC exemptive rule.

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 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.

Leverage Risk. Borrowing and the use of derivatives may result in leverage and may make the Fund more volatile. The use of leverage may cause the Fund to liquidate portfolio positions to satisfy its obligations or to meet asset segregation requirements when it may not be advantageous to do so. The use of leverage by the Fund can substantially increase the adverse impact to which the Fund’s investment portfolio may be subject.

Liquidity Risk. The Fund may make investments that are illiquid or that may become less liquid in response to market developments or adverse investor perceptions. Illiquid investments may be more difficult to value. Liquidity risk may also refer to the risk that the Fund will not be able to pay redemption proceeds within the allowable time period because of unusual market conditions, an unusually high volume of redemption requests or other reasons. To meet redemption requests, the Fund may be forced to sell securities, at an unfavorable time and/or under unfavorable conditions. Liquidity risk may be the result of, among other things, the reduced number and capacity of traditional market participants to make a market or the lack of an active market. The potential for liquidity risk may be magnified by a rising interest rate environment or other circumstances where investor redemptions may be higher than normal, potentially causing increased supply in the market due to selling activity. Redemptions by large shareholders may have a negative impact on the Fund’s liquidity.

Management Risk. A strategy used by the Investment Adviser may fail to produce the intended results.

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, acts of terrorism, social unrest, natural disasters, the spread of infectious illness or other public health threats could also significantly impact the Fund and its investments.

Non-Diversification Risk. The Fund is non-diversified, meaning that it is permitted to invest a larger percentage of its assets in one or more issuers or in fewer issuers than diversified mutual funds. Thus, the Fund may be more susceptible to adverse developments affecting any single issuer held in its portfolio and may be more susceptible to greater losses because of these developments.

Option Writing Risk. Writing (selling) options may limit the opportunity to profit from an increase or decrease in the market value of a reference security in exchange for up-front cash (the premium) at the time of selling the option. In a sharp rising or falling market, the Fund could significantly underperform the market or other portfolios without an option writing strategy. The Fund could also experience a sudden, significant permanent loss due to dramatic movements in the market value of reference security, which may far exceed the premiums received for writing the option. Such significant losses could cause significant deteriorations in the Fund’s NAV.

Furthermore, the premium received from the Fund’s option writing strategies may not fully protect it against market movements because the Fund will continue to bear the risk of movements in the value of its portfolio investments.

Outcome Period Risk. The Fund’s investment strategy is designed to deliver returns that match the Underlying Index, before the deduction of Fund expenses, and subject to the Buffer and Cap, only if shares are bought on the first day of the Outcome Period and held until the end of the Outcome Period. If an investor purchases or sells shares during the Outcome Period, the returns realized by the investor will not match those that the Fund seeks to achieve. In addition, the Cap may change from one Reset Period to the next and one Outcome Period to the next and is unlikely to remain the same for consecutive Outcome Periods.

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.

Swaps Risk. In a standard “swap” transaction, two parties agree to exchange the returns, differentials in rates of return or some other amount earned or realized on the “notional amount” of predetermined investments or instruments, which may be adjusted for an interest factor. Swaps can involve greater risks than direct investment in securities, because swaps may be leveraged and subject to counterparty risk (e.g., the risk of a counterparty’s defaulting on the obligation or bankruptcy), credit risk and pricing risk (i.e., swaps may be difficult to value). Swaps may also be considered illiquid. It may not be possible for the Fund to liquidate a swap position at an advantageous time or price, which may result in significant losses.

Tracking Error Risk. Tracking error is the divergence of the Fund’s performance (without regard to the Buffer or Cap) from that of the Underlying Index. The performance of the Fund may diverge from that of the Underlying Index for a number of reasons. Tracking error may occur because of transaction costs, the Fund’s holding of cash, differences in accrual of dividends, changes to the Underlying Index or the need to meet new or existing regulatory requirements. Unlike the Fund, the returns of the Underlying Index are not reduced by investment and other operating expenses, including the trading costs associated with implementing changes to its portfolio of investments. Tracking error risk may be heightened during times of market volatility or other unusual market conditions.

U.S. Government Securities Risk. The U.S. government may not provide financial support to U.S. government agencies, instrumentalities or sponsored enterprises if it is not obligated to do so by law. U.S. Government Securities issued by those agencies, instrumentalities and government sponsored enterprises, including those issued by the Federal National Mortgage Association (“Fannie Mae”), Federal Home Loan Mortgage Corporation (“Freddie Mac”) and the Federal Home Loan Banks, are neither issued nor guaranteed by the U.S. Treasury and, therefore, are not backed by the full faith and credit of the United States. The maximum potential liability of the issuers of some U.S. Government Securities held by the Fund may greatly exceed their current resources, including any legal right to support from the U.S. Treasury. It is possible that issuers of U.S. Government Securities will not have the funds to meet their payment obligations in the future.

Because the Fund had not yet commenced investment operations as of the date of the Prospectus, there is no performance information quoted for the Fund. Once available, the Fund’s performance information will be available at no additional cost at www.gsamfunds.com/performance or by calling the appropriate phone number on the back cover of the Prospectus.

Goldman Sachs Asset Management, L.P. is the investment adviser for the Fund (the “Investment Adviser” or “GSAM”).

Portfolio Managers: Neill Nuttall, Managing Director and Chief Investment Officer, MAS, has managed the Fund since 2021; and Siwen Wu, Vice President, has managed the Fund since 2021.

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. Orders received from separate accounts 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.

For important tax information, please see “Tax Information” on page 33 of the Prospectus.

For important information about financial intermediary compensation, please see “Payments to Broker-Dealers and Other Financial Intermediaries” on page 33 of the Prospectus.

The Goldman Sachs Buffered S&P 500 Fund—April (the “Fund”) seeks long-term capital appreciation.

The Fund seeks to achieve a total return, for the period from April 1 to March 31 of the following year (an “Outcome Period”), that tracks the S&P 500 Price Return Index (the “Underlying Index”) up to a “cap” while providing a downside “buffer” against losses over the Outcome Period. Although the Fund seeks to implement a targeted outcome strategy, there is no guarantee that the Fund will successfully achieve its investment objective or any targeted outcome. Due to the unique mechanics of the Fund’s strategy, the return an investor can expect to receive from an investment in the Fund has characteristics that are distinct from many other investment vehicles.

The Fund’s initial Outcome Period is the one-year period from April 1, 2022 to March 31, 2023. The targeted outcomes sought by the Fund, which include the buffer and cap discussed below, are based primarily upon the performance of the Underlying Index over successive one-year periods from April 1 to March 31.

The first layer of S&P 500 Options is designed to buffer the Fund from losses of up to 10% if the Underlying Index experiences a loss at the end of an Outcome Period. There is no guarantee that the Fund will be successful in its attempts to provide buffered returns and an investor may lose their entire investment. The Buffer is operative only against the first 10% of Underlying Index losses at the end an Outcome Period. If the Underlying Index has decreased in value by more than 10% at the end of an Outcome Period, the Fund, and therefore its investors, will participate in those losses. The Buffer is calculated prior to taking into account Fund fees and expenses. After deducting Fund fees and expenses, the Buffer is expected to be approximately [ ]%. If an investor purchases shares during an Outcome Period, and the Fund has already decreased in value during that Outcome Period, that investor may not fully benefit from the Buffer for the remainder of the Outcome Period, but will have increased gains available prior to reaching the applicable Cap within the applicable Reset Period. Conversely, during the Outcome Period, if the Fund has already increased in value, then a shareholder investing at that time may experience losses prior to gaining the protection offered by the Buffer.

The second layer of S&P 500 Options is designed to produce returns that track those of the Underlying Index over a Reset Period if the Underlying Index has experienced gains during that Reset Period. However, unlike other investment products, the potential returns an investor can receive from an investment in the Fund are subject to an upside return Cap. This means that if the Underlying Index experiences gains over a Reset Period beyond the level of the applicable Cap for that Reset Period, the Fund will not participate in those excess gains. Therefore, regardless of the performance of the Underlying Index, the applicable Cap, before Fund fees and expenses, is the maximum return an investor can achieve from an investment in the Fund over a Reset Period.

As the S&P 500 Options mature at the end of a Reset Period or at the end of the one-year Outcome Period, the Fund will enter into a new set of S&P 500 Options, which may increase or decrease the Cap for the subsequent Reset Period or subsequent one-year Outcome Period. The next one-year Outcome Period will begin on April 1, 2023. The Fund is a continuous investment vehicle. It does not terminate and distribute its assets at the conclusion of each Outcome Period.

The outcomes sought by the Fund are based upon the Fund’s net asset value (“NAV”) on the first day of an Outcome Period. An Outcome Period begins on the day the S&P 500 Options are first entered into (i.e., on or about April 1^st) and ends approximately one year later. Each S&P 500 Option’s value is ultimately derived from the performance of the Underlying Index during a Reset Period or an Outcome Period. To achieve the desired outcomes for an Outcome Period, an investor must hold Fund shares for the entire Outcome Period. An investor that purchases shares after the commencement of an Outcome Period will likely have purchased shares at a different NAV than the NAV upon which the desired outcomes are based and may experience investment outcomes very different from those sought by the Fund over the entire Outcome Period. An investor that redeems shares prior to the end of an Outcome Period may also experience investment outcomes very different from those sought by the Fund. There is no guarantee that the Fund will be successful in its attempt to provide the targeted outcomes.

Management Risk. A strategy used by the Investment Adviser may fail to produce the intended results.

exceed the premiums received for writing the option. Such significant losses could cause significant deteriorations in the Fund’s NAV. Furthermore, the premium received from the Fund’s option writing strategies may not fully protect it against market movements because the Fund will continue to bear the risk of movements in the value of its portfolio investments.

Goldman Sachs Asset Management, L.P. is the investment adviser for the Fund (the “Investment Adviser” or “GSAM”).

Portfolio Managers: Neill Nuttall, Managing Director and Chief Investment Officer, MAS, has managed the Fund since 2021; and Siwen Wu, Vice President, has managed the Fund since 2021.

For important tax information, please see “Tax Information” on page 33 of the Prospectus.

For important information about financial intermediary compensation, please see “Payments to Broker-Dealers and Other Financial Intermediaries” on page 33 of the Prospectus.

The Goldman Sachs Buffered S&P 500 Fund—July (the “Fund”) seeks long-term capital appreciation.

The Fund seeks to achieve a total return, for the period from July 1 to June 30 of the following year (an “Outcome Period”), that tracks the S&P 500 Price Return Index (the “Underlying Index”) up to a “cap” while providing a downside “buffer” against losses over the Outcome Period. Although the Fund seeks to implement a targeted outcome strategy, there is no guarantee that the Fund will successfully achieve its investment objective or any targeted outcome. Due to the unique mechanics of the Fund’s strategy, the return an

investor can expect to receive from an investment in the Fund has characteristics that are distinct from many other investment vehicles.

The Fund’s initial Outcome Period is the one-year period from July 1, 2022 to June 30, 2023. The targeted outcomes sought by the Fund, which include the buffer and cap discussed below, are based primarily upon the performance of the Underlying Index over successive one-year periods from July 1 to June 30.

The first layer of S&P 500 Options is designed to buffer the Fund from losses of up to 10% if the Underlying Index experiences a loss at the end of an Outcome Period. There is no guarantee that the Fund will be successful in its attempts to provide buffered returns and an investor may lose their entire investment. The Buffer is operative only against the first 10% of Underlying Index losses at the end an Outcome Period. If the Underlying Index has decreased in value by more than 10% at the end of an Outcome Period, the Fund, and therefore its investors, will participate in those losses. The Buffer is calculated prior to taking into account Fund fees and expenses. After deducting Fund fees and expenses, the Buffer is expected to be approximately [ ]%. If an investor purchases shares during an Outcome Period, and the Fund has already decreased in value during that Outcome Period, that investor may not fully benefit from the Buffer for the remainder of the Outcome Period, but will have increased gains available prior to reaching the applicable Cap within the applicable Reset Period. Conversely, during the Outcome Period, if the Fund has already increased in value, then a shareholder investing at that time may experience losses prior to gaining the protection offered by the Buffer.

The second layer of S&P 500 Options is designed to produce returns that track those of the Underlying Index over a Reset Period if the Underlying Index has experienced gains during that Reset Period. However, unlike other investment products, the potential returns an investor can receive from an investment in the Fund are subject to an upside return Cap. This means that if the Underlying Index experiences gains over a Reset Period beyond the level of the applicable Cap for that Reset Period, the Fund will not participate in those excess gains. Therefore, regardless of the performance of the Underlying Index, the applicable Cap, before Fund fees and expenses, is the maximum return an investor can achieve from an investment in the Fund over a Reset Period.

The Cap is based on the strike prices of the S&P 500 Options that the Fund has sold over a Reset Period or an Outcome Period. The initial Cap is set on the first day of an Outcome Period based on the cost of providing the Buffer and will periodically reset thereafter based on prevailing market conditions in an attempt to maximize potential upside return for the Fund while maintaining the intended Buffer. The Cap is expected to reset monthly, quarterly, annually or on an ad-hoc basis, in the discretion of the Investment Adviser. The Cap may increase or decrease from one Reset Period to the next or from one Outcome Period to the next. Market conditions that may impact the level of the Cap include, but are not limited to, interest rate levels, the volatility of the Underlying Index, and relationship of put and calls on the underlying S&P 500 Options. The S&P 500 Options strategy to determine the applicable Cap (including the applicable Cap from one Reset Period to the next) will be managed over an entire Outcome Period in a way that seeks to maximize an investor’s upside participation. Any Cap is calculated prior to taking into account Fund fees and expenses.

As the S&P 500 Options mature at the end of a Reset Period or at the end of the one-year Outcome Period, the Fund will enter into a new set of S&P 500 Options, which may increase or decrease the Cap for the subsequent Reset Period or subsequent one-year Outcome Period. The next one-year Outcome Period will begin on July 1, 2023. The Fund is a continuous investment vehicle. It does not terminate and distribute its assets at the conclusion of each Outcome Period.

The outcomes sought by the Fund are based upon the Fund’s net asset value (“NAV”) on the first day of an Outcome Period. An Outcome Period begins on the day the S&P 500 Options are first entered into (i.e., on or about July 1^st) and ends approximately one year later. Each S&P 500 Option’s value is ultimately derived from the performance of the Underlying Index during a Reset Period or an Outcome Period. To achieve the desired outcomes for an Outcome Period, an investor must hold Fund shares for the entire Outcome Period. An investor that purchases shares after the commencement of an Outcome Period will likely have purchased shares at a different NAV than the NAV upon which the desired outcomes are based and may experience investment outcomes very different from those sought by the Fund over the entire Outcome Period. An investor that redeems shares prior to the end of an Outcome Period may also experience investment outcomes very different from those sought by the Fund. There is no guarantee that the Fund will be successful in its attempt to provide the targeted outcomes.

Management Risk. A strategy used by the Investment Adviser may fail to produce the intended results.

experience a sudden, significant permanent loss due to dramatic movements in the market value of reference security, which may far exceed the premiums received for writing the option. Such significant losses could cause significant deteriorations in the Fund’s NAV. Furthermore, the premium received from the Fund’s option writing strategies may not fully protect it against market movements because the Fund will continue to bear the risk of movements in the value of its portfolio investments.

Goldman Sachs Asset Management, L.P. is the investment adviser for the Fund (the “Investment Adviser” or “GSAM”).

Portfolio Managers: Neill Nuttall, Managing Director and Chief Investment Officer, MAS, has managed the Fund since 2021; and Siwen Wu, Vice President, has managed the Fund since 2021.

For important tax information, please see “Tax Information” on page 33 of the Prospectus.

For important information about financial intermediary compensation, please see “Payments to Broker-Dealers and Other Financial Intermediaries” on page 33 of the Prospectus.

The Goldman Sachs Buffered S&P 500 Fund—October (the “Fund”) seeks long-term capital appreciation.

successfully achieve its investment objective or any targeted outcome. Due to the unique mechanics of the Fund’s strategy, the return an investor can expect to receive from an investment in the Fund has characteristics that are distinct from many other investment vehicles.

The Fund’s initial Outcome Period is the one-year period from October 1, 2022 to September 30, 2023. The targeted outcomes sought by the Fund, which include the buffer and cap discussed below, are based primarily upon the performance of the Underlying Index over successive one-year periods from October 1 to September 30.

The second layer of S&P 500 Options is designed to produce returns that track those of the Underlying Index over a Reset Period if the Underlying Index has experienced gains during that Reset Period. However, unlike other investment products, the potential returns an investor can receive from an investment in the Fund are subject to an upside return Cap. This means that if the Underlying Index experiences gains over a Reset Period beyond the level of the applicable Cap for that Reset Period, the Fund will not participate in those excess gains. Therefore, regardless of the performance of the Underlying Index, the applicable Cap, before Fund fees and expenses, is the maximum return an investor can achieve from an investment in the Fund over a Reset Period.

As the S&P 500 Options mature at the end of a Reset Period or at the end of the one-year Outcome Period, the Fund will enter into a new set of S&P 500 Options, which may increase or decrease the Cap for the subsequent Reset Period or subsequent one-year Outcome Period. The next one-year Outcome Period will begin on October 1, 2023. The Fund is a continuous investment vehicle. It does not terminate and distribute its assets at the conclusion of each Outcome Period.

The outcomes sought by the Fund are based upon the Fund’s net asset value (“NAV”) on the first day of an Outcome Period. An Outcome Period begins on the day the S&P 500 Options are first entered into (i.e., on or about October 1^st) and ends approximately one year later. Each S&P 500 Option’s value is ultimately derived from the performance of the Underlying Index during a Reset Period or an Outcome Period. To achieve the desired outcomes for an Outcome Period, an investor must hold Fund shares for the entire Outcome Period. An investor that purchases shares after the commencement of an Outcome Period will likely have purchased shares at a different NAV than the NAV upon which the desired outcomes are based and may experience investment outcomes very different from those sought by the Fund over the entire Outcome Period. An investor that redeems shares prior to the end of an Outcome Period may also experience investment outcomes very different from those sought by the Fund. There is no guarantee that the Fund will be successful in its attempt to provide the targeted outcomes.

an Outcome Period and the Fund has risen in value to a level near to the Cap during a Reset Period, there may be little or no ability for that investor to experience an investment gain for that Reset Period. A new Cap is established on the first day of each Reset Period and each Outcome Period and is dependent on prevailing market conditions. Accordingly, the Cap may increase or decrease from one Reset Period to the next or from one Outcome Period to the next. The Cap is based on the market costs associated with a series of S&P Options that are purchased and sold in order to seek to obtain the relevant market exposure and the Buffer. The market conditions and other factors that influence the Cap can include, but are not limited to, interest rate levels, the volatility of the Underlying Index, and relationship of put and calls on the underlying S&P 500 Options. Depending on those factors, it is possible that the Cap will limit the Fund’s return during a Reset Period or the entire Outcome Period to a level substantially less than an investor might expect from another comparable equity product that does not employ a Cap and Buffer.

Management Risk. A strategy used by the Investment Adviser may fail to produce the intended results.

the Fund could significantly underperform the market or other portfolios without an option writing strategy. The Fund could also experience a sudden, significant permanent loss due to dramatic movements in the market value of reference security, which may far exceed the premiums received for writing the option. Such significant losses could cause significant deteriorations in the Fund’s NAV. Furthermore, the premium received from the Fund’s option writing strategies may not fully protect it against market movements because the Fund will continue to bear the risk of movements in the value of its portfolio investments.

Goldman Sachs Asset Management, L.P. is the investment adviser for the Fund (the “Investment Adviser” or “GSAM”).

Portfolio Managers: Neill Nuttall, Managing Director and Chief Investment Officer, MAS, has managed the Fund since 2021; and Siwen Wu, Vice President, has managed the Fund since 2021.

For important tax information, please see “Tax Information” on page 33 of the Prospectus.

For important information about financial intermediary compensation, please see “Payments to Broker-Dealers and Other Financial Intermediaries” on page 33 of the Prospectus.

Provided that the Funds and separate accounts investing in the Funds satisfy applicable tax requirements, the Funds 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.

The Funds and/or their 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 a Fund over another investment. Ask your salesperson or visit your insurance company’s website for more information.

Each Fund seeks to provide long-term capital appreciation. Each Fund’s investment objective may be changed without shareholder approval upon 60 days’ notice.

Each Fund seeks to achieve a total return, for a specified Outcome Period (as described below), that tracks the S&P 500 Price Return Index (the “Underlying Index”) up to a “cap” while providing a downside “buffer” against losses over the Outcome Period. Although the Funds seek to implement a targeted outcome strategy, there is no guarantee that the Funds will successfully achieve their investment objectives or any targeted outcomes. Due to the unique mechanics of the Funds’ strategies, the return an investor can expect to receive from an investment in a Fund has characteristics that are distinct from many other investment vehicles.

The targeted outcomes sought by each Fund, which include the buffer and cap discussed below, are based primarily upon the performance of the Underlying Index over successive Outcome Periods.

The Buffer and Cap are calculated prior to taking into account Fund fees and expenses. Accordingly, the maximum performance of a Fund over a Reset Period is expected to be lower than the applicable Cap by the amount of Fund fees and expenses. Similarly, the performance of a Fund over an Outcome Period will be exposed to losses beyond the Buffer in the amount of Fund fees and expenses.The Funds’ website (www.[ ]) provides important information about each Fund on a daily basis, including information about the Buffer and the then-current Cap for the applicable Reset Period, the current Outcome Period start and end dates, and information relating to the remaining potential outcomes of an investment in the Fund. Investors considering an investment in a Fund should visit the website for the latest information.

In order to implement the Buffer and Cap, each Fund will primarily invest in FLexible EXchange^® Options (“FLEX Options”) and over-the-counter (“OTC”) and listed options that reference the Underlying Index (together with FLEX Options, “S&P 500 Options”). FLEX Options are customized exchange-traded option contracts available through the Chicago Board Option Exchange. Through FLEX Options, a Fund could customize key contract terms such as exercise prices and expiration dates.

Each Fund will purchase and sell call and put S&P 500 Options to create layers within the Fund’s portfolio. One layer is designed to buffer a Fund from losses over an Outcome Period, while another layer is designed to produce returns that track those of the Underlying Index over a Reset Period, up to the applicable Cap for that Reset Period.

The first layer of S&P 500 Options is designed to buffer a Fund from losses of up to 10% if the Underlying Index experiences a loss at the end of an Outcome Period. There is no guarantee that the Funds will be successful in their attempts to provide buffered returns and an investor may lose their entire investment. The Buffer is operative only against the first 10% of Underlying Index losses at the end an Outcome Period. If the Underlying Index has decreased in value by more than 10% at the end of an Outcome Period, a Fund, and therefore its investors, will participate in those losses. The Buffer is calculated prior to taking into account Fund fees and expenses. After deducting Fund fees and expenses, the Buffer is expected to be approximately [ ]%. If an investor purchases shares during an Outcome Period, and a Fund has already decreased in value during that Outcome Period, that investor may not fully benefit from the Buffer for the remainder of the Outcome Period, but will have increased gains available prior to reaching the applicable Cap within the applicable Reset Period. Conversely, during the Outcome Period, if a Fund has already increased in value, then a shareholder investing at that time may experience losses prior to gaining the protection offered by the Buffer.

The second layer of S&P 500 Options is designed to produce returns that track those of the Underlying Index over a Reset Period if the Underlying Index has experienced gains during that Reset Period. However, unlike other investment products, the potential returns an investor can receive from an investment in a Fund are subject to an upside return Cap. This means that if the Underlying Index experiences gains over a Reset Period beyond the level of the applicable Cap for that Reset Period, a Fund will not participate in those excess gains. Therefore, regardless of the performance of the Underlying Index, the applicable Cap, before Fund fees and expenses, is the maximum return an investor can achieve from an investment in a Fund over a Reset Period.

The Cap is based on the strike prices of the S&P 500 Options that a Fund has sold over A Reset Period or an Outcome Period. The initial Cap is set on the first day of an Outcome Period based on the cost of providing the Buffer and will periodically reset thereafter based on prevailing market conditions in an attempt to maximize potential upside return for a Fund while maintaining the intended Buffer. The Cap is expected to reset monthly, quarterly, annually or on an ad-hoc basis, in the discretion of the Investment Adviser. The Cap may increase or decrease from one Reset Period to the next or from one Outcome Period to the next. Market conditions that may impact the level of the Cap include, but are not limited to, interest rate levels, the volatility of the Underlying Index, and relationship of put and calls on the underlying S&P 500 Options. The S&P 500 Options strategy to determine the applicable Cap (including the applicable Cap from one Reset Period to the next) will be managed over an entire Outcome Period in a way that seeks to maximize an investor’s upside participation. Any Cap is calculated prior to taking into account Fund fees and expenses.

As the S&P 500 Options mature at the end of a Reset Period or at the end of each Fund’s one-year Outcome Period, the Fund will enter into a new set of S&P 500 Options, which may increase or decrease the Cap for the subsequent Reset Period or subsequent one-year Outcome Period. The next one-year Outcome Period will begin on the following dates:

The Funds are continuous investment vehicles. Each Fund does not terminate and distribute its assets at the conclusion of each Outcome Period.

Approximately one week prior to the end of a Reset Period or an Outcome Period, each Fund will publish on its website (www.[ ]) the anticipated ranges for the Cap for the next Reset Period or Outcome Period. Following the close of business on the last day of a Reset Period or an Outcome Period, each Fund will publish on its website (www.[ ]) the Fund’s final Cap for the next Reset Period or Outcome Period. Investors considering an investment in a Fund should visit the website for the latest information (including the then-current Cap for the applicable Reset Period).

The outcomes sought by each Fund are based upon each Fund’s net asset value (“NAV”) on the first day of its Outcome Period. An Outcome Period begins on the day the S&P 500 Options are first entered into (i.e. on or about the first day of an Outcome Period) and ends approximately one year later. Each S&P 500 Option’s value is ultimately derived from the performance of the Underlying Index during a Reset Period or an Outcome Period. To achieve the desired outcomes for an Outcome Period, an investor must hold Fund shares for the entire Outcome Period. An investor that purchases shares after the commencement of an

Outcome Period will likely have purchased shares at a different NAV than the NAV upon which the desired outcomes are based and may experience investment outcomes very different from those sought by a Fund over its entire Outcome Period. An investor that redeems shares prior to the end of an Outcome Period may also experience investment outcomes very different from those sought by a Fund. There is no guarantee that the Funds will be successful in their attempts to provide the targeted outcomes.

The following chart and table illustrate the hypothetical returns that each Fund seeks to provide where an investor holds Fund shares for its entire Outcome Period. The returns shown in the chart and table are based on the hypothetical performance of the Underlying Index in certain illustrative scenarios and do not take into account the deduction of Fund fees and expenses, brokerage commissions, trading fees, taxes and non-routine or extraordinary expenses. There is no guarantee that the Funds will be successful in their attempts to achieve their investment objectives or provide any targeted outcome.



Change in the Returns of the S&P 500 Price Index		Expected Change in the Returns of the Fund Over an Outcome Period (for Losses) or a Reset Period (for Gains)

Losses of more than -10% over the Outcome Period		The Fund will generate a return that is 10% higher than the S&P 500 Price Index

Losses between 0% and -10% over the Outcome Period		No change

Gains between 0% and the applicable Cap over a Reset Period		The Fund will generate similar returns as the S&P 500 Price Index

Gains of more than the applicable Cap over a Reset Period		The Fund ceases to gain beyond the applicable Cap

Each Fund may invest in one or more underlying funds (including ETFs) that seek to track the Underlying Index, including ETFs for which GSAM or an affiliate now or in the future acts as investment adviser or principal underwriter. Each Fund intends to also invest directly in fixed income securities (bonds) and equity securities (stocks). These investments may be publicly traded, privately issued, or negotiated. The percentage of each Fund invested in equity and fixed income securities will vary from time to time as the Investment Adviser evaluates such securities’ relative attractiveness and determines the optimal option structure for each Fund’s Outcome Period. Each Fund may invest without restriction as to issuer capitalization, country, currency, maturity or credit rating.

In addition to S&P 500 Options, each Fund may invest in other derivatives, including credit default swaps (including credit default index swaps or “CDX”), total return swaps and futures, which can be used for both hedging purposes and to seek to increase total return. Each Fund may also utilize various interest rate-related derivatives, including futures and swaps, to manage the duration of its fixed income positions.

Each Fund also may hold cash or invest in cash equivalents in order to collateralize its derivatives positions. Certain underlying funds may invest in derivatives for both hedging purposes and to seek to increase total return.

Each Fund’s benchmark index is the S&P 500 Price Index (Net, USD, Unhedged). The S&P 500 Price Index is distinct from the S&P 500 Total Return Index in that it only tracks the performance of the stock prices of the companies included in the index, and does not include returns from dividends paid by the companies included in the S&P 500 Price Return Index.

THE FUNDS ARE NON-DIVERSIFIED UNDER THE INVESTMENT COMPANY ACT OF 1940, AS AMENDED (“INVESTMENT COMPANY ACT”), AND MAY INVEST A LARGER PERCENTAGE OF THEIR ASSETS IN ONE OR MORE ISSUERS OR IN FEWER ISSUERS THAN DIVERSIFIED MUTUAL FUNDS.

The Funds may, from time to time, take temporary defensive positions that are inconsistent with the Funds’ principal investment strategy in attempting to respond to adverse market, political or other conditions. For temporary defensive purposes, each Fund may invest up to 100% of its total assets in securities issued or guaranteed by the U.S. government, its agencies, instrumentalities or sponsored enterprises (“U.S. Government Securities”); commercial paper rated at least A-2 by S&P Global Ratings (“Standard & Poor’s”), P-2 by Moody’s Investors Service, Inc. (“Moody’s”), or having a comparable credit rating from another nationally recognized statistical rating organization (“NRSRO”) (or if unrated, determined by the Investment Adviser to be of comparable quality); certificates of deposit, bankers’ acceptances, repurchase agreements, non-convertible preferred stocks and non-convertible corporate bonds with a remaining maturity of less than one year; ETFs and other investment companies and cash items. When a Fund’s assets are invested in such instruments, the Fund may not be achieving its investment objective.

In managing the Funds, the Investment Adviser seeks to budget or allocate portfolio risk across underlying asset classes and strategies, as opposed to capital. The Investment Adviser believes that a thoughtful allocation of risk in investment portfolios can be a significant component for successful realization of return. The Investment Adviser thinks it is critical to:

The Investment Adviser uses a four-step approach in seeking to achieve each Fund’s investment objectives:

1. The Investment Adviser will utilize a strategic asset allocation process to allocate risk across the underlying asset classes and strategies. This process focuses on factor-based risk diversification. The strategic asset allocation is reviewed and adjusted by the Investment Adviser as part of its investment processes in order to react to changes in the markets, the economic cycle and the macroeconomic environment.

2. The Investment Adviser may implement dynamic market views with the goal of improving each Fund’s risk-adjusted return. (The risk-adjusted return on an investment takes into account the risk associated with that investment relative to other potential investments.) Each Fund’s positioning may change over time based on medium- to long-term market views; these views may impact the relative weighting across asset classes as well allocation to securities, derivatives and the overall level of Fund risk. Market views may be developed from multiple sources, including fundamental analysis of the economy, the market cycle, asset class valuation, regulatory and policy action, and market technical or trading factors.

3. Once the Investment Adviser has determined the allocations to each underlying asset class, the Investment Adviser will seek to gain exposure to those underlying asset classes through investments in options, ETFs, futures, equity and fixed income securities, among other instruments. Each Fund may employ options and options-based strategies in attempt to achieve the Fund’s desired payout profile and investment objectives. Concurrently, each Fund may employ actively managed strategies from the Investment Adviser’s specialist teams.

4. As part of the risk management process, the Investment Adviser will seek to assess and adjust portfolio risk using its systems and infrastructure and will attempt to design and implement strategies that may mitigate potential losses. The Investment Adviser will monitor the potential for market drawdowns using portfolio management tools and infrastructure.

Goldman Sachs Variable Insurance Trust (the “Trust”) offers shares of each Fund to separate accounts of participating insurance companies for the purpose of funding variable annuity contracts and variable life insurance policies. Institutional Shares of the Funds are not offered directly to the public. The participating insurance companies, not the owners of the variable annuity contracts or variable life insurance policies or participants therein, are shareholders of the Funds. Each Fund pools the monies of these separate accounts and invests these monies in a portfolio of securities pursuant to each Fund’s stated investment objective.

The investment objectives and policies of each Fund may be similar to the investment objectives and policies of other mutual funds that the Investment Adviser manages. Although the objectives and policies may be similar, the investment results of each Fund may be higher or lower than the results of such other mutual funds. The Investment Adviser cannot guarantee, and makes no representation, that the investment results of similar funds will be comparable even though the funds have the same Investment Adviser.

Although each Fund’s principal investment strategies are described in the Fund’s Summary—Principal Strategy section of the Prospectus, the following tables identify some of the investment techniques that may (but are not required to) be used by each Fund in seeking to achieve its investment objective. Numbers in these tables show allowable usage only; for actual usage, consult each Fund’s annual/semi-annual reports (when available). For more information about these and other investment practices and securities, see Appendix A.

Each Fund intends to publish on its website (http://www.gsamfunds.com/vit) complete portfolio holdings for the Fund as of the end of each calendar quarter subject to a sixty calendar-day lag between the date of the information and the date on which the information is disclosed. In addition, each Fund publishes on its website selected portfolio holdings information as of the end of each month subject to a fifteen calendar-day lag between the date of the information and the date on which the information is disclosed. In addition, a description of each Fund’s policies and procedures with respect to the disclosure of the Fund’s portfolio holdings is available in the Fund’s Statement of Additional Information (“SAI”).

Loss of money is a risk of investing in the Fund (which, for the remainder of the Prospectus, refers to one or more of the Funds offered in this Prospectus). An investment in the Fund is not a bank deposit and is not insured or guaranteed by the FDIC or any other governmental agency. The principal risks of the Fund are discussed in the Summary section of the Prospectus The following section provides additional information on the risks that apply to the Fund, which may result in a loss of your investment. The risks applicable to the Fund are presented below in alphabetical order, and not in the order of importance or potential exposure. 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.

The investment programs of the Funds entail substantial risks and include alternative investment techniques not employed by traditional mutual funds. A Fund’s investment techniques (if they do not perform as designed) may increase the volatility of performance and the risk of investment loss, including the loss of the entire amount that is invested. Moreover, certain investment techniques which a Fund may employ in its investment program can substantially increase the adverse impact to which the Fund’s investments may be subject. There is no assurance that the investment processes of a Fund will be successful, that the techniques utilized therein will be implemented successfully or that they are adequate for their intended uses, or that the discretionary element of the investment processes of a Fund will be exercised in a manner that is successful or that is not adverse to the Fund.

Derivatives may be used for both hedging and non-hedging purposes. The use of derivatives is a highly specialized activity that involves investment techniques and risks different from those associated with investments in more traditional securities and instruments, and there is no guarantee that the use of derivatives will achieve their intended result. If the Investment Adviser is incorrect in its expectation of the timing or level of fluctuation in securities prices, interest rates, currency prices or other variables, the use of derivatives could result in losses, which in some cases may be significant. A lack of correlation between changes in the value of derivatives and the value of the portfolio assets (if any) being hedged could also result in losses. In addition, there is a risk that the performance of the derivatives or other instruments used by the Investment Adviser to replicate the performance of a particular asset class may not accurately track the performance of that asset class. As an investment company registered with the SEC, the Fund must identify on its books (often referred to as “asset segregation”) liquid assets or engage in other SEC- or SEC staff-approved or other appropriate measures, to “cover” open positions with respect to certain kinds of derivative instruments. For more information about these practices, see Appendix A. As discussed in more detail in Appendix A and the SAI, the SEC adopted a final rule related to the use of derivatives, short sales, reverse repurchase agreements and certain other transactions by registered investment companies. In connection with the final rule, the SEC and its staff will rescind and withdraw applicable guidance and relief regarding asset segregation and coverage transactions reflected in the Fund’s asset segregation and cover practices discussed therein.

Interest rates in the United States are currently at historically low levels. Certain countries have experienced negative interest rates on certain fixed-income instruments. Changing interest rates, including rates that fall below zero, may have unpredictable effects on markets, may result in heightened market volatility and may detract from Fund performance to the extent the Fund is exposed to such interest rates and/or volatility.

To the extent that the traditional dealer counterparties that engage in fixed income trading do not maintain inventories of bonds (which provide an important indication of their ability to “make markets”) that keep pace with the growth of the bond markets over

time, relatively low levels of dealer inventories could lead to decreased liquidity and increased volatility in the fixed income markets. Additionally, market participants other than the Fund may attempt to sell fixed income holdings at the same time as the Fund, which could cause downward pricing pressure and contribute to decreased liquidity.

To the extent the Fund holds non-investment grade fixed income securities, the Fund may be especially subject to the risk that during certain periods, the liquidity of particular issuers or industries, or all securities within a particular investment category may shrink or disappear suddenly and without warning as a result of adverse economic, market or political events, or adverse investor perceptions, whether or not accurate.

Because the Fund may invest in non-investment grade fixed income securities, small- and mid-capitalization stocks, REITs and/or emerging country issuers, the Fund may be especially subject to the risk that during certain periods, the liquidity of particular issuers or industries, or all securities within a particular investment category, may shrink or disappear suddenly and without warning as a result of adverse economic, market or political events, or adverse investor perceptions, whether or not accurate.

Liquidity risk may also refer to the risk that the Fund will not be able to pay redemption proceeds within the allowable time period stated on the Prospectus or without significant dilution to remaining investors’ interests because of unusual market conditions, an unusually high volume of redemption requests, or other reasons. While the Fund reserves the right to meet redemption requests through in-kind distributions, the Fund may instead choose to raise cash to meet redemption requests through sales of portfolio securities or permissible borrowings. If the Fund is forced to sell securities at an unfavorable time and/or under unfavorable conditions, such sales may adversely affect the Fund’s NAV and dilute remaining investors’ interests.

Certain shareholders, including clients or affiliates of the Investment Adviser and/or other funds managed by the Investment Adviser, may from time to time own or control a significant percentage of the Fund’s shares. Redemptions by these shareholders of their shares of the Fund may further increase the Fund’s liquidity risk and may impact the Fund’s NAV. These shareholders may include, for example, certain participating insurance companies, accounts or Goldman Sachs affiliates and other shareholders, whose buy-sell decisions are controlled by a single decision-maker.

Global economies and financial markets are becoming increasingly interconnected, and conditions and events in one country, region or financial market may adversely impact issuers in a different country, region or financial market. Furthermore, local, regional and global events such as war, acts of terrorism, social unrest, natural disasters, the spread of infectious illness or other public health threats could also adversely impact issuers, markets and economies, including in ways that cannot necessarily be foreseen. The Fund could be negatively impacted if the value of a portfolio holding were harmed by such political or economic conditions or events. In addition, governmental and quasi-governmental organizations have taken a number of unprecedented actions designed to support the markets. Such conditions, events and actions may result in greater market risk.

Transactions in swaps can involve greater risks than if the Fund had invested in securities directly since, in addition to general market risks, swaps may be leveraged and subject to illiquidity risk, counterparty risk, credit risk and pricing risk. Regulators also may impose limits on an entity’s or group of entities’ positions in certain swaps. However, certain risks are reduced (but not eliminated) if the Fund invests in cleared swaps, which are transacted through a FCM and cleared through a clearinghouse that serves as a central counterparty.

Because uncleared, bilateral swap agreements are two-party contracts and because they may have terms of greater than seven days, these swaps may be considered to be illiquid. Moreover, the Fund bears the risk of loss of the amount expected to be received under a swap in the event of the default or bankruptcy of a swap counterparty. Many swaps are complex and valued subjectively. Swaps and other derivatives may also be subject to pricing or “basis” risk, which exists when a particular derivative diverges from the price of corresponding cash market instruments. Under certain market conditions it may not be economically feasible to initiate a transaction or liquidate a position in time to avoid a loss or take advantage of an opportunity. If a swap transaction is particularly large or if the relevant market is illiquid, it may not be possible to initiate a transaction or liquidate a position at an advantageous time or price, which may result in significant losses.

The value of swaps can be very volatile, and a variance in the degree of volatility or in the direction of securities prices from the Investment Adviser’s expectations may produce significant losses in the Fund’s investments in swaps. In addition, a perfect correlation between a swap and a security position may be impossible to achieve. As a result, the Investment Adviser’s use of swaps may not be effective in fulfilling the Investment Adviser’s investment strategies and may contribute to losses that would not have been incurred otherwise.

More information about the Fund’s portfolio securities and investment techniques, and their associated risks, is provided in Appendix A. You should consider the investment risks discussed in this section and in Appendix A. Both are important to your investment choice.



Investment Adviser		Fund
Goldman Sachs Asset Management, L.P.		Buffered S&P 500 Fund—January
200 West Street		Buffered S&P 500 Fund—April
New York, NY 10282		Buffered S&P 500 Fund—July Buffered S&P 500 Fund—October

GSAM has been registered as an investment adviser with the SEC since 1990 and is an indirect, wholly-owned subsidiary of The Goldman Sachs Group, Inc. and an affiliate of Goldman Sachs & Co. LLC (“Goldman Sachs”). Founded in 1869, The Goldman Sachs Group, Inc. is a publicly-held financial holding company and a leading global investment banking, securities and investment management firm. As of [ ], 2021, GSAM, including its investment advisory affiliates, had assets under supervision of approximately $[ ].

The Investment Adviser provides day-to-day advice regarding the Fund’s portfolio transactions. The Investment Adviser makes the investment decisions for the Fund and places purchase and sale orders for the Fund’s portfolio transactions in U.S. and foreign markets. As permitted by applicable law, these orders may be directed to any executing brokers, dealers, futures commission merchants (“FCMs”) or other counterparties, including Goldman Sachs and its affiliates. While the Investment Adviser is ultimately responsible for the management of the Fund, it is able to draw upon the research and expertise of its asset management affiliates for portfolio decisions and management with respect to certain portfolio securities. In addition, the Investment Adviser has access to the research and certain proprietary technical models developed by Goldman Sachs (subject to legal, internal, regulatory and Chinese wall restrictions), and will apply quantitative and qualitative analysis in determining the appropriate allocations among categories of issuers and types of securities.

The Investment Adviser also performs the following additional services for the Fund (to the extent not performed by others pursuant to agreements with the Fund):

An investment in the Fund may be negatively impacted because of the operational risks arising from factors such as processing errors and human errors, inadequate or failed internal or external processes, failures in systems and technology, changes in personnel, and errors caused by third-party service providers or trading counterparties. The use of certain investment strategies that involve manual or additional processing, such as over-the-counter derivatives, increases these risks. Although the Fund attempts to minimize such failures through controls and oversight, it is not possible to identify all of the operational risks that may affect the Fund or to develop processes and controls that completely eliminate or mitigate the occurrence of such failures. The Fund and its shareholders could be negatively impacted as a result.

From time to time, Goldman Sachs or its affiliates may invest “seed” capital in the Fund. These investments are generally intended to enable the Fund to commence investment operations and achieve sufficient scale. Goldman Sachs and its affiliates may hedge the exposure of the seed capital invested in the Fund by, among other things, taking an offsetting position in the benchmark of the Fund.

As compensation for its services and its assumption of certain expenses, the Investment Adviser is entitled to a fee, computed daily and payable monthly, at the annual rate listed below (as a percentage of the Fund’s average daily net assets):



Fund	Contractual Management Fee Annual Rate	Average Daily Net Assets
Buffered S&P 500 Fund—January	[ ]	[ ]
Buffered S&P 500 Fund—April	[ ]	[ ]
Buffered S&P 500 Fund—July	[ ]	[ ]
Buffered S&P 500 Fund—October	[ ]	[ ]

[The Investment Adviser has agreed to waive a portion of its management fee payable by the Fund in an amount equal to any management fees it earns as an investment adviser to any affiliated funds in which the Fund invests, except those management fees it earns from the Fund’s investments of cash collateral received in connection with securities lending transactions in affiliated funds. The management fee waiver will remain in effect through at least [ ], and prior to such date, the Investment Adviser may not terminate the arrangement without the approval of the Board of Trustees. The management fee waiver may be modified or terminated by the Investment Adviser at its discretion and without shareholder approval after such date, although the Investment Adviser does not presently intend to do so.

In addition to the management fee waiver described above, the Investment Adviser may waive an additional portion of its management fee, from time to time, and may discontinue or modify any such waivers in the future, consistent with the terms of any fee waiver arrangements that may be in place.]

A discussion regarding the basis for the Board of Trustees’ approval of the Management Agreement for the Fund will be available in the Fund’s [annual report] dated [ ], 2021.

[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 [ ] of the Fund’s average daily net assets through at least [ ], and prior to such date the Investment Adviser may not terminate the arrangement without the approval of the Board of Trustees. The expense limitation may be modified or terminated by the Investment Adviser at its discretion and without shareholder approval after such date, although the Investment Adviser does not presently intend to do so. The Fund’s “Other Expenses” may be further reduced by any custody and transfer agency fee credits received by the Fund.]

The Investment Adviser, distributor, and/or their affiliates may, from time to time, pay compensation from their own assets (and not as an additional charge to the Fund) to participating insurance companies for administrative services that such companies provide to their variable annuity and variable life insurance contract owners who are invested in the Fund and for other purposes. In addition, the Investment Adviser, distributor, and/or their affiliates may pay compensation from their own assets (and not as an additional charge to the Fund) to various securities dealers (including affiliates of participating insurance companies) (“Intermediaries”) that distribute variable annuity contracts and/or variable life insurance contracts of such companies in connection with the sale, distribution and/or servicing of such contracts. Such payments are intended to compensate Intermediaries for, among other things: marketing shares of the Fund and other Goldman Sachs Funds, which may consist of payments relating to funds included on preferred or recommended fund lists or in certain sales programs from time to time sponsored by the Intermediaries; access to the Intermediaries’ registered representatives or salespersons, including at conferences and other meetings; assistance in training and education of personnel; marketing support; the provision of analytical or other data to the Investment Adviser or its affiliates relating to sales of shares of the Fund and other Goldman Sachs Funds; the support or purchase of technology platforms/ software; and/or other specified services intended to assist in the distribution and marketing of the Fund and other Goldman Sachs Funds, including provision of consultative services to the Investment Adviser or its affiliates relating to marketing and/or sale of shares of the Fund and other Goldman Sachs Funds. The payments may also, to the extent permitted by applicable regulations, sponsor various trainings and educational programs. The additional payments by the Investment Adviser, distributor and/or their affiliates may also compensate Intermediaries for subaccounting, administrative and/or shareholder processing services that are in addition to the fees paid for these services by the Fund. The amount of these additional payments is normally not expected to exceed 0.50% (annualized) of the amount sold or invested through the Intermediaries. Please refer to the “Payments to Others (Including Intermediaries)” section of the SAI for more information about these payments.

The payments made by the Investment Adviser, distributor and/or their affiliates may differ for different participating insurance companies and Intermediaries. The presence of these payments and the basis on which an Intermediary compensates its registered

representatives or salespersons may create an incentive for a particular Intermediary, registered representative, salesperson or participating insurance company to highlight, feature, offer or recommend the Fund based, at least in part, on the level of compensation paid. You should contact your participating insurance company or Intermediary for more information about the payments they receive and any potential conflicts of interest.

The individuals jointly and primarily responsible for the day-to-day management of the Fund are listed below. The Fund’s portfolio managers’ individual responsibilities may differ and may include, among other things, security selection, asset allocation, risk budgeting and general oversight of the management of the Fund.

For information about portfolio manager compensation, other accounts managed by a portfolio manager and portfolio manager ownership of securities in the Fund, see the SAI.

Goldman Sachs, 200 West Street, New York, NY 10282, serves as the exclusive distributor (the “Distributor”) of the Fund’s shares. Goldman Sachs, 71 S. Wacker Drive, Chicago, IL 60606, also serves as the Fund’s transfer agent (the “Transfer Agent”) and, as such, performs various shareholder servicing functions.

For its transfer agency services, Goldman Sachs is entitled to receive a transfer agency fee equal, on an annualized basis, to [ ]% of average daily net assets with respect to the Institutional Shares.

The involvement of the Investment Adviser, Goldman Sachs and their affiliates in the management of, or their interest in, other accounts and other activities of Goldman Sachs will present conflicts of interest with respect to the Fund and will, under certain circumstances, limit the Fund’s investment activities. Goldman Sachs is a worldwide, full service investment banking, broker dealer, asset management and financial services organization and a major participant in global financial markets that provides a wide range of financial services to a substantial and diversified client base that includes corporations, financial institutions, governments and individuals. As such, it acts as a broker-dealer, investment adviser, investment banker, underwriter, research provider, administrator, financier, adviser, market maker, trader, prime broker, derivatives dealer, clearing agent, lender, counterparty, agent, principal, distributor, investor or in other commercial capacities for accounts or companies or affiliated or unaffiliated investment funds (including pooled investment vehicles and private funds) in which one or more accounts, including the Fund, invest. In those and other capacities, Goldman Sachs and its affiliates advise and deal with clients and third parties in all markets and transactions and purchase, sell, hold and recommend a broad array of investments, including securities, derivatives, loans, commodities, currencies, credit default swaps, indices, baskets and other financial instruments and products for their own accounts or for the accounts of their customers and have other direct and indirect interests in the global fixed income, currency, commodity, equities, bank loans and other markets and the securities and issuers in which the Fund directly and indirectly invests. Thus, it is expected that the Fund will have multiple business relationships with and will invest in, engage in transactions with, make voting decisions with respect to, or obtain services from entities for which Goldman Sachs and its affiliates perform or seek to perform investment banking or other services. The Investment Adviser and/or certain of its affiliates are the managers of the Goldman

Sachs Funds. The Investment Adviser and its affiliates earn fees from this and other relationships with the Fund. Although management fees paid by the Fund to the Investment Adviser and certain other fees paid to the Investment Adviser’s affiliates are based on asset levels, the fees are not directly contingent on Fund performance, and the Investment Adviser and its affiliates will still receive significant compensation from the Fund even if shareholders lose money. Goldman Sachs and its affiliates engage in proprietary trading and advise accounts and funds which have investment objectives similar to those of the Fund and/or which engage in and compete for transactions in the same types of securities, currencies and instruments as the Fund. Goldman Sachs and its affiliates will not have any obligation to make available any information regarding their proprietary activities or strategies, or the activities or strategies used for other accounts managed by them, for the benefit of the management of the Fund. The results of the Fund’s investment activities, therefore, will likely differ from those of Goldman Sachs, its affiliates, and other accounts managed by Goldman Sachs, and it is possible that the Fund could sustain losses during periods in which Goldman Sachs and its affiliates and other accounts achieve significant profits on their trading for proprietary or other accounts. In addition, the Fund may enter into transactions in which Goldman Sachs and its affiliates or their other clients have an adverse interest. For example, the Fund may take a long position in a security at the same time that Goldman Sachs and its affiliates or other accounts managed by the Investment Adviser or its affiliates take a short position in the same security (or vice versa). These and other transactions undertaken by Goldman Sachs, its affiliates or Goldman Sachs-advised clients may, individually or in the aggregate, adversely impact the Fund. Transactions by one or more Goldman Sachs-advised clients or the Investment Adviser may have the effect of diluting or otherwise disadvantaging the values, prices or investment strategies of the Fund. The Fund’s activities will, under certain circumstances, be limited because of regulatory restrictions applicable to Goldman Sachs and its affiliates, and/or their internal policies designed to comply with such restrictions. As a global financial services firm, Goldman Sachs and its affiliates also provide a wide range of investment banking and financial services to issuers of securities and investors in securities. Goldman Sachs, its affiliates and others associated with it are expected to create markets or specialize in, have positions in and/or effect transactions in, securities of issuers held by the Fund, and will likely also perform or seek to perform investment banking and financial services for one or more of those issuers. Goldman Sachs and its affiliates are expected to have business relationships with and purchase or distribute or sell services or products from or to distributors, consultants or others who recommend the Fund or who engage in transactions with or for the Fund. For more information about conflicts of interest, see the section entitled “Potential Conflicts of Interest” in the SAI.

The Fund will, from time to time, make brokerage and other payments to Goldman Sachs and its affiliates in connection with the Fund’s portfolio investment transactions, in accordance with applicable law.

Distributions from investment company taxable income and distributions from net realized capital gains (if any) are normally declared and paid by the Fund at least annually. In addition, the Fund may occasionally make a distribution at a time when it is not normally made. Over the course of the year, accrued and paid distributions will equal all or substantially all of the Fund’s investment company taxable income and net realized capital gains. All distributions paid on Institutional Shares will be automatically reinvested in additional Institutional Shares of the Fund at the NAV of such shares on the payment date, unless an insurance company’s separate account is permitted to hold cash and elects to receive payment in cash. From time to time, a portion of the Fund’s distributions may constitute a return of capital for tax purposes, and/or may include amounts in excess of the Fund’s net investment income for the period in accordance with generally accepted accounting principles (GAAP).

The following section will provide you with answers to some of the most frequently asked questions regarding buying and selling the Fund’s Institutional Shares.

Institutional Shares of the Fund are not sold directly to the public. Instead, Fund shares are sold to separate accounts that fund variable annuity and variable life insurance contracts issued by participating insurance companies. You may purchase or sell (redeem) shares of the Fund through variable annuity contracts and variable life insurance policies offered through the separate accounts. The variable annuity contracts and variable life insurance policies are described in the separate prospectuses issued by the participating insurance companies. You should refer to those prospectuses for information on how to purchase a variable annuity contract or variable life insurance policy, how to select a specific Fund as an investment option for your contract or policy and how to redeem monies from the Fund.

The separate accounts of the participating insurance companies place orders to purchase and redeem shares of the Fund based on, among other things, the amount of premium payments to be invested and the amount of surrender and transfer requests (as defined in the prospectus describing the variable annuity contracts and variable life insurance policies issued by the participating insurance companies) to be effected on that day pursuant to variable annuity contracts and variable life insurance policies.

Shares of the Fund may be purchased by separate accounts of both affiliated and unaffiliated participating insurance companies in order to fund both variable annuity and variable life insurance contracts, and also may be purchased by qualified plans. This may present certain conflicts of interests among variable annuity owners, variable life insurance policy owners and plan investors. The Trust’s Board of Trustees will monitor the Trust for the existence of any material irreconcilable conflict of interest. The Trust currently does not foresee any disadvantages to the holders of variable annuity contracts and variable life insurance policies arising from the fact that interests of the holders of variable annuity contracts and variable life insurance policies may differ due to differences of tax treatment or other considerations or due to conflicts among the participating insurance companies. If, however, a material irreconcilable conflict arises between the holders of variable annuity contracts and variable life insurance policies of participating insurance companies, a participating insurance company may be required to withdraw the assets allocable to some or all of the separate accounts from the Fund. Any such withdrawal could disrupt orderly portfolio management to the potential detriment of such holders.

Shares of the Fund (and other existing and new funds that might be added to the Trust) may also be offered to:

In addition to Institutional Shares, the Fund offers another class of shares. This other share class is subject to different fees and expenses (which affect performance) and is entitled to different services than Institutional Shares. Information regarding this other share class can be obtained from Goldman Sachs by calling the number on the back cover of the Prospectus.

Institutional Shares of the Fund are purchased and sold at the Fund’s next-determined NAV per share after the Transfer Agent or participating insurance company has received and accepted the order in proper form. The class generally calculates its NAV as follows:

The Fund’s investments for which market quotations are readily available are valued at market value on the basis of quotations provided by pricing services or securities dealers. If accurate quotations are not readily available, if the Fund’s fund accounting agent is unable for other reasons to facilitate pricing of individual securities or calculate the Fund’s NAV, or if the Investment Adviser believes that such quotations do not accurately reflect fair value, the fair value of the Fund’s investments may be determined in good faith under valuation procedures established by the Board of Trustees. Thus, such pricing may be based on

subjective judgments and it is possible that the prices resulting from such valuation procedures may differ materially from the value realized on a sale. Cases where there is no clear indication of the value of the Fund’s investments include, among others, situations where a security or other asset or liability does not have a price source or a price is unavailable.

Equity securities listed on an exchange are generally valued at the last available sale price on the exchange on which they are principally traded. To the extent that the Fund invests in foreign equity securities, “fair value” prices, if available, are provided by an independent third-party pricing (fair value) service in accordance with the fair value procedures approved by the Board of Trustees. Fair value prices are used because many foreign markets operate at times that do not coincide with those of the major U.S. markets. Events that could affect the values of foreign portfolio holdings may occur between the close of the foreign market and the time of determining the NAV, and would not otherwise be reflected in the NAV.

Fixed income securities are generally valued on the basis of prices (including evaluated prices) and quotations provided by pricing services or securities dealers. Pricing services may use matrix pricing or valuation models, which utilize certain inputs and assumptions, including, but not limited to, yield or price with respect to comparable fixed income securities, to determine current value. Pricing services generally value fixed income securities assuming orderly transactions of an institutional round lot size, but the Fund may hold or transact in such securities in smaller odd lot sizes. Odd lots may trade at lower prices than institutional round lots.

Investments in other open-end registered investment companies (if any), excluding investments in ETFs, are valued based on the NAV of those open-end registered investment companies (which may use fair value pricing as discussed in their prospectuses). Investments in ETFs will generally be valued at the last sale price or official closing price on the exchange on which they are principally traded.

In addition, the Investment Adviser, consistent with its procedures and applicable regulatory guidance, may (but need not) determine to make an adjustment to the previous closing prices of either domestic or foreign securities in light of significant events, to reflect what it believes to be the fair value of the securities at the time of determining the Fund’s NAV. Significant events that could affect a large number of securities in a particular market may include, but are not limited to: situations relating to one or more single issuers in a market sector; significant fluctuations in U.S. or foreign markets; market dislocations; market disruptions or unscheduled market closings; equipment failures; natural or manmade disasters or acts of God; armed conflicts; governmental actions or other developments; as well as the same or similar events which may affect specific issuers or the securities markets even though not tied directly to the securities markets. Other significant events that could relate to a single issuer may include, but are not limited to: corporate actions such as reorganizations, mergers and buy-outs; corporate announcements, including those relating to earnings, products and regulatory news; significant litigation; ratings downgrades; bankruptcies; and trading limits or suspensions.

One effect of using an independent third-party pricing (fair value) service and fair valuation may be to reduce stale pricing arbitrage opportunities presented by the pricing of Fund shares. However, it involves the risk that the values used by the Fund to price its investments may be different from those used by other investment companies and investors to price the same investments.

Please note the following with respect to the price at which your transactions are processed:

Consistent with industry practice, investment transactions not settling on the same day are recorded and factored into the Fund’s NAV on the business day following trade date (T+1). The use of T+1 accounting generally does not, but may, result in a NAV that differs materially from the NAV that would result if all transactions were reflected on their trade dates.

Note: The time at which transactions and shares are priced and the time by which orders must be received may be changed in case of an emergency or if regular trading on the New York Stock Exchange is stopped at a time other than its regularly scheduled closing time. In the event the New York Stock Exchange does not open for business, the Trust may, but is not required to, open the Fund for purchase, redemption and exchange transactions if the Federal Reserve wire payment system is open. To learn whether the Fund is open for business during this situation, please call the appropriate phone number located on the back cover of the Prospectus.

Foreign securities may trade in their local markets on days the Fund is closed. As a result, if the Fund holds foreign securities, its NAV may be impacted on days when investors may not purchase or redeem Fund shares.

The Fund relies on various sources to calculate its NAV. The ability of the Fund’s fund accounting agent to calculate the NAV per share is subject to operational risks associated with processing or human errors, systems or technology failures, cyber attacks and errors caused by third party service providers, data sources, or trading counterparties. Such failures may result in delays in the calculation of the Fund’s NAV and/or the inability to calculate NAV over extended time periods. The Fund may be unable to recover any losses associated with such failures. In addition, if the third party service providers and/or data sources upon which the Fund directly or indirectly relies to calculate its NAV or price individual securities are unavailable or otherwise unable to calculate the NAV correctly, it may be necessary for alternative procedures to be utilized to price the securities at the time of determining the Fund’s NAV.

Do I Have To Pay Any Fees When Purchasing Or Selling Institutional Shares Of The Fund?

The Fund does not charge any fees when it sells or redeems its shares. Surrender charges, mortality and expense risk fees and other charges may be assessed by participating insurance companies under the variable annuity contracts or variable life insurance policies. These fees should be described in the participating insurance companies’ prospectuses.

The Fund will be deemed to have received an order for purchase, redemption or exchange of Fund Shares when the order is accepted in proper form by the Transfer Agent or a participating insurance company on a business day, and the order will be priced at the Fund’s current NAV per share next determined after such acceptance. Participating insurance companies may have different requirements regarding what constitutes proper form for trade instructions. Please contact the participating insurance company for more information.

Shares of the Fund are only registered for sale in the United States and certain of its territories. Generally, shares of the Fund will only be offered or sold to “U.S. persons” and all offerings or other solicitation activities will be conducted within the United States in accordance with the rules and regulations of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended.

Orders received by the Trust are only processed on business days. The separate accounts purchase and redeem shares of the Fund at the Fund’s NAV per share calculated as of the day an order is received by the insurance company although such purchases and redemptions may be executed the next morning. Redemption proceeds paid by wire transfer will normally be wired in federal funds on the business day on which the Trust receives actual notice of the redemption order, but may be paid up to two business days after receipt of actual notice of the order.

The Fund typically expects to meet redemption requests by using holdings of cash or cash equivalents and/or proceeds from the sale of portfolio holdings. In addition, under stressed market conditions, as well as for other temporary or emergency purposes, the Fund may distribute redemption proceeds in-kind (instead of cash), access a line of credit or overdraft facility, or borrow through other sources to meet redemption requests.

Notwithstanding the foregoing, the Trust and Goldman Sachs reserve the right to reject or restrict purchase or exchange requests from any investor. The Trust and Goldman Sachs will not be liable for any loss resulting from rejected purchase or exchange orders.

As a holder of a variable annuity contract or variable life insurance policy, you will receive annual shareholder reports containing audited financial statements and semi-annual shareholder reports from your participating insurance company.

Participating insurance companies, not the owners of the variable annuity contracts or variable life insurance policies or participants therein, are shareholders of the Fund. To the extent required by law:

It is anticipated that Fund shares held by unregistered separate accounts or qualified plans generally will be voted for or against any proposition in the same proportion as all other Fund shares are voted unless the unregistered separate account’s participating insurance company or the plan makes other arrangements.

Additional information concerning voting rights of the participants in the separate accounts is more fully set forth in the prospectus relating to those accounts issued by the participating insurance companies.

Policies and Procedures on Excessive Trading Practices. In accordance with the policy adopted by the Board of Trustees, the Trust discourages frequent purchases and redemptions of Fund shares and does not permit market timing or other excessive trading practices. Purchases and exchanges should be made with a view to longer-term investment purposes only that are consistent with the investment policies and practices of the Fund. Excessive, short-term (market timing) trading practices may disrupt portfolio management strategies, increase brokerage and administrative costs, harm Fund performance and result in dilution in the value of Fund shares held by longer-term shareholders. The Trust and Goldman Sachs reserve the right to reject or restrict purchase or exchange requests from any participating insurance company or other investor. The Trust and Goldman Sachs will not be liable for any loss resulting from rejected purchase or exchange orders. To minimize harm to the Trust and its shareholders (or Goldman Sachs), the Trust (or Goldman Sachs) will exercise this right if, in the Trust’s (or Goldman Sachs’) judgment, an investor has a history of excessive trading or if an investor’s trading, in the judgment of the Trust (or Goldman Sachs), has been or may be disruptive to the Fund. In making this judgment, trades executed in multiple accounts under common ownership or control may be considered together to the extent they can be identified. No waivers of the provisions of the policy established to detect and deter market timing and other excessive trading activity are permitted that would harm the Trust or its shareholders or would subordinate the interests of the Trust or its shareholders to those of Goldman Sachs or any affiliated person or associated person of Goldman Sachs.

As a deterrent to excessive trading, many foreign equity securities held by the Goldman Sachs Funds are priced by an independent pricing service using fair valuation. For more information on fair valuation, please see “How Are Shares Priced?”

Pursuant to the policy adopted by the Board of Trustees of the Trust, Goldman Sachs has developed criteria that it uses to identify trading activity that may be excessive. Excessive trading activity in the Fund is measured by the number of “round trip” transactions in a shareholder’s account. A “round trip” includes a purchase or exchange into a Fund followed or preceded by a redemption or exchange out of the same Fund. If a Fund detects that a shareholder has completed two or more round trip transactions in a single Fund within a rolling 90-day period, the Fund may reject or restrict subsequent purchase or exchange orders by that shareholder permanently. In addition, a Fund may, in its sole discretion, permanently reject or restrict purchase or exchange orders by a shareholder if the Fund detects other trading activity that is deemed to be disruptive to the management of the Fund or otherwise harmful to the Fund. For purposes of these transaction surveillance procedures, the Fund may consider trading activity in multiple accounts under common ownership, control, or influence. A shareholder that has been restricted from participation in a Fund pursuant to this policy will be allowed to apply for reentry after one year. A shareholder applying for re-entry must provide assurances acceptable to the Fund that the shareholder will not engage in excessive trading activities in the future.

Goldman Sachs may modify its surveillance procedures and criteria from time to time without prior notice regarding the detection of excessive trading or to address specific circumstances. Goldman Sachs will apply the criteria in a manner that, in Goldman Sachs’ judgment, will be uniform.

Fund shares are generally held through omnibus arrangements maintained by participating insurance companies or other intermediaries. Omnibus accounts include multiple investors and such accounts typically provide the Fund with a net purchase or redemption request on any given day where the purchases and redemptions of Fund shares by the investors shares are netted against one another. The identity of individual investors whose purchase and redemption orders are aggregated are ordinarily not tracked by the Fund on a regular basis. A number of these insurance companies or financial intermediaries may not have the capability or may not be willing or legally able to apply the Fund’s market timing policies. While Goldman Sachs may monitor share turnover at the omnibus account level, the Fund’s ability to monitor and detect market timing by investors in these omnibus accounts may be limited in certain circumstances, and certain of these insurance companies or financial intermediaries may charge the Fund a fee for providing certain shareholder financial information requested as part of the Fund’s surveillance process. The netting effect makes it more difficult to identify, locate and eliminate market timing activities. In addition, those investors who engage in market timing and other excessive trading activities may employ a variety of techniques to avoid detection. There can be no assurance that the Fund and Goldman Sachs will be able to identify all those who trade excessively or employ a market timing strategy, and curtail their trading in every instance. If necessary, the Trust may prohibit additional purchases of Fund shares by a participating insurance company or intermediary or by certain of their customers. Insurance companies and intermediaries may also monitor their customers’ trading activities in the Fund.

The criteria used by insurance companies or intermediaries to monitor for excessive trading may differ from the criteria used by the Fund. If an insurance company or intermediary fails to cooperate in the implementation or enforcement of the Trust’s excessive trading policies, the Trust may take certain actions including terminating the relationship.

The Fund is treated as a separate corporate entity for federal tax purposes. The Fund has elected to be treated as a regulated investment company and intends to qualify for such treatment for each taxable year under Subchapter M of Subtitle A, Chapter 1 of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986, as amended (the “Code”). In addition, the Fund intends to qualify under the Code with respect to the diversification requirements related to variable contracts. Provided that the Fund and a separate account investing in the Fund satisfy applicable tax requirements, the Fund will not be subject to federal tax and any distributions from the Fund to the separate account will be exempt from current federal income taxation to the extent that such distributions accumulate in a variable annuity contract or a variable life insurance contract.

Persons investing in variable annuity or variable life insurance contracts should refer to the prospectuses with respect to such contracts for further information regarding the tax treatment of the contracts and the separate accounts in which the contracts are invested.

Because the Fund invests in derivatives that provide exposure to equity investments, the Fund will be subject to the risks associated with such investments. “Equity investments” may include common stocks, preferred stocks, warrants, stock purchase rights, interests in REITS, equity interests in trusts, partnerships, joint ventures, limited liability companies and similar enterprises, MLPs, other investment companies (including ETFs) and synthetic and derivative instruments (such as swaps and futures contracts) that have economic characteristics similar to equity securities. In general, the values of equity investments fluctuate in response to the activities of individual companies and in response to general market and economic conditions. Accordingly, the values of such investments may decline over short or extended periods. The stock markets tend to be cyclical, with periods when stock prices generally rise and periods when prices generally decline. This volatility means that the value of your investment in the Fund may increase or decrease. In recent years, certain stock markets have experienced substantial price volatility. To the extent the Fund’s net assets decrease or increase in the future due to price volatility or share redemption or purchase activity, the Fund’s expense ratio may correspondingly increase or decrease from the expense ratio disclosed in this Prospectus.

To the extent the Fund invests in pooled investment vehicles (including investment companies and ETFs), partnerships and REITs, the Fund will be affected by the investment policies, practices and performance of such entities in direct proportion to the amount of assets the Fund invests therein.

To the extent it invests in fixed income securities, the Fund will also be subject to the risks associated with fixed income securities. These risks include interest rate risk and credit/ default risk. In general, interest rate risk involves the risk that when interest rates decline, the market value of fixed income securities tends to increase. Conversely, when interest rates increase, the market value of fixed income securities tends to decline. Credit/default risk involves the risk that an issuer or guarantor could default on its obligations, and the Fund will not recover its investment.

A rising interest rate environment could cause the value of the Fund’s fixed income securities to decrease, and fixed income markets to experience increased volatility in addition to heightened levels of liquidity risk. Additionally, decreases in the value of fixed income securities could lead to increased shareholder redemptions, which could impair the Fund’s ability to achieve its investment objective. The risks associated with increasing interest rates are heightened given that interest rates are near historic lows, but may be expected to increase in the future with unpredictable effects on the markets and the Fund’s investments.

The Fund may invest in non-investment grade fixed income securities (commonly known as “junk bonds”), which are rated below investment grade (or determined to be of comparable credit quality, if not rated) at the time of purchase and are therefore considered speculative. Because non-investment grade fixed income securities are issued by issuers with low credit ratings, they pose a greater risk of default than investment grade securities.

The Investment Adviser may use derivative instruments, including financial futures contracts and swap transactions, as well as other types of derivatives. The Fund’s investments in derivative instruments, including financial futures contracts and swaps, can be significant.

Interest rates, fixed income securities prices, the prices of futures and other derivatives, and currency exchange rates can be volatile, and a variance in the degree of volatility or in the direction of the market from the Investment Adviser’s expectations may produce significant losses in the Fund’s investments in derivatives.

Financial futures contracts used by the Fund include interest rate futures contracts including, among others, Eurodollar futures contracts. Eurodollar futures contracts are U.S. dollar-denominated futures contracts that are based on the implied forward London Interbank Offered Rate (LIBOR) of a three-month deposit. Further information is included in this Prospectus regarding futures contracts, swaps and other derivative instruments used by the Fund, including information on the risks presented by these instruments and purposes for which they may be used by the Fund.

The Investment Adviser will not consider the portfolio turnover rate a limiting factor in making investment decisions for the Fund. A high rate of portfolio turnover (100% or more) involves correspondingly greater expenses which must be borne by the Fund and its shareholders. The portfolio turnover rate is calculated by dividing the lesser of the dollar amount of sales or purchases of portfolio securities by the average monthly value of the Fund’s portfolio securities, excluding securities having a maturity at the

date of purchase of one year or less. See “Financial Highlights” in Appendix B for a statement of the Fund’s historical portfolio turnover rates.

The Fund may, from time to time, enter into arrangements with certain brokers or other counterparties that require the segregation of collateral. For operational, cost or other reasons, when setting up arrangements relating to the execution/clearing of trades, the Fund may choose to select a segregation model which may not be the most protective option available in the case of a default by a broker or counterparty.

The following sections provide further information on certain types of securities and investment techniques that may be used by the Fund, including their associated risks. Additional information is provided in the SAI, which is available upon request. Among other things, the SAI describes certain fundamental investment restrictions that cannot be changed without shareholder approval. You should note, however, that all investment objectives, and all investment policies not specifically designated as fundamental are non-fundamental and may be changed without shareholder approval. If there is a change in the Fund’s investment objective, you should consider whether the Fund remains an appropriate investment in light of your then current financial position and needs.

Risks of Derivative Investments. The Fund may, to the extent consistent with its investment policies, invest in derivative instruments, including without limitation, options, futures, options on futures, forward contracts, swaps, structured securities and other derivative instruments. Derivatives may be used for both hedging and nonhedging purposes (that is, to seek to increase total return), although suitable derivative instruments may not always be available to the Investment Adviser for these purposes. Losses from derivative instruments can result from a lack of correlation between changes in the value of derivative instruments and the portfolio assets (if any) being hedged, the potential illiquidity of the markets for derivative instruments, the failure of the counterparty to perform its contractual obligations, or the risks related to leverage factors associated with such transactions. Derivatives are also subject to risks arising from margin requirements, which include the risk that the Fund will be required to pay additional margin or set aside additional collateral to maintain open derivatives positions and the risk of loss by the Fund of margin deposits in the event of the bankruptcy or other similar insolvency with respect to a broker or counterparty with whom the Fund has an open derivative position. Losses may also arise if the Fund receives cash collateral under the transactions and some or all of that collateral is invested in the market. To the extent that cash collateral is so invested, such collateral will be subject to market depreciation or appreciation, and the Fund may be responsible for any loss that might result from its investment of the counterparty’s cash collateral. If cash collateral is not invested, the Fund may be exposed to additional risk of loss in the event of the insolvency of its custodian holding such collateral. The use of these management techniques also involves the risk of loss if the Investment Adviser is incorrect in its expectation of the timing or level of fluctuations in securities prices, interest rates, currency prices or other variables. Investments in derivative instruments may be harder to value, subject to greater volatility and more likely subject to changes in tax treatment than other investments. For these reasons, the Investment Adviser’s attempts to hedge portfolio risks through the use of derivative instruments may not be successful, and the Investment Adviser may choose not to hedge portfolio risks. Using derivatives for nonhedging purposes presents greater risk of loss than derivatives used for hedging purposes.

Risks of Illiquid Investments. The Fund may not acquire any “illiquid investment” if, immediately after the acquisition, the Fund would have invested more than 15% of its net assets in illiquid investments that are assets. An “illiquid investment” is an investment that the Fund reasonably expects cannot be sold or disposed of in current market conditions in seven calendar days or less without the sale or disposition significantly changing the market value of the investment. In determining whether an investment is an illiquid investment, the Investment Adviser will take into account actual or estimated daily transaction volume of an investment, group of related investments or asset class and other relevant market, trading, and investment-specific considerations. In addition, in determining the liquidity of an investment, the Investment Adviser must determine whether trading varying portions of a position in a particular portfolio investment or asset class, in sizes that the Fund would reasonably anticipate trading, is reasonably expected to significantly affect its liquidity, and if so, the Fund must take this determination into account when classifying the liquidity of that investment or asset class.

Investments purchased by the Fund that are liquid at the time of purchase may subsequently become illiquid. If one or more investments in the Fund’s portfolio become illiquid, the Fund may exceed the 15% limitation in illiquid investments. In the event that changes in the portfolio or other external events cause the Fund to exceed this limit, the Fund must take steps to bring its illiquid investments that are assets to or below 15% of its net assets within a reasonable period of time. This requirement would not force the Fund to liquidate any portfolio instrument where the Fund would suffer a loss on the sale of that instrument.

In cases where no clear indication of the value of the Fund’s portfolio instruments is available, the portfolio instruments will be valued at their fair value according to the valuation procedures approved by the Board of Trustees. These cases include, among others, situations where a security or other asset or liability does not have a price source, or the secondary markets on which an investment has previously been traded are no longer viable, due to its lack of liquidity. For more information on fair valuation, please see “Shareholder Guide—How Are Shares Priced?”

Credit/Default Risks. Debt securities purchased by the Fund may include U.S. Government Securities (including zero coupon bonds) and securities issued by foreign governments, domestic and foreign corporations, banks and other issuers. Some of these fixed income securities are described in the next section below. Further information is provided in the SAI.

The Fund also has credit rating requirements for the securities it buys, which are applied at the time of purchase. For this purpose, the Fund relies only on the ratings of the following NRSROs: Standard & Poor’s, Moody’s and Fitch, Inc.

Unrated securities may be purchased by the Fund if they are determined by the Investment Adviser to be of a credit quality consistent with the Fund’s credit rating requirements.

Debt securities rated BBB– or higher by Standard & Poor’s or Baa3 or higher by Moody’s or having a comparable credit rating by another NRSRO are considered “investment grade.” Securities rated BBB– or Baa3 are considered medium-grade obligations with speculative characteristics, and adverse economic conditions or changing circumstances may weaken the issuers’ capacity to pay interest and repay principal. For the purpose of determining compliance with any credit rating requirement, the Fund assigns a security, at the time of purchase, the highest rating by an NRSRO if the security is rated by more than one NRSRO. Therefore, a security will be deemed to have met a rating requirement if it receives the minimum required rating from at least one such rating organization even though it has been rated below the minimum rating by one or more other rating organizations, or if unrated by such rating organizations, the security is determined by the Investment Adviser to be of comparable credit quality. A security satisfies the Fund’s minimum rating requirement regardless of its relative ranking (for example, plus or minus) within a designated major rating category (for example, BBB or Baa). If a security satisfies the Fund’s minimum rating requirement at the time of purchase and is subsequently downgraded below that rating, the Fund will not be required to dispose of the security. If a downgrade occurs, the Investment Adviser will consider what action, including the sale of the security, is in the best interest of the Fund and its shareholders.

The Fund may invest in fixed income securities rated BB+ or Ba1 or below (or comparable unrated securities) which are commonly referred to as “junk bonds.” Junk bonds are considered speculative and may be questionable as to principal and interest payments.

In some cases, junk bonds may be highly speculative, have poor prospects for reaching investment grade standing and be in default. As a result, investment in such bonds will present greater speculative risks than those associated with investment in investment grade bonds. Also, to the extent that the rating assigned to a security in the Fund’s portfolio is downgraded by a rating organization, the market price and liquidity of such security may be adversely affected.

Risks of Foreign Investments. The Fund will make foreign investments. Foreign investments involve special risks that are not typically associated with U.S. dollar denominated or quoted securities of U.S. issuers. Foreign investments may be affected by changes in currency rates, changes in foreign or U.S. laws or restrictions applicable to such investments and changes in exchange control regulations (e.g., currency blockage). A decline in the exchange rate of the currency (i.e., weakening of the currency against the U.S. dollar) in which a portfolio security is quoted or denominated relative to the U.S. dollar would reduce the value of the portfolio security. In addition, if the currency in which the Fund receives dividends, interest or other payments declines in value against the U.S. dollar before such income is distributed as dividends to shareholders or converted to U.S. dollars, the Fund may have to sell portfolio securities to obtain sufficient cash to pay such dividends.

Certain foreign markets may rely heavily on particular industries or foreign capital and are more vulnerable to diplomatic developments, the imposition of economic sanctions against a particular country or countries, organizations, entities and/or individuals, changes in international trading patterns, trade barriers, and other protectionist or retaliatory measures. International trade barriers or economic sanctions against foreign countries, organizations, entities and/or individuals may adversely affect the Fund’s foreign holdings or exposures.

Brokerage commissions, custodial services and other costs relating to investment in international securities markets generally are more expensive than in the United States. In addition, clearance and settlement procedures may be different in foreign countries and, in certain markets, such procedures have been unable to keep pace with the volume of securities transactions, thus making it difficult to conduct such transactions.

Foreign issuers are not generally subject to uniform accounting, auditing and financial reporting standards comparable to those applicable to U.S. issuers. There may be less publicly available information about a foreign issuer than about a U.S. issuer. In addition, there is generally less government regulation of foreign markets, companies and securities dealers than in the United States, and the legal remedies for investors may be more limited than the remedies available in the United States. Foreign securities markets may have substantially less volume than U.S. securities markets and securities of many foreign issuers are less liquid and more volatile than securities of comparable domestic issuers. Furthermore, with respect to certain foreign countries, there is a possibility of nationalization, expropriation or confiscatory taxation, imposition of withholding or other taxes on dividend or interest payments (or, in some cases, capital gains distributions), limitations on the removal of funds or other assets from such countries, and risks of political or social instability or diplomatic developments which could adversely affect investments in those countries.

Certain foreign investments may become less liquid in response to social, political or market developments or adverse investor perceptions, or become illiquid after purchase by the Fund, particularly during periods of market turmoil. Certain foreign investments may become illiquid when, for instance, there are few, if any, interested buyers and sellers or when dealers are unwilling to make a market for certain securities. When the Fund holds illiquid investments, its portfolio may be harder to value, especially in changing markets.

The Fund may hold foreign securities and cash with foreign banks, agents, and securities depositories appointed by the Fund’s custodian (each a “Foreign Custodian”). Some Foreign Custodians may be recently organized or new to the foreign custody business. In some countries, Foreign Custodians may be subject to little or no regulatory oversight over or independent evaluation of their operations. Further, the laws of certain countries may place limitations on the Fund’s ability to recover assets if a Foreign Custodian enters bankruptcy. Investments in emerging market countries may be subject to even greater custody risks than investments in more developed markets. Custody services in emerging market countries are very often undeveloped and may be considerably less well regulated than in more developed countries, and thus may not afford the same level of investor protection as would apply in developed countries.

If the Fund focuses its investments in one or a few countries and currencies it will subject the Fund to greater risks than if the Fund’s assets were not geographically focused.

Investments in foreign securities may take the form of sponsored and unsponsored American Depositary Receipts (“ADRs”), European Depositary Receipts (“EDRs”) and Global Depositary Receipts (“GDRs”) or other similar instruments representing securities of foreign issuers. ADRs, EDRs and GDRs represent the right to receive securities of foreign issuers deposited in a bank or other depository. ADRs and certain GDRs are traded in the United States. GDRs may be traded in either the United States or in foreign markets. EDRs are traded primarily outside of the United States. Prices of ADRs are quoted in U.S. dollars. EDRs and GDRs are not necessarily quoted in the same currency as the underlying security.

Risks of Emerging Countries. The Fund may invest in securities of issuers located in, or otherwise economically tied to, emerging countries. The risks of foreign investment are heightened when the issuer is located in an emerging country. Emerging countries are generally located in Africa, Asia, the Middle East, Eastern and Central Europe, and Central and South America. The Fund’s purchase and sale of portfolio securities in certain emerging countries may be constrained by limitations relating to daily changes in the prices of listed securities, periodic trading or settlement volume and/or limitations on aggregate holdings of foreign investors. Such limitations may be computed based on the aggregate trading volume by or holdings of the Fund, the Investment Adviser, its affiliates and their respective clients and other service providers. The Fund may not be able to sell securities in circumstances where price, trading or settlement volume limitations have been reached.

Foreign investment in the securities markets of certain emerging countries is restricted or controlled to varying degrees which may limit investment in such countries or increase the administrative costs of such investments. For example, certain Asian countries require governmental approval prior to investments by foreign persons or limit investment by foreign persons to only a specified percentage of an issuer’s outstanding securities or a specific class of securities which may have less advantageous terms (including price) than securities of the issuer available for purchase by nationals. In addition, certain countries may restrict or prohibit investment opportunities in issuers or industries deemed important to national interests. Such restrictions may affect the market price, liquidity and rights of securities that may be purchased by the Fund. The repatriation of investment income, capital or the proceeds of securities sales from certain emerging countries is subject to restrictions such as the need for governmental consents, which may make it difficult for the Fund to invest in such emerging countries. The Fund could be adversely affected by delays in, or a refusal to grant, any required governmental approval for such repatriation. In situations where a country restricts direct investment in securities (which may occur in certain Asian and other countries), the Fund may invest in such countries through other investment funds in such countries.

Emerging market countries may have more or less government regulation and generally do not impose as extensive and frequent accounting, auditing, financial and other reporting requirements as the securities markets of more developed countries. The degree of cooperation between issuers in emerging and frontier market countries with foreign and U.S. financial regulators may vary significantly. Accordingly, regulators may not have sufficient access to audit and oversee issuers, and there could be less information available about issuers in certain emerging market countries. As a result, the Investment Adviser’s ability to evaluate local companies or their potential impact on the Fund’s performance could be inhibited.

Many emerging countries have experienced currency devaluations and substantial (and, in some cases, extremely high) rates of inflation. Other emerging countries have experienced economic recessions. These circumstances have had a negative effect on the economies and securities markets of such emerging countries. Economies in emerging countries generally are dependent heavily upon commodity prices and international trade and, accordingly, have been and may continue to be affected adversely by the economies of their trading partners, trade barriers, exchange controls, managed adjustments in relative currency values and other protectionist measures imposed or negotiated by the countries with which they trade.

Many emerging countries are subject to a substantial degree of economic, political and social instability. Governments of some emerging countries are authoritarian in nature or have been installed or removed as a result of military coups, while governments in other emerging countries have periodically used force to suppress civil dissent. Disparities of wealth, the pace and success of democratization, and ethnic, religious and racial disaffection, among other factors, have also led to social unrest, violence and/or labor unrest in some emerging countries. Unanticipated political or social developments may result in sudden and significant investment losses. Investing in emerging countries involves greater risk of loss due to expropriation, nationalization, confiscation of assets and property or the imposition of restrictions on foreign investments and on repatriation of capital invested. As an example, in the past some Eastern European governments have expropriated substantial amounts of private property, and many claims of the property owners have never been fully settled. There is no assurance that similar expropriations will not occur in other countries.

The Fund’s investment in emerging countries may also be subject to withholding or other taxes, which may be significant and may reduce the return to the Fund from an investment in issuers in such countries.

Settlement procedures in emerging countries are frequently less developed and reliable than those in the United States and may involve the Fund’s delivery of securities before receipt of payment for their sale. In addition, significant delays may occur in certain markets in registering the transfer of securities. Settlement or registration problems may make it more difficult for the Fund to value its portfolio securities and could cause the Fund to miss attractive investment opportunities, to have a portion of its assets uninvested or to incur losses due to the failure of a counter-party to pay for securities the Fund has delivered or the Fund’s inability to complete its contractual obligations because of theft or other reasons.

The creditworthiness of the local securities firms used by the Fund in emerging countries may not be as sound as the creditworthiness of firms used in more developed countries. As a result, the Fund may be subject to a greater risk of loss if a securities firm defaults in the performance of its responsibilities.

The small size and inexperience of the securities markets in certain emerging countries and the limited volume of trading in securities in those countries may make the Fund’s investments in such countries less liquid and more volatile than investments in countries with more developed securities markets (such as the United States, Japan and most Western European countries). The Fund’s investments in emerging countries are subject to the risk that the liquidity of a particular investment, or investments generally, in such countries will shrink or disappear suddenly and without warning as a result of adverse economic, market or political conditions or adverse investor perceptions, whether or not accurate. Because of the lack of sufficient market liquidity, the Fund may incur losses because it will be required to effect sales at a disadvantageous time and only then at a substantial drop in price. Investments in emerging countries may be more difficult to value precisely because of the characteristics discussed above and lower trading volumes.

The Fund’s use of foreign currency management techniques in emerging countries may be limited. The Investment Adviser anticipates that all or a significant portion of the Fund’s currency exposure in emerging countries may not be covered by those techniques.

Risks of Sovereign Debt. Investment in sovereign debt obligations by the Fund involves risks not present in debt obligations of corporate issuers. The issuer of the debt or the governmental authorities that control the repayment of the debt may be unable or unwilling to repay principal or pay interest when due in accordance with the terms of such debt, and the Fund may have limited recourse to compel payment in the event of a default. Periods of economic uncertainty may result in the volatility of market prices of sovereign debt, and in turn the Fund’s NAV, to a greater extent than the volatility inherent in debt obligations of U.S. issuers.

A sovereign debtor’s willingness or ability to repay principal and pay interest in a timely manner may be affected by, among other factors, its cash flow situation, the extent of its foreign currency reserves, the availability of sufficient foreign exchange on the date a payment is due, the relative size of the debt service burden to the economy as a whole, the sovereign debtor’s policy toward international lenders, and the political constraints to which a sovereign debtor may be subject.

Risks of Investing in Mid-Capitalization and Small-Capitalization Companies and REITs. The Fund may invest in mid- and small-capitalization companies and REITs. Investments in mid- and small-capitalization companies and REITs involve greater risk and portfolio price volatility than investments in larger capitalization stocks. Among the reasons for the greater price volatility of these investments are the less certain growth prospects of smaller firms and the lower degree of liquidity in the markets for such securities. Mid- and small-capitalization companies and REITs may be thinly traded and may have to be sold at a discount from current market prices or in small lots over an extended period of time. In addition, these securities are subject to the risk that during certain periods the liquidity of particular issuers or industries, or all securities in particular investment categories, will shrink or disappear suddenly and without warning as a result of adverse economic or market conditions, or adverse investor perceptions whether or not accurate. Because of the lack of sufficient market liquidity, the Fund may incur losses because it will be required to effect sales at a disadvantageous time and only then at a substantial drop in price. Mid- and small-capitalization companies and REITs include “unseasoned” issuers that do not have an established financial history; often have limited product lines, markets or financial resources; may depend on or use a few key personnel for management; and may be susceptible to losses and risks of bankruptcy. Mid- and small-capitalization companies may be operating at a loss or have significant variations in operating results; may be engaged in a rapidly changing business with products subject to a substantial risk of obsolescence; may require substantial additional capital to support their operations, to finance expansion or to maintain their competitive position; and may have substantial borrowings or may otherwise have a weak financial condition. In addition, these companies may face intense competition, including competition from companies with greater financial resources, more extensive development, manufacturing, marketing, and other capabilities, and a larger number of qualified managerial and technical personnel. Transaction costs for these investments are often higher than those of larger capitalization companies. Investments in mid- and small-capitalization companies and REITs may be more difficult to price precisely than other types of securities because of their characteristics and lower trading volumes.

This section provides further information on certain types of securities and investment techniques that may be used by the Fund, including their associated risks.

The Fund may purchase other types of securities or instruments similar to those described in this section if otherwise consistent with the Fund’s investment objective and policies. Further information is provided in the SAI, which is available upon request.

U.S. Government Securities. The Fund may invest in U.S. Government Securities. U.S. Government Securities include U.S. Treasury obligations and obligations issued or guaranteed by U.S. government agencies, instrumentalities or sponsored enterprises. U.S. Government Securities may be supported by (i) the full faith and credit of the U.S. Treasury; (ii) the right of the issuer to borrow from the U.S. Treasury; (iii) the discretionary authority of the U.S. government to purchase certain obligations of the issuer; or (iv) only the credit of the issuer. U.S. Government Securities also include Treasury receipts, zero coupon bonds and other stripped U.S. Government Securities, where the interest and principal components are traded independently. U.S. Government Securities may also include Treasury inflation-protected securities whose principal value is periodically adjusted according to the rate of inflation.

U.S. Government Securities are deemed to include (i) securities for which the payment of principal and interest is backed by an irrevocable letter of credit issued by the U.S. government, its agencies, authorities or instrumentalities; and (ii) participations in loans made to foreign governments or their agencies that are so guaranteed. Certain of these participations may be regarded as illiquid.

U.S. Treasury Securities have historically involved little risk of loss of principal if held to maturity. However, no assurance can be given that loss of principal will not occur or that the U.S. government will be able or willing to repay the principal or interest when due or will provide financial support to U.S. government agencies, authorities, instrumentalities or sponsored enterprises that issue U.S. Government Securities if it is not obligated to do so by law.

Custodial Receipts and Trust Certificates. The Fund may invest in custodial receipts and trust certificates representing interests in securities held by a custodian or trustee. The securities so held may include U.S. Government Securities or other types of securities in which the Fund may invest. The custodial receipts or trust certificates may evidence ownership of future interest payments,

principal payments or both on the underlying securities, or, in some cases, the payment obligation of a third party that has entered into an interest rate swap or other arrangement with the custodian or trustee. For certain securities laws purposes, custodial receipts and trust certificates may not be considered obligations of the U.S. government or other issuer of the securities held by the custodian or trustee. If for tax purposes, the Fund is not considered to be the owner of the underlying securities held in the custodial or trust account, the Fund may suffer adverse tax consequences. As a holder of custodial receipts and trust certificates, the Fund will bear its proportionate share of the fees and expenses charged to the custodial account or trust. The Fund may also invest in separately issued interests in custodial receipts and trust certificates.

REITs. The Fund may invest in REITs. REITs are pooled investment vehicles that invest primarily in either real estate or real estate related loans. The value of a REIT is affected by changes in the value of the properties owned by the REIT or securing mortgage loans held by the REIT. REITs are dependent upon the ability of the REITs’ managers, and are subject to heavy cash flow dependency, default by borrowers and the qualification of the REITs under applicable regulatory requirements for favorable income tax treatment. REITs are also subject to risks generally associated with investments in real estate including possible declines in the value of real estate, general and local economic conditions, environmental problems and changes in interest rates. To the extent that assets underlying a REIT are concentrated geographically, by property type or in certain other respects, these risks may be heightened. The Fund will indirectly bear its proportionate share of any expenses, including management fees, paid by a REIT in which it invests.

Preferred Stock, Warrants and Stock Purchase Rights. Preferred stocks are securities that represent an ownership interest providing the holder with claims on the issuer’s earnings and assets before common stock owners but after bond owners. Unlike debt securities, the obligations of an issuer of preferred stock, including dividend and other payment obligations, may not typically be accelerated by the holders of such preferred stock on the occurrence of an event of default or other non-compliance by the issuer of the preferred stock.

Warrants and other rights are options to buy a stated number of shares of common stock at a specified price at any time during the life of the warrant or right. The holders of warrants and rights have no voting rights, receive no dividends and have no rights with respect to the assets of the issuer.

Zero Coupon, Deferred Interest, Pay-In-Kind and Capital Appreciation Bonds. The Fund may invest in zero coupon bonds, deferred interest, pay-in-kind and capital appreciation bonds. These bonds are issued at a discount from their face value because interest payments are typically postponed until maturity. Pay-in-kind securities are securities that have interest payable by the delivery of additional securities. The market prices of these securities generally are more volatile than the market prices of interest-bearing securities and are likely to respond to a greater degree to changes in interest rates than interest-bearing securities having similar maturities and credit quality.

Structured Securities. The Fund may invest in structured securities. Structured securities are securities whose value is determined by reference to changes in the value of specific currencies, securities, interest rates, commodities, indices or other financial indicators (the “Reference”) or the relative change in two or more References. Investments in structured securities may provide exposure to certain securities or markets in situations where regulatory or other restrictions prevent direct investments in such issuers or markets.

The interest rate or the principal amount payable upon maturity or redemption may be increased or decreased depending upon changes in the applicable Reference. Structured securities may be positively or negatively indexed, so that appreciation of the Reference may produce an increase or decrease in the interest rate or value of the security at maturity. In addition, changes in the interest rates or the value of the security at maturity may be a multiple of changes in the value of the Reference, effectively leveraging the Fund’s investments so that small changes in the value of the Reference may result in disproportionate gains or losses to the Fund. Consequently, structured securities may present a greater degree of market risk than many types of securities and may be more volatile, less liquid and more difficult to price accurately than less complex securities. Structured securities are also subject to the risk that the issuer of the structured securities may fail to perform its contractual obligations. Certain issuers of structured products may be deemed to be investment companies as defined in the Investment Company Act. As a result, the Fund’s investments in structured securities may be subject to the limits applicable to investments in other investment companies.

Structured securities are considered hybrid instruments because they are derivative instruments the value of which depends on, or is derived from or linked to, the value of an underlying asset, interest rate index or commodity. Commodity-linked notes are hybrid instruments because the principal and/or interest payments on those notes is linked to the value of the individual commodities, futures contracts or the performance of one or more commodity indices.

Structured securities include, but are not limited to, equity linked notes. An equity linked note is a note whose performance is tied to a single stock, a stock index or a basket of stocks. Equity linked notes combine the principal protection normally associated with fixed income investments with the potential for capital appreciation normally associated with equity investments. Upon the maturity of the note, the holder generally receives a return of principal based on the capital appreciation of the linked securities. Depending on the terms of the note, equity linked notes may also have a “cap” or “floor” on the maximum principal amount to be repaid to holders, irrespective of the performance of the underlying linked securities. For example, a note may guarantee the repayment of the original principal amount invested (even if the underlying linked securities have negative performance during the note’s term), but may cap the maximum payment at maturity at a certain percentage of the issuance price or the return of the underlying linked securities. Alternatively, the note may not guarantee a full return on the original principal, but may offer a greater participation in any capital appreciation of the underlying linked securities. The terms of an equity linked note may also provide for periodic interest payments to holders at either a fixed or floating rate. The secondary market for equity linked notes may be limited, and the lack of liquidity in the secondary market may make these securities difficult to dispose of and to value. Equity linked notes will be considered equity securities for purposes of the Fund’s investment objective and policies.

Foreign Currency Transactions. The Fund may, to the extent consistent with its investment policies, purchase or sell foreign currencies on a cash basis or through forward contracts. A forward contract involves an obligation to purchase or sell a specific currency at a future date at a price set at the time of the contract.

The Fund may engage in foreign currency transactions for hedging purposes and to seek to protect against anticipated changes in future foreign currency exchange rates. In addition, the Fund may enter into foreign currency transactions to seek a closer correlation between the Fund’s overall currency exposures and the currency exposures of the Fund’s performance benchmark. The Fund may also enter into such transactions to seek to increase total return, which is considered a speculative practice.

The Fund may also engage in cross-hedging by using forward contracts in a currency different from that in which the hedged security is denominated or quoted. The Fund may hold foreign currency received in connection with investments in foreign securities when, in the judgment of the Investment Adviser, it would be beneficial to convert such currency into U.S. dollars at a later date (e.g., the Investment Adviser may anticipate that the foreign currency will appreciate against the U.S. dollar).

The Fund may, from time to time, engage in non-deliverable forward transactions to manage currency risk or to gain exposure to a currency without purchasing securities denominated in that currency. A non-deliverable forward is a transaction that represents an agreement between the Fund and a counterparty (usually a commercial bank) to pay the other party the amount that it would cost based on current market rates as of the termination date to buy or sell a specified (notional) amount of a particular currency at an agreed upon foreign exchange rate on an agreed upon future date. If the counterparty defaults, the Fund will have contractual remedies pursuant to the agreement related to the transaction, but the Fund may be delayed or prevented from obtaining payments owed to it pursuant to non-deliverable forward transactions. Such non-deliverable forward transactions will be settled in cash.

Currency exchange rates may fluctuate significantly over short periods of time causing, along with other factors, the Fund’s NAV to fluctuate (when the Fund’s NAV fluctuates, the value of your shares may go up or down). Currency exchange rates also can be affected unpredictably by the intervention of U.S. or foreign governments or central banks, or the failure to intervene, or by currency controls or political developments in the United States or abroad.

Certain forward foreign currency exchange contracts and other currency transactions are not exchange traded or cleared. The market in such forward foreign currency exchange contracts, currency swaps and other privately negotiated currency instruments offers less protection against defaults by the other party to such instruments than is available for currency instruments traded on an exchange. Such contracts are subject to the risk that the counterparty to the contract will default on its obligations. Because these contracts are not guaranteed by an exchange or clearing-house, a default on a contract would deprive the Fund of unrealized profits, transaction costs or the benefits of a currency hedge or could force the Fund to cover its purchase or sale commitments, if any, at the current market price.

The Fund is not required to post cash collateral with its counterparties in certain foreign currency transactions. Accordingly, the Fund may remain more fully invested (and more of the Fund’s assets may be subject to investment and market risk) than if it were required to post collateral with its counterparties (which is the case with certain transactions). Where the Fund’s counterparties are not required to post cash collateral with the Fund, the Fund will be subject to additional counterparty risk.

Options on Securities, Securities Indices and Foreign Currencies. A put option gives the purchaser of the option the right to sell, and the writer (seller) of the option the obligation to buy, the underlying instrument during the option period. A call option gives the purchaser of the option the right to buy, and the writer (seller) of the option the obligation to sell, the underlying instrument during the option period. The Fund may write (sell) call and put options and purchase put and call options on any securities and other

instruments in which the Fund may invest or any index consisting of securities or other instruments in which it may invest. The Fund may also, to the extent consistent with its investment policies, purchase and write (sell) put and call options on foreign currencies.

The writing and purchase of options is a highly specialized activity which involves special investment risks. Options may be used for either hedging or cross-hedging purposes, or to seek to increase total return (which presents additional risk). The successful use of options depends in part on the ability of the Investment Adviser to anticipate future price fluctuations and the degree of correlation between the options and securities (or currency) markets. If the Investment Adviser is incorrect in its expectation of changes in market prices or determination of the correlation between the instruments or indices on which options are written and purchased and the instruments in the Fund’s investment portfolio, the Fund may incur losses that it would not otherwise incur. The use of options can also increase the Fund’s transaction costs. Options written or purchased by the Fund may be traded on either U.S. or foreign exchanges or over-the-counter. Foreign and over-the-counter options will present greater possibility of loss because of their greater illiquidity and credit risks.

Futures Contracts and Options and Swaps on Futures Contracts. Futures contracts are standardized, exchange-traded contracts that provide for the sale or purchase of a specified financial instrument or currency at a future time at a specified price. An option on a futures contract gives the purchaser the right (and the writer of the option the obligation) to assume a position in a futures contract at a specified exercise price within a specified period of time. A swap on a futures contract provides an investor with the ability to gain economic exposure to a particular futures market; however, unlike a futures contract that is exchange traded, a swap on a futures contract is an over-the-counter transaction. A futures contract may be based on particular securities, foreign currencies, securities indices and other financial instruments and indices. The Fund may engage in futures transactions on both U.S. and foreign exchanges.

The Fund may purchase and sell futures contracts, purchase and write call and put options on futures contracts, and enter into swaps on futures contracts, in order to seek to increase total return or to hedge against changes in interest rates, securities prices or currency exchange rates, or to otherwise manage its term structure, sector selection and duration in accordance with its investment objective and policies. The Fund may also enter into closing purchase and sale transactions with respect to such contracts and options.

Other Investment Companies. The Fund may invest in securities of other investment companies, including ETFs and money market funds, subject to statutory limitations prescribed by the Investment Company Act, or exemptive relief or regulations thereunder. These statutory limitations include in certain circumstances a prohibition on the Fund acquiring more than 3% of the voting shares of any other investment company, and a prohibition on investing more than 5% of the Fund’s total assets in securities of any one investment company or more than 10% of total assets in securities of all investment companies.

The use of ETFs is generally intended to help the Fund match the total return of the particular market segments or indices represented by those ETFs, although that may not be the result. Most ETFs are passively managed investment companies whose shares are purchased and sold on a securities exchange. An ETF generally represents a portfolio of securities designed to track a particular market segment or index. An investment in an ETF generally presents the same primary risks as an investment in a conventional fund (i.e., one that is not exchange-traded) that has the same investment objectives, strategies and policies. In addition, an ETF may fail to accurately track the market segment or index that underlies its investment objective. The price of an ETF can fluctuate, and the Fund could lose money investing in an ETF. Moreover, ETFs are subject to the following risks that do not apply to conventional funds: (i) the market price of the ETF’s shares may trade at a premium or a discount to their NAV; (ii) an active trading

market for an ETF’s shares may not develop or be maintained; and (iii) there is no assurance that the requirements of the exchange necessary to maintain the listing of an ETF will continue to be met or remain unchanged.

Subject to applicable law and/or pursuant to an exemptive order obtained from the SEC or under an exemptive rule adopted by the SEC, the Fund may invest in certain other investment companies, including ETFs and money market funds, beyond the statutory limits described above or otherwise provided that certain conditions are met. Some of those investment companies may be funds for which the Investment Adviser or any of its affiliates serves as investment adviser, administrator or distributor.

The Fund will indirectly bear its proportionate share of any management fees and other expenses paid by such other investment companies, in addition to the fees and expenses regularly borne by the Fund. Although the Fund does not expect to do so in the foreseeable future, the Fund is authorized to invest substantially all of its assets in a single open-end investment company or series thereof that has substantially the same investment objective, policies and fundamental restrictions as the Fund.

Interest Rate Swaps, Credit Swaps, Currency Swaps, Equity Swaps, Total Return Swaps, Options on Swaps and Interest Rate Caps, Floors and Collars. Interest rate swaps involve the exchange by the Fund with another party of their respective commitments to pay or receive interest, such as an exchange of fixed-rate payments for floating rate payments. Credit swaps involve the receipt of floating or fixed rate payments in exchange for assuming potential credit losses on an underlying security or pool of securities. Credit swaps give one party to a transaction (the buyer of the credit swap) the right to dispose of or acquire an asset (or group of assets or exposure to the performance of an index), or the right to receive a payment from the other party, upon the occurrence of specified credit events. Currency swaps involve the exchange of the parties’ respective rights to make or receive payments in specified currencies. Total return swaps give a party the right to receive the appreciation in the value of a specified security, index or other instrument in return for a fee paid to the counterparty, which will typically be based on an agreed upon interest rate. If the underlying asset in a total return swap declines in value over the term of the swap, the party may also be required to pay the dollar value of that decline to the counterparty. The Fund may also purchase and write (sell) options contracts on swaps, commonly referred to as swaptions. A swaption is an option to enter into a swap agreement. Like other types of options, the buyer of a swaption pays a nonrefundable premium for the option and obtains the right, but not the obligation, to enter into an underlying swap or to modify the terms of an existing swap on agreed-upon terms. The seller of a swaption, in exchange for the premium, becomes obligated (if the option is exercised) to enter into or modify an underlying swap on agreed-upon terms, which generally entails a greater risk of loss than the Fund incurs in buying a swaption. Equity swaps allow the parties to a swap agreement to exchange the dividend income or other components of return on an equity investment (for example, a group of equity securities or an index) for another payment stream. An equity swap may be used by the Fund to invest in a market without owning or taking physical custody of securities in circumstances in which direct investment may be restricted for legal reasons or is otherwise deemed impractical or disadvantageous.

The purchase of an interest rate cap entitles the purchaser, to the extent that a specified index exceeds a predetermined interest rate, to receive payment of interest on a notional principal amount from the party selling such interest rate cap. The purchase of an interest rate floor entitles the purchaser, to the extent that a specified index falls below a predetermined interest rate, to receive payments of interest on a notional principal amount from the party selling the interest rate floor. An interest rate collar is the combination of a cap and a floor that preserves a certain return within a predetermined range of interest rates.

The Fund may enter into swap transactions for hedging purposes or to seek to increase total return. As an example, when the Fund is the buyer of a credit default swap (commonly known as buying protection), it may make periodic payments to the seller of the credit default swap to obtain protection against a credit default on a specified underlying asset (or group of assets). If a default occurs, the seller of a credit default swap may be required to pay the Fund the notional amount of the credit default swap on a specified security (or group of securities). On the other hand, when the Fund is a seller of a credit default swap (commonly known as selling protection), in addition to the credit exposure the Fund has on the other assets held in its portfolio, the Fund is also subject to the credit exposure on the notional amount of the swap since, in the event of a credit default, the Fund may be required to pay the notional amount of the credit default swap on a specified security (or group of securities) to the buyer of the credit default swap. The Fund will be the seller of a credit default swap only when the credit of the underlying asset is deemed by the Investment Adviser to meet the Fund’s minimum credit criteria at the time the swap is first entered into.

When the Fund writes (sells) credit swaps on individual securities or instruments, the Fund must identify on its books liquid assets equal to the full notional amount of the swaps while the positions are open.

currency exchange rates, or in its evaluation of the creditworthiness of swap counterparties and the issuers of the underlying assets, the investment performance of the Fund would be less favorable than it would have been if these investment techniques were not used.

Currently, certain standardized swap transactions are subject to mandatory central clearing and exchange trading. Although central clearing and exchange trading is expected to decrease counterparty risk and increase liquidity compared to bilaterally negotiated swaps, central clearing and exchange trading does not eliminate counterparty risk or illiquidity risk entirely. Depending on the size of the Fund and other factors, the margin required under the rules of a clearinghouse and by a clearing member may be in excess of the collateral required to be posted by the Fund to support its obligations under a similar bilateral, uncleared swap. However, certain applicable regulators have adopted rules imposing certain margin requirements, including minimums, on uncleared swaps which may result in the Fund and its counterparties posting higher amounts for uncleared swaps.

Non-Investment Grade Fixed Income Securities. Non-investment grade fixed-income securities and unrated securities of comparable credit quality (commonly known as “junk bonds”) are considered speculative. In some cases, these obligations may be highly speculative and have poor prospects for reaching investment grade standing. Non-investment grade fixed income securities are subject to the increased risk of an issuer’s inability to meet principal and interest obligations. These securities, also referred to as high yield securities, may be subject to greater price volatility due to such factors as specific issuer developments, interest rate sensitivity, negative perceptions of the junk bond markets generally and less secondary market liquidity.

Non-investment grade fixed income securities are often issued in connection with a corporate reorganization or restructuring or as part of a merger, acquisition, takeover or similar event. They are also issued by less established companies seeking to expand. Such issuers are often highly leveraged and generally less able than more established or less leveraged entities to make scheduled payments of principal and interest in the event of adverse developments or business conditions. Non-investment grade securities are also issued by governmental bodies that may have difficulty in making all scheduled interest and principal payments. The market value of non-investment grade fixed income securities tends to reflect individual government or municipal developments to a greater extent than that of higher rated securities which react primarily to fluctuations in the general level of interest rates. As a result, the Fund’s ability to achieve its investment objectives may depend to a greater extent on the Investment Adviser’s judgment concerning the creditworthiness of issuers than funds which invest in higher-rated securities. Issuers of non-investment grade fixed income securities may not be able to make use of more traditional methods of financing and their ability to service debt obligations may be affected more adversely than issuers of higher-rated securities by economic downturns, specific corporate or financial developments or the issuer’s inability to meet specific projected business forecasts. Negative publicity about the junk bond market and investor perceptions regarding lower rated securities, whether or not based on fundamental analysis, may depress the prices for such securities.

A holder’s risk of loss from default is significantly greater for non-investment grade fixed income securities than is the case for holders of other debt securities because such non-investment grade securities are generally unsecured and are often subordinated to the rights of other creditors of the issuers of such securities. Investment by the Fund in defaulted securities poses additional risk of loss should nonpayment of principal and interest continue in respect of such securities. Even if such securities are held to maturity, recovery by the Fund of its initial investment and any anticipated income or appreciation is uncertain.

The secondary market for non-investment grade fixed income securities is concentrated in relatively few market makers and is dominated by institutional investors, including mutual funds, insurance companies and other financial institutions. Accordingly, the secondary market for such securities is not as liquid as, and is more volatile than, the secondary market for higher-rated securities. In addition, market trading volume for high yield fixed income securities is generally lower and the secondary market for such securities could shrink or disappear suddenly and without warning as a result of adverse market or economic conditions, independent of any specific adverse changes in the condition of a particular issuer. The lack of sufficient market liquidity may cause the Fund to incur losses because it will be required to effect sales at a disadvantageous time and then only at a substantial drop in price. These factors may have an adverse effect on the market price and the Fund’s ability to dispose of particular portfolio investments. A less liquid secondary market also may make it more difficult for the Fund to obtain precise valuations of the high yield securities in its portfolio.

Lending of Portfolio Securities. The Fund may engage in securities lending. Securities lending involves the lending of securities owned by the Fund to financial institutions such as certain broker-dealers, including, as permitted by the SEC, Goldman Sachs. The borrowers are required to secure their loans continuously with cash, cash equivalents, U.S. Government Securities or letters of credit in an amount at least equal to the market value of the securities loaned. Cash collateral may be invested by the Fund in short-term investments, including registered and unregistered investment pools managed by the Investment Adviser or its affiliates and from which the Investment Adviser or its affiliates may receive fees. To the extent that cash collateral is so invested, such collateral will be subject to market depreciation or appreciation, and the Fund will be responsible for any loss that might result from its investment of the borrowers’ collateral. If the Investment Adviser determines to make securities loans, the value of the securities loaned may not exceed 33¹/3% of the value of the total assets of the Fund (including the loan collateral). Loan collateral (including any investment of that collateral) is not subject to the percentage limitations regarding the Fund’s investments described elsewhere in the Prospectus.

The Fund may lend its securities to increase its income. The Fund may, however, experience delay in the recovery of its securities or incur a loss if the institution with which it has engaged in a portfolio loan transaction breaches its agreement with the Fund or its agent or becomes insolvent.

Repurchase Agreements. Repurchase agreements involve the purchase of securities subject to the seller’s agreement to repurchase them at a mutually agreed upon date and price. The Fund may enter into repurchase agreements with counterparties approved by the Investment Adviser pursuant to procedures approved by the Board of Trustees that furnish collateral at least equal in value or market price to the amount of their repurchase obligation. The collateral may consist of any type of security in which the Fund is eligible to invest directly. Repurchase agreements involving obligations other than U.S. Government Securities may be subject to additional risks.

If the other party or “seller” defaults, the Fund might suffer a loss to the extent that the proceeds from the sale of the underlying securities and other collateral held by the Fund are less than the repurchase price and the Fund’s costs associated with delay and enforcement of the repurchase agreement. In addition, in the event of bankruptcy of the seller, the Fund could suffer additional losses if a court determines that the Fund’s interest in the collateral is not enforceable.

The Fund, together with other registered investment companies having advisory agreements with the Investment Adviser or any of its affiliates, may transfer uninvested cash balances into a single joint account, the daily aggregate balance of which will be invested in one or more repurchase agreements.

Borrowings and Reverse Repurchase Agreements. The Fund can borrow money from banks and other financial institutions, and may enter into reverse repurchase agreements in amounts not exceeding one-third of the Fund’s total assets (including the amount borrowed or received).

Reverse repurchase agreements involve the sale of securities held by the Fund subject to the Fund’s agreement to repurchase them at a mutually agreed upon date and price (including interest). Reverse repurchase agreements are generally considered collateralized borrowings. These transactions may be entered into as a temporary measure for emergency purposes or to meet redemption requests. Reverse repurchase agreements may also be entered into when the Investment Adviser expects that the interest income to be earned from the investment of the transaction proceeds will be greater than the related interest expense.

Reverse repurchase agreements involve the risk that the investment return earned by the Fund (from the investment of the proceeds) will be less than the interest expense of the transaction, that the market value of the securities sold by the Fund will decline below the price the Fund is obligated to pay to repurchase the securities, and that the securities may not be returned to the Fund. The Fund must identify on its books liquid assets, or engage in other appropriate measures, to “cover” open positions with respect to its transactions in reverse repurchase agreements.

Asset Segregation. As an investment company registered with the SEC, the Fund must identify on its books (often referred to as “asset segregation”) liquid assets, or engage in other SEC- or SEC staff-approved or other appropriate measures, to “cover” open positions with respect to certain kinds of derivative instruments. In the case of swaps, futures contracts, options, forward contracts and other derivative instruments that do not cash settle, for example, the Fund must identify on its books liquid assets equal to the full notional amount of the instrument while the positions are open, to the extent there is not a permissible offsetting position or a contractual “netting” agreement with respect to swaps (other than credit default swaps where the Fund is the protection seller). However, with respect to certain swaps, futures contracts, options, forward contracts and other derivative instruments that are required to cash settle, the Fund may identify liquid assets in an amount equal to the Fund’s daily marked-to-market net obligations (i.e., the Fund’s daily net liability) under the instrument, if any, rather than its full notional amount. Forwards and futures contracts that do not cash settle may be treated as cash settled for asset segregation purposes when the Fund has entered into a contractual

arrangement with a third party futures commission merchant or other counterparty to off-set the Fund’s exposure under the contract and, failing that, to assign its delivery obligation under the contract to the counterparty. The Fund reserves the right to modify its asset segregation policies in the future in its discretion, consistent with the Investment Company Act and SEC or SEC staff guidance. By identifying assets equal to only its net obligations under certain instruments, the Fund will have the ability to employ leverage to a greater extent than if the Fund were required to identify assets equal to the full notional amount of the instrument.

Because the Fund has not commenced investment operations as of the end of the Fund’s fiscal year, financial highlights are not available.

Goldman Sachs Variable Insurance Trust—Buffered S&P 500 Funds Prospectus (Institutional Shares)

Additional information about the Fund’s investments will be available in the Fund’s annual and semi-annual reports to shareholders. In the Fund’s annual report (when available), you will find a discussion of the market conditions and investment strategies that significantly affected the Fund’s performance during its last fiscal year.

Your insurance company will provide you with annual and semi-annual reports (when available) if the Fund serves as an investment option through your variable annuity contract or variable life insurance policy.

Additional information about the Fund and its policies is also available in the Fund’s SAI. The SAI is incorporated by reference into the Prospectus (i.e., is legally considered part of the Prospectus).

The Fund’s annual and semi-annual reports (when available) and the SAI are available free upon request by calling Goldman Sachs Funds at 1-800-621-2550. You can also access and download the annual and semi-annual reports (when available) and the SAI at the Fund’s website: http:// www.gsamfunds.com/vitfunds.

From time to time, certain announcements and other information regarding the Fund may be found at http://www.gsamfunds.com/announcements-ind for individual investors, or http://www.gsamfunds.com/announcements for advisers.



⬛ By telephone:		1-800-621-2550

⬛ By mail:		Goldman Sachs Funds P.O. Box 06050 Chicago, IL 60606-6306

⬛ On the Internet:		SEC EDGAR database – http://www.sec.gov

Other information about the Fund is available on the EDGAR Database on the SEC’s internet site at http://www.sec.gov. You may obtain copies of this information, after paying a duplicating fee, by electronic request at the following e-mail address: publicinfo@sec.gov.

THE SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION HAS NOT APPROVED OR DISAPPROVED THESE SECURITIES OR PASSED UPON THE ADEQUACY OF THIS PROSPECTUS. ANY REPRESENTATION TO THE CONTRARY IS A CRIMINAL OFFENSE.

You should consider this investment only if all of the following factors apply to you:

The Goldman Sachs Buffered S&P 500 Fund—January (the “Fund”) seeks long-term capital appreciation.

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.

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:

The second layer of S&P 500 Options is designed to produce returns that track those of the Underlying Index over a Reset Period if the Underlying Index has experienced gains during that Reset Period. However, unlike other investment products, the potential returns an investor can receive from an investment in the Fund are subject to an upside return Cap. This means that if the Underlying Index experiences gains over a Reset Period beyond the level of the applicable Cap for that Reset Period, the Fund will not participate in those excess gains. Therefore, regardless of the performance of the Underlying Index, the applicable Cap, before Fund fees and expenses, is the maximum return an investor can achieve from an investment in the Fund over a Reset Period.

The Cap may increase or decrease from one Reset Period to the next or from one Outcome Period to the next. Market conditions that may impact the level of the Cap include, but are not limited to, interest rate levels, the volatility of the Underlying Index, and relationship of put and calls on the underlying S&P 500 Options. The S&P 500 Options strategy to determine the applicable Cap (including the applicable Cap from one Reset Period to the next) will be managed over an entire Outcome Period in a way that seeks to maximize an investor’s upside participation. Any Cap is calculated prior to taking into account Fund fees and expenses.

Management Risk. A strategy used by the Investment Adviser may fail to produce the intended results.

Swaps Risk. In a standard “swap” transaction, two parties agree to exchange the returns, differentials in rates of return or some other amount earned or realized on the “notional amount” of predetermined investments or instruments, which may be adjusted for an interest factor. Swaps can involve greater risks than direct investment in securities, because swaps may be leveraged and subject to counterparty risk (e.g., the risk of a counterparty’s defaulting on the obligation or bankruptcy), credit risk and pricing risk (i.e., swaps may be difficult to value). Swaps may also be considered illiquid. It may not be possible for the Fund to liquidate a swap position at an advantageous time or price, which may result in significant losses.