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Virtus Newfleet Multi-Sector Short Term Bond Fund

Virtus Newfleet Multi-Sector Short Term Bond Fund

Investment Objective

The fund has an investment objective of providing high current income while attempting to limit changes in the fund’s net asset value per share caused by interest rate changes.

Fees and Expenses

The tables below illustrate the fees and expenses that you may pay if you buy, hold and sell shares of the fund. You may pay other fees, such as brokerage commissions and other fees to financial intermediaries, which are not reflected in the tables and examples below. You may qualify for sales charge discounts in Class A Shares if you and your family invest, or agree to invest in the future, at least $50,000 in Virtus Funds. More information on these and other discounts is available: (i) from your financial professional or other financial intermediary; (ii) under “Sales Charges” on page 122 of the fund’s prospectus; (iii) with respect to purchase of shares through specific intermediaries, in Appendix A to the fund’s prospectus, entitled “Intermediary Sales Charge Discounts and Waivers;” and (iv) under “Alternative Purchase Arrangements” on page 112 of the fund’s SAI.

Shareholder Fees (fees paid directly from your investment)

Shareholder Fees - Virtus Newfleet Multi-Sector Short Term Bond Fund	Class A Shares	Class C Shares		Class C1 Shares	Class I Shares	Class R6 Shares
Maximum Sales Charge Imposed on Purchases (as a percentage of Offering Price)	2.25%	none		none	none	none
Maximum Deferred Sales Charge (as a percentage of Offering Price)	none	none	[1]	1.00%	none	none

Annual Fund Operating Expenses (expenses that you pay each year as a percentage of the value of your investment)

Annual Fund Operating Expenses - Virtus Newfleet Multi-Sector Short Term Bond Fund		Class A Shares	Class C Shares	Class C1 Shares	Class I Shares	Class R6 Shares
Management Fees		0.48%	0.48%	0.48%	0.48%	0.48%
Distribution and Shareholder Servicing (12b-1) Fees		0.25%	0.50%	1.00%	none	none
Other Expenses		0.25%	0.26%	0.24%	0.25%	0.21%
Total Annual Fund Operating Expenses		0.98%	1.24%	1.72%	0.73%	0.69%
Less: Fee Waiver and/or Expense Reimbursement	[1]	(0.08%)	(0.08%)	(0.06%)	(0.08%)	(0.17%)
Total Annual Fund Operating Expenses After Expense Reimbursement	[1]	0.90%	1.16%	1.66%	0.65%	0.52%

Example

This example is intended to help you compare the cost of investing in the fund with the cost of investing in other mutual funds. The example assumes that you invest $10,000 in the fund for the time periods indicated and then redeem all of your shares at the end of those periods or continued to hold them. The example also assumes that your investment has a 5% return each year, that the fund’s operating expenses remain the same and that the expense reimbursement agreement remains in place for the contractual period. Although your actual costs may be higher or lower, based on these assumptions your costs would be:

Although your actual costs may be higher or lower, based on these assumptions your costs would be:

Expense Example - Virtus Newfleet Multi-Sector Short Term Bond Fund - USD ($)	Class A Shares	Class C Shares	Class C1 Shares	Class I Shares	Class R6 Shares
1 Year	$ 315	$ 218	$ 269	$ 66	$ 53
3 Years	522	386	536	225	204
5 Years	747	673	928	398	367
10 Years	$ 1,392	$ 1,493	$ 2,025	$ 899	$ 843

Expense Example, No Redemption - Virtus Newfleet Multi-Sector Short Term Bond Fund - USD ($)	Class A Shares	Class C Shares	Class C1 Shares	Class I Shares	Class R6 Shares
1 Year	$ 315	$ 118	$ 169	$ 66	$ 53
3 Years	522	386	536	225	204
5 Years	747	673	928	398	367
10 Years	$ 1,392	$ 1,493	$ 2,025	$ 899	$ 843

Portfolio Turnover

The fund pays transaction costs, such as commissions, when it buys and sells securities (or “turns over” its portfolio). A higher portfolio turnover rate may indicate higher transaction costs and may result in higher taxes when fund shares are held in a taxable account. These costs, which are not reflected in annual fund operating expenses or in the example, affect the fund’s performance. During the most recent fiscal year, the fund’s portfolio turnover rate was 37% of the average value of its portfolio.

Principal Investment Strategies

The fund seeks current income with an emphasis on maintaining low volatility and overall short duration by investing primarily in higher quality, more liquid securities across 14 bond market sectors. The fund utilizes a value-oriented, research driven approach that seeks to strategically overweight undervalued sectors while applying strict risk controls.

Under normal circumstances, the fund invests at least 80% of its assets in bonds, which are fixed income debt obligations of various types of issuers. The fund seeks to achieve its objective by investing in a diversified portfolio of primarily short-term fixed income securities having an expected dollar-weighted average duration of three years or less and that are in one of the following market sectors:

 Securities issued or guaranteed as to principal and interest by the U.S. Government, its agencies, authorities or instrumentalities;

 Collateralized mortgage obligations (“CMOs”), real estate mortgage investment conduits (“REMICs”), and other pass-through securities, including those issued or guaranteed as to principal and interest by the U.S. Government, its agencies, authorities or instrumentalities;

 Debt securities issued by foreign issuers, including foreign governments and their political subdivisions, and issuers located in emerging markets;

 Investment-grade securities (primarily of U.S. issuers, secondarily of non-U.S. issuers), which are securities with credit ratings within the four highest rating categories of a nationally recognized statistical rating organization, including short-term securities; and

 High-yield/high-risk debt instruments (so-called “junk bonds”), including bank loans (which are generally floating-rate).

The fund may invest in all or some of these sectors.

Principal Risks

Risk Table - Virtus Newfleet Multi-Sector Short Term Bond Fund

Risk [Text Block]

Risk Lose Money [Member]

If between the time you purchase shares and the time you sell shares the value of the fund’s investments decreases, you will lose money.

Credit Risk

> Credit Risk: If the issuer of a debt instrument fails to pay interest or principal in a timely manner, or negative perceptions exist in the market of the issuer’s ability to make such payments, the price of the security may decline.

Interest Rate Risk

> Interest Rate Risk: The values of debt instruments may rise or fall in response to changes in interest rates, and this risk may be enhanced for securities with longer maturities.

High-Yield/High-Risk Fixed Income Securities (Junk Bonds) Risk

> High-Yield/High-Risk Fixed Income Securities (Junk Bonds) Risk: There is a greater risk of issuer default, less liquidity, and increased price volatility related to high-yield/high-risk securities than investment grade securities.

Bank Loan Risk

> Bank Loan Risk: In addition to the risks typically associated with high-yield/high-risk fixed income securities, bank loans may be unsecured or not fully collateralized, may be subject to restrictions on resale, may be less liquid and may trade infrequently on the secondary market. Bank loans settle on a delayed basis; thus, sale proceeds may not be available to meet redemptions for a substantial period of time after the sale of the loan.

Foreign Investing Risk

> Foreign Investing Risk: Investing in foreign securities subjects the fund to additional risks such as increased volatility; currency fluctuations; less liquidity; less publicly available information about the foreign investment; and political, regulatory, economic, and market risk.

Emerging Market Risk

> Emerging Market Risk: Emerging markets securities may be more volatile, or more greatly affected by negative conditions, than those of their counterparts in more established foreign markets.

Mortgage-Backed and Asset-Backed Securities Risk

> Mortgage-Backed and Asset-Backed Securities Risk: Changes in interest rates may cause both extension and prepayment risks for mortgage-backed and asset-backed securities. These securities are also subject to risks associated with the non-repayment of underlying collateral, including losses to the fund.

Market Volatility Risk

> Market Volatility Risk: The value of the securities in the fund may go up or down in response to the prospects of individual companies and/or general economic conditions. Price changes may be short- or long-term. Local, regional or global events such as war or military conflict (e.g., Russia’s invasion of Ukraine), acts of terrorism, the spread of infectious illness or other public health issue, recessions, or other events could have a significant impact on the fund and its investments, including hampering the ability of the fund’s portfolio manager(s) to invest the fund’s assets as intended.

Currency Rate Risk

> Currency Rate Risk: Fluctuations in the exchange rates between the U.S. dollar and foreign currencies may negatively affect the value of the fund’s shares.

Income Risk

> Income Risk: Income received from the fund may vary widely over the short- and long-term and/or be less than anticipated if the proceeds from maturing securities in the fund are reinvested in lower-yielding securities.

Prepayment/Call Risk

> Prepayment/Call Risk: Issuers may prepay or call their fixed rate obligations when interest rates fall, forcing the fund to reinvest in obligations with lower interest rates and the fund may not benefit fully from the increase in value that other fixed income investments experience when interest rates decline.

Redemption Risk

> Redemption Risk: One or more large shareholders or groups of shareholders may redeem their holdings in the fund, resulting in an adverse impact on remaining shareholders in the fund by causing the fund to take actions it would not otherwise have taken.

Government Securities Risk

> U.S. Government Securities Risk: U.S. Government securities may be subject to price fluctuations. An agency may default on an obligation not backed by the full faith and credit of the United States. Any guarantee on U.S. government securities does not apply to the value of the fund’s shares.

Performance Information

The bar chart and table below provide some indication of the potential risks of investing in the fund. The fund’s past performance, before and after taxes, is not necessarily an indication of how the fund will perform in the future.

The bar chart shows changes in the fund’s performance from year to year over a 10-year period. The table shows how the fund’s average annual returns compare to those of a broad-based securities market index and a style-specific index that reflects the market sectors in which the fund invests. Updated performance information is available at virtus.com or by calling 800-243-1574.

Calendar year total returns for Class I Shares 

Best Quarter: 2020, Q2: 6.17% Worst Quarter: 2020, Q1: -5.45%

Average Annual Total Returns

Returns reflect deduction of maximum sales charges and full redemption at end of periods shown.

Average Annual Total Returns - Virtus Newfleet Multi-Sector Short Term Bond Fund	Label	1 Year	5 Years	10 Years	Since Inception	Inception Date
Class A Shares	Return Before Taxes	4.80%	1.86%	1.82%
Class C Shares	Return Before Taxes	6.82%	2.07%	1.81%
Class C1 Shares	Return Before Taxes	6.33%	1.58%	1.31%
Class I Shares	Return Before Taxes	7.47%	2.58%	2.33%
Class I Shares | After Taxes on Distributions	Return After Taxes on Distributions	5.72%	1.38%	1.06%
Class I Shares | After Taxes on Distributions and Sales	Return After Taxes on Distributions and Sale of Fund Shares	4.39%	1.46%	1.21%
Class R6 Shares	Return Before Taxes	7.53%	2.74%		2.36%	Nov. 03, 2016
Bloomberg U.S. Aggregate Bond Index	Bloomberg U.S. Aggregate Bond Index (reflects no deduction for fees, expenses or taxes)	5.53%	1.10%	1.81%	0.94%	Nov. 03, 2016
ICE BofA 1-3 Year A-BBB U.S. Corporate Index	ICE BofA 1-3 Year A-BBB U.S. Corporate Index (reflects no deduction for fees, expenses or taxes)	5.70%	2.21%	1.94%	2.00%	Nov. 03, 2016

The Bloomberg U.S. Aggregate Bond Index measures the U.S. investment grade fixed rate bond market. The index is calculated on a total return basis. The index is unmanaged and not available for direct investment.

The ICE BofA 1-3 Year A-BBB US Corporate Index measures performance of U.S. corporate bond issues rated A1 through BBB3, inclusive (based on an average of Moody’s, S&P and Fitch), with a remaining term to final maturity less than 3 years. The index is calculated on a total return basis. The index is unmanaged and not available for direct investment.

After-tax returns are calculated using the historical highest individual federal marginal income tax rates and do not reflect the impact of state and local taxes. After-tax returns are shown only for Class I Shares; after-tax returns for other classes will vary. Actual after-tax returns depend on the investor’s tax situation and may differ from those shown. After-tax returns are not relevant to investors who hold fund shares in tax-deferred accounts or to shares held by non-taxable entities. In certain cases, the Return After Taxes on Distributions and Sale of Fund Shares for a period may be higher than other return figures for the same period. This will occur when a capital loss is realized upon the sale of fund shares and provides an assumed tax benefit that increases the return.

[1] The deferred sales charge is imposed on Class C Shares redeemed during the first year only.

[1] The fund’s investment adviser has contractually agreed to limit the fund’s total operating expenses (excluding certain expenses, such as front-end or contingent deferred sales charges, taxes, leverage and borrowing expenses (such as commitment, amendment and renewal expenses on credit or redemption facilities), interest, brokerage commissions, expenses incurred in connection with any merger or reorganization, unusual or infrequently occurring expenses (such as litigation), acquired fund fees and expenses, and dividend expenses, if any) so that such expenses do not exceed 0.90% for Class A Shares, 1.16% for Class C Shares, 1.66% for Class C1 Shares, 0.65% for Class I Shares and 0.52% for Class R6 Shares through January 31, 2025. Prior to January 31, 2025, only the fund’s Board may modify or terminate the expense limitation agreement. Following the contractual period, the adviser may discontinue these expense reimbursement arrangements at any time. Under certain conditions, the adviser may recapture operating expenses reimbursed and/or fees waived under these arrangements for a period of three years following the date such waiver or reimbursement occurred, provided that the recapture does not cause the fund to exceed its expense limit in effect at the time of the waiver or reimbursement, and any in effect at the time of recapture, after repayment is taken into account.