497K 1 c111424_497k.htm Untitled Document
  

Summary Prospectus January 28, 2025

 

Virtus Newfleet High Yield Fund

 

    

A: PHCHX

C: PGHCX

I: PHCIX

R6: VRHYX

 

Before you invest, you may want to review the fund’s prospectus, which contains more information about the fund and its risks. You can find the fund’s prospectus, shareholder reports, statement of additional information (“SAI”), and other information about the fund online at www.virtus.com/investor-resources/mutual-fund-documents.

You can also get this information at no cost by calling 800-243-1574 or by sending an e-mail to: virtus.investment.partners@virtus.com. If you purchase shares of the fund through a broker-dealer or other financial intermediary such as a bank, the prospectus and other information will also be available from your financial intermediary.

The fund’s prospectus and SAI both dated January 28, 2025, are incorporated by reference into this Summary Prospectus.

Investment Objective

The fund has a primary investment objective of high current income and a secondary objective of capital growth.

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 108 of the fund’s prospectus; and (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.”

      

Shareholder Fees (fees paid directly from your investment)

Class A

Class C

 Class I

Class R6

Maximum Sales Charge (load) Imposed on Purchases (as a percentage of offering price)

3.75%

None

None

None

Maximum Deferred Sales Charge (load) (as a percentage of the lesser of purchase price or redemption proceeds) 

None

1.00%(a)

None

None

 

 

 

 

 

 

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

Class A

Class C

 Class I

Class R6

Management Fees

0.55%

0.55%

0.55%

0.55%

Distribution and Shareholder Servicing (12b-1) Fees

0.25%

1.00%

None

None

Other Expenses

0.50%

0.48%

0.54%

0.39%

Total Annual Fund Operating Expenses

1.30%

2.03%

1.09%

0.94%

Less: Fee Waiver and/or Expense Reimbursement(b)

(0.35)%

(0.33)%

(0.39)%

(0.35)%

Total Annual Fund Operating Expenses After Fee Waiver and/or Expense Reimbursement(b)

0.95%

1.70%

0.70%

0.59%

 

  

(a)

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

(b)

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 0.95% for Class A Shares, 1.70% for Class C Shares, 0.70% for Class I Shares and 0.59% for Class R6 Shares through January 31, 2026. Prior to January 31, 2026, 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, or at the time of recapture, after repayment is taken into account.

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:

          

 Class

Share Status

1 Year

3 Years

5 Years

10 Years

Class A

Sold or Held

$468

 

$738

 

$1,029

 

$1,854

 

Class C

Sold

$273

 

$605

 

$1,063

 

$2,332

 

 

Held

$173

 

$605

 

$1,063

 

$2,332

 

Class I

Sold or Held

$72

 

$308

 

$563

 

$1,294

 

Class R6

Sold or Held

$60

 

$265

 

$486

 

$1,123

 


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 61% of the average value of its portfolio.

Investments, Risks and Performance

Principal Investment Strategies

The fund is appropriate for investors seeking diversification and the potential rewards associated with investing in high-yield fixed income securities (also known as “junk bonds”). High-yield fixed income securities are those that are rated below investment grade. The subadviser uses an investment process that focuses on adding value through issue selection, sector/industry selection and opportunistic trading. The fund will generally overweight those sectors and industries where the subadviser identifies well-valued companies whose business profiles are viewed to be improving. The subadviser attempts to maintain the duration of the fund at a level similar to that of its style benchmark, the Bloomberg U.S. High-Yield 2% Issuer Capped Bond Index. Under normal circumstances, the fund invests at least 80% of its assets in high yield fixed income securities. The fund invests primarily in U.S. securities but may invest in foreign securities including those in emerging markets. The Fund may use credit default swaps to increase or hedge (decrease) investment exposure to various fixed income sectors and instruments.

Principal Risks

The fund may not achieve its objective(s), and it is not intended to be a complete investment program. The value of the fund’s investments that supports your share value may decrease. 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. Investment values can decrease for a number of reasons. Conditions affecting the overall economy, specific industries or companies in which the fund invests can be worse than expected, and investments may fail to perform as the subadviser expects. As a result, the value of your shares may decrease. Purchase and redemption activities by fund shareholders may impact the management of the fund and its ability to achieve its investment objective(s). The principal risks of investing in the fund are identified below.

> 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: 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: 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, and high-yield/high-risk securities are generally considered to be speculative.

> Industry/Sector Concentration Risk: A fund that focuses its investments in a particular industry or sector will be more sensitive to conditions that affect that industry or sector than a non-concentrated fund. Such a focus may cause a decrease in the fund’s value, perhaps significantly.

> 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.

> 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.

> 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.

> 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.

> Derivatives Risk: Derivatives and other similar instruments (collectively referred to in this section as “derivatives”) may include, among other things, futures, options, forwards and swap agreements and may be used in order to hedge portfolio risks, create leverage or attempt to increase returns. Investments in derivatives may result in increased volatility and the fund may incur a loss greater than its principal investment.

> 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. Such securities may also be subject to Sanctions Risk.

> Sanctions Risk: The imposition of sanctions and other similar measures could cause a decline in the value and/or liquidity of securities issued by or tied to the sanctioned country and increase market volatility and disruption in the sanctioned country and throughout the world. Sanctions and other similar measures could limit or prevent the fund from buying and selling securities (in the sanctioned country and other markets), significantly delay or prevent the settlement of transactions, and negatively impact the fund’s liquidity and performance.

> 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.

  
 

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> Long-Term Maturities/Durations Risk: Debt instruments with longer maturities or durations may experience greater price fluctuations than instruments having shorter maturities or durations.

> 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.

> 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: 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.

> 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

Returns do not reflect sales charges applicable to other share classes and would be lower if they did.

PerformanceBarChartData(2015:-2.5,2016:13.31,2017:6.64,2018:-2.88,2019:14.72,2020:7.13,2021:5.53,2022:-10.28,2023:13.08,2024:9.35)

      

Best Quarter:

2020, Q2:

10.90%

Worst Quarter:

2020, Q1:

-14.31%

Average Annual Total Returns (for the periods ended 12/31/24)

      

 

 

 

 

 

Since
Inception

 

 

 

 

 

Class R6

Class

1 Year

5 Years

10 Years

(11/3/2016)

Class I Shares

 

 

 

 

 

Return Before Taxes

9.35%

4.63%

5.11%

 

Return After Taxes on Distributions

6.11%

2.08%

2.59%

 

Return After Taxes on Distributions and Sale of Fund Shares

5.45%

2.40%

2.77%

Class A Shares

 

 

 

 

 

Return Before Taxes

4.99%

3.58%

4.43%

Class C Shares

 

 

 

 

 

Return Before Taxes

8.30%

3.57%

4.03%

Class R6 Shares

 

 

 

 

 

Return Before Taxes

9.47%

4.72%

5.32%

Index

 

 

 

 

Bloomberg U.S. Aggregate Bond Index (reflects no deduction for fees, expenses or taxes)

1.25%

-0.33%

1.35%

0.98%

Bloomberg U.S. High-Yield 2% Issuer Capped Bond Index (reflects no deduction for fees, expenses or taxes)

8.19%

4.20%

5.16%

5.17%

 

 

 

 

 

 

  
 

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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 Bloomberg U.S. High-Yield 2% Issuer Capped Bond Index is a market capitalization-weighted index that measures fixed rate non-investment grade debt securities of U.S. and non-U.S. corporations. No single issuer accounts for more than 2% of market cap. 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 A 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.

Management

The fund’s investment adviser is Virtus Investment Advisers, LLC (formerly known as Virtus Investment Advisers, Inc.) (“VIA”).

The fund’s subadviser is Newfleet Asset Management (“Newfleet”), an operating division of Virtus Fixed Income Advisers, LLC, an affiliate of VIA.

Portfolio Management

The following individuals are are jointly and primarily responsible for the day-to-day management of the fund’s portfolio.

> David L. Albrycht, CFA, Newfleet Division President and Chief Investment Officer and Senior Portfolio Manager at Newfleet, has managed the fund since 2011.

> William J. Eastwood, CFA, Senior Managing Director, Portfolio Manager and Head of Trading at Newfleet, has managed the fund since August 2019.

> Eric Hess, CFA, Senior Managing Director, Portfolio Manager and High Yield Sector Head at Newfleet, has managed the fund since August 2019.

> Matthew Kearns, CFA, Portfolio Manager for U.S. and European high yield and High Yield Sector Co-Head at Newfleet, has managed the fund since November 2023.

Purchase and Sale of Fund Shares

Minimum initial investments applicable to Class A and Class C Shares:

 $2,500, generally

 $100 for Individual Retirement Accounts (IRAs), systematic purchase or exchange accounts

 No minimum for defined contribution plans, asset-based fee programs, profit-sharing plans or employee benefit plans.

Minimum additional investments applicable to Class A and Class C Shares:

 $100, generally

 No minimum for defined contribution plans, asset-based fee programs, profit-sharing plans or employee benefit plans.

For Class I Shares, the minimum initial purchase is $100,000; there is no minimum for additional purchases.

Class R6 Shares are offered without a minimum initial investment to the following investors in plan level or omnibus accounts only (provided that they do not require or receive any compensation, administrative payments, sub-transfer agency payments or service payments with respect to Class R6 Shares): (i) qualified retirement plans, including, but not limited to, 401(k) plans, 457 plans, employer sponsored 403(b) plans, and defined benefit plans; (ii) banks and trust companies; (iii) insurance companies; (iv) financial intermediaries utilizing such shares in fee-based investment advisory programs; (v) registered investment companies; (vi) 529 portfolios that are advised or sub-advised by Virtus affiliates; and (vii) non-qualified deferred compensation plans. Other institutional investors may be permitted to purchase Class R6 Shares subject to the fund’s determination of eligibility and may be subject to a $2,500,000 minimum initial investment requirement.

The minimums may be reduced or waived in some circumstances. In general, you may buy or sell shares of the fund by mail or telephone on any business day. You also may buy and sell shares through a financial professional, broker-dealer or other financial intermediary.

Taxes

The fund’s distributions are taxable to you as either ordinary income or capital gains, except when your investment is through a tax-deferred arrangement, such as a 401(k) plan or an individual retirement account. Such tax-deferred arrangements may be taxed later upon withdrawal of monies from those arrangements.

Payments to Broker-Dealers and Other Financial Intermediaries

If you purchase the fund through a broker-dealer or other financial intermediary (such as a bank), the fund and its related companies may pay the intermediary for the sale of fund shares and related services. These payments may create a conflict of interest by influencing the broker-dealer or other intermediary and your financial professional to recommend the fund over another investment.

No compensation, administrative payments, sub-transfer agency payments or service payments are paid to brokers or other entities from fund assets or the Distributor’s or an affiliate’s resources on sales of or investments in Class R6 Shares. Class R6 Shares do not carry sales commissions or pay Rule 12b-1 fees, or make payments to brokers or other entities to assist in, or in connection with, the sale of the fund’s shares. Ask your financial professional or visit your financial intermediary’s website for more information.

  
 

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Virtus Mutual Funds
P.O. Box 534470

Pittsburgh, PA 15253-4470

 

 

 

  

 

 

 

  

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

  
  

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