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VIRTUS FOREIGN OPPORTUNITIES FUND
Virtus Foreign Opportunities Fund
Investment Objective
The fund has an investment objective of long-term capital appreciation.
Fees and Expenses
The tables below illustrate all fees and expenses that you may pay if you buy and hold shares of the fund. You may qualify for sales charge discounts if you and your family invest, or agree to invest in the future, at least $50,000 in Virtus Mutual Funds. More information about these and other discounts is available from your financial advisor and under “Sales Charges” on page 215 of the fund’s prospectus and “Alternative Purchase Arrangements” on page 103 of the fund’s statement of additional information.
Shareholder Fees (fees paid directly from your investment)
Shareholder Fees VIRTUS FOREIGN OPPORTUNITIES FUND
Class A
Class C
Class I
Maximum Sales Charge (load) Imposed on Purchases (as a percentage of offering price) 5.75% none none
Maximum Deferred Sales Charge (load) (as a percentage of the lesser of purchase price or redemption proceeds) 1.00% [1] 1.00% [2] none
[1] Generally, Class A Shares are not subject to any charges by the Fund when redeemed; however, a contingent deferred sales charge may be imposed on certain redemptions (i) within 18 months on exchanges from a Virtus non-money market fund into a Virtus money market fund; and (ii) on purchases on which a finder's fee has been paid. The 18-month period begins on the last day of the month preceding the month in which the purchase was made.
[2] The deferred sales charge is imposed on Class C Shares redeemed during the first year only.
Annual Fund Operating Expenses (expenses that you pay each year as a percentage of the value of your investment)
Annual Fund Operating Expenses VIRTUS FOREIGN OPPORTUNITIES FUND
Class A
Class C
Class I
Management Fees 0.85% 0.85% 0.85%
Distribution and Shareholder Servicing (12b-1) fees 0.25% 1.00% none
Other Expenses [1] 0.34% 0.34% 0.34%
Acquired Fund Fees and Expenses [2] 0.01% 0.01% 0.01%
Total Annual Fund Operating Expenses 1.45% 2.20% 1.20%
[1] Restated to reflect current expenses.
[2] The Total Annual Fund Operating Expenses do not correlate to the ratio of expense to average net assets appearing in the Financial Highlights tables, which tables reflect only the operating expenses of the fund and do not include acquired fund fees and expenses.
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. The example also assumes that your investment has a 5% return each year and that the funds operating expenses remain the same. Although your actual costs may be higher or lower, based on these assumptions your costs would be:
Expense Example VIRTUS FOREIGN OPPORTUNITIES FUND (USD $)
Share Status
1 Year
3 Years
5 Years
10 Years
Class A
Sold or Held 714 1,007 1,322 2,210
Class C
Sold 323 688 1,180 2,534
Class I
Sold or Held 122 381 660 1,455
Expense Example, No Redemption VIRTUS FOREIGN OPPORTUNITIES FUND (USD $)
Share Status
1 Year
3 Years
5 Years
10 Years
Class A
Sold or Held 714 1,007 1,322 2,210
Class C
Held 223 688 1,180 2,534
Class I
Sold or Held 122 381 660 1,455
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 funds performance. During the most recent fiscal year, the funds portfolio turnover rate was 29% of the average value of its portfolio.
Investments, Risks and Performance
Principal Investment Strategies
This fund seeks to provide investors with access to high-quality international companies. The securities selected for inclusion in the fund are those that in the opinion of the subadviser are well-managed businesses with consistent operating histories and financial performance that have favorable long-term economic prospects and, in most cases, generate free cash flow. Over full market cycles, the investment style is designed with the objective of capturing part of the up market cycles and may offer protection in down market cycles.
Under normal circumstances, at least 80% of the funds assets are invested in equity securities or equity-linked  instruments of issuers located outside the United States, including issuers in emerging markets countries. The fund intends to diversify its investments among countries and normally to have represented in the portfolio business activities of a number of different countries.
Principal Risks
The fund may not achieve its objective, 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 redemption by one or more large shareholders or groups of shareholders of their holdings in the fund could have an adverse impact on the remaining shareholders in the fund including by accelerating the realization of capital gains and increasing the fund's transaction costs. The principal risks of investing in the fund are:
 
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  • Emerging Market Investing Risk. The risk that prices of emerging markets securities will be more volatile, or will be more greatly affected by negative conditions, than those of their counterparts in more established foreign markets.
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  • Equity-Linked Instruments Risk. The risk that, in addition to market risk and other risks of the referenced equity security, the fund may experience a return that is different from that of the referenced equity security. Equity- linked instruments also subject the fund to counterparty risk, including the risk that the issuing entity may not be able to honor its financial commitment, which could result in a loss of all or part of the fund’s investment.
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  • Equity Securities Risk. The risk that events negatively affecting issuers, industries or financial markets in which the fund invests, will impact the value of the stocks held by the fund and thus, the value of the fund’s shares over short or extended periods. Investments in a particular style or in small or medium-sized companies may enhance that risk.
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  • Foreign Investing Risk. The risk that the prices of foreign securities in the fund’s portfolio will be more volatile than those of domestic securities, or will be negatively affected by currency fluctuations or economic, political or other developments.
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  • Market Volatility Risk. The risk that the value of the securities in which the fund invests may go up or down in response to the prospects of individual companies and/or general economic conditions. Price changes may be temporary or may last for extended periods.
Performance Information
The bar chart and table below provide some indication of the potential risks of investing in the fund. The funds 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 funds performance from year to year over a 10-year period. The table shows how the funds average annual returns compare to those of a broad-based securities market index and a more narrowly-based benchmark 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 A Shares
Returns do not reflect sales charges and would be lower if they did.
 
Annual Return (%)
Bar Chart
 
Best Quarter:
 
 
Q4/2004:
 
 
19.15%
 
 
Worst Quarter:
 
 
Q3/2008:
 
 
-19.26%
 
Average Annual Total Returns (for the periods ended 12/31/13; includes returns of a predecessor fund)
Returns reflect deduction of maximum sales charges and full redemption at end of periods shown.
Average Annual Total Returns VIRTUS FOREIGN OPPORTUNITIES FUND
Label
1 Year
5 Years
10 Years
Since Inception
Inception Date
Class A
Return Before Taxes (0.63%) 10.46% 8.17%    
Class A Return After Taxes on Distributions
Return After Taxes on Distributions (0.68%) 10.47% 7.90%    
Class A Return After Taxes on Distributions and Sale of Fund Shares
Return After Taxes on Distributions and Sale of Fund Shares (0.12%) 8.60% 6.87%    
Class C
Return Before Taxes 4.63% 10.94% 7.99%    
Class I
Return Before Taxes 5.69% 12.05%   4.61% May 15, 2006
Class I S&P 500 ® Index (reflects no deduction for fees, expenses or taxes)
S&P 500 Index (reflects no deduction for fees, expenses or taxes)       7.05% May 15, 2006
Class I Morgan Stanley Capital International EAFE® Index (net) (reflects no deduction for fees, expenses or taxes)
Morgan Stanley Capital International EAFE® Index (net) (reflects no deduction for fees, expenses or taxes)       2.89% May 15, 2006
S&P 500 ® Index (reflects no deduction for fees, expenses or taxes)
S&P 500® Index (reflects no deduction for fees, expenses or taxes) 32.29% 17.94% 7.40%    
Morgan Stanley Capital International EAFE® Index (net) (reflects no deduction for fees, expenses or taxes)
Morgan Stanley Capital International EAFE ® Index (net) (reflects no deduction for fees, expenses or taxes) 22.78% 12.44% 6.91%    
The S&P 500® Index is a free-float market capitalization-weighted index of 500 of the largest U.S. companies. The S&P 500® Index is calculated on a total return basis with dividends reinvested. The MSCI EAFE® Index (net) is a free float-adjusted market capitalization-weighted index that measures developed foreign market equity performance, excluding the U.S. and Canada. The MSCI EAFE® Index (net) is calculated on a total return basis with net dividends reinvested. The indexes are 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 investors 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.