497K 1 t1500122.htm VIRTUS BOND FUND
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Summary Prospectus January 28, 2015
Virtus Bond Fund
A: SAVAX
B: SAVBX
C: SAVCX
I: SAVYX
Before you invest, you may want to review the funds prospectus, which contains more information about the fund and its risks. You can find the funds prospectus, statement of additional information (SAI), annual report and other information about the fund online at virtus.com/products/prospectuses.
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 funds prospectus and SAI, both dated January 28, 2015, are incorporated by reference into this Summary Prospectus.
Investment Objective
The fund has an investment objective of high total return from both current income and capital appreciation.
Fees and Expenses
The tables below illustrate the 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 214 of the funds prospectus and Alternative Purchase Arrangements on page 108 of the funds statement of additional information.
 
Shareholder Fees (fees paid directly from your investment)
Class A
Class B
Class C
Class I
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
5.00%(a)
1.00%(a)
None
 
Annual Fund Operating Expenses (expenses that you pay each year as a percentage of the value of your investment)
Class A
Class B
Class C
Class I
Management Fees
0.45%
0.45%
0.45%
0.45%
Distribution and Shareholder Servicing (12b-1) fees
0.25%
1.00%
1.00%
None
Other Expenses
0.40%
0.40%
0.40%
0.40%
Total Annual Fund Operating Expenses
1.10%
1.85%
1.85%
0.85%
(a)
  • The maximum deferred sales charge is imposed on Class B Shares redeemed during the first year; thereafter, it decreases 1% annually to 2% during the fourth and fifth years and to 0% after the fifth year. The deferred sales charge is imposed on Class C Shares redeemed during the first year only.
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. It shows your costs if you sold your shares at the end of the period or continued to hold them. The example also assumes that your investment has a 5% return each year and that the funds operating expenses remain the same. In the case of Class B Shares, it assumes that your shares are converted to Class A Shares after eight years. Although your actual costs may be higher or lower, based on these assumptions your costs would be:
 
Share Status
1 Year
3 Years
5 Years
10 Years
Class A
Sold or Held
$483
$712
$958
$1,665
Class B
Sold
$588
$782
$1,001
$1,973
Held
$188
$582
$1,001
$1,973
Class C
Sold
$288
$582
$1,001
$2,169
Held
$188
$582
$1,001
$2,169
Class I
Sold or Held
$87
$271
$471
$1,049
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 38% of the average value of its portfolio.
Investments, Risks and Performance
Principal Investment Strategies
The fund seeks to generate high total return from both current income and capital appreciation by investing primarily in intermediate-term debt securities across 14 fixed income sectors.

The fund seeks to achieve its objective by applying a time-tested approach of active sector rotation, extensive credit research and disciplined risk management designed to capitalize on opportunities across undervalued areas of the fixed income markets.
Under normal circumstances, the fund invests at least 80% of its assets in fixed income debt obligations of various types of issuers, to include some or all of the following:
  • Securities issued or guaranteed as to principal and interest by the U.S. Government, its agencies, authorities or instrumentalities, including collateralized mortgage obligations (CMOs), real estate mortgage investment conduits (REMICs), and other pass-through securities;
  • 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 generally are securities with credit ratings within the four highest rating categories of a nationally recognized statistical rating organization; and
  • High-yield debt instruments, including bank loans (which are generally floating-rate).
At least 65% of the funds assets will be invested in investment-grade securities, which are securities rated, at the time of investment, within the four highest rating categories of a nationally recognized statistical rating organization, or if unrated, those that the subadviser determines, pursuant to procedures reviewed and approved by the Board of Trustees, are of comparable quality. The fund may invest up to 35% of its total assets in securities rated below investment grade at time of purchase. The fund may continue to hold securities whose credit quality falls below investment grade.
Principal Risks
The fund may not achieve its objective, and it is not intended to be a complete investment program. The value of the funds 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 funds 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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  • Credit Risk. The risk that the issuer of a security will fail to pay interest or principal in a timely manner, or that negative perceptions of the issuers ability to make such payments will cause the price of the security to decline.
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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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  • Foreign Investing Risks. The risk that the prices of foreign securities in the funds 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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  • High-Yield/High-Risk Fixed Income Securities (Junk Bonds) Risk. The risk that the issuers of high yield-high risk securities in the funds portfolio will default, that the prices of such securities will be volatile, and that the securities will not be liquid.
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  • Interest Rate Risk. The risk that when interest rates rise, the values of the funds debt securities, especially those with longer maturities, will fall.
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  • Loan Participation Risk. The risk that there may not be a readily available market for loan participation interests and, in some cases, the fund may have to dispose of such securities at a substantial discount from face value. Loan participations also involve the credit risk associated with the underlying corporate borrower.
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  • Long-Term Maturities/Durations Risk. The risk of greater price fluctuations than would be associated with securities having shorter maturities or durations.
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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.
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  • Mortgage-Backed and Asset-Backed Securities Risk. The risk that changes in interest rates will cause both extension and prepayment risks for mortgage-backed and asset-backed securities in which the fund invests, or that an impairment of the value of collateral underlying such securities, will cause the value of the securities to decrease.
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  • U.S. Government Securities Risk. The risk that U.S. Government securities in the funds portfolio will be subject to price fluctuations, or that an agency or instrumentality will default on an obligation not backed by the full faith and credit of the United States.
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. 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.
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Best Quarter:
Q2/2009:
5.51%
Worst Quarter:
Q2/2013:
-3.00%
Average Annual Total Returns (for the periods ended 12/31/14)
Returns reflect deduction of maximum sales charges and full redemption at end of periods shown.
 
1 Year
5 Years
10 Years
Class A
Return Before Taxes
-0.38%
4.44%
4.43%
Return After Taxes on Distributions
-2.08%
2.89%
2.88%
Return After Taxes on Distributions and Sale of Fund Shares
-0.21%
2.79%
2.81%
Class B
Return Before Taxes
-1.25%
4.46%
4.05%
Class C
Return Before Taxes
2.71%
4.46%
4.04%
Class I
Return Before Taxes
3.70%
5.51%
5.10%
Barclays U.S. Aggregate Bond Index (reflects no deduction for fees, expenses or taxes)
5.97%
4.45%
4.71%
The Barclays 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.
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.
Management
The funds investment adviser is Virtus Investment Advisers, Inc. (VIA).
The funds subadviser is Newfleet Asset Management, LLC (Newfleet), an affiliate of VIA.
Portfolio Management
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  • David L. Albrycht, CFA, President and Chief Investment Officer at Newfleet, is a manager of the fund. Mr. Albrycht has served as a Portfolio Manager of the fund since October 2012.
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  • Christopher J. Kelleher, CFA, CPA, Senior Managing Director and Senior Portfolio Manager at Newfleet, is a manager of the fund. Mr. Kelleher has served as a Portfolio Manager of the fund since October 2012.
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.
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 advisor.
NOTE: Class B Shares are no longer available for purchase, except through reinvestment of dividends/capital gain distributions by existing shareholders and exchange of Class B shares of a fund for Class B shares of other Virtus Mutual Funds, as permitted by the existing exchange privileges (as set forth in the funds prospectus).

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c/o Virtus Mutual Funds
P.O. Box 9874
Providence, RI 02940-8074
 
8403
1-15
Taxes
The funds distributions are taxable to you either as 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 advisor to recommend the fund over another investment.
Ask your financial advisor or visit your financial intermediarys Web site for more information.