Virtus Emerging Markets Debt Fund

Virtus Emerging Markets Debt Fund

Investment Objective

The fund has an investment objective of total return from 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 219 of the fund’s prospectus and “Alternative Purchase Arrangements” on page 110 of the fund’s statement of additional information.

Shareholder Fees (fees paid directly from your investment)

Shareholder Fees - Virtus Emerging Markets Debt Fund	Class A	Class C		Class I
Maximum Sales Charge (load) Imposed on Purchases (as a percentage of offering price)	3.75%	none		none
Maximum Deferred Sales Charge (load) (as a percentage of the lesser of purchase price or redemption proceeds)	none	1.00%	[1]	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 Emerging Markets Debt Fund		Class A	Class C	Class I
Management Fees		0.75%	0.75%	0.75%
Distribution and Shareholder Servicing (12b-1) fees		0.25%	1.00%	none
Other Expenses		0.53%	0.53%	0.53%
Acquired Fund Fees and Expenses		0.01%	0.01%	0.01%
Total Annual Fund Operating Expenses	[1]	1.54%	2.29%	1.29%
Less: Fee Waiver and/or Expense Reimbursement	[2]	(0.18%)	(0.18%)	(0.18%)
Total Annual Fund Operating Expenses After Expense Reimbursement	[1],[2]	1.36%	2.11%	1.11%

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, that the fund’s operating expenses remain the same and that the expense reimbursement arrangement remains in place for the contractual period. Although your actual costs may be higher or lower, based on these assumptions your costs would be:

Expense Example - Virtus Emerging Markets Debt Fund - USD ($)	Share Status	1 Year	3 Years	5 Years	10 Years
Class A	Sold	508	826	1,167	2,126
Class C	Sold	314	698	1,209	2,612
Class I	Sold	113	391	690	1,541

Expense Example, No Redemption - Virtus Emerging Markets Debt Fund - USD ($)	Share Status	1 Year	3 Years	5 Years	10 Years
Class A	Held	508	826	1,167	2,126
Class C	Held	214	698	1,209	2,612
Class I	Held	113	391	690	1,541

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 49% of the average value of its portfolio.

Investments, Risks and Performance

Principal Investment Strategies

Under normal circumstances, the Fund invests at least 80% of its assets in fixed income (debt) securities issued by governments, government-related entities and corporations located in emerging market countries. The fund may invest without limit in high yield debt securities and related investments rated below investment grade (that is, securities not rated Baa/BBB or above by at least one nationally recognized statistical rating organization (“NRSRO”), or, if unrated, determined to be of comparable credit quality by the subadviser). Below investment grade securities are commonly referred to as “junk bonds.” These investments include, but are not limited to, instruments designed to restructure outstanding emerging market debt such as participations in loans between governments and financial institutions. The fund manages duration utilizing a duration neutral strategy. Under normal circumstances, the average duration of the fund’s portfolio will vary within 3 years (plus or minus) of the duration of its benchmark, the JP Morgan Emerging Markets Bond Index (EMBI) Global Diversified. As of September 30, 2016, the modified adjusted duration of the JP Morgan EMBI Global Diversified was 6.92 years.

The fund intends to invest in at least three emerging market countries, which are countries that, at the time of investment, are represented in the JP Morgan Emerging Markets Bond Index Global Diversified or categorized by the World Bank in its annual categorization as middle- or low-income. In determining “location” of an issuer, the subadviser primarily relies on the country where the issuer is incorporated. However, the country of risk is ultimately determined based on analysis of the following criteria: actual building address (domicile), primary exchange on which the security is traded and country in which the greatest percentage of company revenue is generated. This evaluation is conducted so as to determine that the issuer’s assets are exposed to the economic fortunes and risks of the designated country.

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 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:

>     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 issuer's ability to make such payments will cause the price of the security to decline.

>     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.

>     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, less regulated or liquid securities markets, or economic, political or other developments.

>     Geographic Concentration Risk.  The risk that events negatively affecting the geographic location where the fund focuses its investments will cause the value of the fund's shares to decrease, perhaps significantly.

>     High-Yield/High-Risk Fixed Income Securities (Junk Bonds) Risk.  The risk that the issuers of high-yield/​high-risk securities in the fund's portfolio will default, that the prices of such securities will be volatile, and that the securities will not be liquid.

>     Interest Rate Risk.  The risk that when interest rates rise, the values of the fund's debt securities, especially those with longer maturities, will fall.

>     Liquidity Risk.  The risk that certain securities may be difficult or impossible to sell at the time and price beneficial to the fund.

>     Loan Risk.  The risks that, in addition to the risks typically associated with high-yield/high-risk fixed income securities, loans in which the fund invests may be unsecured or not fully collateralized, may be subject to restrictions on resale, and/or some loans may trade infrequently on the secondary market. Loans settle on a delayed basis, potentially leading to the sale proceeds of loans not being available to meet redemptions for a substantial period of time after the sale of the loans.

>     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 issuers and/or general economic conditions. Price changes may be temporary or may last for extended periods.

>     Unrated Fixed Income Securities Risk.  The risk that the subadviser will be unable to accurately assess the quality of an unrated fixed income security, so that the fund invests in a security with greater risk than intended, or that the liquidity of unrated fixed income securities in which the fund invests will be hindered, making it difficult for the fund to sell them.

>     U.S. Government Securities Risk.  The risk that U.S. Government securities in the fund's 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 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 the life of the fund. The table shows how the fund’s 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 I Shares

Returns do not reflect sales charges and would be lower if they did.

Annual Return (%)

Best Quarter: Q2/2016: 5.97% Worst Quarter: Q2/2013: -6.29%

Average Annual Total Returns (for the periods ended 12/31/16)

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

Average Annual Total Returns - Virtus Emerging Markets Debt Fund	Label	1 Year	Since Inception	Inception Date
Class I	Return Before Taxes	11.07%	2.41%	Sep. 05, 2012
Class I | Return After Taxes on Distributions	Return After Taxes on Distributions	8.80%	0.40%	Sep. 05, 2012
Class I | Return After Taxes on Distributions and Sale of Fund Shares	Return After Taxes on Distributions and Sale of Fund Shares	6.24%	0.93%	Sep. 05, 2012
Class A	Return Before Taxes	6.62%	1.27%	Sep. 05, 2012
Class C	Return Before Taxes	9.97%	1.40%	Sep. 05, 2012
JP Morgan Emerging Markets Bond Global Diversified Index	JP Morgan Emerging Markets Bond Global Diversified Index (reflects no deduction for fees, expenses or taxes)	10.15%	3.90%	Sep. 05, 2012

The EMBI Global Diversified Index is a uniquely-weighted version of the J.P. Morgan EMBI Global Index. The index limits the weights of those countries with larger debt stock by only including specified portions of these countries’ eligible current face amounts of debt outstanding. The countries covered in the EMBI Global Diversified Index are identical to those covered by the EMBI Global Index. The EMBI Global Index tracks total returns for U.S. dollar-denominated debt instruments issued by emerging market sovereign and quasi-sovereign entities: Brady bonds, loans, Eurobonds. 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 Total Annual Fund Operating Expenses do not correlate to the ratio of expenses 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.

[2] The fund's investment adviser has contractually agreed to limit the fund's total operating expenses (excluding certain expenses, including dividend and interest expenses, leverage expenses, taxes, brokerage commissions, extraordinary expenses and acquired fund fees and expenses, if any) so that such expenses do not exceed 1.35% for Class A Shares, 2.10% for Class C Shares and 1.10% for Class I Shares through January 31, 2018. 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 under these arrangements for a period of three years following the time such reimbursement occurred.