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1290 VT DoubleLine Opportunistic Bond Portfolio
1290 VT DoubleLine Opportunistic Bond Portfolio – Class IB and K Shares
Investment Objective:
Seeks to maximize current income and total return.
FEES AND EXPENSES OF THE PORTFOLIO
The following table describes the fees and expenses that you may pay if you buy, hold, and sell shares of the Portfolio. The table below does not reflect any fees and expenses associated with variable life insurance contracts and variable annuity certificates and contracts (“Contracts”), which would increase overall fees and expenses. See the Contract prospectus for a description of those fees and expenses.
Shareholder Fees(fees paid directly from your investment)
Shareholder Fees - 1290 VT DoubleLine Opportunistic Bond Portfolio - USD ($)
Class IB Shares
Class K Shares
Shareholder Fees (fees paid directly from your investment)
Annual Portfolio Operating Expenses (expenses that you pay each year as a percentage ofthe value of your investment)
Annual Fund Operating Expenses - 1290 VT DoubleLine Opportunistic Bond Portfolio
Class IB Shares
Class K Shares
Management Fee 0.60% 0.60%
Distribution and/or Service Fees (12b-1 fees) 0.25% none
Other Expenses 0.15% 0.15%
Acquired Fund Fees and Expenses 0.01% 0.01%
Total Annual Portfolio Operating Expenses 1.01% 0.76%
Fee Waiver and/or Expense Reimbursement [1] (0.06%) (0.06%)
Total Annual Portfolio Operating Expenses After Fee Waiver and/or Expense Reimbursement 0.95% 0.70%
[1] Pursuant to a contract, Equitable Investment Management Group, LLC (the “Adviser”) has agreed to make payments or waive its management, administrative and other fees to limit the expenses of the Portfolio through April 30, 2022 (unless the Board of Trustees consents to an earlier revision or termination of this arrangement) (“Expense Limitation Arrangement”) so that the annual operating expenses (including Acquired Fund Fees and Expenses) of the Portfolio (exclusive of taxes, interest, brokerage commissions, capitalized expenses, dividend and interest expenses on securities sold short, and extraordinary expenses not incurred in the ordinary course of the Portfolio’s business) do not exceed an annual rate of average daily net assets of 0.95% for Class IB shares and 0.70% for Class K shares of the Portfolio. The Expense Limitation Arrangement may be terminated by the Adviser at any time after April 30, 2022. The Adviser may be reimbursed the amount of any such payments or waivers made after June 30, 2020, in the future provided that the payments or waivers are reimbursed within three years of the payments or waivers being recorded and the Portfolio’s expense ratio, after the reimbursement is taken into account, does not exceed the Portfolio’s expense cap at the time of the waiver or the Portfolio’s expense cap at the time of the reimbursement, whichever is lower.
Example
This Example is intended to help you compare the cost of investing in the Portfolio with the cost of investing in other portfolios. The Example assumes that you invest $10,000 in the Portfolio for the periods indicated, that your investment has a 5% return each year, that the Portfolio’s operating expenses remain the same, and that the Expense Limitation Arrangement is not renewed. This Example does not reflect any Contract-related fees and expenses including redemption fees (if any) at the Contract level. If such fees and expenses were reflected, the total expenses would be higher. Although your actual costs may be higher or lower, based on these assumptions, whether you redeem or hold your shares, your costs would be:
Expense Example - 1290 VT DoubleLine Opportunistic Bond Portfolio - USD ($)
1 Year
3 Years
5 Years
10 Years
Class IB Shares 97 316 552 1,231
Class K Shares 72 237 416 937
Expense Example, No Redemption - 1290 VT DoubleLine Opportunistic Bond Portfolio - USD ($)
1 Year
3 Years
5 Years
10 Years
Class IB Shares 97 316 552 1,231
Class K Shares 72 237 416 937
PORTFOLIO TURNOVER
The Portfolio 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. These costs, which are not reflected in annual fund operating expenses or in the Example, affect the Portfolio’s performance. During the most recent fiscal year, the Portfolio’s portfolio turnover rate was 122% of the average value of the Portfolio.
INVESTMENTS, RISKS, AND PERFORMANCEPrincipal Investment Strategy:
Under normal circumstances, the Portfolio invests at least 80% of its net assets, plus any borrowings for investment purposes, in fixed income securities. For purposes of this investment policy, fixed income securities include direct and indirect investments in fixed income securities and investments in other investment companies and financial instruments that derive their value from such securities. The Portfolio’s investments in fixed income securities include, but are not limited to, securities issued or guaranteed by the U.S. government or its agencies, instrumentalities or sponsored corporations; mortgage-backed securities; asset-backed securities; foreign and domestic corporate bonds; floating or variable rate obligations (including inverse floater collateralized mortgage obligations); bank loans; 144A bonds; fixed income securities issued by corporations and governments in foreign countries including emerging markets issuers and U.S. dollar-denominated securities of non-U.S. issuers; securities issued by municipalities; collateralized loan obligations and other securities bearing fixed interest rates of any maturity.The Portfolio may invest up to 40% of its assets in below investment grade securities (commonly known as “junk bonds”). Such investments may include debt obligations of distressed companies, including companies that are close to or in default. The Sub-Adviser allocates investments in below investment grade securities broadly by industry and
issuer in an attempt to reduce the impact on the Portfolio of negative events affecting an industry or issuer. Securities below investment grade include those securities rated Ba1 or lower by Moody’s Investors Service, Inc. (“Moody’s”) or BB+ or lower by Fitch Ratings Ltd. (“Fitch”) or by Standard & Poor’s Global Ratings (“S&P”) or, if unrated, deemed to be of comparable quality by the Adviser or Sub-Adviser. The Portfolio may invest in mortgage-backed or other asset-backed securities of any credit rating or credit quality without regard to the 40% limitation described above.
 
The Portfolio may also invest in inverse floaters, interest-only and principal-only securities. In addition, the Portfolio may invest in senior bank loans and assignments, including through investments in other investment companies advised by the Sub-Adviser.
 
The Sub-Adviser actively manages the Portfolio’s asset class exposure using a top-down approach, which involves using fundamental research regarding the investment characteristics of each sector (such as risk, volatility, relative valve, and the potential for growth and income), as well as the Sub-Adviser’s outlook for the economy and financial markets as a whole. Primary sectors include government/municipals, high yield, global developed credit, international sovereign debt, emerging markets, and mortgage- and asset-backed. The Sub-Adviser will gradually rotate portfolio assets among sectors in various markets using a long-term approach to attempt to maximize return. Individual securities within asset classes are selected using a bottom up approach, which involves an analysis of each individual issuer’s creditworthiness.
 
The Sub-Adviser uses a controlled risk approach in managing the Portfolio, which includes consideration of:
 
 
Security selection within a given asset class
 
 
Relative performance of the various market sectors and asset classes
 
 
The rates offered by bonds at different maturities
 
 
Fluctuations in the overall level of interest rates
 
The Sub-Adviser also monitors the duration of the securities held by the Portfolio to seek to mitigate exposure to interest rate risk. Duration is a measure used to determine the sensitivity of a security’s price to changes in interest rates. The longer a security’s duration, the more sensitive it will be to changes in interest rates, which may increase the volatility of the security’s value and may lead to losses. Under normal circumstances, the Sub-Adviser seeks to maintain an investment portfolio with a weighted average effective duration of no less than two years and no more than eight years. The duration of the Portfolio’s investments may vary materially from its target, from time to time, and there is no assurance that the duration of the Portfolio’s investments will meet its target.
 
Portfolio securities may be sold at any time. Sales may occur when the Sub-Adviser perceives deterioration in the credit fundamentals of the issuer, believes there are negative macro political considerations that may affect the issuer, determines to take advantage of a better investment opportunity, or the individual security has reached the Sub-Adviser’s sell target. The Portfolio may engage in active and frequent trading of portfolio securities to achieve its investment objective.
 
The Portfolio also may lend its portfolio securities to earn additional income.
Principal Risks:
An investment in the Portfolio is not a deposit of a bank and is not insured or guaranteed by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation or any other government agency. The value of your investment may fall, sometimes sharply, and you could lose money by investing in the Portfolio. There can be no assurance that the Portfolio will achieve its investment objective.
 
The following risks can negatively affect the Portfolio’s performance. The most significant risks as of the date of this Prospectus are listed first, followed by additional risks in alphabetical order.
 
Market Risk:
The Portfolio is subject to the risk that the securities markets will move down, sometimes rapidly and unpredictably, based on overall economic conditions and other factors, which may negatively affect Portfolio performance. Securities markets also may experience long periods of decline in value. Changes in the financial condition of a single issuer can impact a market as a whole. Geo-political risks, including terrorism, tensions or open conflict between nations, or political or economic dysfunction within some nations that are major players on the world stage, may lead to instability in world economies and markets, may lead to increased market volatility, and may have adverse long-term effects. Events such as natural disasters, public health crises (such as epidemics and pandemics) and social unrest, and governments’ reactions to such events, could cause uncertainty in the markets and may adversely affect the performance of the global economy. Adverse market conditions may not have the same impact on all types of securities. In addition, markets and market-participants are increasingly reliant on information data systems. Inaccurate data, software or other technology malfunctions, programming inaccuracies, unauthorized use or access, and similar circumstances may impair the performance of these systems and may have an adverse impact upon a single issuer, a group of issuers, or the market at-large.
 
Interest Rate Risk:
Changes in interest rates may affect the yield, liquidity and value of investments in income producing or debt securities. Changes in interest rates also may affect the value of other securities. When interest rates rise, the value of the Portfolio’s debt securities generally declines. Conversely, when interest rates decline, the value of the Portfolio’s debt securities generally rises. Typically, the longer the maturity or duration of a debt security, the greater the effect a change in interest rates could have on the security’s price. Thus, the sensitivity of the Portfolio’s debt securities to interest rate risk will increase with any increase in the duration of those securities. Very low or negative
interest rates may magnify interest rate risk. A significant or rapid rise in interest rates also could result in losses to the Portfolio.
 
Credit Risk:
The Portfolio is subject to the risk that the issuer or guarantor of a fixed income security, or the counterparty to a transaction, is unable or unwilling, or is perceived as unable or unwilling, to make timely interest or principal payments, or otherwise honor its obligations, which may cause the Portfolio’s holdings to lose value. The downgrade of a security’s credit rating may decrease its value. Lower credit quality also may lead to greater volatility in the price of a security and may negatively affect a security’s liquidity. The credit quality of a security can deteriorate suddenly and rapidly.
 
Collateralized Debt Obligations Risk:
Collateralized debt obligations (“CDOs”) involve many of the risks associated with debt securities including, but not limited to, interest rate risk and credit risk. The risks of an investment in a CDO also depend in part on the quality and type of the collateral and the class or “tranche” of the CDO in which the Portfolio invests. Normally, collateralized bond obligations, collateralized loan obligations, and other CDOs are privately offered and sold, and thus are not registered under the securities laws. As a result, investments in CDOs may be characterized by the Portfolio as illiquid securities; however, an active dealer market, or other relevant measures of liquidity, may exist for CDOs allowing a CDO potentially to be deemed liquid under the Portfolio’s liquidity policies. CDOs carry risks including, but not limited to: (a) the possibility that distributions from collateral securities will not be adequate to make interest or other payments; (b) the risk that the quality of the collateral securities may decline in value or default, particularly during periods of economic downturn; (c) the possibility that the Portfolio may invest in CDOs that are subordinate to other classes; and (d) the risk that the complex structure of the security may not be fully understood at the time of investment and may produce disputes with the issuer or unexpected investment results. CDOs also can be difficult to value and may be highly leveraged (which could make them highly volatile), and the use of CDOs may result in losses to the Portfolio.
 
Mortgage-Related and Other Asset-Backed Securities Risk:
Declines in the credit quality of and defaults by the issuers of mortgage-related and other asset-backed securities or instability in the markets for such securities may decrease the value of such securities, which could result in losses to the Portfolio, and may reduce the liquidity of such securities and make such securities more difficult to purchase or sell at an advantageous time and price. In addition, borrowers may default on the obligations that underlie mortgage-related and other asset-backed securities. The risk of defaults by borrowers generally is greater during times of rising interest rates and/or unemployment rates. The impairment (or loss) of the value of collateral or other assets underlying mortgage-related and other asset-backed securities will result in a reduction in the value of the securities. Certain collateral may be difficult to locate in the event of default, or may be lost, and recoveries of depreciated or damaged collateral may not fully cover payments due on such collateral. Asset-backed securities may not have the benefit of a security interest in collateral comparable to that of mortgage assets, resulting in additional credit risk.
 
In addition, certain mortgage-related and other asset-backed securities may include securities backed by pools of loans made to “subprime” borrowers or borrowers with blemished credit histories. The risk of defaults by borrowers is generally higher in the case of asset or mortgage pools that include subprime assets or mortgages, and the liquidity and value of subprime mortgages and non-investment grade mortgage-backed securities that are not guaranteed by Ginnie Mae, Fannie Mae, and Freddie Mac could change dramatically over time.
 
Furthermore, mortgage-related and other asset-backed securities typically provide the issuer with the right to prepay the security prior to maturity. During periods of rising interest rates, the rate of prepayments tends to decrease because borrowers are less likely to prepay debt (such as mortgage debt or automobile loans). Slower than expected payments can extend the average lives of mortgage-related and other asset-backed securities, and this may “lock in” a below market interest rate and increase the security’s duration and interest rate sensitivity, which may increase the volatility of the security’s value and may lead to losses. During periods of falling interest rates, the rate of prepayments tends to increase because borrowers are more likely to pay off debt and refinance at the lower interest rates then available. Unscheduled prepayments shorten the average lives of mortgage-related and other asset-backed securities and may result in the Portfolio’s having to reinvest the proceeds of the prepayments at lower interest rates, thereby reducing the Portfolio’s income.
 
Mortgage-backed securities issued in the form of collateralized mortgage obligations (“CMOs”) are collateralized by mortgage loans or mortgage pass-through securities. In periods of supply and demand imbalances in the market for CMOs or in periods of sharp interest rate movements, the prices of CMOs may fluctuate to a greater extent than would be expected from interest rate movements alone. CMOs and other mortgage-backed securities may be structured similarly to collateralized debt obligations and may be subject to similar risks.
 
Investment Grade Securities Risk:
Securities rated in the lower investment grade rating categories (e.g., BBB or Baa) are considered investment grade securities, but are somewhat riskier than higher rated obligations because they are regarded as having only an adequate capacity to pay principal and interest, are considered to lack outstanding investment characteristics, and may possess certain speculative characteristics.
 
Non-Investment Grade Securities Risk:
Bonds rated below BBB by Standard & Poor’s Global Ratings or Fitch
Ratings, Ltd. or below Baa by Moody’s Investors Service, Inc. (or, if unrated, determined by the investment manager to be of comparable quality) are speculative in nature and are subject to additional risk factors such as increased possibility of default, illiquidity of the security, and changes in value based on changes in interest rates. Non-investment grade bonds, sometimes referred to as “junk bonds,” are usually issued by companies without long track records of sales and earnings, or by those companies with questionable credit strength. The creditworthiness of issuers of non-investment grade debt securities may be more complex to analyze than that of issuers of investment grade debt securities, and reliance on credit ratings may present additional risks.
 
Prepayment Risk and Extension Risk:
Prepayment risk is the risk that the issuer of a security held by the Portfolio may pay off principal more quickly than originally anticipated. This may occur when interest rates fall. The Portfolio may have to reinvest the proceeds in an investment offering a lower yield, may not benefit from any increase in value that might otherwise result from declining interest rates and may lose any premium it paid to acquire the security. Extension risk is the risk that the issuer of a security held by the Portfolio may pay off principal more slowly than originally anticipated. This may occur when interest rates rise. The Portfolio may be prevented from reinvesting the proceeds it would have received at a given time in an investment offering a higher yield.
 
Government Securities Risk:
 
Not all obligations of the U.S. government, its agencies and instrumentalities are backed by the full faith and credit of the U.S. government. Some obligations are backed only by the credit of the issuing agency or instrumentality, and, in some cases, there may be some risk of default by the issuer. Any guarantee by the U.S. government or its agencies or instrumentalities of a security the Portfolio holds does not apply to the market value of the security or to shares of the Portfolio. A security backed by the U.S. Treasury or the full faith and credit of the U.S. government is guaranteed only as to the timely payment of interest and principal when held to maturity.
 
Foreign Securities Risk:
Investments in foreign securities, including depositary receipts, involve risks in addition to those associated with investments in U.S. securities. Foreign markets may be less liquid, more volatile and subject to less government supervision and regulation than U.S. markets, and it may take more time to clear and settle trades involving foreign securities, which could negatively impact the Portfolio’s investments and cause it to lose money. Security values also may be negatively affected by changes in the exchange rates between the U.S. dollar and foreign currencies. Differences between U.S. and foreign legal, political and economic systems, regulatory regimes and market practices, as well as trade barriers and other protectionist trade policies (including those of the U.S.), governmental instability, or other political or economic actions, also may adversely impact security values. World markets, or those in a particular region, may all react in similar fashion to important economic, political or other developments. Events and evolving conditions in certain economies or markets may alter the risks associated with investments tied to countries or regions that historically were perceived as comparatively stable and make such investments riskier and more volatile. Regardless of where a company is organized or its stock is traded, its performance may be significantly affected by events in regions from which it derives its profits or in which it conducts significant operations.
 
Emerging Markets Risk:
Investments in emerging market countries are more susceptible to loss than investments in more developed foreign countries and may present market, credit, currency, liquidity, legal, political, technical and other risks different from, or greater than, the risks of investing in more developed foreign countries. Emerging market countries may be more likely to experience rapid and significant adverse developments in their political or economic structures, intervene in financial markets, restrict foreign investments, impose high withholding or other taxes on foreign investments, impose restrictive exchange control regulations, or nationalize or expropriate the assets of private companies, which may have negative impacts on transaction costs, market price, investment returns and the legal rights and remedies available to the Portfolio. In addition, the securities markets of emerging market countries generally are smaller, less liquid and more volatile than those of more developed foreign countries, and emerging market countries often have less uniformity in regulatory, accounting, auditing and financial reporting requirements or standards, which may impact the availability and quality of information about issuers, and less reliable clearance and settlement, registration and custodial procedures. Securities of issuers traded on foreign exchanges may be suspended. The likelihood of such suspensions may be higher for securities of issuers in emerging market countries than in countries with more developed markets. The risks associated with investments in emerging market countries often are significant, and vary from jurisdiction to jurisdiction and company to company.
 
Geographic Concentration Risk:
To the extent the Portfolio invests a significant portion of its assets in securities of companies domiciled, or exercising the predominant part of their economic activity, in one country or geographic region, it assumes the risk that economic, political, social and environmental conditions in that particular country or region will have a significant impact on the Portfolio’s investment performance and that the Portfolio’s performance will be more volatile than the performance of more geographically diversified funds. In addition, the risks associated with investing in a narrowly defined geographic area are generally more pronounced with respect to investments in emerging market countries.
Portfolio Management Risk:
The Portfolio is subject to the risk that strategies used by an investment manager and its securities selections fail to produce the intended results. An investment manager’s judgments or decisions about the quality, relative yield or value of, or market trends affecting, a particular security or issuer, industry, sector, region or market segment, or about the economy or interest rates, may be incorrect or otherwise may not produce the intended results, which may result in losses to the Portfolio. In addition, many processes used in Portfolio management, including security selection, rely, in whole or in part, on the use of various technologies. The Portfolio may suffer losses if there are imperfections, errors or limitations in the quantitative, analytic or other tools, resources, information and data used, or the analyses employed or relied on, by an investment manager, or if such tools, resources, information or data are used incorrectly, fail to produce the desired results, or otherwise do not work as intended. There can be no assurance that the use of these technologies will result in effective investment decisions for the Portfolio.
 
Distressed Companies Risk:
Debt obligations of distressed companies typically are unrated, lower-rated, or close to default. In certain periods, there may be little or no liquidity in the markets for these securities. In addition, the prices of such securities may be subject to periods of abrupt and erratic market movements and above-average price volatility, and it may be difficult to value such securities. The Portfolio may lose a substantial portion or all of its investment in such securities. If the issuer of a security held by the Portfolio defaults, the Portfolio may experience a significant or complete loss on the security. Securities tend to lose much of their value before the issuer defaults.
 
Inverse Floaters Risk:
Inverse floaters are securities with a floating or variable rate of interest. Inverse floaters have interest rates that tend to move in the opposite direction as the specified market rates or indices and may exhibit substantially greater price volatility than fixed rate obligations having similar credit quality, redemption provisions and maturity. Inverse floater collateralized mortgage obligations (“CMOs”) exhibit greater price volatility than the majority of mortgage-related securities. In addition, some inverse floater CMOs exhibit extreme sensitivity to changes in prepayments. As a result, the yield to maturity of an inverse floater CMO is sensitive not only to changes in interest rates but also to changes in prepayment rates on the related underlying mortgage assets. Inverse floaters typically involve leverage, which can magnify the Portfolio’s losses.
 
Large Shareholder Risk:
A significant percentage of the Portfolio’s shares may be owned or controlled by the Adviser and its affiliates, other Portfolios advised by the Adviser (including funds of funds), or other large shareholders, including primarily insurance company separate accounts. Accordingly, the Portfolio is subject to the potential for large-scale inflows and outflows as a result of purchases and redemptions of its shares by such shareholders. These inflows and outflows could negatively affect the Portfolio’s net asset value and performance.
 
Liquidity Risk:
From time to time, there may be little or no active trading market for a particular investment in which the Portfolio may invest or is invested. In such a market, the value of such an investment and the Portfolio’s share price may fall dramatically. Illiquid investments may be difficult or impossible to sell or purchase at an advantageous time or price or in sufficient amounts to achieve the Portfolio’s desired level of exposure. To meet redemption requests during periods of illiquidity, the Portfolio may be forced to dispose of investments at unfavorable times or prices and/or under unfavorable conditions, which may result in a loss or may be costly to the Portfolio. Investments that are illiquid or that trade in lower volumes may be more difficult to value. The Portfolio also may not receive its proceeds from the sale of certain investments for an extended period of time. Certain investments that were liquid when purchased may later become illiquid, sometimes abruptly, particularly in times of overall economic distress or adverse investor perception. An inability to sell a portfolio position can adversely affect the Portfolio’s value or prevent the Portfolio from being able to take advantage of other investment opportunities. During periods of market stress, an investment or even an entire market segment may become illiquid, sometimes abruptly, which can adversely affect the Portfolio’s ability to limit losses. In addition, a reduction in the ability or willingness of dealers and other institutional investors to make a market in certain securities may result in decreased liquidity in certain markets.
 
Loan Risk:
Loan interests are subject to liquidity risk, prepayment risk, extension risk, the risk of subordination to other creditors, restrictions on resale, and the lack of a regular trading market and publicly available information. Loan interests may be difficult to value and may have extended trade settlement periods. As a result, the proceeds from the sale of a loan may not be available to make additional investments or to meet redemption obligations until potentially a substantial period after the sale of the loan. The extended trade settlement periods could force the Portfolio to liquidate other securities to meet redemptions and may present a risk that the Portfolio may incur losses in order to timely honor redemptions. There is a risk that the value of any collateral securing a loan in which the Portfolio has an interest may decline and that the collateral may not be sufficient to cover the amount owed on the loan. In the event the borrower defaults, the Portfolio’s access to the collateral may be limited or delayed by bankruptcy or other insolvency laws. Loans may not be considered “securities,” and purchasers, such as the Portfolio, therefore may not have the benefit of the anti-fraud protections of the federal securities laws. To the extent that the Portfolio invests in loan participations, it is subject to the risk that the financial institution acting as agent for
all interests in a loan might fail financially. It is also possible that the Portfolio could be held liable, or may be called upon to fulfill other obligations, as a co-lender.
 
Portfolio Turnover Risk:
High portfolio turnover (generally, turnover in excess of 100% in any given fiscal year) may result in increased transaction costs to the Portfolio, which may result in higher fund expenses and lower total return.
 
Privately Placed and Other Restricted Securities Risk:
Restricted securities, which include privately placed securities, are securities that cannot be offered for public resale unless registered under the applicable securities laws or that have a contractual restriction that prohibits or limits their resale. Before they are registered, such securities may be sold only in a privately negotiated transaction or pursuant to an exemption from registration. Difficulty in selling securities may result in a loss or be costly to the Portfolio. Rule 144A is designed to facilitate efficient trading among institutional investors by permitting the sale of certain unregistered securities to qualified institutional buyers. To the extent restricted securities held by the Portfolio qualify under Rule 144A and an institutional market develops for those securities, the Portfolio likely will be able to dispose of the securities without registering them. To the extent that institutional buyers become, for a time, uninterested in purchasing these securities, investing in Rule 144A securities could increase the level of the Portfolio’s illiquidity. The Adviser or Sub-Adviser may determine that certain securities qualified for trading under Rule 144A are liquid. Where registration of a security is required, the Portfolio may be obligated to pay all or part of the registration expenses, and a considerable period may elapse between the time the Portfolio desires to sell (and therefore decides to seek registration of) the security, and the time the Portfolio may be permitted to sell the security under an effective registration statement. If, during such a period, adverse market conditions were to develop, the Portfolio might obtain a less favorable price than prevailed when it desired to sell. The risk that securities may not be sold for the price at which the Portfolio is carrying them is greater with respect to restricted securities than it is with respect to registered securities. The illiquidity of the market, as well as the lack of publicly available information regarding these securities, also may make it difficult to determine a fair value for certain securities for purposes of computing the Portfolio’s net asset value.
 
Redemption Risk:
The Portfolio may experience periods of heavy redemptions that could cause the Portfolio to sell assets at inopportune times or at a loss or depressed value. Redemption risk is heightened during periods of declining or illiquid markets. Heavy redemptions could hurt the Portfolio’s performance.
 
Market developments and other factors, including a general rise in interest rates, have the potential to cause investors to move out of fixed income securities on a large scale, which may increase redemptions from mutual funds that hold large amounts of fixed income securities. The market-making capacity of dealers has been reduced in recent years, in part as a result of structural changes, such as fewer proprietary trading desks at broker-dealers and increased regulatory capital requirements. In addition, significant securities market disruptions related to the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic have led to dislocation in the market for a variety of fixed income securities (including, without limitation, commercial paper, corporate debt securities, certificates of deposit, asset-backed debt securities and municipal obligations), which has decreased liquidity and sharply reduced returns in certain cases. Increased redemptions from mutual funds that hold large amounts of fixed income securities, coupled with a reduction in the ability or willingness of dealers and other institutional investors to buy or hold fixed income securities, may result in decreased liquidity and increased volatility in the fixed income markets.
 
Risks of Investing in Other Investment Companies:
A Portfolio that invests in other investment companies will indirectly bear fees and expenses paid by those investment companies, in addition to the Portfolio’s direct fees and expenses. The cost of investing in the Portfolio, therefore, may be higher than the cost of investing in a mutual fund that invests directly in individual stocks and bonds. In addition, the Portfolio’s net asset value is subject to fluctuations in the net asset values of the other investment companies in which it invests. The Portfolio is also subject to the risks associated with the securities or other investments in which the other investment companies invest, and the ability of the Portfolio to meet its investment objective will depend, to a significant degree, on the ability of the other investment companies to meet their objectives.
 
Sector Risk:
From time to time, based on market or economic conditions, the Portfolio may have significant positions in one or more sectors of the market. To the extent the Portfolio invests more heavily in particular sectors, its performance will be especially sensitive to developments that significantly affect those sectors. Individual sectors may be more volatile, and may perform differently, than the broader market. The industries that constitute a sector may all react in the same way to economic, political or regulatory events.
 
Securities Lending Risk:
The Portfolio may lend its portfolio securities to seek income. There is a risk that a borrower may default on its obligations to return loaned securities. The Portfolio will be responsible for the risks associated with the investment of cash collateral and may lose money on its investment of cash collateral or may fail to earn sufficient income on its investment to meet obligations to the borrower. Securities lending may introduce leverage into the Portfolio. In addition, delays may occur in the recovery of loaned securities from borrowers, which could interfere with the Portfolio’s ability to vote proxies or to settle transactions.
Variable and Floating Rate Securities Risk:
The market prices of securities with variable and floating interest rates are generally less sensitive to interest rate changes than are the market prices of securities with fixed interest rates. Variable and floating rate securities may decline in value if market interest rates or interest rates paid by such securities do not move as expected. Conversely, variable and floating rate securities will not generally rise in value if market interest rates decline. Certain types of floating rate securities may be subject to greater liquidity risk than other debt securities.
Risk/Return Bar Chart and Table
The bar chart and table below provide some indication of the risks of investing in the Portfolio by showing changes in the Portfolio’s performance from year to year and by showing how the Portfolio’s average annual total returns for the past one- and five-year and since inception periods through December 31, 2020 compared to the returns of a broad-based securities market index.Past performance is not an indication of future performance.
 
The performance results do not reflect any Contract-related fees and expenses, which would reduce the performance results.
Calendar Year Annual Total Returns — Class IB
Bar Chart
 
   
Best quarter (% and time period)
 
Worst quarter (% and time period)
5.79% (2020 2nd Quarter)
 
–4.44% (2020 1st Quarter)
 
Average Annual Total Returns
Average Annual Total Returns - 1290 VT DoubleLine Opportunistic Bond Portfolio
One Year
Five Years
Since Inception
Inception Date
Class IB Shares 4.26% 4.01% 3.12% May 01, 2015
Class K Shares 4.61% 4.29% 3.39% May 01, 2015
Bloomberg Barclays U.S. Aggregate Bond Index (reflects no deduction for fees, expenses, or taxes) 7.51% 4.44% 3.78%