497K 1 d653399d497k.htm GOLDMAN SACHS VARIABLE INSURANCE TRUST Goldman Sachs Variable Insurance Trust

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Goldman Sachs Core Fixed Income Fund – Service Shares

Before you invest, you may want to review the Goldman Sachs Core Fixed Income Fund’s (the “Fund”) Prospectus, which contains more information about the Fund and its risks. You can find the Fund’s Prospectus, reports to shareholders and other information about the Fund online at www.gsamfunds.com/vitfunds. You can also get this information at no cost by calling 1-800-621-2550 or by sending an e-mail request to gs-funds-document-requests@gs.com. The Fund’s Prospectus and Statement of Additional Information (“SAI”), both dated April 30, 2019, are incorporated by reference into this Summary Prospectus.

Beginning on or after January 1, 2021, you may not receive paper copies of the Fund’s annual and semi-annual shareholder reports from the insurance company that offers your variable insurance contract or your financial intermediary, unless you specifically request paper copies of the reports from the insurance company or from your financial intermediary. Instead, the reports will be made available on a website, and you will be notified by mail each time a report is posted and provided with a website link to access the report.

If you already elected to receive shareholder reports electronically, you will not be affected by this change and you need not take any action. At any time, you may elect to receive reports and certain communications from the insurance company electronically by contacting your insurance company or your financial intermediary.

You may elect to receive all future shareholder reports in paper free of charge. You can inform the insurance company or your financial intermediary that you wish to receive paper copies of reports. Your election to receive reports in paper will apply to all Goldman Sachs Funds available under your contract and may apply to all funds held with your financial intermediary.

 

INVESTMENT OBJECTIVE    

The Fund seeks a total return consisting of capital appreciation and income that exceeds the total return of the Bloomberg Barclays U.S. Aggregate Bond Index (the “Index”).

 

FEES AND EXPENSES OF THE FUND    

This table describes the fees and expenses that you may pay if you buy and hold Service Shares of the Fund. This table does not reflect the fees and expenses associated with any variable annuity contract or variable life insurance policy that uses the Fund as an investment option. Had those fees and expenses been included, overall fees and expenses would be higher.

ANNUAL FUND OPERATING EXPENSES (expenses that you pay each year as a percentage of the value of your investment)

 

            

Management Fees

    0.40

Distribution and Service (12b-1) Fees

    0.25

Other Expenses1

    0.53

Acquired Fund Fees and Expenses

    0.01

Total Annual Fund Operating Expenses2

    1.19

Expense Limitation3

    (0.52 )% 

Total Annual Fund Operating Expenses After Expense Limitation

    0.67

 

1 

The Fund’s “Other Expenses” have been restated to reflect expenses expected to be incurred during the current fiscal year.

 

2 

The “Total Annual Fund Operating Expenses” do not correlate to the ratios of net and total expenses to average net assets provided in the Financial Highlights, which reflect the operating expenses of the Fund and do not include “Acquired Fund Fees and Expenses.”

 

3 

The Investment Adviser has agreed to (i) waive a portion of its management fee in an amount equal to any management fees it earns as an investment adviser to the affiliated funds in which the Fund invests, and (ii) reduce or limit “Other Expenses” (excluding acquired fund fees and expenses, transfer agency fees and expenses, taxes, interest, brokerage fees, expenses of shareholder meetings, litigation and indemnification, and extraordinary expenses) equal on an annualized basis to 0.004% of the Fund’s average daily net assets. These arrangements will remain in effect through at least April 30, 2020, and prior to such date the Investment Adviser may not terminate the arrangements without the approval of the Board of Trustees.

 

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2        SUMMARY PROSPECTUS — GOLDMAN SACHS CORE FIXED INCOME FUND — SERVICE SHARES

 

EXPENSE 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. This Example does not reflect the fees and expenses associated with any variable annuity contract or variable life insurance policy that uses the Fund as an investment option. Had those fees and expenses been included, the costs shown below would be higher.

The Example assumes that you invest $10,000 in Service Shares of the Fund for the time periods indicated and then redeem all of your Service Shares at the end of those periods. The Example also assumes that your investment has a 5% return each year and that the Fund’s operating expenses remain the same (except that the Example incorporates the expense limitation arrangement for only the first year). Although your actual costs may be higher or lower, based on these assumptions your costs would be:

 

                                                                                                           
      1 Year    3 Years    5 Years    10 Years

Service Shares

   $        68    $        326    $        604    $        1,397

 

PORTFOLIO TURNOVER    

The Fund pays transaction costs when it buys and sells securities or instruments (i.e., “turns over” its portfolio). A high rate of portfolio turnover may result in increased transaction costs, which must be borne by the Fund and its shareholders. These costs are not reflected in annual fund operating expenses or in the expense example above, but are reflected in the Fund’s performance. The Fund’s portfolio turnover rate for the fiscal year ended December 31, 2018 was 406% of the average value of its portfolio.

 

PRINCIPAL STRATEGY    

The Fund invests, under normal circumstances, at least 80% of its net assets plus any borrowings for investment purposes (measured at the time of purchase) (“Net Assets”) in fixed income securities, including securities issued or guaranteed by the U.S. government, its agencies, instrumentalities or sponsored enterprises (“U.S. Government Securities”), corporate debt securities, privately issued adjustable rate and fixed rate mortgage loans or other mortgage-related securities (“Mortgage-Backed Securities”) and asset-backed securities. The Fund may also invest in custodial receipts, fixed income securities issued by or on behalf of states, territories, and possessions of the United States (including the District of Columbia) (“Municipal Securities”) and convertible securities.

The Fund may also engage in forward foreign currency transactions for both hedging and non-hedging purposes. The Fund also intends to invest in derivatives, including (but not limited to) interest rate futures, interest rate swaps and credit default swaps, which are used primarily to hedge the Fund’s portfolio risks, manage the Fund’s duration and/or gain exposure to certain fixed income securities or indices.

The Fund’s investments in non-U.S. dollar denominated obligations (hedged or unhedged against currency risk) will not exceed 25% of its total assets measured at the time of purchase (“Total Assets”), and 10% of the Fund’s Total Assets may be invested in sovereign and corporate debt securities and other instruments of issuers in emerging market countries (“emerging countries debt”). Additionally, exposure to non-U.S. currencies (unhedged against currency risk) will not exceed 25% of the Fund’s Total Assets. In pursuing its investment objective, the Fund uses the Index as its performance benchmark, but the Fund will not attempt to replicate the Index. The Fund may, therefore, invest in securities that are not included in the Index.

The Fund may invest in fixed income securities rated at least BBB– or Baa3 at the time of purchase. Securities will either be rated by a nationally recognized statistical rating organization (“NRSRO”) or, if unrated, determined by the Investment Adviser to be of comparable credit quality.

The Fund’s target duration range under normal interest rate conditions is expected to approximate that of the Index plus or minus one year, and over the last five years ended February 28, 2019, the duration of the Index has ranged between 5.37 and 6.17 years. “Duration” is a measure of a debt security’s price sensitivity to changes in interest rates. The longer the duration of the Fund (or an individual debt security), the more sensitive its market price to changes in interest rates. For example, if market interest rates increase by 1%, the market price of a debt security with a positive duration of 3 will generally decrease by approximately 3%. Conversely, a 1% decline in market interest rates will generally result in an increase of approximately 3% of that security’s market price.

“Core” in the Fund’s name means that the Fund focuses its investments in intermediate and long-term investment grade bonds.

The Fund’s benchmark index is the Bloomberg Barclays U.S. Aggregate Bond Index.

 

PRINCIPAL RISKS OF THE FUND    

Loss of money is a risk of investing in the Fund. An investment in the Fund is not a bank deposit and is not insured or guaranteed by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (“FDIC”) or any government agency. The Fund should not be relied upon as a complete investment program. There can be no assurance that the Fund will achieve its investment objective. Investments in the Fund involve substantial risks which prospective investors should consider carefully before investing.

Credit/Default Risk. An issuer or guarantor of fixed income securities or instruments held by the Fund may default on its obligation to pay interest and repay principal or default on any other obligation. Additionally, the credit quality of securities may deteriorate rapidly, which may impair the Fund’s liquidity and cause significant deterioration in net asset value (“NAV”).

Derivatives Risk. The Fund’s use of forwards, interest rate futures, interest rate swaps, credit default swaps and other derivative instruments may result in losses. These instruments, which may pose risks in addition to and greater than those associated with investing directly in securities, currencies or other instruments, may be illiquid or less liquid, volatile, difficult to price and leveraged so that small changes in the value of underlying instruments may produce disproportionate losses to the Fund. Certain derivatives are also subject to counterparty risk, which is the risk that the other party in the transaction will


 

3        SUMMARY PROSPECTUS — GOLDMAN SACHS CORE FIXED INCOME FUND — SERVICE SHARES

 

not fulfill its contractual obligation. The use of derivatives is a highly specialized activity that involves investment techniques and risks different from those associated with investments in more traditional securities and instruments.

Foreign and Emerging Countries Risk. Foreign securities may be subject to risk of loss because of more or less foreign government regulation, less public information and less economic, political and social stability in the countries in which the Fund invests. The imposition of exchange controls (including repatriation restrictions), sanctions, confiscations, trade restrictions (including tariffs) and other government restrictions by the United States and other governments, or from problems in share registration, settlement or custody, may also result in losses. Foreign risk also involves the risk of negative foreign currency rate fluctuations, which may cause the value of securities denominated in such foreign currency (or other instruments through which the Fund has exposure to foreign currencies) to decline in value. Currency exchange rates may fluctuate significantly over short periods of time. These risks may be more pronounced in connection with the Fund’s investments in securities of issuers located in emerging countries.

Interest Rate Risk. When interest rates increase, fixed income securities or instruments held by the Fund will generally decline in value. Long-term fixed income securities or instruments will normally have more price volatility because of this risk than short-term fixed income securities or instruments. The risks associated with changing interest rates may have unpredictable effects on the markets and the Fund’s investments. Fluctuations in interest rates may also affect the liquidity of fixed income securities and instruments held by the Fund.

Large Shareholder Transactions Risk. The Fund may experience adverse effects when certain large shareholders purchase or redeem large amounts of shares of the Fund. Such large shareholder redemptions, which may occur rapidly or unexpectedly, may cause the Fund to sell portfolio securities at times when it would not otherwise do so, which may negatively impact the Fund’s NAV and liquidity. Similarly, large Fund share purchases may adversely affect the Fund’s performance to the extent that the Fund is delayed in investing new cash or otherwise maintains a larger cash position than it ordinarily would. These transactions may also increase transaction costs. In addition, a large redemption could result in the Fund’s current expenses being allocated over a smaller asset base, leading to an increase in the Fund’s expense ratio.

Mortgage-Backed and Other Asset-Backed Securities Risk. Mortgage-related and other asset-backed securities are subject to certain additional risks, including “extension risk” (i.e., in periods of rising interest rates, issuers may pay principal later than expected) and “prepayment risk” (i.e., in periods of declining interest rates, issuers may pay principal more quickly than expected, causing the Fund to reinvest proceeds at lower prevailing interest rates). Mortgage-backed securities offered by non-governmental issuers are subject to other risks as well, including failures of private insurers to meet their obligations and unexpectedly high rates of default on the mortgages backing the securities. Other asset-backed securities are subject to risks similar to those associated with mortgage-backed securities, as well as risks associated with the nature and servicing of the assets backing the securities. 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.

Portfolio Turnover Rate Risk. A high rate of portfolio turnover (300% or more) may involve correspondingly greater expenses which must be borne by the Fund and its shareholders.

U.S. Government Securities Risk. The U.S. government may not provide financial support to U.S. government agencies, instrumentalities or sponsored enterprises if it is not obligated to do so by law. U.S. Government Securities issued by the Federal National Mortgage Association (“Fannie Mae”), Federal Home Loan Mortgage Corporation (“Freddie Mac”) and the Federal Home Loan Banks are neither issued nor guaranteed by the U.S. Treasury and, therefore, are not backed by the full faith and credit of the United States. The maximum potential liability of the issuers of some U.S. Government Securities held by the Fund may greatly exceed their current resources, including their legal right to support from the U.S. Treasury. It is possible that issuers of U.S. Government Securities will not have the funds to meet their payment obligations in the future.

 

PERFORMANCE    

The bar chart and table below provide an indication of the risks of investing in the Fund by showing: (a) changes in the performance of the Fund’s Service Shares from year to year; and (b) how the average annual total returns of the Fund’s Service Shares compare to those of a broad-based securities market index. The Fund’s past performance is not necessarily an indication of how the Fund will perform in the future. Performance reflects applicable fee waivers and/or expense limitations in effect during the periods shown. In addition, performance reflects Fund level expenses but does not reflect the fees and expenses associated with any variable annuity contract or variable life insurance policy that uses the Fund as an investment option for any contract or policy. Had performance reflected all of those fees and expenses, performance would have been reduced. Updated performance information is available at no cost at www.gsamfunds.com/vit or by calling the phone number on the back cover of the Prospectus.

 

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AVERAGE ANNUAL TOTAL RETURN

 

                                                                                                           

For the period ended

December 31, 2018

   1 Year    5 Years    10 Years    Since
Inception
Service Shares
(Inception 1/9/06)
   -0.83%    2.15%    4.41%    3.50%
Bloomberg Barclays U.S. Aggregate Bond Index
(reflects no deduction for fees or expenses)
   0.01%    2.52%    3.48%    3.92%


 

4        SUMMARY PROSPECTUS — GOLDMAN SACHS CORE FIXED INCOME FUND — SERVICE SHARES

 

PORTFOLIO MANAGEMENT    

Goldman Sachs Asset Management, L.P. is the investment adviser for the Fund (the “Investment Adviser” or “GSAM”).

Portfolio Managers: Ashish Shah, Managing Director, Co-Chief Investment Officer of Global Fixed Income, has managed the Fund since 2019; and Michael Swell, Managing Director, Co-Head Global Lead Portfolio Management, has managed the Fund since 2009.

 

BUYING AND SELLING FUND SHARES    

Fund shares are not sold directly to the public. Fund shares may be purchased and redeemed by separate accounts that fund variable annuity and variable life insurance contracts issued by participating insurance companies. Orders received from separate accounts to purchase or redeem Fund shares are effected on business days. Individual investors may purchase or redeem Fund shares indirectly through variable annuity contracts and variable life insurance policies offered through the separate accounts.

 

TAX INFORMATION    

Provided that the Fund and separate accounts investing in the Fund satisfy applicable tax requirements, the Fund will not be subject to federal tax. Special tax rules apply to life insurance companies, variable annuity contracts and variable life insurance contracts. For information on federal income taxation of owners of variable annuity or variable life insurance contracts, see the prospectus for the applicable contract.

 

PAYMENTS TO BROKER-DEALERS AND OTHER FINANCIAL INTERMEDIARIES    

The Fund and/or its related companies may pay participating insurance companies and securities dealers for the sale of Fund shares and related services. These payments may create a conflict of interest by influencing the insurance company and your salesperson to recommend the Fund over another investment. Ask your salesperson or visit your insurance company’s website for more information.

 

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