497

Northern Lights Variable Trust

TOPSProtected Balanced ETF Portfolio

TOPS Protected Moderate Growth ETF Portfolio

TOPS Protected Growth ETF Portfolio

Incorporated herein by reference is the definitive version of the prospectus for the TOPSProtected Balanced ETF Portfolio, TOPS Protected Moderate Growth ETF Portfolio and TOPS Protected Growth ETF Portfolio filed pursuant to Rule 497 (c) under the Securities Act of 1933, as amended, on April 17, 2012 (SEC Accession No. 0000910472-12-001144).

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TOPS TM Protected Balanced ETF Portfolio

RISK/RETURN

Investment Objectives:

The Portfolio seeks to provide income and capital appreciation with less volatility than the fixed income and equity markets as a whole.

Fees and Expenses of the Portfolio:

This table describes the annual operating expenses that you may indirectly pay if you invest in the Portfolio through your retirement plan or if you allocate your insurance contract premiums or payments to the Portfolio.  However, each insurance contract and separate account involves fees and expenses that are not described in this Prospectus.  If the fees and expenses of your insurance contract or separate account were included in this table, your overall expenses would be higher.  You should review the insurance contract prospectus for a complete description of fees and expenses.  In the table below, Acquired Fund Fees and Expenses are the indirect costs of investing in other investment companies.

Annual Portfolio Operating Expenses (expenses that you pay each year as a percentage of the value of your investment)

Annual Fund Operating Expenses TOPS TM Protected Balanced ETF Portfolio		TOPS TM Protected Balanced ETF Portfolio Class 3	TOPS TM Protected Balanced ETF Portfolio Class 4
Management Fees		0.30%	0.30%
Distribution and Service (12b-1) Fees		0.35%	0.60%
Other Expenses	[1]	0.10%	0.10%
Acquired Fund Fees and Expenses		0.27%	0.27%
Total Annual Portfolio Operating Expenses	[2]	1.02%	1.27%

Example:

 This Example is intended to help you compare the cost of investing in the Portfolio with the cost of investing in other mutual funds.

The Example assumes that you invest $10,000 in the Portfolio for the time periods indicated and then redeem all of your shares at the end of those periods. You would pay the same expenses if you did not redeem your shares. However, each insurance contract and separate account involves fees and expenses that are not included in the Example. If these fees and expenses were included in the Example, your overall expenses would be higher. The Example also assumes that your investment has a 5% return each year and that the Portfolio's operating expenses remain the same. Although your actual costs may be higher or lower, based upon these assumptions your costs would be:

Expense Example TOPS TM Protected Balanced ETF Portfolio (USD $)	1 Year	3 Years	5 Years	10 Years
TOPS TM Protected Balanced ETF Portfolio Class 3	104	325	563	1,248
TOPS TM Protected Balanced ETF Portfolio Class 4	129	403	697	1,534

Expense Example, No Redemption TOPS TM Protected Balanced ETF Portfolio (USD $)	1 Year	3 Years	5 Years	10 Years
TOPS TM Protected Balanced ETF Portfolio Class 3	104	325	563	1,248
TOPS TM Protected Balanced ETF Portfolio Class 4	129	403	697	1,534

Portfolio Turnover:

 The Portfolio pays transaction costs, such as commissions, when it buys and sells securities (or "turns over" its portfolio).  These costs, which are not reflected in annual portfolio operating expenses or in the Example, affect the Portfolio's performance.  A higher portfolio turnover rate may indicate higher transaction costs.  During the most recent fiscal period, the Portfolio's portfolio turnover rate was 10% of the average value of its portfolio.

Principal Investment Strategies:

 The Portfolio is a fund-of-funds that invests, under normal market conditions, at least 80% of its assets in exchange-traded funds ("ETFs").  The Portfolio also employs exchange-traded futures contracts to hedge market risk and reduce return volatility.  Each ETF included in the Portfolio invests primarily in securities representing the following asset class:

• U.S. Government Fixed Income Securities

• U.S. Corporate Fixed Income Securities

• U.S. Common and Preferred Stocks

• Foreign Common and Preferred Stocks

• U.S. Real Estate-Related Securities ("REITS")

• U.S. Natural Resource-Related Securities

The Portfolio restricts investment in fixed income ETFs to those with an average maturity of 20 years or less and invests primarily in ETFs with average portfolio credit quality of investment grade.  No more than 15% of the portfolio will be allocated to fixed income ETFs with an average portfolio credit quality below investment grade (commonly referred to as "junk bond" credit quality).  The Portfolio defines investment grade credit quality as Baa3 or higher by Moody's Investors Service or BBB- or higher by Standard and Poor's Rating Group.  The Portfolio invests in common and preferred stock ETFs without restriction as to underlying issuer country, capitalization or currency.  The Portfolio invests in REIT ETFs and Natural Resource ETFs without restriction as to underlying issuer capitalization.  

The Portfolio's adviser seeks to achieve the Portfolio's investment objectives by allocating assets and selecting individual ETFs using the adviser's TOPS^TM (The Optimized Portfolio System) methodology.  The TOPS^TM methodology utilizes multiple asset classes in an effort to enhance performance and/or reduce risk (as measured by return volatility).  Under normal market conditions, the Portfolio invests at least 25% of its assets in equity ETFs and at least 25% of its assets in fixed income ETFs.  However, to achieve the Portfolio's income aspect of the Portfolio's investment objectives, the adviser allocates approximately 50% of Portfolio assets to fixed income ETFs.  To achieve the capital appreciation aspect of the Portfolio's investment objectives, the adviser allocates approximately 50% of Portfolio assets to a combination of equity ETFs, REIT ETFs and natural resource ETFs.  Furthermore, the adviser selects some equity ETFs that are composed of value stocks. The adviser expects value stocks, those with a better than average price-to-earnings ratio, to have returns that are less volatile than the equity market as a whole.

The adviser selects individual ETFs that it believes are representative of an asset class, have relatively low expenses and/or relatively high returns when compared to a peer group of ETFs.  The adviser sells individual ETFs to rebalance asset allocation or to purchase a substitute ETF with a higher expected return or lower risk profile.

The Portfolio's adviser seeks to reduce return volatility by employing a sub-adviser to execute a portfolio "protection" strategy.  The sub-adviser’s protection strategy consists of using hedge instruments (short positions in exchange-traded futures contracts) to protect the majority of the Portfolio's securities.  The sub-adviser selects individual futures contracts that it believes will have prices that are highly correlated (negatively) to the Portfolio's ETF positions.  The sub-adviser adjusts short futures positions to manage overall net Portfolio risk exposure.  During periods of rising security prices, the amount of futures contracts will ratchet upwards to preserve gains on the Portfolio's ETF positions.  During a market decline, the value of the Portfolio's ETF securities will decrease while the futures contracts will increase in value.  Following declines, a downside rebalancing strategy will be used to decrease the amount of futures contracts used to protect the Portfolio.  The sub-adviser also adjusts short futures positions to realign individual hedges when the adviser rebalances the Portfolio's asset allocation profile.  Depending on market conditions, scenarios may occur where the portfolio has no long or short position in any futures contracts.

The Portfolio and the adviser have requested, or intend to request, that the Securities and Exchange Commission grant an order that allows the adviser to hire a new sub-adviser or sub-advisers without shareholder approval.  Until that order is granted, shareholder approval is required if the adviser hires a new sub-adviser or sub-advisers.  However, there is no guarantee that such an order will be issued.

Principal Investment Risks:

As with all mutual funds, there is the risk that you could lose money through your investment in the Portfolio.  Many factors affect the Portfolio's net asset value and performance.

The following risks apply to the Portfolio through its investments in ETFs and futures.

• Credit Risk: Issuers might not make payments on debt securities, resulting in losses.  Credit quality of securities may be lowered if an issuer's financial condition changes, also resulting in losses.  

• Emerging Market Risk: In addition to the risks generally associated with investing in securities of foreign companies, countries with emerging markets also may have relatively unstable governments, social and legal systems that do not protect shareholders, economies based on only a few industries, and securities markets that trade a small number of issues.  

• ETF Risk:  The cost of investing in the Portfolio will be higher than the cost of investing directly in ETFs and may be higher than other mutual funds that invest directly in stocks and bonds.  Each ETF is subject to specific risks, depending on the nature of the fund.

• Fixed Income Risk: The value of bonds and other fixed income securities will fluctuate with changes in interest rates.  Typically, a rise in interest rates causes a decline in the value of fixed income securities.

• Foreign Currency Risk:  Foreign equity securities denominated in non-US dollar currencies will subject the Portfolio to currency trading risks that include market risk and country risk.  Market risk results from adverse changes in exchange rates.  Country risk arises because a government may interfere with transactions in its currency.

• Foreign Investment Risk:  Foreign investing involves risks not typically associated with U.S. investments, including adverse fluctuations in foreign currency values, adverse political, social and economic developments, less liquidity, greater volatility, less developed or less efficient trading markets, political instability and differing auditing and legal standards.  

• Futures Risk:  Futures contract short positions may not provide an effective hedge because changes in futures contract prices may not track those of the ETFs they are intended to hedge.  Futures create leverage, which can magnify the Portfolio's potential for gain or loss and, therefore, amplify the effects of market volatility on the Portfolio's share price.

• Junk Bond Risk:  Lower-quality bonds, known as "high yield" or "junk" bonds, present greater risk than bonds of higher quality, including an increased risk of default.  An economic downturn or period of rising interest rates could adversely affect the market for these bonds and reduce the Portfolio's ability to sell its bonds.  The lack of a liquid market for these bonds could decrease the Portfolio's share price.

• Limited History of Operation:  The Portfolio is a relatively new mutual fund and has a limited history of operation.  The adviser and sub-adviser have not previously managed a mutual fund.

• Management Risk:  The adviser's dependence on the TOPS^TM methodology and judgments about the attractiveness, value and potential appreciation of particular asset classes, securities and futures in which the Portfolio invests may prove to be incorrect and may not produce the desired results.  The sub-adviser's portfolio protection strategy may not effectively protect the Portfolio from market declines and will limit the Portfolio's participation in market gains.

• Market Risk:  Overall securities market risks may affect the value of futures and individual ETFs.  Factors such as foreign and domestic economic growth and market conditions, interest rate levels, and political events may adversely affect the securities and futures markets.

• Natural Resource Risk:  Exposure to companies primarily engaged in the natural resource markets may subject the Portfolio to greater volatility than the securities market as a whole.  Natural resource companies are affected by commodity price volatility, changes in interest rates, or factors affecting a particular industry or commodity, such as drought, floods, weather, livestock disease, embargoes, tariffs, and international economic, political and regulatory developments.

• Real Estate Risk:  Real estate values rise and fall in response to a variety of factors, including local, regional and national economic conditions, interest rates and tax considerations.  REIT performance depends on the types and locations of the rental properties it owns and on how well it manages those properties.

• Small and Medium Capitalization Stock Risk:  The value of a small or medium capitalization company stocks may be subject to more abrupt or erratic market movements than those of larger, more established companies or the market averages in general.

Who Should Invest in the Portfolio?

The adviser believes the Portfolio is appropriate for investors with intermediate-term to long-term investment horizons who seek to balance out a desire for investment returns with a desire for lower levels of risk than typically found in funds with medium-to-aggressive asset allocation.

Performance:

Because the Portfolio has less than a full calendar year of investment operations, no performance information is presented for the Portfolio at this time.  In the future, performance information will be presented in this section of this Prospectus.  

TOPS TM Protected Moderate Growth ETF Portfolio

RISK/RETURN

Investment Objectives:

The Portfolio seeks capital appreciation with less volatility than the equity markets as a whole.

Fees and Expenses of the Portfolio:

This table describes the annual operating expenses that you may indirectly pay if you invest in the Portfolio through your retirement plan or if you allocate your insurance contract premiums or payments to the Portfolio.  However, each insurance contract and separate account involves fees and expenses that are not described in this Prospectus.  If the fees and expenses of your insurance contract or separate account were included in this table, your overall expenses would be higher.  You should review the insurance contract prospectus for a complete description of fees and expenses.  In the table below, Acquired Fund Fees and Expenses are the indirect costs of investing in other investment companies.

Annual Portfolio Operating Expenses (expenses that you pay each year as a percentage of the value of your investment)

Annual Fund Operating Expenses TOPS TM Protected Moderate Growth ETF Portfolio		TOPS TM Protected Moderate Growth ETF Portfolio Class 3 shares	TOPS TM Protected Moderate Growth ETF Portfolio Class 4 shares
Management Fees		0.30%	0.30%
Distribution and Service (12b-1) Fees		0.35%	0.60%
Other Expenses	[1]	0.10%	0.10%
Acquired Fund Fees and Expenses		0.25%	0.25%
Total Annual Portfolio Operating Expenses	[2]	1.00%	1.25%

Example:

 This Example is intended to help you compare the cost of investing in the Portfolio with the cost of investing in other mutual funds.  

The Example assumes that you invest $10,000 in the Portfolio for the time periods indicated and then redeem all of your shares at the end of those periods. You would pay the same expenses if you did not redeem your shares. However, each insurance contract and separate account involves fees and expenses that are not included in the Example. If these fees and expenses were included in the Example, your overall expenses would be higher. The Example also assumes that your investment has a 5% return each year and that the Portfolio's operating expenses remain the same. Although your actual costs may be higher or lower, based upon these assumptions your costs would be:

Expense Example TOPS TM Protected Moderate Growth ETF Portfolio (USD $)	1 Year	3 Years	5 Years	10 Years
TOPS TM Protected Moderate Growth ETF Portfolio Class 3 shares	102	318	552	1,225
TOPS TM Protected Moderate Growth ETF Portfolio Class 4 shares	127	397	686	1,511

Expense Example, No Redemption TOPS TM Protected Moderate Growth ETF Portfolio (USD $)	1 Year	3 Years	5 Years	10 Years
TOPS TM Protected Moderate Growth ETF Portfolio Class 3 shares	102	318	552	1,225
TOPS TM Protected Moderate Growth ETF Portfolio Class 4 shares	127	397	686	1,511

Portfolio Turnover:

 The Portfolio pays transaction costs, such as commissions, when it buys and sells securities (or "turns over" its portfolio).  These costs, which are not reflected in annual portfolio operating expenses or in the Example, affect the Portfolio's performance.  A higher portfolio turnover rate may indicate higher transaction costs.  During the most recent fiscal period, the Portfolio's portfolio turnover rate was 7% of the average value of its portfolio.

Principal Investment Strategies:

 The Portfolio is a fund-of-funds that invests, under normal market conditions, at least 80% of its assets in exchange-traded funds ("ETFs").  The Portfolio also employs exchange-traded futures contracts to hedge market risk and reduce return volatility.  Each ETF included in the Portfolio invests primarily in securities representing the following asset class:

• U.S. Government Fixed Income Securities

• U.S. Corporate Fixed Income Securities

• U.S. Common and Preferred Stocks

• Foreign Common and Preferred Stocks

• U.S. Real Estate-Related Securities ("REITS")

• U.S. Natural Resource-Related Securities

The Portfolio restricts investment in fixed income ETFs to those with an average maturity of 20 years or less and invests primarily in ETFs with average portfolio credit quality of investment grade.  No more than 15% of the portfolio will be allocated to fixed income ETFs with an average portfolio credit quality below investment grade (commonly referred to as "junk bond" credit quality).  The Portfolio defines investment grade credit quality as Baa3 or higher by Moody's Investors Service or BBB- or higher by Standard and Poor's Rating Group.  The Portfolio invests in common and preferred stock ETFs without restriction as to underlying issuer country, capitalization or currency.  The Portfolio invests in REIT ETFs and natural resource ETFs without restriction as to underlying issuer capitalization.

The Portfolio's adviser seeks to achieve the Portfolio's investment objectives by allocating assets and selecting individual ETFs using the adviser's TOPS^TM (The Optimized Portfolio System) methodology.  The TOPS^TM methodology utilizes multiple asset classes in an effort to enhance performance and/or reduce risk (as measured by return volatility).  To achieve the Portfolio's income aspect of the Portfolio's investment objectives, the adviser allocates approximately 35% of Portfolio assets to fixed income ETFs.  To achieve the capital appreciation aspect of the Portfolio's investment objectives, the adviser allocates approximately 65% of Portfolio assets to a combination of equity ETFs, REIT ETFs and natural resource ETFs.  

The adviser selects individual ETFs that it believes are representative of an asset class, have relatively low expenses and/or relatively high returns when compared to a peer group of ETFs.  The adviser sells individual ETFs to rebalance asset allocation or to purchase a substitute ETF with a higher expected return or lower risk profile.

The Portfolio's adviser seeks to reduce return volatility by employing a sub-adviser to execute a portfolio "protection" strategy.  The sub-adviser’s protection strategy consists of using hedge instruments (short positions in exchange-traded futures contracts) to protect the majority of the Portfolio's securities.  The sub-adviser selects individual futures contracts that it believes will have prices that are highly correlated (negatively) to the Portfolio's ETF positions.  The sub-adviser adjusts short futures positions to manage overall net Portfolio risk exposure.  During periods of rising security prices, the amount of futures contracts will ratchet upwards to preserve gains on the Portfolio's ETF positions.  During a market decline, the value of the Portfolio's ETF securities will decrease while the futures contracts will increase in value.  Following declines, a downside rebalancing strategy will be used to decrease the amount of futures contracts used to protect the Portfolio.  The sub-adviser also adjusts short futures positions to realign individual hedges when the adviser rebalances the Portfolio's asset allocation profile.  Depending on market conditions, scenarios may occur where the portfolio has no long or short position in any futures contracts.

The Portfolio and the adviser have requested, or intend to request, that the Securities and Exchange Commission grant an order that allows the adviser to hire a new sub-adviser or sub-advisers without shareholder approval.  Until that order is granted, shareholder approval is required if the adviser hires a new sub-adviser or sub-advisers.  However, there is no guarantee that such an order will be issued.

Principal Investment Risks:

As with all mutual funds, there is the risk that you could lose money through your investment in the Portfolio.  Many factors affect the Portfolio's net asset value and performance.

The following risks apply to the Portfolio through its investments in ETFs and futures.

• Credit Risk: Issuers might not make payments on debt securities, resulting in losses.  Credit quality of securities may be lowered if an issuer's financial condition changes, also resulting in losses.  

• Emerging Market Risk: In addition to the risks generally associated with investing in securities of foreign companies, countries with emerging markets also may have relatively unstable governments, social and legal systems that do not protect shareholders, economies based on only a few industries, and securities markets that trade a small number of issues.  

• ETF Risk:  The cost of investing in the Portfolio will be higher than the cost of investing directly in ETFs and may be higher than other mutual funds that invest directly in stocks and bonds.  Each ETF is subject to specific risks, depending on the nature of the fund.

• Fixed Income Risk: The value of bonds and other fixed income securities will fluctuate with changes in interest rates.  Typically, a rise in interest rates causes a decline in the value of fixed income securities.

• Foreign Currency Risk:  Foreign equity securities denominated in non-US dollar currencies will subject the Portfolio to currency trading risks that include market risk and country risk.  Market risk results from adverse changes in exchange rates.  Country risk arises because a government may interfere with transactions in its currency.

• Foreign Investment Risk:  Foreign investing involves risks not typically associated with U.S. investments, including adverse fluctuations in foreign currency values, adverse political, social and economic developments, less liquidity, greater volatility, less developed or less efficient trading markets, political instability and differing auditing and legal standards.

• Futures Risk:  Futures contract short positions may not provide an effective hedge because changes in futures contract prices may not track those of the ETFs they are intended to hedge.  Futures create leverage, which can magnify the Portfolio's potential for gain or loss and, therefore, amplify the effects of market volatility on the Portfolio's share price.  

• Junk Bond Risk:  Lower-quality bonds, known as "high yield" or "junk" bonds, present greater risk than bonds of higher quality, including an increased risk of default.  An economic downturn or period of rising interest rates could adversely affect the market for these bonds and reduce the Portfolio's ability to sell its bonds. The lack of a liquid market for these bonds could decrease the Portfolio's share price.

• Limited History of Operation:  The Portfolio is a relatively new mutual fund and has a limited history of operation.  The adviser and sub-adviser have not previously managed a mutual fund.

• Management Risk:  The adviser's dependence on the TOPS^TM methodology and judgments about the attractiveness, value and potential appreciation of particular asset classes, securities and futures in which the Portfolio invests may prove to be incorrect and may not produce the desired results.  The sub-adviser's portfolio protection strategy may not effectively protect the Portfolio from market declines and will limit the Portfolio's participation in market gains.

• Market Risk: Overall securities market risks may affect the value of futures and individual ETFs.  Factors such as foreign and domestic economic growth and market conditions, interest rate levels, and political events may adversely affect the securities and futures markets.

• Natural Resource Risk: Exposure to companies primarily engaged in the natural resource markets may subject the Portfolio to greater volatility than the securities market as a whole.  Natural resource companies are affected by commodity price volatility, changes in interest rates, or factors affecting a particular industry or commodity, such as drought, floods, weather, livestock disease, embargoes, tariffs, and international economic, political and regulatory developments.

• Real Estate Risk:  Real estate values rise and fall in response to a variety of factors, including local, regional and national economic conditions, interest rates and tax considerations.  REIT performance depends on the types and locations of the rental properties it owns and on how well it manages those properties.

• Small and Medium Capitalization Stock Risk:  The value of a small or medium capitalization company stocks may be subject to more abrupt or erratic market movements than those of larger, more established companies or the market averages in general.

Who Should Invest in the Portfolio?

The adviser believes the Portfolio is appropriate for investors with long-term investment horizons who are willing to accept lower-to-moderate return volatility in pursuit of higher returns than are typically found in funds with more conservative asset allocation.

Performance:

Because the Portfolio has less than a full calendar year of investment operations, no performance information is presented for the Portfolio at this time.  In the future, performance information will be presented in this section of this Prospectus.  

TOPS TM Protected Growth ETF Portfolio

RISK/RETURN

Investment Objectives:

The Portfolio seeks capital appreciation with less volatility than the equity markets as a whole.

Fees and Expenses of the Portfolio:

This table describes the annual operating expenses that you may indirectly pay if you invest in the Portfolio through your retirement plan or if you allocate your insurance contract premiums or payments to the Portfolio.  However, each insurance contract and separate account involves fees and expenses that are not described in this Prospectus.  If the fees and expenses of your insurance contract or separate account were included in this table, your overall expenses would be higher.  You should review the insurance contract prospectus for a complete description of fees and expenses.  In the table below, Acquired Fund Fees and Expenses are the indirect costs of investing in other investment companies.

Annual Portfolio Operating Expenses (expenses that you pay each year as a percentage of the value of your investment)

Annual Fund Operating Expenses TOPS TM Protected Growth ETF Portfolio		TOPS TM Protected Growth ETF Portfolio Class 3	TOPS TM Protected Growth ETF Portfolio Class 4
Management Fees		0.30%	0.30%
Distribution and Service (12b-1) Fees		0.35%	0.60%
Other Expenses	[1]	0.10%	0.10%
Acquired Fund Fees and Expenses		0.27%	0.27%
Total Annual Portfolio Operating Expenses(3)	[2]	1.02%	1.27%

Example:

 This Example is intended to help you compare the cost of investing in the Portfolio with the cost of investing in other mutual funds.  

The Example assumes that you invest $10,000 in the Portfolio for the time periods indicated and then redeem all of your shares at the end of those periods. You would pay the same expenses if you did not redeem your shares. However, each insurance contract and separate account involves fees and expenses that are not included in the Example. If these fees and expenses were included in the Example, your overall expenses would be higher. The Example also assumes that your investment has a 5% return each year and that the Portfolio's operating expenses remain the same. Although your actual costs may be higher or lower, based upon these assumptions your costs would be:

Expense Example TOPS TM Protected Growth ETF Portfolio (USD $)	1 Year	3 Years	5 Years	10 Years
TOPS TM Protected Growth ETF Portfolio Class 3	104	325	563	1,248
TOPS TM Protected Growth ETF Portfolio Class 4	129	403	697	1,534

Expense Example, No Redemption TOPS TM Protected Growth ETF Portfolio (USD $)	1 Year	3 Years	5 Years	10 Years
TOPS TM Protected Growth ETF Portfolio Class 3	104	325	563	1,248
TOPS TM Protected Growth ETF Portfolio Class 4	129	403	697	1,534

Portfolio Turnover:

 The Portfolio pays transaction costs, such as commissions, when it buys and sells securities (or "turns over" its portfolio).  These costs, which are not reflected in annual portfolio operating expenses or in the Example, affect the Portfolio's performance.  A higher portfolio turnover rate may indicate higher transaction costs. During the most recent fiscal period, the Portfolio's portfolio turnover rate was 28% of the average value of its portfolio.

Principal Investment Strategies:

 The Portfolio is a fund-of-funds that invests, under normal market conditions, at least 80% of its assets in exchange-traded funds ("ETFs").  The Portfolio also employs exchange-traded futures contracts to hedge market risk and reduce return volatility.  Each ETF included in the Portfolio invests primarily in securities representing the following asset class:

• U.S. Government Fixed Income Securities

• U.S. Corporate Fixed Income Securities

• U.S. Common and Preferred Stocks

• Foreign Common and Preferred Stocks

• U.S. Real Estate-Related Securities ("REITS")

• U.S. Natural Resource-Related Securities

The Portfolio restricts investment in fixed income ETFs to those with an average maturity of 20 years or less and invests primarily in ETFs with average portfolio credit quality of investment grade.  No more than 15% of the portfolio will be allocated to fixed income ETFs with an average portfolio credit quality below investment grade (commonly referred to as "junk bond" credit quality).  The Portfolio defines investment grade credit quality as Baa3 or higher by Moody's Investors Service or BBB- or higher by Standard and Poor's Rating Group.  The Portfolio invests in common and preferred stock ETFs without restriction as to underlying issuer country, capitalization or currency.  The Portfolio invests in REIT ETFs and natural resource ETFs without restriction as to underlying issuer capitalization.

The Portfolio's adviser seeks to achieve the Portfolio's investment objectives by allocating assets and selecting individual ETFs using the adviser's TOPS^TM (The Optimized Portfolio System) methodology.  The TOPS^TM methodology utilizes multiple asset classes to enhance performance and/or reduce risk (as measured by return volatility).  To achieve the Portfolio's income aspect of the Portfolio's investment objectives, the adviser allocates approximately 15% of Portfolio assets to fixed income ETFs.  To achieve the capital appreciation aspect of the Portfolio's investment objectives, the adviser allocates approximately 85% of Portfolio assets to a combination of equity ETFs, REIT ETFs and natural resource ETFs.  Furthermore, the adviser selects some equity ETFs that are composed of growth stocks.  The adviser expects growth stocks, those with higher than average earnings growth and, typically, higher than average price-to-earnings ratios (P/E), to have returns that are higher than the equity market as a whole.

The adviser selects individual ETFs that it believes are representative of an asset class, have relatively low expenses and/or relatively high returns when compared to a peer group of ETFs.  The adviser sells individual ETFs to rebalance asset allocation or to purchase a substitute ETF with a higher expected return or lower risk profile.

The Portfolio's adviser seeks to reduce return volatility by employing a sub-adviser to execute a portfolio "protection" strategy.  The sub-adviser’s protection strategy consists of using hedge instruments (short positions in exchange-traded futures contracts) to protect the majority of the Portfolio's securities.  The sub-adviser selects individual futures contracts that it believes will have prices that are highly correlated (negatively) to the Portfolio's ETF positions.  The sub-adviser adjusts short futures positions to manage overall net Portfolio risk exposure.  During periods of rising security prices, the amount of futures contracts will ratchet upwards to preserve gains on the Portfolio's ETF positions.  During a market decline, the value of the Portfolio's ETF securities will decrease while the futures contracts will increase in value.  Following declines, a downside rebalancing strategy will be used to decrease the amount of futures contracts used to protect the Portfolio.  The sub-adviser also adjusts short futures positions to realign individual hedges when the adviser rebalances the Portfolio's asset allocation profile.  Depending on market conditions, scenarios may occur where the portfolio has no long or short position in any futures contracts.

The Portfolio and the adviser have requested, or intend to request, that the Securities and Exchange Commission grant an order that allows the adviser to hire a new sub-adviser or sub-advisers without shareholder approval.  Until that order is granted, shareholder approval is required if the adviser hires a new sub-adviser or sub-advisers.  However, there is no guarantee that such an order will be issued.

Principal Investment Risks:

As with all mutual funds, there is the risk that you could lose money through your investment in the Portfolio.  Many factors affect the Portfolio's net asset value and performance.

The following risks apply to the Portfolio through its investments in ETFs and futures.

• Credit Risk: Issuers might not make payments on debt securities, resulting in losses.  Credit quality of securities may be lowered if an issuer's financial condition changes, also resulting in losses.  

• Emerging Market Risk: In addition to the risks generally associated with investing in securities of foreign companies, countries with emerging markets also may have relatively unstable governments, social and legal systems that do not protect shareholders, economies based on only a few industries, and securities markets that trade a small number of issues.  

• ETF Risk:  The cost of investing in the Portfolio will be higher than the cost of investing directly in ETFs and may be higher than other mutual funds that invest directly in stocks and bonds.  Each ETF is subject to specific risks, depending on the nature of the fund.

• Fixed Income Risk: The value of bonds and other fixed income securities will fluctuate with changes in interest rates.  Typically, a rise in interest rates causes a decline in the value of fixed income securities.

• Foreign Currency Risk:  Foreign equity securities denominated in non-US dollar currencies will subject the Portfolio to currency trading risks that include market risk and country risk.  Market risk results from adverse changes in exchange rates.  Country risk arises because a government may interfere with transactions in its currency.

• Foreign Investment Risk:  Foreign investing involves risks not typically associated with U.S. investments, including adverse fluctuations in foreign currency values, adverse political, social and economic developments, less liquidity, greater volatility, less developed or less efficient trading markets, political instability and differing auditing and legal standards.

• Futures Risk:  Futures contract short positions may not provide an effective hedge because changes in futures contract prices may not track those of the ETFs they are intended to hedge.  Futures create leverage, which can magnify the Portfolio's potential for gain or loss and, therefore, amplify the effects of market volatility on the Portfolio's share price.  

• Junk Bond Risk:  Lower-quality bonds, known as "high yield" or "junk" bonds, present greater risk than bonds of higher quality, including an increased risk of default.  An economic downturn or period of rising interest rates could adversely affect the market for these bonds and reduce the Portfolio's ability to sell its bonds. The lack of a liquid market for these bonds could decrease the Portfolio's share price.

• Limited History of Operation:  The Portfolio is a relatively new mutual fund and has a limited history of operation.  The adviser and sub-adviser have not previously managed a mutual fund.

• Management Risk:  The adviser's dependence on the TOPS^TM methodology and judgments about the attractiveness, value and potential appreciation of particular asset classes, securities and futures in which the Portfolio invests may prove to be incorrect and may not produce the desired results.  The sub-adviser's portfolio protection strategy may not effectively protect the Portfolio from market declines and will limit the Portfolio's participation in market gains.

• Market Risk: Overall securities market risks may affect the value of futures and individual ETFs.  Factors such as foreign and domestic economic growth and market conditions, interest rate levels, and political events may adversely affect the securities and futures markets.

• Natural Resource Risk: Exposure to companies primarily engaged in the natural resource markets may subject the Portfolio to greater volatility than the securities market as a whole.  Natural resource companies are affected by commodity price volatility, changes in interest rates, or factors affecting a particular industry or commodity, such as drought, floods, weather, livestock disease, embargoes, tariffs, and international economic, political and regulatory developments.

• Real Estate Risk:  Real estate values rise and fall in response to a variety of factors, including local, regional and national economic conditions, interest rates and tax considerations.  REIT performance depends on the types and locations of the rental properties it owns and on how well it manages those properties.

• Small and Medium Capitalization Stock Risk:  The value of a small or medium capitalization company stocks may be subject to more abrupt or erratic market movements than those of larger, more established companies or the market averages in general.

Who Should Invest in the Portfolio?

The adviser believes the Portfolio is appropriate for investors with long-term investment horizons who are willing to accept moderate return volatility in pursuit of higher returns.

Performance:

Because the Portfolio has less than a full calendar year of investment operations, no performance information is presented for the Portfolio at this time.  In the future, performance information will be presented in this section of this Prospectus.  

[1] Other expenses are contractually limited to 0.10%.

[2] The operating expenses in this fee table will not correlate to the expense ratio in the Portfolio's financial highlights because the financial statements include only the direct operating expenses incurred by the Portfolio.

[1] Other expenses are contractually limited to 0.10%.

[2] The operating expenses in this fee table will not correlate to the expense ratio in the Portfolio's financial highlights because the financial statements include only the direct operating expenses incurred by the Portfolio.

[1] Other expenses are contractually limited to 0.10%.

[2] The operating expenses in this fee table will not correlate to the expense ratio in the Portfolio's financial highlights because the financial statements include only the direct operating expenses incurred by the Portfolio.

XML

Label

Element

Value

Risk/Return:

rr_RiskReturnAbstract

Document Type

dei_DocumentType

Other

Document Period End Date

dei_DocumentPeriodEndDate

Apr. 17, 2012

Registrant Name

dei_EntityRegistrantName

Northern Lights Variable Trust

Central Index Key

dei_EntityCentralIndexKey

0001352621

Amendment Flag

dei_AmendmentFlag

false

Document Creation Date

dei_DocumentCreationDate

Apr. 17, 2012

Document Effective Date

dei_DocumentEffectiveDate

Apr. 17, 2012

Prospectus Date

rr_ProspectusDate

Apr. 03, 2012

TOPS TM Protected Balanced ETF Portfolio

Risk/Return:

rr_RiskReturnAbstract

Risk/Return [Heading]

rr_RiskReturnHeading

RISK/RETURN

Objective [Heading]

rr_ObjectiveHeading

Investment Objectives:

Objective, Primary [Text Block]

rr_ObjectivePrimaryTextBlock

The Portfolio seeks to provide income and capital appreciation with less volatility than the fixed income and equity markets as a whole.

Expense [Heading]

rr_ExpenseHeading

Fees and Expenses of the Portfolio:

Expense Narrative [Text Block]

rr_ExpenseNarrativeTextBlock

This table describes the annual operating expenses that you may indirectly pay if you invest in the Portfolio through your retirement plan or if you allocate your insurance contract premiums or payments to the Portfolio.  However, each insurance contract and separate account involves fees and expenses that are not described in this Prospectus.  If the fees and expenses of your insurance contract or separate account were included in this table, your overall expenses would be higher.  You should review the insurance contract prospectus for a complete description of fees and expenses.  In the table below, Acquired Fund Fees and Expenses are the indirect costs of investing in other investment companies.

Operating Expenses Caption [Text]

rr_OperatingExpensesCaption

Annual Portfolio Operating Expenses (expenses that you pay each year as a percentage of the value of your investment)

Portfolio Turnover [Heading]

rr_PortfolioTurnoverHeading

Portfolio Turnover:

Portfolio Turnover [Text Block]

rr_PortfolioTurnoverTextBlock

 The Portfolio pays transaction costs, such as commissions, when it buys and sells securities (or "turns over" its portfolio).  These costs, which are not reflected in annual portfolio operating expenses or in the Example, affect the Portfolio's performance.  A higher portfolio turnover rate may indicate higher transaction costs.  During the most recent fiscal period, the Portfolio's portfolio turnover rate was 10% of the average value of its portfolio.

Portfolio Turnover, Rate

rr_PortfolioTurnoverRate

10.00%

Expenses Not Correlated to Ratio Due to Acquired Fund Fees [Text]

rr_ExpensesNotCorrelatedToRatioDueToAcquiredFundFees

The operating expenses in this fee table will not correlate to the expense ratio in the Portfolio's financial highlights because the financial statements include only the direct operating expenses incurred by the Portfolio.

Expense Example [Heading]

rr_ExpenseExampleHeading

Example:

Expense Example Narrative [Text Block]

rr_ExpenseExampleNarrativeTextBlock

 This Example is intended to help you compare the cost of investing in the Portfolio with the cost of investing in other mutual funds.

Expense Example by, Year, Caption [Text]

rr_ExpenseExampleByYearCaption

The Example assumes that you invest $10,000 in the Portfolio for the time periods indicated and then redeem all of your shares at the end of those periods. You would pay the same expenses if you did not redeem your shares. However, each insurance contract and separate account involves fees and expenses that are not included in the Example. If these fees and expenses were included in the Example, your overall expenses would be higher. The Example also assumes that your investment has a 5% return each year and that the Portfolio's operating expenses remain the same. Although your actual costs may be higher or lower, based upon these assumptions your costs would be:

Strategy [Heading]

rr_StrategyHeading

Principal Investment Strategies:

Strategy Narrative [Text Block]

rr_StrategyNarrativeTextBlock

 The Portfolio is a fund-of-funds that invests, under normal market conditions, at least 80% of its assets in exchange-traded funds ("ETFs").  The Portfolio also employs exchange-traded futures contracts to hedge market risk and reduce return volatility.  Each ETF included in the Portfolio invests primarily in securities representing the following asset class:

• U.S. Government Fixed Income Securities

• U.S. Corporate Fixed Income Securities

• U.S. Common and Preferred Stocks

• Foreign Common and Preferred Stocks

• U.S. Real Estate-Related Securities ("REITS")

• U.S. Natural Resource-Related Securities

The Portfolio restricts investment in fixed income ETFs to those with an average maturity of 20 years or less and invests primarily in ETFs with average portfolio credit quality of investment grade.  No more than 15% of the portfolio will be allocated to fixed income ETFs with an average portfolio credit quality below investment grade (commonly referred to as "junk bond" credit quality).  The Portfolio defines investment grade credit quality as Baa3 or higher by Moody's Investors Service or BBB- or higher by Standard and Poor's Rating Group.  The Portfolio invests in common and preferred stock ETFs without restriction as to underlying issuer country, capitalization or currency.  The Portfolio invests in REIT ETFs and Natural Resource ETFs without restriction as to underlying issuer capitalization.  

The Portfolio's adviser seeks to achieve the Portfolio's investment objectives by allocating assets and selecting individual ETFs using the adviser's TOPS^TM (The Optimized Portfolio System) methodology.  The TOPS^TM methodology utilizes multiple asset classes in an effort to enhance performance and/or reduce risk (as measured by return volatility).  Under normal market conditions, the Portfolio invests at least 25% of its assets in equity ETFs and at least 25% of its assets in fixed income ETFs.  However, to achieve the Portfolio's income aspect of the Portfolio's investment objectives, the adviser allocates approximately 50% of Portfolio assets to fixed income ETFs.  To achieve the capital appreciation aspect of the Portfolio's investment objectives, the adviser allocates approximately 50% of Portfolio assets to a combination of equity ETFs, REIT ETFs and natural resource ETFs.  Furthermore, the adviser selects some equity ETFs that are composed of value stocks. The adviser expects value stocks, those with a better than average price-to-earnings ratio, to have returns that are less volatile than the equity market as a whole.

The adviser selects individual ETFs that it believes are representative of an asset class, have relatively low expenses and/or relatively high returns when compared to a peer group of ETFs.  The adviser sells individual ETFs to rebalance asset allocation or to purchase a substitute ETF with a higher expected return or lower risk profile.

The Portfolio's adviser seeks to reduce return volatility by employing a sub-adviser to execute a portfolio "protection" strategy.  The sub-adviser’s protection strategy consists of using hedge instruments (short positions in exchange-traded futures contracts) to protect the majority of the Portfolio's securities.  The sub-adviser selects individual futures contracts that it believes will have prices that are highly correlated (negatively) to the Portfolio's ETF positions.  The sub-adviser adjusts short futures positions to manage overall net Portfolio risk exposure.  During periods of rising security prices, the amount of futures contracts will ratchet upwards to preserve gains on the Portfolio's ETF positions.  During a market decline, the value of the Portfolio's ETF securities will decrease while the futures contracts will increase in value.  Following declines, a downside rebalancing strategy will be used to decrease the amount of futures contracts used to protect the Portfolio.  The sub-adviser also adjusts short futures positions to realign individual hedges when the adviser rebalances the Portfolio's asset allocation profile.  Depending on market conditions, scenarios may occur where the portfolio has no long or short position in any futures contracts.

The Portfolio and the adviser have requested, or intend to request, that the Securities and Exchange Commission grant an order that allows the adviser to hire a new sub-adviser or sub-advisers without shareholder approval.  Until that order is granted, shareholder approval is required if the adviser hires a new sub-adviser or sub-advisers.  However, there is no guarantee that such an order will be issued.

Strategy Portfolio Concentration [Text]

rr_StrategyPortfolioConcentration

Under normal market conditions, the Portfolio invests at least 25% of its assets in equity ETFs and at least 25% of its assets in fixed income ETFs. However, to achieve the Portfolio's income aspect of the Portfolio's investment objectives, the adviser allocates approximately 50% of Portfolio assets to fixed income ETFs. To achieve the capital appreciation aspect of the Portfolio's investment objectives, the adviser allocates approximately 50% of Portfolio assets to a combination of equity ETFs, REIT ETFs and natural resource ETFs.

Risk [Heading]

rr_RiskHeading

Principal Investment Risks:

Risk Narrative [Text Block]

rr_RiskNarrativeTextBlock

As with all mutual funds, there is the risk that you could lose money through your investment in the Portfolio.  Many factors affect the Portfolio's net asset value and performance.

The following risks apply to the Portfolio through its investments in ETFs and futures.

• Credit Risk: Issuers might not make payments on debt securities, resulting in losses.  Credit quality of securities may be lowered if an issuer's financial condition changes, also resulting in losses.  

• Emerging Market Risk: In addition to the risks generally associated with investing in securities of foreign companies, countries with emerging markets also may have relatively unstable governments, social and legal systems that do not protect shareholders, economies based on only a few industries, and securities markets that trade a small number of issues.  

• ETF Risk:  The cost of investing in the Portfolio will be higher than the cost of investing directly in ETFs and may be higher than other mutual funds that invest directly in stocks and bonds.  Each ETF is subject to specific risks, depending on the nature of the fund.

• Fixed Income Risk: The value of bonds and other fixed income securities will fluctuate with changes in interest rates.  Typically, a rise in interest rates causes a decline in the value of fixed income securities.

• Foreign Currency Risk:  Foreign equity securities denominated in non-US dollar currencies will subject the Portfolio to currency trading risks that include market risk and country risk.  Market risk results from adverse changes in exchange rates.  Country risk arises because a government may interfere with transactions in its currency.

• Foreign Investment Risk:  Foreign investing involves risks not typically associated with U.S. investments, including adverse fluctuations in foreign currency values, adverse political, social and economic developments, less liquidity, greater volatility, less developed or less efficient trading markets, political instability and differing auditing and legal standards.  

• Futures Risk:  Futures contract short positions may not provide an effective hedge because changes in futures contract prices may not track those of the ETFs they are intended to hedge.  Futures create leverage, which can magnify the Portfolio's potential for gain or loss and, therefore, amplify the effects of market volatility on the Portfolio's share price.

• Junk Bond Risk:  Lower-quality bonds, known as "high yield" or "junk" bonds, present greater risk than bonds of higher quality, including an increased risk of default.  An economic downturn or period of rising interest rates could adversely affect the market for these bonds and reduce the Portfolio's ability to sell its bonds.  The lack of a liquid market for these bonds could decrease the Portfolio's share price.

• Limited History of Operation:  The Portfolio is a relatively new mutual fund and has a limited history of operation.  The adviser and sub-adviser have not previously managed a mutual fund.

• Management Risk:  The adviser's dependence on the TOPS^TM methodology and judgments about the attractiveness, value and potential appreciation of particular asset classes, securities and futures in which the Portfolio invests may prove to be incorrect and may not produce the desired results.  The sub-adviser's portfolio protection strategy may not effectively protect the Portfolio from market declines and will limit the Portfolio's participation in market gains.

• Market Risk:  Overall securities market risks may affect the value of futures and individual ETFs.  Factors such as foreign and domestic economic growth and market conditions, interest rate levels, and political events may adversely affect the securities and futures markets.

• Natural Resource Risk:  Exposure to companies primarily engaged in the natural resource markets may subject the Portfolio to greater volatility than the securities market as a whole.  Natural resource companies are affected by commodity price volatility, changes in interest rates, or factors affecting a particular industry or commodity, such as drought, floods, weather, livestock disease, embargoes, tariffs, and international economic, political and regulatory developments.

• Real Estate Risk:  Real estate values rise and fall in response to a variety of factors, including local, regional and national economic conditions, interest rates and tax considerations.  REIT performance depends on the types and locations of the rental properties it owns and on how well it manages those properties.

• Small and Medium Capitalization Stock Risk:  The value of a small or medium capitalization company stocks may be subject to more abrupt or erratic market movements than those of larger, more established companies or the market averages in general.

Who Should Invest in the Portfolio?

The adviser believes the Portfolio is appropriate for investors with intermediate-term to long-term investment horizons who seek to balance out a desire for investment returns with a desire for lower levels of risk than typically found in funds with medium-to-aggressive asset allocation.

Risk Lose Money [Text]

rr_RiskLoseMoney

As with all mutual funds, there is the risk that you could lose money through your investment in the Portfolio.

Bar Chart and Performance Table [Heading]

rr_BarChartAndPerformanceTableHeading

Performance:

Performance Narrative [Text Block]

rr_PerformanceNarrativeTextBlock

Because the Portfolio has less than a full calendar year of investment operations, no performance information is presented for the Portfolio at this time.  In the future, performance information will be presented in this section of this Prospectus.  

Performance One Year or Less [Text]

rr_PerformanceOneYearOrLess

Because the Portfolio has less than a full calendar year of investment operations, no performance information is presented for the Portfolio at this time.

TOPS TM Protected Balanced ETF Portfolio | TOPS TM Protected Balanced ETF Portfolio Class 3

Risk/Return:

rr_RiskReturnAbstract

Management Fees

rr_ManagementFeesOverAssets

0.30%

Distribution and Service (12b-1) Fees

rr_DistributionAndService12b1FeesOverAssets

0.35%

Other Expenses

rr_OtherExpensesOverAssets

0.10%

^[1]

Acquired Fund Fees and Expenses

rr_AcquiredFundFeesAndExpensesOverAssets

0.27%

Total Annual Portfolio Operating Expenses(3)

rr_ExpensesOverAssets

1.02%

^[2]

Expense Example, with Redemption, 1 Year

rr_ExpenseExampleYear01

104

Expense Example, with Redemption, 3 Years

rr_ExpenseExampleYear03

325

Expense Example, with Redemption, 5 Years

rr_ExpenseExampleYear05

563

Expense Example, with Redemption, 10 Years

rr_ExpenseExampleYear10

1,248

Expense Example, No Redemption, 1 Year

rr_ExpenseExampleNoRedemptionYear01

104

Expense Example, No Redemption, 3 Years

rr_ExpenseExampleNoRedemptionYear03

325

Expense Example, No Redemption, 5 Years

rr_ExpenseExampleNoRedemptionYear05

563

Expense Example, No Redemption, 10 Years

rr_ExpenseExampleNoRedemptionYear10

1,248

TOPS TM Protected Balanced ETF Portfolio | TOPS TM Protected Balanced ETF Portfolio Class 4

Risk/Return:

rr_RiskReturnAbstract

Management Fees

rr_ManagementFeesOverAssets

0.30%

Distribution and Service (12b-1) Fees

rr_DistributionAndService12b1FeesOverAssets

0.60%

Other Expenses

rr_OtherExpensesOverAssets

0.10%

^[1]

Acquired Fund Fees and Expenses

rr_AcquiredFundFeesAndExpensesOverAssets

0.27%

Total Annual Portfolio Operating Expenses(3)

rr_ExpensesOverAssets

1.27%

^[2]

Expense Example, with Redemption, 1 Year

rr_ExpenseExampleYear01

129

Expense Example, with Redemption, 3 Years

rr_ExpenseExampleYear03

403

Expense Example, with Redemption, 5 Years

rr_ExpenseExampleYear05

697

Expense Example, with Redemption, 10 Years

rr_ExpenseExampleYear10

1,534

Expense Example, No Redemption, 1 Year

rr_ExpenseExampleNoRedemptionYear01

129

Expense Example, No Redemption, 3 Years

rr_ExpenseExampleNoRedemptionYear03

403

Expense Example, No Redemption, 5 Years

rr_ExpenseExampleNoRedemptionYear05

697

Expense Example, No Redemption, 10 Years

rr_ExpenseExampleNoRedemptionYear10

1,534

TOPS TM Protected Moderate Growth ETF Portfolio

Risk/Return:

rr_RiskReturnAbstract

Risk/Return [Heading]

rr_RiskReturnHeading

RISK/RETURN

Objective [Heading]

rr_ObjectiveHeading

Investment Objectives:

Objective, Primary [Text Block]

rr_ObjectivePrimaryTextBlock

The Portfolio seeks capital appreciation with less volatility than the equity markets as a whole.

Expense [Heading]

rr_ExpenseHeading

Fees and Expenses of the Portfolio:

Expense Narrative [Text Block]

rr_ExpenseNarrativeTextBlock

This table describes the annual operating expenses that you may indirectly pay if you invest in the Portfolio through your retirement plan or if you allocate your insurance contract premiums or payments to the Portfolio.  However, each insurance contract and separate account involves fees and expenses that are not described in this Prospectus.  If the fees and expenses of your insurance contract or separate account were included in this table, your overall expenses would be higher.  You should review the insurance contract prospectus for a complete description of fees and expenses.  In the table below, Acquired Fund Fees and Expenses are the indirect costs of investing in other investment companies.

Operating Expenses Caption [Text]

rr_OperatingExpensesCaption

Annual Portfolio Operating Expenses (expenses that you pay each year as a percentage of the value of your investment)

Portfolio Turnover [Heading]

rr_PortfolioTurnoverHeading

Portfolio Turnover:

Portfolio Turnover [Text Block]

rr_PortfolioTurnoverTextBlock

 The Portfolio pays transaction costs, such as commissions, when it buys and sells securities (or "turns over" its portfolio).  These costs, which are not reflected in annual portfolio operating expenses or in the Example, affect the Portfolio's performance.  A higher portfolio turnover rate may indicate higher transaction costs.  During the most recent fiscal period, the Portfolio's portfolio turnover rate was 7% of the average value of its portfolio.

Portfolio Turnover, Rate

rr_PortfolioTurnoverRate

7.00%

Expenses Not Correlated to Ratio Due to Acquired Fund Fees [Text]

rr_ExpensesNotCorrelatedToRatioDueToAcquiredFundFees

The operating expenses in this fee table will not correlate to the expense ratio in the Portfolio's financial highlights because the financial statements include only the direct operating expenses incurred by the Portfolio.

Expense Example [Heading]

rr_ExpenseExampleHeading

Example:

Expense Example Narrative [Text Block]

rr_ExpenseExampleNarrativeTextBlock

 This Example is intended to help you compare the cost of investing in the Portfolio with the cost of investing in other mutual funds.  

Expense Example by, Year, Caption [Text]

rr_ExpenseExampleByYearCaption

The Example assumes that you invest $10,000 in the Portfolio for the time periods indicated and then redeem all of your shares at the end of those periods. You would pay the same expenses if you did not redeem your shares. However, each insurance contract and separate account involves fees and expenses that are not included in the Example. If these fees and expenses were included in the Example, your overall expenses would be higher. The Example also assumes that your investment has a 5% return each year and that the Portfolio's operating expenses remain the same. Although your actual costs may be higher or lower, based upon these assumptions your costs would be:

Strategy [Heading]

rr_StrategyHeading

Principal Investment Strategies:

Strategy Narrative [Text Block]

rr_StrategyNarrativeTextBlock

 The Portfolio is a fund-of-funds that invests, under normal market conditions, at least 80% of its assets in exchange-traded funds ("ETFs").  The Portfolio also employs exchange-traded futures contracts to hedge market risk and reduce return volatility.  Each ETF included in the Portfolio invests primarily in securities representing the following asset class:

• U.S. Government Fixed Income Securities

• U.S. Corporate Fixed Income Securities

• U.S. Common and Preferred Stocks

• Foreign Common and Preferred Stocks

• U.S. Real Estate-Related Securities ("REITS")

• U.S. Natural Resource-Related Securities

The Portfolio restricts investment in fixed income ETFs to those with an average maturity of 20 years or less and invests primarily in ETFs with average portfolio credit quality of investment grade.  No more than 15% of the portfolio will be allocated to fixed income ETFs with an average portfolio credit quality below investment grade (commonly referred to as "junk bond" credit quality).  The Portfolio defines investment grade credit quality as Baa3 or higher by Moody's Investors Service or BBB- or higher by Standard and Poor's Rating Group.  The Portfolio invests in common and preferred stock ETFs without restriction as to underlying issuer country, capitalization or currency.  The Portfolio invests in REIT ETFs and natural resource ETFs without restriction as to underlying issuer capitalization.

The Portfolio's adviser seeks to achieve the Portfolio's investment objectives by allocating assets and selecting individual ETFs using the adviser's TOPS^TM (The Optimized Portfolio System) methodology.  The TOPS^TM methodology utilizes multiple asset classes in an effort to enhance performance and/or reduce risk (as measured by return volatility).  To achieve the Portfolio's income aspect of the Portfolio's investment objectives, the adviser allocates approximately 35% of Portfolio assets to fixed income ETFs.  To achieve the capital appreciation aspect of the Portfolio's investment objectives, the adviser allocates approximately 65% of Portfolio assets to a combination of equity ETFs, REIT ETFs and natural resource ETFs.  

The adviser selects individual ETFs that it believes are representative of an asset class, have relatively low expenses and/or relatively high returns when compared to a peer group of ETFs.  The adviser sells individual ETFs to rebalance asset allocation or to purchase a substitute ETF with a higher expected return or lower risk profile.

The Portfolio's adviser seeks to reduce return volatility by employing a sub-adviser to execute a portfolio "protection" strategy.  The sub-adviser’s protection strategy consists of using hedge instruments (short positions in exchange-traded futures contracts) to protect the majority of the Portfolio's securities.  The sub-adviser selects individual futures contracts that it believes will have prices that are highly correlated (negatively) to the Portfolio's ETF positions.  The sub-adviser adjusts short futures positions to manage overall net Portfolio risk exposure.  During periods of rising security prices, the amount of futures contracts will ratchet upwards to preserve gains on the Portfolio's ETF positions.  During a market decline, the value of the Portfolio's ETF securities will decrease while the futures contracts will increase in value.  Following declines, a downside rebalancing strategy will be used to decrease the amount of futures contracts used to protect the Portfolio.  The sub-adviser also adjusts short futures positions to realign individual hedges when the adviser rebalances the Portfolio's asset allocation profile.  Depending on market conditions, scenarios may occur where the portfolio has no long or short position in any futures contracts.

The Portfolio and the adviser have requested, or intend to request, that the Securities and Exchange Commission grant an order that allows the adviser to hire a new sub-adviser or sub-advisers without shareholder approval.  Until that order is granted, shareholder approval is required if the adviser hires a new sub-adviser or sub-advisers.  However, there is no guarantee that such an order will be issued.

Strategy Portfolio Concentration [Text]

rr_StrategyPortfolioConcentration

To achieve the Portfolio's income aspect of the Portfolio's investment objectives, the adviser allocates approximately 35% of Portfolio assets to fixed income ETFs. To achieve the capital appreciation aspect of the Portfolio's investment objectives, the adviser allocates approximately 65% of Portfolio assets to a combination of equity ETFs, REIT ETFs and natural resource ETFs.

Risk [Heading]

rr_RiskHeading

Principal Investment Risks:

Risk Narrative [Text Block]

rr_RiskNarrativeTextBlock

As with all mutual funds, there is the risk that you could lose money through your investment in the Portfolio.  Many factors affect the Portfolio's net asset value and performance.

The following risks apply to the Portfolio through its investments in ETFs and futures.

• Credit Risk: Issuers might not make payments on debt securities, resulting in losses.  Credit quality of securities may be lowered if an issuer's financial condition changes, also resulting in losses.  

• Emerging Market Risk: In addition to the risks generally associated with investing in securities of foreign companies, countries with emerging markets also may have relatively unstable governments, social and legal systems that do not protect shareholders, economies based on only a few industries, and securities markets that trade a small number of issues.  

• ETF Risk:  The cost of investing in the Portfolio will be higher than the cost of investing directly in ETFs and may be higher than other mutual funds that invest directly in stocks and bonds.  Each ETF is subject to specific risks, depending on the nature of the fund.

• Fixed Income Risk: The value of bonds and other fixed income securities will fluctuate with changes in interest rates.  Typically, a rise in interest rates causes a decline in the value of fixed income securities.

• Foreign Currency Risk:  Foreign equity securities denominated in non-US dollar currencies will subject the Portfolio to currency trading risks that include market risk and country risk.  Market risk results from adverse changes in exchange rates.  Country risk arises because a government may interfere with transactions in its currency.

• Foreign Investment Risk:  Foreign investing involves risks not typically associated with U.S. investments, including adverse fluctuations in foreign currency values, adverse political, social and economic developments, less liquidity, greater volatility, less developed or less efficient trading markets, political instability and differing auditing and legal standards.

• Futures Risk:  Futures contract short positions may not provide an effective hedge because changes in futures contract prices may not track those of the ETFs they are intended to hedge.  Futures create leverage, which can magnify the Portfolio's potential for gain or loss and, therefore, amplify the effects of market volatility on the Portfolio's share price.  

• Junk Bond Risk:  Lower-quality bonds, known as "high yield" or "junk" bonds, present greater risk than bonds of higher quality, including an increased risk of default.  An economic downturn or period of rising interest rates could adversely affect the market for these bonds and reduce the Portfolio's ability to sell its bonds. The lack of a liquid market for these bonds could decrease the Portfolio's share price.

• Limited History of Operation:  The Portfolio is a relatively new mutual fund and has a limited history of operation.  The adviser and sub-adviser have not previously managed a mutual fund.

• Management Risk:  The adviser's dependence on the TOPS^TM methodology and judgments about the attractiveness, value and potential appreciation of particular asset classes, securities and futures in which the Portfolio invests may prove to be incorrect and may not produce the desired results.  The sub-adviser's portfolio protection strategy may not effectively protect the Portfolio from market declines and will limit the Portfolio's participation in market gains.

• Market Risk: Overall securities market risks may affect the value of futures and individual ETFs.  Factors such as foreign and domestic economic growth and market conditions, interest rate levels, and political events may adversely affect the securities and futures markets.

• Natural Resource Risk: Exposure to companies primarily engaged in the natural resource markets may subject the Portfolio to greater volatility than the securities market as a whole.  Natural resource companies are affected by commodity price volatility, changes in interest rates, or factors affecting a particular industry or commodity, such as drought, floods, weather, livestock disease, embargoes, tariffs, and international economic, political and regulatory developments.

• Real Estate Risk:  Real estate values rise and fall in response to a variety of factors, including local, regional and national economic conditions, interest rates and tax considerations.  REIT performance depends on the types and locations of the rental properties it owns and on how well it manages those properties.

• Small and Medium Capitalization Stock Risk:  The value of a small or medium capitalization company stocks may be subject to more abrupt or erratic market movements than those of larger, more established companies or the market averages in general.

Who Should Invest in the Portfolio?

The adviser believes the Portfolio is appropriate for investors with long-term investment horizons who are willing to accept lower-to-moderate return volatility in pursuit of higher returns than are typically found in funds with more conservative asset allocation.

Risk Lose Money [Text]

rr_RiskLoseMoney

As with all mutual funds, there is the risk that you could lose money through your investment in the Portfolio.

Bar Chart and Performance Table [Heading]

rr_BarChartAndPerformanceTableHeading

Performance:

Performance Narrative [Text Block]

rr_PerformanceNarrativeTextBlock

Because the Portfolio has less than a full calendar year of investment operations, no performance information is presented for the Portfolio at this time.  In the future, performance information will be presented in this section of this Prospectus.  

Performance One Year or Less [Text]

rr_PerformanceOneYearOrLess

Because the Portfolio has less than a full calendar year of investment operations, no performance information is presented for the Portfolio at this time.

TOPS TM Protected Moderate Growth ETF Portfolio | TOPS TM Protected Moderate Growth ETF Portfolio Class 3 shares

Risk/Return:

rr_RiskReturnAbstract

Management Fees

rr_ManagementFeesOverAssets

0.30%

Distribution and Service (12b-1) Fees

rr_DistributionAndService12b1FeesOverAssets

0.35%

Other Expenses

rr_OtherExpensesOverAssets

0.10%

^[1]

Acquired Fund Fees and Expenses

rr_AcquiredFundFeesAndExpensesOverAssets

0.25%

Total Annual Portfolio Operating Expenses(3)

rr_ExpensesOverAssets

1.00%

^[2]

Expense Example, with Redemption, 1 Year

rr_ExpenseExampleYear01

102

Expense Example, with Redemption, 3 Years

rr_ExpenseExampleYear03

318

Expense Example, with Redemption, 5 Years

rr_ExpenseExampleYear05

552

Expense Example, with Redemption, 10 Years

rr_ExpenseExampleYear10

1,225

Expense Example, No Redemption, 1 Year

rr_ExpenseExampleNoRedemptionYear01

102

Expense Example, No Redemption, 3 Years

rr_ExpenseExampleNoRedemptionYear03

318

Expense Example, No Redemption, 5 Years

rr_ExpenseExampleNoRedemptionYear05

552

Expense Example, No Redemption, 10 Years

rr_ExpenseExampleNoRedemptionYear10

1,225

TOPS TM Protected Moderate Growth ETF Portfolio | TOPS TM Protected Moderate Growth ETF Portfolio Class 4 shares

Risk/Return:

rr_RiskReturnAbstract

Management Fees

rr_ManagementFeesOverAssets

0.30%

Distribution and Service (12b-1) Fees

rr_DistributionAndService12b1FeesOverAssets

0.60%

Other Expenses

rr_OtherExpensesOverAssets

0.10%

^[1]

Acquired Fund Fees and Expenses

rr_AcquiredFundFeesAndExpensesOverAssets

0.25%

Total Annual Portfolio Operating Expenses(3)

rr_ExpensesOverAssets

1.25%

^[2]

Expense Example, with Redemption, 1 Year

rr_ExpenseExampleYear01

127

Expense Example, with Redemption, 3 Years

rr_ExpenseExampleYear03

397

Expense Example, with Redemption, 5 Years

rr_ExpenseExampleYear05

686

Expense Example, with Redemption, 10 Years

rr_ExpenseExampleYear10

1,511

Expense Example, No Redemption, 1 Year

rr_ExpenseExampleNoRedemptionYear01

127

Expense Example, No Redemption, 3 Years

rr_ExpenseExampleNoRedemptionYear03

397

Expense Example, No Redemption, 5 Years

rr_ExpenseExampleNoRedemptionYear05

686

Expense Example, No Redemption, 10 Years

rr_ExpenseExampleNoRedemptionYear10

1,511

TOPS TM Protected Growth ETF Portfolio

Risk/Return:

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Risk/Return [Heading]

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RISK/RETURN

Objective [Heading]

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Investment Objectives:

Objective, Primary [Text Block]

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The Portfolio seeks capital appreciation with less volatility than the equity markets as a whole.

Expense [Heading]

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Fees and Expenses of the Portfolio:

Expense Narrative [Text Block]

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This table describes the annual operating expenses that you may indirectly pay if you invest in the Portfolio through your retirement plan or if you allocate your insurance contract premiums or payments to the Portfolio.  However, each insurance contract and separate account involves fees and expenses that are not described in this Prospectus.  If the fees and expenses of your insurance contract or separate account were included in this table, your overall expenses would be higher.  You should review the insurance contract prospectus for a complete description of fees and expenses.  In the table below, Acquired Fund Fees and Expenses are the indirect costs of investing in other investment companies.

Operating Expenses Caption [Text]

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Annual Portfolio Operating Expenses (expenses that you pay each year as a percentage of the value of your investment)

Portfolio Turnover [Heading]

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Portfolio Turnover:

Portfolio Turnover [Text Block]

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 The Portfolio pays transaction costs, such as commissions, when it buys and sells securities (or "turns over" its portfolio).  These costs, which are not reflected in annual portfolio operating expenses or in the Example, affect the Portfolio's performance.  A higher portfolio turnover rate may indicate higher transaction costs. During the most recent fiscal period, the Portfolio's portfolio turnover rate was 28% of the average value of its portfolio.

Portfolio Turnover, Rate

rr_PortfolioTurnoverRate

28.00%

Expenses Not Correlated to Ratio Due to Acquired Fund Fees [Text]

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The operating expenses in this fee table will not correlate to the expense ratio in the Portfolio's financial highlights because the financial statements include only the direct operating expenses incurred by the Portfolio.

Expense Example [Heading]

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Example:

Expense Example Narrative [Text Block]

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 This Example is intended to help you compare the cost of investing in the Portfolio with the cost of investing in other mutual funds.  

Expense Example by, Year, Caption [Text]

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The Example assumes that you invest $10,000 in the Portfolio for the time periods indicated and then redeem all of your shares at the end of those periods. You would pay the same expenses if you did not redeem your shares. However, each insurance contract and separate account involves fees and expenses that are not included in the Example. If these fees and expenses were included in the Example, your overall expenses would be higher. The Example also assumes that your investment has a 5% return each year and that the Portfolio's operating expenses remain the same. Although your actual costs may be higher or lower, based upon these assumptions your costs would be:

Strategy [Heading]

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Principal Investment Strategies:

Strategy Narrative [Text Block]

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 The Portfolio is a fund-of-funds that invests, under normal market conditions, at least 80% of its assets in exchange-traded funds ("ETFs").  The Portfolio also employs exchange-traded futures contracts to hedge market risk and reduce return volatility.  Each ETF included in the Portfolio invests primarily in securities representing the following asset class:

• U.S. Government Fixed Income Securities

• U.S. Corporate Fixed Income Securities

• U.S. Common and Preferred Stocks

• Foreign Common and Preferred Stocks

• U.S. Real Estate-Related Securities ("REITS")

• U.S. Natural Resource-Related Securities

The Portfolio restricts investment in fixed income ETFs to those with an average maturity of 20 years or less and invests primarily in ETFs with average portfolio credit quality of investment grade.  No more than 15% of the portfolio will be allocated to fixed income ETFs with an average portfolio credit quality below investment grade (commonly referred to as "junk bond" credit quality).  The Portfolio defines investment grade credit quality as Baa3 or higher by Moody's Investors Service or BBB- or higher by Standard and Poor's Rating Group.  The Portfolio invests in common and preferred stock ETFs without restriction as to underlying issuer country, capitalization or currency.  The Portfolio invests in REIT ETFs and natural resource ETFs without restriction as to underlying issuer capitalization.

The Portfolio's adviser seeks to achieve the Portfolio's investment objectives by allocating assets and selecting individual ETFs using the adviser's TOPS^TM (The Optimized Portfolio System) methodology.  The TOPS^TM methodology utilizes multiple asset classes to enhance performance and/or reduce risk (as measured by return volatility).  To achieve the Portfolio's income aspect of the Portfolio's investment objectives, the adviser allocates approximately 15% of Portfolio assets to fixed income ETFs.  To achieve the capital appreciation aspect of the Portfolio's investment objectives, the adviser allocates approximately 85% of Portfolio assets to a combination of equity ETFs, REIT ETFs and natural resource ETFs.  Furthermore, the adviser selects some equity ETFs that are composed of growth stocks.  The adviser expects growth stocks, those with higher than average earnings growth and, typically, higher than average price-to-earnings ratios (P/E), to have returns that are higher than the equity market as a whole.

The adviser selects individual ETFs that it believes are representative of an asset class, have relatively low expenses and/or relatively high returns when compared to a peer group of ETFs.  The adviser sells individual ETFs to rebalance asset allocation or to purchase a substitute ETF with a higher expected return or lower risk profile.

The Portfolio's adviser seeks to reduce return volatility by employing a sub-adviser to execute a portfolio "protection" strategy.  The sub-adviser’s protection strategy consists of using hedge instruments (short positions in exchange-traded futures contracts) to protect the majority of the Portfolio's securities.  The sub-adviser selects individual futures contracts that it believes will have prices that are highly correlated (negatively) to the Portfolio's ETF positions.  The sub-adviser adjusts short futures positions to manage overall net Portfolio risk exposure.  During periods of rising security prices, the amount of futures contracts will ratchet upwards to preserve gains on the Portfolio's ETF positions.  During a market decline, the value of the Portfolio's ETF securities will decrease while the futures contracts will increase in value.  Following declines, a downside rebalancing strategy will be used to decrease the amount of futures contracts used to protect the Portfolio.  The sub-adviser also adjusts short futures positions to realign individual hedges when the adviser rebalances the Portfolio's asset allocation profile.  Depending on market conditions, scenarios may occur where the portfolio has no long or short position in any futures contracts.

The Portfolio and the adviser have requested, or intend to request, that the Securities and Exchange Commission grant an order that allows the adviser to hire a new sub-adviser or sub-advisers without shareholder approval.  Until that order is granted, shareholder approval is required if the adviser hires a new sub-adviser or sub-advisers.  However, there is no guarantee that such an order will be issued.

Strategy Portfolio Concentration [Text]

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To achieve the Portfolio's income aspect of the Portfolio's investment objectives, the adviser allocates approximately 15% of Portfolio assets to fixed income ETFs. To achieve the capital appreciation aspect of the Portfolio's investment objectives, the adviser allocates approximately 85% of Portfolio assets to a combination of equity ETFs, REIT ETFs and natural resource ETFs.

Risk [Heading]

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Principal Investment Risks:

Risk Narrative [Text Block]

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As with all mutual funds, there is the risk that you could lose money through your investment in the Portfolio.  Many factors affect the Portfolio's net asset value and performance.

The following risks apply to the Portfolio through its investments in ETFs and futures.

• Credit Risk: Issuers might not make payments on debt securities, resulting in losses.  Credit quality of securities may be lowered if an issuer's financial condition changes, also resulting in losses.  

• Emerging Market Risk: In addition to the risks generally associated with investing in securities of foreign companies, countries with emerging markets also may have relatively unstable governments, social and legal systems that do not protect shareholders, economies based on only a few industries, and securities markets that trade a small number of issues.  

• ETF Risk:  The cost of investing in the Portfolio will be higher than the cost of investing directly in ETFs and may be higher than other mutual funds that invest directly in stocks and bonds.  Each ETF is subject to specific risks, depending on the nature of the fund.

• Fixed Income Risk: The value of bonds and other fixed income securities will fluctuate with changes in interest rates.  Typically, a rise in interest rates causes a decline in the value of fixed income securities.

• Foreign Currency Risk:  Foreign equity securities denominated in non-US dollar currencies will subject the Portfolio to currency trading risks that include market risk and country risk.  Market risk results from adverse changes in exchange rates.  Country risk arises because a government may interfere with transactions in its currency.

• Foreign Investment Risk:  Foreign investing involves risks not typically associated with U.S. investments, including adverse fluctuations in foreign currency values, adverse political, social and economic developments, less liquidity, greater volatility, less developed or less efficient trading markets, political instability and differing auditing and legal standards.

• Futures Risk:  Futures contract short positions may not provide an effective hedge because changes in futures contract prices may not track those of the ETFs they are intended to hedge.  Futures create leverage, which can magnify the Portfolio's potential for gain or loss and, therefore, amplify the effects of market volatility on the Portfolio's share price.  

• Junk Bond Risk:  Lower-quality bonds, known as "high yield" or "junk" bonds, present greater risk than bonds of higher quality, including an increased risk of default.  An economic downturn or period of rising interest rates could adversely affect the market for these bonds and reduce the Portfolio's ability to sell its bonds. The lack of a liquid market for these bonds could decrease the Portfolio's share price.

• Limited History of Operation:  The Portfolio is a relatively new mutual fund and has a limited history of operation.  The adviser and sub-adviser have not previously managed a mutual fund.

• Management Risk:  The adviser's dependence on the TOPS^TM methodology and judgments about the attractiveness, value and potential appreciation of particular asset classes, securities and futures in which the Portfolio invests may prove to be incorrect and may not produce the desired results.  The sub-adviser's portfolio protection strategy may not effectively protect the Portfolio from market declines and will limit the Portfolio's participation in market gains.

• Market Risk: Overall securities market risks may affect the value of futures and individual ETFs.  Factors such as foreign and domestic economic growth and market conditions, interest rate levels, and political events may adversely affect the securities and futures markets.

• Natural Resource Risk: Exposure to companies primarily engaged in the natural resource markets may subject the Portfolio to greater volatility than the securities market as a whole.  Natural resource companies are affected by commodity price volatility, changes in interest rates, or factors affecting a particular industry or commodity, such as drought, floods, weather, livestock disease, embargoes, tariffs, and international economic, political and regulatory developments.

• Real Estate Risk:  Real estate values rise and fall in response to a variety of factors, including local, regional and national economic conditions, interest rates and tax considerations.  REIT performance depends on the types and locations of the rental properties it owns and on how well it manages those properties.

• Small and Medium Capitalization Stock Risk:  The value of a small or medium capitalization company stocks may be subject to more abrupt or erratic market movements than those of larger, more established companies or the market averages in general.

Who Should Invest in the Portfolio?

The adviser believes the Portfolio is appropriate for investors with long-term investment horizons who are willing to accept moderate return volatility in pursuit of higher returns.

Risk Lose Money [Text]

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As with all mutual funds, there is the risk that you could lose money through your investment in the Portfolio.

Bar Chart and Performance Table [Heading]

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Performance:

Performance Narrative [Text Block]

rr_PerformanceNarrativeTextBlock

Because the Portfolio has less than a full calendar year of investment operations, no performance information is presented for the Portfolio at this time.  In the future, performance information will be presented in this section of this Prospectus.  

Performance One Year or Less [Text]

rr_PerformanceOneYearOrLess

Because the Portfolio has less than a full calendar year of investment operations, no performance information is presented for the Portfolio at this time.

TOPS TM Protected Growth ETF Portfolio | TOPS TM Protected Growth ETF Portfolio Class 3

Risk/Return:

rr_RiskReturnAbstract

Management Fees

rr_ManagementFeesOverAssets

0.30%

Distribution and Service (12b-1) Fees

rr_DistributionAndService12b1FeesOverAssets

0.35%

Other Expenses

rr_OtherExpensesOverAssets

0.10%

^[1]

Acquired Fund Fees and Expenses

rr_AcquiredFundFeesAndExpensesOverAssets

0.27%

Total Annual Portfolio Operating Expenses(3)

rr_ExpensesOverAssets

1.02%

^[2]

Expense Example, with Redemption, 1 Year

rr_ExpenseExampleYear01

104

Expense Example, with Redemption, 3 Years

rr_ExpenseExampleYear03

325

Expense Example, with Redemption, 5 Years

rr_ExpenseExampleYear05

563

Expense Example, with Redemption, 10 Years

rr_ExpenseExampleYear10

1,248

Expense Example, No Redemption, 1 Year

rr_ExpenseExampleNoRedemptionYear01

104

Expense Example, No Redemption, 3 Years

rr_ExpenseExampleNoRedemptionYear03

325

Expense Example, No Redemption, 5 Years

rr_ExpenseExampleNoRedemptionYear05

563

Expense Example, No Redemption, 10 Years

rr_ExpenseExampleNoRedemptionYear10

1,248

TOPS TM Protected Growth ETF Portfolio | TOPS TM Protected Growth ETF Portfolio Class 4

Risk/Return:

rr_RiskReturnAbstract

Management Fees

rr_ManagementFeesOverAssets

0.30%

Distribution and Service (12b-1) Fees

rr_DistributionAndService12b1FeesOverAssets

0.60%

Other Expenses

rr_OtherExpensesOverAssets

0.10%

^[1]

Acquired Fund Fees and Expenses

rr_AcquiredFundFeesAndExpensesOverAssets

0.27%

Total Annual Portfolio Operating Expenses(3)

rr_ExpensesOverAssets

1.27%

^[2]

Expense Example, with Redemption, 1 Year

rr_ExpenseExampleYear01

129

Expense Example, with Redemption, 3 Years

rr_ExpenseExampleYear03

403

Expense Example, with Redemption, 5 Years

rr_ExpenseExampleYear05

697

Expense Example, with Redemption, 10 Years

rr_ExpenseExampleYear10

1,534

Expense Example, No Redemption, 1 Year

rr_ExpenseExampleNoRedemptionYear01

129

Expense Example, No Redemption, 3 Years

rr_ExpenseExampleNoRedemptionYear03

403

Expense Example, No Redemption, 5 Years

rr_ExpenseExampleNoRedemptionYear05

697

Expense Example, No Redemption, 10 Years

rr_ExpenseExampleNoRedemptionYear10

1,534

[1] Other expenses are contractually limited to 0.10%.

[2] The operating expenses in this fee table will not correlate to the expense ratio in the Portfolio's financial highlights because the financial statements include only the direct operating expenses incurred by the Portfolio.