Virtus SGA Global Growth Fund

Virtus SGA Global Growth Fund

Investment Objective

The fund has an investment objective of long-term capital appreciation.

Fees and Expenses

The tables below illustrate all fees and expenses that you may pay if you buy and hold shares of the fund. You may qualify for sales charge discounts in Class A Shares if you and your family invest, or agree to invest in the future, at least $50,000 in Virtus Funds. More information on these and other discounts is available: (i) from your financial advisor or other financial intermediary; (ii) under “Sales Charges” on page 81 of the fund’s prospectus; (iii) with respect to purchase of shares through specific intermediaries, in Appendix A to the fund’s prospectus, entitled “Intermediary Sales Charge Discounts and Waivers;” and (iv) under “Alternative Purchase Arrangements” on page 94 of the fund’s statement of additional information (“SAI”).

Shareholder Fees (fees paid directly from your investment)

Shareholder Fees - Virtus SGA Global Growth Fund	Class A	Class C		Class I	Class R6
Maximum Sales Charge (load) Imposed on Purchases (as a percentage of offering price)	5.75%	none		none	none
Maximum Deferred Sales Charge (load) (as a percentage of the lesser of purchase price or redemption proceeds)	none	1.00%	[1]	none	none

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

Annual Fund Operating Expenses - Virtus SGA Global Growth Fund		Class A	Class C	Class I	Class R6
Management Fees		0.80%	0.80%	0.80%	0.80%
Distribution and Shareholder Servicing (12b-1) Fees		0.25%	1.00%	none	none
Other Expenses	[1]	0.47%	0.47%	0.47%	0.35%
Acquired Fund Fees and Expenses	[1]	0.01%	0.01%	0.01%	0.01%
Total Annual Fund Operating Expenses	[2]	1.53%	2.28%	1.28%	1.16%
Less: Fee Waiver and/or Expense Reimbursement	[3]	(0.14%)	(0.14%)	(0.14%)	(0.17%)
Total Annual Operating Expenses After Expense Reimbursement	[2],[3]	1.39%	2.14%	1.14%	0.99%

Example

This example is intended to help you compare the cost of investing in the fund with the cost of investing in other mutual funds. The example assumes an investment of  $10,000 in the fund for the time periods indicated. It shows your costs if you sold your shares at the end of the period or continued to hold them. The example also assumes that your investment has a 5% return each year, that the fund's operating expenses remain the same and that the expense reimbursement arrangement remains in place for the contractual period. Although your actual costs may be higher or lower, based on these assumptions your costs would be:

Expense Example - Virtus SGA Global Growth Fund - USD ($)	Share Status	1 Year	3 Years	5 Years	10 Years
Class A	Sold	708	1,004	1,336	2,271
Class C	Sold	317	685	1,194	2,593
Class I	Sold	116	378	675	1,520
Class R6	Sold	101	334	605	1,378

Expense Example, No Redemption - Virtus SGA Global Growth Fund - USD ($)	Share Status	1 Year	3 Years	5 Years	10 Years
Class A	Held	708	1,004	1,336	2,271
Class C	Held	217	685	1,194	2,593
Class I	Held	116	378	675	1,520
Class R6	Held	101	334	605	1,378

Portfolio Turnover

The fund pays transaction costs, such as commissions, when it buys and sells securities (or “turns over” its portfolio). A higher portfolio turnover rate may indicate higher transaction costs and may result in higher taxes when fund shares are held in a taxable account. These costs, which are not reflected in annual fund operating expenses or in the example, affect the fund’s performance. During its most recent fiscal period, the Predecessor Fund’s portfolio turnover rate was 15% of the average value of its portfolio.

Investments, Risks and Performance Principal Investment Strategies

The fund will invest in securities of issuers located throughout the world, including the United States (“U.S.”). Under normal circumstances, the fund will invest primarily in equity securities, with at least 40% of the fund’s net assets in issuers organized, headquartered or doing a substantial amount of business outside the U.S. As of the date of this prospectus, the fund's subadviser, Sustainable Growth Advisers, LP (“SGA”), considers an issuer that has at least 50% of its assets or derives at least 50% of its revenue from business outside the U.S. as doing a substantial amount of business outside the U.S. The fund may invest up to 25% of its net assets in the securities of companies located in countries included in the MSCI Emerging Markets Index.

SGA uses an investment process to identify companies that it believes have a high degree of predictability, strong profitability and above average earnings and cash flow growth. SGA selects investments for the fund’s portfolio that it believes have superior long-term earnings prospects and attractive valuation. The fund’s equity investments may include common stocks, preferred stocks, securities convertible into or exchangeable for common stocks, and depositary receipts. The fund may invest in companies of all market capitalizations, but will generally invest in large and medium capitalization companies and convertible securities of any duration. As of the date of this prospectus, the fund’s subadviser considers large and medium sized companies to be those with market capitalizations over $25 billion and from $5 billion to $25 billion, respectively, at the time of purchase. The fund will allocate its assets among various regions and countries (but no fewer than three non-U.S. countries). From time to time, the fund may have a significant portion of its assets invested in the securities of companies in only a few countries and one or a few regions. Although the fund seeks investments across a number of sectors, from time to time, the fund may have significant positions in particular sectors.

SGA may trade foreign currency forward contracts or currency futures in an attempt to reduce the fund’s risk exposure to adverse fluctuations in currency exchange rates.

SGA will sell a portfolio holding when it believes the security’s fundamentals deteriorate, its valuation is no longer attractive, or a better investment opportunity arises.

Principal Risks

The fund may not achieve its objective(s), and it is not intended to be a complete investment program. The value of the fund's investments that supports your share value may decrease. If between the time you purchase shares and the time you sell shares the value of the fund's investments decreases, you will lose money. Investment values can decrease for a number of reasons. Conditions affecting the overall economy, specific industries or companies in which the fund invests can be worse than expected, and investments may fail to perform as the subadviser expects. As a result, the value of your shares may decrease. Purchase and redemption activities by fund shareholders may impact the management of the fund and its ability to achieve its investment objective(s). The principal risks of investing in the fund are:

>      Convertible Securities Risk.  The risk that the value of a convertible security held by the fund will decline as interest rates rise and/or vary with fluctuations in the market value of the underlying securities, or that the security will be called for redemption at a time and/or price unfavorable to the fund.

>      Counterparty Risk.  The risk that a party upon whom the fund relies to consummate a transaction will default.

>      Credit Risk.   The risk that the issuer of a security will fail to pay interest or principal in a timely manner, or that negative perceptions of the issuer's ability to make such payments will cause the price of the security to decline.

>      Currency Rate Risk.  The risk that fluctuations in the exchange rates between the U.S. dollar and foreign currencies may negatively affect the value of the fund's shares.

>      Depositary Receipts Risk.  The risk that investments in foreign companies through depositary receipts will expose the fund to the same risks as direct investments in securities of foreign issuers.

>      Derivatives Risk. The risk that the fund will incur a loss greater than the fund's investment in, or will experience greater share price volatility as a result of investing in, a derivative contract. Derivatives may include, among other things, futures, options, forwards and swap agreements and may be used in order to hedge portfolio risks, create leverage, or to attempt to increase yield.

>      Emerging Market Investing Risk.  The risk that prices of emerging markets securities will be more volatile, or will be more greatly affected by negative conditions, than those of their counterparts in more established foreign markets.

>      Equity Securities Risk.  The risk that events negatively affecting issuers, industries or financial markets in which the fund invests will impact the value of the stocks held by the fund and, thus, the value of the fund's shares over short or extended periods. Investments in a particular style or in small or medium-sized companies may enhance that risk.

>      Foreign Currency Transactions Risk. The risk that the fund's transactions with respect to foreign currency are not successful or have the effect of limiting gains from favorable market movements.

>      Foreign Investing Risk.  The risk that the prices of foreign securities in the fund's portfolio will be more volatile than those of domestic securities, or will be negatively affected by currency fluctuations, less regulated or liquid securities markets, or economic, political or other developments.

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

>      Growth Stocks Risk.  The risk that the fund's investments in growth stocks will be more volatile than investments in other types of stocks, or will perform differently from the market as a whole and from other types of stocks.

>      Large Market Capitalization Companies Risk.  The risk that the value of investments in larger companies may not rise as much as smaller companies, or that larger companies may be unable to respond quickly to competitive challenges, such as changes in technology and consumer tastes.

>      Market Volatility Risk.  The risk that the value of the securities in which the fund invests may go up or down in response to the prospects of individual issuers and/or general economic conditions. Such price changes may be temporary or may last for extended periods.

>      Medium Market Capitalization Companies Risk. The risk that the fund's investments in medium market capitalization companies will increase the volatility and risk of loss to the fund, as compared with investments in larger, more established companies.

>      Preferred Stock Risk.  The risk that a preferred stock will decline in price, fail to pay dividends when expected, or be illiquid.

>      Redemption Risk.  The risk that redemption by one or more large shareholders or groups of shareholders of their holdings in the fund has an adverse impact on the remaining shareholders in the fund by causing the fund to take actions it would not otherwise take at a given time.

>      Sector Focused Investing Risk.  The risk that events negatively affecting a particular market sector in which the fund focuses its investments will cause the value of the fund's shares to decrease, perhaps significantly.

Performance Information

Virtus SGA Global Growth Fund, a series of Virtus Equity Trust, is the successor of American Beacon SGA Global Growth Fund, a series of American Beacon Funds (“Predecessor Fund”), resulting from a reorganization of the Predecessor Fund with and into the fund, which is anticipated to occur on or about May 3, 2019. The fund has adopted the past performance of the Predecessor Fund as its own. The performance shown below represents the performance of the Predecessor Fund directly since October 4, 2013, and the returns of an earlier predecessor from December 31, 2010 to October 4, 2013 that was adopted by the Predecessor Fund. The Predecessor Fund and the fund have identical investment objectives and strategies.

The bar chart and table below provide some indication of the potential risks of investing in the fund. The fund’s past performance, before and after taxes, is not necessarily an indication of how the fund will perform in the future.

The bar chart shows changes in the Predecessor Fund’s performance from year to year over the life of the fund. The table shows how the Predecessor Fund’s average annual returns compare to those of two broad-based securities market indexes. Updated performance information is available at virtus.com or by calling 800-243-1574.

Calendar year total returns for Class I Shares (includes returns of a predecessor fund)

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

Annual Return (%)

Best Quarter: Q1/2017: 9.46% Worst Quarter:​ Q4/2018: -11.43% Year to Date (12/31/18):​ -3.13%

Average Annual Total Returns (for the periods ended 12/31/18; includes returns of a predecessor fund)

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

Average Annual Total Returns - Virtus SGA Global Growth Fund	Label	1 Year	5 Years	Since Inception	Inception Date
Class I	Return Before Taxes	(3.13%)	7.82%	8.64%	Oct. 04, 2013
Class I | Return After Taxes on Distributions	Return After Taxes on Distributions	(4.14%)	6.92%	7.69%	Oct. 04, 2013
Class I | Return After Taxes on Distributions and Sale of Fund Shares	Return After Taxes on Distributions and Sale of Fund Shares	(1.15%)	5.98%	6.65%	Oct. 04, 2013
Class I | MSCI All Country World Index (net) (reflects no deduction for fees, expenses or taxes)	MSCI All Country World Index (net) (reflects no deduction for fees, expenses or taxes)			5.37%	Oct. 04, 2013
Class I | MSCI All Country World Growth Index (net) (reflects no deduction for fees, expenses or taxes)	MSCI All Country World Growth Index (net) (reflects no deduction for fees, expenses or taxes)			6.83%	Oct. 04, 2013
Class A	Return Before Taxes	(8.65%)	6.53%	7.40%	Oct. 04, 2013
Class A | MSCI All Country World Index (net) (reflects no deduction for fees, expenses or taxes)	MSCI All Country World Index (net) (reflects no deduction for fees, expenses or taxes)			5.37%	Oct. 04, 2013
Class A | MSCI All Country World Growth Index (net) (reflects no deduction for fees, expenses or taxes)	MSCI All Country World Growth Index (net) (reflects no deduction for fees, expenses or taxes)			6.83%	Oct. 04, 2013
Class C	Return Before Taxes	(3.75%)	7.00%	7.81%	Oct. 04, 2013
Class C | MSCI All Country World Index (net) (reflects no deduction for fees, expenses or taxes)	MSCI All Country World Index (net) (reflects no deduction for fees, expenses or taxes)			5.37%	Oct. 04, 2013
Class C | MSCI All Country World Growth Index (net) (reflects no deduction for fees, expenses or taxes)	MSCI All Country World Growth Index (net) (reflects no deduction for fees, expenses or taxes)			6.83%	Oct. 04, 2013
Class R6	Return Before Taxes	(2.75%)	8.22%	9.88%	Dec. 31, 2010
Class R6 | MSCI All Country World Index (net) (reflects no deduction for fees, expenses or taxes)	MSCI All Country World Index (net) (reflects no deduction for fees, expenses or taxes)			6.27%	Dec. 31, 2010
Class R6 | MSCI All Country World Growth Index (net) (reflects no deduction for fees, expenses or taxes)	MSCI All Country World Growth Index (net) (reflects no deduction for fees, expenses or taxes)			7.30%	Dec. 31, 2010
MSCI All Country World Index (net) (reflects no deduction for fees, expenses or taxes)	MSCI All Country World Index (net) (reflects no deduction for fees, expenses or taxes)	(9.42%)	4.26%
MSCI All Country World Growth Index (net) (reflects no deduction for fees, expenses or taxes)	MSCI All Country World Growth Index (net) (reflects no deduction for fees, expenses or taxes)	(8.13%)	5.72%

The MSCI All-Country World Index (net) is a free float-adjusted market capitalization-weighted index that measures equity performance of developed and emerging markets. The MSCI All Country World Growth Index (net) is designed to measure the equity market performance of companies with higher growth values in developed and emerging markets. The indexes are calculated on a total return basis with net dividends reinvested. The indexes are unmanaged, and are not available for direct investment.

After-tax returns are calculated using the historical highest individual federal marginal income tax rates and do not reflect the impact of state and local taxes. After-tax returns are shown only for Class I Shares; after-tax returns for other classes will vary. Actual after-tax returns depend on the investor’s tax situation and may differ from those shown. After-tax returns are not relevant to investors who hold fund shares in tax-deferred accounts or to shares held by non-taxable entities. In certain cases, the Return After Taxes on Distributions and Sale of Fund Shares for a period may be higher than other return figures for the same period. This will occur when a capital loss is realized upon the sale of fund shares and provides an assumed tax benefit that increases the return.

[1] The deferred sales charge is imposed on Class C Shares redeemed during the first year only.

[1] Restated to reflect current fees and expenses.

[2] The Total Annual Fund Operating Expenses do not correlate to the ratio of expenses to average net assets appearing in the Financial Highlights tables, which tables reflect only the operating expenses of the fund and do not include acquired fund fees and expenses.

[3] The fund's investment adviser has contractually agreed to limit the fund's total operating expenses (excluding certain expenses, such as front-end or contingent deferred sales charges, taxes, leverage expenses, interest, brokerage commissions, expenses incurred in connection with any merger or reorganization, unusual or infrequently occurring expenses (such as litigation), acquired fund fees and expenses, and dividend expenses, if any) so that such expenses do not exceed 1.38% for Class A Shares, 2.13% for Class C Shares, 1.13% for Class I Shares and 0.98% for Class R6 Shares through March 31, 2021. Following the contractual period, the adviser may discontinue these expense reimbursement arrangements at any time. Under certain conditions, the adviser may recapture operating expenses reimbursed and/or fees waived under these arrangements for a period of three years following the date such waiver or reimbursement occurred, provided that the recapture does not cause the fund to exceed its expense limit in effect at the time of the waiver or reimbursement, or at the time of recapture.