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Risk/Return: rr_RiskReturnAbstract  
Registrant Name dei_EntityRegistrantName GREAT-WEST FUNDS INC
Prospectus Date rr_ProspectusDate Apr. 30, 2018
Great-West Core Bond Fund  
Risk/Return: rr_RiskReturnAbstract  
Risk/Return [Heading] rr_RiskReturnHeading Fund Summary
Objective [Heading] rr_ObjectiveHeading Investment Objective
Objective, Primary [Text Block] rr_ObjectivePrimaryTextBlock The Fund seeks to provide total return, consisting of two components: (1) changes in the market value of its portfolio holdings (both realized and unrealized appreciation); and (2) income received from its portfolio holdings.
Expense [Heading] rr_ExpenseHeading Fees and Expenses of the Fund
Expense Narrative [Text Block] rr_ExpenseNarrativeTextBlock This table describes the fees and expenses that you may pay if you buy and hold shares of the Fund. This table does not reflect the fees and expenses of any Permitted Account. If the fees and expenses imposed by a Permitted Account were reflected, the fees and expenses shown below would be higher.
Operating Expenses Caption [Text] rr_OperatingExpensesCaption Annual Fund Operating Expenses (expenses that you pay each year as a percentage of the value of your investment)
Fee Waiver or Reimbursement over Assets, Date of Termination rr_FeeWaiverOrReimbursementOverAssetsDateOfTermination April 30, 2019
Portfolio Turnover [Heading] rr_PortfolioTurnoverHeading Portfolio Turnover
Portfolio Turnover [Text Block] rr_PortfolioTurnoverTextBlock 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. These costs, which are not reflected in annual fund operating expenses or in the example, affect the Fund’s performance. During the most recent fiscal year, the Fund’s turnover rate was 104% of the average value of its portfolio.
Portfolio Turnover, Rate rr_PortfolioTurnoverRate 104.00%
Other Expenses, New Fund, Based on Estimates [Text] rr_OtherExpensesNewFundBasedOnEstimates Other Expenses are estimated for Class L shares because the class has not yet commenced operations.
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 Fund with the cost of investing in other mutual funds. The Example does not reflect the fees and expenses of any Permitted Account. If the fees and expenses of any Permitted Account were reflected, the fees and expenses in the Example would be higher.

The Example assumes that you invest $10,000 in the Fund for the time periods indicated and applies whether you hold or redeem all of your shares at the end of each period. The Example also assumes that the expense reimbursement is in place for the first year, that your investment has a 5% return each year, that all dividends and capital gains are reinvested, and that the Fund’s operating expenses are the amount shown in the fee table and remain the same for the years shown. Although your actual costs may be higher or lower, based on these assumptions, your costs would be:
Strategy [Heading] rr_StrategyHeading Principal Investment Strategies
Strategy Narrative [Text Block] rr_StrategyNarrativeTextBlock The following is a summary of the principal investment strategies of the Fund:

The Fund will, under normal circumstances, invest 80% of its assets (plus the amount of any borrowings for investment purposes) in fixed income securities. The Fund will, under normal circumstances, invest primarily in a diversified portfolio of investment grade fixed income securities at the time of purchase, including mortgage-backed securities, to be announced (“TBA”)/when issued (“WI”) securities, corporate fixed income securities and U.S. government obligations. The Fund may also purchase interests in bank loans. A portion of the Fund may also be invested in foreign investment grade fixed income securities and domestic or foreign below investment-grade securities (“high yield-high risk” or “junk” securities). Domestic below investment grade fixed income securities include both convertible and high yield corporate fixed income securities. Foreign governments or corporations in either emerging or developed market countries issue foreign below investment grade and foreign investment grade fixed income securities. The foreign fixed income securities in which the Fund may invest may be denominated in either foreign currency or in U.S. Dollars. If a security is downgraded below any minimum quality grade discussed above, the portfolio managers will re-evaluate the security, but will not be required to sell it. The Fund may use exchange traded and over-the-counter (“OTC”) derivative contracts, including but not limited to, interest rate futures, index futures, securities futures, currency futures, deliverable and non-deliverable bond and currency forward contracts; credit default swaps and credit default swap indices; currency, interest rate, inflation, and total return swaps and forward rate agreements; and currency, bond and swap options to implement elements of its investment strategy.

When selecting investments for the Fund, a Sub-Adviser (defined below) may invest in securities directly or in other registered investment companies, including, for example, funds advised by a Sub-Adviser or its affiliates.

The Fund may allocate relatively more of its holdings to a sector that the portfolio managers expect to offer the best balance between total return and risk. The Fund will provide the appreciation component of total return by selecting those securities whose prices will, in the opinion of the portfolio managers, benefit from anticipated changes in economic and market conditions. The portfolio managers may lengthen or shorten duration from time to time based on their interest rate outlook; however, the Fund has no set duration parameters.

The Fund’s investment portfolio is managed by two sub-advisers: Federated Investment Management Company (“Federated”) and Wellington Management Company LLP (“Wellington”) (each, a “Sub-Adviser,” and collectively, the “Sub-Advisers”). Both Federated and Wellington seek to provide long-term total returns in excess of the U.S. bond market as represented by the Bloomberg Barclays U.S. Aggregate Bond Index with equivalent or lower levels of risk.

GWCM maintains a strategic asset allocation of the Fund’s assets with each Sub-Adviser and reviews the asset allocations on a quarterly basis, or more frequently as deemed necessary. As of the date of this Prospectus, the target asset allocation is a 70% allocation of the Fund’s assets to Federated and a 30% allocation of the Fund’s assets to Wellington. Notwithstanding these target allocations, GWCM may change the asset allocations at any time and without shareholder notice or approval.
Risk [Heading] rr_RiskHeading Principal Investment Risks
Risk Narrative [Text Block] rr_RiskNarrativeTextBlock The following is a summary of the principal investment risks of investing in the Fund:

Bank Loan Risk - Bank loans often involve borrowers whose financial conditions are troubled or uncertain and companies that are highly leveraged. The market for bank loans may not be highly liquid and the Fund may have difficulty selling bank loans. These investments expose the Fund to the credit risk of both the financial institution and the underlying borrower. Bank loans generally are subject to legal or contractual restrictions on resale. In addition, bank loans may have trade settlement periods extending beyond seven days. Bank loans may be structured such that they are not securities under securities laws and subject to securities laws protections against fraud and misrepresentation. As such, there can be no assurances that fraud or misrepresentation will not occur with respect to bank loans in which the Fund invests.

Call Risk - An issuer may redeem a fixed income security before maturity (a “call”) at a price below its current market value.

Credit Risk - An issuer may default on its obligations to pay principal and/or interest. A security’s value may be affected by changes in its credit quality rating or its issuer’s financial conditions.

Currency Risk - Adverse fluctuations in exchange rates between the U.S. Dollar and other currencies may cause the Fund to lose money on investments denominated in foreign currencies.

Derivatives Risk - The Fund may invest in derivative instruments, including but not limited to, interest rate futures, index futures, securities futures, currency futures, deliverable and non-deliverable bond and currency forward contracts; credit default swaps and credit default swap indices; currency, interest rate, inflation, and total return swaps and forward rate agreements; and currency, bond and swap options. Using derivatives can disproportionately increase losses and reduce opportunities for gains when stock prices, currency rates or interest rates are changing. The Fund may not fully benefit from or may lose money on derivatives if changes in their value do not correspond accurately to changes in the value of the Fund’s holdings. The other parties to certain derivative contracts present the same types of credit risk as issuers of fixed income securities. Derivatives can also make a fund less liquid and harder to value, especially in declining markets, and may increase the Fund’s volatility. There can be no assurance that the Fund’s use of derivative contracts will work as intended, and it is possible for the Fund to lose more than its original investment.

Foreign Securities Risk - Foreign markets can be more volatile than the U.S. market due to increased risks of adverse issuer, political, regulatory, market, currency valuation or economic developments. In addition, emerging markets may be more volatile and less liquid than the markets of more mature economies, and the securities of emerging markets issuers often are subject to rapid and large changes in price.

Geographic Concentration Risk - Geographic concentration risk is the risk that economic, political and social conditions in a single country, a limited number of countries or a particular geographic region in which the Fund focuses its investments will have a significant impact on the performance of the Fund.

High Yield Securities Risk - Below investment grade (“high yield-high risk” or “junk”) bonds have a higher degree of credit risk and interest rate risk and may be less liquid and subject to greater volatility in market value than investment grade bonds.

Interest Rate Risk - The market value of a fixed income security is affected significantly by changes in interest rates. When interest rates rise, the market value of fixed income securities generally declines and when interest rates decline, market values of such securities generally rise. The longer a security’s maturity, that is, the time remaining until the final payment on the security is due, the greater the risk and the higher its yield. Conversely, the shorter a security’s maturity, the lower the risk and the lower its yield. In general, the longer the maturity or duration of a security, the greater its sensitivity to changes in interest rates. Recent and potential future changes in monetary policy may affect the level of interest rates.

Liquidity Risk - The fixed income securities in which the Fund invests may be less readily marketable and may be subject to greater fluctuation in price than other securities. When there is little or no active trading market for specific types of securities, it can become more difficult to sell the securities at or near their perceived value. In such a market, the value of such securities and the Fund’s share price may fall dramatically. Extraordinary and sudden changes in interest rates could disrupt the market for fixed-income securities and result in fluctuations in the Fund’s net asset value. Increased redemptions due to a rise in interest rates may require the Fund to liquidate its holdings at an unfavorable time and/or under adverse or disadvantageous conditions which may negatively affect the Fund. Investments in many, but not all, foreign securities tend to have greater exposure to liquidity risk than domestic securities.

Management Risk - A strategy used by the portfolio managers may fail to produce the intended results.

Market Risk - The market values of securities owned by the Fund will go up and down, sometimes rapidly or unpredictably. A security's market value may be reduced by market activity or other results of supply and demand unrelated to the issuer. This is a basic risk associated with all securities. When there are more sellers than buyers, prices tend to fall. Likewise, when there are more buyers than sellers, prices tend to rise.

Mortgage-Backed and Asset-Backed Securities Risk – Mortgage-backed and asset-backed securities are subject to interest rate risk and credit risk. These securities are also subject to the risk that borrowers will prepay the principal on their loans more quickly than expected (prepayment risk) or more slowly than expected (extension risk), which will affect the yield, average life and price of the securities. In addition, faster than expected prepayments may cause the Fund to invest the prepaid principal in lower yielding securities, and slower than expected prepayments may reduce the potential for the Fund to invest in higher yielding securities.

Multi-Manager Risk - Each Sub-Adviser makes investment decisions independently. It is possible that the security selection processes of the Sub-Advisers may not complement one another and the Fund may have buy and sell transactions in the same security on the same day. The Sub-Advisers selected may underperform the market generally or other sub-advisers that could have been selected.

Portfolio Turnover Risk - High portfolio turnover rates generally result in higher transaction costs (which are borne directly by the Fund and indirectly by shareholders).

TBA and WI Transaction Risk - TBA and WI securities involve the risk that the security the Fund buys will lose value prior to its delivery. There is also risk that the security will not be issued or that the other party to the transaction will not meet its obligations. If this occurs, the Fund loses both the investment opportunity for the assets it set aside to pay for the security and any gain in the security’s price.

U.S. Government Securities Risk – U.S. Government securities may be adversely affected by changes in interest rates or a default by, or decline in the credit quality of, the U.S. Government.

U.S. Government-Sponsored Securities Risk - Securities issued by U.S. Government-sponsored enterprises (“GSEs”), such as the Federal Home Loan Mortgage Corporation, the Federal National Mortgage Association and the Federal Home Loan Banks, are not issued or guaranteed by the U.S. Treasury.

An investment in the Fund is not a deposit with a bank, is not insured, endorsed or guaranteed by the FDIC or any government agency, and is subject to the possible loss of your original investment.
Risk Lose Money [Text] rr_RiskLoseMoney is subject to the possible loss of your original investment.
Risk Not Insured Depository Institution [Text] rr_RiskNotInsuredDepositoryInstitution An investment in the Fund is not a deposit with a bank, is not insured, endorsed or guaranteed by the FDIC or any government agency,
Bar Chart and Performance Table [Heading] rr_BarChartAndPerformanceTableHeading Performance
Performance Narrative [Text Block] rr_PerformanceNarrativeTextBlock The bar chart and table below provide an indication of the risk of investment in the Fund by showing changes in the performance of the Fund’s Investor Class shares for the last ten calendar years and by comparing the Fund’s Institutional Class and Investor Class average annual total return to the performance of a broad-based securities market index. No Class L share performance data is provided because Class L shares have not commenced operations. Class L share performance information will appear in future versions of this Prospectus after Class L shares have annual returns for at least one complete calendar year. The returns shown below are historical and are not an indication of future performance. Total return figures assume reinvestment of dividends and capital gains distributions and include the effect of the Fund’s recurring expenses, but do not include fees and expenses of any Permitted Account. If those fees and expenses were reflected, the performance shown would have been lower.

On April 10, 2017, the Fund added another Sub-Adviser, Wellington, alongside the existing Sub-Adviser, Federated. Consequently, the Fund’s total returns shown below for the periods prior to April 10, 2017 are not necessarily indicative of the performance of the Fund, as it is currently managed.

Updated performance information may be obtained at www.greatwestfunds.com (the website does not form a part of this Prospectus).
Performance Information Illustrates Variability of Returns [Text] rr_PerformanceInformationIllustratesVariabilityOfReturns The bar chart and table below provide an indication of the risk of investment in the Fund by showing changes in the performance of the Fund’s Investor Class shares for the last ten calendar years and by comparing the Fund’s Institutional Class and Investor Class average annual total return to the performance of a broad-based securities market index.
Performance One Year or Less [Text] rr_PerformanceOneYearOrLess No Class L share performance data is provided because Class L shares have not commenced operations.
Performance Availability Website Address [Text] rr_PerformanceAvailabilityWebSiteAddress www.greatwestfunds.com
Performance Past Does Not Indicate Future [Text] rr_PerformancePastDoesNotIndicateFuture The returns shown below are historical and are not an indication of future performance.
Bar Chart [Heading] rr_BarChartHeading Calendar Year Total Returns
Bar Chart Does Not Reflect Sales Loads [Text] rr_BarChartDoesNotReflectSalesLoads Total return figures assume reinvestment of dividends and capital gains distributions and include the effect of the Fund’s recurring expenses, but do not include fees and expenses of any Permitted Account. If those fees and expenses were reflected, the performance shown would have been lower.
Bar Chart Closing [Text Block] rr_BarChartClosingTextBlock
  Quarter Ended Total Return
Best Quarter September 2009 5.41%
Worst Quarter June 2013 -3.76%
Performance Table Heading rr_PerformanceTableHeading Average Annual Total Returns for the Periods Ended December 31, 2017
Great-West Core Bond Fund | Institutional Class  
Risk/Return: rr_RiskReturnAbstract  
Management Fees rr_ManagementFeesOverAssets 0.32%
Distribution and Service (12b-1) Fees rr_DistributionAndService12b1FeesOverAssets none
Shareholder Services Fees rr_Component1OtherExpensesOverAssets none
Other Expenses rr_Component2OtherExpensesOverAssets 0.07% [1]
Total Other Expenses rr_OtherExpensesOverAssets 0.07%
Total Annual Fund Operating Expenses rr_ExpensesOverAssets 0.39%
Fee Waiver and Expense Reimbursement rr_FeeWaiverOrReimbursementOverAssets 0.04% [2]
Total Annual Fund Operating Expenses After Fee Waiver and Expense Reimbursement rr_NetExpensesOverAssets 0.35%
1 Year rr_ExpenseExampleYear01 $ 36
3 Years rr_ExpenseExampleYear03 121
5 Years rr_ExpenseExampleYear05 215
10 Years rr_ExpenseExampleYear10 489
1 Year rr_ExpenseExampleNoRedemptionYear01 36
3 Years rr_ExpenseExampleNoRedemptionYear03 121
5 Years rr_ExpenseExampleNoRedemptionYear05 215
10 Years rr_ExpenseExampleNoRedemptionYear10 $ 489
One Year rr_AverageAnnualReturnYear01 4.37%
Five Years rr_AverageAnnualReturnYear05
Since Inception rr_AverageAnnualReturnSinceInception 2.64% [3]
Inception Date rr_AverageAnnualReturnInceptionDate May 01, 2015
Great-West Core Bond Fund | Investor Class  
Risk/Return: rr_RiskReturnAbstract  
Management Fees rr_ManagementFeesOverAssets 0.32%
Distribution and Service (12b-1) Fees rr_DistributionAndService12b1FeesOverAssets none
Shareholder Services Fees rr_Component1OtherExpensesOverAssets 0.35%
Other Expenses rr_Component2OtherExpensesOverAssets 0.18% [1]
Total Other Expenses rr_OtherExpensesOverAssets 0.53%
Total Annual Fund Operating Expenses rr_ExpensesOverAssets 0.85%
Fee Waiver and Expense Reimbursement rr_FeeWaiverOrReimbursementOverAssets 0.15% [2]
Total Annual Fund Operating Expenses After Fee Waiver and Expense Reimbursement rr_NetExpensesOverAssets 0.70%
1 Year rr_ExpenseExampleYear01 $ 72
3 Years rr_ExpenseExampleYear03 256
5 Years rr_ExpenseExampleYear05 457
10 Years rr_ExpenseExampleYear10 1,035
1 Year rr_ExpenseExampleNoRedemptionYear01 72
3 Years rr_ExpenseExampleNoRedemptionYear03 256
5 Years rr_ExpenseExampleNoRedemptionYear05 457
10 Years rr_ExpenseExampleNoRedemptionYear10 $ 1,035
2008 rr_AnnualReturn2008 1.94%
2009 rr_AnnualReturn2009 13.07%
2010 rr_AnnualReturn2010 6.88%
2011 rr_AnnualReturn2011 5.85%
2012 rr_AnnualReturn2012 6.08%
2013 rr_AnnualReturn2013 (2.21%)
2014 rr_AnnualReturn2014 5.20%
2015 rr_AnnualReturn2015 (1.17%)
2016 rr_AnnualReturn2016 4.69%
2017 rr_AnnualReturn2017 3.90%
Highest Quarterly Return, Label rr_HighestQuarterlyReturnLabel Best Quarter
Highest Quarterly Return, Date rr_BarChartHighestQuarterlyReturnDate Sep. 30, 2009
Highest Quarterly Return rr_BarChartHighestQuarterlyReturn 5.41%
Lowest Quarterly Return, Label rr_LowestQuarterlyReturnLabel Worst Quarter
Lowest Quarterly Return, Date rr_BarChartLowestQuarterlyReturnDate Jun. 30, 2013
Lowest Quarterly Return rr_BarChartLowestQuarterlyReturn (3.76%)
One Year rr_AverageAnnualReturnYear01 3.90%
Five Years rr_AverageAnnualReturnYear05 2.04%
Ten Years rr_AverageAnnualReturnYear10 4.34%
Great-West Core Bond Fund | Class L  
Risk/Return: rr_RiskReturnAbstract  
Management Fees rr_ManagementFeesOverAssets 0.32%
Distribution and Service (12b-1) Fees rr_DistributionAndService12b1FeesOverAssets 0.25%
Shareholder Services Fees rr_Component1OtherExpensesOverAssets 0.35%
Other Expenses rr_Component2OtherExpensesOverAssets 0.18% [1]
Total Other Expenses rr_OtherExpensesOverAssets 0.53%
Total Annual Fund Operating Expenses rr_ExpensesOverAssets 1.10%
Fee Waiver and Expense Reimbursement rr_FeeWaiverOrReimbursementOverAssets 0.15% [2]
Total Annual Fund Operating Expenses After Fee Waiver and Expense Reimbursement rr_NetExpensesOverAssets 0.95%
1 Year rr_ExpenseExampleYear01 $ 97
3 Years rr_ExpenseExampleYear03 335
5 Years rr_ExpenseExampleYear05 592
10 Years rr_ExpenseExampleYear10 1,327
1 Year rr_ExpenseExampleNoRedemptionYear01 97
3 Years rr_ExpenseExampleNoRedemptionYear03 335
5 Years rr_ExpenseExampleNoRedemptionYear05 592
10 Years rr_ExpenseExampleNoRedemptionYear10 $ 1,327
Great-West Core Bond Fund | Bloomberg Barclays U.S. Aggregate Bond Index (reflects no deduction for fees, expenses or taxes) | Institutional Class  
Risk/Return: rr_RiskReturnAbstract  
One Year rr_AverageAnnualReturnYear01 3.54%
Five Years rr_AverageAnnualReturnYear05
Since Inception rr_AverageAnnualReturnSinceInception 2.04% [3]
Inception Date rr_AverageAnnualReturnInceptionDate May 01, 2015
Great-West Core Bond Fund | Bloomberg Barclays U.S. Aggregate Bond Index (reflects no deduction for fees, expenses or taxes) | Investor Class  
Risk/Return: rr_RiskReturnAbstract  
One Year rr_AverageAnnualReturnYear01 3.54%
Five Years rr_AverageAnnualReturnYear05 2.10%
Ten Years rr_AverageAnnualReturnYear10 4.01%
[1] Other Expenses are estimated for Class L shares because the class has not yet commenced operations.
[2] GWCM has contractually agreed to waive fees or reimburse expenses that exceed 0.35% of the Fund's average daily net assets attributable to each Class, excluding Distribution and Service (12b-1) Fees, Shareholder Services Fees, brokerage expenses, taxes, dividend interest on short sales, interest expenses, and any extraordinary expenses, including litigation costs (the “Expense Limit”). The agreement’s current term ends on April 30, 2019 and automatically renews for one-year terms unless it is terminated by Great-West Funds or GWCM upon written notice within 90 days of the end of the current term or upon termination of the investment advisory agreement. Under the agreement, GWCM may recoup, subject to Board approval, these waivers and reimbursements in future periods, not exceeding three years following the particular waiver/reimbursement, provided Total Annual Fund Operating Expenses of a Class plus such recoupment do not exceed the lesser of the Expense Limit that was in place at the time of the waiver/reimbursement or the Expense Limit in place at the time of recoupment.
[3] Since inception on May 1, 2015