497K 1 d661533d497k.htm T. ROWE PRICE LARGE CAP GROWTH PORTFOLIO SUMMARY PROSPECTUS T. Rowe Price Large Cap Growth Portfolio Summary Prospectus

METROPOLITAN

SERIES    FUND

  

SUMMARY PROSPECTUS    April 29, 2013

As amended January 21, 2014

 

T. Rowe Price Large Cap Growth Portfolio

Class A, Class B and Class E Shares

 

Before you invest, you may want to review the Portfolio’s Prospectus, which contains more information about the Portfolio and its risks. You can find the Portfolio’s Prospectus and other information about the Portfolio (including the documents listed below) online at www.metlife.com/variablefunds. You can also get this information at no cost by calling 1-800-638-7732 or by sending an e-mail request to RCG@metlife.com. The Portfolio’s Prospectus and Statement of Additional Information, both dated April 29, 2013, and the Portfolio’s financial statements for the year ended December 31, 2012, including the notes to the financial statements, the financial highlights and the report of the Portfolio’s independent registered public accounting firm, all of which are included in the Annual Report of the Portfolio, dated December 31, 2012, are all incorporated by reference into this Summary Prospectus. This Summary Prospectus is intended for individuals who have purchased certain variable life insurance policies and variable annuity contracts (collectively, “Contracts”) from Metropolitan Life Insurance Company and its affiliates and is not intended for use by other investors.

 

 

Investment Objectives

 

Long-term growth of capital and, secondarily, dividend income.

 

Fees and Expenses of the Portfolio

 

The following table describes the fees and expenses that you may pay if you buy and hold shares of the Portfolio. The table and the Example below do not reflect the fees, expenses or withdrawal charges imposed by the Contracts. See the Contract prospectus for a description of those fees, expenses and charges. If Contract expenses were reflected, the fees and expenses in the table and Example would be higher.

 

Shareholder Fees (fees paid directly from your investment)—None

 

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

 

     Class A      Class B      Class E  

Management Fee

     0.60%         0.60%         0.60%   

Distribution and/or Service (12b-1) Fees

     None         0.25%         0.15%   

Other Expenses

     0.04%         0.04%         0.04%   
  

 

 

    

 

 

    

 

 

 

Total Annual Portfolio Operating Expenses

     0.64%         0.89%         0.79%   

Fee Waiver*

     (0.01%      (0.01%      (0.01%
  

 

 

    

 

 

    

 

 

 

Net Operating Expenses

     0.63%         0.88%         0.78%   

 

*   MetLife Advisers, LLC has contractually agreed, for the period April 29, 2013 through April 30, 2014, to reduce the Management Fee for each Class of the Portfolio to the following annual rates: if the Portfolio’s average daily net assets are equal to or less than $1 billion, 0.635% for the first $50 million of the Portfolio’s average daily net assets and 0.60% for amounts over $50 million; if the Portfolio’s average daily net assets exceed $1 billion, 0.62% for the first $50 million of the Portfolio’s average daily net assets, 0.60% for the next $50 million, 0.59% for the next $1.4 billion and 0.575% on amounts over $1.5 billion. This arrangement may be modified or discontinued prior to April 30, 2014, only with the approval of the Board of Trustees of the Portfolio.

 

Example

 

The following 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. The Example also assumes that your investment has a 5% return each year, that the Portfolio’s operating expenses remain the same, and that all fee waivers for the Portfolio will expire after one year. Although your actual costs may be higher or lower, based on these assumptions, your costs would be:

 

     1 Year      3 Years      5 Years      10 Years  

Class A

   $ 64       $ 204       $ 356       $  797   

Class B

   $ 90       $ 283       $ 492       $ 1,095   

Class E

   $ 80       $ 251       $ 438       $ 977   

 

Portfolio Turnover

 

The Portfolio pays transaction costs, such as commissions, when it buys and sells securities (or “turns over” its portfolio). A higher portfolio turnover rate may indicate higher transaction costs. These costs, which are not reflected in annual portfolio operating expenses or in the Example, affect the Portfolio’s performance. During the most recent fiscal year, the Portfolio’s portfolio turnover rate was 38% of the average value of its portfolio.

 

Principal Investment Strategies

 

T. Rowe Price Associates, Inc. (“T. Rowe Price”), subadviser to the Portfolio, invests under normal market conditions at least 80% of the Portfolio’s net assets in equity securities of a diversified group of large capitalization growth companies (pursuant to T. Rowe Price’s classifications). Equity securities include common stocks, including common stocks purchased through initial public offerings (“IPOs”), and preferred stocks. T. Rowe Price defines large capitalization companies as those with a market capitalization, at the time of purchase by the Portfolio, within the range of the market capitalization of companies included in the Russell 1000 Index. As of December 31, 2012, this included companies with capitalizations of approximately $312.72 million and above. While most assets will be invested in U.S. common stocks, other securities may also be purchased, such as foreign

 

 


stocks (including those of issuers located in emerging markets). The Portfolio’s investments in foreign securities will be limited to 30% of total assets. The Portfolio may also invest in investment companies and exchange traded funds.

 

Stock Selection

 

T. Rowe Price generally looks for companies with an above-average rate of earnings growth and a lucrative niche in the economy that gives them the ability to sustain earnings momentum even during times of slow economic growth. As growth investors, T. Rowe Price believes that when a company increases its earnings faster than both inflation and the overall economy, the market will eventually reward it with a higher stock price.

 

In pursuing the Portfolio’s investment objective, T. Rowe Price has the discretion to purchase some securities that do not meet its normal investment criteria, as described above, when it perceives an opportunity for substantial appreciation. These situations might arise when T. Rowe Price believes a security could increase in value for a variety of reasons, including a change in management, an extraordinary corporate event, a new product introduction or innovation, or a favorable competitive development.

 

The Portfolio may sell securities for a variety of reasons, such as to secure gains, limit losses, or redeploy assets into more promising opportunities.

 

Principal Risks

 

As with all mutual funds, there is no guarantee that the Portfolio will achieve its investment objective. You could lose money by investing in the Portfolio. An investment in the Portfolio through a Contract is not a deposit or obligation of, or guaranteed by, any bank, and is not federally insured by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation, the Federal Reserve Board, or any other agency of the U.S. Government.

 

The value of your investment in the Portfolio may be affected by one or more of the following risks, which are described in more detail in “Principal Risks of Investing in the Portfolio” in the Prospectus, any of which could cause the Portfolio’s return or the price of its shares to decrease or could cause the Portfolio’s yield to fluctuate.

 

Market Risk.    The Portfolio’s share price can fall because of, among other things, a decline in the market as a whole, deterioration in the prospects for a particular industry or company, or changes in general economic conditions, such as prevailing interest rates and investor sentiment. Significant disruptions to the financial markets could adversely affect the liquidity and volatility of securities held by the Portfolio.

 

Market Capitalization Risk.    Investing primarily in issuers in one market capitalization category (large, medium or small) carries the risk that due to current market conditions that category may be out of favor with investors. Larger, more established companies may be unable to respond quickly to new competitive challenges or attain the high growth rate of successful smaller companies. Stocks of smaller companies may be more volatile than those of larger companies due to, among other things, narrower product lines, more limited financial resources and fewer experienced managers. In addition, there is typically less publicly available information about small capitalization companies, and their stocks may have a more limited trading market than stocks of larger companies.

 

Investment Style Risk.    Different investment styles such as growth or value tend to shift in and out of favor, depending on market and economic conditions as well as investor sentiment. The Portfolio may outperform or underperform other funds that employ a different investment style.

 

Foreign Investment Risk.    Investments in foreign securities tend to be more volatile and less liquid than investments in U.S. securities because, among other things, they involve risks relating to political, social and economic developments abroad, as well as risks resulting from differences between the regulations and reporting standards and practices to which U.S. and foreign issuers are subject. To the extent foreign securities are denominated in foreign currencies, their values may be adversely affected by changes in currency exchange rates. All of the risks of investing in foreign securities are typically increased by investing in emerging market countries.

 

Investment Company and Exchange Traded Fund Risk.    An investment in an investment company or exchange-traded fund, or ETF, involves substantially the same risks as investing directly in the underlying securities. An investment company or ETF may not achieve its investment objective or execute its investment strategy effectively, which may adversely affect the Portfolio’s performance. The Portfolio must pay its pro rata portion of an investment company’s or ETF’s fees and expenses. Shares of a closed-end investment company or ETF may trade at a premium or discount to the net asset value of its portfolio securities.

 

Past Performance

 

The information below shows the volatility of the Portfolio’s returns from year to year and how the Portfolio’s average annual returns over time compare with those of a broad-based securities market index. Both the bar chart and table assume reinvestment of dividends and distributions. Note that the results in the bar chart and table do not include the effect of Contract charges. If these Contract charges had been included, performance would have been lower. As with all mutual funds, past returns are not a prediction of future returns.

 

T. Rowe Price Large Cap Growth Portfolio

 

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Year-by-Year Total Return for Class A Shares as of December 31 of Each Year

 

LOGO

 

Highest Quarter

  1st – 2012       19.23%

Lowest Quarter

  4th –2008   -23.76%

 

Average Annual Total Return as of December 31, 2012  
    1 Year     5 Years     10 Years  

Class A

    18.97     2.80     8.10

Class B

    18.67     2.55     7.86

Class E

    18.84     2.65     7.94

Russell 1000 Growth Index
(reflects no deduction for mutual fund fees or expenses)

    15.26     3.12     7.52

 

Management

 

Adviser.    MetLife Advisers, LLC (“MetLife Advisers”) is the Portfolio’s investment adviser.

 

Subadviser.    T. Rowe Price Associates, Inc. (the “Subadviser”) is the subadviser to the Portfolio.

 

Portfolio Manager.    The Portfolio is managed by a committee chaired since 2014 by Joseph B. Fath, Vice President of T. Rowe Price Group, Inc.

 

Purchase and Sale of Portfolio Shares

 

Shares of the Portfolio are only sold to separate accounts of Metropolitan Life Insurance Company and its affiliates to fund Contracts. For information regarding the purchase and sale of the Portfolio’s shares, please see the prospectus for the relevant Contract.

 

Tax Information

 

For information regarding the tax consequences of Contract ownership, please see the prospectus for the relevant Contract.

 

Payments to Broker-Dealers and Other Financial Intermediaries

 

The Portfolio is not sold directly to the general public but instead is offered as an underlying investment option for Contracts issued by insurance companies that are affiliated with the Portfolio and MetLife Advisers. As a result of these affiliations, the insurance companies may benefit more from offering the Portfolio as an investment option in the Contracts than offering other unaffiliated portfolios. The Portfolio and its related companies may also make payments to the sponsoring insurance companies (or their affiliates) for distribution and/or other services. The benefits to the insurance companies of offering the Portfolio over unaffiliated portfolios and these payments may be factors that the insurance companies consider in including the Portfolio as an underlying investment option in the Contracts and may create a conflict of interest. The prospectus for your Contract contains additional information about these payments.

 

T. Rowe Price Large Cap Growth Portfolio

 

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