497K 1 c64763_497k.htm Untitled Document
TRANSAMERICA BLACKROCK GLOBAL ALLOCATION

Summary Prospectus

March 1, 2011, as revised March 22, 2011

      

Class

CLASS I2

    

& Ticker

Not Applicable

    

This summary prospectus is designed to provide shareholders with key fund information in a clear and concise format. Before you invest, you may want to review the fund’s prospectus, which contains more information about the fund and its risks. You can find the fund’s prospectus and other information about the fund, including the fund’s statement of additional information and most recent reports to shareholders, online at http://www.transamericafunds.com/prospectus. You can also get this information at no cost by calling 866-414-6349 or by sending an e-mail request to orders@mysummaryprospectus.com, or from your financial professional. The fund’s prospectus and statement of additional information, dated March 1, 2011, as supplemented from time to time, and the independent registered public accounting firm’s report and financial statements in the fund’s annual report to shareholders, dated October 31, 2010, are incorporated by reference into this summary prospectus.

Investment Objective: Seeks to provide high total investment return.

Fees and Expenses: This table describes the fees and expenses that you may pay if you buy and hold shares of the fund. There are no sales charges (load) or other transaction fees.

  

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

  

Management fees

0.74%

Distribution and service (12b-1) fees

None

Other expenses

0.13%

Acquired fund fees and expenses (fees and expenses of underlying funds)

0.01%

Total annual fund operating expenses a

0.88%

a Total annual fund operating expenses do not correlate to the ratios of expenses to average net assets in the financial highlights table, which do not include acquired (i.e., underlying) funds’ fees and expenses.

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 that you invest $10,000. The Example also assumes that your investment has a 5% return each year and that the fund's operating expenses remain the same. 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

$90

$281

$488

$1,084

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 the most recent fiscal year, the portfolio turnover rate was 43% of the average value of the fund's portfolio.

Principal Investment Strategies: Under normal circumstances, the fund’s sub-adviser, BlackRock Investment Management, LLC (“BlackRock”), through a fully managed investment policy, utilizes United States and foreign equity securities, debt and money market securities, the combination of which may be varied from time to time both with respect to types of securities and markets in response to changing market and economic trends. The fund will invest its assets in issuers that are located in a number of countries throughout the world. There is no limit on the percentage of assets the fund can invest in a particular type of asset class. The fund generally seeks diversification across markets, industries and issuers as one of its strategies to reduce volatility. Except as described below, the fund has no geographic limits on where its investments may be located. The fund uses its investment flexibility to create a portfolio of assets that, over time, tends to be relatively balanced between equity and debt securities and that is widely diversified among many individual investments. At any given time, however, the fund may emphasize either debt securities or equity securities. The fund may also, from time to time, identify certain real assets, such as real estate or precious metals, that BlackRock believes will increase in value because of economic trends and cycles or political or other events. The fund may invest a portion of its assets in securities related to those real assets such as stock, fixed-income securities or convertible securities issued by real estate investment trusts or companies that mine precious metals. The fund can invest in all types of equity securities, including common stock, preferred stock, warrants and

1


stock purchase rights of companies of any market capitalization. In selecting stocks and other securities that are convertible into stocks, BlackRock emphasizes stocks that it believes are undervalued.

The fund may also seek to invest in the stock of smaller or emerging growth companies that it expects will provide a higher total return that other equity investments. Investing in smaller or emerging growth companies involves greater risk than investing in more established companies. The fund can invest in all types of debt securities of varying maturities, including U.S. and foreign government bonds, corporate bonds and convertible bonds, mortgage and asset-backed securities, bank loans, and securities issued or guaranteed by certain international organizations such as the World Bank. The fund may engage in short sales. The fund may make short sales of securities, either as a hedge against potential declines in value of a portfolio security or to realize appreciation when a security that the fund does not own declines in value. The fund will not make a short sale if, after giving effect to such sale, the market value of all securities sold short exceeds 20% of the value of its total assets. The fund may also make short sales “against the box” without being subject to this limitation.

The fund may invest up to 35% of its total assets in “junk” bonds, corporate loans and distressed securities. The fund may use derivatives to seek to increase the return of the fund and to hedge (or protect) the value of its assets against adverse movements in currency exchange rates, interest rates and movements in the securities markets. The fund may invest in securities that provide a return based on fluctuations in a stock or other financial index. For example, the fund may invest in a security that increases in value with the price of a particular securities index. In some cases, the return on the security may be inversely related to the price of the index. The fund may invest in cash, cash equivalent securities or short-term debt securities, repurchase agreements and money market instruments.

The fund may also gain exposure to the commodities markets by investing up to 25% of its total assets in a wholly-owned subsidiary of the fund organized as a company under the laws of the Cayman Islands (the “Subsidiary”). The Subsidiary has the same investment objective as the fund and is advised by Transamerica Asset Management, Inc. and sub-advised by BlackRock. The Subsidiary, unlike the fund, may invest without limitation in commodities, commodity index-linked securities (including leveraged and unleveraged structured notes) and other commodity-linked securities and derivative instruments, such as swaps and futures that provide exposure to the performance of the commodities markets. The Subsidiary may also invest in other instruments, including fixed income instruments, either as investments or to serve as margin or collateral for its derivative positions. The Subsidiary is not registered under the Investment Company Act of 1940, as amended (the “1940 Act”), and is not subject to the investor protections of the 1940 Act.

The fund, directly and/or through the Subsidiary, may gain commodities exposure through the use of swaps and other derivative instruments. The use of swaps is a highly specialized activity which involves investment techniques, risk analyses and tax planning different from those associated with ordinary portfolio securities transactions.

Under adverse or unstable market, economic or political conditions, the fund may take temporary defensive positions in cash and short-term debt securities without limit. Under normal circumstances, the fund anticipates it will continue to allocate a substantial amount (approximately 40% or more – unless market conditions are not deemed favorable by BlackRock, in which case the fund would invest at least 30%) – of its total assets in securities (i) of foreign government issuers; (ii) of issuers organized or located outside the U.S.; (iii) of issuers which primarily trade in a market located outside the U.S.; and (iv) of issuers doing a substantial amount of business outside the US., which the fund considers to be companies that derive at least 50% of their revenue or profits from business outside the U.S. or have at least 50% of their sales or assets outside the U.S. For temporary defensive purposes, the fund may deviate very substantially from the allocation described above.

Principal Risks: Many factors affect the fund's performance. There is no assurance the fund will meet its investment objective. The value of your investment in the fund, as well as the amount of return you receive on your investment, may fluctuate significantly from day to day and over time. You may lose part or all of your investment in the fund or your investment may not perform as well as other similar investments. The following is a summary of certain risks (in alphabetical order) of investing in the fund. You may lose money if you invest in this fund.

· Cash Management and Defensive Investing – Money market instruments or short-term debt securities held by the fund for cash management or defensive investing purposes can fluctuate in value. Like other fixed income securities, they are subject to risk, including market, interest rate and credit risk. If the fund holds cash uninvested, the fund will not earn income on the cash and the fund's yield will go down. If a significant amount of the fund's assets are used for cash management or defensive investing purposes, it will be more difficult for the fund to achieve its objective.

· Commodities – The fund's investment exposure to the commodities markets may subject the fund to greater volatility than investments in more traditional securities, such as stocks and bonds. The performance of commodity-linked derivative instruments may depend on the performance of the overall commodities markets and on other factors that affect the value of commodities, including weather, disease, and political, tax, and other regulatory developments. Commodity-linked investments may be leveraged. For example, a three-times leveraged note will change by a magnitude of three for every percentage change (positive or negative) in the value of the underlying index. Commodity-linked investments may be

2


hybrid instruments that can have substantial risk of loss with respect to both principal and interest. Commodity-linked investments may be more volatile and less liquid than the underlying commodity, instruments, or measures, are subject to the credit risks associated with the issuer, and their values may decline substantially if the issuer's creditworthiness deteriorates. As a result, returns of commodity-linked investments may deviate significantly from the return of the underlying commodity, instruments, or measures. The commodity-linked investments in which the fund invests may be issued by companies in the financial services sector, and events affecting the financial services sector may cause the fund’s share value to fluctuate.

· Convertible Securities – The market value of convertible securities tends to decline as interest rates increase. Convertible securities generally offer lower interest or dividend yields than non-convertible securities of similar quality. The fund could lose money if the issuer of a convertible security is unable to meet its financial obligations or goes bankrupt.

· Credit – If an issuer or guarantor of a security held by the fund or a counterparty to a financial contract with the fund defaults or is downgraded, or if the value of the assets underlying a security declines, the value of your investment will decline. Junk bonds have a higher risk of default and are considered speculative. A default or downgrade will have a greater impact on subordinated securities.

· Currency – When the fund invests in securities denominated in foreign currencies, the fund may incur currency conversion costs and may be affected favorably or unfavorably by changes in the rates of exchange between those currencies and the U.S. dollar. Currency exchange rates can be volatile and are affected by, among other factors, the general economics of a country, the actions of the U.S. and foreign governments or control banks, the imposition of currency controls, and speculation.

· Currency Hedging – The fund may hedge its currency risk using currency futures, forwards or options. However, these instruments may not always work as intended, and a fund may be worse off than if it had not used a hedging instrument.

· Derivatives – Using derivatives can increase fund losses and reduce opportunities for gains when market prices, interest rates or the derivative instruments themselves behave in a way not anticipated by the fund. Using derivatives also can have a leveraging effect and increase fund volatility. Derivatives may be difficult to sell, unwind or value, and the counterparty may default on its obligations to the fund. The fund's investments in derivative instruments may involve a small investment relative to the amount of investment exposure assumed and may result in losses exceeding the amounts invested in those instruments. Recent legislation calls for new regulation of the derivatives markets. The extent and impact of the regulation are not yet fully known and may not be for some time. New regulation of derivatives may make them more costly, may limit their availability, or may otherwise adversely affect their value or performance.

· Distressed Securities – The fund may invest in distressed securities, including securities that are, or may be, involved in reorganizations or other financial restructurings, either out of court or in bankruptcy. Distressed securities are speculative and involve substantial risks. The fund may suffer significant losses if the reorganization or restructuring is not completed as anticipated. The fund will generally not receive interest payments on the distressed securities and may incur costs to protect its investment.

· Emerging Markets – Investing in the securities of issuers located in or principally doing business in emerging markets are subject to foreign securities risks. These risks are greater for investments in emerging markets. Emerging market countries tend to have economic, political and legal systems that are less fully developed and are less stable than those of more advanced countries. Low trading volumes may result in a lack of liquidity and in extreme price volatility.

· Fixed-Income Securities – The market prices of fixed-income securities may go up or down, sometimes rapidly or unpredictably due to general market conditions, such as real or perceived adverse economic or political conditions, inflation, changes in interest rates, lack of liquidity in the bond markets or adverse investor sentiment. When market prices fall, the value of your investment will go down. A rise in rates tends to have a greater impact on the prices of longer term or duration securities.

 If interest rates rise, repayments of fixed-income securities may occur more slowly than anticipated by the market. This may drive the prices of these securities down because their interest rates are lower than the current interest rate and they remain outstanding longer. This is sometimes referred to as extension risk.

 Many issuers have a right to prepay their securities. If interest rates fall, an issuer may exercise this right. If this happens, the fund will be forced to reinvest prepayment proceeds at a time when yields on securities available in the market are lower than the yield on the prepaid security. This is sometimes referred to as prepayment or call risk.

· Foreign Securities – Foreign securities are subject to a number of additional risks, including nationalization or expropriation of assets, imposition of currency controls or restrictions, confiscatory taxation, political or financial instability

3


and other adverse economic or political developments. Lack of information and less market regulation also may affect the value of these securities.

· High-Yield Debt Securities – High-yield debt securities, or junk bonds, are securities that are rated below “investment grade” (that is, securities rated below Baa/BBB) or, if unrated, are considered by the sub-adviser to be of equivalent quality. Changes in interest rates, the market’s perception of the issuers and the creditworthiness of the issuers may significantly affect the value of these bonds. Junk bonds have a higher risk of default, tend to be less liquid and may be more difficult to value.

· Increase in Expenses – Your actual costs of investing in the fund may be higher than the expenses shown in “Annual Fund Operating Expenses” for a variety of reasons. For example, expense ratios may be higher than those shown if average net assets decrease. Net assets are more likely to decrease and fund expense ratios are more likely to increase when markets are volatile.

· Liquidity – Some securities held by the fund may be difficult to sell, or illiquid, particularly during times of market turmoil. Illiquid securities may also be difficult to value. If the fund is forced to sell an illiquid asset to meet redemption requests or other cash needs, the fund may be forced to sell at a loss.

· Loans – Loans are subject to the credit risk of nonpayment of principal or interest. Economic downturns or increases in interest rates may cause an increase in defaults, interest rate risk and liquidity risk. Loans may or may not be collateralized at the time of acquisition, and any collateral may be relatively illiquid or lose all or substantially all of its value subsequent to investment. In the event of bankruptcy of a borrower, the fund could experience delays or limitations with respect to its ability to realize the benefits of any collateral securing a loan. The fund's investments in loans are also subject to prepayment or call risk.

· Market – The market prices of the fund's securities may go up or down, sometimes rapidly or unpredictably, due to general market conditions, such as real or perceived adverse economic or political conditions, inflation, changes in interest rates or currency rates, lack of liquidity in the markets or adverse investor sentiment. Market prices of securities also may go down due to events or conditions that affect particular sectors or issuers. When market prices fall, the value of your investment will go down. The fund may experience a substantial or complete loss on any individual security. The recent financial crisis has caused a significant decline in the value and liquidity of many securities. In response to the financial crisis, the U.S. and other governments and the Federal Reserve and certain foreign central banks have taken steps to support financial markets. The withdrawal of this support could negatively affect the value and liquidity of certain securities. In addition, legislation recently enacted in the U.S. calls for changes in many aspects of financial regulation. The impact of the legislation on the markets, and the practical implications for market participants, may not be fully known for some time.

· Portfolio Selection – The sub-adviser’s judgment about a particular security or issuer, or about the economy or a particular sector, region or market segment, or about an investment strategy, may prove to be incorrect.

· Precious Metals-Related Securities – Investments in precious metals-related securities are considered speculative and are affected by a variety of worldwide economic, financial and political factors. The price of precious metals may fluctuate sharply over short periods of time. The metals industry can be significantly affected by events relating to international political developments, the success of exploration projects, commodity prices and tax and government regulations.

· Preferred Stock – Preferred stock’s right to dividends and liquidation proceeds is junior to the rights of a company’s debt securities. The value of preferred stock may be subject to factors that affect fixed income and equity securities, including changes in interest rates and in a company’s creditworthiness. Shareholders of preferred stock may suffer a loss of value if dividends are not paid and have limited voting rights.

· Prepayment or Call – Many issuers have a right to prepay their securities. If interest rates fall, an issuer may exercise this right. If this happens, the fund will be forced to reinvest prepayment proceeds at a time when yields on securities available in the market are lower than the yield on the prepaid security. The fund also may lose any premium it paid on the security.

· Real Estate Securities – Investments in the real estate industry are subject to risks associated with direct investment in real estate. These risks include declines in the value of real estate, adverse general and local economic conditions, increased competition, overbuilding and changes in operating expenses, property taxes or interest rates. REITs are one type of real estate security. A REIT’s performance depends on the types and locations of the properties it owns and how well it manages those properties or loan financings. REITs are subject to a highly technical tax structure, and the failure to qualify as a REIT could result in corporate-level taxation, significantly reducing the return on an investment to the fund.

· Short Sales – A short sale may be effected by selling a security that the fund does not own. If the price of the security sold short increases, the fund would incur a loss; conversely, if the price declines, the fund will realize a gain. Although the gain

4


is limited by the price at which the security was sold short, the loss is potentially unlimited. The fund may also pay transaction costs and borrowing fees in connection with short sales.

· Small- or Medium-Sized Companies – Small- or medium-sized companies may be more at risk than larger companies because, among other things, they may have limited product lines, operating history, market or financial resources, or because they may depend on a limited management group.

· Sovereign Debt Sovereign debt instruments are subject to the risk that the governmental entity may delay or fail to pay interest or repay principal on its sovereign debt. If a governmental entity defaults, it may ask for more time in which to pay or for further loans. There may be no established legal process for collecting sovereign debt that a government does not pay, nor are there bankruptcy proceedings through which all or part of the sovereign debt that a governmental entity has not repaid may be collected.

· Stocks – Stocks may be volatile – their prices may go up and down dramatically over the shorter term. These price movements may result from factors affecting individual companies, industries, the securities market as a whole or the over-all economy.

· Subsidiary – By investing in the Subsidiary, the fund will be indirectly exposed to the risks associated with the Subsidiary’s investments. The derivatives and other investments that will be held by the Subsidiary are generally similar to those that are permitted to be held by the fund and will be subject to the same risks that apply to similar investments if held directly by the fund. There can be no assurance that the investment objective of the Subsidiary will be achieved. The Subsidiary is not registered under the Investment Company Act, and, unless otherwise noted in this prospectus, is not subject to the investor protections of the Investment Company Act. The fund relies on a private letter ruling from the Internal Revenue Service (the “IRS”) with respect to the investment in the Subsidiary. Changes in the laws of the United States and/or the Cayman Islands could result in the inability of the fund and/or the Subsidiary to operate as described in this prospectus and the SAI and could adversely affect the fund.

· Tax – The fund may seek to gain exposure to the commodity markets primarily through investments in commodity-linked notes and through investments in the Subsidiary. The tax treatment of commodity-linked notes, other commodity-linked derivatives and the fund’s investments in the Subsidiary may be adversely affected by future legislation, Treasury Regulations and/or guidance issued by the IRS that could, among other things, affect the character, timing and/or amount of the fund’s taxable income or gains and of distributions made by the fund.

· Warrants and Rights – Warrants and rights may be considered more speculative than certain other types of investments because they do not entitle a holder to the dividends or voting rights for the securities that may be purchased. They do not represent any rights in the assets of the issuing company, and cease to have value if not exercised prior to the expiration date.

Performance: The bar chart and the table below provide some indication of the risks of investing in the fund by showing you how the fund’s performance has varied from year to year, and how the fund’s Class I2 average annual total returns for different periods compare to the returns of a broad measure of market performance. The table shows average annual total returns for Class I2 shares of the fund. Absent any limitation of the fund’s expenses, total returns would be lower. As with all mutual funds, past performance (before and after taxes) is not a prediction of future results. Updated performance information is available on our website at www.transamericafunds.com or by calling 1-888-233-4339.

Annual Total Returns (calendar years ended December 31)

5


   
 

Quarter Ended

Return

Best Quarter:

6/30/2009

12.61%

Worst Quarter:

9/30/2008

-12.40%

Average Annual Total Returns (periods ended December 31, 2010)1

    
 

1 Year

5 Years

10 Years or Inception*

Class I2 (commenced operations on December 6, 2005)

Return before taxes

10.06%

7.43%

7.50%

Return after taxes on distributions2

9.67%

6.12%

6.19%

Return after taxes on distributions and sale of fund shares2

6.72%

5.82%

5.88%

Financial Times Stock Exchange World Index (reflects no deduction for fees, expenses, or taxes)

12.73%

3.89%

4.01%

1 Actual returns may depend on the investor’s individual tax situation. After-tax returns may not be relevant if the investment is made through a tax-exempt or tax-deferred account, such as a 401(k) plan.

2 The after-tax returns are calculated using the historic highest individual federal marginal income tax rates and do not reflect the impact of state and local taxes.

* Fund and Index returns are for past 10 years or since inception, whichever is less.

Management:

Investment Adviser: Sub-Adviser:

Transamerica Asset Management, Inc.  BlackRock Investment Management, LLC

Portfolio Managers:

Dennis W. Stattman, Portfolio Manager since 2005

Dan Chamby, Portfolio Manager since 2005

Romualdo Roldan, Portfolio Manager since 2005

Purchase and Sale of Fund Shares: Class I2 shares of the fund are currently primarily offered for investment in certain funds of funds (also referred to as “strategic asset allocation funds”). Class I2 shares of the fund are also made available to other investors, including institutional investors such as foreign insurers, domestic insurance companies and their separate accounts, and unaffiliated funds, high net worth individuals, and eligible retirement plans whose recordkeepers or financial service firm intermediaries have entered into agreements with Transamerica Funds or its agents. Investors who received Class I2 shares in connection with the reorganization of a Transamerica Premier Fund into a Transamerica Fund may continue to invest in Class I2 shares of that Transamerica Fund, but may not open new accounts. You buy and redeem shares at the fund’s next-determined net asset value (NAV) after receipt of your request in good order.

Tax Information: Fund distributions may be taxable as ordinary income or capital gains, except when your investment is in an IRA, 401(k) or other tax-advantaged investment plan.

Payments to Broker-Dealers and Other Financial Intermediaries: If you purchase the fund through a broker-dealer or other financial intermediary, the fund and/or its affiliates may pay the intermediary for the sale of fund shares and related services. These payments may create a conflict of interest by influencing the broker-dealer or other intermediary and your salesperson to recommend the fund over another investment. Ask your salesperson or visit your financial intermediary’s website for more information.

MSPAI20311BRG-A

6