497K 1 d16553d497k.htm THRIVENT BALANCED INCOME PLUS PORTFOLIO Thrivent Balanced Income Plus Portfolio
 
APRIL 30, 2020 (AS SUPPLEMENTED AUGUST 4, 2020)
Thrivent Balanced Income Plus Portfolio
SUMMARY PROSPECTUS
This Summary Prospectus is designed to provide investors with key information about the Portfolio in a clear and concise format. Before you invest, you may want to review the Portfolio’s complete prospectus, which contains more information about the Portfolio and its risks.
• If you purchased shares of Thrivent Variable Portfolios through Thrivent Financial:
  You can find the Portfolio’s prospectus, reports to shareholders, and other information about the Portfolio online at ThriventPortfolios.com. You can also get this information at no cost by calling 800-847-4839 or by sending an email request to mail@thrivent.com
• If you purchased shares of Thrivent Variable Portfolios from a firm other than Thrivent Financial:
  You can find the Portfolio’s prospectus, reports to shareholders, and other information about the Portfolio online at ThriventPortfolios.com. You can also get this information by calling or emailing your financial advisor.
The Portfolio’s prospectus and statement of additional information, both dated April 30, 2020, are incorporated by reference into this Summary Prospectus and may be obtained, free of charge, at the website, phone number or email address noted above.
Shares of the Portfolio are sold only to insurance company separate accounts or to other investment companies funded by insurance company separate accounts. This Summary Prospectus is not intended for use by other investors.
Beginning on January 1, 2021, as permitted by regulations adopted by the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, paper copies of the Portfolios’ annual and semi-annual shareholder reports will no longer be sent by mail, unless you specifically request paper copies of the reports. Instead, the reports will be made available on the Portfolios’ website (ThriventPortfolios.com), and you will be notified by mail each time a report is posted and provided with a website address to access the report.
If you already elected to receive shareholder reports electronically, you will not be affected by this change and you do not need to take any action. You may elect to receive shareholder reports and other communications by enrolling at Thrivent.com/gopaperless.
You may elect to receive all future shareholder reports in paper free of charge. You can call 800-847-4836 to let us know you wish to continue receiving paper copies of your shareholder reports. Your election to receive shareholder reports in paper will apply to all Portfolios held in your insurance company separate account.

 

Thrivent Balanced Income Plus Portfolio
Investment Objective
Thrivent Balanced Income Plus Portfolio (the "Portfolio") seeks long-term total return through a balance between income and the potential for long-term capital growth.
Fees and Expenses
This table describes the fees and expenses that you may pay if you buy and hold shares of Thrivent Balanced Income Plus Portfolio. If you own a variable annuity contract or variable life insurance contract, you will have additional expenses including mortality and expense risk charges. Please refer to the prospectus for your variable contract for additional information about charges for those contracts.
SHAREHOLDER FEES
(fees paid directly from your investment)
Maximum Sales Charge (load) Imposed On Purchases (as a % of offering price) N/A
Maximum Deferred Sales Charge (load) (as a percentage of the lower of the original purchase price or current net asset value) N/A
ANNUAL PORTFOLIO OPERATING EXPENSES
(expenses that you pay each year as a percentage of the value of your investment)
Management Fees 0.55%
Other Expenses 0.09%
Acquired Fund Fees and Expenses 0.02%
Total Annual Portfolio Operating Expenses 0.66%
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 Portfolio is an investment option for variable contracts, and the example does not include charges imposed by variable contracts. If variable contract charges were imposed, your expenses would be higher than those shown. 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, and that the Portfolio’s operating expenses remain the same. Although your actual cost may be higher or lower, based on the foregoing assumptions, your cost would be:
  1 Year 3 Years 5 Years 10 Years
Thrivent Balanced Income Plus Portfolio $67 $211 $368 $822
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 and may result in higher taxes when Portfolio shares are held in a taxable account. These costs, which are not reflected in annual fund operating expenses or in the example, affect the Portfolio’s performance. During the most recent fiscal year, the Portfolio’s portfolio turnover rate was 109% of the average value of its portfolio.
Principal Strategies
Under normal circumstances, the Portfolio invests in a combination of equity securities and debt securities within the ranges shown in the following table:
Broad Asset Category Target
Allocation 		Allocation
Range
Equity Securities
 50% 25-75%
Debt Securities
 50% 25-75%
The equity securities in which the Portfolio invests may include common stock, preferred stock, securities convertible into common stock, or securities or other instruments the price of which is linked to the value of common stock.
The debt securities in which the Portfolio invests may be of any maturity or credit quality, including high yield, high risk bonds, notes, debentures and other debt obligations commonly known as “junk bonds.” At the time of purchase, these high-yield securities are rated within or below the “BB” major rating category by S&P or the “Ba” major rating category by Moody’s or are unrated but considered to be of comparable quality by the Adviser. The Portfolio may also invest in leveraged loans, which are senior secured loans that are made by banks or other lending institutions to companies that are rated below investment grade. In addition, the Portfolio may invest in investment-grade corporate bonds, asset-backed securities, mortgage-backed securities (including commercially backed ones), convertible bonds, and sovereign and emerging market debt (both U.S. dollar and non-U.S. dollar denominated).
The Portfolio may invest in foreign securities, including those of issuers in emerging markets. An “emerging market” country is any country determined by the Adviser to have an emerging market economy, considering factors such as the country’s credit rating, its political and economic stability and the development of its financial and capital markets.
 
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The Portfolio utilizes derivatives primarily in the form of U.S. Treasury futures contracts in order to manage the Portfolio’s duration, or interest rate risk. The Portfolio may enter into derivatives contracts traded on exchanges or in the over the counter market.
The Portfolio may also pursue its investment strategy by investing in other mutual funds managed by the Adviser or an affiliate.
The Adviser uses fundamental, quantitative and technical investment research techniques to determine what to buy and sell. Fundamental techniques assess a security’s value based on an issuer’s financial profile, management, and business prospects while quantitative and technical techniques involve a more data-oriented analysis of financial information, market trends and price movements.
Principal Risks
The Portfolio is subject to the following principal investment risks, which you should review carefully and in entirety. The Portfolio may not achieve its investment objective and you could lose money by investing in the Portfolio.
Equity Security Risk. Equity securities held by the Portfolio may decline significantly in price, sometimes rapidly or unpredictably, over short or extended periods of time, and such declines may occur because of declines in the equity market as a whole, or because of declines in only a particular country, company, industry, or sector of the market. From time to time, the Portfolio may invest a significant portion of its assets in companies in one or more related sectors or industries which would make the Portfolio more vulnerable to adverse developments affecting such sectors or industries. Equity securities are generally more volatile than most debt securities.
Interest Rate Risk. Interest rate risk is the risk that prices of debt securities decline in value when interest rates rise for debt securities that pay a fixed rate of interest. Debt securities with longer durations (a measure of price sensitivity of a bond or bond fund to changes in interest rates) or maturities (i.e., the amount of time until a bond’s issuer must pay its principal or face value) tend to be more sensitive to changes in interest rates than debt securities with shorter durations or maturities. Changes by the Federal Reserve to monetary policies could affect interest rates and the value of some securities. In addition, the phase out of LIBOR (the offered rate for short-term Eurodollar deposits between major international banks) by the end of 2021 could lead to increased volatility and illiquidity in certain markets that currently rely on LIBOR to determine interest rates.
Credit Risk. Credit risk is the risk that an issuer of a debt security to which the Portfolio is exposed may no
longer be able or willing to pay its debt. As a result of such an event, the debt security may decline in price and affect the value of the Portfolio.
Allocation Risk. The Portfolio’s investment performance depends upon how its assets are allocated across broad asset categories and applicable sub-classes within such categories. Some broad asset categories and sub-classes may perform below expectations or the securities markets generally over short and extended periods. Therefore, a principal risk of investing in the Portfolio is that the allocation strategies used and the allocation decisions made will not produce the desired results.
Market Risk. Over time, securities markets generally tend to move in cycles with periods when security prices rise and periods when security prices decline. The value of the Portfolio’s investments may move with these cycles and, in some instances, increase or decrease more than the applicable market(s) as measured by the Portfolio’s benchmark index(es). The securities markets may also decline because of factors that affect a particular industry or due to impacts from the spread of infectious illness, public health threats or similar issues.
Large Cap Risk. Large-sized companies may be unable to respond quickly to new competitive challenges such as changes in technology. They may also not be able to attain the high growth rate of successful smaller companies, especially during extended periods of economic expansion.
Leveraged Loan Risk. Leveraged loans (also known as bank loans) are subject to the risks typically associated with debt securities. In addition, leveraged loans, which typically hold a senior position in the capital structure of a borrower, are subject to the risk that a court could subordinate such loans to presently existing or future indebtedness or take other action detrimental to the holders of leveraged loans. Leveraged loans are also subject to the risk that the value of the collateral, if any, securing a loan may decline, be insufficient to meet the obligations of the borrower, or be difficult to liquidate. Some leveraged loans are not as easily purchased or sold as publicly-traded securities and others are illiquid, which may make it more difficult for the Portfolio to value them or dispose of them at an acceptable price. Below investment-grade leveraged loans are typically more credit sensitive. In the event of fraud or misrepresentation, the Portfolio may not be protected under federal securities laws with respect to leveraged loans that may not be in the form of “securities.” The settlement period for some leveraged loans may be more than seven days.
Prepayment Risk. When interest rates fall, certain obligations will be paid off by the obligor more quickly than originally anticipated, and a Portfolio may have to invest the proceeds in securities with lower yields. In
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periods of falling interest rates, the rate of prepayments tends to increase (as does price fluctuation) as borrowers are motivated to pay off debt and refinance at new lower rates. During such periods, reinvestment of the prepayment proceeds by the management team will generally be at lower rates of return than the return on the assets that were prepaid. Prepayment generally reduces the yield to maturity and the average life of the security.
Foreign Securities Risk. Foreign securities generally carry more risk and are more volatile than their domestic counterparts, in part because of potential for higher political and economic risks, lack of reliable information and fluctuations in currency exchange rates where investments are denominated in currencies other than the U.S. dollar. Certain events in foreign markets may adversely affect foreign and domestic issuers, including interruptions in the global supply chain, natural disasters and outbreak of infectious diseases. The Portfolio’s investment in any country could be subject to governmental actions such as capital or currency controls, nationalizing a company or industry, expropriating assets, or imposing punitive taxes that would have an adverse effect on security prices, and impair the Portfolio’s ability to repatriate capital or income. Foreign securities may also be more difficult to resell than comparable U.S. securities because the markets for foreign securities are often less liquid. Even when a foreign security increases in price in its local currency, the appreciation may be diluted by adverse changes in exchange rates when the security’s value is converted to U.S. dollars. Foreign withholding taxes also may apply and errors and delays may occur in the settlement process for foreign securities.
Emerging Markets Risk. The economic and political structures of developing countries in emerging markets, in most cases, do not compare favorably with the U.S. or other developed countries in terms of wealth and stability, and their financial markets often lack liquidity. Portfolio performance will likely be negatively affected by portfolio exposure to countries and corporations domiciled in or with revenue exposures to countries in the midst of, among other things, hyperinflation, currency devaluation, trade disagreements, sudden political upheaval, or interventionist government policies. Portfolio performance may also be negatively affected by portfolio exposure to countries and corporations domiciled in or with revenue exposures to countries with less developed legal, tax, regulatory, and accounting systems. Significant buying or selling actions by a few major investors may also heighten the volatility of emerging markets. These factors make investing in emerging market countries significantly riskier than in other countries, and events in any one country could cause the Portfolio’s share price to decline.
Foreign Currency Risk. The value of a foreign currency may decline against the U.S. dollar, which would reduce the dollar value of securities denominated in that currency. The overall impact of such a decline of foreign currency can be significant, unpredictable, and long lasting, depending on the currencies represented, how each one appreciates or depreciates in relation to the U.S. dollar, and whether currency positions are hedged. Under normal conditions, the Portfolio does not engage in extensive foreign currency hedging programs. Further, exchange rate movements are volatile, and it is not possible to effectively hedge the currency risks of many developing countries.
Mortgage-Backed and Other Asset-Backed Securities Risk. The value of mortgage-backed and asset-backed securities will be influenced by the factors affecting the housing market and the assets underlying such securities. As a result, during periods of declining asset value, difficult or frozen credit markets, swings in interest rates, or deteriorating economic conditions, mortgage-related and asset-backed securities may decline in value, face valuation difficulties, become more volatile and/or become illiquid. In addition, both mortgage-backed and asset-backed securities are sensitive to changes in the repayment patterns of the underlying security. If the principal payment on the underlying asset is repaid faster or slower than the holder of the asset-backed or mortgage-backed security anticipates, the price of the security may fall, particularly if the holder must reinvest the repaid principal at lower rates or must continue to hold the security when interest rates rise. This effect may cause the value of the Portfolio to decline and reduce the overall return of the Portfolio.
High Yield Risk. High yield securities – commonly known as “junk bonds” – to which the Portfolio is exposed are considered predominantly speculative with respect to the issuer’s continuing ability to make principal and interest payments. If the issuer of the security is in default with respect to interest or principal payments, the value of the Portfolio may be negatively affected. High yield securities generally have a less liquid resale market.
Sovereign Debt Risk. Sovereign debt securities are issued or guaranteed by foreign governmental entities. These investments are subject to the risk that a governmental entity may delay or refuse to pay interest or repay principal on its sovereign debt, due, for example, to cash flow problems, insufficient foreign currency reserves, political considerations, the relative size of the governmental entity’s debt position in relation to the economy or the failure to put in place economic reforms required by the International Monetary Fund or other multilateral agencies. If a governmental entity defaults, it may ask for more time in which to pay or for further loans. There is no legal
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process for collecting sovereign debts 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.
Quantitative Investing Risk. Quantitative Investing Risk is the risk that securities selected according to a quantitative analysis methodology can perform differently from the market as a whole based on the model and the factors used in the analysis, the weight placed on each factor and changes in the factor’s historical trends. Such models are based on assumptions of these and other market factors, and the models may not take into account certain factors, or perform as intended, and may result in a decline in the value of the Portfolio’s portfolio.
Investment Adviser Risk. The Portfolio is actively managed and the success of its investment strategy depends significantly on the skills of the Adviser in assessing the potential of the investments in which the Portfolio invests. This assessment of investments may prove incorrect, resulting in losses or poor performance, even in rising markets. There is also no guarantee that the Adviser will be able to effectively implement the Portfolio’s investment objective.
Conflicts of Interest Risk. An investment in the Portfolio will be subject to a number of actual or potential conflicts of interest.For example, the Adviser or its affiliates may provide services to the Portfolio for which the Portfolio would compensate the Adviser and/or such affiliates. The Portfolio may invest in other pooled investment vehicles sponsored, managed, or otherwise affiliated with the Adviser, including other Portfolios. The Adviser may have an incentive (financial or otherwise) to enter into transactions or arrangements on behalf of the Portfolio with itself or its affiliates in circumstances where it might not have done so otherwise.
The Adviser or its affiliates manage other investment funds and/or accounts (including proprietary accounts) and have other clients with investment objectives and strategies that are similar to, or overlap with, the investment objective and strategy of the Portfolio, creating conflicts of interest in investment and allocation decisions regarding the allocation of investments that could be appropriate for the Portfolio and other clients of the Adviser or their affiliates.
Other Funds Risk. Because the Portfolio invests in other funds managed by the Adviser or an affiliate (“Other Funds”), the performance of the Portfolio is dependent, in part, upon the performance of Other Funds in which the Portfolio may invest. As a result, the Portfolio is subject to the same risks as those faced by the Other Funds. In addition, Other Funds may be subject to additional fees and expenses that will be borne by the Portfolio.
Issuer Risk. Issuer risk is the possibility that factors specific to an issuer to which the Portfolio is exposed will affect the market prices of the issuer’s securities and therefore the value of the Portfolio.
Derivatives Risk. The use of derivatives (such as futures) involves additional risks and transaction costs which could leave the Portfolio in a worse position than if it had not used these instruments. The Portfolio utilizes futures on U.S. Treasuries in order to manage duration. The use of derivatives can lead to losses because of adverse movements in the price or value of the underlying asset, index or rate, which may be magnified by certain features of the contract. Changes in the value of the derivative may not correlate as intended with the underlying asset, rate or index, and the Portfolio could lose much more than the original amount invested. Derivatives can be highly volatile, illiquid and difficult to value. Certain derivatives may also be subject to counterparty risk, which is the risk that the other party in the transaction will not fulfill its contractual obligations due to its financial condition, market events, or other reasons.
Liquidity Risk. Liquidity is the ability to sell a security relatively quickly for a price that most closely reflects the actual value of the security. Dealer inventories of bonds are at or near historic lows in relation to market size, which has the potential to decrease liquidity and increase price volatility in the fixed income markets, particularly during periods of economic or market stress. As a result of this decreased liquidity, the Portfolio may have to accept a lower price to sell a security, sell other securities to raise cash, or give up an investment opportunity, any of which could have a negative effect on performance.
Portfolio Turnover Rate Risk. The Portfolio may engage in active and frequent trading of portfolio securities in implementing its principal investment strategies. A high rate of portfolio turnover (100% or more) involves correspondingly greater expenses which are borne by the Portfolio and its shareholders and may also result in short-term capital gains taxable to shareholders.
Health Crisis Risk. The global pandemic outbreak of the novel coronavirus known as COVID-19 has resulted in substantial market volatility and global business disruption. The duration and full effects of the outbreak are uncertain and may result in trading suspensions and market closures, limit liquidity and the ability of the Portfolio to process shareholder redemptions, and negatively impact Portfolio performance. The COVID-19 outbreak and future pandemics could affect the global economy in ways that cannot be foreseen and may exacerbate other types of risks, negatively impacting the value of the Portfolio.
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Performance
The following bar chart and table provide an indication of the risks of investing in the Portfolio by showing changes in the Portfolio’s performance from year to year and by showing how the Portfolio’s average annual returns for one-, five- and ten-year periods compared to broad-based securities market indices. The index descriptions appear in the "Index Descriptions" section of the prospectus. Call 800-847-4836 or visit Thrivent.com for performance results current to the most recent month-end.
The bar chart and table include the effects of Portfolio expenses, but not charges or deductions against your variable contract, and assume that you sold your investment at the end of the period. Because shares of the Portfolio are offered through variable life insurance and variable annuity contracts, you should carefully review the variable contract prospectus for information on applicable charges and expenses. If the charges and deductions against your variable contract were included, returns would be lower than those shown.
Effective August 16, 2013, based on approval of the Portfolio’s Board of Directors and notice to Portfolio shareholders, the Portfolio’s principal strategies were changed, which had the effect of converting the Portfolio from one which incorporated the strategies of Thrivent Large Cap Index Portfolio and Thrivent Bond Index Portfolio (now known as Thrivent Government Bond Portfolio) to one which invests in a combination equity securities and debt securities. At the same time, the Portfolio’s name changed from Thrivent Balanced Portfolio to Thrivent Balanced Income Plus Portfolio. As a result, performance information presented below with respect to periods prior to August 16, 2013, reflects the performance of an investment portfolio that was materially different from the investment portfolio of Thrivent Balanced Income Plus Portfolio.
How a Portfolio has performed in the past is not necessarily an indication of how it will perform in the future. Performance information provides some indication of the risks of investing in the Portfolio by showing changes in the Portfolio’s performance over time.
YEAR-BY-YEAR TOTAL RETURN
Best Quarter: Q1 '12 +8.37%
Worst Quarter: Q4 '18 (8.26)%
    
AVERAGE ANNUAL TOTAL RETURNS
(PERIODS ENDING DECEMBER 31, 2019)
  1 Year 5 Years 10 Years
Thrivent Balanced Income Plus Portfolio 17.11% 5.87% 8.24%
MSCI World Index - USD Net Returns
(reflects no deduction for fees, expenses or taxes) 		27.67% 8.74% 9.47%
Bloomberg Barclays U.S. Mortgage-Backed Securities Index
(reflects no deduction for fees, expenses or taxes) 		6.35% 2.58% 3.15%
Bloomberg Barclays U.S. High Yield Ba/B 2% Issuer Capped Index
(reflects no deduction for fees, expenses or taxes) 		15.18% 6.05% 7.43%
S&P/LSTA Leveraged Loan Index
(reflects no deduction for fees, expenses or taxes) 		8.64% 4.45% 5.01%
Management
Investment Adviser(s)
The Portfolio is managed by Thrivent Financial for Lutherans (“Thrivent Financial” or the “Adviser”).
Portfolio Manager(s)
Stephen D. Lowe, CFA, Mark L. Simenstad, CFA, Noah J. Monsen, CFA and David R. Spangler, CFA are jointly and primarily responsible for the day-to-day management of the Portfolio. Mr. Lowe has served as a portfolio manager of the Portfolio since August 2013. Mr. Simenstad and Mr. Monsen have served as portfolio managers of the Portfolio since April 2015. Mr. Spangler has served as a portfolio manager of the Portfolio since February 2019. Mr. Lowe is Vice President of Fixed Income Mutual Funds and Separate Accounts and has been with Thrivent Financial since 1997. He has served as a portfolio manager since 2009. Mr. Simenstad is Chief Investment Strategist and has been with Thrivent Financial since 1999. Mr. Monsen has been with Thrivent Financial since 2000 and has served in an investment management capacity since 2008. Mr. Spangler has been with Thrivent Financial since 2002, in an investment management capacity since 2006 and currently is a Senior Portfolio Manager.
Purchase and Sale of Shares
Shares of each series of Thrivent Series Fund, Inc. (the “Fund”) may be sold, without any minimum initial or subsequent investment requirements, only to:
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• Separate accounts of Thrivent Financial;
• Separate accounts of other insurance companies not affiliated with Thrivent Financial; and
• Other Portfolios of the Fund.
Tax Information
For information about certain tax-related aspects of investing in the Portfolio through a variable contract, please see the variable product prospectus.
Payments to Broker-Dealers and Other Financial Intermediaries
If you purchase the Portfolio through a broker-dealer or other financial intermediary (such as an insurance company), the Portfolio and its related companies may pay the intermediary for the sale of Portfolio 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 Portfolio over another investment. Ask your salesperson or visit your financial intermediary’s website for more information.
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32065B R8-20