ADVANCED SERIES
TRUST
AST Goldman Sachs
Small-Cap Value Portfolio
SUMMARY
PROSPECTUS • April 29, 2019 (As Reissued July 1, 2019)
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, Statement of Additional Information (SAI), Annual
Report and other information about the Portfolio online at www.prudential.com/variableinsuranceportfolios. You can also get this information at no cost by calling 1-800-346-3778 or by sending an e-mail to:
service@prudential.com. The Portfolio’s Prospectus and SAI, both dated April 29, 2019, as supplemented and amended from time to time, and the Portfolio’s most recent shareholder report, dated December 31,
2018 are all hereby incorporated by reference into (legally made a part of) this Summary Prospectus.
INVESTMENT OBJECTIVE
The investment objective of the Portfolio is to
seek long-term capital appreciation.
PORTFOLIO FEES AND EXPENSES
The table below shows the fees and expenses that
you may pay if you invest in shares of the Portfolio. The table does not include Contract charges. Because Contract charges are not included, the total fees and expenses that you will incur will be higher than the
fees and expenses set forth in the table. See your Contract prospectus for more information about Contract charges.
| Annual Portfolio Operating Expenses (expenses that you pay each year as a percentage of the value of your investment) | |
| Management Fees | 0.77% |
| + Distribution and/or Service Fees (12b-1 Fees) | 0.25% |
| + Other Expenses | 0.02% |
| + Acquired Fund Fees & Expenses | 0.01% |
| = Total Annual Portfolio Operating Expenses | 1.05% |
| - Fee Waiver and/or Expense Reimbursement | (0.01)% |
| + Total Annual Portfolio Operating Expenses After Fee Waiver and/or Expense Reimbursement(1) | 1.04% |
(1) The Manager has contractually agreed to waive 0.010% of its investment management fee through June 30, 2020. This arrangement may not be terminated or modified prior to June
30, 2020 without the prior approval of the Trust’s Board of Trustees.
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 table does not include Contract charges.
Because Contract charges are not included, the total fees and expenses that you will incur will be higher than the fees and expenses set forth in the example. See your Contract prospectus for more information about
Contract charges.
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 costs may be higher or lower, based on these assumptions, your costs would be:
| 1 Year | 3 Years | 5 Years | 10 Years | |
| AST Goldman Sachs Small-Cap Value | $106 | $333 | $578 | $1,282 |
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 ended December 31, the
Portfolio's turnover rate was 55% of the average value of its portfolio.
INVESTMENTS, RISKS AND
PERFORMANCE
Principal Investment Strategies. In pursuing its investment objective, the Portfolio normally invests at least 80% of its assets (net assets plus any borrowings made for investment purposes) in a diversified portfolio of
equity investments issued by small capitalization companies.
The Portfolio seeks its objective,
under normal circumstances, through investments primarily in equity securities of small capitalization companies that are believed to be undervalued in the marketplace. Typically, in choosing stocks, the
Portfolio’s subadviser, Goldman Sachs Asset Management, L.P., looks for companies using the subadviser's value
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investment philosophy. The subadviser seeks to
identify well-positioned businesses that have attractive returns on capital, sustainable earnings and cash flow, and strong company management focused on long-term returns to shareholders as well as attractive
valuation opportunities where the intrinsic value is not reflected in the stock price. Small capitalization companies are defined as companies within the market capitalization range of the Russell 2000® Value Index (measured at the time of investment). Although the Portfolio will invest primarily in publicly traded US
securities, including real estate investment trusts (REITs), it may also invest in foreign securities, including securities of issuers in countries with emerging markets or economies (emerging countries) and
securities quoted in foreign currencies.
Principal Risks of Investing in the
Portfolio. The risks summarized below are the principal risks of investing in the Portfolio. All investments have risks to some degree and it is possible that you could lose money by investing in the
Portfolio. An investment in the Portfolio is not a deposit with a bank and is not insured or guaranteed by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation or any other government agency. While the Portfolio makes every
effort to achieve its objectives, the Portfolio cannot guarantee success.
Asset Transfer Program Risk. Predetermined, nondiscretionary mathematical formulas used by the Participating Insurance Companies to manage the guarantees offered in connection with certain benefit programs under the
Contracts may result in systematic transfers of assets among the investment options under the Contracts, including the Portfolio. These formulas may result in large-scale asset flows into and out of the Portfolio,
which could adversely affect the Portfolio, including its risk profile, expenses and performance. For example, the asset flows may adversely affect performance by requiring the Portfolio to purchase or sell securities
at inopportune times, by otherwise limiting the subadviser’s ability to fully implement the Portfolio’s investment strategies, or by requiring the Portfolio to hold a larger portion of its assets in highly
liquid securities than it otherwise would hold. The asset flows may also result in high turnover, low asset levels and high operating expense ratios for the Portfolio. The efficient operation of the asset flows
depends on active and liquid markets. If market liquidity is strained, the asset flows may not operate as intended which in turn could adversely affect performance.
Economic and Market Events Risk. Events in the US and global financial markets, including actions taken by the US Federal Reserve or foreign central banks to stimulate or stabilize economic growth, may at times result in
periods of unusually high volatility in a market or a segment of a market, which could negatively impact performance. Reduced liquidity in credit and fixed income markets could adversely affect issuers
worldwide.
Equity Securities Risk. The value of a particular stock or equity-related security held by the Portfolio could fluctuate, perhaps greatly, in response to a number of factors, such as changes in the
issuer’s financial condition or the value of the equity markets or a sector of those markets. Such events may result in losses to the Portfolio.
Expense Risk. The actual cost of investing in the Portfolio may be higher than the expenses shown in the “Annual Portfolio Operating Expenses” table above for a variety of reasons,
including, for example, if the Portfolio’s average net assets decrease.
Focus Risk. The Portfolio focuses or may focus its investments in particular countries, regions, industries, sectors, or types of investments and may accumulate large positions in such areas. As a
result, the Portfolio’s performance may be more sensitive to a small group of related holdings and adverse developments in such areas than a portfolio more broadly invested.
Foreign Investment Risk. Investments in foreign securities generally involve more risk than investments in securities of US issuers, including: changes in currency exchange rates may affect the value of foreign
securities held by the Portfolio; foreign markets generally are more volatile than, and generally are not subject to regulatory requirements comparable to, US markets; foreign financial reporting standards usually
differ from those in the US; foreign exchanges are often less liquid than US markets; political or social developments may adversely affect the value of foreign securities; and foreign holdings may be subject to
special taxation and limitations on repatriating investment proceeds.
Investment Style Risk. Securities held by the Portfolio as a result of a particular investment style, such as growth or value, tend to perform differently (i.e., better or worse than other segments of, or the
overall, stock market) depending on market and economic conditions and investor sentiment. At times when the investment style is out of favor, the Portfolio may underperform other funds that invest in similar asset
classes but use different investment styles.
Liquidity and Valuation Risk. The Portfolio may hold one or more securities for which there are no or few buyers and sellers or the securities are subject to limitations on transfer. The Portfolio may be unable to
sell those portfolio holdings at the desired time or price, and may have difficulty determining the value of such securities for the purpose of determining the Portfolio’s net asset value. In such cases,
investments owned by the Portfolio may be valued at fair value pursuant to guidelines established by the Trust’s Board of Trustees. No assurance can be given that the fair value prices accurately reflect the
value of the security. The Portfolio is subject to a liquidity risk management program, which limits the ability of the Portfolio to invest in illiquid investments.
Market and Management Risk. Markets in which the Portfolio invests may experience volatility and go down in value, and possibly sharply and unpredictably. The investment techniques, risk analysis and investment
strategies used by a subadviser in making investment decisions for the Portfolio may not produce the intended or desired results. There is no guarantee that the investment objective of the Portfolio will be
achieved.
Real Estate Risk. Investments in real estate investment trusts (REITs) and real estate-linked derivative instruments are subject to risks similar to those associated with direct ownership of real estate.
Poor performance by the manager of the REIT and adverse changes to or inability to qualify with favorable tax laws will adversely affect the Portfolio. In addition, some REITs have limited diversification because they
invest in a limited number of properties, a narrow geographic area, or a single type of property.
Redemption Risk. A Portfolio that serves as an underlying fund for a fund of funds is subject to certain risks. When a fund of funds reallocates or rebalances its investments, an underlying fund may
experience relatively large redemptions or investments. These transactions may cause the Portfolio serving as the underlying fund to sell portfolio securities to meet such redemptions, or to invest cash from such
investments, at times that it would not otherwise do so, and may as a result increase transaction costs or adversely affect Portfolio performance.
Regulatory Risk. The Portfolio is subject to a variety of laws and regulations which govern its operations. The Portfolio is subject to regulation by the SEC, and depending on the Portfolio, the CFTC.
Similarly, the businesses and other issuers of the securities and other instruments in which the Portfolio invests are also subject to considerable regulation. Changes in laws and regulations may materially impact the
Portfolio, a security, business, sector or market.
Small Sized Company Risk. Securities of small sized companies tend to be less liquid than those of larger, more established companies, which can have an adverse effect on the price of these securities and on the
Portfolio’s ability to sell these securities. The market price of such investments also may rise more in response to buying demand and fall more in response to selling pressure and be more volatile than
investments in larger companies.
Past Performance. The bar chart and table provide some 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 1, 5, and 10 years compare with those of a broad measure of market performance. Past performance does not mean that the Portfolio will achieve similar results in the
future.
The annual returns and average
annual returns shown in the chart and table are after deduction of expenses and do not include Contract charges. If Contract charges were included, the returns shown would have been lower than those shown. Consult
your Contract prospectus for information about Contract charges.
The table also demonstrates how the
Portfolio's average annual returns compare to the returns of one or more secondary indexes which include the stocks of companies with similar investment objectives.
| Average Annual Total Returns (For the periods ended December 31, 2018) | |||
| 1 Year | 5 Years | 10 Years | |
| Portfolio | -14.06% | 3.96% | 12.25% |
| Index % | |||
| Russell 2000 Index (reflects no deduction for fees, expenses or taxes) | -11.01% | 4.41% | 11.97% |
| Russell 2000 Value Index (reflects no deduction for fees, expenses or taxes) | -12.86% | 3.61% | 10.40% |
MANAGEMENT OF THE
PORTFOLIO
| Investment Managers | Subadviser | Portfolio Managers | Title | Service Date |
| PGIM Investments LLC | Goldman Sachs Asset Management, L.P. | Robert Crystal | Managing Director and Portfolio Manager | March 2006 |
| Investment Managers | Subadviser | Portfolio Managers | Title | Service Date |
| AST Investment Services, Inc. | Sally Pope Davis | Managing Director and Portfolio Manager | January 2006 | |
| Sean A. Butkus, CFA | Managing Director and Portfolio Manager | February 2012 |
TAX INFORMATION
Contract owners should consult their Contract
prospectus for information on the federal tax consequences to them. In addition, Contract owners may wish to consult with their own tax advisors as to the tax consequences of investments in the Contracts and the
Portfolio, including the application of state and local taxes. The Portfolio currently intends to be treated as a partnership for federal income tax purposes. As a result, the Portfolio's income, gains, losses,
deductions, and credits are “passed through” pro rata directly to the Participating Insurance Companies and retain the same character for federal income tax purposes.
FINANCIAL INTERMEDIARY
COMPENSATION
If you purchase your Contract through a
broker-dealer or other financial intermediary (such as a bank), the Participating Insurance Company, the Portfolio or their related companies may pay the intermediary for the sale of the Contract, the selection of the
Portfolio 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 Contract over another investment or
insurance product, or to recommend the Portfolio over another investment option under the Contract. Ask your salesperson or visit your financial intermediary's website for more information.
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| By Mail: | Advanced Series Trust, 655 Broad Street, Newark, NJ 07102 | |
| By Telephone: | 1-800-346-3778 | |
| On the Internet: | www.prudential.com/variableinsuranceportfolios |
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