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SUMMARY PROSPECTUS May 1, 2020 |
AB Variable Products Series Fund, Inc.
Global Thematic Growth Portfolio—Class A
Before you invest, you may want to review the Portfolio’s Prospectus, which contains more information about the Portfolio and its risks. The Portfolio’s Prospectus and Statement of Additional Information, both dated May 1, 2020, as may be amended or supplemented, are incorporated by reference into this Summary Prospectus. For free paper or electronic copies of the Portfolio’s Prospectus, reports to shareholders and other information about the Portfolio, go to www.abfunds.com/go/prospectus, email a request to prorequest@alliancebernstein.com, call (800) 227-4618, or ask any insurance company that offers shares of the Portfolio.
Beginning on May 1, 2021, as permitted by regulations adopted by the Securities and Exchange Commission, you may not be receiving paper copies of the Portfolio’s shareholder reports from the insurance company that offers your contract unless you specifically request paper copies from the insurance company or from your financial intermediary. Instead of delivering paper copies of the reports, the insurance company may choose to make the reports available on a website, and will notify you by mail each time a report is posted and provide you with a website link to access the report. Instructions for requesting paper copies will be provided by your insurance company.
If you already elected to receive shareholder reports electronically, you will not be affected by this change and you need not take any action. You may elect to receive shareholder reports and other communications from the insurance company or your financial intermediary electronically by following the instructions provided by the insurance company or by contacting your financial intermediary.
You may elect to receive all future reports in paper free of charge from the insurance company. You can inform the insurance company or your financial intermediary that you wish to continue receiving paper copies of your shareholder reports by following the instructions provided by the insurance company or by contacting your financial intermediary. Your election to receive reports in paper will apply to all portfolio companies available under your contract with the insurance company.
INVESTMENT OBJECTIVE
The Portfolio’s investment objective is long-term growth of capital.
FEES AND EXPENSES OF THE PORTFOLIO
This table describes the fees and expenses that you may pay if you buy and hold shares of the Portfolio. Because the information does not reflect deductions at the separate account level or contract level for any charges that may be incurred under a contract, Contractholders that invest in the Portfolio should refer to the variable contract prospectus for a description of fees and expenses that apply to Contractholders. Inclusion of these charges would increase the fees and expenses provided below.
Shareholder Fees (fees paid directly from your investment)
N/A
Annual Portfolio Operating Expenses (expenses that you pay each year as a percentage of the value of your investment)
| Management Fees |
.75% | |||
| Other Expenses: |
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| Transfer Agent |
.00% | (a) | ||
| Other Expenses |
.29% | |||
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| Total Other Expenses |
.29% | |||
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| Total Portfolio Operating Expenses |
1.04% | |||
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| Fee Waiver and/or Expense Reimbursement(b) |
(.05)% | |||
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| Total Portfolio Operating Expenses After Fee Waiver and/or Expense Reimbursement |
.99% | |||
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| (a) | Amount is less than .01%. |
| (b) | The Adviser has contractually agreed to waive its management fee and/or to bear expenses of the Portfolio in order to reduce total Portfolio operating expenses, on an annualized basis, by .05% of the Portfolio’s average daily net assets. The fee waiver and/or expense reimbursement agreement will remain in effect until May 1, 2021 and may only be terminated or changed with the consent of the Portfolio’s Board of Directors. In addition, the agreement will be automatically extended for one-year terms unless the Adviser provides notice of termination to the Portfolio at least 60 days prior to the end of the period. |
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Examples
The Examples are intended to help you compare the cost of investing in the Portfolio with the cost of investing in other mutual funds. The Examples assume 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 Examples also assume that your investment has a 5% return each year, that the Portfolio’s operating expenses stay the same and that any fee waiver and/or expense limitation is in effect for only the first year. Although your actual costs may be higher or lower, based on these assumptions your costs would be:
| After 1 Year |
$ | 101 | ||
| After 3 Years |
$ | 326 | ||
| After 5 Years |
$ | 569 | ||
| After 10 Years |
$ | 1,266 | ||
Portfolio Turnover
The Portfolio pays transaction costs, such as commissions, when it buys or sells securities (or “turns over” its portfolio). A higher portfolio turnover rate may indicate higher transaction costs. These transaction costs, which are not reflected in the Annual Portfolio Operating Expenses or in the Examples, affect the Portfolio’s performance. During the most recent fiscal year, the Portfolio’s portfolio turnover rate was 43% of the average value of its portfolio.
PRINCIPAL STRATEGIES
The Portfolio pursues opportunistic growth by investing in a global universe of companies in multiple industries that may benefit from innovation.
The Adviser employs a combination of “top-down” and “bottom-up” investment processes with the goal of identifying the most attractive securities worldwide, fitting into broader themes, which are developments that have broad effects across industries and companies. Drawing on its global fundamental research capabilities, the Adviser seeks to identify long-term secular growth trends that will affect multiple industries. The Adviser will assess the effects of these trends on entire industries and on individual companies. Through this process, the Adviser intends to identify key investment themes, which will be the focus of the Portfolio’s investments and which are expected to change over time based on the Adviser’s research.
In addition to this “top-down” thematic approach, the Adviser will also use a “bottom-up” analysis of individual companies that focuses on prospective earnings growth, valuation and quality of company management. The Adviser normally considers a large universe of mid- to large-capitalization companies worldwide for investment.
The Portfolio invests in securities issued by U.S. and non-U.S. companies from multiple industry sectors in an attempt to maximize opportunity, which should also tend to reduce risk. The Portfolio invests in both developed and emerging market countries. Under normal market conditions, the Portfolio invests significantly (at least 40%—unless market conditions are not deemed favorable by the Adviser) in securities of non-U.S. companies. In addition, the Portfolio invests, under normal circumstances, in the equity securities of companies located in at least three countries. The percentage of the Portfolio’s assets invested in securities of companies in a particular country or denominated in a particular currency varies in accordance with the Adviser’s assessment of the appreciation potential of such securities.
The Portfolio may invest in any company and industry and in any type of equity security, listed and unlisted, with potential for capital appreciation. It invests in well-known, established companies as well as new, smaller or less-seasoned companies. Investments in new, smaller or less-seasoned companies may offer more reward but may also entail more risk than is generally true of larger, established companies. The Portfolio may also invest in synthetic foreign equity securities, which are various types of warrants used internationally that entitle a holder to buy or sell underlying securities, real estate investment trusts and zero-coupon bonds.
The Portfolio may, at times, invest in shares of exchange-traded funds, or ETFs, in lieu of making direct investments in equity securities. ETFs may provide more efficient and economical exposure to the type of companies and geographic locations in which the Portfolio seeks to invest than direct investments.
Currencies can have a dramatic impact on equity returns, significantly adding to returns in some years and greatly diminishing them in others. Currency and equity positions are evaluated separately. The Adviser may seek to hedge the currency exposure resulting from securities positions when it finds the currency exposure unattractive. To hedge all or a portion of its currency risk, the Portfolio may, from time to time, invest in currency-related derivatives, including forward currency exchange contracts, futures contracts, options on futures contracts, swaps and options. The Adviser may also seek investment opportunities by taking long or short positions in currencies through the use of currency-related derivatives.
The Portfolio may enter into other derivatives transactions, such as options, futures contracts, forwards and swaps. The Portfolio may use options strategies involving the purchase and/or writing of various combinations of call and/or put options, including on individual securities and stock indices, futures contracts (including futures contracts on individual securities and stock indices) or shares of ETFs. These transactions may be used, for example, to earn extra income, to adjust exposure to individual securities or markets, or to protect all or a portion of the Portfolio’s portfolio from a decline in value, sometimes within certain ranges.
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PRINCIPAL RISKS
| • | Market Risk: The value of the Portfolio’s assets will fluctuate as the stock or bond market fluctuates. The value of its investments may decline, sometimes rapidly and unpredictably, simply because of economic changes or other events, including public health crises (including the occurrence of a contagious disease or illness), that affect large portions of the market. It includes the risk that a particular style of investing, such as the Portfolio’s growth approach, may underperform the market generally. |
| • | Foreign (Non-U.S.) Risk: Investments in securities of non-U.S. issuers may involve more risk than those of U.S. issuers. These securities may fluctuate more widely in price and may be more difficult to trade due to adverse market, economic, political, regulatory or other factors. |
| • | Emerging Market Risk: Investments in emerging market countries may have more risk because the markets are less developed and less liquid, and because these investments may be subject to increased economic, political, regulatory or other uncertainties. |
| • | Currency Risk: Fluctuations in currency exchange rates may negatively affect the value of the Portfolio’s investments or reduce its returns. |
| • | Capitalization Risk: Investments in mid-capitalization companies may be more volatile than investments in large-capitalization companies. Investments in mid-capitalization companies may have additional risks because these companies may have limited product lines, markets or financial resources. |
| • | Derivatives Risk: Derivatives may be difficult to price or unwind and leveraged so that small changes may produce disproportionate losses for the Portfolio. Derivatives, especially over-the-counter derivatives, are also subject to counterparty risk. |
| • | Focused Portfolio Risk: Investments in a limited number of companies may have more risk because changes in the value of a single security may have a more significant effect, either negative or positive, on the Portfolio’s net asset value. |
| • | Management Risk: The Portfolio is subject to management risk because it is an actively-managed investment fund. The Adviser will apply its investment techniques and risk analyses in making investment decisions for the Portfolio, but there is no guarantee that its techniques will produce the intended results. Some of these techniques may incorporate, or rely upon, quantitative models, but there is no guarantee that these models will generate accurate forecasts, reduce risk or otherwise perform as expected. |
As with all investments, you may lose money by investing in the Portfolio.
BAR CHART AND PERFORMANCE INFORMATION
The bar chart and performance information provide an indication of the historical risk of an investment in the Portfolio by showing:
| • | how the Portfolio’s performance changed from year to year over ten years; and |
| • | how the Portfolio’s average annual returns for one, five and ten years compare to those of a broad-based securities market index. |
The performance information does not take into account separate account charges. If separate account charges were included, an investor’s return would be lower. The Portfolio’s past performance, of course, does not necessarily indicate how it will perform in the future.
Bar Chart
During the period shown in the bar chart, the Portfolio’s:
Best Quarter was up 16.88%, 3rd quarter, 2010; and Worst Quarter was down -24.92%, 3rd quarter, 2011.
Performance Table
Average Annual Total Returns
(For the periods ended December 31, 2019)
| 1 Year | 5 Years | 10 Years | ||||||||||
| Portfolio |
30.16% | 10.41% | 8.21% | |||||||||
| MSCI AC World Index (Net) (reflects no deduction for fees, expenses, or taxes except the reinvestment of dividends net of non-U.S. withholding taxes) |
26.60% | 8.41% | 8.79% | |||||||||
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INVESTMENT ADVISER
AllianceBernstein L.P. is the investment adviser for the Portfolio.
PORTFOLIO MANAGER
The following table lists the person responsible for day-to-day management of the Portfolio’s portfolio:
| Employee | Length of Service | Title | ||
| Daniel C. Roarty | Since 2013 | Senior Vice President of the Adviser |
PURCHASE AND SALE OF PORTFOLIO SHARES
The Portfolio offers its shares through the separate accounts of participating life insurance companies (“Insurers”). You may only purchase and sell shares through these separate accounts. See the prospectus of the separate account of the Insurer for information on the purchase and sale of the Portfolio shares.
TAX INFORMATION
The Portfolio may pay income dividends or make capital gains distributions. The income and capital gains distributions are expected to be made in shares of the Portfolio. See the prospectus of the separate account of the Insurer for federal income tax information.
PAYMENTS TO INSURERS AND OTHER FINANCIAL INTERMEDIARIES
If you purchase shares of the Portfolio through an Insurer or other financial intermediary, 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 Insurer or other financial 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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