TVST Shell Funds (Scout shell funds) - 485(b) Combined Document

Sub-Advisor

Portfolio
Manager

Investment Experience
with the Fund

Primary Title with
Sub-Advisor

Fort Washington Investment Advisors, Inc.

James Wilhelm

Since inception in 2017

Managing Director, Head of Public Equities

485BPOS 1 tvstshellfundshellcombodoc.htm 485BPOS TVST Shell Funds (Scout shell funds) - 485(b) Combined Document

Filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission on October 30, 2017

Securities Act of 1933 File No. 033-76566

Investment Company Act of 1940 File No. 811-08416

UNITED STATES SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION

Washington, D.C. 20549

FORM N-1A

REGISTRATION STATEMENT UNDER THE SECURITIES ACT OF 1933 ý

Pre-Effective Amendment No.

Post-Effective Amendment No. 49

and/or

REGISTRATION STATEMENT UNDER THE INVESTMENT COMPANY ACT OF 1940 ý

Amendment No. 50

(Check appropriate box or boxes.)

TOUCHSTONE VARIABLE SERIES TRUST

(Exact name of Registrant as Specified in Charter)

303 Broadway, Suite 1100, Cincinnati, Ohio 45202

(Address of Principal Executive Offices)

Registrant’s Telephone Number, including Area Code: (800) 638-8194

Jill T. McGruder, 303 Broadway, Suite 1100, Cincinnati, Ohio 45202

(Name and Address of Agent for Service)

With Copies to:

Deborah Bielicke Eades, Esq.

Vedder Price P.C.

222 North LaSalle Street

Chicago, Illinois 60601

(312) 609-7661

Renee M. Hardt, Esq.

Vedder Price P.C.

222 North LaSalle Street

Chicago, Illinois 60601

(312) 609-7616

It is proposed that this filing will become effective (check appropriate box)

ý immediately upon filing pursuant to paragraph (b)

o on (date) pursuant to paragraph (b)

o 60 days after filing pursuant to paragraph (a)

o on (date) pursuant to paragraph (a)

o75 days after filing pursuant to paragraph (a)(2)

o on (date) pursuant to paragraph (a)(2) of rule 485.

o This post-effective amendment designates a new effective date for a previously filed post-effective amendment.

October 30, 2017

Prospectus

Touchstone Variable Series Trust

Touchstone Balanced Fund

Touchstone Bond Fund

Touchstone Common Stock Fund

Touchstone Small Company Fund

Shares of each Fund described in this prospectus can be purchased by insurance company separate accounts. You can invest indirectly in the Funds through your purchase of a variable annuity contract or variable life policy. This prospectus should be read along with the prospectus for the variable annuity contract or variable life policy. That prospectus also contains information about the contract, your investment options, the sub-accounts and expenses related to purchasing a variable annuity contract or variable life policy.

The Securities and Exchange Commission has not approved or disapproved these securities or determined if this prospectus is accurate or complete. Any representation to the contrary is a criminal offense.

Table of Contents



	Page
Touchstone Balanced Fund Summary	3
Touchstone Bond Fund Summary	9
Touchstone Common Stock Fund Summary	14
Touchstone Small Company Fund Summary	18
Principal Investment Strategies And Risks	22
The Funds' Management	29
Investing with Touchstone	32
Distributions and Taxes	34
Financial Highlights	35

TOUCHSTONE BALANCED FUND SUMMARY

The Fund’s Investment Goal

The Touchstone Balanced Fund (the “Fund”) seeks capital appreciation and current income.

The Fund’s Fees and Expenses

This table describes the fees and expenses that you may pay if you buy and hold shares of the Fund, but does not reflect the effect of any fees or other expenses of any variable annuity or variable life insurance product. If variable annuity or variable life contract fees were included, expenses would be higher:



Annual Fund Operating Expenses (expenses that you pay each year as a percentage of the value of your investment)
Management Fees	0.55	%
Distribution and/or Shareholder Service (12b-1) Fees	None
Other Expenses⁽¹⁾	0.52	%
Acquired Fund Fees and Expenses⁽¹⁾	0.02	%
Total Annual Fund Operating Expenses	1.09	%
Fee Waiver or Expense Reimbursement⁽²⁾	(0.22	)%
Total Annual Fund Operating Expenses After Fee Waiver or Expense Reimbursement⁽²⁾	0.87	%

___________________________________________

⁽¹⁾ The Fund is newly formed and will commence operations following the completion of the reorganization of the Sentinel Variable Products Balanced Fund (the "Predecessor Fund"), a series of Sentinel Variable Products Trust, into the Fund, which is expected to occur on or about October 27, 2017 (the "Reorganization"). Other Expenses and Acquired Fund Fees and Expenses are estimated based on fees and expenses incurred by other funds within the Touchstone fund complex during the most recent fiscal year.

⁽²⁾ Touchstone Advisors, Inc. (the "Advisor" or "Touchstone Advisors") and Touchstone Variable Series Trust (the “Trust”) have entered into a contractual expense limitation agreement whereby Touchstone Advisors will waive a portion of its fees or reimburse certain Fund expenses (excluding dividend and interest expenses relating to short sales; interest; taxes; brokerage commissions and other transaction costs; portfolio transaction and investment related expenses; other expenditures which are capitalized in accordance with U.S. generally accepted accounting principles; the cost of “Acquired Fund Fees and Expenses,” if any; and other extraordinary expenses not incurred in the ordinary course of business) in order to limit annual Fund operating expenses to 0.85% of its average daily net assets. This contractual expense limitation will remain in effect for at least two years following the closing of the Reorganization. The terms of the contractual expense limitation agreement provide that Touchstone Advisors is entitled to recoup, subject to approval by the Board, such amounts waived or reimbursed for a period of up to three years from the date of reimbursement or waiver. The Fund will make repayments to Touchstone Advisors only if such repayment does not cause the Fund’s expense ratio (after the repayment is taken into account) to exceed both (a) the expense limitation in place when such amounts were waived and (b) the Fund’s current expense limitation.

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 in the Fund for the time periods indicated and then, except as indicated, 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 Fund’s operating expenses remain the same and that all fee waivers or expense limits for the Fund will expire after two years. Although your actual costs may be higher or lower, based on these assumptions your costs would be:



1 Year	$	89
3 Years	$	302
5 Years	$	557
10 Years	$	1,288

Portfolio Turnover. The Fund pays transaction costs, such as brokerage commissions, when it buys and sells securities (or “turns over” its portfolio). A higher portfolio turnover 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. The portfolio turnover rate for the Predecessor Fund for the fiscal year ended December 31, 2016 was 30%.

The Fund’s Principal Investment Strategies

The Fund seeks to achieve its investment goal by investing primarily in a diversified portfolio of fixed-income and equity securities. The following table details, under normal circumstances, how the Fund generally expects to allocate its assets among equity and fixed-income, as of the date of this prospectus.

Allocations Approximate Target Allocation

Equity 60%

Fixed-Income 40%

With respect to equities, the Fund invests primarily in issuers having a market capitalization, at the time of purchase, above $5 billion. Equity securities include common stock and preferred stock. These securities may be listed on an exchange or traded over-the-counter. Up to 35% of the Fund’s equity sleeve may be invested in securities of foreign issuers through the use of ordinary shares or depositary receipts such as American Depositary Receipts (“ADRs”). The Fund may also invest in equity securities of emerging market countries.

With respect to fixed-income, the Fund will invest primarily in bonds, including mortgage-related securities, asset-backed securities, government securities (both U.S. government securities and foreign sovereign debt), and corporate debt securities. Fort Washington Investment Advisors, Inc., the Fund's sub-advisor (the "Sub-Advisor"), primarily invests in investment-grade debt securities, but may invest up to 30% of the Fund's fixed-income sleeve in non-investment-grade debt securities rated as low as B by a Nationally Recognized Statistical Rating Organization (“NRSRO”). Non-investment-grade debt securities are often referred to as “junk bonds” and are considered speculative.

The Fund may engage in frequent and active trading as part of its principal investment strategies. Additionally, in order to implement its investment strategy, the Fund may invest in mortgage dollar-roll transactions and reverse repurchase agreements, and in derivatives, including forwards, futures contracts, interest rate and credit default swap agreements, and options. Mortgage “dollar rolls” are transactions in which mortgage-backed securities are sold for delivery in the current month and the seller simultaneously contracts to repurchase substantially similar securities on a specified future date. These investments may be used to gain or hedge market exposure, to adjust the Fund’s duration, to manage interest rate risk, and for any other purposes consistent with the Fund’s investment strategies and limitations.

The Sub-Advisor, subject to approval by the Fund’s Advisor, may change the Fund’s target allocation to each asset class (or to additional asset classes) without prior approval from or notice to shareholders.

The Fund’s Principal Risks

The Fund’s share price will fluctuate. You could lose money on your investment in the Fund, and the Fund could also return less than other investments. The Fund is subject to the principal risks listed below.

Asset-Backed Securities Risk: Asset-backed securities are fixed-income securities backed by other assets such as credit card, automobile or consumer loan receivables, retail installment loans, or participations in pools of leases. The values of these securities are sensitive to changes in the credit quality of the underlying collateral, the credit strength of any credit enhancement feature, changes in interest rates, and, at times, the financial condition of the issuer.

Derivatives Risk: The use of derivatives may expose the Fund to additional risks that it would not be subject to if it invested directly in the securities underlying those derivatives. Risks associated with derivatives may include the risk that the derivative does not correlate well with the security, index, or currency to which it relates, the risk that the Fund will be unable to sell or close out the derivative due to an illiquid market, the risk that the counterparty may be unwilling or unable to meet its obligations, and the risk that the derivative could expose the Fund to the risk of magnified losses resulting from leverage. These additional risks could cause the Fund to experience losses to which it would otherwise not be subject.

•

Leverage Risk: Leverage occurs when the Fund uses borrowings, derivatives, or similar instruments or techniques to gain exposure to investments in an amount that exceeds the Fund's initial investment. The use of leverage magnifies changes in the Fund’s net asset value and thus may result in increased portfolio volatility and increased risk of loss. Leverage can create an interest expense that may lower the Fund’s overall returns. There can be no guarantee that a leveraging strategy will be successful.


•	Futures Contracts Risk: The risks associated with the Fund's futures positions include liquidity and counterparty risks associated with derivative investments.

•

Swap Agreements Risk: Swap agreements (“swaps”) are individually negotiated and structured to include exposure to a variety of different types of investments or market factors. Swaps may increase or decrease the overall volatility of the investments of the Fund and its share price. The performance of swaps may be affected by a change in the specific interest rate, currency, or other factors that determine the amounts of payments due to and from the Fund. A swap can be a form of leverage, which can magnify the Fund’s gains or losses.

Equity Securities Risk: The Fund is subject to the risk that stock prices will fall over short or extended periods of time. Individual companies may report poor results or be negatively affected by industry and/or economic trends and developments. The prices of securities issued by these companies may decline in response to such developments, which could result in a decline in the value of the Fund’s shares.


•	Large-Cap Risk: Large-cap companies may be unable to respond quickly to new competitive challenges, such as changes in technology and consumer tastes, and also may not be able to attain the high growth rate of successful smaller companies, especially during extended periods of economic expansion.

Fixed-Income Risk: The market value of the Fund’s fixed-income securities responds to economic developments, particularly interest rate changes, as well as to perceptions about the creditworthiness of individual issuers, including governments. Generally, the Fund’s fixed-income securities will decrease in value if interest rates rise and increase in value if interest rates fall. Normally, the longer the maturity or duration of the fixed-income securities the Fund owns, the more sensitive the value of the Fund’s shares will be to changes in interest rates.


•	Credit Risk: The fixed-income securities in the Fund’s portfolio are subject to the possibility that a deterioration, whether sudden or gradual, in the financial condition of an issuer, or a deterioration in general economic conditions, could cause an issuer to fail to make timely payments of principal or interest, when due. This may cause the issuer’s securities to decline in value.

•


•	Interest Rate Risk: In general, when interest rates rise, the prices of debt securities fall, and when interest rates fall, the prices of debt securities rise. The price volatility of a debt security also depends on its maturity. Longer-term securities are generally more volatile, so the longer the average maturity or duration of these securities, the greater their price risk.

•


•	Depositary Receipts Risk: Foreign receipts, which include ADRs, Global Depositary Receipts, and European Depositary Receipts, are securities that evidence ownership interests in a security or a pool of securities issued by a foreign issuer. The risks of depositary receipts include many risks associated with investing directly in foreign securities.


•	Emerging Markets Risk: Emerging markets may be more likely to experience political turmoil or rapid changes in market or economic conditions than more developed countries. In addition, the financial stability of issuers (including governments) in emerging market countries may be more precarious than that of issuers in other countries.

Investment-Grade Debt Securities Risk: Investment-grade debt securities may be downgraded by a nationally recognized statistical rating organization (“NRSRO”) to below-investment-grade status, which would increase the risk of holding these securities. Investment-grade debt securities rated in the lowest rating category by a NRSRO involve a higher degree of risk than fixed-income securities with higher credit ratings.

Management Risk: In managing the Fund’s portfolio, the Advisor engages one or more sub-advisors to make investment decisions for a portion of or the entire portfolio. There is a risk that the Advisor may be unable to identify and retain sub-advisors who achieve superior investment returns relative to other similar sub-advisors.

Mortgage-Backed Securities Risk: Mortgage-backed securities are fixed-income securities representing an interest in a pool of underlying mortgage loans. Mortgage-backed securities are sensitive to changes in interest rates, but may respond to these changes differently from other fixed-income securities due to the possibility of prepayment of the underlying mortgage loans. Mortgage-backed securities may fluctuate in price based on deterioration in the value of the collateral underlying the pool of mortgage loans, which may result in the collateral being worth less than the remaining principal amount owed on the mortgages in the pool.

Mortgage Dollar Roll Risk: If the broker-dealer to whom the Fund sells the mortgage-backed security becomes insolvent, the Fund’s right to repurchase the security may be restricted. Other risks involved in entering into mortgage dollar rolls include the risk that the value of the security may change adversely over the term of the mortgage dollar roll and that the security the Fund is required to repurchase may be worth less than the security that the Fund held.

Portfolio Turnover Risk: Frequent and active trading may result in greater expenses to the Fund, which may lower the Fund’s performance and may result in the realization of substantial capital gains, including net short-term capital gains. As a result, high portfolio turnover may reduce the Fund’s returns.

U.S. Government Agencies Securities Risk: Certain U.S. government agency securities are backed by the right of the issuer to borrow from the U.S. Treasury while others are supported only by the credit of the issuer or instrumentality. While the U.S. government is able to provide financial support to U.S. government-sponsored agencies or instrumentalities, no assurance can be given that it will always do so.

As with any mutual fund, there is no guarantee that the Fund will achieve its investment goal. You can find more information about the Fund’s investments and risks under the “Investment Strategies and Risks” section of the Fund’s prospectus.

The Fund’s Performance

The Fund is a new series of the Trust and has no performance history. As a result of the Reorganization, the performance and accounting history of the Predecessor Fund will be assumed by the Fund. The performance information included herein is that of the Predecessor Fund.

The bar chart and the performance table below illustrate the risks and volatility of an investment in the Fund by showing changes in the Predecessor Fund’s performance from calendar year to calendar year and by showing how the Predecessor Fund’s average annual total returns for one year, five years, and ten years compare with the S&P 500® Index and the Bloomberg Barclays US Aggregate Bond Index. Past performance of the Predecessor Fund (before and after taxes) does not necessarily indicate how the Fund will perform in the future. More recent performance for the Fund is available at no cost by visiting TouchstoneInvestments.com or by calling 1.800.543.0407.

Predecessor Fund - Total Return as of December 31 (%)

Best Quarter: Second Quarter, 2009 11.76% Worst Quarter: Fourth Quarter, 2008 (13.35)%

The Predecessor Fund’s calendar year-to-date total return as of September 30, 2017 was 9.60%.

Average Annual Total Returns

For the periods ended December 31, 2016



	1 Year		5 Years		10 Years
Predecessor Fund	7.42	%	8.95	%	6.02	%
S&P 500® Index⁽¹⁾ (reflects no deduction for fees, expenses or taxes)	11.96	%	14.66	%	6.95	%
Bloomberg Barclays US Aggregate Bond Index⁽²⁾ (reflects no deduction for taxes or certain expenses)	2.65	%	2.23	%	4.34	%


⁽¹⁾	The S&P 500® Index consists of approximately 500 widely held U.S. equity securities chosen for market size, liquidity, and industry group representation.


⁽²⁾	The Bloomberg Barclays US Aggregate Bond Index measures the U.S. investment grade fixed-rate bond market, with index components for government and corporate securities, mortgage pass-through securities, and asset-backed securities.

The Fund’s Management

Investment Advisor

Touchstone Advisors, Inc.



Sub-Advisor	Portfolio Manager	Investment Experience with the Fund	Primary Title with Sub-Advisor
Fort Washington Investment Advisors, Inc.	Timothy J. Policinski, CFA	Since inception in 2017	Managing Director and Senior Portfolio Manager
	Daniel J. Carter, CFA	Since inception in 2017	Assistant Vice President and Portfolio Manager
	James Wilhelm	Since inception in 2017	Managing Director, Head of Public Equities

Buying and Selling Fund Shares

You cannot buy or sell shares of the Fund directly. You can invest indirectly in the Fund through your purchase of a variable annuity contract or variable life policy. Please see the variable contract prospectus for additional investment information.

Tax Information

The dividends and distributions paid by the Fund will consist of ordinary income, capital gains or some combination of both. Because shares of the Fund must be purchased through separate accounts used to fund variable life and variable annuity insurance contracts, such dividends and distributions will be exempt from current taxation to you if you leave such amounts to accumulate within a separate account. Please see the variable contract prospectus for additional tax information.

Payments to Sponsoring Insurance Companies and Other Financial Intermediaries

The Fund or its distributor (and related companies) may pay broker/dealers or other financial intermediaries (such as banks and insurance companies, or their related companies) for the sale and retention of variable contracts that offer Fund shares and/or for other services. These payments may create a conflict of interest for a financial intermediary, or may be a factor in the insurance company’s decision to include the Fund as an investment option in its variable contract. For more information, ask your financial advisor, visit your financial intermediary’s website, or consult the variable contract prospectus or the Fund’s prospectus.

TOUCHSTONE BOND FUND SUMMARY

The Fund's Investment Goals

The Touchstone Bond Fund (the "Fund") seeks to provide as high a level of current income as is consistent with the preservation of capital. Capital appreciation is a secondary goal.

The Fund's Fees and Expenses



Annual Fund Operating Expenses (expenses that you pay each year as a percentage of the value of your investment)
Management Fees	0.40	%
Distribution and/or Shareholder Service (12b-1) Fees	None
Other Expenses⁽¹⁾	0.43	%
Acquired Fund Fees and Expenses⁽¹⁾	0.03	%
Total Annual Fund Operating Expenses	0.86	%
Fee Waiver or Expense Reimbursement⁽²⁾	(0.16	)%
Total Annual Fund Operating Expenses After Fee Waiver or Expense Reimbursement⁽²⁾	0.70	%

___________________________________________

⁽¹⁾ The Fund is newly formed and will commence operations following the completion of the reorganization of the Sentinel Variable Products Bond Fund (the "Predecessor Fund"), a series of Sentinel Variable Products Trust, into the Fund, which is expected to occur on or about October 27, 2017 (the "Reorganization"). Other Expenses and Acquired Fund Fees and Expenses are estimated based on fees and expenses incurred by other funds within the Touchstone fund complex during the most recent fiscal year.

⁽²⁾ Touchstone Advisors, Inc. (the "Advisor" or "Touchstone Advisors") and Touchstone Variable Series Trust (the “Trust”) have entered into a contractual expense limitation agreement whereby Touchstone Advisors will waive a portion of its fees or reimburse certain Fund expenses (excluding dividend and interest expenses relating to short sales; interest; taxes; brokerage commissions and other transaction costs; portfolio transaction and investment related expenses; other expenditures which are capitalized in accordance with U.S. generally accepted accounting principles; the cost of “Acquired Fund Fees and Expenses,” if any; and other extraordinary expenses not incurred in the ordinary course of business) in order to limit annual Fund operating expenses to 0.67% of its average daily net assets. This contractual expense limitation will remain in effect for at least two years following the closing of the Reorganization. The terms of the contractual expense limitation agreement provide that Touchstone Advisors is entitled to recoup, subject to approval by the Board, such amounts waived or reimbursed for a period of up to three years from the date of reimbursement or waiver. The Fund will make repayments to Touchstone Advisors only if such repayment does not cause the Fund’s expense ratio (after the repayment is taken into account) to exceed both (a) the expense limitation in place when such amounts were waived and (b) the Fund’s current expense limitation.

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 does not include expenses incurred from investing through a variable annuity or a variable life insurance product. If the example included these expenses, the figures shown would be higher. The example assumes that you invest $10,000 in the Fund 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 Fund's operating expenses remain the same and that all fee waivers or expense limits for the Fund will expire after two years. Although your actual costs may be higher or lower, based on these assumptions your costs would be:



1 Year	$	72
3 Years	$	242
5 Years	$	445
10 Years	$	1,030

Portfolio Turnover. The Fund pays transaction costs, such as brokerage 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 fund operating expenses or in the example, affect the Fund's performance. The portfolio turnover rate for the Predecessor Fund for the fiscal year ended December 31, 2016 was 197%.

The Fund's Principal Investment Strategies

Under normal conditions, the Fund invests at least 80% of its assets (including borrowing for investment purposes) in bonds. This is a non-fundamental investment policy that the Fund can change upon 60 days prior notice to shareholders. Bonds include mortgage-related securities, asset-backed securities, government securities, and corporate debt securities.

In deciding what securities to buy and sell for the Fund, the Fund's sub-advisor, Fort Washington Investment Advisors, Inc. ("Fort Washington" or "Sub-Advisor"), analyzes the overall investment opportunities and risks in different sectors of the debt securities markets by focusing on maximizing total return while reducing volatility of the Fund's portfolio.

In building the Fund's portfolio, the Sub-Advisor primarily invests in investment-grade debt securities, but may invest up to 30% of its total assets in non-investment-grade debt securities rated as low as B by a Nationally Recognized Statistical Rating Organization ("NRSRO"). Non-investment-grade debt securities are often referred to as "junk bonds" and are considered speculative. The Fund may also invest up to 20% of its total assets in foreign-issued debt denominated in either the U.S. dollar or a foreign currency. Foreign-issued debt may include debt securities of emerging market countries.

Additionally, in order to implement its investment strategy the Fund may invest in mortgage dollar-roll transactions and reverse repurchase agreements, and in derivatives including forwards and futures contracts, interest rate and credit default swap agreements, and options. These investments may be used for both gaining and hedging market exposure, to adjust the Fund's duration, to manage interest rate risk, and for any other purposes consistent with its investment strategies and limitations.

The Fund may engage in frequent and active trading as part of its principal investment strategy.

The Fund's Principal Risks

The Fund's share price will fluctuate. You could lose money on your investment in the Fund and the Fund could also return less than other investments. The Fund is subject to the principal risks summarized below.


•	Forward Currency Exchange Contract Risk: Forward foreign currency exchange contracts may reduce the risk of loss from a change in value of a currency, but they also limit any potential gains, do not protect against fluctuations in the value of the underlying position and are subject to the risk that the counterparty to the transaction will not meet its obligations.


•	Futures Contracts Risk: The risks associated with futures include the potential inability to terminate or sell a position, the lack of a liquid secondary market for the Fund's position and the risk that the counterparty to the transaction will not meet its obligations.


•	Leverage Risk: Leverage occurs when the Fund increases its assets available for investment using borrowings, derivatives, or similar instruments or techniques. The use of leverage may make any change in the Fund's net asset value even greater and thus result in increased volatility of returns.


•	Options Risk: Options trading is a highly specialized activity that involves investment techniques and risks different from those associated with ordinary portfolio securities transactions. The value of options can be highly volatile, and their use can result in loss if the Sub-Advisor is incorrect in its expectation of price fluctuations.

•

Swap Agreement Risk: The Fund bears the risk of loss of the amount expected to be received under a swap agreement in the event of the default or bankruptcy of a counterparty. Swap agreements also may be considered to be illiquid. The Fund could lose money by investing in an interest rate swap if interest rates change adversely. Credit default swaps involve special risks because they may be difficult to value, are highly susceptible to liquidity and credit risk, and generally pay a purchaser only in the event of an actual default by the issuer of the underlying obligation (as opposed to a credit downgrade or other indication of financial difficulty).

Fixed-Income Risk: The market value of the Fund's fixed-income securities responds to economic developments, particularly interest rate changes, as well as to perceptions about the creditworthiness of individual issuers, including governments. Generally, the Fund's fixed-income securities will decrease in value if interest rates rise and increase in value if interest rates fall. Normally, the longer the maturity or duration of the fixed-income securities the Fund owns, the more sensitive the value of the Fund's shares will be to changes in interest rates.

•

Asset-Backed Securities Risk: Asset-backed securities are fixed-income securities backed by other assets such as credit card, automobile or consumer loan receivables, retail installment loans, or participations in pools of leases. There could be inadequate collateral or no collateral for asset-backed securities. The values of these securities are sensitive to changes in the credit quality of the underlying collateral, the credit strength of the credit enhancement, changes in interest rates and, at times, the financial condition of the issuer. Some asset-backed securities are subject to prepayments that can change the securities' effective durations.


•	Credit Risk: The fixed-income securities in the Fund's portfolio are subject to the possibility that a deterioration, whether sudden or gradual, in the financial condition of an issuer, or a deterioration in general economic conditions, could cause an issuer to fail to make timely payments of principal or interest, when due. This may cause the issuer's securities to decline in value.

•

Investment-Grade Debt Securities Risk: Investment-grade debt securities may be downgraded by a NRSRO to below investment-grade status (also known as "junk bond" status), which would increase the risk of holding these securities, or a rating may become stale in that it fails to reflect changes to an issuer's financial condition. Investment-grade debt securities rated in the lowest rating category by a NRSRO involve a higher degree of risk than fixed-income securities in the higher-rating categories.

•


•	Emerging Markets Risk: Emerging markets may be more likely to experience political turmoil or rapid changes in market or economic conditions than more developed countries. In addition, the financial stability of issuers (including governments) in emerging market countries may be more precarious than in other countries.


•	Sovereign Debt Risk: The actions of foreign governments concerning their respective economies could have an important effect on their ability or willingness to service their sovereign debt. Such actions could have significant effects on market conditions and on the prices of securities and instruments held by the Fund, including the securities and instruments of foreign private issuers.

Management Risk: In managing the Fund's portfolio, the Advisor may engage one or more sub-advisors to make investment decisions on the portfolio or a portion thereof. There is a risk that the Advisor may be unable to identify and retain sub-advisors who achieve superior investment returns relative to other similar sub-advisors.

Portfolio Turnover Risk: Frequent and active trading may result in greater expenses to the Fund, which may lower the Fund’s performance and may result in the realization of substantial capital gains. As a result, high portfolio turnover may reduce the Fund’s returns.

As with any mutual fund, there is no guarantee that the Fund will achieve its investment goal. You can find more information about the Fund's investments and risks under the "Principal Investment Strategies and Risks" section of the Fund's prospectus.

The Fund's Performance

The bar chart and the performance table below illustrate the risks and volatility of an investment in the Fund by showing changes in the Predecessor Fund’s performance from calendar year to calendar year and by showing how the Predecessor Fund’s average annual total returns for one year, five years, and ten years compare with the Bloomberg Barclays US Aggregate Bond Index. Past performance of the Predecessor Fund (before and after taxes) does not necessarily indicate how the Fund will perform in the future. More recent performance for the Fund is available at no cost by visiting TouchstoneInvestments.com or by calling 1.800.543.0407.

Predecessor Fund - Total Return as of December 31 (%)

Best Quarter: Second Quarter, 2009 5.93% Worst Quarter: Fourth Quarter, 2013 (2.78)%

The Predecessor Fund’s calendar year-to-date total return as of September 30, 2017 was 3.13%

Average Annual Total Returns

For the periods ended December 31, 2016



	1 Year		5 Years		10 Years
Predecessor Fund	0.81	%	1.91	%	4.50	%
Bloomberg Barclays U.S. Aggregate Bond Index (reflects no deductions for fees, expenses or taxes)	2.65	%	2.23	%	4.34	%

The Fund's Management

Investment Advisor

Touchstone Advisors, Inc.



Sub-Advisor	Portfolio Managers	Investment Experience with the Fund	Primary Title with Sub-Advisor
Fort Washington Investment Advisors, Inc.	Timothy J. Policinski, CFA	Since inception in 2017	Managing Director and Senior Portfolio Manager
	Daniel J. Carter, CFA	Since inception in 2017	Assistant Vice President and Portfolio Manager

Buying and Selling Fund Shares

Tax Information

Payments to Sponsoring Insurance Companies and Other Financial Intermediaries

TOUCHSTONE COMMON STOCK FUND SUMMARY

The Fund’s Investment Goal

The Touchstone Common Stock Fund (the “Fund”) seeks to provide investors with capital appreciation.

The Fund’s Fees and Expenses



Annual Fund Operating Expenses (expenses that you pay each year as a percentage of the value of your investment)
Management Fees	0.50	%
Distribution and/or Shareholder Service (12b-1) Fees	None
Other Expenses⁽¹⁾	0.22	%
Total Annual Fund Operating Expenses	0.72	%

___________________________________________

⁽¹⁾The Fund is newly formed and will commence operations following the completion of the reorganization of the Sentinel Variable Products Common Stock Fund (the "Predecessor Fund"), a series of Sentinel Variable Products Trust, into the Fund, which is expected to occur on or about October 27, 2017 (the "Reorganization"). Other Expenses are estimated based on fees and expenses incurred by other funds within the Touchstone fund complex during the most recent fiscal year.

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 in the Fund for the time periods indicated and then, except as indicated, 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 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	$	74
3 Years	$	230
5 Years	$	401
10 Years	$	894

Portfolio Turnover. The Fund pays transaction costs, such as brokerage commissions, when it buys and sells securities (i.e., “turns over” its portfolio). A higher portfolio turnover 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 total annual fund operating expenses or in the example, affect the Fund’s performance. The portfolio turnover rate for the Predecessor Fund for the fiscal year ended December 31, 2016 was 6%.

The Fund’s Principal Investment Strategies

The Fund invests, under normal market conditions, at least 80% of its assets in large capitalization equity securities. The Fund invests primarily in issuers having a market capitalization, at the time of purchase, above $5 billion. The Fund’s 80% policy is a non-fundamental investment policy that can be changed by the Fund upon 60 days’ prior notice to shareholders. Equity securities include common stock and preferred stock. These securities may be listed on an exchange or traded over-the-counter.

In selecting securities for the Fund, the Fund’s sub-advisor, Fort Washington Investment Advisors, Inc. (“Fort Washington” or the “Sub-Advisor”), seeks to invest in companies that:


•	Are trading below its estimate of the companies’ intrinsic value; and


•	Have a sustainable competitive advantage or a high barrier to entry in place. The barrier(s) to entry can be created through a cost advantage, economies of scale, high customer loyalty, or a government barrier (e.g., license or subsidy). Fort Washington believes that the strongest barrier to entry is the combination of economies of scale and higher customer loyalty.

The Fund will generally hold 25 to 40 companies, with residual cash and equivalents expected to represent less than 10% of the Fund’s net assets. The Fund may, at times, hold fewer securities and a higher percentage of cash and equivalents when, among other reasons, Fort Washington cannot find a sufficient number of securities that meets its purchase requirements. Although the Fund may invest in any economic sector, at times it may emphasize one or more particular sectors.

The Fund may invest up to 35% of its assets in securities of foreign issuers through the use of ordinary shares or depositary receipts such as American Depositary Receipts (“ADRs”). The Fund may also invest in securities of emerging market countries.

The Fund will generally sell a security if it reaches Fort Washington’s estimate of fair value, if a more attractive investment opportunity is available, or if a structural change has taken place and Fort Washington cannot reliably estimate the impact of the change on the business fundamentals.

The Fund is non-diversified and may invest a significant percentage of its assets in the securities of a single company.

The Fund’s Principal Risks


•	Large-Cap Risk: Large-cap companies may be unable to respond quickly to new competitive challenges, such as changes in technology and consumer tastes, and also may not be able to attain the high growth rate of successful smaller companies, especially during extended periods of economic expansion.


•	Depositary Receipts Risk: Foreign receipts, which include ADRs, GDRs, and European Depositary Receipts, are securities that evidence ownership interests in a security or a pool of securities issued by a foreign issuer. The risks of depositary receipts include many risks associated with investing directly in foreign securities.


•	Emerging Markets Risk: Emerging markets may be more likely to experience political turmoil or rapid changes in market or economic conditions than more developed countries. In addition, the financial stability of issuers (including governments) in emerging market countries may be more precarious than that of issuers in other countries.

Non-Diversification Risk: The Fund is non-diversified, which means that it may invest a greater percentage of its assets than a diversified mutual fund in the securities of a limited number of issuers. The use of a non-diversified investment strategy may increase the volatility of the Fund’s investment performance, as the Fund may be more susceptible to risks associated with a single economic, political, or regulatory event than a diversified fund.

Sector Focus Risk: The Fund may invest a high percentage of its assets in specific sectors of the market in order to achieve a potentially greater investment return. As a result, the Fund may be more susceptible to economic, political, and regulatory developments in a particular sector of the market, positive or negative than a fund that does not invest a high percentage of its assets in specific sectors.

The Fund’s Performance

The Fund is a new series of the Trust and has no performance history. As a result of the Reorganization, the performance and accounting history of the Predecessor Fund will be assumed by the Fund. Performance information included herein is that of the Predecessor Fund.

The bar chart and the performance table below illustrate the risks and volatility of an investment in the Fund by showing changes in the Predecessor Fund’s performance from calendar year to calendar year and by showing how the Predecessor Fund’s average annual total returns for one year, five years, and ten years compare with the S&P 500® Index. Past performance of the Predecessor Fund (before and after taxes) does not necessarily indicate how the Fund will perform in the future. More recent performance for the Fund is available at no cost by visiting TouchstoneInvestments.com or by calling 1.800.543.0407.

Predecessor Fund - Total Return as of December 31 (%)

Best Quarter: Second Quarter, 2009 17.21% Worst Quarter: Fourth Quarter, 2008 (20.36%)

The Predecessor Fund’s calendar year-to-date total return as of September 30, 2017 was 15.02%.

Average Annual Total Returns

For the Periods Ended December 31, 2016



	1 Year		5 Years		10 Years
Predecessor Fund	11.26	%	13.27	%	7.59	%
S&P 500® Index⁽¹⁾ (reflects no deduction for fees, expenses or taxes)	11.96	%	14.66	%	6.95	%


⁽¹⁾	The S&P 500® Index consists of approximately 500 widely held U.S. equity securities chosen for market size, liquidity, and industry group representation.

The Fund’s Management

Investment Advisor

Touchstone Advisors, Inc.

Buying and Selling Fund Shares

Tax Information

Payments to Sponsoring Insurance Companies and Other Financial Intermediaries

TOUCHSTONE SMALL COMPANY FUND SUMMARY

The Fund’s Investment Goal

The Touchstone Small Company Fund (the “Fund”) seeks to provide investors with growth of capital.

The Fund’s Fees and Expenses



Annual Fund Operating Expenses (expenses that you pay each year as a percentage of the value of your investment)
Management Fees	0.50	%
Distribution and/or Shareholder Service (12b-1) Fees	None
Other Expenses⁽¹⁾	0.29	%
Acquired Fund Fees and Expenses⁽¹⁾	0.01	%
Total Annual Fund Operating Expenses	0.80	%
Fee Waiver or Expense Reimbursement⁽²⁾	(0.03	)%
Total Annual Fund Operating Expenses After Fee Waiver or Expense Reimbursement⁽²⁾	0.77	%

___________________________________________

⁽¹⁾The Fund is newly formed and will commence operations following the completion of the reorganization of the Sentinel Variable Products Small Company Fund (the "Predecessor Fund"), a series of Sentinel Variable Products Trust, into the Fund, which is expected to occur on or about October 27, 2017 (the "Reorganization"). Other Expenses and Acquired Fund Fees and Expenses are estimated based on fees and expenses incurred by other funds within the Touchstone fund complex during the most recent fiscal year.

⁽²⁾Touchstone Advisors, Inc. (the "Advisor" or "Touchstone Advisors") and Touchstone Variable Series Trust (the “Trust”) have entered into a contractual expense limitation agreement whereby Touchstone Advisors will waive a portion of its fees or reimburse certain Fund expenses (excluding dividend and interest expenses relating to short sales; interest; taxes; brokerage commissions and other transaction costs; portfolio transaction and investment related expenses; other expenditures which are capitalized in accordance with U.S. generally accepted accounting principles; the cost of “Acquired Fund Fees and Expenses,” if any; and other extraordinary expenses not incurred in the ordinary course of business) in order to limit annual Fund operating expenses to 0.76% of average daily net assets. This contractual expense limitation will remain in effect for at least two years following the closing of the Reorganization. The terms of the contractual expense limitation agreement provide that Touchstone Advisors is entitled to recoup, subject to approval by the Board, such amounts waived or reimbursed for a period of up to three years from the date of reimbursement or waiver. The Fund will make repayments to Touchstone Advisors only if such repayment does not cause the Fund’s expense ratio (after the repayment is taken into account) to exceed both (a) the expense limitation in place when such amounts were waived and (b) the Fund’s current expense limitation.



1 Year	$	79
3 Years	$	249
5 Years	$	438
10 Years	$	984

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 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. The portfolio turnover rate for the Predecessor Fund for the fiscal year ended December 31, 2016 was 68%.

The Fund’s Principal Investment Strategies

The Fund normally invests at least 80% of its assets in small-capitalization companies. This is a non–fundamental investment policy that can be changed by the Fund upon 60 days' prior notice to shareholders. For this purpose, small capitalization companies are companies that have, at the time of purchase, market capitalizations of less than $4 billion. For these purposes the market cap is determined at the time of purchase. The Fund seeks to invest primarily in common stocks of small companies that Fort Washington Investment Advisors, Inc., the Fund's sub-advisor ("Fort Washington" or the "Sub–Advisor"), believes are high quality, have superior business models, solid management teams, sustainable growth potential and are attractively valued. The Fund may invest without limitation in foreign securities, although only where the securities are trading in the U.S. or Canada and only where trading is denominated in U.S. or Canadian dollars.

Up to 25% of the Fund's assets may be invested in securities within a single industry. Although the Fund may invest in any economic sector, at times it may emphasize one or more particular sectors. At times the Fund may have less than 80% of its investments in companies with a market cap of less than $4 billion due to market appreciation.

The Fund typically sells a security if the portfolio manager believes it is overvalued, if the original investment premise is no longer true, if the holding size exceeds the portfolio manager's company or sector weighting guidelines and/or to take advantage of a more attractive investment opportunity. The Fund may also sell a partial position in a security in order to manage the size of the position. A security may also be sold to meet redemptions.

The Fund’s Principal Risks

Small-Cap Risk: Stocks of smaller companies may be subject to more abrupt or erratic market movements than stocks of larger, more established companies. Small companies may have limited product lines or financial resources, and may be dependent upon a small or inexperienced management group.

The Fund’s Performance

The Fund is a new series of Touchstone Variable Series Trust (the "Trust") and has no performance history. It is expected that on or about October 27, 2017, the Predecessor Fund will be reorganized into the Fund. As a result of the Reorganization, the

performance and accounting history of the Predecessor Fund will be assumed by the Fund. Performance information included herein is that of the Predecessor Fund.

The bar chart and the performance table below illustrate the risks and volatility of an investment in the Fund by showing changes in the Predecessor Fund’s performance from calendar year to calendar year and by showing how the Predecessor Fund’s average annual total returns for one year, five years, and ten years compare with the Russell 2000® Index. Past performance of the Predecessor Fund (before and after taxes) does not necessarily indicate how the Fund will perform in the future. More recent performance for the Fund is available at no cost by visiting TouchstoneInvestments.com or by calling 1.800.543.0407.

Predecessor Fund - Total Return as of December 31 (%)

Best Quarter: Third Quarter, 2009 16.27% Worst Quarter: Fourth Quarter, 2008 (24.27%)

The Predecessor Fund’s calendar year-to-date total return for Class A shares as of September 30, 2017 was 12.08%.

Average Annual Total Returns

For the Periods Ended December 31, 2016



	1 Year		5 Years		10 Years
Predecessor Fund	20.23	%	13.70	%	8.52	%
Russell 2000® Index⁽¹⁾ (reflects no deduction for fees, expenses or taxes)	21.31	%	14.46	%	7.07	%


⁽¹⁾	The Russell 2000® Index measures the performance of 2,000 small-cap companies within the U.S. equity universe.

The Fund’s Management

Investment Advisor

Touchstone Advisors, Inc.

Buying and Selling Fund Shares

Tax Information

contracts, such dividends and distributions will be exempt from current taxation to you if you leave such amounts to accumulate within a separate account. Please see the variable contract prospectus for additional tax information.

Payments to Sponsoring Insurance Companies and Other Financial Intermediaries

PROSPECTUS

Shares of each Fund described in this prospectus can be purchased by insurance company separate accounts. You can invest indirectly in the Funds through your purchase of a variable annuity contract or variable life policy. When you purchase a variable annuity contract or variable life policy, you decide how to invest your purchase payments by selecting from the available investment options. The investment options may include sub-accounts that invest in the Funds of the Touchstone Variable Series Trust (the "Trust").

Because the Trust offers shares to both variable annuity and variable life separate accounts of insurance companies, there may be conflicts of interest between the variable annuity and variable life contract holders. The Trust's Board of Trustees (the "Board") monitors for the existence of any potential conflicts of interest. If a conflict arises between the holders of variable annuity contracts and variable life insurance policies of participating insurance companies, a participating insurance company may be required to withdraw the assets allocable to some or all of the separate accounts from one or more of the Funds. Any withdrawal could disrupt orderly portfolio management to the potential detriment of shareholders.

You should read the prospectus for the variable annuity contract or variable life policy that you want to purchase to learn about purchasing a contract and selecting your investment options. That prospectus also contains information about the contract, your investment options, the sub-accounts and expenses related to purchasing a variable annuity contract or variable life policy.

INVESTMENT STRATEGIES AND RISKS

This prospectus applies to the Touchstone Balanced Fund (the "Balanced Fund"), the Touchstone Bond Fund (the "Bond Fund"), the Touchstone Common Stock Fund (the "Common Stock Fund"), and the Touchstone Small Company Fund (the "Small Company Fund") (each a “Fund”, and collectively, the “Funds”).

How Do The Funds Implement Their Investment Goal?

Each Fund's investment goal and strategies are described above in the "Principal Investment Strategies" summary sections.

Balanced Fund. With respect to equities, the Fund invests primarily in issuers having a market capitalization, at the time of purchase, above $5 billion. Equity securities include common stock and preferred stock. These securities may be listed on an exchange or traded over-the-counter. Up to 35% of the Fund’s equity sleeve may be invested in securities of foreign issuers through the use of ordinary shares or depositary receipts such as American Depositary Receipts (“ADRs”). The Fund may also invest in equity securities of emerging market countries. Emerging market countries are generally countries that are included in the Morgan Stanley Capital International (“MSCI”) Emerging Markets Index. As of September 29, 2017, the countries in the MSCI Emerging Markets Index included: Brazil, Chile, China, Colombia, Czech Republic, Egypt, Greece, Hungary, India, Indonesia, Korea, Malaysia, Mexico, Pakistan, Peru, Philippines, Poland, Russia, Qatar, South Africa, Taiwan, Thailand, Turkey and United Arab Emirates. The country composition of the MSCI Emerging Markets Index can change over time.

With respect to fixed-income, the Fund will investment primarily in bonds, including mortgage-related securities, asset-backed securities, government securities (both U.S. government securities and foreign sovereign debt), and corporate debt securities. The Sub-Advisor primarily invests in investment-grade debt securities, but may invest up to 30% of the Fund's fixed-income sleeve in non-investment-grade debt securities rated as low as B by a Nationally Recognized Statistical Rating Organization (“NRSRO”). Non-investment-grade debt securities are often referred to as “junk bonds” and are considered speculative.

Bond Fund. In deciding which securities to buy and sell for the Fund, the Fund's Sub-Advisor analyzes the overall investment opportunities and risks in different sectors of the debt securities markets by focusing on maximizing total return while reducing volatility of the Fund's portfolio. Fort Washington follows a disciplined sector allocation process in order to build a broadly diversified portfolio of investments.

Organization ("NRSRO"). Non-investment-grade debt securities are often referred to as "junk bonds" and are considered speculative. The Fund may also invest up to 20% of its total assets in foreign-issued debt denominated in either the U.S. dollar or a foreign currency. Foreign-issued debt may include debt securities of emerging market countries. Emerging markets countries consists of countries in the JP Morgan Emerging Markets Bond Index (EMBI) Global. Foreign-issued debt securities are issued by non-U.S. companies of any size that are tied economically to foreign markets. The Fund will generally consider qualifying investments to be companies that are organized under the laws of, or maintain their principal place of business in, a foreign country; have securities that are principally traded in such countries; or derive at least 50% of revenues or profits from, or have at least 50% of their assets in, such countries.

Additionally, in order to implement its investment strategy, the Fund may invest in dollar-roll transactions and reverse repurchase agreements, and in derivatives including forwards and futures contracts, interest rate and credit default swap agreements, and options. These investments may be used for both gaining and hedging market exposure, to adjust the Fund's duration, to manage interest rate risk, and for any other purposes consistent with its investment strategies and limitations. The Fund may engage in frequent and active trading as part of its principal investment strategy.

Common Stock Fund. In selecting securities for the Fund, the Fund’s Sub-Advisor seeks to invest in companies that:


•	Are trading below its estimate of the companies’ intrinsic value; and


•	Have a sustainable competitive advantage or a high barrier to entry in place. The barrier(s) to entry can be created through a cost advantage, economies of scale, high customer loyalty, or a government barrier (e.g., license or subsidy). Fort Washington believes that the strongest barrier to entry is the combination of economies of scale and higher customer loyalty.

The Fund will generally hold 25 to 40 companies, with residual cash and equivalents expected to represent less than 10% of the Fund’s net assets. The Fund may, at times, hold fewer securities and a higher percentage of cash and equivalents when, among other reasons, Fort Washington cannot find a sufficient number of securities that meets its purchase requirements. The Fund will generally sell a security if it reaches Fort Washington’s estimate of fair value, if a more attractive investment opportunity is available, or if a structural change has taken place and Fort Washington cannot reliably estimate the impact of the change on the business fundamentals.

Small Company Fund. The Fund typically sells a security if the portfolio manager believes it is overvalued, if the original investment premise is no longer true, if the holding size exceeds the portfolio manager's company or sector weighting guidelines and/or to take advantage of a more attractive investment opportunity. The Fund may also sell a partial position in a security in order to manage the size of the position. A security may also be sold to meet redemptions.

Can a Fund Depart From its Principal Investment Strategies?

In addition to the investments and strategies described in this prospectus, each Fund also may invest in other securities, use other strategies and engage in other investment practices. These investments and strategies are described in detail in the Statement of Additional Information (“SAI”).

Each Fund’s investment goal is non-fundamental, and may be changed by the Trust’s Board of Trustees (the “Board”) without shareholder approval. Shareholders will be notified at least 60 days before any change takes effect.

The investments and strategies described throughout this prospectus are those that the Funds use under normal market conditions. For temporary defensive purposes (e.g., attempting to respond to adverse market, economic, political, or other conditions), each Fund may invest up to 100% of its assets in cash, repurchase agreements, and short-term obligations (i.e., fixed and variable rate securities and high quality debt securities of corporate and government issuers) that would not ordinarily be consistent with the Funds’ goals. This defensive investing may increase a Fund’s taxable income, and when a Fund is invested defensively, it may not achieve its investment goal. A Fund will do so only if the Fund’s sub-advisor believes that the risk of loss in using the Fund’s normal strategies and investments outweighs the opportunity for gains. Of course, there can be no guarantee that any Fund will achieve its investment goal.

80% Investment Policy. Certain of the Funds have adopted a policy to invest, under normal circumstances, at least 80% of the value of its “assets” in certain types of investments suggested by its name (the “80% Policy”). For purposes of this 80% Policy, the term “assets” means net assets plus the amount of borrowings for investment purposes. A Fund must comply with its 80% Policy at the time the Fund invests its assets. Accordingly, when a Fund no longer meets the 80% requirement as a result of circumstances beyond its control, such as changes in the value of portfolio holdings, it would not have to sell its holdings but

would have to make any new investments in such a way as to comply with the 80% Policy. This is a non-fundamental investment policy that can be changed by a Fund upon 60 days’ prior notice to shareholders.

Change in Market Capitalization. A Fund may specify in its principal investment strategy a market capitalization range for acquiring portfolio securities. If a security that is within the range for a Fund at the time of purchase later falls outside the range, which is most likely to happen because of market fluctuation, the Fund may continue to hold the security if, in the sub-advisor’s judgment, the security remains otherwise consistent with the Fund’s investment goal and strategies. However, this change in market capitalization could affect the Fund’s flexibility in making new investments.

The following Funds have specified a market capitalization range: the Common Stock Fund and the Small Company Fund.

Other Investment Companies (All Funds). A Fund may invest in securities issued by other investment companies to the extent permitted by the Investment Company Act of 1940, as amended (the “1940 Act”), the rules thereunder and applicable Securities and Exchange Commission (the “SEC”) staff interpretations thereof. Investment companies include open- and closed-end funds, exchange-traded funds, and any other pooled investment vehicle that meets the definition of an investment company under the 1940 Act, whether such companies are required to register under the 1940 Act or not.

Lending of Portfolio Securities (All Funds). The Funds may lend their portfolio securities to brokers, dealers, and financial institutions under guidelines adopted by the Board, including a requirement that a Fund must receive collateral equal to no less than 100% of the market value of the securities loaned. The risk in lending portfolio securities, as with other extensions of credit, consists of possible loss of rights in the collateral should the borrower fail financially. In determining whether to lend securities, Touchstone Advisors, Inc. (the “Advisor”) will consider all relevant facts and circumstances, including the creditworthiness of the borrower. More information on securities lending is available in the SAI.

What are the Principal Risks of Investing in the Funds?

The risks that may apply to your investment in a Fund are listed below in a table of principal risks followed by a description of each risk. Further information about investment risks is available in the Funds’ SAI. The table below is not intended to provide shareholders with any indication of the Funds’ relative risk/return profiles. Shareholders should instead refer to the narrative descriptions of the Funds’ principal risks that follow the table below.



Risks	Balanced Fund	Bond Fund	Common Stock Fund	Small Company Fund
Asset-Backed Securities Risk	X
Credit Risk	X
Depositary Receipts Risk	X		X
Derivatives Risk	X	X
Distressed Securities Risk	X
Emerging Markets Risk	X		X
Equity Securities Risk	X		X	X
Fixed-Income Risk	X	X
Foreign Securities Risk	X	X	X	X
Futures Contracts Risk	X
Interest Rate Risk	X
Investment-Grade Debt Securities Risk	X
Large-Cap Risk	X		X
Leverage Risk	X
Management Risk	X	X	X	X
Mortgage-Backed Securities Risk	X
Non-Diversification Risk			X
Non-Investment-Grade Debt Securities Risk	X
Options Risk	X
Portfolio Turnover Risk	X	X
Sector Focus Risk	X		X	X
Small-Cap Risk				X
Swap Agreements Risk	X

Derivatives Risk: In general terms, a derivative instrument is one whose value depends on (or is derived from) the value of an underlying asset, interest rate or index. The use of derivatives may expose the Fund to additional risks that it would not be subject to if it invested directly in the securities underlying those derivatives. Risks associated with derivatives may include correlation risk, which is the risk that the derivative does not correlate well with the security, index, or currency to which it relates. Other risks include liquidity risk, which is the risk that the Fund may be unable to sell or close out the derivative due to an illiquid market, counterparty risk, which is the risk that the counterparty to a derivative instrument may be unwilling or unable to make required payments or otherwise meet its obligations, and leverage risk, which is the risk that a derivative could expose the Fund to magnified losses resulting from leverage. The use of derivatives for hedging purposes may result in losses that partially or completely offset gains in portfolio positions. Using derivatives can increase the volatility of the Fund’s share price. For some derivatives, it is possible for the Fund to lose more than the amount invested in the derivative instrument. Derivatives may, for federal income tax purposes, affect the character of gain and loss realized by the Fund, accelerate recognition of income to the Fund, affect the holding periods for certain of the Fund’s assets and defer recognition of certain of the Fund’s losses. The Fund’s ability to invest in derivatives may be restricted by certain provisions of the federal income tax laws relating to the Fund’s qualification as a regulated investment company (“RIC”). These additional risks could cause the Fund to experience losses to which it would otherwise not be subject.

•

Futures Contracts Risk: Futures contracts provide for the future sale by one party and purchase by another party of a specified amount of a specific security at a specified future time and at a specified price. An option on a futures contract gives the purchaser the right, in exchange for a premium, to assume a position in a futures contract at a specified exercise price during the term of the option. There are risks associated with these activities, including the following: (1) the success of a hedging strategy may depend on an ability to predict movements in the prices of individual securities, fluctuations in markets and movements in interest rates; (2) there may be an imperfect or no correlation between the changes in market value of the securities held by a Fund and the prices of futures and options on futures; (3) there may not be a liquid secondary market for a futures contract or option; (4) trading restrictions or limitations may be imposed by an exchange; and (5) government regulations may restrict trading in futures contracts and futures options.

•

Options Risk: Options trading is a highly specialized activity that involves investment techniques and risks different from those associated with ordinary portfolio securities transactions. The value of options can be highly volatile, and their use can result in loss if the Sub-Advisor is incorrect in its expectation of price fluctuations. The successful use of options for hedging purposes also depends in part on the ability of the Sub-Advisor to predict future price fluctuations and the degree of correlation between the options and securities markets. When options are purchased over the counter, the Fund bears counterparty risk, which is the risk that the counterparty that wrote the option will be unable or unwilling to perform its obligations under the option contract. Such options may also be illiquid, and in such cases, the Fund may have difficulty closing out its position. The Fund will limit its investments in illiquid securities to no more than 15% of net assets.

•

Swap Agreements Risk: Swap agreements (“swaps”) are individually negotiated and structured to include exposure to a variety of different types of investments or market factors, such as interest rates, foreign currency rates, mortgage securities, corporate borrowing rates, security prices, indexes or inflation rates. Swaps may increase or decrease the overall volatility of the investments of the Fund and its share price. The performance of swaps may be affected by a change in the specific interest rate, currency, or other factors that determine the amounts of payments due to and from the Fund. If a swap calls for payments by the Fund, the Fund must be prepared to make such payments when due. Additionally, if the counterparty’s creditworthiness declines, the value of a swap may decline. If the counterparty is unable to meet its obligations under the contract, declares bankruptcy, defaults, or becomes insolvent, the Fund may not be able to recoup the money it expected to receive under the contract. Finally, a swap can be a form of leverage, which can magnify the Fund’s gains or losses.

Equity Securities Risk: A Fund is subject to the risk that stock prices will fall over short or extended periods of time. Individual companies may report poor results or be negatively affected by industry and/or economic trends and developments. The prices of securities issued by these companies may decline in response to such developments, which could result in a decline in the value of the Funds’ shares. These factors contribute to price volatility. In addition, common stocks represent a share of ownership in a company, and rank after bonds and preferred stock in their claim on the company’s assets in the event of liquidation.

•

Large-Cap Risk: The Fund is subject to the risk that stocks of larger companies may underperform relative to those of small- and mid-sized companies. Large-cap companies may be unable to respond quickly to new competitive challenges, such as changes in technology and consumer tastes, and also may not be able to attain the high growth rate of successful smaller companies, especially during extended periods of economic expansion.

•

Small-Cap Risk: The Fund is subject to the risk that small capitalization stocks may underperform other types of stocks or the equity markets as a whole. Stocks of smaller companies may be subject to more abrupt or erratic market movements than stocks of larger, more established companies. Small companies may have limited product lines or financial resources, or may be dependent upon a small or inexperienced management group. In addition, small-cap stocks typically are traded in lower volume, and their issuers typically are subject to greater degrees of changes in their earnings and prospects.

Fixed-Income Risk: The market value of fixed-income securities changes in response to fluctuations in interest rates and other factors. During periods of falling interest rates, the values of fixed-income securities generally rise and during periods of rising interest rates, the values of those securities generally fall. While securities with longer maturities tend to produce higher yields, the prices of longer maturity securities are also subject to greater market fluctuations as a result of changes in interest rates. Duration is a measure of the sensitivity of the security’s price to changes in interest rates. Generally, the longer the maturity or duration of the fixed-income securities the Fund owns, the more sensitive the Fund will be to changes in interest rates.

•

Credit Risk: The fixed-income securities in the Fund’s portfolio are subject to the possibility that a deterioration, whether sudden or gradual, in the financial condition of an issuer, or a deterioration in general economic conditions, could cause an issuer to fail to make timely payments of principal or interest when due. This may cause the issuer’s securities to decline in value. Credit risk is particularly relevant to those portfolios that invest a significant amount of their assets in non-investment grade (or "junk") bonds or lower-rated securities.

•

Distressed Securities Risk: Distressed securities are speculative and involve significant risks in addition to the risks generally applicable to non-investment grade debt securities. Distressed securities bear a substantial risk of default, and may be in default at the time of investment. The Fund will generally not receive interest payments on distressed securities, and there is a significant risk that principal will not be repaid, in full or at all. The Fund may incur costs to protect its investment in distressed securities, which may include seeking recovery from the issuer in bankruptcy. In any reorganization or liquidation proceeding relating to the issuer of distressed securities, the Fund may lose its entire investment or may be required to accept cash or securities with a value less than its original investment. Distressed securities, and any securities received in exchange for distressed securities, will likely be illiquid and may be subject to restrictions on resale.

•

Interest Rate Risk: As interest rates rise, the value of fixed-income securities the Fund owns will likely decrease. The price of debt securities is generally linked to prevailing market interest rates. In general, when interest rates rise, the prices of debt securities fall, and when interest rates fall, the prices of debt securities rise. The price volatility of a debt security also depends on its maturity. Longer-term securities are generally more volatile, so the longer the average maturity or duration of these securities, the greater their price risk. Duration is a measure of the expected life, taking into account any prepayment or call features, of a security that is used to determine the price sensitivity of the security for a given change in interest rates. Specifically, duration is the change in the value of a fixed-income security that will result from a 1% change in interest rates, and generally is stated in years. For example, as a general rule a 1% rise in interest rates means a 1% fall in value for every year of duration. Maturity, on the other hand, is the date on which a fixed-income security becomes due for payment of principal. There may be less governmental intervention in the securities markets in the near future. The negative impact on fixed-income securities if interest rates increase as a result could negatively impact the Fund’s net asset value.

•

Non-Investment-Grade Debt Securities Risk: Non-investment-grade debt securities are sometimes referred to as “junk bonds” and are considered speculative with respect to their issuers’ ability to make payments of interest and principal. There is a high risk that the Fund could suffer a loss from investments in non-investment-grade debt securities caused by the default of an issuer of such securities. Part of the reason for this high risk is that non-investment grade debt securities are generally unsecured and therefore, in the event of a default or bankruptcy, holders of non-investment-grade debt securities generally will not receive payments until the holders of all other debt have been paid. In addition, the market

for non-investment-grade debt securities has, in the past, had more frequent and larger price changes than the markets for other securities. Changes in economic conditions or other circumstances are more likely to lead to a weakened capacity to make principal and interest payments than is the case with higher-grade securities. Non-investment-grade debt securities can also be more difficult to sell for good value. These securities are often thinly traded and can be more difficult to sell and value accurately than investment-grade securities. Because objective pricing data may be less readily available, judgment may play a greater role in the valuation process.

Foreign Securities Risk: Investing in foreign securities poses additional risks since political and economic events unique in a country or region will affect those markets and their issuers, while such events may not necessarily affect the U.S. economy or issuers located in the United States. In addition, investments in foreign securities are generally denominated in foreign currency. As a result, changes in the value of those currencies compared to the U.S. dollar may affect the value of the Fund’s investments. These currency movements may happen separately from, or in response to, events that do not otherwise affect the value of the security in the issuer’s home country. There is a risk that issuers of foreign securities may not be subject to accounting standards or governmental supervision comparable to those to which U.S. companies are subject and that less public information about their operations may exist. There is risk associated with the clearance and settlement procedures in non-U.S. markets, which may be unable to keep pace with the volume of securities transactions and may cause delays. Foreign markets may be less liquid and more volatile than U.S. markets and offer less protection to investors. Over-the-counter securities may also be less liquid than exchange-traded securities. Investments in securities of foreign issuers may be subject to foreign withholding and other taxes. In addition, it may be more difficult and costly for the Fund to seek recovery from an issuer located outside the United States in the event of a default on a portfolio security or an issuer’s insolvency proceeding. To the extent a Fund focuses its investments in a single country or only a few countries in a particular geographic region, economic, political, regulatory or other conditions affecting such country or region may have a greater impact on Fund performance relative to a more geographically diversified fund.

In addition, there are risks relating to ongoing concerns regarding the economies of certain European countries and their sovereign debt, as well as the potential for one or more countries to leave the European Union. In June 2016, the United Kingdom held a referendum resulting in a vote in favor of the United Kingdom leaving the European Union. These circumstances and potential future developments could have a negative effect on the United Kingdom’s and other European countries’ economies and may result in greater volatility in global financial and currency markets.

•

Depositary Receipts Risk: Foreign receipts, which include American Depositary Receipts ("ADRs"), Global Depositary Receipts, and European Depositary Receipts, are securities that evidence ownership interests in a security or a pool of securities issued by a foreign issuer. The risks of depositary receipts include many risks associated with investing directly in foreign securities, such as individual country risk and liquidity risk. Unsponsored ADRs, which are issued by a depositary bank without the participation or consent of the issuer, involve additional risks because U.S. reporting requirements do not apply, and the issuing bank will recover shareholder distribution costs from movement of share prices and payment of dividends.

•

Emerging Markets Risk: Emerging markets may be more likely to experience political turmoil or rapid changes in market or economic conditions than more developed countries. In addition, the financial stability of issuers (including governments) in emerging market countries may be more precarious than that of issuers in other countries. As a result, there will tend to be an increased risk of price volatility associated with the Fund’s investments in securities of issuers located in emerging market countries, which may be magnified by currency fluctuations relative to the U.S. dollar.

Management Risk: In managing a Fund’s portfolio, the Advisor engages one or more sub-advisors to make investment decisions for a portion of or the entire portfolio. There is a risk that the Advisor may be unable to identify and retain sub-advisors who achieve superior investment returns relative to other similar sub-advisors. The value of your investment may decrease if the sub-advisor incorrectly judges the attractiveness, value, or market trends affecting a particular security, issuer, industry, or sector.

Non-Diversification Risk: The Fund may invest a significant percentage of its assets in the securities of a single issuer or limited number of issuers. As a result, the Fund may be more sensitive to economic, political, and regulatory developments relating to the issuer or group of issuers in which it invests than a diversified fund. This may increase the volatility of the Fund’s investment performance.

Portfolio Turnover Risk: Each Fund may sell its portfolio securities, regardless of the length of time that they have been held, if the sub-advisor determines that it would be in the Fund’s best interest to do so. It may be appropriate to buy or sell portfolio securities due to economic, market, or other factors that are not within the sub-advisor’s control. These transactions will increase a Fund’s “portfolio turnover.” A 100% portfolio turnover rate would occur if all of the securities in the Fund were replaced during a given period. Frequent and active trading may result in greater expenses to the Fund, which may lower the Fund’s performance and may result in the realization of substantial capital gains, including net short-term capital gains. As a result, high portfolio turnover may reduce the Fund’s returns.

Sector Focus Risk: The Fund may invest a high percentage of its assets in specific sectors of the market in order to achieve a potentially greater investment return. As a result, the Fund may be more susceptible to economic, political, and regulatory developments in a particular sector of the market, positive or negative, and may experience increased volatility of the Fund’s net asset value with a magnified effect on the total return.

U.S. Government Securities Risk: Certain U.S. government agency securities are backed by the right of the issuer to borrow from the U.S. Treasury while others are supported only by the credit of the issuer or instrumentality. While the U.S. government is able to provide financial support to U.S. government-sponsored agencies or instrumentalities, no assurance can be given that it will always do so. Such securities are neither issued nor guaranteed by the U.S. Treasury.

Where Can I Find Information About the Funds’ Portfolio Holdings Disclosure Policies?

A description of the Funds’ policies and procedures for disclosing portfolio securities to any person is available in the SAI and can also be found on the Funds’ website at TouchstoneInvestments.com.

THE FUNDS’ MANAGEMENT

Investment Advisor

Touchstone Advisors, Inc.

303 Broadway, Suite 1100, Cincinnati, Ohio 45202

Touchstone Advisors has been a registered investment advisor since 1994. As of September 30, 2017, Touchstone Advisors had approximately $14.3 billion in assets under management. As the Funds’ investment advisor, Touchstone Advisors reviews, supervises and administers the Funds’ investment programs and also ensures compliance with the Funds’ investment policies and guidelines.

Touchstone Advisors is responsible for selecting each Fund’s sub-advisor(s), subject to approval by the Board. Touchstone Advisors selects a sub-advisor that has shown good investment performance in its areas of expertise. Touchstone Advisors considers various factors in evaluating a sub-advisor, including:


•	Level of knowledge and skill;


•	Performance as compared to its peers or benchmark;


•	Consistency of performance over 5 years or more;


•	Level of compliance with investment rules and strategies;


•	Employees’ facilities and financial strength; and


•	Quality of service.

Touchstone Advisors will also continually monitor each sub-advisor’s performance through various analyses and through in-person, telephone and written consultations with a sub-advisor. Touchstone Advisors discusses its expectations for performance with each sub-advisor and provides evaluations and recommendations to the Board of Trustees, including whether or not a sub-advisor’s contract should be renewed, modified or terminated.

The SEC has granted an exemptive order that permits the Trust, of which each Fund described in this prospectus is a series, or Touchstone Advisors, under certain conditions, to select or change unaffiliated sub-advisors, enter into new sub-advisory agreements or amend existing sub-advisory agreements without first obtaining shareholder approval. The Funds must still obtain shareholder approval of any sub-advisory agreement with a sub-advisor affiliated with the Trust or Touchstone Advisors other than by reason of serving as a sub-advisor to one or more Funds. Shareholders of a Fund will be notified of any changes in its sub-advisory arrangements.

Two or more sub-advisors may manage a Fund, from time to time, with each managing a portion of the Fund’s assets. If a Fund has more than one sub-advisor, Touchstone Advisors allocates how much of a Fund’s assets are managed by each sub-advisor. Touchstone Advisors may change these allocations from time to time, often based upon the results of its evaluations of the sub-advisors.

Touchstone Advisors is also responsible for running all of the operations of the Funds, except those that are subcontracted to a sub-advisor, custodian, transfer agent, sub-administrative agent or other parties. For its services, Touchstone Advisors is entitled to receive an investment advisory fee from each Fund at an annualized rate, based on the average daily net assets of the Fund, as set forth below. Touchstone Advisors pays sub-advisory fees to each sub-advisor from its advisory fee.

Fund Average Daily Net Assets Investment Advisory Fee Rate

(Annualized)

Balanced Fund All Assets 0.55%

Bond Fund All Assets 0.40%

Common Stock Fund First $200 million 0.50%

Next $300 million 0.45%

Assets over $500 million 0.40%

Small Company Fund First $200 million 0.50%

Next $300 million 0.45%

Assets over $500 million 0.40%

Advisory and Sub-Advisory Agreement Approval. A discussion of the basis for the Board’s approval of the Funds' advisory and sub-advisory agreements will be included in the Trust’s annual report for the period ending December 31, 2017.

Additional Information

The Trustees of the Trust oversee generally the operations of each Fund and the Trust. The Trust enters into contractual arrangements with various parties, including, among others, the Funds' investment advisor, custodian, transfer agent, accountants and distributor, who provide services to each Fund. Shareholders are not parties to, or intended (or “third-party”) beneficiaries of, any of those contractual arrangements, and those contractual arrangements are not intended to create in any individual shareholder or group of shareholders any right to enforce the terms of the contractual arrangements against the service providers or to seek any remedy under the contractual arrangements against the service providers, either directly or on behalf of the Trust.

This prospectus provides information concerning the Trust and the Funds that you should consider in determining whether to purchase shares of a Fund. The Funds may make changes to this information from time to time. Neither this prospectus, the SAI or any document filed as an exhibit to the Trust’s registration statement, is intended to, nor does it, give rise to an agreement or contract between the Trust or a Fund and its shareholder, or give rise to any contract or other rights in any individual shareholder, group of shareholders or other person other than any rights conferred explicitly by federal or state securities laws that may not be waived.

Sub-Advisor and Portfolio Managers

Listed below is the Sub-Advisor and its portfolio managers that have responsibility for the day-to-day management of each Fund. A brief biographical description of each portfolio manager is also provided. The SAI provides additional information about the portfolio managers’ investments in the Fund or Funds that they manage, a description of their compensation structure, and information regarding other accounts that they manage.

Fort Washington Investment Advisors, Inc. (“Fort Washington” or the "Sub-Advisor"), an SEC-registered investment advisor located at 303 Broadway, Suite 1200, Cincinnati, Ohio 45202, serves as the sub-advisor to the Funds. As the sub-advisor, Fort Washington makes investment decisions for each Fund and also ensures compliance with the Fund’s investment policies and guidelines. As of June 30, 2017, Fort Washington managed approximately $50.6 billion in assets¹.

¹Includes assets under management by Fort Washington of $47.1 billion and $3.4 billion in commitments managed by Fort Washington Capital Partners Group (FW Capital), a division, and Peppertree Partners LLC, a subsidiary.

Balanced Fund

Timothy J. Policinski, CFA, is the primary manager of the Balanced Fund. Mr. Policinski is a Managing Director and Senior Portfolio Manager. He has worked at Fort Washington since 2001. Mr. Policinski has over 20 years of fixed income management experience.

Daniel J. Carter, CFA, began as an Assistant Portfolio Manager of Fort Washington in 2000 and has been an Assistant Vice President and Portfolio Manager since 2007. Mr. Carter has co-managed the Balanced Fund since its inception in 2017.

James Wilhelm, Managing Director, Head of Public Equities, joined Fort Washington in 2002. Mr. Wilhelm has investment experience dating back to 1993. He began as a Senior Equity Analyst in 2002 and was named Portfolio Manager in 2005. He became Assistant Vice President in 2007, Vice President in 2008, Managing Director in 2014, and Head of Public Equities in 2015. He has co-managed the Balanced Fund since its inception in 2017.

Bond Fund

Timothy J. Policinski, CFA, is the primary manager and Daniel J. Carter, CFA, is the secondary manager of the Fund. Mr. Policinski is a Managing Director and Senior Portfolio Manager. He has worked at Fort Washington and managed the Fund since 2001. Mr. Policinski has over 20 years of fixed-income management experience.

Daniel J. Carter, CFA, Vice President and Portfolio Manager, joined Fort Washington in 2000. Mr. Carter has managed the Fund since September 2001.

Common Stock Fund

James Wilhelm, Managing Director, Head of Public Equities, joined Fort Washington in 2002. He has investment experience dating back to 1993. He began as a Senior Equity Analyst in 2002 and was named Portfolio Manager in 2005. He became Assistant Vice President in 2007, Vice President in 2008, Managing Director in 2014, and Head of Public Equities in 2015.

Small Company Fund

Jason Ronovech is lead manager of the Small Company Fund and joined Fort Washington in 2017. Mr. Ronovech served as the portfolio manager of the Predecessor Fund, which was managed by Sentinel, from 2013 to 2017. Prior to joining Sentinel, Mr. Ronovech was a portfolio manager with Paradigm Capital Management, where he co–managed the firm’s flagship Small Cap and Smid Cap portfolios. In addition to his management responsibilities, Mr. Ronovech built and led Paradigm’s equity research team and served as lead analyst for the technology, consumer and health care sectors over the course of his 12 years with the firm. Before joining Paradigm, he started his career with Prudential Financial. Mr. Ronovech is a graduate from Hamilton College with a degree in Economics and holds the Chartered Financial Analyst (CFA) designation.

INVESTING WITH TOUCHSTONE

Choosing the Appropriate Investments to Match Your Goals. Investing well requires a plan. We recommend that you meet with your financial advisor to plan a strategy that will best meet your financial goals.

Purchasing Shares

You cannot buy shares of the Funds directly. You can invest indirectly in the Funds through your purchase of a variable annuity contract or variable life policy. You should read this prospectus and the prospectus of the variable annuity contract or variable life policy carefully before you choose your investment options.

Selling Shares

To meet various obligations under the variable annuity contracts or variable life policies through which Fund shares are purchased, the insurance company separate accounts which directly hold the Funds' shares may sell Fund shares to generate cash. For example, a separate account may sell Fund shares and use the proceeds to pay a contract owner who requested a partial withdrawal or who canceled a contract. Proceeds from the sale are usually sent to the separate account on the next business day. The Funds may suspend sales of shares or postpone payment dates when the New York Stock Exchange ("NYSE") is closed (other than weekends or holidays), when trading on the NYSE is restricted, or as otherwise permitted by the SEC.

Redemption in-Kind. Under unusual circumstances, when the Board deems it appropriate, a Fund may make payment for shares redeemed in portfolio securities of the Fund taken at current value. Shareholders may incur transaction and brokerage costs when they sell these portfolio securities. Until such time as the shareholder sells the securities they receive in kind, the securities are subject to market risk. Redemptions in-kind are taxable for federal income tax purposes in the same manner as redemptions for cash.

Market Timing Policy

Shares of the Funds are held by insurance companies who make the Funds available to investors through separate accounts. These separate accounts are available to investors through a variable annuity contract or variable life policy sold by the insurance company. As a result, market timing or excessive trading in accounts that an investor owns or controls may disrupt portfolio investment strategies, may increase brokerage and administrative costs, and may negatively impact investment returns for all investors, including long-term investors who do not generate these costs. The Funds will take reasonable steps to discourage excessive short-term trading and will not knowingly accommodate frequent purchases and redemptions of Fund shares by investors. The Board has adopted the following policies and procedures with respect to market timing of the Funds by investors. The Funds will monitor selected trades on a daily basis in an effort to deter excessive short-term trading. If a Fund has reason to believe that an investor has engaged in excessive short-term trading, the Funds may ask the insurance companies to stop such activities or restrict or refuse to process purchases or exchanges in the investor's accounts. While the Funds cannot assure the prevention of all excessive trading and market timing, by making these judgments the Fund believes it is acting in a manner that is in the best interests of its investors. However, because the Funds cannot prevent all market timing, investors may be subject to the risks described above.

The Trust expects the insurance company separate accounts that invest in the Funds to have in place policies and procedures reasonably designed to deter market timing in the separate accounts by contract or policy holders.

Separate accounts often establish omnibus accounts in the Funds for their contract or policy holders through which transactions are placed. In accordance with Rule 22c-2 under the 1940 Act, the Funds have entered into information sharing agreements with the insurance companies that use the Funds as underlying investment vehicles for their separate accounts. Under these agreements, an insurance company is obligated to: (1) adopt and enforce during the term of the agreement, a market-timing policy, the terms of which are acceptable to the Funds; (2) furnish the Funds, upon their request, with information regarding contract or policy holder trading activities in shares of the Funds; and (3) enforce its market-timing policy with respect to contract or policy holders identified by the Funds as having engaged in market timing. When information regarding transactions in the Funds' shares is requested by a Fund and such information is in the possession of a person that is itself a financial intermediary to an insurance company (an "indirect intermediary"), any insurance company with whom the Funds have an information sharing agreement is obligated to obtain transaction information from the indirect intermediary or, if directed by the Funds, to restrict or prohibit the indirect intermediary from purchasing shares of the Funds on behalf of contract or policy holders or any other persons.

Investors in the Funds should be aware that the right of an owner of a variable insurance product to transfer among sub-accounts is governed by a contract between the insurance company and the owner. Many of these contracts do not limit the number of transfers that a contract owner may make among the underlying funds. The terms of these contracts, the presence of financial

intermediaries (including the insurance companies) between the Funds and the contract and policy holders and other factors such as state insurance laws may limit a Fund's ability to deter market timing. Multiple tiers of such financial intermediaries may further compound the Funds' difficulty in deterring such market timing activities.

The Funds apply these policies and procedures uniformly to all investors believed to be engaged in market timing or excessive trading. The Funds have no arrangements to permit any investor to trade frequently in shares of the Funds, nor will they enter into any such arrangements in the future.

Pricing of Fund Shares

Each Fund's share price, also called net asset value ("NAV"), is determined as of the close of regular trading (normally 4:00 p.m. Eastern time) every day the NYSE is open. Each Fund calculates its NAV per share , generally using market prices, by dividing the total value of its net assets by the number of its shares outstanding. Shares are purchased or sold at the NAV determined after a purchase or sale order is received in proper form by Touchstone Securities, Inc. ("Touchstone Securities") or its authorized agent.

The Funds' equity investments are valued based on market value or, if no market value is available, based on fair value as determined by the Board of Trustees (or under its direction). The Funds may use pricing services to determine market value for investments. Some specific pricing strategies follow:


•	All short-term dollar-denominated investments that mature in 60 days or less may be valued on the basis of amortized cost, provided such amount approximates market value.


•	Securities mainly traded on a U.S. exchange are valued at the last sale price on that exchange or, if no sales occurred during the day, at the current quoted bid price.

Any foreign securities held by a Fund will be priced as follows:


•	All assets and liabilities initially expressed in foreign currency values will be converted into U.S. dollar values.

•

Securities mainly traded on a non-U.S. exchange are generally valued according to the preceding closing values on that exchange. However, if an event that may change the value of a security occurs after the time that the closing value on the non-U.S. exchange was determined, but before the close of regular trading on the NYSE, the security might be valued based on fair value. This may cause the value of the security on the books of the Fund to be significantly different from the closing value on the non-U.S. exchange and may affect the calculation of NAV.


•	Because portfolio securities that are primarily listed on non-U.S. exchanges may trade on weekends or other days when a Fund does not price its shares, a Fund's NAV may change on days when the separate accounts will not be able to buy or sell shares.

•

Securities held by a Fund that do not have readily available market quotations are priced at their fair value using procedures approved by the Board. Any debt securities held by a Fund for which market quotations are not readily available are generally priced at their most recent bid prices as obtained from one or more of the major market makers for such securities. The Funds may use fair value pricing under the following circumstances, among others:


◦	If the value of a security has been materially affected by events occurring before the Fund's pricing time but after the close of the primary markets on which the security is traded.


◦	If a security, such as a small cap or micro-cap security, is so thinly traded that reliable market quotations are unavailable due to infrequent trading.


◦	If the exchange on which a portfolio security is principally traded closes early or if trading in a particular portfolio security was halted during the day and did not resume prior to the Fund's NAV calculation.


◦	If the validity of market quotations is not reliable.

The use of fair value pricing has the effect of valuing a security based upon the price a Fund might reasonably expect to receive if it sold that security but does not guarantee that the security can be sold at the fair value price. The Fund has established fair value policies and procedures that delegate fair value responsibilities to the Advisor. These policies and procedures outline the fair value method for the Advisor. The Advisor's determination of a security's fair value price often involves the consideration of a number of subjective factors established by the Board, and is therefore subject to the unavoidable risk that the value that the Fund assigns to a security may be higher or lower than the security's value would be if a reliable market quotation for the security was readily available. With respect to any portion of a Fund's assets that is invested in other mutual funds, that portion of the Fund's NAV is calculated based on the NAV of that mutual fund. The prospectus for the other mutual fund explains the circumstances and effects of fair value pricing for that mutual fund.

DISTRIBUTIONS AND TAXES

Dividends and Other Distributions

Each Fund intends to distribute to its shareholders substantially all of its net investment income and capital gains. Each Fund will declare and pay dividends annually to shareholders. Each Fund makes distributions of capital gains, if any, at least annually.

For more information about dividends and other distributions in connection with any investment in a variable annuity contract or variable life policy, see the prospectus for your variable annuity contract or variable life policy.

Federal Income Tax Information

Shares of the Funds must be purchased through separate accounts used to fund variable insurance contracts. As a result, it is anticipated that any income dividends or capital gains distributed by the Funds will be exempt from current taxation by contract holders if left to accumulate within a separate account. Withdrawals from such contracts may be subject to ordinary income tax plus a 10% penalty tax if made before age 59^1/2. Investors are urged and advised to consult their own tax advisors for more information on their tax situation, including possible state or local taxes.

For more information about the tax consequences of an investment in a variable annuity contract or variable life policy, see the prospectus for your variable annuity contract or variable life policy.

This section is only a summary of some important federal income tax considerations that may affect your investment in a Fund. More information regarding these considerations is included in the Funds' SAI. You are urged and advised to consult your own tax advisor regarding the effects of an investment in a variable insurance contract that invests in a Fund on your tax situation.

FINANCIAL HIGHLIGHTS

Each Fund is newly formed and has adopted the financial statements of its respective Predecessor Fund. The financial highlights tables are intended to help you understand the Predecessor Funds' financial performance for the periods shown. The information below has been derived from the Predecessor Funds' financial statements for the six months ended June 30, 2017 (unaudited) and the fiscal years ended December 31, 2016, 2015, 2014, 2013, and 2012, audited by PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP, the Predecessor Funds' independent registered public accounting firm, whose report, along with the Predecessor Funds' financial statements, are included in the annual report, which may be obtained free of charge by by visiting the SEC’s internet site at http://www.sec.gov. Certain information reflects financial results for a single Fund share. The total returns in the tables represent the rate that an investor would have earned (or lost) on an investment in the Predecessor Funds' shares (assuming reinvestment of all dividends and other distributions).



Sentinel Variable Products Balanced Fund
		June 30, 2017 (unaudited)	December 31, 2016	December 31, 2015	December 31, 2014	December 31, 2013	December 31, 2012
Net asset value, beginning of period		$13.02	$12.49	$13.45	$13.53	$12.13	$11.82
Income from Investment Operations
	Net investment income (loss)	0.07	0.15	0.20	0.18	0.18	0.19
	Net gains or losses on securities (realized and unrealized)	0.76	0.78	(0.19)	0.88	2.10	1.16
Total from investment operations		0.83	0.93	0.01	1.06	2.28	1.35
Less Distributions:
	Dividends (from net investment income)	0	0.18	0.25	0.23	0.21	0.27
	Distributions (from realized gains)	0	0.20	0.72	0.91	0.67	0.77
	Return of capital	0	0.02	0	0	0	0
Total distributions		0	0.40	0.97	1.14	0.88	1.04
Net asset value, end of period		13.85	13.02	12.49	13.45	13.53	12.13
Total return (%)**		6.37% ++	7.42%	0.03%	7.81%	18.88%	11.44%
Ratios/Supplemental Data
Net assets at end of period (000 omitted)		$16,778	$15,988	$15,301	$15,963	$16,456	$14,433
Ratio of expenses to average net assets (%)
	Ratio of expenses to average net assets (%)	0.85% +	0.85%	0.87%	0.90%	0.87%	0.83%
	Ratio of expenses to average net assets before contractual reimbursements (%)*	0.85% +	0.88%	0.87%	0.90%	0.87%	0.83%
	Ratio of net investment income (loss) to average net assets (%)	0.97% +	1.16%	1.50%^	1.31%	1.37%	1.46%
	Ratio of net investment income (loss) to average net assets before contractual expense reimbursements (%)*	0.97% +	1.13%	1.50%^	1.31%	1.37%	1.46%
Portfolio turnover rate (%)		13% ++	30%	38%	76%	220%	175%


^*	Expense reductions are comprised of the contractual expense reimbursements as described in the latest Annual Report, if applicable.

^**

Total return is calculated assuming an initial investment made at the net asset value at the beginning of the year, reinvestment of all distributions at net asset value during the year, and a redemption on the last day of the year. Total return does not include any fees, charges or expenses imposed by your insurance company, the issuer of variable annuity and life insurance contracts for which the funds serve as underlying investment vehicles. Total returns would have been lower in applicable years where the Funds' investment advisor had not waived a portion of its fee.


^	Includes the impact of special dividends resulting from an acquisition of Covidien plc by Medtronic, Inc. on January 26, 2015 through the formation of a new holding company, Medtronic plc, incorporated in Ireland. These special dividends enhanced the ratios of net investment income for the Sentinel Variable Products Balanced Fund by 0.47% for the fiscal year ended December 31, 2015.

+ Annualized.

++ Not annualized.

Amounts designated as “-” are either zero or represent less than $0.005 or $(0.005).



Sentinel Variable Products Bond Fund
		June 30, 2017 (unaudited)	December 31, 2016	December 31, 2015	December 31, 2014	December 31, 2013	December 31, 2012
Net asset value, beginning of period		$9.26	$9.38	$9.83	$9.75	$10.10	$10.06
Income from Investment Operations
	Net investment income (loss)	0.08	0.14	0.27	0.29	0.26	0.22
	Net gains or losses on securities (realized and unrealized)	0.12	(0.06)	(0.40)	0.10	(0.29)	0.44
Total from investment operations		0.20	0.08	(0.13)	0.39	(0.03)	0.66
Less Distributions:
	Dividends (from net investment income)	0	0.20	0.32	0.31	0.32	0.31
	Distributions (from realized gains)	0	0	0	0	0	0.31
Total distributions		0	0.20	0.32	0.31	0.32	0.62
Net asset value, end of period		9.46	9.26	9.38	9.83	9.75	10.10
Total return (%)*		2.16++	0.81%	(1.29%)	4.01%	(0.33%)	6.53%
Ratios/Supplemental Data
Net assets at end of period (000 omitted)		$48,552	$48,680	$57,312	$67,067	$61,664	$68,313
Ratio of expenses to average net assets (%)
	Ratio of expenses to average net assets (%)	0.68%+	0.67%	0.67%	0.65%	0.67%	0.63%
	Ratio of net investment income (loss) to average net assets (%)	1.73%+	1.46%	2.69%	2.90%	2.64%	2.07%
Portfolio turnover rate (%)		42%++	197%	117%	117%	256%	499%

+ Annualized.

++ Not annualized.

Amounts designated as “-” are either zero or represent less than $0.005 or $(0.005).



Sentinel Variable Products Common Stock Fund
		June 30, 2017 (unaudited)	December 31, 2016	December 31, 2015	December 31, 2014	December 31, 2013	December 31, 2012
Net asset value, beginning of period		$15.52	$15.46	$17.69	$18.39	$15.15	$13.68
Income from Investment Operations
	Net investment income (loss)	0.11	0.25	0.44	0.30	0.26	0.26
	Net gains or losses on securities (realized and unrealized)	1.45	1.49	(0.39)	1.61	4.52	1.80
Total from investment operations		1.56	1.74	0.05	1.91	4.78	2.06
Less Distributions:
	Dividends (from net investment income)	0	0.27	0.49	0.33	0.28	0.28
	Distributions (from realized gains)	0	1.41	1.79	2.28	1.26	0.31
Total distributions		0	1.68	2.28	2.61	1.54	0.59
Net asset value, end of period		17.08	15.52	15.46	17.69	18.39	15.15
Total return (%)*		10.05%++	11.26%	0.19%	10.34%	31.73%	15.10%
Ratios/Supplemental Data
Net assets at end of period (000 omitted)		$152,824	$149,238	$161,148	$198,524	$220,631	$197,250
Ratio of expenses to average net assets (%)
	Ratio of expenses to average net assets (%)	0.73%+	0.73%	0.72%	0.72%	0.72%	0.70%
	Ratio of net investment income (loss) to average net assets (%)	1.32%+	1.58%	2.48%^	1.57%	1.49%	1.73%
Portfolio turnover rate (%)		6%++	6%	9%	13%	8%	0%#


^	Includes the impact of special dividends resulting from an acquisition of Covidien plc by Medtronic, Inc. on January 26, 2015 through the formation of a new holding company, Medtronic plc, incorporated in Ireland. These special dividends enhanced the ratios of net investment income for the Sentinel Variable Products Common Stock Fund by 1.04% for the fiscal year ended December 31, 2015.


#	Represents less than 0.5%.

+ Annualized.

++ Not annualized.

Amounts designated as “-” are either zero or represent less than $0.005 or $(0.005).



Sentinel Variable Products Small Company Fund
		June 30, 2017 (unaudited)	December 31, 2016	December 31, 2015	December 31, 2014	December 31, 2013	December 31, 2012
Net asset value, beginning of period		$13.58	$12.14	$14.63	$16.32	$14.13	$14.64
Income from Investment Operations
	Net investment income (loss)	(0.01)	0.01	(0.02)	0.07	0.01	0.07
	Net gains or losses on securities (realized and unrealized)	1.29	2.44	(0.15)	1.03	4.88	1.58
Total from investment operations		1.28	2.45	(0.17)	1.10	4.89	1.65
Less Distributions:
	Dividends (from net investment income)	0	0.01	0	0.08	0.01	0.08
	Distributions (from realized gains)	0	1.00	2.32	2.71	2.69	2.08
Total distributions		0	1.01	2.32	2.79	2.70	2.16
Net asset value, end of period		14.86	13.58	12.14	14.63	16.32	14.13
Total return (%)*		9.43%++	20.23%	(1.34%)	6.68%	34.72%	11.44%
Ratios/Supplemental Data
Net assets at end of period (000 omitted)		$68,432	$67,102	$48,938	$57,935	$62,134	$54,505
Ratio of expenses to average net assets (%)
	Ratio of expenses to average net assets (%)	0.75%+	0.76%	0.78%	0.78%	0.80%	0.75%
	Ratio of net investment income (loss) to average net assets (%)	(0.12%)+	0.08%	(0.10%)	0.45%	0.09%	0.46%
Portfolio turnover rate (%)		42%++	68%	77%	72%	47%	48%

+ Annualized.

++ Not annualized.

Amounts designated as “-” are either zero or represent less than $0.005 or $(0.005).

303 Broadway, Suite 1100

Cincinnati, Ohio 45202-4203

Go paperless, sign up today at:

TouchstoneInvestments.com/home

For investors who want more information about the Funds, the following documents are available free upon request:

Statement of Additional Information (“SAI”): The SAI provides more detailed information about the Funds and is incorporated herein by reference, which means it is legally a part of this prospectus.

Annual/Semiannual Reports (“Financial Reports”): The Funds’ Financial Reports provide additional information about the Funds’ investments. In the annual report, you will find a discussion of the market conditions and investment strategies that significantly affected a Fund’s performance during its last fiscal year.

You can get free copies of the SAI, the Financial Reports, other information and answers to your questions about the Funds by contacting your financial advisor or by contacting Touchstone Investments at 1.800.543.0407. The SAI and Financial Reports are also available on the Touchstone Investments website at: TouchstoneInvestments.com/home/formslit/.

Information about the Funds (including the SAI) can be reviewed and copied at the Securities and Exchange Commission’s Public Reference Room in Washington, D.C. You can receive information about the operation of the Public Reference Room by calling the SEC at 1.202.551.8090.

Reports and other information about the Funds are available on the EDGAR database of the SEC’s internet site at http://www.sec.gov. For a fee, you can get text-only copies of reports and other information by writing to the Public Reference Section of the SEC, Washington, D.C. 20549-1520 or by sending an e-mail request to: publicinfo@sec.gov.

Investment Company Act File No. 811–8416

TSF-1006-TVST-SENT-1710

TOUCHSTONE VARIABLE SERIES TRUST

STATEMENT OF ADDITIONAL INFORMATION

October 30, 2017

Touchstone Balanced Fund

Touchstone Bond Fund

Touchstone Common Stock Fund

Touchstone Small Company Fund

This Statement of Additional Information (“SAI”) is not a prospectus and relates only to the above-referenced funds (the “Funds”), whose inception date is October 30, 2017. It is intended to provide additional information regarding the activities and operations of Touchstone Variable Series Trust (the “Trust”) and should be read in conjunction with the Funds' prospectus dated October 30, 2017, as may be amended. A copy of the prospectus and the Funds' annual and semi-annual reports (once available) may be obtained without charge by writing to the Trust at P.O. Box 9878, Providence, Rhode Island 02940, by calling 1.800.543.0407, or by downloading a copy at TouchstoneInvestments.com.

TABLE OF CONTENTS



	Page

The Trust and the Funds	3

Permitted Investments and Risk Factors	3

Investment Limitations	29

Trustees and Officers of the Trust	32

The Advisor	39

The Sub-Advisor and Portfolio Managers	42

The Administrator	44

Touchstone Securities	44

Brokerage Transactions	44

Proxy Voting	45

Code of Ethics	45

Portfolio Turnover	46

Disclosure of Portfolio Holdings	46

Determination of Net Asset Value	47

Certain Provisions of the Trust's By-Laws	47

Other Purchase and Redemption Information	48

Federal Income Taxes	49

Control Persons and Principal Shareholders	56

Custodian	57

Legal Counsel	57

Independent Registered Public Accounting Firm	57

Transfer and Sub-Administrative Agent	57

Financial Statements	58

Appendix A — Description of Securities Ratings	59

Appendix B — Proxy Voting Policies	64

THE TRUST

The Trust is a Massachusetts business trust organized on February 7, 1994 and is composed of ten funds. This SAI relates to the following four funds: Touchstone Balanced Fund (the "Balanced Fund"), Touchstone Bond Fund (the "Bond Fund"), Touchstone Common Stock Fund (the "Common Stock Fund"), and Touchstone Small Company Fund (the "Small Company Fund") (each, a “Fund,” and collectively, the “Funds”). The Common Stock Fund is an open-end, non-diversified, management investment company. The Balanced Fund, Bond Fund and the Small Company Fund are open-end, diversified, management investment companies.

Touchstone Advisors, Inc. (the “Advisor” or "Touchstone Advisors") is the investment adviser and administrator for each Fund. The Advisor has selected one or more sub-advisor(s) to manage, on a daily basis, the assets of each Fund. The Advisor has sub-contracted certain administrative and accounting services to BNY Mellon Investment Servicing (US) Inc. (“BNY Mellon”). Touchstone Securities, Inc. (“Touchstone Securities” or the “Distributor”) is the principal distributor of the Funds’ shares. The Distributor is an affiliate of the Advisor.

Under Massachusetts law, under certain circumstances, shareholders of a Massachusetts business trust could be deemed to have the same type of personal liability for the obligations of the Trust, as does a partner of a partnership. However, numerous investment companies registered under the Investment Company Act of 1940, as amended (the “1940 Act”) have been formed as Massachusetts business trusts, and the Trust is not aware of an instance where such result has occurred. In addition, the Trust’s Declaration of Trust disclaims shareholder liability for acts or obligations of the Trust and also provides for the indemnification out of the Trust property for all losses and expenses of any shareholder held personally liable for the obligations of the Trust. Moreover, it provides that the Trust will, upon request, assume the defense of any claim made against any shareholder for any act or obligation of the Trust and satisfy any judgment thereon. As a result, and particularly because the Trust assets are readily marketable and ordinarily substantially exceed liabilities, management believes that the risk of shareholder liability is slight and limited to circumstances in which the Trust itself would be unable to meet its obligations. Management believes that, in view of the above, the risk of personal liability is remote. Upon payment of any liability incurred by the Trust, the shareholder paying the liability will be entitled to reimbursement from the general assets of the Trust. The Trustees intend to conduct the operations of the Trust in a manner so as to avoid, as far as possible, ultimate liability of the shareholders for liabilities of the Trust.

History of the Funds

Before each Fund commences operations, the assets of the predecessor funds listed below (together, the "Predecessor Funds") will be acquired by the corresponding Fund in a tax-free reorganization as set forth in an agreement and plan of reorganization (the “Reorganization”) between the Trust, on behalf of each Fund, and Sentinel Variable Products Trust, on behalf of each Predecessor Fund. The Reorganizations are expected to occur on or about October 27, 2017 or as soon as practicable thereafter. As a result of the Reorganizations, the performance and accounting history of each Predecessor Fund will be assumed by the corresponding Fund. Financial and performance information included herein is that of the Predecessor Funds.



Predecessor Funds		Funds
Sentinel Variable Products Balanced Fund		Balanced Fund
Sentinel Variable Products Bond Fund		Bond Fund
Sentinel Variable Products Common Stock Fund		Common Stock Fund
Sentinel Variable Products Small Company Fund		Small Company Fund

PERMITTED INVESTMENTS AND RISK FACTORS

Each Fund’s principal investment strategies and principal risks are described in the Funds’ prospectus. The following supplements the information contained in the prospectus concerning each Fund’s principal investment strategies and principal risks. In addition, although not principal strategies of the Funds, the Funds may invest in other types of securities and engage in other investment practices as described in the prospectus or in this SAI. Unless otherwise indicated, each Fund is permitted to invest in each of the investments listed below, or engage in each of the investment techniques listed below consistent with the Funds’ investment goals, policies and strategies. The investment limitations below are considered to be non-fundamental policies, which may be changed at any time by a vote of the Trust’s Board, unless designated as a “Fundamental” policy. In addition, any stated percentage limitations are measured at the time of the purchase of a security.

ADRs, ADSs, EDRs, GDRs, and CDRs. American Depositary Receipts (“ADRs”) and American Depositary Shares (“ADSs”) are U.S. dollar-denominated receipts typically issued by domestic banks or trust companies that represent the deposit with those entities of securities of a foreign issuer. They are publicly traded on exchanges or over-the-counter in the United States. European

Depositary Receipts (“EDRs”), which are sometimes referred to as Continental Depositary Receipts (“CDRs”), and Global Depositary Receipts (“GDRs”) may also be purchased by the Funds. EDRs, CDRs and GDRs are generally issued by foreign banks and evidence ownership of either foreign or domestic securities. Certain institutions issuing ADRs, ADSs, GDRs or EDRs may not be sponsored by the issuer of the underlying foreign securities. A non-sponsored depositary may not provide the same shareholder information that a sponsored depositary is required to provide under its contractual arrangements with the issuer of the underlying foreign securities. Holders of an unsponsored depositary receipt generally bear all the costs of the unsponsored facility. The depositary of an unsponsored facility frequently is under no obligation to distribute shareholder communications received from the issuer of the deposited security or to pass through to the holders of the receipts voting rights with respect to the deposited securities.

Asset-Backed Securities (“ABS”). Asset-backed securities are secured by assets such as company receivables, truck and auto loans, leases and credit card receivables. Such securities are generally issued as pass-through certificates, which represent undivided fractional ownership interests in the underlying pools of assets. Such securities also may be debt instruments, which are also known as collateralized obligations and are generally issued as the debt of a special purpose entity, such as a trust, organized solely for the purpose of owning such assets and issuing such debt. Covered bonds are a type of asset backed security that is created from public sector loans or mortgage loans where the security is backed by a separate group of loans. Covered bonds typically carry a two to ten year maturity rate and enjoy relatively high credit ratings, depending on the quality of the pool of loans backing the bond.

The credit quality of an asset-backed security transaction depends on the performance of the underlying assets. ABS can be structured with various forms of credit enhancement to address the possibility that some borrowers could miss payments or even default on their loans. Some ABS are subject to interest-rate risk and prepayment risk. A change in interest rates can affect the pace of payments on the underlying loans, which in turn, affects total return on the securities. ABS also carry credit or default risk. If many borrowers on the underlying loans default, losses could exceed the credit enhancement level and result in losses to investors in an ABS transaction. Finally, ABS have structure risk due to a unique characteristic known as early amortization, or early payout, risk. Built into the structure of most ABS are triggers for early payout, designed to protect investors from losses. These triggers are unique to each transaction and can include: a big rise in defaults on the underlying loans, a sharp drop in the credit enhancement level, or even the bankruptcy of the originator. Once early amortization begins, all incoming loan payments (after expenses are paid) are used to pay investors as quickly as possible based upon a predetermined priority of payment.

The Bond Fund may invest in certain ABS.

Borrowing. Borrowing may exaggerate changes in the net asset value (“NAV”) of a Fund’s shares and in the return on the Fund’s portfolio. Although the principal of any borrowing will be fixed, a Fund’s assets may change in value during the time the borrowing is outstanding. The Funds may be required to liquidate portfolio securities at a time when it would be disadvantageous to do so in order to make payments with respect to any borrowing. The Funds may be required to earmark or segregate liquid assets in an amount sufficient to meet their obligations in connection with such borrowings. In an interest rate arbitrage transaction, a Fund borrows money at one interest rate and lends the proceeds at another, higher interest rate. These transactions involve a number of risks; including the risk that the borrower will fail or otherwise become insolvent or that there will be a significant change in prevailing interest rates. The Funds have adopted fundamental limitations and non-fundamental limitations which restrict circumstances in which and degree to which the Funds can engage in borrowing. See the section entitled “Investment Limitations,” below.

Certificates of Deposit, Bankers’ Acceptances and Time Deposits. Certificates of deposit are debt instruments issued by banks with a fixed or floating interest rate and a specified maturity date. The issuer agrees to pay the principal amount plus interest to the holder on the maturity date of the certificate. Certificates of deposit can usually be traded in the secondary market prior to maturity. Bankers’ acceptances typically arise from short-term credit arrangements designed to enable businesses to obtain funds to finance commercial transactions. Generally, an acceptance is a time draft drawn on a bank by an exporter or an importer to obtain a stated amount of funds to pay for specific merchandise. The draft is then “accepted” by a bank that, in effect, unconditionally guarantees to pay the face value of the instrument on its maturity date. The acceptance may then be held by the accepting bank as an earning asset or it may be sold in the secondary market at the going rate of discount for a specific maturity. Although maturities for acceptances can be as long as 270 days, most acceptances have maturities of six months or less. Time deposits are non-negotiable deposits maintained in a banking institution for a specified period of time at a stated interest rate. Investments in time deposits maturing in more than seven days will be subject to the Fund’s restrictions on illiquid investments.

Collateralized Loan Obligations (“CLOs”). A CLO is a type of asset-backed security that is an obligation of a trust typically collateralized by pools of loans, which may include domestic and foreign senior secured and unsecured loans and subordinate corporate loans, including loans that may be rated below investment grade, or equivalent unrated loans. The cash flows from the trust are split into two or more portions, called tranches, which vary in risk and yield. The riskier portion is the residual, or

“equity,” tranche, which bears some or all of the risk of default by the loans in the trust, and therefore protects the other more senior tranches from default in all but the most severe circumstances. Since it is partially protected from defaults, a senior tranche of a CLO trust typically has higher ratings and lower yields than its underlying securities, and can be rated investment grade. Despite the protection provided by the equity tranche, senior CLO tranches can experience substantial losses due to actual defaults, increased sensitivity to defaults due to collateral default, the total loss of the equity tranche due to losses in the collateral, market anticipation of defaults, fraud by the trust, and the illiquidity of CLO securities.

The risks of an investment in a CLO largely depend on the type of underlying collateral securities and the tranche in which the a Fund invests. Typically, CLOs are privately offered and sold, and thus are not registered under the securities laws. As a result, the Fund may characterize its investments in CLOs as illiquid, unless an active dealer market for a particular CLO allows the CLO to be purchased and sold in Rule 144A transactions. CLOs are subject to the typical risks associated with debt instruments (i.e., interest rate risk and credit risk). Additional risks of CLOs include (i) the possibility that distributions from collateral securities will be insufficient to make interest or other payments, (ii) a decline in the quality of the collateral, and (iii) the possibility that the Fund may invest in a subordinate tranche of a CLO. In addition, due to the complex nature of a CLO, an investment in a CLO may not perform as expected. An investment in a CLO also is subject to the risk that the issuer and the investors may interpret the terms of the instrument differently, giving rise to disputes.

Commodity Futures Trading Commission Regulation. The Funds and the Advisor claimed exclusion or exemption from registering with the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (the “CFTC”). The Funds comply with Rule 4.5 under the Commodity Exchange Act (the “CEA”), which allows a mutual fund to be conditionally excluded from the definition of the term “commodity pool.” Similarly, so long as the Funds satisfy this conditional exclusion, the Advisor intends to comply with Rule 4.5, which allows the Advisor to be conditionally excluded from the definition of “commodity pool operator” (“CPO”), and Rule 4.14(a)(5), which provides a conditional exemption from registering as a “commodity trading advisor.” The Advisor, on behalf of the Funds and itself, has filed a claim with the CFTC claiming the CPO exemption. Therefore, neither the Funds nor the Advisor expect to become subject to registration under the CEA.

Common Stocks. Common stocks are securities that represent units of ownership in a company. Common stocks usually carry voting rights and earn dividends. Unlike preferred stocks, which are described below, dividends on common stocks are not fixed but are declared at the discretion of the board of directors of the issuing company.

Convertible Securities. Convertible securities are corporate securities that are exchangeable for a set number of another security at a pre-stated price. Convertible securities typically have characteristics of both fixed income and equity securities. Because of the conversion feature, the market value of a convertible security tends to move with the market value of the underlying stock. The value of a convertible security is also affected by prevailing interest rates, the credit quality of the issuer and any call provisions.

A synthetic convertible security is a combination investment in which a Fund purchases both (i) high-grade cash equivalents or a high grade debt obligation of an issuer or U.S. government securities and (ii) call options or warrants on the common stock of the same or different issuer with some or all of the anticipated interest income from the associated debt obligation that is earned over the holding period of the option or warrant.

While providing a fixed income stream (generally higher in yield than the income derivable from common stock but lower than that afforded by a similar non-convertible security), a convertible security also affords a shareholder the opportunity, through its conversion feature, to participate in the capital appreciation attendant upon a market price advance in the convertible security’s underlying common stock. A synthetic convertible position has similar investment characteristics, but may differ with respect to credit quality, time to maturity, trading characteristics and other factors. Because a Fund will create synthetic convertible positions only out of high grade fixed income securities, the credit rating associated with a Fund’s synthetic convertible investments is generally expected to be higher than that of the average convertible security, many of which are rated below high grade. However, because the options used to create synthetic convertible positions will generally have expirations between one month and three years of the time of purchase, the maturity of these positions will generally be shorter than average for convertible securities. Since the option component of a convertible security or synthetic convertible position is a wasting asset (in the sense of losing “time value” as maturity approaches), a synthetic convertible position may lose such value more rapidly than a convertible security of longer maturity; however, the gain in option value due to appreciation of the underlying stock may exceed such time value loss. The market price of the option component generally reflects these differences in maturities, and the Advisor and applicable sub-advisor take such differences into account when evaluating such positions. When a synthetic convertible position “matures” because of the expiration of the associated option, a Fund may extend the maturity by investing in a new option with longer maturity on the common stock of the same or different issuer. If a Fund does not so extend the maturity of a position, it may continue to hold the associated fixed income security.

Corporate Bonds. Corporations issue bonds and notes to raise money for working capital or for capital expenditures such as plant construction, equipment purchases and expansion. In return for the money loaned to the corporation by investors, the corporation promises to pay investors interest, and repay the principal amount of the bond or note.

Covered Dollar Rolls. The Bond Fund may enter into dollar rolls (also referred to as forward roll transactions) in which the Fund sells mortgage-based or other fixed-income securities and simultaneously commits to repurchase substantially similar, but not identical, securities on a specified future date. In a simple dollar roll transaction, the cash proceeds from this sale will be reinvested in high quality, short-term instruments, the maturity of which will coincide with the settlement date of the roll transaction. A strategy may also be used with respect to the dollar roll, where a series of 6 to 12 consecutive dollar roll transactions (approximately 30 days per transaction) are executed. This allows the Fund to purchase a slightly longer duration security with the cash proceeds from the sale and capitalize on potentially higher available yields. The additional duration from this strategy would be minimal.

The Fund will not use such transactions for leveraging purposes and, accordingly, at the time the Fund enters into a dollar roll, it will segregate liquid assets to satisfy its obligation for the forward commitment to buy the securities. The value of such segregated assets must be at least equal to the value of the forward commitment or repurchase obligation (principal plus accrued interest), as applicable. The segregated assets effectively collateralize the Fund’s right to receive the securities at the end of the roll period, and also serve to minimize the leveraging effect of the transaction.

In the case of dollar rolls involving mortgage-related securities, the mortgage-related securities that are purchased typically will be of the same type and will have the same or similar interest rate and maturity as those sold, but will be supported by different pools of mortgages. The Fund forgoes principal and interest, including prepayments, paid during the roll period on the securities sold in a dollar roll, but it is compensated by the difference between the current sales price and the price for the future purchase as well as by any interest earned on the proceeds of the securities sold. The Fund could also be compensated through receipt of fee income. Dollar rolls may be renewed over a period of several months with a different repurchase price and a cash settlement made at each renewal without physical delivery of securities. Moreover, the transaction may be preceded by a firm commitment agreement pursuant to which the Fund agrees to buy a security on a future date.

Dollar roll transactions are considered to be borrowings by the Fund and the use of such transactions will be subject to the Fund’s investment limitations on borrowings. See “Borrowing” and “Investment Restrictions.”

The risks associated with dollar rolls are market risk, since the price of the securities could drop lower than the agreed upon repurchase price during the roll period, or the securities that the Fund is required to repurchase may be worth less than the securities that the Fund originally held; and credit risk, since the counterpart to the transaction could fail to deliver the securities. If the counter-party to which the Fund sells the securities becomes insolvent, the Fund’s right to purchase or repurchase the securities may be restricted. Finally, there can be no assurance that the Fund’s use of the cash that it receives from a dollar roll will provide a return that exceeds borrowing costs. Further, although the Fund can estimate the amount of expected principal prepayment over the term of the dollar roll, a variation in the actual amount of prepayment could increase or decrease the cost of the Funds’ borrowing.

Custodial Receipts. Custodial receipts or certificates, such as Certificates of Accrual on U.S. Treasury Securities (“CATS”), U.S. Treasury Investors Growth Receipts (“TIGRs”) and Financial Corporation Certificates (“FICO Strips”), are securities underwritten by securities dealers or banks that evidence ownership of future interest payments, principal payments or both on certain notes or bonds issued by the U.S. government, its agencies, authorities or instrumentalities. The underwriters of these certificates or receipts purchase a U.S. government security and deposit the security in an irrevocable trust or custodial account with a custodial bank, which then issues receipts or certificates that evidence ownership of the periodic un-matured coupon payments and the final principal payment on the U.S. government security. Custodial receipts evidencing specific coupon or principal payments have the same general attributes as zero coupon U.S. government securities, described below. Although typically under the terms of a custodial receipt a Fund is authorized to assert its rights directly against the issuer of the underlying obligation, the Fund may be required to assert through the custodian bank such rights as may exist against the underlying issuer. Thus, if the underlying issuer fails to pay principal and/or interest when due, a Fund may be subject to delays, expenses and risks that are greater than those that would have been involved if the Fund had purchased a direct obligation of the issuer. In addition, if the trust or custodial account in which the underlying security has been deposited were determined to be an association taxable as a corporation, instead of a pass-through entity, the yield on the underlying security would be reduced by any taxes paid.

Cyber Security Risk. The Funds and their service providers may be subject to operational and information security risks resulting from cyber security breaches. Cyber security breaches may result from deliberate cyber attacks, although unintentional events may have effects similar to those caused by cyber attacks. Cyber attacks may include the stealing or corrupting of data maintained online or digitally, denial-of-service attacks on Fund websites, the unauthorized release of confidential information or other operational disruption. Successful cyber attacks against, or security breaches of, a Fund or the Advisor, a sub-advisor, the Funds’ distributor, custodians, the transfer agent, selling agents and/or other third party service providers may adversely impact the Fund

or its shareholders. Similar types of cyber security risks are also present for issuers of securities or other instruments in which the Funds invest, which could result in material adverse consequences for such issuers, and may cause the Funds’ investment therein to lose value.

Derivatives. The Funds may invest in various instruments that are commonly known as derivatives. Generally, a derivative is a financial arrangement, the value of which is based on, or “derived” from, a traditional security, asset, or market index. There are many different types of derivatives and many different ways to use them, and there is a range of risks associated with those uses. Futures and options are commonly used both for traditional hedging purposes to attempt to limit exposure to changing interest rates, securities prices, or currency exchange rates and as a method of gaining exposure to a particular security, securities index or other financial instrument without investing directly in those instruments. Some uses of derivatives may have the effect of creating leverage, which tends to magnify the portfolio effects of the underlying instrument’s price changes as market conditions change. Leverage involves the use of a small amount of money to control a large amount of financial assets, and can lead to significant losses. A sub-advisor will use derivatives only in circumstances where the sub-advisor believes they offer the most economic means of improving the risk/reward profile of the Fund. Derivatives will not be used to acquire exposure to changes in the value of assets or indexes that by themselves would not be purchased for the Funds. The use of derivatives for non-hedging purposes may be considered speculative. A description of the specific derivatives that the Funds may use and some of their associated risks is discussed below under the captions “Foreign Securities-Forward Foreign Currency Contracts,” “Futures Contracts and Options on Futures Contracts,” “Leveraging,” “Options” and “Swap Agreements.”

Equity-Linked Notes. A Fund may purchase equity-linked notes (“ELNs”). The principal or coupon payment on an ELN is linked to the performance of an underlying security or index. ELNs may be used, among other things, to provide a Fund with exposure to international markets while providing a mechanism to reduce foreign tax or regulatory restrictions imposed on foreign investors. The risks associated with purchasing ELNs include the creditworthiness of the issuer and the risk of counterparty default. Further, a Fund’s ability to dispose of an ELN will depend on the availability of liquid markets in the instruments. The purchase and sale of an ELN is also subject to the risks regarding adverse market movements, possible intervention by governmental authorities, and the effects of other political and economic events.

Equity-Linked Warrants. Equity-linked warrants provide a way for investors to access markets where entry is difficult and time consuming due to regulation. Typically, a broker issues warrants to an investor and then purchases shares in the local market and issues a call warrant hedged on the underlying holding. If the investor exercises his call and closes his position, the shares are sold and the warrant is redeemed with the proceeds.

Each warrant represents one share of the underlying stock. Therefore, the price, performance and liquidity of the warrant are all directly linked to the underlying stock. The warrants can be redeemed for 100% of the value of the underlying stock (less transaction costs). Being American style warrants, they can be exercised at any time. The warrants are U.S. dollar denominated and priced daily on several international stock exchanges.

Exchange-Traded Funds (“ETFs”). An ETF is a fund that holds a portfolio of common stocks designed to track the performance of a particular securities index or sector of an index, like the S&P 500 or NASDAQ, or a portfolio of bonds that may be designed to track a bond index. Because they may be traded like stocks on a securities exchange (e.g., the New York Stock Exchange; the NYSE MKT or the NASDAQ Stock Market), ETFs may be purchased and sold throughout the trading day based on their market price. Each share of an ETF represents an undivided ownership interest in the portfolio held by an ETF. ETFs that track indices or sectors of indices hold either:


•	shares of all of the companies (or, for a fixed-income ETF, bonds) that are represented by a particular index in the same proportion that is represented in the index itself; or


•	shares of a sampling of the companies (or, for a fixed-income ETF, bonds) that are represented by a particular index in a proportion meant to track the performance of the entire index.

ETFs are generally registered as investment companies and issue large blocks of shares (typically 50,000) called “creation units” in exchange for a specified portfolio of the ETF’s underlying securities, plus a cash payment generally equal to accumulated dividends of the securities (net of expenses) up to the time of deposit. Creation units are redeemed in kind for a portfolio of the underlying securities (based on the ETF’s NAV), together with a cash payment generally equal to accumulated dividends as of the date of redemption. As investment companies, ETFs incur fees and expenses such as trustee fees, operating expenses, licensing fees, registration fees, and marketing expenses, each of which will be reflected in the NAV of ETFs. Accordingly, ETF shareholders pay their proportionate share of these expenses.

Fixed-Income and Other Debt Securities. Fixed-income and other debt securities include all bonds, high yield or “junk” bonds, municipal bonds, debentures, U.S. government securities, mortgage-related securities including government stripped mortgage-related securities, zero coupon securities, and custodial receipts. The market value of fixed-income obligations of the Funds will be affected by general changes in interest rates that will result in increases or decreases in the value of the obligations held by the Funds. The market value of the obligations held by a Fund can be expected to vary inversely to changes in prevailing interest rates. As a result, shareholders should anticipate that the market value of the obligations held by the Fund generally will increase when prevailing interest rates are declining and generally will decrease when prevailing interest rates are rising. Shareholders also should recognize that, in periods of declining interest rates, a Fund’s yield will tend to be somewhat higher than prevailing market rates and, in periods of rising interest rates; a Fund’s yield will tend to be somewhat lower. Also, when interest rates are falling, the inflow of net new money to a Fund from the continuous sale of its shares will tend to be invested in instruments producing lower yields than the balance of its portfolio, thereby reducing the Funds’ current yield. In periods of rising interest rates, the opposite can be expected to occur. In addition, securities in which a Fund may invest may not yield as high a level of current income as might be achieved by investing in securities with less liquidity, less creditworthiness or longer maturities.

Ratings made available by Nationally Recognized Statistical Rating Organizations (“NRSRO”), such as Standard & Poor’s Rating Service (“S&P”) and Moody’s Investors Service, Inc. (“Moody’s”), are relative and subjective and are not absolute standards of quality. Although these ratings are initial criteria for selection of portfolio investments, the sub-advisor also will make its own evaluation of these securities. Among the factors that will be considered is the long-term ability of the issuers to pay principal and interest and general economic trends. A description of the ratings used in this SAI is set forth in Appendix A.

Fixed-income securities may be purchased on a when-issued or delayed-delivery basis. See “When-Issued and Delayed-Delivery Securities” below.

Floating-Rate, Inverse Floating-Rate, and Index Obligations. These securities are debt securities with interest payments or maturity values that are not fixed, but float in conjunction with (or inversely to) an underlying index or price. These securities may be backed by U.S. government or corporate issuers, or by collateral such as mortgages. The indices and prices upon which such securities can be based include interest rates, currency rates and commodities prices. However, the Fund will not invest in any instrument whose value is computed based on a multiple of the change in price or value of an asset or an index of or relating to assets in which the Fund cannot or will not invest.

Floating rate securities pay interest according to a coupon that is reset periodically. The reset mechanism may be formula based, or reflect the passing through of floating interest payments on an underlying collateral pool. Inverse floating rate securities are similar to floating rate securities except that their coupon payments vary inversely with an underlying index by use of a formula. Inverse floating rate securities tend to exhibit greater price volatility than other floating rate securities.

Floating rate obligations generally exhibit a low price volatility for a given stated maturity or average life because their coupons adjust with changes in interest rates. Interest rate risk and price volatility on inverse floating rate obligations can be high, especially if leverage is used in the formula. Index securities pay a fixed rate of interest, but have a maturity value that varies by formula, so that when the obligation matures a gain or loss may be realized. The risk of index obligations depends on the volatility of the underlying index, the coupon payment and the maturity of the obligation.

Foreign Securities. A Fund may invest in securities of foreign issuers and in sponsored and unsponsored ADRs and other depositary receipts. Investments in the securities of foreign issuers may subject the Fund to investment risks that differ in some respects from those related to investments in securities of U.S. issuers. Such risks include future adverse political and economic developments, possible imposition of withholding taxes on income, possible seizure, nationalization or expropriation of foreign deposits, possible establishment of exchange controls or taxation at the source or greater fluctuation in value due to changes in exchange rates. Foreign issuers of securities often engage in business practices different from those of domestic issuers of similar securities, and there may be less information publicly available about foreign issuers. In addition, foreign issuers are, generally speaking, subject to less government supervision and regulation than are those in the United States. Investments in securities of foreign issuers are frequently denominated in foreign currencies and the value of a Fund’s assets measured in U.S. dollars may be affected favorably or unfavorably by changes in currency rates and in exchange control regulations, and the Fund may incur costs in connection with conversions between various currencies.

Foreign Market Risk. The Funds may be subject to the risk that, because there are generally fewer investors on foreign exchanges and a smaller number of shares traded each day, it may be difficult for a Fund to buy and sell securities on those exchanges. In addition, prices of foreign securities may fluctuate more than prices of securities traded in the United States. Investments in foreign markets may also be adversely affected by governmental actions such as the imposition of punitive taxes. In addition, the governments of certain countries may prohibit or impose substantial restrictions on foreign investing in their capital markets or in certain industries. Any of these actions could severely affect security prices, impair a Fund’s ability to purchase or sell foreign securities or transfer a Fund’s assets or income back into the United States or otherwise adversely affect a Fund’s operations. Other potential foreign market risks include exchange controls, difficulties in pricing securities, defaults on foreign government securities, difficulties in enforcing favorable legal judgments in foreign courts and political and social conditions, such as diplomatic relations, confiscatory taxation, expropriation, limitation on the removal of funds or assets or imposition of (or change in) exchange control regulations. Legal remedies available to investors in certain foreign countries may be less extensive than those available to investors in the United States or other foreign countries. In addition, changes in government administrations or economic or monetary policies in the United States or abroad could result in appreciation or depreciation of portfolio securities and could favorably or adversely affect a Fund’s operations.

Public Availability of Information. In general, less information is publicly available with respect to foreign issuers than is available with respect to U.S. companies. Most foreign companies are also not subject to the uniform accounting and financial reporting requirements applicable to issuers in the United States. While the volume of transactions effected on foreign stock exchanges has increased in recent years, it remains appreciably below that of the New York Stock Exchange. Accordingly, a Fund’s foreign investments may be less liquid and their prices may be more volatile than comparable investments in securities in U.S. companies. In addition, there is generally less government supervision and regulation of securities exchanges, brokers and issuers in foreign countries than in the United States.

Settlement Risk. Settlement and clearance procedures in certain foreign markets differ significantly from those in the United States. Foreign settlement procedures and trade regulations also may involve certain risks (such as delays in payment for or delivery of securities) not typically generated by the settlement of U.S. investments. Communications between the United States and certain non-U.S. countries may be unreliable, increasing the risk of delayed settlements or losses of security certificates in markets that still rely on physical settlement. Settlements in certain foreign countries at times have not kept pace with the number of securities transactions; these problems may make it difficult for a Fund to carry out transactions. If a Fund cannot settle or is delayed in settling a purchase of securities, it may miss attractive investment opportunities and certain of its assets may be uninvested with no return earned thereon for some period. If a Fund cannot settle or is delayed in settling a sale of securities, it may lose money if the value of the security then declines or, if it has contracted to sell the security to another party; a Fund could be liable to that party for any losses incurred. Dividends or interest on, or proceeds from the sale of, foreign securities may be subject to foreign taxes on income from sources in such countries.

Governmental Supervision and Regulation/Accounting Standards. Many foreign governments supervise and regulate stock exchanges, brokers and the sale of securities less than does the United States. Some countries may not have laws to protect investors comparable to the U.S. securities laws. For example, some foreign countries may have no laws or rules against insider trading. Insider trading occurs when a person buys or sells a company’s securities based on nonpublic information about that company. In addition, the U.S. government has from time to time in the past imposed restrictions, through penalties and otherwise, on foreign investments by U.S. investors. Accounting standards in other countries are not necessarily the same as in the United States. If the accounting standards in another country do not require as much detail as U.S. accounting standards, it may be harder for a Fund to completely and accurately determine a company’s financial condition. Also, brokerage commissions and other costs of buying or selling securities often are higher in foreign countries than they are in the United States. This reduces the amount a Fund can earn on its investments.

Foreign Currency Risk. While each Fund’s net assets are valued in U.S. dollars, the securities of foreign companies are frequently denominated in foreign currencies. Thus, a change in the value of a foreign currency against the U.S. dollar will result in a corresponding change in value of securities denominated in that currency. Some of the factors that may impair the investments denominated in a foreign currency are: (1) it may be expensive to convert foreign currencies into U.S. dollars and vice versa; (2) complex political and economic factors may significantly affect the values of various currencies, including U.S. dollars, and their exchange rates; (3) government intervention may increase risks involved in purchasing or selling foreign currency options, forward contracts and futures contracts, since exchange rates may not be free to fluctuate in response to other market forces; (4) there may be no systematic reporting of last sale information for foreign currencies or regulatory requirement that quotations available through dealers or other market sources be firm or revised on a timely basis; (5) available quotation information is generally representative of very large round-lot transactions in the inter-bank market and thus may not reflect exchange rates for smaller odd-lot transactions (less than $1 million) where rates may be less favorable; and (6) the inter-bank market in foreign currencies is a global, around-

the-clock market. To the extent that a market is closed while the markets for the underlying currencies remain open, certain markets may not always reflect significant price and rate movements.

Forward Foreign Currency Contracts. A Fund may enter into forward foreign currency contracts to manage foreign currency exposure and as a hedge against possible variations in foreign exchange rates. A Fund may enter into forward foreign currency contracts to hedge a specific security transaction or to hedge a portfolio position. These contracts may be bought or sold to protect a Fund, to some degree, against possible losses resulting from an adverse change in the relationship between foreign currencies and the U.S. dollar. A Fund also may invest in foreign currency futures and in options on currencies. A forward contract involves an obligation to purchase or sell a specific currency amount at a future date, agreed upon by the parties, at a price set at the time of the contract. A Fund may enter into a contract to sell, for a fixed amount of U.S. dollars or other appropriate currency, the amount of foreign currency approximating the value of some or all of a Fund’s securities denominated in such foreign currency.

By entering into forward foreign currency contracts, a Fund will seek to protect the value of its investment securities against a decline in the value of a currency. However, these forward foreign currency contracts will not eliminate fluctuations in the underlying prices of the securities. Rather, they simply establish a rate of exchange which one can obtain at some future point in time. Although such contracts tend to minimize the risk of loss due to a decline in the value of the hedged currency, they also tend to limit any potential gain which might result should the value of such currency increase. At the maturity of a forward contract, a Fund may either sell a portfolio security and make delivery of the foreign currency, or it may retain the security and terminate its contractual obligation to deliver the foreign currency by purchasing an “offsetting” contract with the same currency trader, obligating it to purchase, on the same maturity date, the same amount of the foreign currency. A Fund may realize a gain or loss from currency transactions.

When entering into a contract for the purchase or sale of a security in a foreign currency, a Fund may enter into a forward foreign currency contract for the amount of the purchase or sale price to protect against variations, between the date the security is purchased or sold and the date on which payment is made or received, in the value of the foreign currency relative to the U.S. dollar or other foreign currency.

Also, when a Fund’s portfolio manager anticipates that a particular foreign currency may decline substantially relative to the U.S. dollar or other leading currencies, in order to reduce risk, a Fund may enter into a forward contract to sell, for a fixed amount, the amount of foreign currency approximating the value of its securities denominated in such foreign currency. With respect to any such forward foreign currency contract, it will not generally be possible to match precisely the amount covered by that contract and the value of the securities involved due to changes in the values of such securities resulting from market movements between the date the forward contract is entered into and the date it matures. In addition, while forward foreign currency contracts may offer protection from losses resulting from declines in value of a particular foreign currency, they also limit potential gains which might result from increases in the value of such currency. A Fund will also incur costs in connection with forward foreign currency contracts and conversions of foreign currencies into U.S. dollars. A Fund will place assets in a segregated account or otherwise earmark assets as cover to assure that its obligations under forward foreign currency contracts are covered.

Emerging Market Securities. Emerging market countries are generally countries that are included in the Morgan Stanley Capital International (“MSCI”) Emerging Markets Index, or otherwise excluded from the MSCI World Index. As of September 29, 2017, the countries in the MSCI Emerging Markets Index included: Brazil, Chile, China, Colombia, Czech Republic, Egypt, Greece, Hungary, India, Indonesia, Korea, Malaysia, Mexico, Pakistan, Peru, Philippines, Poland, Russia, Qatar, South Africa, Taiwan, Thailand, Turkey and United Arab Emirates. The country composition of the MSCI Emerging Markets Index can change over time. The country composition of the MSCI Emerging Markets Index and the MSCI World Index can change over time. Frontier market countries, which are those emerging market countries that have the smallest, least mature economies and least developed capital markets, are generally countries that are included in the MSCI Frontier Markets Index.

Investments in the securities of issuers domiciled in countries with emerging capital markets involve certain additional risks that do not generally apply to investments in securities of issuers in more developed capital markets, such as (i) low or non-existent trading volume, resulting in a lack of liquidity and increased volatility in prices for such securities, as compared to securities of comparable issuers in more developed capital markets; (ii) uncertain national policies and social, political and economic instability, increasing the potential for expropriation of assets, confiscatory taxation, high rates of inflation or unfavorable diplomatic developments; (iii) possible fluctuations in exchange rates, differing legal systems and the existence or possible imposition of exchange controls, custodial restrictions or other foreign or U.S. governmental laws or restrictions applicable to such investments; (iv) national policies that may limit a Fund’s investment opportunities such as restrictions on investment in issuers or industries deemed sensitive to national interests; and (v) the lack or relatively early development of legal structures governing private and foreign investments and private property. In addition to withholding taxes on investment income, some countries with emerging markets may impose capital gains taxes on foreign investors.

Political and economic structures in emerging market countries may be undergoing significant evolution and rapid development, and these countries may lack the social, political and economic stability characteristic of more developed countries. In such a dynamic environment, there can be no assurance that any or all of these capital markets will continue to present viable investment opportunities for a Fund. Some of these countries may have in the past failed to recognize private property rights and have at times nationalized or expropriated the assets of private companies. There is no assurance that such expropriations will not reoccur. In such an event, it is possible that a Fund could lose the entire value of its investments in the affected market. As a result, the risks described above, including the risks of nationalization or expropriation of assets, may be heightened. In addition, unanticipated political or social developments may affect the value of investments in these countries and the availability to a Fund of additional investments. The small size and inexperience of the securities markets in certain of these countries and the limited volume of trading in securities in these countries may make investments in the countries illiquid and more volatile than investments in Japan or most Western European countries.

Also, there may be less publicly available information about issuers in emerging markets than would be available about issuers in more developed capital markets, and such issuers may not be subject to accounting, auditing and financial reporting standards and requirements comparable to those to which U.S. companies are subject. In certain countries with emerging capital markets, reporting standards vary widely. As a result, traditional investment measurements used in the United States, such as price/earnings ratios, may not be applicable. Emerging market securities may be substantially less liquid and more volatile than those of mature markets, and company shares may be held by a limited number of persons. This may adversely affect the timing and pricing of a Fund’s acquisition or disposal of securities.

Practices in relation to settlement of securities transactions in emerging markets involve higher risks than those in developed markets, in part because a Fund will need to use brokers and counterparties that are less well capitalized, and custody and registration of assets in some countries may be unreliable. The possibility of fraud, negligence, undue influence being exerted by the issuer or refusal to recognize ownership exists in some emerging markets, and, along with other factors, could result in ownership registration being completely lost. A Fund would absorb any loss resulting from such registration problems and may have no successful claim for compensation.

Futures Contracts and Options on Futures Contracts. Futures contracts provide for the future sale by one party and purchase by another party of a specified amount of a specific security at a specified future time and at a specified price. An option on a futures contract gives the purchaser the right, in exchange for a premium, to assume a position in a futures contract at a specified exercise price during the term of the option. A Fund may use futures contracts and related options for bona fide hedging purposes, to offset changes in the value of securities held or expected to be acquired or be disposed of, to minimize fluctuations in foreign currencies, or to gain exposure to a particular market or instrument. Some strategies reduce a Fund’s exposure to price fluctuations, while others tend to increase its exposure. A Fund will minimize the risk that it will be unable to close out a futures contract by only entering into futures contracts which are traded on national futures exchanges. In addition, a Fund will only sell covered futures contracts and options on futures contracts.

Stock and bond index futures are futures contracts for various stock and bond indices that are traded on registered securities exchanges. Stock and bond index futures contracts obligate the seller to deliver (and the purchaser to take) an amount of cash equal to a specific dollar amount times the difference between the value of a specific stock or bond index at the close of the last trading day of the contract and the price at which the agreement is made.

Stock and bond index futures contracts are bilateral agreements pursuant to which two parties agree to take or make delivery of an amount of cash equal to a specified dollar amount times the difference between the stock or bond index value at the close of trading of the contract and the price at which the futures contract is originally struck. No physical delivery of the stocks or bonds comprising the index is made; generally contracts are closed out prior to the expiration date of the contracts.

No price is paid upon entering into futures contracts. Instead, a Fund would be required to deposit an amount of cash or U.S. Treasury securities known as “initial margin.” Subsequent payments, called “variation margin,” to and from the broker, would be made on a daily basis as the value of the futures position varies (a process known as “marking to market”). The margin is in the nature of a performance bond or good-faith deposit on a futures contract.

There are risks associated with these activities, including the following: (1) the success of a hedging strategy may depend on an ability to predict movements in the prices of individual securities, fluctuations in markets and movements in interest rates; (2) there may be an imperfect or no correlation between the changes in market value of the securities held by a Fund and the prices of futures and options on futures; (3) there may not be a liquid secondary market for a futures contract or option; (4) trading restrictions or limitations may be imposed by an exchange; and (5) government regulations may restrict trading in futures contracts and futures options.

A Fund may buy and sell futures contracts and related options to manage its exposure to changing interest rates and securities prices. Some strategies reduce a Fund’s exposure to price fluctuations, while others tend to increase its market exposure. Futures and options on futures can be volatile instruments and involve certain risks that could negatively impact a Fund’s return. When a Fund purchases or sells a futures contract, or sells an option thereon, a Fund is required to “cover” its position in order to limit the risk associated with the use of leverage and other related risks. To cover its position, a Fund may maintain with its custodian bank (and marked-to-market on a daily basis), a segregated account consisting of cash or liquid securities that, when added to any amounts deposited with a futures commission merchant as margin, are equal to the market value of the futures contract or otherwise “cover” its position in a manner consistent with the 1940 Act or the rules and SEC interpretations thereunder. If a Fund continues to engage in the described investment techniques and properly covers its investment in the manner described above, the segregated account or other form of coverage will function as a practical limit on the amount of leverage which a Fund may undertake and on the potential increase in the speculative character of a Funds’ outstanding investments. Additionally, such coverage will generally assure the availability of adequate funds to meet the obligations of a Fund arising from such investment activities.

Illiquid Securities. Subject to the limitations in the 1940 Act, the Funds may invest in illiquid securities. Current SEC guidance provides that an open-end investment company such as each of the Funds must limit its investments in illiquid securities to no more than 15% of net assets. Illiquid securities are securities that cannot be disposed of within seven business days at approximately the price at which they are being carried on a Fund’s books.

Illiquid securities include demand instruments with demand notice periods exceeding seven days, securities for which there is no active secondary market, and repurchase agreements with maturities of over seven days in length. The Funds may invest in securities that are neither listed on a stock exchange nor traded over-the-counter, including privately placed securities. Investing in such unlisted securities, including investments in new and early stage companies, may involve a high degree of business and financial risk that can result in substantial losses. As a result of the absence of a public trading market for these securities, they may be less liquid than publicly traded securities. Because these types of securities are thinly traded, if at all, and market prices for these types of securities are generally not readily available, a Fund typically determines the price for these types of securities in good faith in accordance with policies and procedures adopted by the Board. Although these securities may be resold in privately negotiated transactions, the prices realized from these sales could be less than those originally paid by a Fund, or less than what may be considered the fair value of such securities. Further, companies whose securities are not publicly traded may not be subject to the disclosure and other investor protection requirements which might be applicable if their securities were publicly traded. If such securities are required to be registered under the securities laws of one or more jurisdictions before being resold, a Fund may be required to bear the expenses of registration.

In addition, the Funds believe that carefully selected investments in joint ventures, cooperatives, partnerships, private placements, unlisted securities and other similar situations (collectively, “special situations”) could enhance the Funds’ capital appreciation potential. To the extent these investments are deemed illiquid, the Funds’ investment in them will be consistent with their applicable restriction on investment in illiquid securities. Investments in special situations and certain other instruments may be liquid, as determined by the Funds’ Advisor or sub-advisors based on criteria approved by the Board.

Inflation-Indexed Bonds. The Bond Fund may invest in inflation-indexed bonds, which are fixed-income securities whose principal value is periodically adjusted according to the rate of inflation. Such bonds generally are issued at an interest rate lower than typical bonds, but are expected to retain their principal value over time. The interest rate on these bonds is fixed at issuance, but over the life of the bond this interest may be paid on an increasing principal value, which has been adjusted for inflation.

Inflation-indexed securities issued by the U.S. Treasury will initially have maturities of five or ten years, although it is anticipated that securities with other maturities will be issued in the future. The securities will pay interest on a semiannual basis, equal to a fixed percentage of the inflation-adjusted principal amount. For example, if the Fund purchased an inflation-indexed bond with a par value of $1,000 and a 3% real rate of return coupon (payable 1.5% semiannually), and inflation over the first six months were 1%, the mid-year par value of the bond would be $1,010 and the first semiannual interest payment would be $15.15 ($1,010 times 1.5%). If inflation during the second half of the year reached 3%, the end-of-year par value of the bond would be $1,030 and the second semiannual interest payment would be $15.45 ($1,030 times 1.5%).

If the periodic adjustment rate measuring inflation falls, the principal value of inflation-indexed bonds will be adjusted downward, and consequently the interest payable on these securities (calculated with respect to a smaller principal amount) will be reduced. Repayment of the original bond principal upon maturity (as adjusted for inflation) is guaranteed in the case of U.S. Treasury inflation-indexed bonds, even during a period of deflation. However, the current market value of the bonds is not guaranteed, and will fluctuate. The Fund may also invest in other inflation related bonds, which may or may not provide a similar guarantee. If a guarantee of principal is not provided, the adjusted principal value of the bond repaid at maturity may be less than the original principal.

The value of inflation-indexed bonds is expected to change in response to changes in real interest rates. Real interest rates in turn are tied to the relationship between nominal interest rates and the rate of inflation. Therefore, if inflation were to rise at a faster rate than nominal interest rates, real interest rates might decline, leading to an increase in value of inflation-indexed bonds. In contrast, if nominal interest rates increased at a faster rate than inflation, real interest rates might rise, leading to a decrease in value of inflation-indexed bonds.

While these securities are expected to be protected from long-term inflationary trends, short-term increases in inflation may lead to a decline in value. If interest rates rise due to reasons other than inflation (for example, due to changes in currency exchange rates), investors in these securities may not be protected to the extent that the increase is not reflected in the bond’s inflation measure.

The periodic adjustment of U.S. inflation-indexed bonds is tied to the Consumer Price Index for Urban Consumers (“CPI-U”), which is calculated monthly by the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. The CPI-U is a measurement of changes in the cost of living, made up of components such as housing, food, transportation and energy. Inflation-indexed bonds issued by a foreign government are generally adjusted to reflect a comparable inflation index, calculated by that government. There can be no assurance that the CPI-U or any foreign inflation index will accurately measure the real rate of inflation in the prices of goods and services. Moreover, there can be no assurance that the rate of inflation in a foreign country will be correlated to the rate of inflation in the United States.

Any increase in the principal amount of an inflation-indexed bond will be considered taxable ordinary income for federal income tax purposes, even though investors do not receive their principal until maturity.

Interests in Publicly Traded Limited Partnerships. Interests in publicly traded limited partnerships (limited partnership interests or units) represent equity interests in the assets and earnings of the partnership’s trade or business. Unlike common stock in a corporation, limited partnership interests have limited or no voting rights. However, many of the risks of investing in common stocks are still applicable to investments in limited partnership interests. In addition, limited partnership interests are subject to risks not present in common stock. For example, income generated from limited partnerships deemed not to be “publicly traded” may not be considered “qualifying income” for purposes of the regulated investment company requirements under the Code, and may trigger adverse tax consequences (please refer to the “Taxes” section of this SAI for a discussion of relevant tax risks). Also, since publicly traded limited partnerships are a less common form of organizational structure than corporations, the limited partnership units may be less liquid than publicly traded common stock. Also, because of the difference in organizational structure, the fair value of limited partnership units in a Fund’s portfolio may be based either upon the current market price of such units, or if there is no current market price, upon the pro rata value of the underlying assets of the partnership. Limited partnership units also have the risk that the limited partnership might, under certain circumstances, be treated as a general partnership giving rise to broader liability exposure to the limited partners for activities of the partnership. Further, the general partners of a limited partnership may be able to significantly change the business or asset structure of a limited partnership without the limited partners having any ability to disapprove any such changes. In certain limited partnerships, limited partners may also be required to return distributions previously made in the event that excess distributions have been made by the partnership, or in the event that the general partners, or their affiliates, are entitled to indemnification.

Investment Company Shares. Investment companies include open- and closed-end funds, exchange-traded funds, and any other pooled investment vehicle that meets the definition of an investment company under the 1940 Act, whether such companies are required to register under the 1940 Act or not. These investment companies typically incur fees that are separate from those fees incurred directly by a Fund. A Fund’s purchase of such investment company securities results in the layering of expenses, such that shareholders would indirectly bear a proportionate share of the operating expenses of such investment companies, including advisory fees, in addition to paying Fund expenses. Investments in registered investment company shares are subject to limitations prescribed by the 1940 Act and its rules, and applicable SEC staff interpretations or applicable exemptive relief granted by the SEC. The 1940 Act currently provides, in part, that a Fund generally may not purchase shares of a registered investment company if (a) such a purchase would cause a Fund to own in the aggregate more than 3% of the total outstanding voting stock of the investment company or (b) such a purchase would cause a Fund to have more than 5% of its total assets invested in the investment company or (c) more than 10% of a Fund’s total assets would be invested in the aggregate in all registered investment companies.

See also “Investment Limitations” and “Permitted Investments and Risk Factors - Exchange-Traded Funds.”

Leveraging. Leveraging a Fund through borrowing or other means (e.g., certain uses of derivatives) creates an opportunity for increased net income, but, at the same time, creates special risk considerations. For example, leveraging may exaggerate changes in the NAV of a Fund’s shares and in the yield on a Fund’s portfolio. Although the principal amount of such borrowings will be fixed, a Fund’s assets may change in value during the time the borrowing is outstanding. Leveraging creates interest expenses for a Fund which could exceed the income from the assets retained. To the extent the income derived from securities purchased with borrowed funds exceeds the interest that a Fund will have to pay, a Fund’s net income will be greater than if leveraging were not

used. Conversely, if the income from the assets retained with borrowed funds is not sufficient to cover the cost of leveraging, the net income of a Fund will be less than if leveraging were not used, and therefore the amount available for distribution to shareholders as dividends will be reduced. Because the SEC staff believes that, among other transactions, reverse repurchase agreements and dollar roll transactions are collateralized borrowings, the SEC staff believes that they create leverage. The requirement that such transactions be fully collateralized by assets segregated by a Funds’ custodian or otherwise subject to “covering” techniques imposes a practical limit on the leverage these transactions create.

Loans and Other Direct Debt Instruments. These are instruments in amounts owed by a corporate, governmental or other borrower to another party. They may represent amounts owed to lenders or lending syndicates (loans and loan participations), to suppliers of goods or services (trade claims or other receivables) or to other parties. Direct debt instruments purchased by a Fund may have a maturity of any number of days or years, may be secured or unsecured, and may be of any credit quality. Direct debt instruments involve the risk of loss in the case of default or insolvency of the borrower. Direct debt instruments may offer less legal protection to a Fund in the event of fraud or misrepresentation. In addition, loan participations involve a risk of insolvency of the lending bank or other financial intermediary. Direct debt instruments also may include standby financing commitments that obligate a Fund to supply additional cash to the borrower on demand at the time when a Fund would not have otherwise done so, even if the borrower’s condition makes it unlikely that the amount will ever be repaid.

A Fund from time to time may also purchase indebtedness and participations therein, both secured and unsecured, of debtor companies in reorganization or financial restructuring. Such indebtedness may be in the form of loans, notes, bonds or debentures. When a Fund purchases a participation interest it assumes the credit risk associated with the bank or other financial intermediary as well as the credit risk associated with the issuer of any underlying debt instrument. A Fund may also purchase trade and other claims against, and other unsecured obligations of, such debtor companies, which generally represent money due a supplier of goods or services to such company. Some debt securities purchased by a Fund may have very long maturities. The length of time remaining until maturity is one factor the sub-advisor considers in purchasing a particular indebtedness. The purchase of indebtedness of a troubled company always involves a risk as to the creditworthiness of the issuer and the possibility that the investment may be lost. The sub-advisor believes that the difference between perceived risk and actual risk creates the opportunity for profit that can be realized through thorough analysis. There are no established markets for some of this indebtedness and it is less liquid than more heavily traded securities. Securities representing indebtedness of the debtor company to a bank are not securities of the banks issuing or selling them. The Funds may purchase loans from national and state chartered banks as well as foreign ones. The Funds may invest in senior indebtedness of the debtor companies, although on occasion subordinated indebtedness may also be acquired. The Funds may also invest in distressed first mortgage obligations and other debt secured by real property. Each Fund does not currently anticipate investing more than 5% of its total assets in trade and other claims.

These instruments will be considered illiquid securities and will be limited, along with a Fund’s other illiquid securities, to not more than 15% of the Funds’ net assets.

Lower-Rated Securities. A Fund may invest in lower-rated bonds commonly referred to as “junk bonds” or high-yield/high-risk securities. Lower-rated securities are defined as securities rated below the fourth highest rating category by a NRSRO or, if unrated, deemed to be of comparable quality by the Fund’s sub-advisor. Such obligations are speculative and may be in default. There may be no bottom limit on the ratings of high-yield securities that may be purchased or held by a Fund. Lower-rated or comparable unrated (i.e., high-yield) securities are more likely to react to developments affecting issuers than are more highly rated securities, which primarily react to movements in the general level of interest rates. The market values of fixed-income securities tend to vary inversely with the level of interest rates. Yields and market values of high-yield securities will fluctuate over time, reflecting not only changing interest rates but the market’s perception of credit quality and the outlook for economic growth. When economic conditions appear to be deteriorating, medium to lower-rated securities may decline in value due to heightened concern over credit quality, regardless of prevailing interest rates. Investors should carefully consider the relative risks of investing in high-yield securities and understand that such securities are not generally meant for short-term investing.

Adverse economic developments can disrupt the market for high-yield securities, and severely affect the ability of issuers, especially highly leveraged issuers, to service their debt obligations or to repay their obligations upon maturity which may lead to a higher incidence of default on such securities. In addition, the secondary market for high-yield securities, which is concentrated in relatively few market makers, may not be as liquid as the secondary market for more highly rated securities. As a result, a Fund could find it more difficult to sell these securities or may be able to sell the securities only at prices lower than if such securities were widely traded. Furthermore, a Fund may experience difficulty in valuing certain securities at certain times. Prices realized upon the sale of such lower-rated or unrated securities, under these circumstances, may be less than the prices used in calculating each Fund’s NAV.

Lower-rated or unrated debt obligations also present risks based on payment expectations. If an issuer calls the obligations for redemption, a Fund may have to replace the security with a lower yielding security, resulting in a decreased return for investors.

If a Fund experiences unexpected net redemptions, it may be forced to sell its higher rated securities, resulting in a decline in the overall credit quality of a Fund’s investment portfolio and increasing the exposure of a Fund to the risks of high-yield securities.

Growth of High-Yield, High-Risk Bond Market: The widespread expansion of government, consumer and corporate debt within the U.S. economy has made the corporate sector more vulnerable to economic downturns or increased interest rates. Further, an economic downturn could severely disrupt the market for lower-rated bonds and adversely affect the value of outstanding bonds and the ability of the issuers to repay principal and interest. The market for lower-rated securities may be less active, causing market price volatility and limited liquidity in the secondary market. This may limit a Fund’s ability to sell such securities at their market value. In addition, the market for these securities may be adversely affected by legislative and regulatory developments. Credit quality in the junk bond market can change suddenly and unexpectedly, and even recently issued credit ratings may not fully reflect the actual risks imposed by a particular security.

Sensitivity to Interest Rate and Economic Changes: Lower-rated bonds are very sensitive to adverse economic changes and corporate developments. During an economic downturn or substantial period of rising interest rates, highly leveraged issuers may experience financial stress that would adversely affect their ability to service their principal and interest payment obligations, to meet projected business goals, and to obtain additional financing. If the issuer of a bond defaulted on its obligations to pay interest or principal or entered into bankruptcy proceedings, a Fund may incur losses or expenses in seeking recovery of amounts owed to it. In addition, periods of economic uncertainty and change can be expected to result in increased volatility of market prices of high-yield, high-risk bonds and a Fund’s NAV.

Payment Expectations: High-yield, high-risk bonds may contain redemption or call provisions. If an issuer exercised these provisions in a declining interest rate market, a Fund would have to replace the security with a lower yielding security, resulting in a decreased return for investors. Conversely, a high-yield, high-risk bond’s value will decrease in a rising interest rate market, as will the value of a Fund’s assets. If a Fund experiences significant unexpected net redemptions, this may force it to sell high-yield, high-risk bonds without regard to their investment merits, thereby decreasing the asset base upon which expenses can be spread and possibly reducing a Fund’s rate of return.

Taxes: A Fund may purchase debt securities (such as zero-coupon or pay-in-kind securities) that contain original issue discount. Original issue discount that accrues in a taxable year is treated as earned by a Fund and therefore is subject to the distribution requirements of the Code even though a Fund has not received any interest payments on such obligations during that period. Because the original issue discount earned by a Fund in a taxable year is not represented by cash, a Fund may have to dispose of other securities and use the proceeds to make distributions to shareholders. In the event a Fund realizes net capital gains from such transactions, its shareholders may receive a larger capital gain distribution, if any, than they would have received in the absence of such transactions. See “Taxes” for more information.

Special Considerations Concerning Distressed and Defaulted Securities: Distressed securities are speculative and involve significant risks in addition to the risks generally applicable to high-yield, high-risk bonds. Distressed securities bear a substantial risk of default, and may be in default at the time of investment. The Fund will generally not receive interest payments on distressed securities, and there is a significant risk that principal will not be repaid, in full or at all. The Fund may incur costs to protect its investment in distressed securities, which may include seeking recovery from the issuer in bankruptcy. In any reorganization or liquidation proceeding relating to the issuer of distressed securities, the Fund may lose its entire investment or may be required to accept cash or securities with a value less than its original investment. Distressed securities, and any securities received in exchange for distressed securities, will likely be illiquid and may be subject to restrictions on resale.

Money Market Instruments. Money market securities are high-quality, dollar-denominated, short-term debt instruments. They include: (i) bankers’ acceptances, certificates of deposits, notes and time deposits of highly-rated U.S. banks and U.S. branches of foreign banks; (ii) U.S. Treasury obligations and obligations issued or guaranteed by the agencies and instrumentalities of the U.S. government; (iii) high-quality commercial paper issued by U.S. and foreign corporations; (iv) debt obligations with a maturity of one year or less issued by corporations with outstanding high-quality commercial paper ratings; and (v) repurchase agreements involving any of the foregoing obligations entered into with highly-rated banks and broker-dealers.

Mortgage-Related and Other Asset-Backed Securities.

Asset-Backed Securities: Asset-backed securities ("ABS") are secured by non-mortgage assets such as company receivables, truck and auto loans, leases and credit card receivables. Such securities are generally issued as pass-through certificates, which represent undivided fractional ownership interests in the underlying pools of assets. Such securities also may be debt instruments, which are also known as collateralized obligations and are generally issued as the debt of a special purpose entity, such as a trust, organized solely for the purpose of owning such assets and issuing such debt. Covered bonds are a type of asset backed security that is created from public sector loans or mortgage loans where the security is backed by a separate group of loans. Covered bonds typically

carry a 2 to 10 year maturity rate and enjoy relatively high credit ratings, depending on the quality of the pool of loans backing the bond.

The credit quality of an ABS transaction depends on the performance of the underlying assets. ABS can be structured with various forms of credit enhancement to address the possibility that some borrowers could miss payments or even default on their loans. Some ABS are subject to interest-rate risk and prepayment risk. A change in interest rates can affect the pace of payments on the underlying loans, which in turn, affects total return on the securities. ABS also carry credit or default risk. If many borrowers on the underlying loans default, losses could exceed the credit enhancement level and result in losses to investors in an ABS transaction. Finally, ABS have structure risk due to a unique characteristic known as early amortization, or early payout, risk. Built into the structure of most ABS are triggers for early payout, designed to protect investors from losses. These triggers are unique to each transaction and can include: a big rise in defaults on the underlying loans, a sharp drop in the credit enhancement level, or even the bankruptcy of the originator. Once early amortization begins, all incoming loan payments (after expenses are paid) are used to pay investors as quickly as possible based upon a predetermined priority of payment.

Mortgage Pass-Through Securities: Interests in pools of mortgage-related securities differ from other forms of debt securities, which normally provide for periodic payment of interest in fixed amounts with principal payments at maturity or specified call dates. Instead, these securities provide a monthly payment which consists of both interest and principal payments. In effect, these payments are a “pass-through” of the monthly payments made by the individual borrowers on their residential or commercial mortgage loans, net of any fees paid to the issuer or guarantor of such securities. Additional payments are caused by repayments of principal resulting from the sale of the underlying property, refinancing or foreclosure, net of fees or costs which may be incurred. Some mortgage-related securities (such as securities issued by Government National Mortgage Association (GNMA) (“Ginnie Mae”)) are described as “modified pass-through.” These securities entitle the holder to receive all interest and principal payments owed on the mortgage pool, net of certain fees, at the scheduled payment dates regardless of whether or not the mortgagor actually makes the payment.

The rate of pre-payments on underlying mortgages will affect the price and volatility of a mortgage-related security, and may have the effect of shortening or extending the effective duration of the security relative to what was anticipated at the time of purchase. To the extent that unanticipated rates of pre-payment on underlying mortgages increase the effective duration of a mortgage-related security, the volatility of such security can be expected to increase. The residential mortgage market in the United States has experienced difficulties in recent years that may adversely affect the performance and market value of certain of a Fund’s mortgage-related investments. Delinquencies and losses on residential mortgage loans (especially subprime and second-lien mortgage loans) generally have increased and may continue to increase, and a decline in or flattening of housing values (as has been experienced and may continue to be experienced in many housing markets) may exacerbate such delinquencies and losses. Borrowers with adjustable rate mortgage loans are more sensitive to changes in interest rates, which affect their monthly mortgage payments, and may be unable to secure replacement mortgages at comparably low interest rates. Also, a number of residential mortgage loan originators have experienced serious financial difficulties or bankruptcy. Consequently, reduced investor demand for mortgage loans and mortgage-related securities and increased investor yield requirements have caused limited liquidity in the secondary market for mortgage-related securities, which can adversely affect the market value of mortgage-related securities. It is possible that such limited liquidity in such secondary markets could continue or worsen.

Government Pass-Through Securities: Government pass-through securities are securities that are issued or guaranteed by a U.S. government agency representing an interest in a pool of mortgage loans. The primary issuers or guarantors of these mortgage-backed securities are Ginnie Mae, Federal National Mortgage Association (FNMA) (“Fannie Mae”), and Federal Home Loan Mortgage Corporation (FHLMC) (“Freddie Mac”). Ginnie Mae, Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac guarantee timely distributions of interest to certificate holders. Ginnie Mae and Fannie Mae also guarantee timely distributions of scheduled principal. Freddie Mac generally guarantees only the ultimate collection of principal of the underlying mortgage loan. Certain federal agencies, such as Ginnie Mae, have been established as instrumentalities of the United States government to supervise and finance certain types of activities. Issues of these agencies, while not direct obligations of the United States government, are either backed by the full faith and credit of the United States (e.g., Ginnie Mae securities) or supported by the issuing agencies’ right to borrow from the U.S. Treasury. The issues of other agencies are supported by the credit of the instrumentality (e.g., Fannie Mae securities). Government and private guarantees do not extend to the securities’ value, which is likely to vary inversely with fluctuations in interest rates.

There are a number of important differences among the agencies and instrumentalities of the U.S. government that issue mortgage-backed securities and among the securities that they issue. Mortgage-related securities issued by Ginnie Mae include GNMA Mortgage Pass-Through Certificates (also known as “Ginnie Mae Pass-Throughs”) which are guaranteed as to the timely payment of principal and interest by Ginnie Mae and such guarantee is backed by the full faith and credit of the U.S. Government. Ginnie Mae Pass-Throughs are created by an “issuer,” which is a Federal Housing Administration (“FHA”) approved mortgagee that also meets criteria imposed by Ginnie Mae. The issuer assembles a pool of FHA, Farmers’ Home Administration or Veterans’ Administration (“VA”) insured or guaranteed mortgages which are homogeneous as to interest rate, maturity and type of dwelling. Upon application by the issuer, and after approval by Ginnie Mae of the pool, Ginnie Mae provides its commitment to guarantee

timely payment of principal and interest on the Ginnie Mae Pass-Throughs backed by the mortgages included in the pool. The Ginnie Mae Pass-Throughs, endorsed by Ginnie Mae, then are sold by the issuer through securities dealers. Ginnie Mae Pass-Throughs bear a stated “coupon rate” which represents the effective FHA-VA mortgage rate at the time of issuance, less fees from Ginnie Mae and the issuer. Ginnie Mae is authorized under the National Housing Act to guarantee timely payment of principal and interest on Ginnie Mae Pass-Throughs. This guarantee is backed by the full faith and credit of the U.S. Government. Ginnie Mae may borrow Treasury funds to the extent needed to make payments under its guarantee. When mortgages in the pool underlying a Ginnie Mae Pass-Through are prepaid by mortgagors or by result of foreclosure, such principal payments are passed through to the certificate holders. Accordingly, the life of the Ginnie Mae Pass-Through is likely to be substantially shorter than the stated maturity of the mortgages in the underlying pool. Because of such variation in prepayment rates, it is not possible to predict the life of a particular Ginnie Mae Pass-Through. Payments to holders of Ginnie Mae Pass-Throughs consist of the monthly distributions of interest and principal less the fees of Ginnie Mae and the issuer. The actual yield to be earned by a holder of a Ginnie Mae Pass-Through is calculated by dividing interest payments by the purchase price paid for the Ginnie Mae Pass-Through (which may be at a premium or a discount from the face value of the certificate). Monthly distributions of interest, as contrasted to semi-annual distributions which are common for other fixed interest investments, have the effect of compounding and thereby raising the effective annual yield earned on Ginnie Mae Pass-Throughs.

Mortgage-related securities issued by Fannie Mae include Fannie Mae Guaranteed Mortgage Pass-Through Certificates (also known as “Fannie Mae Pass-Throughs”) that are solely the obligations of Fannie Mae and are not backed by or entitled to the full faith and credit of the United States. Fannie Mae Pass-Throughs are guaranteed as to timely payment of the principal and interest by Fannie Mae.

Mortgage-related securities issued by Freddie Mac include FHLMC Mortgage Participation Certificates (also known as “Freddie Mac PCs”). Freddie Mac PCs are not guaranteed by the United States or by any Federal Home Loan Banks and do not constitute a debt or obligation of the United States or of any Federal Home Loan Bank. Freddie Mac PCs entitle the holder to timely payment of interest, which is guaranteed by Freddie Mac. Freddie Mac guarantees either ultimate collection or timely payment of all principal payments on the underlying mortgage loans. When Freddie Mac does not guarantee timely payment of principal, Freddie Mac may remit the amount due on account of its guarantee of ultimate payment of principal at any time after default on an underlying mortgage, but in no event later than one year after it becomes payable.

Real Estate Mortgage Investment Conduits (“REMICs”). REMICs are private entities formed for the purpose of holding a fixed pool of mortgages secured by interests in real property. For Freddie Mac REMIC certificates, Freddie Mac guarantees the timely payment of interest, and also guarantees the payment of principal as payments are required to be made on the underlying mortgage participation certificates. Fannie Mae REMIC certificates are issued and guaranteed as to timely distribution of principal and interest by Fannie Mae.

Collateralized Mortgage Obligations (“CMOs”). A CMO is a debt obligation of a legal entity that is collateralized by mortgages and divided into classes. Similar to a bond, interest and prepaid principal is paid, in most cases, on a monthly basis. CMOs may be collateralized by whole mortgage loans or private mortgage bonds, but are more typically collateralized by portfolios of mortgage pass-through securities guaranteed by GNMA, Freddie Mac, or Fannie Mae, and their income streams.

CMOs are structured into multiple classes, often referred to as “tranches,” with each class bearing a different stated maturity and entitled to a different schedule for payments of principal and interest, including pre-payments. Actual maturity and average life will depend upon the pre-payment experience of the collateral. In the case of certain CMOs (known as “sequential pay” CMOs), payments of principal received from the pool of underlying mortgages, including pre-payments, are applied to the classes of CMOs in the order of their respective final distribution dates. Thus, no payment of principal will be made on any class of sequential pay CMOs until all other classes having an earlier final distribution date have been paid in full.

Commercial Mortgage-Backed Securities (“CMBS”). CMBS include securities that reflect an interest in, and are secured by, mortgage loans on commercial real property. The market for CMBS developed more recently and in terms of total outstanding principal amount of issues is relatively small compared to the market for residential single-family mortgage-backed securities. Many of the risks of investing in CMBS reflect the risks of investing in the real estate securing the underlying mortgage loans. These risks reflect the effects of local and other economic conditions on real estate markets, the ability of tenants to make loan payments, and the ability of a property to attract and retain tenants. CMBS may be less liquid and exhibit greater price volatility than other types of mortgage- or asset-backed securities.

Mortgage Dollar Rolls. Mortgage “dollar rolls” are transactions in which mortgage-backed securities are sold for delivery in the current month and the seller simultaneously contracts to repurchase substantially similar securities on a specified future date. The difference between the sale price and the purchase price (plus any interest earned on the cash proceeds of the sale) is netted against the interest income foregone on the securities sold to arrive at an implied borrowing rate. Alternatively, the sale and purchase

transactions can be executed at the same price, with a Fund being paid a fee as consideration for entering into the commitment to purchase. Mortgage dollar rolls may be renewed prior to cash settlement and initially may involve only a firm commitment agreement by a Fund to buy a security. If the broker-dealer to whom a Fund sells the security becomes insolvent, the Fund’s right to repurchase the security may be restricted. Other risks involved in entering into mortgage dollar rolls include the risk that the value of the security may change adversely over the term of the mortgage dollar roll and that the security a Fund is required to repurchase may be worth less than the security that the Fund originally held. A Fund will place U.S. government or other liquid securities in a segregated account in an amount sufficient to cover its repurchase obligation or otherwise “cover” its position in a manner consistent with the 1940 Act or the rules and SEC interpretations thereunder.

Stripped Mortgage-Backed Securities (“SMBS”). SMBS are derivative multi-class mortgage securities. SMBS may be issued by agencies or instrumentalities of the U.S. Government, or by private originators of, or investors in, mortgage loans, including savings and loan associations, mortgage banks, commercial banks, investment banks and special purpose entities of the foregoing. SMBS are usually structured with two classes that receive different proportions of the interest and principal distributions on a pool of mortgage assets. A common type of SMBS will have one class receiving some of the interest and most of the principal from the mortgage assets, while the other class will receive most of the interest and the remainder of the principal.

In the most extreme case, one class will receive all of the interest (the interest-only or “IO” class), while the other class will receive the entire principal (the principal-only or “PO” class). The yield to maturity on an IO class is extremely sensitive to the rate of principal payments (including pre-payments) on the related underlying mortgage assets, and a rapid rate of principal payments may have a material adverse effect on a Fund’s yield to maturity from these securities. If the assets underlying the interest-only securities experience greater than anticipated prepayments of principal, a Fund may fail to recoup fully its initial investment in these securities. Conversely, principal-only securities tend to increase in value if prepayments are greater than anticipated and decline if prepayments are slower than anticipated. The secondary market for SMBS may be more volatile and less liquid than that for other mortgage-backed securities, potentially limiting a Fund’s ability to buy or sell these securities at any particular time.

Municipal Securities. Municipal securities consist of (i) debt obligations issued by or on behalf of public authorities to obtain funds to be used for various public facilities, for refunding outstanding obligations, for general operating expenses, and for lending such funds to other public institutions and facilities; and (ii) certain private activity and industrial development bonds issued by or on behalf of public authorities to obtain funds to provide for the construction, equipment, repair, or improvement of privately operated facilities. Municipal notes include general obligation notes, tax anticipation notes, revenue anticipation notes, bond anticipation notes, certificates of indebtedness, demand notes and construction loan notes and participation interests in municipal notes. Municipal bonds include general obligation bonds, revenue or special obligation bonds, private activity and industrial development bonds, and participation interests in municipal bonds. General obligation bonds are backed by the taxing power of the issuing municipality. Revenue bonds are backed by the revenues of a project or facility. The payment of principal and interest on private activity and industrial development bonds generally is dependent solely on the ability of the facility’s user to meet its financial obligations and the pledge, if any, of real and personal property so financed as security for such payment. Yields on municipal securities are the product of a variety of factors, including the general conditions of the money market and of the municipal bond and municipal note markets, the size of a particular offering, the maturity of the obligation and the rating of the issue. Although the interest on municipal securities may be exempt from federal income tax, dividends paid by a Fund to its shareholders may not be tax-exempt.

General Obligation Securities. General Obligation Securities are backed by the taxing power of the issuing municipality and are considered the safest type of municipal bond. The proceeds from general obligation securities are used to fund a wide range of public projects, including the construction or improvement of schools, highways and roads, and water and sewer systems.

Revenue or Special Obligation Securities. Revenue or Special Obligation Securities are backed by the revenues of a specific project or facility (e.g., tolls from a toll bridge). The proceeds from revenue or special obligation securities are used to fund a wide variety of capital projects, including electric, gas, water and sewer systems; highways, bridges and tunnels; port and airport facilities; colleges and universities; and hospitals. Many municipal issuers also establish a debt service reserve fund from which principal and interest payments are made. Further security may be available in the form of the state’s ability, without obligation, to make up deficits in the reserve fund.

Municipal Lease Obligations. Municipal Lease Obligations may take the form of a lease, an installment purchase or a conditional sale contract issued by state and local governments and authorities to acquire land, equipment and facilities. Usually, a Fund will purchase a participation interest in a municipal lease obligation from a bank or other financial intermediary. The participation interest gives the holder a pro-rata, undivided interest in the total amount of the obligation.

Municipal leases frequently have risks distinct from those associated with general obligation or revenue bonds. The interest income from the lease obligation may become taxable if the lease is assigned. Also, to free the municipal issuer from constitutional or

statutory debt issuance limitations, many leases and contracts include non-appropriation clauses providing that the municipality has no obligation to make future payments under the lease or contract unless money is appropriated for that purpose by the municipality on a yearly or other periodic basis. Finally, the lease may be illiquid.

Bond Anticipation Notes. Bond Anticipation Notes are normally issued to provide interim financing until long-term financing can be arranged. The long-term bonds then provide money for the repayment of the notes.

Tax Anticipation Notes. Tax Anticipation Notes finance working capital needs of municipalities and are issued in anticipation of various seasonal tax revenues, to be payable for these specific future taxes.

Revenue Anticipation Notes. Revenue Anticipation Notes are issued in expectation of receipt of other kinds of revenue, such as federal revenues available under the Federal Revenue Sharing Program.

Industrial Development Bonds (“IDBs”) and Private Activity Bonds (“PABs”). IDBs and PABs are specific types of revenue bonds issued on or behalf of public authorities to finance various privately operated facilities such as educational, hospital or housing facilities, local facilities for water supply, gas, electricity, sewage or solid waste disposal, and industrial or commercial facilities. PABs generally are such bonds issued after April 15, 1986. These obligations are included within the term “municipal bonds” if the interest paid on them is exempt from federal income tax in the opinion of the bond issuer’s counsel. IDBs and PABs are in most case revenue bonds and thus are not payable from the unrestricted revenues of the issuer. The credit quality of the IDBs and PABs is usually directly related to the credit standing of the user of the facilities being financed, or some form of credit enhancement such as a letter of credit.

Resource Recovery Bonds. Resource Recovery Bonds are affected by a number of factors, which may affect the value and credit quality of these revenue or special obligations. These factors include the viability of the project being financed, environmental protection regulations and project operator tax incentives.

Tax-Exempt Commercial Paper and Short-Term Municipal Notes. Tax-Exempt Commercial Paper and Short-Term Municipal Notes provide for short-term capital needs and usually have maturities of one year or less. They include tax anticipation notes, revenue anticipation notes and construction loan notes.

Construction Loan Notes. Construction Loan Notes are sold to provide construction financing. After successful completion and acceptance, many projects receive permanent financing through the U.S. Federal Housing Administration by way of Fannie Mae or Ginnie Mae.

Put Bonds. Put Bonds are municipal bonds which give the holder the right to sell the bond back to the issuer or a third-party at a specified price and exercise date, which is typically well in advance of the bond’s maturity date.

Build America Bonds (“BABs”). BABs are taxable municipal bonds that carry special tax credits and federal subsidies for either the bond issuer or the bondholder. There are two types of BABs - Tax Credit BABs and Direct Payment BABs. Direct Payment BABs provide a federal subsidy of 35% of the interest paid on the bonds to the issuer. Tax Credit BABs provides a federal subsidy as a refundable tax credit directly to the bondholders. While the bondholder is the recipient of the tax credit through Tax Credit BABs, and the bond issuer is the recipient of the tax subsidy through Direct Payment BABs, both options reduce the cost of borrowing for the bond issuer in comparison to traditional taxable corporate bonds, and in many cases, it is more cost effective than issuing traditional tax-exempt bonds.

After purchase by a Fund, an issue of municipal securities may cease to be rated by Moody’s Investors Service, Inc. (“Moody’s”) or Standard and Poor’s Ratings Services (“S&P”), or another NRSRO, or the rating of such a security may be reduced below the minimum credit quality rating required for purchase by a Fund. Neither event would require a Fund to dispose of the security. To the extent that the ratings applied by Moody’s, S&P or another NRSRO to municipal securities may change as a result of changes in these rating systems, a Fund will attempt to use comparable credit quality ratings as standards for its investments in municipal securities.

A Fund may invest in municipal securities that are insured by financial insurance companies. If a Fund invests in municipal securities backed by insurance companies and other financial institutions, changes in the financial condition of these institutions could cause losses to a Fund and affect its share price.

A Fund may also invest in taxable municipal securities. Taxable municipal securities are debt securities issued by or on behalf of states and their political subdivisions, the District of Columbia, and possessions of the United States, the interest on which is not exempt from federal income tax.

The yields on municipal securities are dependent on a variety of factors, including general economic and monetary conditions, money market factors, conditions of the municipal securities market, size of a particular offering, and maturity and rating of the obligation. Because many municipal securities are issued to finance similar projects, especially those related to education, healthcare, transportation and various utilities, conditions in those sectors and the financial condition of an individual municipal issuer can affect the overall municipal market. The market values of the municipal securities held by a Fund will be affected by changes in the yields available on similar securities. If yields increase following the purchase of a municipal security, the market value of such municipal security will generally decrease. Conversely, if yields decrease, the market value of a municipal security will generally increase.

Obligations of Supranational Entities. Obligations of supranational entities are obligations of entities established through the joint participation of several governments, such as the Asian Development Bank, the Inter-American Development Bank, International Bank of Reconstruction and Development (World Bank), African Development Bank, European Economic Community, European Investment Bank and the Nordic Investment Bank.

Options. A put option gives the purchaser of the option the right to sell, and the writer of the option the obligation to buy, the underlying security at any time during the option period. A call option gives the purchaser of the option the right to buy, and the writer of the option the obligation to sell, the underlying security at any time during the option period. The premium paid to the writer is the consideration for undertaking the obligations under the option contract. The initial purchase (sale) of an option contract is an “opening transaction.” In order to close out an option position, a Fund may enter into a “closing transaction,” which is simply the sale (purchase) of an option contract on the same security with the same exercise price and expiration date as the option contract originally opened. If a Fund is unable to effect a closing purchase transaction with respect to an option it has written, it will not be able to sell the underlying security until the option expires or a Fund delivers the security upon exercise.

A Fund may purchase put and call options to protect against a decline in the market value of the securities in its portfolio or to anticipate an increase in the market value of securities that a Fund may seek to purchase in the future. A Fund will pay a premium when purchasing put and call options. If price movements in the underlying securities are such that exercise of the options would not be profitable for a Fund, loss of the premium paid may be offset by an increase in the value of a Fund’s securities or by a decrease in the cost of acquisition of securities by a Fund.

A Fund may write both covered call and put options. A Fund may write covered call options as a means of increasing the yield on its portfolio and as a means of providing limited protection against decreases in its market value. When a Fund sells an option, if the underlying securities do not increase or decrease to a price level that would make the exercise of the option profitable to the holder thereof, the option generally will expire without being exercised and a Fund will realize as profit the premium received for such option. When a call option written by a Fund is exercised, a Fund will be required to sell the underlying securities to the option holder at the strike price, and will not participate in any increase in the price of such securities above the strike price. When a put option written by a Fund is exercised, a Fund will be required to purchase the underlying securities at the strike price, which may be in excess of the market value of such securities.

A Fund may purchase and write options on an exchange or over-the-counter. Over-the-counter options (“OTC options”) differ from exchange-traded options in several respects. They are transacted directly with dealers and not with a clearing corporation, and therefore entail the risk of non-performance by the dealer. OTC options are available for a greater variety of securities and for a wider range of expiration dates and exercise prices than are available for exchange-traded options. Because OTC options are not traded on an exchange, pricing is done normally by reference to information from a market maker. It is the position of the staff of the SEC that OTC options are generally illiquid.

A Fund may purchase and write put and call options on foreign currencies (traded on U.S. and foreign exchanges or over-the-counter markets) to manage its exposure to exchange rates. Call options on foreign currencies written by a Fund will be “covered,” which means that a Fund will own an equal amount of the underlying foreign currency. With respect to put options on foreign currency written by a Fund, a Fund will establish a segregated account with its custodian consisting of cash or liquid, high grade debt securities in an amount equal to the amount a Fund would be required to pay upon exercise of the put, earmark assets as cover or otherwise “cover” its position in a manner consistent with the 1940 Act or the rules and SEC interpretations.

Buyers and sellers of foreign currency options are subject to the same risks that apply to options generally. There are certain additional risks associated with foreign currency options. The markets in foreign currency options are relatively new, and a Fund’s ability to establish and close out positions on such options is subject to the maintenance of a liquid secondary market. There can be no assurance that a liquid secondary market will exist for a particular option at any specific time. In addition, options on foreign currencies are affected by all of those factors that influence foreign exchange rates and investments generally.

The value of a foreign currency option depends upon the value of the underlying currency relative to the U.S. dollar. As a result, the price of the option position may vary with changes in the value of either or both currencies and may have no relationship to the investment merits of a foreign security. Because foreign currency transactions occurring in the interbank market involve substantially larger amounts than those that may be involved in the use of foreign currency options, investors may be disadvantaged by having to deal in an odd lot market (generally consisting of transactions of less than $1 million) for the underlying foreign currencies at prices that are less favorable than for round lots.

There is no systematic reporting of last sale information for foreign currencies or any regulatory requirement that quotations available through dealers or other market sources be firm or revised on a timely basis. Available quotation information is generally representative of very large transactions in the interbank market and thus may not reflect relatively smaller transactions (i.e., less than $1 million) where rates may be less favorable. The interbank market in foreign currencies is a global, around-the-clock market. To the extent that the U.S. option markets are closed while the markets for the underlying currencies remain open, significant price and rate movements may take place in the underlying markets that cannot be reflected in the options markets until they reopen.

A Fund may purchase and write put and call options on indices and enter into related closing transactions. Put and call options on indices are similar to options on securities except that options on an index give the holder the right to receive, upon exercise of the option, an amount of cash if the closing level of the underlying index is greater than (or less than, in the case of puts) the exercise price of the option. This amount of cash is equal to the difference between the closing price of the index and the exercise price of the option, expressed in dollars multiplied by a specified number. Thus, unlike options on individual securities, all settlements are in cash, and gain or loss depends on price movements in the particular market represented by the index generally, rather than the price movements in individual securities. A Fund may choose to terminate an option position by entering into a closing transaction. The ability of a Fund to enter into closing transactions depends upon the existence of a liquid secondary market for such transactions.

All options written on indices must be covered. When a Fund writes an option on an index, it will establish a segregated account containing cash or liquid securities with its custodian in an amount at least equal to the market value of the option and will maintain the account while the option is open or will otherwise cover the transaction.

A Fund will not engage in transactions involving interest rate futures contracts for speculation but only as a hedge against changes in the market values of debt securities held or intended to be purchased by a Fund and where the transactions are appropriate to reduce a Fund’s interest rate risks. There can be no assurance that hedging transactions will be successful. A Fund also could be exposed to risks if it cannot close out its futures or options positions because of any illiquid secondary market.

Futures and options have effective durations that, in general, are closely related to the effective duration of the securities that underlie them. Holding purchased futures or call option positions (backed by segregated cash or other liquid securities) will lengthen the duration of a Fund’s portfolio.

Risks associated with options transactions include: (1) the success of a hedging strategy may depend on an ability to predict movements in the prices of individual securities, fluctuations in markets and movements in interest rates; (2) there may be an imperfect correlation between the movement in prices of options and the securities underlying them; (3) there may not be a liquid secondary market for options; and (4) while a Fund will receive a premium when it writes covered call options, it may not participate fully in a rise in the market value of the underlying security.

Caps, Collars and Floors. Caps and floors have an effect similar to buying or writing options. In a typical cap or floor agreement, one party agrees to make payments only under specified circumstances, usually in return for payment of a fee by the other party. For example, the buyer of an interest rate cap obtains the right to receive payments to the extent that a specified interest rate exceeds an agreed-upon level. The seller of an interest rate floor is obligated to make payments to the extent that a specified interest rate falls below an agreed-upon level. An interest rate collar combines elements of buying a cap and selling a floor.

Inverse Floaters. A Fund may invest in inverse floaters. Inverse floaters are derivative securities whose interest rates vary inversely to changes in short-term interest rates and whose values fluctuate inversely to changes in long-term interest rates. The value of certain inverse floaters will fluctuate substantially more in response to a given change in long-term rates than would a traditional debt security. These securities have investment characteristics similar to leverage, in that interest rate changes have a magnified effect on the value of inverse floaters.

Ordinary Shares. Ordinary shares are shares of foreign issuers that are traded abroad and on a United States exchange. Ordinary shares may be purchased with and sold for U.S. dollars. Investing in foreign companies may involve risks not typically associated with investing in United States companies. See “Securities of Foreign Issuers.”

Over-The-Counter Stocks. A Fund may invest in over-the-counter stocks. In contrast to securities exchanges, the over-the-counter market is not a centralized facility that limits trading activity to securities of companies which initially satisfy certain defined standards. Generally, the volume of trading in an unlisted or over-the-counter common stock is less than the volume of trading in a listed stock. This means that the depth of market liquidity of some stocks in which each Fund invests may not be as great as that of other securities and, if a Funds were to dispose of such a stock, they might have to offer the shares at a discount from recent prices, or sell the shares in small lots over an extended period of time.

Receipts. Receipts are sold as zero coupon securities, which mean that they are sold at a substantial discount and redeemed at face value at their maturity date without interim cash payments of interest or principal. This discount is accreted over the life of the security, and such accretion will constitute the income earned on a security for both accounting and federal income tax purposes. Because of these features, such securities may be subject to greater interest rate volatility than interest paying investments.

Real Estate Investment Trusts (“REITs”). The Funds may invest in REITs, which pool investors’ money for investment in income producing commercial real estate or real estate related loans or interests.

A REIT is not subject to federal income tax on income distributed to its shareholders or unitholders if it complies with regulatory requirements relating to its organization, ownership, assets and income, and with a regulatory requirement that it distribute to its shareholders or unitholders at least 90% of its taxable income for each taxable year. Generally, REITs can be classified as Equity REITs, Mortgage REITs and Hybrid REITs. Equity REITs invest the majority of their assets directly in real property and derive their income primarily from rents and capital gains from appreciation realized through property sales. Mortgage REITs invest the majority of their assets in real estate mortgages and derive their income primarily from interest payments. Hybrid REITs combine the characteristics of both Equity and Mortgage REITs. A shareholder in a Fund should realize that by investing in REITs indirectly through a Fund, he or she will bear not only his or her proportionate share of the expenses of a Fund, but also indirectly, similar expenses of underlying REITs.

A Fund may be subject to certain risks associated with the direct investments of the REITs. REITs may be affected by changes in their underlying properties and by defaults by borrowers or tenants. Mortgage REITs may be affected by the quality of the credit extended. Furthermore, REITs are dependent on specialized management skills. Some REITs may have limited diversification and may be subject to risks inherent in financing a limited number of properties. REITs depend generally on their ability to generate cash flow to make distributions to shareholders or unitholders, and may be subject to defaults by borrowers and to self-liquidations. In addition, the performance of a REIT may be affected by its failure to qualify for tax-free pass-through of income under the Code or its failure to maintain exemption from registration under the 1940 Act.

Repurchase Agreements. Repurchase agreements are transactions by which a Fund purchases a security and simultaneously commits to resell that security to the seller at an agreed upon time and price, thereby determining the yield during the term of the agreement. In the event of a bankruptcy or other default of the seller of a repurchase agreement, a Fund could experience both delays in liquidating the underlying security and losses. To minimize these possibilities, each Fund intends to enter into repurchase agreements only with its custodian, with banks having assets in excess of $10 billion and with broker-dealers who are recognized as primary dealers in U.S. government obligations by the Federal Reserve Bank of New York. Collateral for repurchase agreements is held in safekeeping in the customer-only account of a Fund’s custodian at the Federal Reserve Bank. A Fund will not enter into a repurchase agreement not terminable within seven days if, as a result thereof, more than 15% of the value of its net assets would be invested in such securities and other illiquid securities.

Although the securities subject to a repurchase agreement might bear maturities exceeding one year, settlement for the repurchase would never be more than one year after a Fund’s acquisition of the securities and normally would be within a shorter period of time. The resale price will be in excess of the purchase price, reflecting an agreed upon market rate effective for the period of time a Fund’s money will be invested in the securities, and will not be related to the coupon rate of the purchased security. At the time a Fund enters into a repurchase agreement, the value of the underlying security, including accrued interest, will equal or exceed the value of the repurchase agreement, and in the case of a repurchase agreement exceeding one day, the seller will agree that the value of the underlying security, including accrued interest, will at all times equal or exceed the value of the repurchase agreement. The collateral securing the seller’s obligation must consist of cash or securities that are issued or guaranteed by the United States government or its agencies. The collateral will be held by the custodian or in the Federal Reserve Book Entry System.

For purposes of the 1940 Act, a repurchase agreement is deemed to be a loan from a Fund to the seller subject to the repurchase agreement and is therefore subject to that Fund’s investment restriction applicable to loans. It is not clear whether a court would consider the securities purchased by a Fund subject to a repurchase agreement as being owned by that Fund or as being collateral for a loan by a Fund to the seller. In the event of the commencement of bankruptcy or insolvency proceedings with respect to the seller of the securities before repurchase of the security under a repurchase agreement, a Fund may encounter delays and incur costs before being able to sell the security. Delays may involve loss of interest or decline in price of the security. If a court

characterized the transaction as a loan and a Fund has not perfected a security interest in the security, that Fund may be required to return the security to the seller’s estate and be treated as an unsecured creditor of the seller. As an unsecured creditor, a Fund would be at risk of losing some or all of the principal and income involved in the transaction. As with any unsecured debt obligation purchased for a Fund, the sub-advisor seeks to minimize the risk of loss through repurchase agreements by analyzing the creditworthiness of the obligor, in this case, the seller. Apart from the risk of bankruptcy or insolvency proceedings, there is also the risk that the seller may fail to repurchase the security, in which case a Fund may incur a loss if the proceeds to that Fund of the sale of the security to a third party are less than the repurchase price. However, if the market value of the securities subject to the repurchase agreement becomes less than the repurchase price (including interest), a Fund involved will direct the seller of the security to deliver additional securities so that the market value of all securities subject to the repurchase agreement will equal or exceed the repurchase price. It is possible that a Fund will be unsuccessful in seeking to enforce the seller’s contractual obligation to deliver additional securities.

Reverse Repurchase Agreement, Dollar Roll, and Reverse Dollar Roll Transactions. A reverse repurchase agreement involves a sale by a Fund of securities that it holds to a bank, broker-dealer or other financial institution concurrently with an agreement by a Fund to repurchase the same securities at an agreed-upon price and date. Reverse repurchase agreements are considered borrowing by a Fund and are subject to a Fund’s limitations on borrowing. A dollar roll transaction involves a sale by a Fund of an eligible security to a financial institution concurrently with an agreement by a Fund to repurchase a similar eligible security from the institution at a later date at an agreed-upon price. A reverse dollar roll transaction involves a purchase by a Fund of an eligible security from a financial institution concurrently with an agreement by a Fund to resell a similar security to the institution at a later date at an agreed-upon price. Each Fund will fully collateralize its reverse repurchase agreements, dollar roll and reverse dollar roll transactions in an amount at least equal to a Fund’s obligations under the reverse repurchase agreement, dollar roll or reverse dollar roll transaction by segregating cash or other liquid securities, earmarking cash or other liquid securities or otherwise “covering” its position in a manner consistent with the 1940 Act or the rules and SEC interpretations.

Rule 144A Securities. Rule 144A securities are securities exempt from registration on resale pursuant to Rule 144A under the Securities Act of 1933, as amended (“1933 Act”). Rule 144A securities are traded in the institutional market pursuant to this registration exemption, and, as a result, may not be as liquid as exchange-traded securities since they may only be resold to certain qualified institutional investors. Due to the relatively limited size of this institutional market, these securities may affect the liquidity of Rule 144A securities to the extent that qualified institutional buyers become, for a time, uninterested in purchasing such securities. Nevertheless, Rule 144A securities may be treated as liquid securities pursuant to procedures adopted by the Trust’s Board.

Sector Focus. If the Fund’s portfolio is overweighted in a certain sectors or related sectors, any negative development affecting that sector will have a greater impact on the Fund than a fund that is not overweighted in that sector.

Consumer Discretionary Sector Risk. Because companies in the consumer discretionary sector manufacture products and provide discretionary services directly to the consumer, the success of these companies is tied closely to the performance of the overall domestic and international economy, interest rates, competition and consumer confidence. Success depends heavily on disposable household income and consumer spending. Changes in demographics and consumer tastes also can affect the demand for, and success of, consumer discretionary products in the marketplace.

Consumer Staples Sector Risk. The consumer staples sector may be affected by the permissibility of using various food additives and production methods, fads, marketing campaigns and other factors affecting consumer demand. In particular, tobacco companies may be adversely affected by new laws, regulations and litigation. The consumer staples sector may also be adversely affected by changes or trends in commodity prices, which may be influenced or characterized by unpredictable factors.

Energy Sector Risk. The profitability of companies in the energy sector is related to worldwide energy prices, exploration, and production spending. Such companies also are subject to risks of changes in exchange rates, government regulation, world events, depletion of resources and economic conditions, as well as market, economic and political risks of the countries where energy companies are located or do business. Oil and gas exploration and production can be significantly affected by natural disasters. Oil exploration and production companies may be adversely affected by changes in exchange rates, interest rates, government regulation, world events, and economic conditions. Oil exploration and production companies may be at risk for environmental damage claims.

Financial Sector Risk. The financial services industries are subject to extensive government regulation, can be subject to relatively rapid change due to increasingly blurred distinctions between service segments, and can be significantly affected by availability and cost of capital funds, changes in interest rates, the rate of corporate and consumer debt defaults, and price competition. Numerous financial services companies have experienced substantial declines in the valuations of their assets, taken action to raise capital (such as the issuance of debt or equity securities), or even ceased operations. These actions have caused the securities of many financial services companies to experience a dramatic decline in value. Issuers that have exposure to the real estate,

mortgage and credit markets have been particularly affected by the foregoing events and the general market turmoil, and it is uncertain whether or for how long these conditions will continue.

Healthcare Sector Risk. The profitability of companies in the healthcare sector may be affected by extensive government regulation, restrictions on government reimbursement for medical expenses, rising costs of medical products and services, pricing pressure, an increased emphasis on outpatient services, limited number of products, industry innovation, changes in technologies and other market developments. Many healthcare companies are heavily dependent on patent protection. The expiration of patents may adversely affect the profitability of these companies. Many healthcare companies are subject to extensive litigation based on product liability and similar claims. Healthcare companies are subject to competitive forces that may make it difficult to raise prices and, in fact, may result in price discounting. Many new products in the healthcare sector may be subject to regulatory approvals. The process of obtaining such approvals may be long and costly.

Industrials Sector Risk. The stock prices of companies in the industrials sector are affected by supply and demand both for their specific product or service and for industrials sector products in general. The products of manufacturing companies may face product obsolescence due to rapid technological developments and frequent new product introduction. Government regulation, world events and economic conditions may affect the performance of companies in the industrials sector. Companies in the industrials sector may be at risk for environmental damage and product liability claims.

Materials Sector Risk. Companies in the materials sector could be adversely affected by commodity price volatility, exchange rates, import controls and increased competition. Production of industrial materials often exceeds demand as a result of overbuilding or economic downturns, leading to poor investment returns. Companies in the materials sector are at risk for environmental damage and product liability claims. Companies in the materials sector may be adversely affected by depletion of resources, technical progress, labor relations, and government regulations.

Technology Sector Risk. Information technology companies face intense competition, both domestically and internationally, which may have an adverse effect on profit margins. Like other technology companies, information technology companies may have limited product lines, markets, financial resources or personnel. The products of information technology companies may face product obsolescence due to rapid technological developments and frequent new product introduction, unpredictable changes in growth rates and competition for the services of qualified personnel. Technology companies and companies that rely heavily on technology, especially those of smaller, less-seasoned companies, tend to be more volatile than the overall market. Companies in the information technology sector are heavily dependent on patent and intellectual property rights. The loss or impairment of these rights may adversely affect the profitability of these companies. Finally, while all companies may be susceptible to network security breaches, certain companies in the information technology sector may be particular targets of hacking and potential theft of proprietary or consumer information or disruptions in service, which could have a material adverse effect on their businesses. These risks are heightened for information technology companies in foreign markets.

Telecommunications Services Sector Risk. The telecommunications sector is subject to extensive government regulation. The costs of complying with governmental regulations, delays or failure to receive required regulatory approvals, or the enactment of new regulatory requirements may negatively affect the business of telecommunications companies. Government actions around the world, specifically in the area of pre-marketing clearance of products and prices, can be arbitrary and unpredictable. The domestic telecommunications market is characterized by increasing competition and regulation by various state and federal regulatory authorities. Companies in the telecommunications sector may encounter distressed cash flows due to the need to commit substantial capital to meet increasing competition, particularly in formulating new products and services using new technology. Technological innovations may make the products and services of certain telecommunications companies obsolete.

Securities Lending. In order to generate additional income, a Fund may lend its securities pursuant to agreements requiring that the loan be continuously secured by collateral consisting of: (1) cash in U.S. dollars; (2) securities issued or fully guaranteed by the United States government or issued and unconditionally guaranteed by any agencies thereof; or (3) irrevocable performance letters of credit issued by banks approved by each Fund. All collateral must equal at least 100% of the market value of the loaned securities. A Fund continues to receive interest on the loaned securities while simultaneously earning interest on the investment of cash collateral. Collateral is marked to market daily. There may be risks of delay in recovery of the securities or even loss of rights in the collateral should the borrower of the securities fail financially or become insolvent. In addition, cash collateral invested by the lending Fund is subject to investment risk and a Fund may experience losses with respect to its collateral investments. The SEC currently requires that the following conditions must be met whenever a Fund’s portfolio securities are loaned: (1) a Fund must receive at least 100% cash collateral from the borrower; (2) the borrower must increase such collateral whenever the market value of the securities rises above the level of such collateral; (3) a Fund must be able to terminate the loan at any time; (4) a Fund must receive reasonable interest on the loan, as well as any dividends, interest or other distributions on the loaned securities, and any increase in market value; (5) a Fund may pay only reasonable custodian fees approved by the Board in connection with the loan; (6) while voting rights on the loaned securities may pass to the borrower, the Board must terminate the loan and regain the

right to vote the securities if a material event adversely affecting the investment occurs, and (7) a Fund may not loan its portfolio securities so that the value of the loaned securities is more than one-third of its total asset value, including collateral received from such loans.

Senior Securities. Senior securities may include any obligation or instrument issued by a fund evidencing indebtedness. The 1940 Act generally prohibits funds from issuing senior securities, although it does not treat certain transactions as senior securities, such as certain borrowings, short sales, reverse repurchase agreements, firm commitment agreements and standby commitments, with appropriate earmarking or segregation of assets to cover such obligation.

Short Sales. In a short sale, a Fund sells a security, which it does not own, in anticipation of a decline in the market value of the security. To complete the sale, the Fund must borrow the security (generally from the broker through which the short sale is made) in order to make delivery to the buyer. The Fund must replace the security borrowed by purchasing it at the market price at the time of replacement. The Fund is said to have a “short position” in the securities sold until it delivers them to the broker. The period during which the Fund has a short position can range from one day to more than a year. Until the Fund replaces the security, the proceeds of the short sale are retained by the broker, and the Fund must pay to the broker a negotiated portion of any dividends or interest, which accrue during the period of the loan. A short sale is “against the box” if at all times during which the short position is open, a Fund owns at least an equal amount of the securities or securities convertible into, or exchangeable without further consideration for, securities of the same issue as the securities that are sold short. A short sale against the box is a taxable transaction to the Fund with respect to the securities that are sold short. The lending of securities is considered a form of leverage that is included in a lending Fund’s investment limitation related to borrowings. See “Investment Limitations” below.

In the view of the SEC, a short sale involves the creation of a “senior security” as such term is defined in the 1940 Act, unless the sale is “against the box” and the securities sold short are placed in a segregated account (not with the broker), or unless the Fund’s obligation to deliver the securities sold short is otherwise “covered,” whether by placing assets in a segregated account or otherwise earmarking assets as cover in an amount equal to the difference between the market value of the securities sold short at the time of the short sale and any such collateral required to be deposited with a broker in connection with the sale (not including the proceeds from the short sale), which difference is adjusted daily for changes in the value of the securities sold short, or otherwise. To the extent a Fund engages in short sales, it will comply with these requirements.

Sovereign Debt. Investment in sovereign debt can involve a high degree of risk. The governmental entity that controls the repayment of sovereign debt may not be able or willing to repay the principal or interest when due in accordance with the terms of such debt. A governmental entity’s willingness or ability to repay principal and interest due in a timely manner may be affected by, among other factors, its cash flow situation, the extent of its foreign reserves, the availability of sufficient foreign exchange on the date a payment is due, the relative size of the debt service burden to the economy as a whole, the governmental entity’s policy towards the International Monetary Fund and the political constraints to which a governmental entity may be subject. Governmental entities may also be dependent on expected disbursements from foreign governments, multilateral agencies and others abroad to reduce principal and interest arrearages on their debt. The commitment on the part of these governments, agencies and others to make such disbursements may be conditioned on the implementation of economic reforms or economic performance and the timely service of such debtor’s obligations. Failure to implement such reforms, achieve such levels of economic performance or repay principal or interest when due may result in the cancellation of such third parties’ commitments to lend funds to the governmental entity, which may further impair such debtor’s ability or willingness to timely service its debts. Consequently, governmental entities may default on their sovereign debt.

Holders of sovereign debt may be requested to participate in the rescheduling of such debt and to extend further loans to governmental entities. In the event of a default by a governmental entity, there may be few or no effective legal remedies for collecting on such debt.

Stand-By Commitments. When a Fund purchases municipal obligations, it may also acquire stand-by commitments from banks and broker-dealers with respect to such municipal obligations. A stand-by commitment is the equivalent of a put option acquired by a Fund with respect to a particular municipal obligation held in its portfolio. A stand-by commitment is a security independent of the municipal obligation to which it relates. The amount payable by a bank or dealer during the time a stand-by commitment is exercisable, absent unusual circumstances relating to a change in market value, would be substantially the same as the value of the underlying municipal obligation. A stand-by commitment might not be transferable by a Fund, although it could sell the underlying municipal obligation to a third-party at any time.

Each Fund expects that stand-by commitments generally will be available without the payment of direct or indirect consideration. However, if necessary and advisable, a Fund may pay for stand-by commitments either separately in cash or by paying a higher price for portfolio securities which are acquired subject to such a commitment (thus reducing the yield to maturity otherwise available for the same securities). The total amount paid in either manner for outstanding stand-by commitments held by a Fund

will not exceed 10% of the value of a Fund’s total assets calculated immediately after each stand-by commitment is acquired. A Fund will enter into stand-by commitments only with banks and broker-dealers that, in the judgment of the Advisor or sub-advisor, as the case may be, present minimal credit risks.

Step Coupon Bonds (“STEPS”). A Fund may invest in STEPS, which pay interest at a series of different rates (including 0%) in accordance with a stated schedule for a series of periods. In addition to the risks associated with the credit rating of the issuers, these securities may be subject to more volatility risk than fixed rate debt securities.

Structured Notes. A Fund may invest in structured notes, including “total rate of return swaps,” with rates of return determined by reference to the total rate of return on one or more loans referenced in such notes. The rate of return on the structured note may be determined by applying a multiplier to the rate of total return on the referenced loan or loans. Application of a multiplier is comparable to the use of leverage, which magnifies the risk of loss, because a relatively small decline in the value of a referenced note could result in a relatively large loss in value.

Swap Agreements. A swap is a financial instrument that typically involves the exchange of cash flows between two parties on specified dates (settlement dates), where the cash flows are based on agreed-upon prices, rates, indices, etc. The nominal amount on which the cash flows are calculated is called the notional amount. Swaps are individually negotiated and structured to include exposure to a variety of different types of investments or market factors, such as interest rates, foreign currency rates, mortgage securities, corporate borrowing rates, security prices, indexes or inflation rates.

Swap agreements may increase or decrease the overall volatility of the investments of a Fund and its share price. The performance of swap agreements may be affected by a change in the specific interest rate, currency, or other factors that determine the amounts of payments due to and from a Fund. If a swap agreement calls for payments by a Fund, a Fund must be prepared to make such payments when due. In addition, if the counter-party’s creditworthiness declines, the value of a swap agreement would be likely to decline, potentially resulting in losses.

Generally, swap agreements have a fixed maturity date that will be agreed upon by the parties. The agreement can be terminated before the maturity date only under limited circumstances, such as default by one of the parties or insolvency, among others, and can be transferred by a party only with the prior written consent of the other party. A Fund may be able to eliminate its exposure under a swap agreement either by assignment or by other disposition, or by entering into an offsetting swap agreement with the same party or a similarly creditworthy party. If the counter-party is unable to meet its obligations under the contract, declares bankruptcy, defaults or becomes insolvent, a Fund may not be able to recover the money it expected to receive under the contract.

A swap agreement can be a form of leverage, which can magnify a Fund’s gains or losses. If a Fund enters into a swap agreement on a net basis, it will segregate assets with a daily value at least equal to the excess, if any, of a Fund’s accrued obligations under the swap agreement over the accrued amount a Fund is entitled to receive under the agreement. If a Fund enters into a swap agreement on other than a net basis, it will segregate assets with a value equal to the full amount of a Fund’s accrued obligations under the agreement.

Equity Swaps. In a typical equity swap, one party agrees to pay another party the return on a stock, stock index or basket of stocks in return for a specified interest rate. By entering into an equity index swap, for example, the index receiver can gain exposure to stocks making up the index of securities without actually purchasing those stocks. Equity index swaps involve not only the risk associated with investment in the securities represented in the index, but also the risk that the performance of such securities, including dividends, will not exceed the return on the interest rate that a Fund will be committed to pay.

Interest Rate Swaps. Interest rate swaps are financial instruments that involve the exchange of one type of interest rate for another type of interest rate cash flow on specified dates in the future. Some of the different types of interest rate swaps are “fixed-for floating-rate swaps,” “termed basis swaps” and “index amortizing swaps.” Fixed-for floating-rate swaps involve the exchange of fixed interest rate cash flows for floating-rate cash flows. Termed basis swaps entail cash flows to both parties based on floating interest rates, where the interest rate indices are different. Index amortizing swaps are typically fixed-for floating swaps where the notional amount changes if certain conditions are met.

Like a traditional investment in a debt security, a Fund could lose money by investing in an interest rate swap if interest rates change adversely. For example, if a Fund enters into a swap where it agrees to exchange a floating-rate of interest for a fixed rate of interest, a Fund may have to pay more money than it receives. Similarly, if a Fund enters into a swap where it agrees to exchange a fixed rate of interest for a floating-rate of interest, a Fund may receive less money than it has agreed to pay.

Currency Swaps. A currency swap is an agreement between two parties in which one party agrees to make interest rate payments in one currency and the other promises to make interest rate payments in another currency. A Fund may enter into a currency swap

when it has one currency and desires a different currency. Typically the interest rates that determine the currency swap payments are fixed, although occasionally one or both parties may pay a floating-rate of interest. Unlike an interest rate swap, however, the principal amounts are exchanged at the beginning of the contract and returned at the end of the contract. Changes in foreign exchange rates and changes in interest rates, as described above, may negatively affect currency swaps.

Credit Default Swaps (“CDSs”). A CDS is an agreement between a Fund and a counterparty that enables the Fund to buy or sell protection against a credit event related to a referenced debt obligation. One party, acting as a “protection buyer,” makes periodic payments to the other party, a “protection seller,” in exchange for a promise by the protection seller to make a payment to the protection buyer if a negative credit event (such as a delinquent payment or default) occurs with respect to a referenced bond or group of bonds. Acting as a protection seller allows a Fund to create an investment exposure similar to owning a bond. Acting as a protection buyer allows a Fund potentially to reduce its credit exposure to a bond it owns or to take a “short” position in a bond it does not own.

As the protection buyer in a CDS, a Fund may pay a premium (by means of periodic payments) in return for the right to deliver specified bonds or loans to the protection seller and receive the par (or other agreed-upon) value upon default or similar events by the issuer of the underlying reference obligation. If no default occurs, the protection seller would keep the stream of payments and would have no further obligations to the Fund. As the protection buyer, the Fund bears the risk that the investment might expire worthless or that the protection seller may fail to satisfy its payment obligations to the Fund in the event of a default or similar event. In addition, when the Fund is a protection buyer, the Fund’s investment would only generate income in the event of an actual default or similar event by the issuer of the underlying reference obligation.

A Fund may also use credit default swaps for investment purposes by selling a CDS, in which case, the Fund, as the protection seller, would be required to pay the par (or other agreed-upon) value of a referenced debt obligation to the protection buyer in the event of a default or similar event by the third-party issuer of the underlying reference obligation. In return for its obligation, the Fund would receive from the protection buyer a periodic stream of payments over the term of the contract. If no credit event occurs, the Fund would keep the stream of payments and would have no payment obligations. As the protection seller in a CDS, the Fund effectively adds economic leverage to its portfolio because, in addition to its total net assets, the Fund is subject to investment exposure on the notional amount of the swap. Consistent with SEC staff guidance, if the Fund sells a CDS it will segregate assets equal to the full notional amount of the swap in order to cover its obligations under the instrument.

In addition to the risks applicable to derivatives generally, CDSs involve special risks because they may be difficult to value, are highly susceptible to liquidity and credit risk, and generally pay a return to the party that has paid the premium only in the event of an actual default by the issuer of the underlying obligation (as opposed to a credit downgrade or other indication of financial difficulty).

Options on Swap Agreements (“swaptions”). The Funds also may enter into swaptions. A swaption is a contract that gives a counterparty the right (but not the obligation) to enter into a new swap agreement or to shorten, extend, cancel or otherwise modify an existing swap agreement, at some designated future time on specified terms. The Funds may write (sell) and purchase put and call swaptions. Depending on the terms of the particular swaption, a Fund will generally incur a greater degree of risk when it writes a swaption than it will incur when it purchases a swaption. When a Fund purchases a swaption, it risks losing only the amount of the premium it has paid should it decide to let the option expire unexercised. However, when a Fund writes a swaption, upon exercise of the option by the buyer of the option, the Fund will become obligated according to the terms of the underlying swap agreement.

Whether a Fund’s use of swap agreements or swaptions will be successful in furthering its investment goals will depend on the sub-advisors’ ability to predict correctly whether certain types of investments are likely to produce greater returns than other investments. Moreover, a Fund bears the risk of loss of the amount expected to be received under a swap agreement in the event of the default or bankruptcy of a swap agreement counterparty.

Temporary Defensive Investments. Each Fund may, for temporary defensive purposes, invest up to 100% of its total assets in money market instruments (including U.S. government securities, bank obligations, commercial paper rated in the highest rating category by an NRSRO and repurchase agreements involving the foregoing securities), shares of money market investment companies (to the extent permitted by applicable law and subject to certain restrictions) and cash. When a Fund invests in defensive investments, it may not achieve its investment goal.

U.S. Government Securities. A Fund may invest in U.S. government securities, which are obligations issued or guaranteed by the U.S. government, its agencies, authorities or instrumentalities. Some U.S. government securities, such as U.S. Treasury bills, U.S. Treasury notes and U.S. Treasury bonds, which differ only in their interest rates, maturities and times of issuance, are supported by the full faith and credit of the United States. Others are supported by: (i) the right of the issuer to borrow from the U.S. Treasury,

such as securities of the Federal Home Loan Banks; (ii) the discretionary authority of the U.S. government to purchase the agency’s obligations, such as securities of the FNMA; or (iii) only the credit of the issuer, such as securities of the Student Loan Marketing Association. No assurance can be given that the U.S. government will provide financial support in the future to U.S. government agencies, authorities or instrumentalities that are not supported by the full faith and credit of the United States.

Securities guaranteed as to principal and interest by the U.S. government, its agencies, authorities or instrumentalities include: (i) securities for which the payment of principal and interest is backed by an irrevocable letter of credit issued by the U.S. government or any of its agencies, authorities or instrumentalities; and (ii) participation interests in loans made to foreign governments or other entities that are so guaranteed. The secondary market for certain of these participation interests is limited and, therefore, may be regarded as illiquid.

Variable-Rate Demand Notes. The Funds may purchase variable-rate demand notes. Variable-rate demand notes that the Funds may purchase are debt instruments that provide for a periodic adjustment in the interest rate paid on the instrument and permit the holder to demand payment of the unpaid principal balance plus accrued interest with proper notification or at specified intervals from the issuer or by drawing on a bank letter of credit, a guarantee, insurance or other credit facility issued with respect to such instrument.

The variable-rate demand notes in which the Funds may invest are payable on not more than thirty calendar days’ notice either on demand or at specified intervals not exceeding thirteen months depending upon the terms of the instrument. These instruments have coupon rates that reset periodically at intervals ranging from daily to up to thirteen months and may be based upon LIBOR or other short-term interest rates such as U.S. Treasury bills or the Fed Funds rate. The coupon rate on these securities resets at a level that causes its value to approximate par. Each Fund may only purchase variable rate demand instruments which have received a short-term rating meeting that Funds’ quality standards from an NRSRO or unrated variable-rate demand notes determined by the sub-advisor to be of comparable quality. If such an instrument does not have a demand feature exercisable by a Fund in the event of default in the payment of principal or interest on the underlying securities, then the Fund will also require that the instrument have a rating as long-term debt in one of the top two categories by any NRSRO. The sub-advisor may determine that an unrated variable rate demand instrument meets a Fund’s quality criteria if it is backed by a letter of credit or guarantee or insurance or other credit facility that meets the quality criteria for the Fund or on the basis of a credit evaluation of the underlying obligor. If an instrument is ever deemed to not meet a Fund’s quality standards, such Fund either will sell it in the market or exercise the demand feature as soon as practicable.

While the value of the underlying variable rate demand notes may change with changes in interest rates generally, the variable rate nature of the underlying variable rate demand instruments should minimize changes in value of the instruments. Accordingly, as interest rates decrease or increase, the potential for capital depreciation is less than would be the case with a portfolio of fixed-income securities. Each Fund may hold variable rate demand notes on which stated minimum or maximum rates, or maximum rates set by state law, limit the degree to which interest on such variable rate demand instruments may fluctuate; to the extent it does, increases or decreases in value may be somewhat greater than would be the case without such limits. Because the adjustment of interest rates on the variable rate demand notes is made in relation to money market or short-term interest rates, the variable rate demand notes are not comparable to long-term fixed-rate securities. Accordingly, interest rates on the variable rate demand notes may be higher or lower than current market rates for fixed-rate obligations or obligations of comparable quality with similar maturities.

The Bond Fund will not invest more than 15% of its net assets in variable-rate demand notes as to which it cannot exercise the demand feature on not more than seven days’ notice if it is determined that there is no secondary market available for these obligations and all other illiquid securities. The Bond Fund intends to exercise the demand repurchase feature only (1) upon a default under the terms of the bond documents, (2) as needed to provide liquidity to the Fund in order to make redemptions of its shares, or (3) to maintain the quality standards of the Fund’s investment portfolio.

Warrants and Rights. Warrants are instruments giving holders the right, but not the obligation, to buy equity or fixed income securities of a company at a given price during a specified period. Rights are similar to warrants but normally have a short life span to expiration. The purchase of warrants or rights involves the risk that a Fund could lose the purchase value of a warrant or right if the right to subscribe to additional shares is not exercised prior to the warrants’ and rights’ expiration. Also, the purchase of warrants and/or rights involves the risk that the effective price paid for the warrants and/or rights added to the subscription price of the related security may exceed the value of the subscribed security’s market price such as when there is no movement in the level of the underlying security. Buying a warrant does not make a Fund a shareholder of the underlying stock. The warrant holder has no voting or dividend rights with respect to the underlying stock. A warrant does not carry any right to assets of the issuer, and for this reason investment in warrants may be more speculative than other equity-based investments.

When-Issued and Delayed-Delivery Securities. A Fund will only make commitments to purchase securities on a when-issued or to-be-announced (“TBA”) basis with the intention of actually acquiring the securities. A Fund may sell the securities before the settlement date if it is otherwise deemed advisable as a matter of investment strategy or in order to meet its obligations, although it would not normally expect to do so. When-issued securities are securities purchased for delivery beyond the normal settlement date at a stated price and yield and involve the risk that the yield obtained in the transaction will be less than that available in the market when delivery takes place. In a TBA transaction, a Fund has committed to purchasing or selling securities for which all specific information is not yet known at the time of the trade, particularly the face amount in transactions involving mortgage-related securities.

TBA securities are paid for and delivered within 15 to 45 days from their date of purchase. In connection with these investments, each Fund will direct the custodian to segregate cash or liquid securities in an amount sufficient to make payment for the securities to be purchased. These assets will be valued daily at market for the purpose of determining the adequacy of the securities in the account. If the market value of such securities declines, additional cash or securities will be segregated on a daily basis so that the market value of the segregated assets will equal the amount of a Fund’s commitments to purchase securities on a when-issued or TBA basis. To the extent assets are segregated, they will not be available for new investment or to meet redemptions. Securities purchased on a when-issued or TBA basis and the securities held in a Fund’s portfolio are subject to changes in market value based upon changes in the level of interest rates (which will generally result in all of those securities changing in value in the same way, i.e., all those securities experiencing appreciation when interest rates decline and depreciation when interest rates rise). Therefore, if in order to achieve higher returns, a Fund remains substantially fully invested at the same time that it has purchased securities on a when-issued or TBA basis, there will be a possibility that the market value of the Fund’s assets will experience greater fluctuation. The purchase of securities on a when-issued or TBA basis may involve a risk of loss if the seller fails to deliver after the value of the securities has risen.

When the time comes for a Fund to make payment for securities purchased on a when-issued or TBA basis, the Fund will do so by using then available cash flow, by sale of the securities held in the segregated account, by sale of other securities or, although it would not normally expect to do so, by directing the sale of the securities purchased on a when-issued or TBA basis themselves (which may have a market value greater or less than the Fund’s payment obligation.)

Zero Coupon and Pay-in-kind Securities. Zero coupon corporate or U.S. government securities and step-coupon securities are debt obligations that are issued or purchased at a significant discount from face value. The discount approximates the total amount of interest the security will accrue and compound over the period until maturity or the particular interest payment date at a rate of interest reflecting the market rate of the security at the time of issuance. Pay in-kind securities pay interest through the issuance of additional securities. Zero coupon securities do not require the periodic payment of interest. These investments benefit the issuer by mitigating its need for cash to meet debt service, but also require a higher rate of return to attract investors who are willing to defer receipt of cash. These investments may experience greater volatility in market value than securities that make regular payments of interest. The secondary market value of corporate debt securities structured as zero coupon securities or payment-in-kind securities may be more volatile in response to changes in interest rates than debt securities that pay interest periodically in cash. Because such securities do not pay current interest, but rather, income is accrued, to the extent that a Fund does not have available cash to meet distribution requirements with respect to such income, it could be required to dispose of portfolio securities that it otherwise would not. Such disposition could be at a disadvantageous price.

Zero coupon securities include STRIPS, that is, securities underwritten by securities dealers or banks that evidence ownership of future interest payments, principal payments or both on certain notes or bonds issued by the U.S. government, its agencies, authorities or instrumentalities. They also include Coupons Under Book Entry System (“CUBES”), which are component parts of U.S. Treasury bonds and represent scheduled interest and principal payments on the bonds.

INVESTMENT LIMITATIONS

Fundamental Investment Limitations. Below are each Fund’s fundamental investment limitations (or policies), which it cannot change without the consent of the holders of a majority of that Fund’s outstanding shares. The term “majority of the outstanding shares” means the vote of (i) 67% or more of a Fund’s shares present at a meeting, if more than 50% of the outstanding shares of a Fund are present or represented by proxy, or (ii) more than 50% of a Fund’s outstanding shares, whichever is less.

For the illiquid securities and bank borrowing fundamental policies, which contain percentage limits, the Fund must meet these percentage limits at all times, regardless of whether a portfolio transaction is occurring or the changes are caused by market

conditions or other circumstances beyond the Fund’s control. For all other fundamental policies with a percentage limit (collectively, the “Other Policies”), a Fund must apply each policy to each proposed portfolio transaction. For example, both the initial purchase of a security and each subsequent addition to that position must satisfy the Other Policies. However, if the Fund satisfies the Other Policies at the time of a transaction, then later changes in percentages resulting from market conditions or other circumstances beyond the Fund’s control will not violate those policies; but the Fund would not be able to make subsequent additions to that position and other similar positions until the Other Policies are satisfied.

Several of these fundamental investment limitations include the defined term “1940 Act Laws, Interpretations and Exemptions.” This term means the 1940 Act and the rules and regulations promulgated thereunder, as such statutes, rules and regulations are amended from time to time or are interpreted from time to time by the staff of the SEC and any exemptive order or similar relief applicable to a Fund.

The following fundamental investment limitations apply to each Fund:

1. A Fund may not engage in borrowing except as permitted by the 1940 Act, any rule, regulation or order under the 1940 Act or any SEC staff interpretation of the 1940 Act.

2. A Fund may not issue senior securities except as permitted by the 1940 Act, any rule, regulation or order under the 1940 Act or any SEC staff interpretation of the 1940 Act.

3. A Fund may not underwrite securities issued by other persons, except to the extent that, in connection with the sale or disposition of portfolio securities, the Fund may be deemed to be an underwriter under certain federal securities laws or in connection with investments in other investment companies.

4. A Fund may not purchase the securities of an issuer (other than securities issued or guaranteed by the U.S. government, its agencies or its instrumentalities) if, as a result, more than 25% of the Fund’s total assets would be invested in the securities of companies whose principal business activities are in the same industry.

5. A Fund may not purchase or sell real estate except that the Fund may (i) hold and sell real estate acquired as a result of the Funds’ ownership of securities or other instruments; (ii) purchase or sell securities or other instruments backed by real estate, or interests in real estate; and (iii) purchase or sell securities of entities or investment vehicles, including real estate investment trusts, that invest, deal or otherwise engage in transactions in real estate or interests in real estate.

6. A Fund may not may not purchase or sell physical commodities except that the Fund may (i) hold and sell physical commodities acquired as a result of the Funds’ ownership of securities or other instruments; (ii) purchase or sell securities or other instruments backed by physical commodities; (iii) purchase or sell options, and (iv) purchase or sell futures contracts.

7. A Fund may not make loans to other persons except that the Fund may (i) engage in repurchase agreements; (ii) lend portfolio securities, (iii) purchase debt securities; (iv) purchase commercial paper; and (v) enter into any other lending arrangement permitted by the 1940 Act, any rule, regulation or order under the 1940 Act or any SEC staff interpretation of the 1940 Act.

8. (All Funds except Touchstone Common Stock Fund) A Fund may not purchase securities of an issuer that would cause the Fund to fail to satisfy the diversification requirement for a diversified management company under the 1940 Act, the rules or regulations thereunder or any exemption therefrom, as such statute, rules or regulations may be amended or interpreted from time to time.

Non-Fundamental Investment Limitations. Each Fund also has adopted certain non-fundamental investment limitations. A non-fundamental investment limitation may be amended by the Board without a vote of shareholders.

The following non-fundamental investment limitations apply to each Fund:

1. In complying with the fundamental investment restriction regarding issuer diversification, a Fund will not, with respect to 75% of its total assets, purchase securities of any issuer (other than securities issued or guaranteed by the U.S. government or any of its agencies or instrumentalities), if, as a result, (i) more than 5% of the Fund’s total assets would be invested in the securities of that issuer, or (ii) a Fund would hold more than 10% of the outstanding voting securities of that issuer.

2. In complying with the fundamental investment restriction regarding borrowing and issuing senior securities, a Fund may borrow money in an amount not exceeding 33¹/₃% of its total assets (including the amount borrowed) less liabilities (other than borrowings).

3. In complying with the fundamental investment restriction with regard to making loans, a Fund may not make loans if, as a result, more than 33¹/₃% of its total assets would be lent to other parties, except that a Fund may: (i) purchase or hold debt instruments in accordance with its investment objective and policies; (ii) enter into repurchase agreements; and (iii) engage in securities lending as described in the Prospectus or Statement of Additional Information.

A Fund will determine compliance with the fundamental and non-fundamental investment restriction percentages above (with the exception of the restriction relating to borrowing) and other investment restrictions in this SAI immediately after and as a result of its acquisition of such security or other asset. Accordingly, a Fund will not consider changes in values, net assets, or other circumstances when determining whether the investment complies with its investment restrictions.

In addition, the Touchstone Bond Fund may not:

1. Under the 1940 Act, underwriting securities involves a fund purchasing securities directly from an issuer for the purpose of selling (distributing) them or participating in any such activity either directly or indirectly. Under the 1940 Act, a diversified fund may not make any commitment as underwriter, if immediately thereafter the amount of its outstanding underwriting commitments, plus the value of its investments in securities of issuers (other than investment companies) of which it owns more than 10% of the outstanding voting securities, exceeds 25% of the value of its total assets.

2. Senior securities may include any obligation or instrument issued by a fund evidencing indebtedness. The 1940 Act generally prohibits funds from issuing senior securities, although it does not treat certain transactions as senior securities, such as certain borrowings, short sales, reverse repurchase agreements, firm commitment agreements and standby commitments and derivative transactions, with appropriate earmarking or segregation of assets to cover such obligation.

3. Pledge, mortgage, or hypothecate for any purpose in excess of 10% of the Fund’s total assets (taken at market value), provided that collateral arrangements with respect to options and futures, including deposits of initial deposit and variation margin, dollar rolls, and reverse repurchase agreements are not considered a pledge of assets for purposes of this restriction.

4. Purchase any security or evidence of interest therein on margin, except that such short-term credit as may be necessary for the clearance of purchases and sales of securities may be obtained and except that deposits of initial deposit and variation margin may be made in connection with the purchase, ownership, holding or sale of futures.

5. Sell any security which it does not own unless by virtue of its ownership of other securities it has at the time of sale a right to obtain securities, without payment of further consideration, equivalent in kind and amount to the securities sold and provided that if such right is conditional the sale is made upon the same conditions.

6. Invest for the purpose of exercising control or management.

7. Purchase securities issued by any investment company except by purchase in the open market where no commission or profit to a sponsor or dealer results from such purchase other than the customary broker’s commission, or except when such purchase, though not made in the open market, is part of a plan of merger or consolidation; provided, however, that securities of any investment company will not be purchased for the Fund if such purchase at the time thereof would cause: (a) more than 10% of the Fund’s total assets (taken at the greater of cost or market value) to be invested in the securities of such issuers; (b) more than 5% of the Fund’s total assets (taken at the greater of cost or market value) to be invested in any one investment company, provided further that, except in the case of a merger or consolidation, the Fund shall not purchase any securities of any open-end investment company unless the Fund (1) waives the investment advisory fee, with respect to assets invested in other open-end investment companies and (2) incurs no sales charge in connection with the investment.

8. Invest more than 15% of the Fund’s net assets (taken at the greater of cost or market value) in securities that are illiquid or not readily marketable (defined as a security that cannot be sold in the ordinary course of business within seven days at approximately the value at which the Fund has valued the security) not including (a) Rule 144A securities that have been determined to be liquid in accordance with guidelines approved by the Board of Trustees; and (b) commercial paper that is sold under section 4(a)(2) of the 1933 Act which is not traded flat or in default as to interest or principal and either (i) is rated in one of the two highest categories by at least two NRSROs and the Fund’s Board has determined the commercial paper to be liquid in accordance with the guidelines approved by the Fund’s Board of Trustees; or (ii) if only one NRSRO rates the security, the security is rated in one of the two highest categories by that NRSRO and the Fund’s Advisor has determined that the commercial paper is equivalent quality and is liquid in accordance with guidelines approved by the Fund’s Board of Trustees.

9. Invest more than 10% of the Fund’s total assets in securities that are restricted from being sold to the public without registration under the 1933 Act (other than securities deemed liquid in accordance with guidelines approved by the Fund’s Board of Trustees).

10. Purchase securities of any issuer if such purchase at the time thereof would cause the Fund to hold more than 10% of any class of securities of such issuer, for which purposes all indebtedness of an issuer shall be deemed a single class and all preferred stock of an issuer shall be deemed a single class, except that futures or option contracts shall not be subject to this restriction.

11. Make short sales of securities or maintain a short position, unless at all times when a short position is open it owns an equal amount of such securities or securities convertible into or exchangeable, without payment of any further consideration, for securities of the same issue and equal in amount to, the securities sold short, and unless not more than 10% of the Fund’s net assets (taken at market value) is represented by such securities, or securities convertible into or exchangeable for such securities, at any one time.

12. Purchase puts, calls, straddles, spreads and any combination thereof if by reason thereof the value of the Fund’s aggregate investment in such classes of securities will exceed 5% of its total assets.

TRUSTEES AND OFFICERS

The following is a list of the Trustees and executive officers of the Trust, the length of time served, principal occupations for the past five years, and, for the Trustees, number of funds overseen in the Touchstone Fund Complex and other directorships held. All funds managed by the Advisor are part of the “Touchstone Fund Complex.” The Touchstone Fund Complex consists of the Trust, Touchstone Funds Group Trust, Touchstone Institutional Funds Trust, and Touchstone Strategic Trust. The Trustees who are not interested persons of the Trust, as defined in the 1940 Act, are referred to as “Independent Trustees.”

Interested Trustees⁽¹⁾:



Name Address Year of Birth	Position Held with Trust	Term of Office And Length of Time Served	Principal Occupation(s) During Past 5 Years	Number of Funds Overseen in the Touchstone Fund Complex⁽²⁾	Other Directorships Held During Past 5 Years ⁽³⁾
Jill T. McGruder Touchstone Advisors, Inc. 303 Broadway Suite 1100 Cincinnati, Ohio 45202 Year of Birth: 1955	Trustee and President	Until retirement at age 75 or until she resigns or is removed Trustee since 1999	President and CEO of IFS Financial Services, Inc. (a holding company).	49	IFS Financial Services, Inc. (a holding company) from 1999 to the present; Integrity and National Integrity Life Insurance Co. from 2005 to the present; Touchstone Securities (the Trust’s distributor) from 1999 to the present; Touchstone Advisors (the Trust’s investment advisor and administrator) from 1999 to the present; and W&S Brokerage Services (a brokerage company) from 1999 to the present; and W&S Financial Group Distributors (a distribution company) from 1999 to the present; Cincinnati Analysts, Inc. from 2012 to the present; Columbus Life Insurance Co. from 2016 to the present; Taft Museum of Art from 2007 to the present; YWCA of Greater Cincinnati from 2012 to the present; The Lafayette Life Insurance Co. from 2016 to the present; and LL Global Inc. from 2016 to the present.

Independent Trustees:



Name Address Year of Birth	Position Held with Trust	Term of Office And Length of Time Served	Principal Occupation(s) During Past 5 Years	Number of Funds Overseen in the Touchstone Fund Complex⁽²⁾	Other Directorships Held During Past 5 Years⁽³⁾
Phillip R. Cox c/o Touchstone Advisors, Inc. 303 Broadway Suite 1100 Cincinnati, Ohio 45202 Year of Birth: 1947	Trustee	Until retirement at age 75 or until he resigns or is removed Trustee since 1999	President and Chief Executive Officer of Cox Financial Corp. (a financial services company) from 1971 to the present.	49	Director of Cincinnati Bell (a communications company) from 1994 to the present; Bethesda Inc. (a hospital) from 2005 to the present; Timken Co. (a manufacturing company) from 2004 to 2014; TimkenSteel from 2014 to the present; Diebold, Inc. (a technology solutions company) from 2004 to the present; and Ohio Business Alliance for Higher Education and the Economy from 2005 to the present.
William C. Gale c/o Touchstone Advisors, Inc. 303 Broadway Suite 1100 Cincinnati, Ohio 45202 Year of Birth: 1952	Trustee	Until retirement at age 75 or until he resigns or is removed Trustee since 2013	Retired; formerly Senior Vice President and Chief Financial Officer (from 2003 to January 2015) of Cintas Corporation (a business services company).	49	None.
Susan J. Hickenlooper c/o Touchstone Advisors, Inc. 303 Broadway Suite 1100 Cincinnati, Ohio 45202 Year of Birth: 1946	Trustee	Until retirement at age 75 or until she resigns or is removed Trustee since 2009	Retired; formerly Financial Analyst for Impact 100 (charitable organization) from November 2012 to 2013.	49	Trustee of Diocese of Southern Ohio from 2014 to the present; and Trustee of Cincinnati Parks Foundation from 2000 to 2016.



Name Address Year of Birth	Position Held with Trust	Term of Office And Length of Time Served	Principal Occupation(s) During Past 5 Years	Number of Funds Overseen in the Touchstone Fund Complex⁽²⁾	Other Directorships Held During Past 5 Years⁽³⁾
Kevin A. Robie c/o Touchstone Advisors, Inc. 303 Broadway Suite 1100 Cincinnati, Ohio 45202 Year of Birth: 1956	Trustee	Until retirement at age 75 or until he resigns or is removed Trustee since 2013	Vice President of Portfolio Management at Soin International LLC (a private multinational holding company) from 2004 to the present.	49	SaverSystems, Inc. from 2015 to the present; Director of Buckeye EcoCare, Inc. (a lawn care company) from 2013 to the present; Trustee of Dayton Region New Market Fund, LLC (a private fund) from 2010 to the present; and Trustee of the Entrepreneurs Center, Inc. (a small business incubator) from 2006 to the present.
Edward J. VonderBrink c/o Touchstone Advisors, Inc. 303 Broadway Suite 1100 Cincinnati, Ohio 45202 Year of Birth: 1944	Trustee	Until retirement at age 75 or until he resigns or is removed Trustee since 2013	Consultant, VonderBrink Consulting LLC from 2000 to the present.	49	Director of Streamline Health Solutions, Inc. (healthcare IT) from 2006 to 2015; Mercy Health from 2013 to the present; Mercy Health Foundation (healthcare nonprofit) from 2008 to the present; Al Neyer Inc. (a construction company) from 2013 to the present; and BASCO Shower Door from 2011 to the present.

⁽¹⁾ Ms. McGruder, as a director of the Advisor and the Distributor, and an officer of affiliates of the Advisor and the Distributor, is an “interested person” of the Trust within the meaning of Section 2(a)(19) of the 1940 Act.

⁽²⁾ As of October 30, 2017, the Touchstone Fund Complex consisted of 10 variable annuity series of the Trust, 13 series of Touchstone Funds Group Trust, 1 series of Touchstone Institutional Funds Trust and 25 series of Touchstone Strategic Trust.

⁽³⁾ Each Trustee is also a Trustee of Touchstone Funds Group Trust, Touchstone Institutional Funds Trust, and Touchstone Strategic Trust.

Principal Officers:



Name Address Year of Birth	Position Held with Trust⁽¹⁾	Term of Office and Length of Time Served	Principal Occupation(s) During Past 5 Years
Jill T. McGruder Touchstone Advisors, Inc. 303 Broadway Suite 1100 Cincinnati, Ohio 45202 Year of Birth: 1955	President and Trustee	Until resignation, removal or disqualification President since 2006.	See biography above.
Steven M. Graziano Touchstone Advisors, Inc. 303 Broadway Suite 1100 Cincinnati, Ohio 45202 Year of Birth: 1954	Vice President	Until resignation, removal or disqualification Vice President since 2009	President of Touchstone Advisors, Inc.
Timothy D. Paulin Touchstone Advisors, Inc. 303 Broadway Suite 1100 Cincinnati, Ohio 45202 Year of Birth: 1963	Vice President	Until resignation, removal or disqualification Vice President since 2010	Senior Vice President of Investment Research and Product Management of Touchstone Advisors, Inc.
Timothy S. Stearns Touchstone Advisors, Inc. 303 Broadway Suite 1100 Cincinnati, Ohio 45202 Year of Birth: 1963	Chief Compliance Officer	Until resignation, removal or disqualification Chief Compliance Officer since 2013	Chief Compliance Officer of Touchstone Advisors, Inc.; Chief Compliance Officer of Envestnet Asset Management, Inc. (2009 to 2013).
Terrie A. Wiedenheft Touchstone Advisors, Inc. 303 Broadway Suite 1100 Cincinnati, Ohio 45202 Year of Birth: 1962	Controller and Treasurer	Until resignation, removal or disqualification Controller and Treasurer since 2006	Senior Vice President, Chief Financial Officer, and Chief Operations Officer of IFS Financial Services, Inc. (a holding company).
Ellen Blanchard BNY Mellon Investment Servicing (US) Inc. 201 Washington Street, 34th Floor Boston, Massachusetts 02108 Year of Birth: 1973	Secretary	Until resignation, removal or disqualification Secretary since 2015	Director of BNY Mellon Investment Servicing (US) Inc.

⁽¹⁾Each officer also holds the same office with Touchstone Funds Group Trust, Touchstone Institutional Funds Trust, and Touchstone Strategic Trust.

Additional Information about the Trustees

The Board believes that each Trustee’s experience, qualifications, attributes, or skills on an individual basis and in combination with those of the other Trustees lead to the conclusion that the Trustees possess the requisite experience, qualifications, attributes, and skills to serve on the Board. The Board believes that the Trustees’ ability to review critically, evaluate, question, and discuss information provided to them; to interact effectively with the Advisor, sub-advisors, other service providers, counsel and independent auditors; and to exercise effective business judgment in the performance of their duties, support this conclusion. The Board has also considered the contributions that each Trustee can make to the Board and the Funds.

In addition, the following specific experience, qualifications, attributes and skills apply as to each Trustee: Ms. McGruder has experience as a chief executive officer of a financial services company and director of various other businesses, as well as executive and leadership roles within the Advisor; Mr. Cox has experience as a chief executive officer of a financial services company and as a director of companies from varied industries; Mr. Gale has experience as a chief financial officer, an internal auditor of various global companies, and has accounting experience as a manager at a major accounting firm; Ms. Hickenlooper has executive and board experience at various businesses, foundations and charitable organizations; Mr. Robie has portfolio management experience at a private multinational holding company; and Mr. VonderBrink has experience as a consultant and director of other corporations. In its periodic self-assessment of its effectiveness, the Board considers the complementary individual skills and experience of the individual Trustees primarily in the broader context of the Board’s overall composition so that the Board, as a body, possesses the appropriate (and appropriately diverse) skills and experience to oversee the business of the Funds. References to the qualifications, attributes and skills of Trustees are pursuant to requirements of the SEC, do not constitute holding out the Board or any Trustee as having any special expertise or experience, and shall not impose any greater responsibility on any Trustee or on the Board by reason thereof.

Board Structure

The Board is composed of five Independent Trustees and one Interested Trustee, Jill T. McGruder, who is Chairperson of the Board. The full Board has appointed Phillip R. Cox to serve as the Lead Independent Trustee. Ms. McGruder oversees the day-to-day business affairs of the Trust and communicates with Mr. Cox regularly on various Trust issues, as appropriate. Mr. Cox, among other things, chairs meetings of the Independent Trustees, serves as a spokesperson for the Independent Trustees, and serves as a liaison between the Independent Trustees and the Trust’s management between Board meetings. Except for any duties specified, the designation of Lead Independent Trustee does not impose on such Independent Trustee any duties, obligations, or liability that is greater than the duties, obligations, or liability imposed on such person as a member of the Board, generally. The Independent Trustees are advised at these meetings, as well as at other times, by separate, independent legal counsel.

The Board holds four regular meetings each year to consider and address matters involving the Trust and its Funds. The Board also may hold special meetings to address matters arising between regular meetings. The Independent Trustees also regularly meet outside the presence of management and are advised by independent legal counsel. These meetings may take place in-person or by telephone.

The Board has established a committee structure that includes an Audit Committee and a Governance Committee (discussed in more detail below). The Board conducts much of its work through these Committees. Each Committee is comprised entirely of Independent Trustees, which ensures that the Funds have effective and independent governance and oversight.

The Board reviews its structure regularly and believes that its leadership structure, including having a super-majority of Independent Trustees, coupled with an Interested Chairperson and a Lead Independent Trustee, is appropriate and in the best interests of the Trust because it allows the Board to exercise informed and independent judgment over matters under its purview, and it allocates areas of responsibility among committees and the full Board in a manner that enhances effective oversight. The Board believes that having an Interested Chairperson is appropriate and in the best interests of the Trust given: (1) the extensive oversight provided by the Trust’s Advisor over the affiliated and unaffiliated sub-advisors that conduct the day-to-day management of the Funds of the Trust; (2) the extent to which the work of the Board is conducted through the standing Committees; (3) the extent to which the Independent Trustees meet regularly, together with independent legal counsel, in the absence of the Interested Chairperson; and (4) the Interested Chairperson’s additional roles as a director of the Advisor and the Distributor and senior executive of IFS Financial Services, Inc., the Advisor’s parent company, and of other affiliates of the Advisor, which enhance the Board’s understanding of the operations of the Advisor and the role of the Trust and the Advisor within Western & Southern Financial Group, Inc. The Board also believes that the role of the Lead Independent Trustee within the leadership structure is integral to promoting independent oversight of the Funds’ operations and meaningful representation of the shareholders’ interests. In addition, the Board believes its leadership structure facilitates the orderly and efficient flow of information to the Independent Trustees from the Trust’s management.

Board Oversight of Risk

Consistent with its responsibilities for oversight of the Trust and its Funds, the Board, among other things, oversees risk management of each Fund’s investment program and business affairs directly and through the committee structure that it has established. Risks to the Funds include, among others, investment risk, credit risk, liquidity risk, valuation risk and operational risk, as well as the overall business risk relating to the Funds. The Board has adopted, and periodically reviews, policies and procedures designed to address these risks. Under the overall oversight of the Board, the Advisor, sub-advisors, and other key service providers to the Funds, including the administrator, the distributor, the transfer agent, the custodian, and the independent auditors, have also

implemented a variety of processes, procedures and controls to address these risks. Different processes, procedures and controls are employed with respect to different types of risks. These processes include those that are embedded in the conduct of regular business by the Board and in the responsibilities of officers of the Trust and other service providers.

The Board requires senior officers of the Trust, including the Chief Compliance Officer (“CCO”), to report to the Board on a variety of matters at regular and special meetings of the Board, including matters relating to risk management. The Board and the Audit Committee receive regular reports from the Trust’s independent auditors on internal control and financial reporting matters. On at least a quarterly basis, the Board meets with the Trust’s CCO, including meetings in executive sessions, to discuss issues related to portfolio compliance and, on at least an annual basis, receives a report from the CCO regarding the effectiveness of the Trust’s compliance program. In addition, the Board also receives reports from the Advisor on the investments and securities trading of the Funds, including their investment performance and asset weightings compared to appropriate benchmarks, as well as reports regarding the valuation of those investments. The Board also receives reports from the Trust’s primary service providers on a periodic or regular basis, including the sub-advisors to the Funds.

Standing Committees of the Board

The Board is responsible for overseeing the operations of the Trust in accordance with the provisions of the 1940 Act and other applicable laws and the Trust’s Declaration of Trust. The Board has established the following Committees to assist in its oversight functions. Each Committee is composed entirely of Independent Trustees.

Audit Committee. All of the Independent Trustees are members of the Audit Committee. The Audit Committee is responsible for overseeing the Trust’s accounting and financial reporting policies, practices and internal controls. Mr. Gale is Chair of the Audit Committee. During the fiscal year ended December 31, 2016, the Audit Committee held four meetings.

Governance Committee. All of the Independent Trustees are members of the Governance Committee. The Governance Committee is responsible for overseeing the Trust’s compliance program and compliance issues, procedures for valuing securities and responding to any pricing issues. Ms. Hickenlooper is Chair of the Governance Committee. The Governance Committee held four meetings during the fiscal year ended December 31, 2016.

In addition, the Governance Committee is responsible for recommending candidates to serve on the Board. The Governance Committee will consider shareholder recommendations for nomination to the Board only in the event that there is a vacancy on the Board. Shareholders who wish to submit recommendations for nominations to the Board to fill the vacancy must submit their recommendations in writing to Ms. Susan Hickenlooper, Chair of the Governance Committee, c/o Touchstone Funds, 303 Broadway, Suite 1100, Cincinnati, Ohio 45202. Shareholders should include appropriate information on the background and qualifications of any person recommended to the Governance Committee (e.g., a resume), as well as the candidate’s contact information and a written consent from the candidate to serve if nominated and elected. Shareholder recommendations for nominations to the Board will be accepted on an ongoing basis and such recommendations will be kept on file for consideration in the event of a future vacancy on the Board.

Trustee Ownership in the Touchstone Funds

The following table reflects the Trustees’ beneficial ownership in the Funds (i.e., dollar range of securities in each Fund) and the Touchstone Fund Complex as of December 31, 2016.

Trustees

Interested

Trustee

Independent Trustees

Funds⁽¹⁾

Jill T.

McGruder

Phillip R.

Cox

William C.

Gale

Susan J.

Hickenlooper

Kevin A.

Robie

Edward J.

VonderBrink

Balanced Fund

None

Bond Fund

None

Common Stock Fund

None

Small Company Fund

None

Aggregate Dollar Range of Securities in the Touchstone Fund Complex⁽²⁾

Over $100,000

None

Over $100,000

None

Over $100,000

⁽¹⁾The Funds are not expected to commence operations until on or about October 30, 2017.

⁽²⁾ As of December 31, 2016, the Touchstone Fund Complex consisted of 6 variable annuity series of the Trust, 11 series of Touchstone Funds Group Trust, 1 series of Touchstone Institutional Funds Trust, 2 series of Touchstone Investment Trust and 21 series of Touchstone Strategic Trust.

Trustee Compensation

The following table shows the compensation paid to the Trustees by the Trust and the aggregate compensation paid by the Touchstone Fund Complex during the year ended December 31, 2016.



Name	Compensation from the Trust		Aggregate Compensation from the Touchstone Fund Complex⁽¹⁾
Interested Trustee
Jill T. McGruder	$	0	$	0
Independent Trustees⁽²⁾
Phillip R. Cox	$	21,723	$	148,500
William C. Gale	$	19,888	$	131,500
Susan J. Hickenlooper	$	19,888	$	131,500
Kevin A. Robie	$	18,052	$	124,500
Edward J. VonderBrink	$	18,052	$	124,500

⁽¹⁾As of December 31, 2016, the Touchstone Fund Complex consisted of 6 variable annuity series of the Trust, 11 series of Touchstone Funds Group Trust, 1 series of Touchstone Institutional Funds Trust, 2 series of Touchstone Investment Trust and 21 series of Touchstone Strategic Trust.

⁽²⁾The Independent Trustees are eligible to participate in the Touchstone Trustee Deferred Compensation Plan, which allows them to defer payment of a specific amount of their Trustee compensation, subject to a minimum quarterly reduction of $1,000. The total amount of deferred compensation accrued by the Independent Trustees from the Touchstone Fund Complex during the fiscal year ended December 31, 2016 was $118,000.

The following table shows the Trustee quarterly compensation schedule:



	Quarterly Retainer	Governance Committee	Audit Committee	Board Meeting Fees
Compensation	$15,500	$4,500	$4,500	$5,000

Lead Independent Trustee Fees	$6,000

Committee Chair Fees	$1,000	$2,000	$2,000

Telephonic Meeting Attendance Fee = $1,500

All fees are typically divided equally among the Funds comprising the Touchstone Fund Complex.

THE ADVISOR

Touchstone Advisors, Inc. (the “Advisor” or “Touchstone Advisors”), is the Funds’ investment advisor under the terms of an advisory agreement (the “Advisory Agreement”) dated May 1, 2000, as in effect with respect to the Funds on or about October 28, 2017. Under the Advisory Agreement, the Advisor reviews, supervises, and administers the Funds’ investment program, subject to the oversight of, and policies established by, the Board of the Trust (the “Trustees”). The Advisor determines the appropriate allocation of assets to each Fund’s sub-advisor(s). The Advisory Agreement provides that the Advisor shall not be liable for any error of judgment or mistake of law or for any loss arising out of any investment or for any act or omission in carrying out its duties, but shall not be protected against any liability to the Trust or its shareholders by reason of willful misfeasance, bad faith, or gross negligence on its part in the performance of its duties or from reckless disregard of its obligations or duties.

The continuance of the Advisory Agreement as to the Funds after the first two years must be specifically approved at least annually (i) by the vote of the Board or by a vote of the shareholders of the Fund, and, in either case, (ii) by the vote of a majority of the Trustees who are not parties to the Advisory Agreement or “interested persons” (as defined in the 1940 Act) of any party thereto, cast in person at a meeting called for the purpose of voting on such approval. The Advisory Agreement will terminate automatically in the event of its assignment, as defined by the 1940 Act and the rules thereunder, and is terminable at any time without penalty

by the Board or, with respect to a Fund, by a majority of the outstanding shares of the Fund on sixty days’ written notice to the Advisor, without the payment of any penalty, or by the Advisor upon sixty days' written notice to the Trust.

The Advisor is a wholly-owned subsidiary of IFS Financial Services, Inc., which is a wholly-owned subsidiary of Western-Southern Life Assurance Company. Western-Southern Life Assurance Company is a wholly-owned subsidiary of The Western and Southern Life Insurance Company, which is a wholly-owned subsidiary of Western & Southern Financial Group, Inc. Western & Southern Financial Group, Inc. is a wholly-owned subsidiary of Western & Southern Mutual Holding Company (“Western & Southern”). Western & Southern is located at 400 Broadway, Cincinnati, Ohio 45202. Ms. Jill T. McGruder may be deemed to be an affiliate of the Advisor because she is a Director of the Advisor and an officer of affiliates of the Advisor. Ms. McGruder, by reason of these affiliations, may directly or indirectly receive benefits from the advisory fees paid to the Advisor.

Manager-of-Managers Structure

The SEC has granted an exemptive order that permits the Trust or the Advisor, under certain circumstances, to select or change unaffiliated sub-advisors, enter into new sub-advisory agreements or amend existing sub-advisory agreements without first obtaining shareholder approval (a “manager-of-managers structure”). The Trust, on behalf of each Fund, seeks to achieve its investment goal by using a “manager-of-managers” structure. Under a manager-of-managers structure, the Advisor acts as investment advisor, subject to direction from and oversight by the Board, to allocate and reallocate the Fund’s assets among sub-advisors, and to recommend that the Trustees hire, terminate or replace unaffiliated sub-advisors without shareholder approval. By reducing the number of shareholder meetings that may have to be held to approve new or additional sub-advisors for the Fund, the Trust anticipates that there will be substantial potential cost savings, as well as the opportunity to achieve certain management efficiencies, with respect to any Fund in which the manager-of-managers approach is chosen. Shareholders of a Fund will be notified of a change in its sub-advisor.

Fees Paid to the Advisor

For its services, the Advisor is entitled to receive an investment advisory fee from each Fund at an annualized rate, based on the average daily net assets of the Fund, as set forth below. Each Fund’s advisory fee is accrued daily and paid monthly, based on the Fund’s average net assets during the current month. Each class of shares of a Fund pays its respective pro rata portion of the advisory fee payable by the Fund.

Fund Average Daily Net Assets Investment Advisory Fee Rate

(Annualized)

Balanced Fund All Assets 0.55%

Bond Fund All Assets 0.40%

Common Stock Fund First $200 million 0.50%

Next $300 million 0.45%

Assets over $500 million 0.40%

Small Company Fund First $200 million 0.50%

Next $300 million 0.45%

Assets over $500 million 0.40%

Each Fund shall pay the expenses of its operation, including but not limited to the following: (i) charges and expenses for Fund accounting, pricing and appraisal services and related overhead, (ii) the charges and expenses of the Fund’s auditors; (iii) the charges and expenses of any custodian, transfer agent, plan agent, dividend disbursing agent and registrar appointed by the Trust with respect to the Fund; (iv) brokers’ commissions, and issue and transfer taxes, chargeable to the Fund in connection with securities transactions to which the Fund is a party; (v) insurance premiums, interest charges, dues and fees for membership in trade associations and all taxes and fees payable to federal, state or other governmental agencies; (vi) fees and expenses involved in registering and maintaining registrations of the Fund and/or shares of the Fund with the SEC, state or blue sky securities agencies and foreign countries, including the preparation of Prospectuses and Statements of Additional Information for filing with the SEC; (vii) all expenses of meetings of Trustees and of shareholders of the Fund and of preparing, printing and distributing prospectuses, notices, proxy statements and all reports to shareholders and to governmental agencies; (viii) charges and expenses of legal counsel to the Trust and the Independent Trustees; (ix) compensation of Trustees of the Trust; and (x) interest on borrowed money, if any. The compensation and expenses of any officer, Trustee or employee of the Trust who is an affiliated person of the Advisor are paid by the Advisor.

Expense Limitation Agreement. Touchstone Advisors has contractually agreed to waive fees and reimburse expenses to the extent necessary to ensure a Fund’s total annual operating expenses do not exceed the contractual limits set forth in the Fund’s fee table. Expenses that are not waived or reimbursed by the Advisor include dividend and interest expenses relating to short sales; interest; taxes; brokerage commissions and other transaction costs; portfolio transaction and investment related expenses; other expenditures which are capitalized in accordance with U.S. generally accepted accounting principles; the cost of “Acquired Fund Fees and Expenses,” if any; and other extraordinary expenses not incurred in the ordinary course of business (“Excluded Expenses”). Each Fund bears the costs of these Excluded Expenses. The contractual limits set forth in the fee table have been adjusted to include the effect of Rule 12b-1 fees, shareholder servicing fees and other anticipated class specific expenses, if applicable. Fee waivers or expense reimbursements are calculated and applied monthly, based on the Fund’s average net assets during the month. The terms of Touchstone Advisors’ contractual waiver agreement provide that Touchstone Advisors is entitled to recoup, subject to approval by the Fund’s Board, such amounts waived or reimbursed for a period of up to three years from the date in which Touchstone Advisors reduced its compensation or assumed expenses for the Fund. The Funds will make repayments to Touchstone Advisors only if such repayment does not cause a Fund’s expense ratio (after the repayment is taken into account) to exceed both (a) the expense limitation in place when such amounts were waived and (b) the Fund’s current expense limitation.

Because the Funds will not commence operations until on or about October 30, 2017, as of the date of this SAI the Funds have not paid advisory fees to the Advisor, and the Advisor has not waived fees or reimbursed expenses of the Funds. For the three most recent fiscal years ended December 31, the Predecessor Funds paid the following fees to Sentinel Asset Management, Inc. ("Sentinel"), the Predecessor Fund's investment advisor:



	Net Advisory Fees Paid
Predecessor Funds	2014		2015		2016
Sentinel Variable Products Balanced Fund	$	86,481	$	87,675	$	79,869
Sentinel Variable Products Bond Fund	$	260,994	$	256,780	$	213,161
Sentinel Variable Products Common Stock Fund	$	1,030,850	$	899,614	$	759,435
Sentinel Variable Products Small Company Fund	$	292,774	$	275,872	$	284,063



	Net Fees Waived
Predecessor Funds	2014	2015	2016
Sentinel Variable Products Balanced Fund	None	None	$	4,768
Sentinel Variable Products Bond Fund	None	None	None
Sentinel Variable Products Common Stock Fund	None	None	None
Sentinel Variable Products Small Company Fund	None	None	None

THE SUB-ADVISOR AND PORTFOLIO MANAGERS

The Advisor has selected a sub-advisor (the “Sub-Advisor”) to manage all or a portion of a Fund’s assets, as allocated by the Advisor. The Sub-Advisor makes the investment decisions for the Fund assets allocated to it, and continuously reviews, supervises and administers a separate investment program, subject to the oversight of, and policies established by, the Board.

Each Sub-Advisory Agreement provides that the Sub-Advisor shall not be protected against any liability to the Trust or its shareholders by reason of willful misfeasance, bad faith or gross negligence on its part in the performance of its duties, or from reckless disregard of its obligations or duties thereunder.

For its services, the Sub-Advisor receives a fee from the Advisor. As described in the prospectus, the Sub-Advisor receives sub-advisory fees with respect to each Fund that it sub-advises. The Sub-Advisor’s fee with respect to each Fund is accrued daily and paid monthly, based on the Fund’s average net assets allocated to the Sub-Advisor during the current month.

Sub-Advisor: Fort Washington Investment Advisors, Inc. is an indirect wholly-owned subsidiary of The Western and Southern Life Insurance Company, which is a wholly-owned subsidiary of Western & Southern Financial Group, Inc. Western & Southern Financial Group, Inc. is a wholly-owned subsidiary of Western & Southern Mutual Holding Company (“Western & Southern”). The Sub-Advisor is an affiliate of the Advisor.

The following charts list each Fund’s portfolio manager, the number of his other managed accounts per investment category, the total assets in each category of managed accounts and the beneficial ownership in such managed funds as of the date indicated. Listed below the charts is (i) a description of the portfolio manager’s compensation structure as of December 31, 2016 and (ii) a description of any material conflicts that may arise in connection with the portfolio manager's management of the Fund’s investments and the investments of the other accounts included in the chart and any material conflicts in allocation of investment opportunities between the Fund and other accounts managed by the portfolio manager as of December 31, 2016.

Balanced Fund



Portfolio Manager/Types of Accounts	Total Number of Other Accounts Managed	Total Other Assets (million)	Number of Other Accounts Managed subject to a Performance Based Advisory Fee	Total Other Assets Managed subject to a Performance Based Advisory Fee (million)
Timothy J. Policinski*
Registered Investment Companies	1	$56	0	$0
Other Pooled Investment Vehicles	1	$454	0	$0
Other Accounts	54	$1,450	0	$0
Daniel Carter*
Registered Investment Companies	1	$56	0	$0
Other Pooled Investment Vehicles	1	$454	0	$0
Other Accounts	54	$1,450	0	$0
James Wilhelm*
Registered Investment Companies	1	$56	0	$0
Other Pooled Investment Vehicles	1	$454	0	$0
Other Accounts	54	$1,450	0	$0

Bond Fund



Portfolio Manager/ Types of Accounts	Total Number of Other Accounts Managed	Total Other Assets (million)	Number of Other Accounts Managed subject to a Performance Based Advisory Fee	Total Other Assets Managed subject to a Performance Based Advisory Fee (million)
Timothy Policinski****
Registered Investment Companies	1	$55	0	$0
Other Pooled Investment Vehicles	1	$446	0	$0
Other Accounts	58	$1,663	0	$0
Daniel Carter****
Registered Investment Companies	1	$55	0	$0
Other Pooled Investment Vehicles	1	$446	0	$0
Other Accounts	58	$1,663	0	$0

Common Stock Fund



Portfolio Manager/Types of Accounts	Total Number of Other Accounts Managed	Total Other Assets (million)	Number of Other Accounts Managed subject to a Performance Based Advisory Fee	Total Other Assets Managed subject to a Performance Based Advisory Fee (million)
James Wilhelm**
Registered Investment Companies	0	$0	0	$0
Other Pooled Investment Vehicles	1	$413	0	$0
Other Accounts	23	$1,114	0	$0

Small Company Fund



Portfolio Manager/Types of Accounts	Total Number of Other Accounts Managed	Total Other Assets (million)	Number of Other Accounts Managed subject to a Performance Based Advisory Fee	Total Other Assets Managed subject to a Performance Based Advisory Fee (million)
Jason Ronovech***
Registered Investment Companies	2	$67	0	$0
Other Pooled Investment Vehicles	0	$0	0	$0
Other Accounts	1	$0	0	$0

*Information presented as of September 30, 2016.

**Information presented as of March 31, 2016.

***Information presented as of November 30, 2016.

****Information presented as of December 31, 2016.

Compensation. All of Fort Washington’s portfolio managers receive a fixed base salary and annual performance bonuses. Bonuses are based primarily on the overall performance of Fort Washington as well as the pre-tax performance (relative to the appropriate

benchmark) of the portfolio manager's respective asset category over a one-year and a three-year time horizon. Secondarily, portfolio managers are also assessed on their ability to retain clients and attract new clients. Additionally, a long-term retention plan was instituted in 2000, whereby certain investment professionals are periodically granted participation units with a seven-year cliff vesting schedule. The structure includes long-term vesting provisions. The percentage of compensation allocated to performance bonuses, asset-increase incentives and long-term incentive compensation is determined annually by the firm’s president and approved by the board of directors.

Fort Washington’s parent company also provides all personnel a defined benefit retirement plan, which provides a lifetime annuity upon retirement that is based on a percentage of final average pay and years of service under the plan. Associates are also eligible to participate in a 401(k) plan. The 401(k) company match is 50% of the first 6% of earnings saved.

Conflicts of Interest. Actual or potential conflicts of interest may arise when a portfolio manager has management responsibilities

to more than one account (including the Funds). This would include devotion of unequal time and attention to the management of the accounts, inability to allocate limited investment opportunities across a broad array of accounts and incentive to allocate opportunities to an account where the portfolio manager has a greater financial incentive, such as allocation opportunities for performance based accounts. Fort Washington has adopted policies and procedures it believes are reasonably designed to address such conflicts.

THE ADMINISTRATOR

The Advisor entered into an Administration Agreement with the Trust, whereby the Advisor is responsible for: supplying executive and regulatory compliance services; supervising the preparation of tax returns; coordinating the preparation of reports to shareholders and reports to, and filings with, the Securities and Exchange Commission and state securities authorities, as well as materials for meetings of the Board of Trustees; calculating the daily NAV per share; and maintaining the financial books and records of each Fund. The Advisor’s annual administrative fee is:

0.145% on the first $20 billion of the aggregate average daily net assets;

0.11% on the next $10 billion of aggregate average daily net assets;

0.09% on the next $10 billion of aggregate average daily net assets; and

0.07% on the aggregate average daily net assets over $40 billion.

The fee is computed and allocated among the Touchstone Fund Complex (excluding Touchstone Institutional Funds Trust) on the basis of relative daily net assets. As of the date of this SAI, the Advisor has not received fees under the Administration Agreement with respect to the Funds.

The Advisor has engaged BNY Mellon as the Sub-Administrator to the Trust. BNY Mellon provides administrative and accounting services to the Trust and is compensated directly by the Advisor, not the Trust. (See “Transfer and Sub-Administrative Agent” in this SAI).

TOUCHSTONE SECURITIES

Touchstone Securities, Inc. (“Touchstone Securities” or the “Distributor”) and the Trust are parties to a distribution agreement (“Distribution Agreement”) with respect to the Funds. Touchstone Securities’ principal place of business is 303 Broadway, Suite 1100, Cincinnati, Ohio 45202. Touchstone Securities is the principal underwriter of the Funds and is a registered broker-dealer, and an affiliate of the Advisor by reason of common ownership. Touchstone Securities is obligated to sell the shares on a best efforts basis only against purchase orders for the shares. Shares of each Fund are offered to the public on a continuous basis. Touchstone Securities receives no compensation under the Distribution Agreement.

Ms. McGruder may be deemed to be an affiliate of Touchstone Securities because of her position as a Director of the Advisor and Touchstone Securities. Ms. McGruder by reason of such affiliation, may directly or indirectly receive benefits from any underwriting fees paid to Touchstone Securities.

The Distribution Agreement shall remain in effect for a period of two years after the effective date of the agreement and is renewable annually thereafter. This Distribution Agreement may be terminated as to any Fund at any time by (i) the Trust, (a) by the vote of a majority of the Trustees of the Trust who are not “interested persons” of the Trust or the Distributor, (b) by vote of the Board of Trustees of the Trust, or (c) by the “vote of a majority of the outstanding voting securities” of the Fund, or (ii) by the Distributor, in any case without payment of any penalty on not more than 60 days’ nor less than 30 days’ written notice to the other party. The Distribution Agreement shall also automatically terminate in the event of its assignment.

The Distributor, at its expense, may provide additional compensation to financial intermediaries which sell or arrange for the sale of shares of the Touchstone Funds. Other compensation may be offered to the extent not prohibited by federal or state laws or any self-regulatory agency, such as the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (“FINRA”).

The Distributor makes payments for entertainment events it deems appropriate, subject to its guidelines and applicable law. These payments may vary depending upon the nature of the event or the relationship.

BROKERAGE TRANSACTIONS

Decisions to buy and sell securities for the Funds and the placing of the Funds’ securities transactions and negotiation of commission rates where applicable are made by the sub-advisors and are subject to oversight by the Advisor and the Board. In the purchase

and sale of portfolio securities, the sub-advisor’s primary objective will be to obtain the most favorable price and execution for a Fund, taking into account such factors as the overall direct net economic result to a Fund (including commissions, which may not be the lowest available but ordinarily should not be higher than the generally prevailing competitive range), the financial strength and stability of the broker, the efficiency with which the transaction will be effected, the ability to effect the transaction at all where a large block is involved and the availability of the broker or dealer to stand ready to execute possibly difficult transactions in the future.

Each sub-advisor is specifically authorized, subject to certain limitations, to pay a trading commission to a broker who provides research services that is higher than the amount of trading commission another broker would have charged for the same transaction. This excess commission recognizes the additional research services rendered by the broker, but only if the sub-advisor determines in good faith that the excess commission is reasonable in relation to the value of the research services provided and that a Fund derives or will derive a reasonably significant benefit from such research services.

Research services include securities and economic analyses, reports on issuers’ financial conditions and future business prospects, newsletters and opinions relating to interest trends, general advice on the relative merits of possible investment securities for the Funds and statistical services and information with respect to the availability of securities or purchasers or sellers of securities. Although this information is useful to the Funds and the sub-advisors, it is not possible to place a dollar value on it. Research services furnished by brokers through whom a Fund effects securities transactions may be used by the sub-advisor in servicing all of its accounts and not all such services may be used by the sub-advisor in connection with a Fund.

The Funds have no obligation to deal with any broker or dealer in the execution of securities transactions. However, the Funds may execute securities transactions on a national securities exchange or in the over-the-counter market conducted on an agency basis. A Fund will not execute any brokerage transactions in its portfolio securities with an affiliated broker if such transactions would be unfair or unreasonable to its shareholders. Over-the-counter transactions will be placed either directly with principal market makers or with broker-dealers. Although the Funds do not anticipate any ongoing arrangements with other brokerage firms, brokerage business may be transacted with other firms. Affiliated broker-dealers of the Trust will not receive reciprocal brokerage business as a result of the brokerage business transacted by the Funds with other brokers. The Funds may direct transactions to certain brokers in order to reduce brokerage commissions through a commission recapture program offered by Frank Russell Securities, Inc. and Convergex Execution Solution LLC.

In certain instances, there may be securities that are suitable for a Fund as well as for one or more of the respective sub-advisor’s other clients. The sub-advisor makes investment decisions for a Fund and for its other clients to achieve their respective investment objectives. The sub-advisor may buy or sell a particular security for one client even though it is buying, selling, or holding the same security for another client. Some simultaneous transactions are inevitable when several clients receive investment advice from the same investment advisor, particularly when the same security is suitable for the investment objectives of more than one client. When two or more clients are simultaneously engaged in the purchase or sale of the same security, the sub-advisor will allocate the securities among clients in a fair and equitable manner. This system may detrimentally affect the price of a security purchased, sold, or held by the Fund, but this detrimental effect is offset by a Fund’s ability to participate in volume transactions, which could lead to better executions for the Fund.

PROXY VOTING

The Funds have adopted the Sub-Advisor's policies and procedures for voting proxies relating to portfolio securities held by the Funds, including procedures used when a vote presents a conflict between the interests of a Fund’s shareholders and those of the Sub-Advisor or its affiliates. A copy or summary of the Sub-Advisor’s proxy voting policies is included in Appendix B. Information about how the Funds voted proxies relating to their portfolio securities during the most recent 12 months ending June 30 is available by August 31 of that year without charge, upon request, by calling toll-free 1.800.543.0407 and on the SEC’s website at sec.gov. Each Fund’s N-PX will also be available on the SEC’s website at sec.gov and on the Touchstone website at TouchstoneInvestments.com.

CODE OF ETHICS

The Trust has adopted a Code of Ethics pursuant to Rule 17j-1 under the 1940 Act. In addition, the Advisor, Sub-Advisor and Distributor have adopted Codes of Ethics pursuant to Rule 17j-1. These Codes of Ethics apply to the personal investing activities of Trustees, officers, and certain employees (“access persons”). Rule 17j-1 and the Codes of Ethics are designed to prevent unlawful practices in connection with the purchase or sale of securities by access persons. Under each Code of Ethics, access persons are permitted to invest in securities (including securities that may be purchased or held by a Fund), but are required to report their personal securities transactions for monitoring purposes. In addition, certain access persons are required to obtain approval before

investing in initial public offerings or private placements. Copies of these Codes of Ethics are on file with the SEC, and are available to the public.

PORTFOLIO TURNOVER

A Fund’s portfolio turnover rate is calculated by dividing the lesser of purchases or sales of portfolio securities for the fiscal year by the monthly average of the value of the portfolio securities owned by the Fund during the fiscal year. High portfolio turnover involves correspondingly greater brokerage commissions and other transaction costs, which will be borne directly by the Fund. High turnover may result in a Fund recognizing greater amounts of income and capital gains, which would increase the amount of taxes payable by shareholders and increase the amount of commissions paid by the Fund. A 100% turnover rate would occur if all of a Fund’s portfolio securities were replaced once within a one-year period. The rate of portfolio turnover will depend upon market and other conditions, and will not be a limiting factor when the Sub-Advisor believes that portfolio changes are appropriate. A Fund may engage in active trading to achieve its investment goals and, as a result, may have substantial portfolio turnover.

Because the Funds will not commence operations until on or about October 30, 2017, the Funds have no portfolio turnover information. During the two most recent fiscal years ended December 31, the portfolio turnover rate for each Predecessor Fund was as follows:



Predecessor Fund	2015	2016
Sentinel Variable Products Balanced Fund	38%	30%
Sentinel Variable Products Bond Fund	117%	197%
Sentinel Variable Products Common Stock Fund	9%	6%
Sentinel Variable Products Small Company Fund	77%	68%

DISCLOSURE OF PORTFOLIO HOLDINGS

The Touchstone Funds have adopted policies and procedures for disclosing the Funds’ portfolio holdings to any person requesting this information. These policies and procedures are monitored by the Board through periodic reporting by the Funds’ Chief Compliance Officer. No compensation will be received by a Fund, the Advisor, the Sub-Advisor, or any other party in connection with the disclosure of information about portfolio securities.

The procedures prohibit the disclosure of portfolio holdings except under the following conditions:


1)	A request made by a sub-advisor for a Fund (or that portion of a Fund) that it manages.


2)	A request by executive officers of the Advisor for routine oversight and management purposes.

For use in preparing and distributing routine shareholder reports, including disclosure to the Funds’ independent registered public accounting firm, typesetter, and printer. Routine shareholder reports are filed as of the end of each fiscal quarter with the SEC within 60 days after the quarter end and routine shareholder reports are distributed to shareholders within 60 days after the applicable six-month semi-annual period. The Funds provide their full holdings to their independent registered public accounting firm annually, as of the end of their fiscal year, within one to ten business days after fiscal year end. The Funds provide their full holdings to their typesetter at least 50 days after the end of the calendar quarter. The Funds provide their full holdings to their printer at least 50 days after the applicable six-month semi-annual period.


4)	A request by service providers to fulfill their contractual duties relating to the Fund, subject to approval by the Chief Compliance Officer.


5)	A request by a newly hired sub-advisor or sub-advisor candidate prior to the commencement of its duties to facilitate its transition as a new sub-advisor, subject to the conditions set forth in Item 8.


6)	A request by a potential merger candidate for the purpose of conducting due diligence, subject to the conditions set forth in Item 8.


7)	A request by a rating or ranking agency, subject to the conditions set forth in Item 8.

Other portfolio holdings disclosure policies of the Funds include:


•	The Funds provide their top ten holdings on their publicly available website and to market data agencies monthly, as of the end of a calendar month, at least seven business days after month end.


•	The Funds provide their full holdings on their publicly available website, and to market data agencies, their typesetter and printer, quarterly, as of the end of a calendar quarter, at least fifteen days after quarter end.

You may access the public website at TouchstoneInvestments.com.

The Chief Compliance Officer may authorize disclosing non-public portfolio holdings to third parties more frequently or at different periods than as described above prior to when such information is made public, provided that certain conditions are met. The third-party must (i) specifically request in writing the more current non-public portfolio holdings, providing a reasonable basis for the request; (ii) execute an agreement to keep such information confidential, to only use the information for the authorized purpose, and not to use the information for their personal benefit; (iii) agree not to trade on such information, either directly or indirectly; and (iv) unless specifically approved by the Chief Compliance Officer in writing, the non-public portfolio holdings are subject to a ten day time delay before dissemination. Any non-public portfolio holdings that are disclosed will not include any material information about a Fund’s trading strategies or pending portfolio transactions.

As of September 30, 2017, one or more Touchstone Funds discloses portfolio holdings information to the following parties based on ongoing arrangements:

Bloomberg LP

Morningstar, Inc.

Employees of the Advisor and the Funds’ Sub-Advisor that are access persons under the Funds’ Code of Ethics have access to Fund holdings on a regular basis, but are subject to confidentiality requirements and trading prohibitions in the Code of Ethics. In addition, custodians of the Funds’ assets and the Funds’ accounting services agent, each of whose agreements contains a confidentiality provision (which includes a duty not to trade on non-public information), have access to the current Fund holdings on a daily basis.

The Chief Compliance Officer is authorized to determine whether disclosure of a Fund’s portfolio securities is for a legitimate business purpose and is in the best interests of a Fund and its shareholders. Any conflict between the interests of shareholders and the interests of the Advisor, Touchstone Securities, or any affiliates, will be reported to the Board, which will make a determination that is in the best interests of shareholders.

DETERMINATION OF NET ASSET VALUE

The securities of each Fund are valued under the direction of the Advisor and under the general oversight of the Trustees. The Advisor or its delegates may use independent pricing services to obtain valuations of securities. The pricing services rely primarily on prices of actual market transactions as well as on trade quotations obtained from third parties. Prices are generally determined using readily available market prices. If market prices are unavailable or believed to be unreliable, the Sub-Administrator will initiate a process by which the Trust’s Fair Value Committee will make a good faith determination as to the “fair value” of the security using procedures approved by the Trustees. The pricing services may use a matrix system to determine valuations of fixed income securities when market prices are not readily available. This system considers such factors as security prices, yields, maturities, call features, ratings and developments relating to specific securities in arriving at valuations. The procedures used by any such pricing service and its valuation results are reviewed by the officers of the Trust under the general oversight of the Trustees. Some Funds may hold portfolio securities that are listed on foreign exchanges. Under certain circumstances, these investments may be valued under the Fund’s fair value policies and procedures, such as when U.S. exchanges are open but a foreign exchange is closed.

Securities with remaining maturities of 60 days or less may be valued by the amortized cost method, which involves valuing a security at its cost on the date of purchase and thereafter (absent unusual circumstances) assuming a constant amortization of maturity of any discount or premium, provided such amount approximates market value.

CERTAIN PROVISIONS OF THE TRUST'S BY-LAWS

Derivative Claims of Shareholders

The Trust’s Amended and Restated By-Laws (the “By-Laws”) contain provisions regarding derivative claims of shareholders. Under these provisions, a shareholder must make a pre-suit demand upon the Trustees to bring the subject action unless an effort to cause the Trustees to bring such an action is not likely to succeed. For purposes of the foregoing sentence, a demand on the Trustees shall only be deemed not likely to succeed and therefore excused if a majority of the Board, or a majority of any committee of the Board established to consider the merits of such action, has a personal financial interest in the transaction at issue, and a Trustee shall not be deemed interested in a transaction or otherwise disqualified from ruling on the merits of a shareholder demand by virtue of the fact that such Trustee receives remuneration for his service on the Board or on the boards of one or more Trusts that are under common management with or otherwise affiliated with the Trust.

Unless a demand is not required under the foregoing paragraph, the Trustees must be afforded a reasonable amount of time to consider such shareholder request and to investigate the basis of such claim. The Trustees shall be entitled to retain counsel or other advisors in considering the merits of the request and shall require an undertaking by the shareholders making such request to reimburse the Trust for the expense of any such advisors in the event that the Trustees determine not to bring such action.

Forum for Adjudication of Disputes

The By-Laws provide that, unless the Trust consents in writing to the selection of an alternative forum, the sole and exclusive forum for (i) any derivative action or proceeding brought on behalf of the Trust, (ii) any action asserting a claim of breach of a fiduciary duty owed by any Trustee, officer, or other employee of the Trust to the Trust or the Trust’s shareholders, (iii) any action asserting a claim arising pursuant to the laws of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, the Declaration of Trust or the By-Laws, (iv) any action to interpret, apply, enforce or determine the validity of the Declaration of Trust or the By-Laws, or (v) any action asserting a claim governed by the internal affairs doctrine shall be the U.S. District Court for the District of Massachusetts or the Superior Court of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts (each, a “Covered Action”). The By-Laws further provide that if any Covered Action is filed in a court other than the U.S. District Court for the District of Massachusetts or the Superior Court of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts (a “Foreign Action”) in the name of any shareholder, such shareholder shall be deemed to have consented to (i) the personal jurisdiction of the U.S. District Court for the District of Massachusetts or the Superior Court of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts in connection with any action brought in any such courts to enforce the preceding sentence (an “Enforcement Action”) and (ii) having service of process made upon such shareholder in any such Enforcement Action by service upon such shareholder’s counsel in the Foreign Action as agent for such shareholder.

The By-Laws provide that any person purchasing or otherwise acquiring or holding any interest in shares of beneficial interest of the Trust shall be (i) deemed to have notice of and consented to the provisions of the foregoing paragraph and (ii) deemed to have waived any argument relating to the inconvenience of the forums referenced above in connection with any action or proceeding described in the foregoing paragraph.

This forum selection provision may limit a shareholder’s ability to bring a claim in a judicial forum that it finds favorable for disputes with Trustees, officers or other agents of the Trust and its service providers, which may discourage such lawsuits with respect to such claims. If a court were to find the forum selection provision contained in the By-Laws to be inapplicable or unenforceable in an action, the Trust may incur additional costs associated with resolving such action in other jurisdictions.

OTHER PURCHASE AND REDEMPTION INFORMATION

Purchases in-Kind. In limited circumstances and subject to the prior consent of the Fund, the Fund may accept payment for shares in securities. Shares may be purchased by tendering payment in-kind in the form of marketable securities, including but not limited to shares of common stock, provided the acquisition of such securities is consistent with the applicable Fund’s investment goal and is otherwise acceptable to the Advisor. Transactions of this type are generally a taxable transaction. Before purchasing shares by tendering payment in-kind, investors are urged and advised to consult with their own tax advisor regarding the tax consequences of such a transaction.

Redemption in-Kind. Under unusual circumstances, when the Board deems it in the best interests of a Fund’s shareholders, the Fund may make payment for shares repurchased or redeemed in whole or in part in securities of the Fund taken at current value. Should payment be made in securities, the redeeming shareholder will bear the market risk until the securities are sold and the redeeming shareholder will generally incur brokerage costs and other costs in converting such securities to cash. Portfolio securities that are issued in an in-kind redemption will be readily marketable. The Trust has filed an irrevocable election with the SEC under Rule 18f-1 of the 1940 Act wherein the Funds are committed to pay redemptions in cash, rather than in kind, to any shareholder of record of a Fund who redeems during any ninety day period, the lesser of $250,000 or 1% of a Fund’s NAV at the beginning of such period. Redemptions in-kind are taxable for federal income tax purposes in the same manner as redemptions for cash.

FEDERAL INCOME TAXES

This is for general information only and not tax advice. For federal income tax purposes, the insurance company (rather than the purchaser of a variable contract) is treated as the owner of the shares of the Fund or Funds selected as an investment option. Holders of variable contracts are urged and advised to consult their own tax advisors for information on their tax situation, including the possible applicability of federal, state, local, and foreign taxes.

The following discussion summarizes certain U.S. federal income tax considerations affecting the Funds. This discussion does not address the U.S. federal income tax consequences that might be relevant to holders of variable contracts that invest in a Fund. The summary is based upon current provisions of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986, as amended (the “Code”), applicable U.S. Treasury Regulations promulgated thereunder (the “Regulations”), and administrative and judicial interpretations thereof, all of which are subject to change, which change could be retroactive and may affect the conclusions expressed herein.

No Fund has requested nor will any Fund request an advance ruling from the Internal Revenue Service (the “IRS”) as to the federal income tax matters described below. The IRS could adopt positions contrary to those discussed below and such positions could be sustained.

General. For federal income tax purposes, each Fund is treated as a separate corporation. Each Fund has elected, and intends to continue to qualify for, taxation as a regulated investment company (a “RIC”) under the Code. By qualifying as a RIC, a Fund will not be subject to federal income tax on that portion of its investment company taxable income and realized net capital gains that it distributes to its shareholders.

Qualification As A Regulated Investment Company. Qualification as a RIC under the Code requires, among other things, that each Fund: (a) derive at least 90% of its gross income for each taxable year from (i) dividends, interest, payments with respect to securities loans and gains from the sale or other disposition of stock, securities or foreign currencies, or other income (including but not limited to gains from options, futures and forward contracts) derived with respect to its business of investing in such stock, securities or currencies, and (ii) net income from interests in qualified publicly traded partnerships (together with (i), the “Qualifying Income Requirement”); (b) diversify its holdings so that, at the close of each quarter of the taxable year: (i) at least 50% of the value of its assets is comprised of cash, cash items (including receivables), U.S. government securities, securities of other RICs and other securities, with those other securities limited, in respect of any one issuer, to an amount that does not exceed 5% of the value of its total assets and that does not represent more than 10% of the outstanding voting securities of such issuer; and (ii) not more than 25% of the value of its assets is invested in the securities (other than U.S. government securities or securities of other RICs) of any one issuer or the securities (other than the securities of other RICs) of two or more issuers controlled by it and engaged in the same, similar or related trades or businesses, or the securities of one or more “qualified publicly traded partnerships” (together with (i) the “Diversification Requirement”); and (c) distribute for each taxable year at least the sum of (i) 90% of its investment company taxable income (which includes dividends, taxable interest, taxable original issue discount income, market discount income, income from securities lending, net short-term capital gain in excess of net long-term capital loss, certain net realized foreign currency exchange gains, and any other taxable income other than “net capital gain” as defined below and is reduced by deductible expenses) determined without regard to any deduction for dividends paid; and (ii) 90% of its tax-exempt interest, if any, net of certain expenses allocable thereto (“net tax-exempt interest”).

The U.S. Treasury Department is authorized to promulgate regulations under which gains from foreign currencies (and options, futures, and forward contracts on foreign currency) would constitute qualifying income for purposes of the Qualifying Income Requirement only if such gains are directly related to the principal business of a Fund of investing in stock or securities or options and futures with respect to stock or securities. To date, the U.S. Treasury Department has not issued such regulations.

As a RIC, a Fund generally will not be subject to U.S. federal income tax on the portion of its income and capital gains that it distributes to its shareholders in any taxable year for which it distributes, in compliance with the Code’s timing and other requirements at least 90% of its investment company taxable income (determined without regard to the deduction for dividends paid) and at least 90% of its net tax-exempt interest. Each Fund may retain for investment all or a portion of its net capital gain (i.e., the excess of its net long-term capital gain over its net short-term capital loss). If a Fund retains any investment company taxable income or net capital gain, it will be subject to tax at regular corporate rates on the amount retained. If a Fund retains any net capital gain, it may designate the retained amount as undistributed net capital gain in a notice to its shareholders, who will be (i) required to include in income for federal income tax purposes, as long-term capital gain, their shares of such undistributed amount; and (ii) entitled to credit their proportionate shares of tax paid by such Fund against their federal income tax liabilities, if any, and to claim refunds to the extent the credit exceeds such liabilities. For federal income tax purposes, the tax basis of the shares owned by a shareholder of a Fund will be increased by the amount of undistributed net capital gain included in the shareholder’s gross income and decreased by the federal income tax paid by such Fund on that amount of capital gain.

The Qualifying Income Requirement and Diversification Requirement that must be met under the Code in order for a Fund to qualify as a RIC, as described above, may limit the extent to which it will be able to engage in derivative transactions. Rules governing the federal income tax aspects of derivatives, including swap agreements, are not entirely clear in certain respects, particularly in light of two IRS revenue rulings issued in 2006. Revenue Ruling 2006-1 held that income from a derivative contract with respect to a commodity index is not qualifying income for a RIC. Subsequently, the IRS issued Revenue Ruling 2006-31 in which it stated that the holding in Revenue Ruling 2006-1 “was not intended to preclude a conclusion that the income from certain instruments (such as certain structured notes) that create a commodity exposure for the holder is qualifying income.” Accordingly, the Qualifying Income Requirement may limit each Fund’s ability to invest in commodity related derivative transactions and other derivative transactions. Each Fund will account for any investments in commodity derivative transactions in a manner it deems to be appropriate; the IRS, however, might not accept such treatment. If the IRS did not accept such treatment, the status of such Fund as a RIC might be jeopardized.

In general, for purposes of the Qualifying Income Requirement described above, income derived from a partnership is treated as qualifying income only to the extent such income is attributable to items of income of the partnership which would be qualifying income if realized directly by the RIC. However, all of the net income of a RIC derived from an interest in a qualified publicly traded partnership (defined as a partnership (x) the interests in which are traded on an established securities market or are readily tradable on a secondary market or the substantial equivalent thereof, and (y) that derives less than 90% of its income from the qualifying income described in clause (i) of the Qualifying Income Requirement described above) will be treated as qualifying income. In general, such entities will be treated as partnerships for federal income tax purposes if they meet the passive income requirement under Section 7704(c)(2) of the Code. In addition, although in general the passive loss rules of the Code do not apply to RICs, such rules do apply to a RIC with respect to items attributable to an interest in a qualified publicly traded partnership.

For purposes of the Diversification Requirement described above, the term “outstanding voting securities of such issuer” will include the equity securities of a qualified publicly traded partnership.

If a Fund fails to satisfy the Qualifying Income Requirement or the Diversification Requirement in any taxable year, such Fund may be eligible for relief provisions if the failures are due to reasonable cause and not willful neglect and if a penalty tax is paid with respect to each failure to satisfy the applicable requirements. Additionally, relief is provided for certain de minimis failures to satisfy the Diversification Requirements where a Fund corrects the failure within a specified period of time. If the applicable relief provisions are not available or cannot be met, such Fund will fail to qualify as a RIC and will be subject to tax in the same manner as an ordinary corporation subject to tax on a graduated basis with a maximum tax rate of 35% and all distributions from earnings and profits (as determined under U.S. federal income tax principles) to its shareholders will be taxable as ordinary dividend income eligible for the dividends-received deduction for corporate shareholders and for qualified dividend income treatment for non-corporate shareholders. In addition, if a Fund fails to qualify as a RIC, owners of variable contracts who have indirectly invested in the Fund may be taxed for federal income tax purposes currently on the investment earnings under their contracts and thereby lose the benefit of tax deferral.

Excise Tax. If a Fund fails to distribute by December 31 of each calendar year an amount equal to the sum of (1) at least 98% of its taxable ordinary income (excluding capital gains and losses) for such year, (2) at least 98.2% of the excess of its capital gains over its capital losses (as adjusted for certain ordinary losses) for the twelve month period ending on October 31 of such year, and (3) all taxable ordinary income and the excess of capital gains over capital losses for the prior year that were not distributed during such year and on which it did not pay federal income tax, such Fund will be subject to a nondeductible 4% excise tax (the “Excise Tax”) on the undistributed amounts. The Excise Tax does not apply to a RIC whose only shareholders during the year are segregated asset accounts of life insurance companies supporting variable life insurance contracts or variable annuity contracts, certain qualified trusts and other tax-exempt entities, or parties that contributed in aggregate $250,000 or less in seed money to the Fund. The Trust intends that each Fund will either qualify for this exception or will make sufficient distributions each year to avoid imposition of the Excise Tax.

Capital Loss Carryforwards. The excess of a Fund’s net short-term capital losses over its net long-term capital gain is treated as short-term capital losses arising on the first day of the Fund’s next taxable year and the excess of a Fund’s net long-term capital losses over its net short-term capital gain is treated as long-term capital losses arising on the first day of the Fund’s next taxable year. If carried forward capital losses offset future gains, such future capital gains are not subject to Fund-level federal income taxation, regardless of whether they are distributed to shareholders. A Fund cannot carry back or carry forward any net operating losses.

Tax Treatment Of Shareholders. Each insurance company separate account (a “Separate Account”) that invests in the Funds must meet certain diversification requirements under Section 817(h) of the Code in order for the associated contracts to be treated as “annuities” or “life insurance contracts” under the Code. If a Separate Account is not sufficiently diversified and the contracts

are not treated as annuities or life insurance contracts, the contract holders generally will be subject to tax on all taxable distributions from the Funds to that Separate Account, and on all sales, exchanges or redemptions of the Funds’ shares by that Separate Account.

If all of the beneficial interests in a Fund are held by one or more Separate Accounts and certain other eligible holders, the diversification requirements of Section 817(h) may be applied by taking into account the assets of such Fund, rather than treating the interest in the Fund as a separate investment of each Separate Account investing in the Fund. Beneficial interests in the Funds are currently being offered only to Separate Accounts and other qualifying holders.

Each Fund intends to diversify its assets in accordance with the requirements of Section 817(h) so that, assuming that the look-through treatment described above is available, any Separate Account invested wholly in a Fund would also satisfy such diversification requirements. In particular, the Funds will diversify their investments so that on the last day of each calendar quarter or within 30 days after such last day no more than 55% of the value of its total assets is represented by any one investment, no more than 70% is represented by any two investments, no more than 80% is represented by any three investments and no more than 90% is represented by any four investments. In applying those percentage tests, all securities of the same issuer generally will be treated as a single investment. However, in the case of U.S. government securities, each government agency or instrumentality will be considered to be a separate issuer. The undertaking by the Trust to ensure that the Funds meet such diversification requirements may limit the ability of the Funds to make certain otherwise permitted investments. If a Fund should fail to comply with the diversification requirements, should fail to ensure that its shares are held only by the types of investors described above, or should fail to qualify as a RIC under the Code, it is possible that Separate Accounts invested in the Fund would not be treated as adequately diversified and that contracts invested in those Separate Accounts would not be treated as annuity or life insurance contracts under the Code.

Original Issue Discount And Market Discount. A Fund may acquire debt securities that are treated as having original issue discount (“OID”) (generally a debt obligation with a purchase price less than its principal amount, such as a zero coupon bond). Generally, a Fund will be required to include the OID in income over the term of the debt security, even though it will not receive cash payments for such OID until a later time, usually when the debt security matures. A Fund may make one or more of the elections applicable to debt securities having OID which could affect the character and timing of recognition of income. Inflation-protected bonds generally can be expected to produce OID income as their principal amounts are adjusted upward for inflation. The IRS may treat a portion of the OID includible in income with respect to certain high-yield corporate debt securities as a dividend for federal income tax purposes.

A debt security acquired in the secondary market by a Fund may be treated as having market discount if acquired at a price below redemption value or adjusted issue price if issued with original issue discount. The Fund’s market discount accrues ratably, on a daily basis, over the period from the date of acquisition to the date of maturity even though the Fund will not receive cash. Absent an election by a Fund to include the market discount in income as it accrues, gain on its disposition of such an obligation will be treated as ordinary income rather than capital gain to the extent of the accrued market discount.

In addition, pay-in-kind securities will give rise to income which is required to be distributed and is taxable even though a Fund holding such securities receives no interest payments in cash on such securities during the year.

Each Fund generally will be required to make distributions to shareholders representing the income accruing on the securities, described above that is currently includable in income, even though cash representing such income may not have been received by such Fund. Cash to pay these distributions may be obtained from sales proceeds of securities held by a Fund (even if such sales are not advantageous) or, if permitted by such Fund’s governing documents, through borrowing the amounts required to be distributed. In the event a Fund realizes net capital gains from such transactions, its shareholders may receive a larger capital gain distribution, if any, than they would have in the absence of such transactions.

Options, Futures And Forward Contracts. The writing (selling) and purchasing of options and futures contracts and entering into forward currency contracts, involves complex rules that will determine for federal income tax purposes the amount, character and timing of recognition of the gains and losses a Fund realizes in connection with such transactions.

Gains and losses on the sale, lapse, or other termination of options and futures contracts, options thereon and certain forward contracts (except certain foreign currency options, forward contracts and futures contracts) will generally be treated as capital gains and losses. Some regulated futures contracts, certain foreign currency contracts, and certain non-equity options (such as certain listed options or options on broad based securities indexes) held by a Fund (“Section 1256 contracts”), other than contracts on which it has made a “mixed-straddle election,” will be required to be “marked-to-market” for federal income tax purposes, that is, treated as having been sold at their market value on the last day of such Fund’s taxable year. These provisions may require a Fund to recognize income or gains without a concurrent receipt of cash. Any gain or loss recognized on actual or deemed sales of Section 1256 contracts will be treated as 60% long-term capital gain or loss and 40% short-term capital gain or loss, although

certain foreign currency gains and losses from such contracts may be treated as ordinary income or loss as described below. Transactions that qualify as designated hedges are exempt from the mark-to-market rule, but may require a Fund to defer the recognition of losses on futures contracts, foreign currency contracts and certain options to the extent of any unrecognized gains on related positions held by it.

The tax provisions described above applicable to options, futures and forward contracts may affect the amount, timing, and character of a Fund’s distributions to its shareholders. For example, the Section 1256 rules described above may operate to increase the amount a Fund must distribute to satisfy the minimum distribution requirement for the portion treated as short-term capital gain which will be taxable to its shareholders as ordinary income, and to increase the net capital gain it recognizes, without, in either case, increasing the cash available to it. A Fund may elect to exclude certain transactions from the operation of Section 1256, although doing so may have the effect of increasing the relative proportion of net short-term capital gain (taxable as ordinary income) and thus increasing the amount of dividends it must distribute. Section 1256 contracts also may be marked-to-market for purposes of the Excise Tax.

When a covered call or put option written (sold) by a Fund expires such Fund will realize a short-term capital gain equal to the amount of the premium it received for writing the option. When a Fund terminates its obligations under such an option by entering into a closing transaction, it will realize a short-term capital gain (or loss), depending on whether the cost of the closing transaction is less than (or exceeds) the premium received when it wrote the option. When a covered call option written by a Fund is exercised, such Fund will be treated as having sold the underlying security, producing long-term or short-term capital gain or loss, depending upon the holding period of the underlying security and whether the sum of the option price received upon the exercise plus the premium received when it wrote the option is more or less than the basis of the underlying security.

Straddles. Section 1092 deals with the taxation of straddles which also may affect the taxation of options in which a Fund may invest. Offsetting positions held by a Fund involving certain derivative instruments, such as options, futures and forward currency contracts, may be considered, for federal income tax purposes, to constitute “straddles.” Straddles are defined to include offsetting positions in actively traded personal property. In certain circumstances, the rules governing straddles override or modify the provisions of Section 1256, described above. If a Fund is treated as entering into a straddle and at least one (but not all) of its positions in derivative contracts comprising a part of such straddle is governed by Section 1256, then such straddle could be characterized as a “mixed straddle.” A Fund may make one or more elections with respect to mixed straddles. Depending on which election is made, if any, the results with respect to a Fund may differ. Generally, to the extent the straddle rules apply to positions established by a Fund, losses realized by it may be deferred to the extent of unrealized gain in any offsetting positions. Moreover, as a result of the straddle rules, short-term capital loss on straddle positions may be characterized as long-term capital loss, and long-term capital gain may be characterized as short-term capital gain. In addition, the existence of a straddle may affect the holding period of the offsetting positions and cause such sales to be subject to the “wash sale” and “short sale” rules. As a result, the straddle rules could cause distributions that would otherwise constitute “qualified dividend income” to fail to satisfy the applicable holding period requirements, described below and therefore to be taxed as ordinary income. Further, a Fund may be required to capitalize, rather than deduct currently, any interest expense and carrying charges applicable to a position that is part of a straddle. Because the application of the straddle rules may affect the character and timing of gains and losses from affected straddle positions, the amount which must be distributed to shareholders, and which will be taxed to shareholders as ordinary income or long-term capital gain, may be increased or decreased substantially as compared to the situation where a Fund had not engaged in such transactions.

In circumstances where a Fund has invested in certain pass-through entities, the amount of long-term capital gain that it may recognize from certain derivative transactions with respect to interests in such pass-through entities is limited under the Code’s constructive ownership rules. The amount of long-term capital gain is limited to the amount of such gain a Fund would have had if it directly invested in the pass-through entity during the term of the derivative contract. Any gain in excess of this amount is treated as ordinary income. An interest charge is imposed on the amount of gain that is treated as ordinary income.

Swaps And Derivatives. As a result of entering into swap or derivative agreements, a Fund may make or receive periodic net payments. A Fund may also make or receive a payment when a swap or derivative is terminated prior to maturity through an assignment of the swap or derivative or other closing transaction. Periodic net payments will generally constitute ordinary income or deductions, while termination of a swap or derivative will generally result in capital gain or loss (which will be a long-term capital gain or loss if the Fund has been a party to a swap or derivative for more than one year). With respect to certain types of swaps or derivatives, a Fund may be required to currently recognize income or loss with respect to future payments on such swaps or derivatives or may elect under certain circumstances to mark such swaps or derivatives to market annually for tax purposes as ordinary income or loss.

Rules governing the tax aspects of swap or derivative agreements are not entirely clear in certain respects, in particular whether income generated is Qualifying Income. Accordingly, while each Fund intends to account for such transactions in a manner it

deems appropriate, the IRS might not accept such treatment. If the IRS did not accept such treatment, the status of the Fund as a RIC might be adversely affected. The Funds intend to monitor developments in this area. Certain requirements that must be met under the Code in order for each Fund to qualify as a RIC may limit the extent to which a Fund will be able to engage in swap agreements and certain derivatives.

Constructive Sales. Certain rules may affect the timing and character of gain if a Fund engages in transactions that reduce or eliminate its risk of loss with respect to appreciated financial positions. If a Fund enters into certain transactions (including a short sale, an offsetting notional principal contract, a futures or forward contract, or other transactions identified in U.S. Treasury regulations) in property while holding an appreciated financial position in substantially identical property, it will be treated as if it had sold and immediately repurchased the appreciated financial position and will be taxed on any gain (but not loss) from the constructive sale. The character of gain from a constructive sale will depend upon a Fund’s holding period in the appreciated financial position. Loss from a constructive sale would be recognized when the position was subsequently disposed of, and its character would depend on a Fund’s holding period and the application of various loss deferral provisions of the Code.

In addition, if the appreciated financial position is itself a short sale, acquisition of the underlying property or substantially identical property by a Fund will be deemed a constructive sale. The foregoing will not apply, however, to a Fund’s transaction during any taxable year that otherwise would be treated as a constructive sale if the transaction is closed within 30 days after the end of that year and such Fund holds the appreciated financial position unhedged for 60 days after that closing (i.e., at no time during that 60-day period is such Fund’s risk of loss regarding the position reduced by reason of certain specified transactions with respect to substantially identical or related property, such as having an option to sell, being contractually obligated to sell, making a short sale or granting an option to buy substantially identical stock or securities.)

Wash Sales. A Fund may in certain circumstances be impacted by special rules relating to “wash sales.” In general, the wash sale rules prevent the recognition of a loss by a Fund from the disposition of stock or securities at a loss in a case in which identical or substantially identical stock or securities (or an option to acquire such property) is or has been acquired by it within 30 days before or 30 days after the sale.

Short Sales. A Fund may make short sales of securities. Short sales may increase the amount of short-term capital gain realized by a Fund, which is taxed as ordinary income when distributed to its shareholders. Short sales also may be subject to the “Constructive Sales” rules, discussed above.

Tax Credit Bonds. If a Fund holds (directly or indirectly) one or more “tax credit bonds” (defined below) on one or more specified dates during a Fund’s taxable year, and it satisfies the minimum distribution requirement, it may elect for U.S. federal income tax purposes to pass through to shareholders tax credits otherwise allowable to it for that year with respect to such tax credit bonds. A tax credit bond is defined in the Code as a “qualified tax credit bond” (which includes a qualified forestry conservation bond, a new clean renewable energy bond, a qualified energy conservation bond, or a qualified zone academy bond, each of which must meet certain requirements specified in the Code), a “build America bond” (which includes certain qualified bonds issued before January 1, 2011) or certain other bonds specified in the Code. If a Fund were to make an election, a shareholder of such Fund would be required to include in gross income an amount equal to such shareholder’s proportionate share of the interest income attributable to such credits and would be entitled to claim as a tax credit an amount equal to a proportionate share of such credits. Certain limitations may apply on the extent to which the credit may be claimed.

Other Regulated Investment Companies. Generally, the character of the income or capital gains that a Fund receives from another investment company will pass through to the Fund’s shareholders as long as the Fund and the other investment company each qualify as RICs under the Code. However, to the extent that another investment company that qualifies as a RIC realizes net losses on its investments for a given taxable year, a Fund will not be able to recognize its share of those losses until it disposes of shares of such investment company. Moreover, even when a Fund does make such a disposition, a portion of its loss may be recognized as a long-term capital loss, which will not be treated as favorably for federal income tax purposes as an ordinary deduction. In particular, a Fund will not be able to offset any capital losses from its dispositions of shares of other investment companies against its ordinary income. As a result of the foregoing rules, and certain other special rules, it is possible that the amounts of net investment income and net capital gains that a Fund will be required to distribute to shareholders will be greater than such amounts would have been had the Fund invested directly in the securities held by the investment companies in which it invests, rather than investing in shares of the investment companies. For similar reasons, the character of distributions from a Fund (e.g., long-term capital gain, qualified dividend income, etc.) will not necessarily be the same as it would have been had the Fund invested directly in the securities held by the investment companies in which it invests.

Passive Foreign Investment Companies. A Fund may invest in a non-U.S. corporation, which could be treated as a passive foreign investment company (a “PFIC”) or become a PFIC under the Code. A PFIC is generally defined as a foreign corporation that meets either of the following tests: (1) at least 75% of its gross income for its taxable year is income from passive sources

(such as interest, dividends, certain rents and royalties, or capital gains); or (2) an average of at least 50% of its assets produce, or are held for the production of, such passive income. If a Fund acquires any equity interest in a PFIC, such Fund could be subject to federal income tax and interest charges on “excess distributions” received with respect to such PFIC stock or on any gain from the sale of such PFIC stock (collectively “PFIC income”), even if such Fund distributes the PFIC income as a taxable dividend to its shareholders. The balance of the PFIC income will be included in such Fund’s investment company taxable income and, accordingly, will not be taxable to it to the extent it distributes that income to its shareholders. A Fund’s distributions of PFIC income will be taxable as ordinary income even though, absent the application of the PFIC rules, some portion of the distributions may have been classified as capital gain.

A Fund will not be permitted to pass through to its shareholders any credit or deduction for taxes and interest charges incurred with respect to a PFIC. Payment of this tax would therefore reduce a Fund’s economic return from its investment in PFIC shares. To the extent a Fund invests in a PFIC, it may elect to treat the PFIC as a “qualified electing fund” (“QEF”), then instead of the tax and interest obligation described above on excess distributions, such Fund would be required to include in income each taxable year its pro rata share of the QEF’s annual ordinary earnings and net capital gain. As a result of a QEF election, a Fund would likely have to distribute to its shareholders an amount equal to the QEF’s annual ordinary earnings and net capital gain to satisfy the Code’s minimum distribution requirement described herein, even if the QEF did not distribute those earnings and gain to such Fund. In most instances it will be very difficult, if not impossible, to make this election because of certain requirements in making the election.

A Fund may elect to “mark-to-market” its stock in any PFIC. “Marking-to-market,” in this context, means including in ordinary income each taxable year the excess, if any, of the fair market value of the PFIC stock over such Fund’s adjusted basis therein as of the end of that year. Pursuant to the election, a Fund also may deduct (as an ordinary, not capital, loss) the excess, if any, of its adjusted basis in the PFIC stock over the fair market value thereof as of the taxable year-end, but only to the extent of any net mark-to-market gains with respect to that stock it included in income for prior taxable years under the election. A Fund’s adjusted basis in its PFIC stock subject to the election would be adjusted to reflect the amounts of income included and deductions taken thereunder. In either case, a Fund may be required to recognize taxable income or gain without the concurrent receipt of cash.

Foreign Currency Transactions. Foreign currency gains and losses realized by a Fund in connection with certain transactions involving foreign currency-denominated debt instruments, certain options, futures contracts, forward contracts, and similar instruments relating to foreign currency, foreign currencies, and foreign currency-denominated payables and receivables are subject to Section 988 of the Code, which causes such gains and losses to be treated as ordinary income or loss and may affect the amount and timing of recognition of such Fund’s income. In some cases elections may be available that would alter this treatment, but such elections could be detrimental to a Fund by creating current recognition of income without the concurrent recognition of cash. If a foreign currency loss treated as an ordinary loss under Section 988 were to exceed a Fund’s investment company taxable income (computed without regard to such loss) for a taxable year the resulting loss would not be deductible by it or its shareholders in future years. The foreign currency income or loss will also increase or decrease a Fund’s investment company income distributable to its shareholders.

Foreign Taxation. Income received by a Fund from sources within foreign countries may be subject to foreign withholding and other taxes. Tax conventions between certain countries and the United States may reduce or eliminate such taxes. If more than 50% of a Fund’s total assets at the close of any taxable year consist of stock or securities of foreign corporations or if a Fund is a qualified fund of funds, and the Fund meets the distribution requirements described above, such Fund may file an election (the “pass-through election”) with the IRS pursuant to which shareholders of the Fund would be required to (i) include in gross income (in addition to taxable dividends actually received) their pro rata shares of foreign income taxes paid by the Fund, or in the case of a qualified fund of funds, such taxes paid by an underlying fund that has made the pass-through election, even though not actually received by such shareholders; and (ii) treat such respective pro rata portions as foreign income taxes paid by them. Each Fund will furnish its shareholders with a written statement providing the amount of foreign taxes paid by the Fund that will “pass-through” for the year, if any.

Generally, a credit for foreign taxes is subject to the limitation that it may not exceed the shareholder’s U.S. tax attributable to his or her total foreign source taxable income. For this purpose, if the pass-through election is made, the source of a Fund’s income will flow through to shareholders. The limitation on the foreign tax credit is applied separately to foreign source passive income, and to certain other types of income. Shareholders may be unable to claim a credit for the full amount of their proportionate share of the foreign taxes paid by a Fund. Various limitations, including a minimum holding period requirement, apply to limit the credit and deduction for foreign taxes for purposes of regular federal income tax and alternative minimum tax.

REITs. A Fund may invest in REITs. Investments in REIT equity securities may require a Fund to accrue and distribute taxable income without the concurrent receipt of cash. To generate sufficient cash to make the requisite distributions, a Fund may be required to sell securities in its portfolio (including when it is not advantageous to do so) that it otherwise would have continued

to hold. A Fund’s investments in REIT equity securities may at other times result in its receipt of cash in excess of the REIT’s earnings; if such Fund distributes these amounts, these distributions could constitute a return of capital to its shareholders for federal income tax purposes. Dividends received by a Fund from a REIT generally will not constitute qualified dividend income.

A Fund may invest in REITs that hold residual interests in real estate mortgage investment conduits (“REMICs”) or taxable mortgage pools (TMPs), or such REITs may themselves constitute TMPs. Under an IRS notice, and U.S. Treasury regulations that have yet to be issued but may apply retroactively, a portion of a Fund’s income from a REIT that is attributable to the REIT’s residual interest in a REMIC or a TMP (referred to in the Code as an “excess inclusion”) will be subject to federal income tax in all events. This notice also provides, and the regulations are expected to provide, that excess inclusion income of a RIC, such as the Funds, will be allocated to shareholders of the RIC in proportion to the dividends received by such shareholders, with the same consequences as if the shareholders held the related REMIC residual interest or invested in the TMP directly.

Distributions. Each Fund intends to distribute to its shareholders substantially all of its income and capital gains. Distributions of any net realized long-term and short-term capital gains earned by a Fund will be made at least annually. Because you do not own shares of the Funds directly, your tax situation is not likely to be affected by a Fund’s distributions. The separate accounts, which issue your variable annuity contract or variable life policy, as the owner of the Funds’ shares, may be affected. Each Fund’s distributions may be taxed as ordinary income or capital gains (which may be taxable at different rates depending on the length of time the Fund holds its assets). Each Fund’s distributions may be subject to federal income tax whether distributions are reinvested in Fund shares or received as cash.

Backup Withholding. Each Fund generally is required to withhold, and remit to the U.S. Treasury, subject to certain exemptions, an amount equal to 28% of all distributions and redemption proceeds paid or credited to a shareholder of such Fund if (i) the shareholder fails to furnish such Fund with the correct taxpayer identification number (“TIN”) certified under penalties of perjury, (ii) the shareholder fails to provide a certified statement that the shareholder is not subject to backup withholding, or (iii) the IRS or a broker has notified such Fund that the number furnished by the shareholder is incorrect or that the shareholder is subject to backup withholding as a result of failure to report interest or dividend income. If the backup withholding provisions are applicable, any such distributions or proceeds, whether taken in cash or reinvested in shares, will be reduced by the amounts required to be withheld. Backup withholding is not an additional tax. Any amounts withheld may be credited against a shareholder’s U.S. federal income tax liability.

State And Local Taxes. State and local laws often differ from federal income tax laws with respect to the treatment of specific items of income, gain, loss, deduction and credit. Shareholders are urged and advised to consult their own tax advisors for more information.

Tax Shelter Reporting Regulations. Under U.S. Treasury regulations, if a shareholder recognizes a loss of $2 million or more for an individual shareholder or $10 million or more for a corporate shareholder, the shareholder must file with the IRS a disclosure statement on Form 8886. The fact that a loss is reportable under these regulations does not affect the legal determination of whether the taxpayer’s treatment of the loss is proper. Shareholders are urged and advised to consult their own tax advisors to determine the applicability of these regulations in light of their individual circumstances.

Shareholders are urged and advised to consult their own tax advisor with respect to the tax consequences of an investment in a Fund including, but not limited to, the applicability of state, local, foreign and other tax laws affecting the particular shareholder and to possible effects of changes in federal or other tax laws.

Taxation Of Variable Contracts. For a discussion of the tax consequences of variable contracts, please refer to your insurance company’s Separate Account prospectus.

Variable contracts purchased through insurance company Separate Accounts provide for the accumulation of all earnings from interest, dividends and capital appreciation without current federal income tax liability to the owner. Depending on the variable contract, distributions from the contract may be subject to ordinary income tax and a 10% penalty tax on distributions before age 59½. Only the portion of a distribution attributable to income is subject to federal income tax. Investors are urged and advise to consult with their own tax advisors for a more complete discussion of possible tax consequences in a particular situation.

Section 817(h) of the Code provides that the investments of a Separate Account underlying a variable insurance contract (or the investments of a RIC, the shares of which are owned by the variable Separate Account) must be “adequately diversified” in order for the contract to be treated as an annuity or life insurance for federal income tax purposes. The U.S. Department of the Treasury has issued regulations prescribing these diversification requirements. Each Fund intends to comply with these requirements. If a Fund failed to satisfy these requirements, a variable annuity or life insurance contract supported by an insurance company

Separate Account invested in the Fund may not be treated as an annuity or life insurance for federal income tax purposes and may no longer be eligible for tax deferral.

Variable Separate Account holders are urged and advised to consult their own tax advisor with respect to the federal, state, local, foreign and other tax consequences of an investment in a variable separate account.

CONTROL PERSONS AND PRINCIPAL SECURITY HOLDERS

Persons or organizations beneficially owning more than 25% of the outstanding shares of a Fund are presumed to “control” the Fund. As a result, those persons or organizations could have the ability to influence an action taken by a Fund if such action requires a shareholder vote.

As of October 13, 2017, the name, address and percentage ownership of each entity or person that owned of record or beneficially 5% or more of the outstanding shares of a Predecessor Fund are as follows:



Fund Name and Share Class	Name & Address	Percentage of Class
SENTINEL VARIABLE PRODUCTS BALANCED FUND	SENTINEL ADVANTAGE ATTN: PENNY DOOLEY M415 1 NATIONAL LIFE DR MONTPELIER VT 05602-3377	47.07	%
	NATIONAL LIFE VARITRAK ATTN: PENNY DOOLEY M415 1 NATIONAL LIFE DR UNIT 20 MONTPELIER VT 05602-3378	26.32	%
	NATIONAL LIFE INSURANCE COMPANY SAVA5 ATTN PENNY DOOLEY M415 1 NATIONAL LIFE DR MONTPELIER VT 05604-0001	9.19	%
	PHL VARIABLE INSURANCE CO PHLVIC 15 TECH VALLEY DR E GREENBUSH NY 12061-4141	7.79	%
	PHOENIX LIFE INSURANCE COMPANY PLIC 15 TECH VALLEY DR STE 2 E GREENBUSH NY 12061-4137	6.60	%
SENTINEL VARIABLE PRODUCTS BOND FUND	PHL VARIABLE INSURANCE CO PHLVIC 15 TECH VALLEY DR E GREENBUSH NY 12061-4141	43.50	%
	SENTINEL ADVANTAGE ATTN PENNY DOOLEY M415 1 NATIONAL LIFE DR MONTPELIER VT 05602-3377	16.92	%
	GWLA ONE SOURCE GREAT-WEST LIFE & ANNUITY INS CO ATTN INVESTMENT OPERATIONS FBO SCHWAB & ANNUITIES 8515 E ORCHARD RD # 2T2 GREENWOOD VLG CO 80111-5002	11.74	%
	NATIONAL LIFE VARITRAK ATTN PENNY DOOLEY M415 1 NATIONAL LIFE DR UNIT 20 MONTPELIER VT 05602-3378	10.91	%
	PHOENIX LIFE INSURANCE COMPANY PLIC 15 TECH VALLEY DR STE 2 E GREENBUSH NY 12061-4137	5.30	%
SENTINEL VARIABLE PRODUCTS COMMON STOCK FUND	PHL VARIABLE INSURANCE CO PHLVIC 15 TECH VALLEY DR E GREENBUSH NY 12061-4141	54.03	%
	NATIONAL LIFE VARITRAK ATTN: PENNY DOOLEY M415 1 NATIONAL LIFE DR UNIT 20 MONTPELIER VT 05602-3378	18.14	%



	SENTINEL ADVANTAGE ATTN: PENNY DOOLEY M415 1 NATIONAL LIFE DR MONTPELIER VT 05602-3377	10.61	%
	PHOENIX LIFE INSURANCE COMPANY PLIC 15 TECH VALLEY DR STE 2 E GREENBUSH NY 12061-4137	7.07	%
	GWLA ONE SOURCE GREAT-WEST LIFE & ANNUITY INS CO ATTN INVESTMENT OPERATIONS FBO SCHWAB & ANNUITIES 8515 E ORCHARD RD # 2T2 GREENWOOD VLG CO 80111-5002	5.54	%
SENTINEL VARIABLE PRODUCTS SMALL COMPANY FUND	NATIONAL LIFE VARITRAK ATTN: PENNY DOOLEY M415 1 NATIONAL LIFE DR UNIT 20 MONTPELIER VT 05602-3378	33.25	%
	SENTINEL ADVANTAGE ATTN: PENNY DOOLEY M415 1 NATIONAL LIFE DR MONTPELIER VT 05602-3377	27.06	%
	PHL VARIABLE INSURANCE CO PHLVIC 15 TECH VALLEY DR E GREENBUSH NY 12061-4141	19.81	%

As of October 13, 2017, the Trustees and officers of the Trust as a group owned of record or beneficially less than 1% of the outstanding shares of the Trust and of the Predecessor Funds.

CUSTODIAN

Brown Brothers Harriman & Co. (“BBH”), 50 Post Office Square, Boston, Massachusetts 02110, is the Trust’s custodian. BBH acts as the Trust’s depository, safe keeps its portfolio securities, collects all income and other payments with respect thereto, disburses money as instructed and maintains records in connection with its duties.

LEGAL COUNSEL

Vedder Price P.C., 222 North LaSalle Street, Chicago, Illinois 60601, serves as counsel to the Trust.

INDEPENDENT REGISTERED PUBLIC ACCOUNTING FIRM

The firm of Ernst & Young LLP, 312 Walnut Street, Cincinnati, Ohio 45202, is expected to be selected as the independent registered public accounting firm for the Trust for the fiscal year ending December 31, 2017. Ernst & Young LLP will perform an annual audit of the Trust’s financial statements, and advise the Trust as to certain accounting matters.

The firm of PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP served as the independent registered public accounting firm for each Predecessor Fund and has audited each Predecessor Fund’s annual financial statements through the fiscal year ended December 31, 2016.

TRANSFER AND SUB-ADMINISTRATIVE AGENT

Transfer Agent. The Trust’s transfer agent is BNY Mellon Investment Servicing (US) Inc. (“BNY Mellon”), 4400 Computer Drive, Westborough, Massachusetts 01581. BNY Mellon maintains the records of each shareholder’s account, answers shareholders’ inquiries concerning their accounts, processes purchases and redemptions of the Funds’ shares, acts as dividend and distribution disbursing agent and performs other shareholder servicing functions. For providing transfer agent and shareholder services to the Trust, BNY Mellon receives a monthly per account fee from each Fund, plus out of-pocket expenses.

The Funds may also pay a fee to certain servicing organizations (such as broker-dealers and financial institutions) that provide sub-transfer agency services. These services include maintaining shareholder records, processing shareholder transactions and distributing communications to shareholders.

Sub-Administrative Agent. The Advisor provides administrative services to the Trust under an Administrative Agreement and has sub-contracted certain accounting and administrative services to BNY Mellon. The sub-administrative services sub-contracted

to BNY Mellon include accounting and pricing services, SEC and state security filings, providing executive and administrative services and providing reports for meetings of the Board. The Advisor pays BNY Mellon a sub-administrative fee out of its administration fee.

FINANCIAL STATEMENTS

Each Fund has adopted the financial statements of its corresponding Predecessor Fund. The Predecessor Funds' audited financial statements for the fiscal year ended December 31, 2016, including the notes thereto and the report of PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP, included in the Predecessor Funds' Annual Report are incorporated into this SAI by reference. No other parts of the Predecessor Funds' Annual Report are hereby incorporated by reference. The Annual and Semi-Annual Reports for the Predecessor Funds, as well as other information about the Predecessor Funds, is available and may be obtained from the EDGAR Database on the SEC’s website at http://www.sec.gov.

APPENDIX A

DESCRIPTION OF SECURITIES RATINGS⁽¹⁾

Moody’s Investors Service, Inc. (“Moody’s”) and Standard &Poor’s^® (“S&P”) are private services that provide ratings of the credit quality of debt obligations. A description of the ratings assigned by Moody’s and S&P are provided below. These ratings represent the opinions of these rating services as to the quality of the securities that they undertake to rate. It should be emphasized, however, that ratings are general and are not absolute standards of quality. An advisor attempts to discern variations in credit rankings of the rating services and to anticipate changes in credit ranking. However, subsequent to purchase by a fund, an issue of securities may cease to be rated or its rating may be reduced below the minimum rating required for purchase by the fund. In that event, an advisor will consider whether it is in the best interest of a fund to continue to hold the securities.

Moody’s credit ratings are current opinions of the relative future credit risk of entities, credit commitments, or debt or debt-like securities. Moody’s defines credit risk as the risk that an entity may not meet its contractual, financial obligations as they come due and any estimated financial loss in the event of default. Credit ratings do not address any other risk, including but not limited to: liquidity risk, market value risk, or price volatility. Credit ratings are not statements of current or historical fact. Credit ratings do not constitute investment or financial advice, and credit ratings are not recommendations to purchase, sell, or hold particular securities. Credit ratings do not comment on the suitability of an investment for any particular investor. Moody’s issues its credit ratings with the expectation and understanding that each investor will make its own study and evaluation of each security that is under consideration for purchase, holding, or sale.

An S&P issue credit rating is a forward-looking opinion about the creditworthiness of an obligor with respect to a specific financial obligation, a specific class of financial obligations, or a specific financial program (including ratings on medium-term note programs and commercial paper programs). It takes into consideration the creditworthiness of guarantors, insurers, or other forms of credit enhancement on the obligation and takes into account the currency in which the obligation is denominated. The opinion reflects S&P’s view of the obligor’s capacity and willingness to meet its financial commitments as they come due, and may assess terms, such as collateral security and subordination, which could affect ultimate payment in the event of default.

⁽¹⁾This Appendix A may contain information obtained from third parties, including ratings from credit ratings agencies such as S&P. Reproduction and distribution of third party content in any form is prohibited except with the prior written permission of the related third party. Third party content providers do not guarantee the accuracy, completeness, timeliness or availability of any information, including ratings, and are not responsible for any errors or omissions (negligent or otherwise), regardless of the cause, or for the results obtained from the use of such content. THIRD PARTY CONTENT PROVIDERS GIVE NO EXPRESS OR IMPLIED WARRANTIES, INCLUDING, BUT NOT LIMITED TO, ANY WARRANTIES OF MERCHANTABILITY OR FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE OR USE. THIRD PARTY CONTENT PROVIDERS SHALL NOT BE LIABLE FOR ANY DIRECT, INDIRECT, INCIDENTAL, EXEMPLARY, COMPENSATORY, PUNITIVE, SPECIAL OR CONSEQUENTIAL DAMAGES, COSTS, EXPENSES, LEGAL FEES, OR LOSSES (INCLUDING LOST INCOME OR PROFITS AND OPPORTUNITY COSTS OR LOSSES CAUSED BY NEGLIGENCE) IN CONNECTION WITH ANY USE OF THEIR CONTENT, INCLUDING RATINGS. Credit ratings are statements of opinions and are not statements of fact or recommendations to purchase, hold or sell securities. They do not address the suitability of securities or the suitability of securities for investment purposes, and should not be relied on as investment advice. they issue, as well as structured finance securities backed by receivables or other financial assets.

Short-Term Credit Ratings

Moody’s

Moody’s short-term ratings are opinions of the ability of issuers to honor short-term financial obligations. Ratings may be assigned to issuers, short-term programs or to individual short-term debt instruments. Such obligations generally have an original maturity not exceeding thirteen months, unless explicitly noted.

Moody’s employs the following designations to indicate the relative repayment ability of rated issuers:

“P-1” - Issuers (or supporting institutions) rated Prime-1 have a superior ability to repay short-term debt obligations.

“P-2” - Issuers (or supporting institutions) rated Prime-2 have a strong ability to repay short-term debt obligations.

“P-3” - Issuers (or supporting institutions) rated Prime-3 have an acceptable ability to repay short-term obligations.

“NP” - Issuers (or supporting institutions) rated Not Prime do not fall within any of the Prime rating categories.

Note: Canadian issuers rated P-1 or P-2 have their short-term ratings enhanced by the senior-most long-term rating of the issuer, its guarantor or support-provider.

S&P’s short-term ratings are generally assigned to those obligations considered short-term in the relevant market. In the U.S., for example, that means obligations with an original maturity of no more than 365 days-including commercial paper. Short-term ratings are also used to indicate the creditworthiness of an obligor with respect to put features on long-term obligations. The result is a dual rating, in which the short-term rating addresses the put feature, in addition to the usual long-term rating.

The following summarizes the rating categories used by S&P for short-term issues:

“A-1” - Obligations are rated in the highest category and indicate that the obligor’s capacity to meet its financial commitment on the obligation is strong. Within this category, certain obligations are designated with a plus sign (+). This indicates that the obligor’s capacity to meet its financial commitment on these obligations is extremely strong.

“A-2” - Obligations are somewhat more susceptible to the adverse effects of changes in circumstances and economic conditions than obligations in higher rating categories. However, the obligor’s capacity to meet its financial commitment on the obligation is satisfactory.

“A-3” - Obligations exhibit adequate protection parameters. However, adverse economic conditions or changing circumstances are more likely to lead to a weakened capacity of the obligor to meet its financial commitment on the obligation.

“B” - Obligations are regarded as having significant speculative characteristics. The obligor currently has the capacity to meet its financial commitments; however, it faces major ongoing uncertainties which could lead to the obligor’s inadequate capacity to meet its financial commitments.

“C” - Obligations are currently vulnerable to nonpayment and are dependent upon favorable business, financial and economic conditions for the obligor to meet its financial commitment on the obligation.

“D” - Obligations are in payment default. The “D” rating category is used when payments on an obligation are not made on the date due, unless S&P believes that such payments will be made within any stated grace period. However, any stated grace period longer than five business days will be treated as five business days. The “D” rating also will be used upon the filing of a bankruptcy petition or the taking of a similar action if payments on an obligation are jeopardized.

Local Currency and Foreign Currency Risks - Country risk considerations are a standard part of S&P’s analysis for credit ratings on any issuer or issue. Currency of repayment is a key factor in this analysis. An obligor’s capacity to repay foreign currency obligations may be lower than its capacity to repay obligations in its local currency due to the sovereign government’s own relatively lower capacity to repay external versus domestic debt. These sovereign risk considerations are incorporated in the debt ratings assigned to specific issues. Foreign currency issuer ratings are also distinguished from local currency issuer ratings to identify those instances where sovereign risks make them different for the same issuer.

Long-Term Credit Ratings

Moody’s

Moody’s long-term ratings are opinions of the relative credit risk of financial obligations with an original maturity of one year or more. They address the possibility that a financial obligation will not be honored as promised. Such ratings use Moody’s Global Scale and reflect both the likelihood of default and any financial loss suffered in the event of default.

The following summarizes the ratings used by Moody’s for long-term debt:

“Aaa” - Obligations rated “Aaa” are judged to be of the highest quality, subject to the lowest level of credit risk.

“Aa” - Obligations rated “Aa” are judged to be of high quality and are subject to very low credit risk.

“A” - Obligations rated “A” are judged to be upper-medium grade and are subject to low credit risk.

“Baa” - Obligations rated “Baa” are judged to be medium-grade and subject to moderate credit risk and as such may possess certain speculative characteristics.

“Ba” - Obligations rated “Ba” are judged to be speculative and are subject to substantial credit risk.

“B” - Obligations rated “B” are considered speculative and are subject to high credit risk.

“Caa” - Obligations rated “Caa” are judged to be of poor standing and are subject to very high credit risk.

“Ca” - Obligations rated “Ca” are highly speculative and are likely in, or very near, default, with some prospect of recovery of principal and interest.

“C” - Obligations rated “C” are the lowest rated and are typically in default, with little prospect for recovery of principal or interest.

Note: Moody’s appends numerical modifiers 1, 2, and 3 to each generic rating classification from “Aa” through “Caa.” The modifier 1 indicates that the obligation ranks in the higher end of its generic rating category; the modifier 2 indicates a mid-range ranking; and the modifier 3 indicates a ranking in the lower end of that generic rating category.

S&P

Issue credit ratings are based, in varying degrees, on S&P’s analysis of the following considerations:


•	Likelihood of payment — capacity and willingness of the obligor to meet its financial commitment on an obligation in accordance with the terms of the obligation;


•	Nature of and provisions of the obligation;


•	Protection afforded by, and relative position of, the obligation in the event of bankruptcy, reorganization, or other arrangement under the laws of bankruptcy and other laws affecting creditors’ rights.

Issue ratings are an assessment of default risk, but may incorporate an assessment of relative seniority or ultimate recovery in the event of default. Junior obligations are typically rated lower than senior obligations, to reflect the lower priority in bankruptcy, as noted above. (Such differentiation may apply when an entity has both senior and subordinated obligations, secured and unsecured obligations, or operating company and holding company obligations.)

The following summarizes the ratings used by S&P for long-term issues:

“AAA” - An obligation rated “AAA” has the highest rating assigned by S&P. The obligor’s capacity to meet its financial commitment on the obligation is extremely strong.

“AA” - An obligation rated “AA” differs from the highest-rated obligations only to a small degree. The obligor’s capacity to meet its financial commitment on the obligation is very strong.

“A” - An obligation rated “A” is somewhat more susceptible to the adverse effects of changes in circumstances and economic conditions than obligations in higher-rated categories. However, the obligor’s capacity to meet its financial commitment on the obligation is still strong.

“BBB” - An obligation rated “BBB” exhibits adequate protection parameters. However, adverse economic conditions or changing circumstances are more likely to lead to a weakened capacity of the obligor to meet its financial commitment on the obligation.

Obligations rated “BB,” “B,” “CCC,” “CC,” and “C” are regarded as having significant speculative characteristics. “BB” indicates the least degree of speculation and “C” the highest. While such obligations will likely have some quality and protective characteristics, these may be outweighed by large uncertainties or major exposures to adverse conditions.

“BB” - An obligation rated “BB” is less vulnerable to nonpayment than other speculative issues. However, it faces major ongoing uncertainties or exposure to adverse business, financial or economic conditions which could lead to the obligor’s inadequate capacity to meet its financial commitment on the obligation.

“B” - An obligation rated “B” is more vulnerable to nonpayment than obligations rated “BB,” but the obligor currently has the capacity to meet its financial commitment on the obligation. Adverse business, financial or economic conditions will likely impair the obligor’s capacity or willingness to meet its financial commitment on the obligation.

“CCC” - An obligation rated “CCC” is currently vulnerable to nonpayment, and is dependent upon favorable business, financial and economic conditions for the obligor to meet its financial commitment on the obligation. In the event of adverse business, financial, or economic conditions, the obligor is not likely to have the capacity to meet its financial commitment on the obligation.

“CC” - An obligation rated “CC” is currently highly vulnerable to nonpayment.

“C” - A “C” rating is assigned to obligations that are currently highly vulnerable to nonpayment, obligations that have payment arrearages allowed by the terms of the documents, or obligations of an issuer that is the subject of a bankruptcy petition or similar action which have not experienced a payment default. Among others, the “C” rating may be assigned to subordinated debt, preferred stock or other obligations on which cash payments have been suspended in accordance with the instrument’s terms or when preferred stock is the subject of a distressed exchange offer, whereby some or all of the issue is either repurchased for an amount of cash or replaced by other instruments having a total value that is less than par.

“D” - An obligation rated “D” is in payment default. The “D” rating category is used when payments on an obligation are not made on the date due, unless S&P believes that such payments will be made within five business days, irrespective of any grace period. The “D” rating also will be used upon the filing of a bankruptcy petition or the taking of a similar action if payments on an obligation are jeopardized. An obligation’s rating is lowered to “D” upon completion of a distressed exchange offer, whereby some or all of the issue is either repurchased for an amount of cash or replaced by other instruments having a total value that is less than par.

Plus (+) or minus (-) - The ratings from “AA” to “CCC” may be modified by the addition of a plus (+) or minus (-) sign to show relative standing within the major rating categories.

“NR” - This indicates that no rating has been requested, that there is insufficient information on which to base a rating, or that S&P does not rate a particular obligation as a matter of policy.

Municipal Note Ratings

Moody’s

Moody’s uses three rating categories for short-term municipal obligations that are considered investment grade. These ratings are designated as Municipal Investment Grade (“MIG”) and are divided into three levels - “MIG 1” through “MIG 3”. In addition, those short-term obligations that are of speculative quality are designated “SG”, or speculative grade. MIG ratings expire at the maturity of the obligation.

The following summarizes the ratings used by Moody’s for these short-term obligations:

“MIG 1” - This designation denotes superior credit quality. Excellent protection is afforded by established cash flows, highly reliable liquidity support, or demonstrated broad-based access to the market for refinancing.

“MIG 2” - This designation denotes strong credit quality. Margins of protection are ample, although not as large as in the preceding group.

“MIG 3” - This designation denotes acceptable credit quality. Liquidity and cash-flow protection may be narrow, and market access for refinancing is likely to be less well-established.

“SG” - This designation denotes speculative-grade credit quality. Debt instruments in this category may lack sufficient margins of protection.

In the case of variable rate demand obligations (“VRDOs”), a two-component rating is assigned; a long- or short-term debt rating and a demand obligation rating. The first element represents Moody’s evaluation of risk associated with scheduled principal and interest payments. The second element represents Moody’s evaluation of risk associated with the ability to receive purchase price upon demand (“demand feature”). The second element uses a rating from a variation of the MIG scale called the Variable Municipal Investment Grade or “VMIG” rating scale.

When either the long- or short-term aspect of a VRDO is not rated, that piece is designated “NR”, e.g., “Aaa/NR” or “NR/VMIG 1”.

VMIG rating expirations are a function of each issue’s specific structural or credit features.

“VMIG 1” - This designation denotes superior credit quality. Excellent protection is afforded by the superior short-term credit strength of the liquidity provider and structural and legal protections that ensure the timely payment of purchase price upon demand.

“VMIG 2” - This designation denotes strong credit quality. Good protection is afforded by the strong short-term credit strength of the liquidity provider and structural and legal protections that ensure the timely payment of purchase price upon demand.

“VMIG 3” - This designation denotes acceptable credit quality. Adequate protection is afforded by the satisfactory short-term credit strength of the liquidity provider and structural and legal protections that ensure the timely payment of purchase price upon demand.

“SG” - This designation denotes speculative-grade credit quality. Demand features rated in this category may be supported by a liquidity provider that does not have an investment grade short-term rating or may lack the structural and/or legal protections necessary to ensure the timely payment of purchase price upon demand.

S&P

An S&P U.S. municipal note rating reflects S&P’s opinion about the liquidity factors and market access risks unique to

notes. Notes due in three years or less will likely receive a note rating. Notes with an original maturity of more than three years will most likely receive a long-term debt rating. In determining which type of rating, if any, to assign, S&P’s analysis will review the following considerations:


•	Amortization schedule-the larger the final maturity relative to other maturities, the more likely it will be treated as a note; and


•	Source of payment-the more dependent the issue is on the market for its refinancing, the more likely it will be treated as a note.

Note rating symbols are as follows:

“SP-1” - The issuers of these municipal notes exhibit a strong capacity to pay principal and interest. Those issues determined to possess a very strong capacity to pay debt service are given a plus (+) designation.

“SP-2” - The issuers of these municipal notes exhibit a satisfactory capacity to pay principal and interest, with some vulnerability to adverse financial and economic changes over the term of the notes.

“SP-3” - The issuers of these municipal notes exhibit speculative capacity to pay principal and interest.

APPENDIX B

Fort Washington Investment Advisors, Inc.

Proxy Voting Policies

FORT WASHINGTON INVESTMENT ADVISORS, INC. Fort Washington’s policy is to vote proxies in the best interests of the Fund at all times. Fort Washington has adopted procedures that it believes are reasonably designed to ensure that proxies are voted in the best interests of the Fund in accordance with its fiduciary duties and SEC rules governing investment advisors. Reflecting a basic investment philosophy that good management is shareholder focused, proxy votes will generally be cast in support of management on routine corporate matters and in support of any management proposal that is plainly in the interest of all shareholders. Specifically, proxy votes generally will be cast in favor of proposals that:


•	maintain or strengthen the shared interests of stockholders and management;


•	increase shareholder value; and


•	maintain or increase shareholder rights generally.

Proxy votes will generally be cast against proposals having the opposite effect of the above. Where Fort Washington perceives that a management proposal, if approved, would tend to limit or reduce the market value of the company’s securities, it will generally vote against it. Fort Washington generally supports shareholder rights and recapitalization measures undertaken unilaterally by boards of directors properly exercising their responsibilities and authority, unless we believe such measures could have the effect of reducing shareholder rights or potential shareholder value. In cases where shareholder proposals challenge such actions, Fort Washington’s voting position will generally favor not interfering with the directors’ proper function in the interest of all shareholders.

Fort Washington may delegate its responsibilities under its proxy voting procedures to a third party, provided that Fort Washington retains final authority and fiduciary responsibility for proxy voting. Fort Washington has retained Risk Metrics to assist it in the proxy voting process and will use Risk Metrics’ proxy voting guidelines as a resource in its proxy voting.

Fort Washington will review proxies to assess the extent, if any, to which there may be a material conflict between it and the interests of the Fund. If Fort Washington determines that a potential conflict may exist, it will be reported to the Proxy Voting Committee. The Proxy Voting Committee is authorized to resolve any conflict in a manner that is in the collective best interests of the Fund (excluding a potential conflict). The Proxy Voting Committee may resolve a potential conflict in any of the following manners:


•	If the proposal is specifically addressed in the proxy voting procedures, Fort Washington may vote the proxy in accordance with these policies, provided that such pre-determined policy involves little discretion on Fort Washington’s part;


•	Fort Washington may engage an independent third party to determine how the proxy should be voted;


•	Fort Washington may establish an ethical wall or other informational barriers between the person involved in the potential conflict and the persons making the voting decision in order to insulate the potential conflict from the decision maker.

TSF-1006-TVST-SAI-SENT-1710

PART C. OTHER INFORMATION

ITEM 28. EXHIBITS:



(a)(1)	Amended and Restated Declaration of Trust is herein incorporated by reference to Exhibit (a)(1) of Post-Effective Amendment No. 28 to Registrant’s Registration Statement on Form N-1A (File No. 033-76566), filed with the SEC on April 30, 2009.

(a)(2)	Amendment to the Declaration of Trust dated April 18, 2005 is herein incorporated by reference to Exhibit (a)(2) of Post-Effective Amendment No. 22 to Registrant’s Registration Statement on Form N-1A (File No. 033-76566), filed with the SEC on May 2, 2005.

(a)(3)	Amendment to the Declaration of Trust dated November 28, 2005 is herein incorporated by reference to Exhibit (a)(3) of Post-Effective Amendment No. 23 to Registrant’s Registration Statement on Form N-1A (File No. 033-76566), filed with the SEC on May 1, 2006.

(a)(4)	Amendment to the Declaration of Trust dated April 19, 2006 is herein incorporated by reference to Exhibit (a)(4) of Post-Effective Amendment No. 28 to Registrant’s Registration Statement on Form N-1A (File No. 033-76566), filed with the SEC on April 30, 2009.

(a)(5)	Amendment to the Declaration of Trust dated August 15, 2006 is herein incorporated by reference to Exhibit (a)(5) of Post-Effective Amendment No. 28 to Registrant’s Registration Statement on Form N-1A (File No. 033-76566), filed with the SEC on April 30, 2009.

(a)(6)	Amendment to the Declaration of Trust dated September 17, 2007 is herein incorporated by reference to Exhibit (a)(6) of Post-Effective Amendment No. 28 to Registrant’s Registration Statement on Form N-1A (File No. 033-76566), filed with the SEC on April 30, 2009.

(a)(7)	Amendment to the Declaration of Trust dated May 1, 2008 is herein incorporated by reference to Exhibit (a)(7) of Post-Effective Amendment No. 28 to Registrant’s Registration Statement on Form N-1A (File No. 033-76566), filed with the SEC on April 30, 2009.

(a)(8)	Amendment to Declaration of Trust dated May 9, 2017 is herein incorporated by reference to Exhibit (a)(8) of Post-Effective Amendment No. 46 to Registrant’s Registration Statement on Form N-1A (File No. 033-76566), filed with the SEC on July 12, 2017.

(a)(9)	Amendment to Declaration of Trust dated June 1, 2017 is herein incorporated by reference to Exhibit (a)(9) of Post-Effective Amendment No. 46 to Registrant’s Registration Statement on Form N-1A (File No. 033-76566), filed with the SEC on July 12, 2017.

(b)	Amended and Restated By-Laws of the Trust dated November 19, 2015 are herein incorporated by reference to Exhibit (b) to Post-Effective Amendment No. 42 to Registrant's Registration Statement on Form N-1A (File 033-76566), filed with the SEC on April 21, 2016.

(c)	Not applicable.

(d)(1)(i)	Amended and Restated Investment Advisory Agreement between Touchstone Variable Series Trust (the “Trust”) and Touchstone Advisors, Inc. (the “Advisor”) dated January 1, 1999 is herein incorporated by reference to Exhibit (d)(1) of Post-Effective Amendment No. 10 to Registrant’s Registration Statement on Form N-1A (File No. 033-76566), filed with the SEC on February 12, 1999.



(d)(1)(ii)	Amended Schedule 1 dated March 1, 2015 of the Investment Advisory Agreement between the Trust and Touchstone Advisors, Inc. is herein incorporated by reference to Exhibit (d)(1)(ii) of Post-Effective Amendment No. 40 to Registrant’s Registration Statement on Form N-1A (File No. 033-76566), filed with the SEC on April 21, 2015.

(d)(2)	Sub-Advisory Agreement dated January 1, 1999, as amended December 31, 2002, between the Advisor and Fort Washington Investment Advisors, Inc. with respect to the Touchstone Active Bond Fund (f/k/a the Touchstone Core Bond Fund), is herein incorporated by reference to Exhibit (d)(2) of Post-Effective Amendment No. 35 to Registrant’s Registration Statement on Form N-1A (File No. 033-76566), filed with the SEC on April 22, 2013.

(d)(3)	Amendment dated March 1, 2015 to Sub-Advisory Agreement dated January 1, 1999 between the Advisor and Fort Washington Investment Advisors, Inc. with respect to the Touchstone Active Bond Fund, is herein incorporated by reference to Exhibit (d)(3) of Post-Effective Amendment No. 40 to Registrant’s Registration Statement on Form N-1A (File No. 033-76566), filed with the SEC on April 21, 2015.

(d)(4)	Sub-Advisory Agreement dated August 31, 2015, between the Advisor and Fort Washington Investment Advisors, Inc. with respect to the Touchstone Focused Fund is herein incorporated by reference to Exhibit (d)(4) to Post-Effective Amendment No. 42 to Registrant's Registration Statement on Form N-1A (File 033-76566), filed with the SEC on April 21, 2016.

(d)(5)	Sub-Advisory Agreement dated December 1, 2015 between Touchstone Advisors, Inc. and London Company of Virginia d/b/a The London Company with respect to the Touchstone Large Cap Core Equity Fund is herein incorporated by reference to Exhibit (d)(5) to Post-Effective Amendment No. 42 to Registrant's Registration Statement on Form N-1A (File 033-76566), filed with the SEC on April 21, 2016.

(d)(6)	Sub-Advisory Agreement dated April 29, 2016 between Touchstone Advisors, Inc. and Wilshire Associates Incorporated with respect to the Touchstone Conservative ETF Fund, Touchstone Moderate ETF Fund, and Touchstone Aggressive ETF Fund is herein incorporated by reference to Exhibit (d)(6) to Post-Effective Amendment No. 42 to Registrant's Registration Statement on Form N-1A (File 033-76566), filed with the SEC on April 21, 2016.

(d)(7)	Amendment to the Advisory Agreement between the Advisor and the Trust dated December 31, 2002, is herein incorporated by reference to Exhibit (d)(26) of Post-Effective Amendment No. 17 to Registrant’s Registration Statement on Form N-1A (File No. 033-76566), filed with the SEC on January 31, 2003.

(d)(8)	Amendment to the Advisory Agreement between the Advisor and the Trust dated July 19, 2004 with respect to the Touchstone Conservative ETF Fund, Touchstone Moderate ETF Fund, and Touchstone Aggressive ETF Fund is herein incorporated by reference to Exhibit (d)(16) of Post-Effective Amendment No. 21 to Registrant’s Registration Statement on Form N-1A (File No. 033-76566), filed with the SEC on March 2, 2005.

(d)(9)	Amendment to the Advisory Agreement between the Advisor and the Trust dated April 25, 2008 is herein incorporated by reference to Exhibit (d)(20) of Post-Effective Amendment No. 28 to Registrant’s Registration Statement on Form N-1A (File No. 033-76566), filed with the SEC on April 30, 2009.

(d)(10)	Amendment to the Investment Advisory Agreement between the Advisor and the Trust dated March 1, 2011 is herein incorporated by reference to Exhibit (d)(18) of Post-Effective Amendment No. 31 to Registrant’s Registration Statement on Form N-1A (File No. 033-76566), filed with the SEC on April 29, 2011.

(d)(11)	Form-of Sub-Advisory Agreement between Touchstone Advisors, Inc. and Fort Washington Investment Advisors, Inc. with respect to the Touchstone Balanced Fund, Touchstone Bond Fund, Touchstone Common Stock Fund, and Touchstone Small Company Fund is filed herewith.

(e)	Distribution Agreement between the Trust and Touchstone Securities, Inc. (the “Distributor”) is herein incorporated by reference to Exhibit (e) of Post-Effective Amendment No. 28 to Registrant’s Registration Statement on Form N-1A (File No. 033-76566), filed with the SEC on April 30, 2009.



(f)	Trustee Deferred Compensation Plan is herein incorporated by reference to Exhibit (f) of Post-Effective Amendment No. 30 to Registrant’s Registration Statement on Form N-1A (File No. 033-76566), filed with the SEC on April 30, 2010.

(g)(1)	Custodian Agreement between Brown Brothers Harriman & Co. (“BBH”) and the Trust dated February 25, 2008 is herein incorporated by reference to Exhibit (g)(1) of Post-Effective Amendment No. 27 to Registrant’s Registration Statement on Form N-1A (File No. 033-76566), filed with the SEC on May 1, 2008.

(h)(1)	Allocation Agreement for allocation of Fidelity Bond coverage dated April 1, 2011 is herein incorporated by reference to Exhibit (h)(2) of Post-Effective Amendment No. 31 to Registrant’s Registration Statement on Form N-1A (File No. 033-76566), filed with the SEC on April 29, 2011.

(h)(2)(i)	Amended and Restated Sub-Administration and Accounting Services Agreement between Touchstone Advisors, Inc. and BNY Mellon Investment Servicing (US) Inc. dated January 1, 2015 is herein incorporated by reference to Exhibit (h)(2)(i) of Post-Effective Amendment No. 40 to Registrant’s Registration Statement on Form N-1A (File No. 033-76566), filed with the SEC on April 21, 2015.

(h)(3)(i)	Amended and Restated Transfer Agency and Shareholder Services Agreement between the Registrant and BNY Mellon Investment Servicing (US) Inc. dated January 1, 2015 is herein incorporated by reference to Exhibit (h)(4)(i) of Post-Effective Amendment No. 40 to Registrant’s Registration Statement on Form N-1A (File No. 033-76566), filed with the SEC on April 21, 2015.

(h)(4)(i)	State Filing Services Agreement between the Registrant and BNY Mellon Investment Servicing (US) Inc., dated December 5, 2011 is herein incorporated by reference to Exhibit (h)(6) of Post-Effective Amendment No. 33 to Registrant’s Registration Statement on Form N-1A (File Nos. 033-76566 and 811-8416), filed with the SEC on April 27, 2012.

(h)(4)(ii)	Amendment to the State Filing Services Agreement between the Registrant and BNY Mellon Investment Servicing (US) Inc., dated April 16, 2012 is herein incorporated by reference to Exhibit (h)(7) of Post-Effective Amendment No. 33 to Registrant’s Registration Statement on Form N-1A (File Nos. 033-76566 and 811-8416), filed with the SEC on April 27, 2012.

(h)(4)(iii)	Amendment to Schedule A to the State Filing Services Agreement between Registrant and BNY Mellon, dated September 6, 2012, is herein incorporated by reference to Exhibit (h)(7) of Post-Effective Amendment No. 35 to Registrant’s Registration Statement on Form N-1A (File No. 033-76566), filed with the SEC on April 22, 2013.

(h)(5)	Administration Agreement dated January 1, 2007 is herein incorporated by reference to Exhibit (h)(7) of Post-Effective Amendment No. 26 to Registrant’s Registration Statement on Form N-1A (File No. 033-76566), filed with the SEC on May 1, 2007.

(h)(6)	Amended Schedule, dated January 1, 2015, to the Administration Agreement with Touchstone Advisors, Inc., dated February 17, 2006, as amended January 1, 2007, is herein incorporated by reference to Exhibit (h)(7) of Post-Effective Amendment No. 40 to Registrant’s Registration Statement on Form N-1A (File No. 033-76566), filed with the SEC on April 21, 2015.

(h)(7)(i)	Form of Expense Limitation Agreement dated April 29, 2012 is herein incorporated by reference to Exhibit (h)(9) of Post-Effective Amendment No. 33 to Registrant’s Registration Statement on Form N-1A (File No. 033-76566), filed with the SEC on April 27, 2012.

(h)(7)(ii)	Amendment to the Expense Limitation Agreement dated August 31, 2015 is herein incorporated by reference to Exhibit (h)(7)(ii) to Post-Effective Amendment No. 42 to Registrant's Registration Statement on Form N-1A (File 033-76566), filed with the SEC on April 21, 2016.



(h)(7)(iii)	Schedule A, dated April 30, 2017, to the Expense Limitation Agreement dated April 29, 2012, is Power of Attorney is herein incorporated by reference to Exhibit (h)(7)(iii) to Post-Effective Amendment No. 44 to Registrant's Registration Statement on Form N-1A (File 033-76566), filed with the SEC on April 20, 2017.

(h)(8)	Shareholder Services Plan with respect to the Initial Class shares is herein incorporated by reference to Exhibit (13)(l) of Post-Effective Amendment No. 1 to Registrant’s Registration Statement on Form N-14 (File No. 033-149479), filed with the SEC on February 29, 2008.

(i)	Opinion of counsel is filed herewith.

(j)	Consent of Independent Registered Public Accounting Firm is filed herewith.

(k)	Not applicable.

(l)	Investment Letter of Initial Shareholders dated November 10, 1994 is herein incorporated by reference to Exhibit (13) of Post-Effective Amendment No. 7 to Registrant’s Registration Statement on Form N-1A (File No. 033-76566), filed with the SEC on July 30, 1998.

(m)	Not applicable.

(n)	Not applicable.

(o)	Reserved.

(p)(1)	Code of Ethics for Touchstone Advisors, Inc., Touchstone Variable Series Trust and Touchstone Securities, Inc. is herein incorporated by reference to Exhibit (p)(1) of Post-Effective Amendment No. 40 to Registrant’s Registration Statement on Form N-1A (File No. 033-76566), filed with the SEC on April 21, 2015.

(p)(2)	Code of Ethics for Fort Washington Investment Advisors, Inc. dated April 1, 2009 is herein incorporated by reference to Exhibit (p)(4) of Post-Effective Amendment No. 30 to Registrant’s Registration Statement on Form N-1A (File No. 033-76566), filed with the SEC on April 30, 2010.

(p)(3)	Code of Ethics for London Company of Virginia d/b/a The London Company is herein incorporated by reference to Exhibit (p)(3) to Post-Effective Amendment No. 42 to Registrant's Registration Statement on Form N-1A (File 033-76566), filed with the SEC on April 21, 2016.

(p)(4)	Code of Ethics for Wilshire Associates Incorporated is herein incorporated by reference to Exhibit (p)(4) to Post-Effective Amendment No. 42 to Registrant's Registration Statement on Form N-1A (File 033-76566), filed with the SEC on April 21, 2016.

(q)	Power of Attorney is herein incorporated by reference to Exhibit (q) to Post-Effective Amendment No. 44 to Registrant's Registration Statement on Form N-1A (File 033-76566), filed with the SEC on April 20, 2017.

Item 29. Persons Controlled by or Under Common Control with the Registrant

None.

Item 30. Indemnification

(a) Article VI of the Registrant’s Restated Agreement and Declaration of Trust provides for indemnification of officers and Trustees as follows:

Section 6.4 Indemnification of Trustees, Officers, etc.

The Trust shall indemnify each of its Trustees and officers, including persons who serve at the Trust’s request as directors, officers or trustees of another organization in which the Trust has any interest as a shareholder, creditor or otherwise (hereinafter referred to as a “Covered Person”) against all liabilities, including but not limited to amounts paid in satisfaction of judgments, in compromise or as fines and penalties, and expenses, including reasonable accountants’ and counsel fees, incurred by any Covered Person in connection with the defense or disposition of any action, suit or other proceeding, whether civil or criminal, before any court or administrative or legislative body, in which such Covered Person may be or may have been involved as a party or otherwise or with which such person may be or may have been threatened, while in office or thereafter, by reason of being or having been such a Trustee or officer, director or trustee, and except that no Covered Person shall be indemnified against any liability to the Trust or its Shareholders to which such Covered Person would otherwise be subject by reason of willful misfeasance, bad faith, gross negligence or reckless disregard of the duties involved in the conduct of such Covered Person’s office (“disabling conduct”). Anything herein contained to the contrary notwithstanding, no Covered Person shall be indemnified for any liability to the Trust or its Shareholders to which such Covered Person would otherwise be subject unless (1) a final decision on the merits is made by a court or other body before whom the proceeding was brought that the Covered Person to be indemnified was not liable by reason of disabling conduct or, (2) in the absence of such a decision, a reasonable determination is made, based upon a review of the facts, that the Covered Person was not liable by reason of disabling conduct, by (a) the vote of a majority of a quorum of Trustees who are neither “interested persons” of the Company as defined in the Investment Company Act of 1940, as amended nor parties to the proceeding “disinterested, non-party Trustees”), or (b) an independent legal counsel in a written opinion.

Section 6.5 Advances of Expenses.

The Trust shall advance attorneys’ fees or other expenses incurred by a Covered Person in defending a proceeding, upon the undertaking by or on behalf of the Covered Person to repay the advance unless it is ultimately determined that such Covered Person is entitled to indemnification, so long as one of the following conditions is met: (i) the Covered Person shall provide security for his undertaking, (ii) the Trust shall be insured against losses arising by reason of any lawful advances, or (iii) a majority of a quorum of the disinterested non-party Trustees of the Trust, or an independent legal counsel in a written opinion, shall determine, based on a review of readily available facts (as opposed to a full trial-type inquiry), that there is reason to believe that the Covered Person ultimately will be found entitled to indemnification.

Section 6.6 Indemnification Not Exclusive, etc.

The right of indemnification provided by this Article VI shall not be exclusive of or affect any other rights to which any such Covered Person may be entitled. As used in this Article VI, “Covered Person” shall include such person’s heirs, executors and administrators, an “interested Covered Person” is one against whom the action, suit or other proceeding in question or another action, suit or other proceeding on the same or similar grounds is then or has been pending or threatened, and a “disinterested” person is a person against whom none of such actions, suits or other proceedings or another action, suit or other proceeding on the same or similar grounds is then or has been pending or threatened. Nothing contained in this article shall affect any rights to indemnification to which personnel of the Trust, other than Trustees and officers, and other persons may be entitled by contract or otherwise under law, nor the power of the Trust to purchase and maintain liability insurance on behalf of any such person.

(b) The Registrant maintains a mutual fund and investment advisory professional and directors and officer’s liability policy. The policy provides coverage to the Registrant, its trustees and officers and includes losses by reason of any act, error, omission, misstatement, misleading statement, neglect or breach of duty. The Registrant may not pay for insurance that protects the Trustees and officers against liabilities arising from action involving willful misfeasance, bad faith, gross negligence or reckless disregard of the duties involved in the conduct of their offices.

The advisory agreements and the sub-advisory agreements provide that Touchstone Advisors, Inc. (or a sub-advisor) shall not be liable for any act or omission in the course of rendering services, absent willful misfeasance, bad faith or gross negligence or reckless disregard by Touchstone (or a sub-advisor) of its obligations under the agreement.

Item 31. BUSINESS AND OTHER CONNECTIONS OF THE INVESTMENT ADVISORS

A. Touchstone Advisors, Inc. (the “Advisor”) is a registered investment advisor that provides investment advisory services to the Touchstone Fund Complex. The following list sets forth the business and other connections of the directors and executive officers of the Advisor. Unless otherwise noted, the address of the corporations listed below is 303 Broadway, Cincinnati, OH 45202.

*The address is 400 Broadway, Cincinnati, OH 45202.


(1)	Jill T. McGruder — CEO and Director Touchstone Advisors, Inc.


(a)	President and Chief Executive Officer — IFS Financial Services, Inc.


(b)	President and Chief Executive Officer — Integrity Life Insurance Company


(c)	President and Chief Executive Officer — National Integrity Life Insurance Company


(d)	Director, President and Chief Executive Officer — Cincinnati Analysts, Inc.


(e)	President — Touchstone Fund Complex


(f)	Senior Vice President — Western & Southern Financial Group, Inc.*


(g)	Senior Vice President — W&S Brokerage Services, Inc.*


(h)	Director — Western & Southern Financial Group, Cincinnati Analysts, Inc., IFS Financial Services, Inc., Integrity Life Insurance Company, National Integrity Life Insurance Company, Touchstone Securities, Inc., W&S Financial Group Distributors, Inc., W&S Brokerage Services, Inc.*, LaRosa’s, Inc. (2334 Boudinot Avenue Cincinnati, OH 45238)


(2)	Donald J. Wuebbling — Director — Touchstone Advisors, Inc.


(a)	Director — Touchstone Securities, Inc., W&S Financial Group Distributors, Inc., Eagle Realty Investments, Inc., Cincinnati Analysts, Inc., Integrity Life Insurance Company,* National Integrity Life Insurance Company,* Eagle Realty Group, LLC, IFS Financial Services, Inc., Fort Washington Investment Advisors, Inc., W&S Brokerage Services, Inc., Columbus Life Insurance Company


(3)	James J. Vance — Vice President and Treasurer — Touchstone Advisors, Inc.

(a)

Vice President and Treasurer — The Western and Southern Life Insurance Company*, Fort Washington Investment Advisors, Inc., IFS Financial Services, Inc., W&S Financial Group Distributors, Inc.*, Touchstone Securities, Inc., Columbus Life Insurance Company*, Eagle Realty Group, LLC*, Eagle Realty Investments, Inc.*, Integrity Life Insurance Company, National Integrity Life Insurance Company, The Lafayette Life Insurance Company


(b)	Treasurer — Cincinnati Analysts, Inc., W&S Brokerage Services, Inc., Fort Washington Capital Partners, LLC, Insurance Profillment Solutions, Tristate Ventures, LLC*


(4)	Terrie A. Wiedenheft — Chief Financial Officer and Chief Operations Officer — Touchstone Advisors, Inc.


(a)	Senior Vice President, Chief Financial Officer and Chief Operations Officer — IFS Financial Services, Inc.


(b)	Senior Vice President and Chief Financial Officer — W&S Brokerage Services, Inc.* and Touchstone Securities, Inc.


(c)	Chief Financial Officer — Cincinnati Analysts, Inc.


(d)	Senior Vice President — Fort Washington Investment Advisors, Inc.


(e)	Vice President, Commission Accounting and Finance — Integrity Life Insurance Company, National Integrity Life Insurance Company.


(f)	Treasurer and Controller — Touchstone Fund Complex


(5)	James N. Clark — Director — Touchstone Advisors, Inc.


(a)	Vice President, Director and Secretary — Western & Southern Mutual Holding Company, Western & Southern Financial Group, Inc., Western & Southern Life Assurance Company*


(b)	Director — Columbus Life Insurance Company, Eagle Realty Group, LLC, Eagle Realty Investments, Inc., Touchstone Securities, Inc., W&S Financial Group Distributors, Inc., Cincinnati Analysts, Inc., IFS Financial Services, The Lafayette Life Insurance Company*


(6)	Rhonda S. Malone — Secretary — Touchstone Advisors, Inc.


(a)	Secretary


(b)	Senior Counsel — Securities — Western & Southern Financial Group, Inc.*


(7)	Steven M. Graziano — President — Touchstone Advisors, Inc.


(a)	Vice President — Touchstone Fund Complex


(b)	President — Touchstone Securities, Inc.


(8)	Timothy S. Stearns — Chief Compliance Officer — Touchstone Advisors, Inc., Touchstone Fund Complex


(9)	Timothy D. Paulin — Senior Vice President, Investment Research and Product Management — Touchstone Advisors, Inc.


(a)	Vice President — Touchstone Fund Complex

B. Fort Washington Investment Advisors, Inc. (“Fort Washington”) is a registered investment advisor that provides sub-advisory services to the Touchstone Focused Fund. Fort Washington serves as the sub-advisor to the Touchstone Investment Trust, Touchstone Tax-Free Trust, Touchstone Funds Group Trust and certain series of the Touchstone Variable Series Trust. Fort Washington also provides investment advice to institutional and individual clients. The address of Fort Washington is 303 Broadway, Cincinnati OH 45202. *The address is 400 Broadway, Cincinnati, OH 45202.

The following list sets forth the business and other connections of the directors and executive officers of Fort Washington.

(1) Maribeth S. Rahe, President & Chief Executive Officer and Director

(a) Board Member, Executive/Foundation Committee of Cincinnati USA Regional Chamber; Leadership Development, Cincinnati USA Regional Chamber of Commerce; Life Trustee, New York Landmarks Conservancy; Life Trustee, Rush-Presbyterian-St. Luke’s Medical Center; Board Member, Consolidated Communications Illinois Holdings Inc.; Chair, Audit Committee, Consolidated Communications Illinois Holdings, Inc.; Member, Nominating/Governance and Compensation Committees, Consolidated Communications Illinois Holdings, Inc.; Vice Chairman, Executive/Finance Committee, Cincinnati Arts Association; Advisory Board, Sisters of Notre Dame de Namur; Advisory Board, Williams College of Business, Xavier University; Advisory Board, CincyTech USA; Member, Partner-In-Action; Investment Committee, United Way of Cincinnati; Board Member, First Financial Bank; Member, Audit/Trust/M&A Committees, First Financial Bank; Executive Committee, Commonwealth Club

(b) President & CEO of Tristate Ventures, LLC*

(d) Director, Eagle Realty Group, Eagle Realty Investments

(e) President, W&S Investment Holdings, LLC

(f) Manager, President & CEO, Peppertree Partners, LLC

(g) Director, Chairman of the Board - Cincinnati Analysts, Inc.

(h) President & CEO of Fort Washington Capital Partners, LLC

(2) Nicholas P. Sargen, Director, Senior Investment Advisor, Chief Economist & Senior Investment Advisor

(a) Senior Vice President, Chief Economist & Senior Investment Advisor, Western and Southern Life Insurance Company, Western-Southern Life Assurance Company, Columbus Life Insurance Company, Western & Southern Financial Group, Inc., Western & Southern Mutual Holding Company, The Lafayette Life Insurance Company

(b) Board of Trustees & Treasurer, Good Samaritan Hospital Foundation

(3) John F. Barrett, Chairman and Director

(a) Chairman of Board & CEO, The Western and Southern Life Insurance Company, Western-Southern Life Assurance Company, Western & Southern Financial Group, Inc., Western & Southern Mutual Holding Company

(b) Director & Chairman, Columbus Life Insurance Company, Integrity Life Insurance Company, National Integrity Life Insurance Company, The Lafayette Life Insurance Company

(d) President & Trustee, Western & Southern Financial Fund

(e) Board Member, Convergys Corp, Cintas Corporation

(f) Director, American Council of Life Insurers; Director, Financial Services Roundtable; Board Member, Americans for the Arts; Member & Executive Committee, Cincinnati Center City Development Corporation; Board of Governors, Cincinnati USA Partnership for Economic Development; Member, Cincinnati Business Committee; Co-Chairman, Greater Cincinnati Scholarship Association; Member, Cincinnati Equity Fund; Honorary Trustee, Sigma Alpha Epsilon Foundation; Chairman, Medical Center Fund, UC; Advisory Board, Barrett Cancer Center; Vice Chairman, UC Foundation Capital Campaign; Honorary Chairman, UC Presidential Bicentennial Commission

(4) Steven K. Kreider, Senior Vice President and Chief Investment Officer

(a) Senior Vice President and Chief Investment Officer, The Western and Southern Life Insurance Company, Western-Southern Life Assurance Company, Columbus Life Insurance Company, Integrity Life Insurance Company, National Integrity Life Insurance Company, Western & Southern Financial Group, Inc., Western & Southern Mutual Holding Company, The Lafayette Life Insurance Company

(5) Brendan M. White, Managing Director & Sr. Portfolio Manager

(6) James A. Markley, Managing Director

(a) Trustee & Board Member, Corbett Foundation

(7) Roger M. Lanham, Managing Director & Head Fixed Income Group

(8) John J. O’Connor, Managing Director

(a) Board of Directors, Friars Club Foundation, SC Ministry Foundation

(b) Investment Committee, Province of St. John the Baptist

(9) Timothy J. Policinksi, Managing Director & Sr. Portfolio Manager

(10) Michele Hawkins, Chief Compliance Officer & Managing Director

(a) Advisory Board Member, Xavier University Cintas Institute for Business Ethics & Social Responsibility

(b) Chief Compliance Officer, Peppertree Partners, LLC

(11) Margaret C. Bell, Managing Director

(12) Robert L. Walker, Director

(a) Director, Eagle Realty Group, Eagle Realty Investments, Integrity Life Insurance Company, National Integrity Life Insurance Company, Insurance Profillment Solutions, LLC

(b) Board Member, Computer Services, Inc.; Board Member & Chairman, Tri-Health

(c) Director, Sr. Vice President, & Chief Financial Officer, Columbus Life Insurance Company, The Lafayette Life Insurance Company

(d) Sr. Vice President & Chief Financial Officer, The Western and Southern Life Insurance Company, Western & Southern Life Assurance Company, Western & Southern Financial Group, Inc., W&S Mutual Holding Company

(e) Board of Trustees, Bethesda, Inc.

(13) Richard R. Jandrain III, Managing Director & Sr. Portfolio Manager

(14) Terrie A. Wiedenheft, Sr. Vice President & Chief Financial Officer - See biography above

(15) James J. Vance, Vice President & Treasurer - See biography above

(16) Stephen A. Baker, Managing Director & Deputy Head of Private Equity

(a) Board of Trustees, Walnut Hills High School Alumni Foundation, CH Mack, Inc.

(b) Vice President, Buckeye Venture Partners, LLC

(17) Paul D. Cohn, Managing Director

(18) Rance G. Duke, Vice President Head Investment Grade Credit & Sr. Portfolio Manager

(a) Board Member & Chairman, Spring Grove Cemetery

(b) Treasurer, Bethesda Foundation; Board Member, Bethesda, Inc.

(d) Member, United Way, Red Cross Partnership Committee

(19) Thomas L. Finn, Vice President & Sr. Portfolio Manager

(a) Board Member, Cincinnati Foundation for the Aged, Beechwood Foundation.

(b) Investment Committee, YMCA

(20) Mark A. Frietch, Managing Director

(21) John J. Goetz, Vice President & Sr. Portfolio Manager

(a) Investment Company Institute - MMFunds Advisory Committee

(22) Charles A. Ulbricht, Vice President & Sr. Portfolio Manager

(a) AVP Investments, Lafayette Life Foundation

(23) Scott D. Weston, Managing Director & Sr. Portfolio Manager

(a) Financial Advisory Board & Foundation Board Member, Mariemont School District

(24) Martin W. Flesher, Vice President

(25) Jeffrey D. Meek, Vice President & Chief Financial Officer

(a) Treasurer, Buckeye Venture Partners, LLC, Peppertree Partners, LLC

(b) Vice President & Sr. Financial Officer, Tri-State Ventures, LLC

(26) Jonathan D. Niemeyer, Sr. Vice President & General Counsel

(a) Board of Directors, The Pro Foundation Inc., Board of Advisors, David Pollack’s Empower Foundation

(b) Sr. Vice President & General Counsel, Columbus Life Insurance Company, The Lafayette Life Insurance Company, The Western and Southern Life Insurance Company, Western-Southern Life Assurance Company, Western & Southern Financial Group, Inc., Western & Southern Mutual Holding Company

(d) Secretary, W&S Investment Holdings, LLC

(e) Director, Insurance Profillment Solutions, LLC

(f) Board Member, Association of Life Insurance Counsel

(27) James E. Wilhelm, Managing Director & Sr. Portfolio Manager

(a) Board Member, Xavier Student Investment Fund

(28) Donald J. Wuebbling, Director

(a) Secretary & Counsel, The Western and Southern Life Insurance Company, Western- Southern Life Assurance Company, Western & Southern Financial Group, Inc., Western & Southern Mutual Holding Company, Columbus Life Insurance Company, The Lafayette Life Insurance Company

(b) Director, Touchstone Advisors, Inc., Touchstone Securities, Inc., W&S Financial Group Distributors, Inc., IFS Financial Services, Inc., Integrity Life Insurance Company, W&S Brokerage Services, Inc., Eagle Realty Group, Eagle Realty Investments, Integrity Life Insurance Company, National Integrity Life Insurance Company, Western & Southern Agency, Inc.

(29) William G. Creviston, Vice President & Sr. Portfolio Manager

(30) Douglas E. Kelsey, Vice President & Sr. Portfolio Manager

(31) Jeremiah R. Moore, Vice President & Deputy Head of Wealth Management

(32) Barry D. Pavlo, Vice President

(33) William T. Sena Jr., Vice President & Sr. Portfolio Manager

(34) P. Gregory Williams, Vice President

(35) Eric J. Walzer, Vice President

(36) William T. Sena Sr., Managing Director

(37) Joseph B. Michael, Managing Director

(a) Vice President, Peppertree Partners, LLC

(38) Timothy J. Jossart, Vice President & Assistant Portfolio Manager

(39) Alexander S. Fischer, Vice President & Regional Business Development Officer

(40) Daniel J. Carter, Assistant Vice President & Sr. Portfolio Manager

(41) S. Zulfi Ali, Vice President & Sr. Portfolio Manager

(42) Joseph A. Woods, Managing Director& Sr. Investment Manager

(43) William H. Bunn, Vice President & Senior Credit Analyst

(44) Kevin M. Bass, Assistant Vice President & Senior Equity Research Manager

(45) Bernard M. Casey, Assistant Vice President & Senior Credit Analyst

(46) Joe Don Cole, Assistant Vice President

(47) Connie L. Krebs, Assistant Vice President and Director of Relationship Management/Client Service

(48) Anthony L. Longi, Assistant Vice President & Senior Credit Analyst

(49) Michael R. Maeder, Vice President, Private Equity

(50) Kenneth J. Ryan, Assistant Vice President

(51) James K. Seagraves, Assistant Vice President

(52) David W. Walters, Vice President, Portfolio Manager, &Asset & Liability Management

(53) Chris C. Zehetmaier, Assistant Vice President, Marketing

(54) Kathleen A. Cornelius, Assistant Treasurer

(55) Timothy D. Speed, Assistant Treasurer

(56) Cheryl J. Stotts, Assistant Treasurer

C. Westfield Capital Management Company, L.P. (“Westfield”) is a registered investment advisor providing sub-advisory services to the Touchstone Mid Cap Growth Fund and Touchstone Growth Opportunities Fund. The address of Westfield is One Financial Center, Boston, MA 02111. The following are executive officers and directors of Westfield:

Westfield is 100% employee owned. Strategic business decisions are managed and controlled by an executive management committee composed of William A. Muggia, , Morton L. Fearey, II, Hamlen Thompson, Bruce Jacobs, Richard Lee, Robert Flores, Ethan Meyers and John Montgomery.

D. Analytic Investors, LLC (“Analytic”) is a registered investment advisor that provides sub-advisory services to the Touchstone Dynamic Equity Fund. The address of Analytic is 555 West Fifth Street, 50th Floor Los Angeles, CA 90013.

The directors and officers of Analytic are provided on Analytic’s most recently filed Schedule A of Form ADV (IARD No. 104963; SEC File No. 801-07082), which is incorporated herein by reference. The only employment of a substantial nature of each of Analytic’s directors and officers is with Analytic and its affiliated companies, except as noted below.

Roger Clarke: President of Ensign Peak Advisors (since 9/2007), Director of Bonneville Holding Corporation (since 2000), Director of Deseret Mutual Insurance Company (since 2006) and Deseret Trust Company (since 1996).

E. Barrow, Hanley, Mewhinney & Strauss LLC (“Barrow Hanley”) is a registered investment advisor that provides sub-advisory services to the Touchstone Value Fund and Touchstone International Value Fund. The address of Barrow Hanley is 2200 Ross Avenue, 31st Floor Dallas, TX 75201.

The directors and officers of Barrow Hanley are provided on Barrow Hanley’s most recently filed Schedule A of Form ADV (IARD No. 105519; SEC File No. 801-31237), which is incorporated herein by reference. The only employment of a substantial nature of each of Barrow Hanley’s directors and officers is with Barrow Hanley and its affiliated companies.

F. Copper Rock Capital Partner LLC (“Copper Rock”) is a registered investment advisor that provides sub-advisory services to the Touchstone International Small Cap Fund. The address of Copper Rock is 200 Clarendon Street, 51st Floor Boston, MA 02116.

The directors and officers of Copper Rock are provided on Copper Rock’s most recently filed Schedule A of Form ADV (IARD No. 134176; SEC File No. 801-63900), which is incorporated herein by reference. The only employment of a substantial nature of each of Copper Rock’s directors and officers is with Copper Rock and its affiliated companies.

G. Thompson, Siegel & Walmsley LLC (“TS&W”) is a registered investment advisor that provides sub-advisory services to the Touchstone Small Cap Value Opportunities Fund. The address of TS&W is 6641 West Broad Street, Suite 600, Richmond, VA 23230.

The directors and officers of TS&W are provided on TS&W’s most recently filed Schedule A of Form ADV (IARD No. 105726; SEC File No. 801-06273), which is incorporated herein by reference. The only employment of a substantial nature of each of TS&W’s directors and officers is with TS&W and its affiliated companies.

H. ClearArc Capital Inc. (“ClearArc”) is a registered investment advisor that provides sub-advisory services to the Touchstone Flexible Income Fund. The address of ClearArc is 580 Walnut Street, 6th Floor,, Cincinnati, OH 45202.

The directors and officers of ClearArc are provided on ClearArc’s most recently filed Schedule A of Form ADV (IARD No. 104650; SEC File No. 801-11184), which is incorporated herein by reference.

I. Apex Capital Management, Inc. (“Apex”), Inc. (“Apex”) is a registered investment advisor that provides sub-advisory services to the Touchstone Small Cap Growth Value Fund and the Touchstone International Growth Fund. The Address of Apex is 8163 Old Yankee Road, Suite E, Dayton, OH 45458.

The directors and officers of Apex are provided on Apex’s most recently filed Schedule A of Form ADV (IARD No. 107075; SEC File No. 801-42460), which is incorporated herein by reference. The only employment of a substantial nature of each of Apex’s directors and officers is with Apex.

J. Sands Capital Management, Inc. (“Sands Capital”) is a registered investment advisor that provides sub-advisory services to the Touchstone Sands Capital Emerging Markets Growth Fund. The Address of Sands Capital is 1101 Wilson Blvd., Suite 2300, Arlington, VA 22209. No director, officer, or partner of Sands Capital has been engaged in any other business or profession of a substantial nature during the past two fiscal years.

K. London Company of Virginia d/b/a The London Company (“TLC”) is a registered advisor providing sub-advisory services to the Touchstone Large Cap Fund. The address of TLC is 1801 Bayberry Court, Suite 301, Richmond, Virginia, 23226. No director, officer, or partner of TLC has been engaged in any other business or profession of a substantial nature during the past two fiscal years

L. Rockefeller & Co., Inc. (“Rockefeller”) is a registered advisor providing sub-advisory services to the Touchstone Sustainability and Impact Equity Fund. The address of Rockefeller is 10 Rockefeller Plaza, Third Floor, New York, New York 10020. No director, officer or partner of Rockefeller has been engaged in any other business or profession of a substantial nature during the past two fiscal years.

M. Ares Capital Management II, LLC (“Ares”) is a registered advisor providing sub-advisory services to the Touchstone Credit Opportunities Fund. The address of Ares is 2000 Avenue of the Stars, 12th Floor, Los Angeles, California 90067. No

director, officer or partner of Ares has been engaged in any other business or profession of a substantial nature during the past two fiscal years.

N. Wilshire Associates Incorporated (“Wilshire”) is a registered advisor providing sub-advisory services to the Touchstone Controlled Growth with Income Fund, the Touchstone Dynamic Diversified Income Fund, and the Touchstone Dynamic Global Allocation Fund. The address of Wilshire is 1299 Ocean Avenue Suite 700, Santa Monica, CA 90401. No director, officer or partner of Wilshire has been engaged in any other business or profession of a substantial nature during the past two fiscal years.

O. DSM Capital Partners LLC ("DSM") is a registered advisor providing sub-advisory services to the Touchstone Global Growth Fund and the Touchstone Large Company Growth Fund. The address of DSM is 7111 Fairway Drive, Palm Beach Gardens, FL 33418. No director, officer or partner of DSM has been engaged in any other business or profession of a substantial nature during the past two fiscal years.

Item 32. Principal Underwriters


(a)	Touchstone Securities, Inc. also acts as underwriter for Touchstone Investment Trust, Touchstone Tax-Free Trust, Touchstone Variable Series Trust, Touchstone Funds Group Trust and Touchstone Institutional Funds Trust.


(b)	Unless otherwise noted, the address of the persons named below is 303 Broadway, Cincinnati, OH 45202. *The address is 400 Broadway, Cincinnati, OH 45202



	POSITION WITH	POSITION WITH
NAME	UNDERWRITER	REGISTRANT
Steven M. Graziano	President	Vice President
Jill T. McGruder	Director & CEO	Trustee/President
James N. Clark*	Director	None
Donald J. Wuebbling*	Director	None
Patricia J. Wilson	Vice President	None
James J. Vance*	Vice President and Treasurer	None
Terrie A. Wiedenheft	Chief Financial Officer	Controller/Treasurer
Timothy S. Stearns	Chief Compliance Officer	Chief Compliance Officer
Rhonda Malone*	Secretary	None
Sharon L. Karp	Vice President	None
Kathleen A. Cornelius	Assistant Treasurer	None
Douglas B. Perry	Assistant Treasurer	None
Timothy D. Speed	Assistant Treasurer	None
Cheryl J. Stotts	Assistant Treasurer	None


(c)	None.

ITEM 33. LOCATION OF ACCOUNTS AND RECORDS

Books or other documents required to be maintained by Section 31(a) of the Investment Company Act of 1940, as amended and the rules promulgated thereunder, are maintained as follows:

(a)With respect to Rules 31a-1(a); 31a-1(b)(1); (2)(a) and (b); (3); (6); (8); (12) and 31a-1(d), the required books and records will be maintained at the offices of Registrant’s Custodian:

Brown Brothers Harriman & Co.

40 Water Street

Boston, MA 02109

(b)With respect to Rules 31a-1(a); 31a-1(b)(1), (4); (2)(C) and (D); (4); (5); (6); (8); (9); (10); (11); and 31a-1(f), the required books and records are maintained at the offices of the Registrant’s Administrator and Sub-Administrator.

Touchstone Advisors, Inc.

303 Broadway, Suite 1100

Cincinnati, OH 45202

BNY Mellon Investment Servicing (US) Inc.

4400 Computer Drive

Westborough, MA 01581

BNY Mellon Investment Servicing (US) Inc.

201 Washington Street, 34th Floor

Boston, MA 02108

(c)With respect to Rules 31a-1(b)(5), (6), (9) and (10) and 31a-1(f), the required books and records are maintained at the principal offices of the Registrant’s Advisor and Sub-Advisors:

Touchstone Advisors, Inc.

303 Broadway, Suite 1100

Cincinnati, OH 45202

Fort Washington Investment Advisors, Inc.

303 Broadway, 12th Floor

Cincinnati, OH 45202

London Company of Virginia d/b/a The London Company

1800 Bayberry Court, Suite 301

Richmond, VA 23226

Wilshire Associates Incorporated

1299 Ocean Avenue, Suite 700

Santa Monica, CA 90401

Item 34. MANAGEMENT SERVICES NOT DISCUSSED IN PART A OR PART B

None.

Item 35. UNDERTAKINGS

None.

SIGNATURES

Pursuant to the requirements of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended, and the Investment Company Act of 1940, as amended, the Registrant certifies that it meets all of the requirements for effectiveness of this Post-Effective Amendment (“PEA”) No. 49 to its Registration Statement on Form N-1A under Rule 485(b) under the Securities Act of 1933, as amended, and has duly caused this PEA No. 49 to its Registration Statement on Form N-1A to be signed on its behalf by the undersigned, duly authorized, in the City of Cincinnati, State of Ohio, on October 27, 2017.



	TOUCHSTONE VARIABLE SERIES TRUST

	By:	/s/ Jill T. McGruder
		Jill T. McGruder
		President

Pursuant to the requirements of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended, this Post-Effective Amendment No. 49 to the Registrant’s Registration Statement on Form N-1A has been signed below by the following persons in the capacities and on the dates indicated.



*		Trustee	October 27, 2017
Phillip R. Cox

*		Trustee	October 27, 2017
William C. Gale

*		Trustee	October 27, 2017
Susan J. Hickenlooper

*		Trustee	October 27, 2017
Kevin A. Robie

*		Trustee	October 27, 2017
Edward J. VonderBrink

/s/ Jill T. McGruder		Trustee and President	October 27, 2017
Jill T. McGruder

/s/ Terrie A. Wiedenheft		Controller, Treasurer and Principal Financial Officer	October 27, 2017
Terrie A. Wiedenheft

*By:	/s/ Terrie A. Wiedenheft		October 27, 2017
	Terrie A. Wiedenheft
	(Attorney-in-Fact Pursuant to Power of Attorney filed with PEA No. 44.)

EXHIBIT INDEX




(d)(11)		Form-of Sub-Advisory Agreement between Touchstone Advisors, Inc. and Fort Washington Investment Advisors, Inc. with respect to the Touchstone Balanced Fund, Touchstone International Equity Fund, Touchstone Large Cap Focused Fund, and Touchstone Small Company Fund

(i)		Opinion of counsel

(j)		Consent of PricewaterhouseCoopers