Strategy. Under normal market conditions, the Portfolio will invest primarily in a combination of exchange-traded funds (ETFs), futures contracts, and individual equity and fixed income securities that provide exposure to global equity markets and U.S. Treasuries. By adjusting investment exposure among the various equity and fixed income asset classes in the Portfolio, the Sub-Adviser will attempt to reduce overall portfolio volatility and mitigate the effects of extreme market environments, without sacrificing long-term returns. The Portfolio may gain or adjust exposure to each asset class either through transactions in individual securities or through other instruments, including derivatives. Strategic Long-Term Asset Allocation . Under normal market conditions, it is expected that the Portfolios strategic long-term asset allocation will be approximately 65% in equity … Show more… Under normal market conditions, the Portfolio will invest primarily in a combination of exchange-traded funds (ETFs), futures contracts, and individual equity and fixed income securities that provide exposure to global equity markets and U.S. Treasuries. By adjusting investment exposure among the various equity and fixed income asset classes in the Portfolio, the Sub-Adviser will attempt to reduce overall portfolio volatility and mitigate the effects of extreme market environments, without sacrificing long-term returns. The Portfolio may gain or adjust exposure to each asset class either through transactions in individual securities or through other instruments, including derivatives. Strategic Long-Term Asset Allocation . Under normal market conditions, it is expected that the Portfolios strategic long-term asset allocation will be approximately 65% in equity securities (or financial instruments that provide investment exposure to such securities) and approximately 35% in fixed income securities (or financial instruments that provide investment exposure to such securities). The actual percentage allocations at any time may vary. In monitoring and strategically adjusting the Portfolios exposures and weightings among the various asset classes, the Sub-Adviser draws on the quantitative analysis and qualitative insights produced by dedicated research and strategy teams that support the investment process. Risk Managed Asset Allocation . The Sub-Adviser may decrease the Portfolios equity exposure to 20% or less of net assets, and may increase the Portfolios fixed income exposure to 80% or more of net assets, based on a quantitatively-driven risk management framework, described below. However, under normal market conditions, the Portfolios net allocation to equity or fixed income securities will not increase or decrease by more than 5% of net assets in a day. Equity Asset Classes . The Portfolios equity allocation will be invested in the following equity asset classes: U.S. Large Cap Equity, U.S. Small Cap Equity, United Kingdom Equity, European Equity, and Japanese Equity. The Portfolios equity investments will be allocated among discrete portions of the Portfolio that will invest in securities included in the Standard & Poors 500 Composite Stock Index (S&P 500 Index), the Russell 2000 Index (Russell 2000 Index), the FTSE 100 Index, the DJ EuroSTOXX 50 Index, and the TOPIX Index, respectively, and in ETFs and futures contracts that provide exposure to these indexes and substantially similar indexes. The Portfolio will invest in these securities and other instruments in a manner that is intended to track the performance (before fees and expenses) of the relevant index. As of December 31, 2024, the market capitalization of companies in the S&P 500 Index, which consists of common stocks of 500 of the largest U.S. companies, ranged from $ 6.06 billion to $3.81 trillion; in the Russell 2000 Index, which tracks the performance of approximately 2000 of the smallest companies in the Russell 3000 Index, from $ 9.12 million to $13.19 billion; in the FTSE 100 Index, which represents the performance of the 100 largest UK-domiciled blue chip companies, from $ 4.36 billion to $203 billion; in the DJ EuroSTOXX 50 Index, which represents the performance of the 50 largest companies in 11 Eurozone countries, from $ 19.78 billion to $ 330 billion; and in the TOPIX Index, which comprises all companies listed on the First Section of the Tokyo Stock Exchange, from $ 8.79 million to $314 billion (approximately 1,694 constituents). Each of these indexes is weighted by market capitalization. The Sub-Adviser may allocate the Portfolios investments among these indices based on its assessment of risk in the equity markets relative to potential return. Fixed Income Asset Class . The Portfolios fixed income allocation will be invested in the U.S. Treasuries asset class. The Portfolios fixed income investments will consist primarily of investments in securities included in the Bloomberg Intermediate U.S. Treasury Index and in ETFs and futures contracts . In selecting the Portfolios investments in fixed income securities, the Sub- Adviser seeks to create a fixed income allocation with a risk and return profile similar to that of the Bloomberg Intermediate U.S. Treasury Index , which is a market-value weighted index that measures U.S. dollar-denominated, fixed rate, nominal debt issued by the U.S. Treasury with maturities of 1 to 9.9999 years to maturity. Indexing Strategy . The Portfolio uses a strategy that is commonly referred to as an indexing strategy. The Portfolio may use a replication technique or sampling approach to execute its indexing strategy. Circumstances under which the Sub-Adviser may use a sampling approach to execute the indexing strategy include when there are practical difficulties or substantial costs involved in compiling a portfolio of securities to track the performance (before fees and expenses) of the relevant index; where the relevant index contains component securities too numerous to purchase or sell efficiently; or in instances when a component security becomes temporarily illiquid, unavailable, or less liquid. The quantity of holdings in the Portfolio will be based on a number of factors, including the asset size of the Portfolio. Each index sponsor has its own method for periodically rebalancing the index by adding, removing or rebalancing the index components to take into account market changes. Risk Management Framework . The risk management framework integrates quantitative momentum and volatility models and signals to make systematic adjustments to the Portfolios strategic long-term asset allocation in order to determine a risk managed asset allocation. Momentum Indicators ? ? Momentum is the tendency of investments to exhibit persistence in their performance. The Sub-Adviser uses momentum signals to identify adverse market environments. The Sub-Adviser believes that negative momentum indicates future periods of negative investment returns and increased volatility. When negative momentum deteriorates below a pre-set threshold determined by the Sub-Adviser based on its proprietary momentum-based model, the Sub-Adviser will reduce, sometimes significantly, the Portfolios exposure to the particular asset class exhibiting the negative momentum. To reduce the Portfolios exposure to a particular asset class, the Sub-Adviser will primarily use derivatives, but may also sell physical securities. The Sub-Adviser may reduce the Portfolios exposure to a particular asset class to 0% if the momentum indicator becomes sufficiently negative for that asset class. The Sub-Adviser will reestablish the Portfolios exposure to an asset class once the market environment improves and momentum strengthens to surpass a pre-set threshold determined by the Sub-Adviser based on its proprietary model. Volatility Indicators ? ? Volatility is a statistical measure of the magnitude of changes in the Portfolios returns, without regard to the direction of those changes. Higher volatility generally indicates higher risk and is often reflected by frequent and sometimes significant movements up and down in value. To implement volatility management, the Sub-Adviser will monitor forecasted annualized volatility of the Portfolios returns, placing a greater weight on recent historic data. When the forecasted volatility is expected to exceed a pre-set threshold determined by the Sub-Adviser based on its proprietary volatility-based model, the Sub-Adviser will attempt to reduce the volatility below the threshold. To attempt to reduce the volatility, the Sub-Adviser will primarily use derivatives, but may also sell physical securities. The Sub-Adviser may use these methods as often as daily to reduce the Portfolios expected volatility level. Due to market conditions or other factors, the actual or realized volatility of the Portfolio for any particular period of time may be materially above or below the pre-set threshold. During such times, the Portfolios overall equity exposure may deviate significantly from its strategic asset allocation and could be substantially less than 65% of the Portfolios assets (and could be 0%). Volatility management techniques could reduce potential losses and/or mitigate financial risks to insurance companies that provide certain benefits and guarantees available under the Contracts and offer the Portfolio as an investment option in their products. Accordingly, volatility management techniques could also benefit the insurance companies by reducing the risk that the insurance companies will be required to pay amounts to meet the benefits and guarantees from their own resources. Use of Derivative Instruments . The Portfolio may invest in derivative instruments, including futures contracts and other instruments, for a variety of purposes, including as a means to manage equity and fixed income exposure (including for purposes of implementing the risk management framework) without having to purchase or sell underlying investments. For example, when the level of market volatility is increasing, the Sub-Adviser may attempt to limit the Portfolios equity exposure by closing existing long exchange-traded futures contracts, selling exposures that are derived using ETFs, shorting or selling long futures positions on an index or, in the case where physical securities are held, selling exchange-traded futures contracts. The Portfolio may also invest in derivative instruments to seek enhanced returns from certain asset classes. The Portfolio may use index futures, for example, to gain broad exposure to a particular segment of the market, while buying representative securities to achieve exposure to another. The Sub-Adviser will choose in each case based on considerations of cost and efficiency of access to the desired investment exposure. It is anticipated that the Portfolios derivative instruments will consist primarily of exchange-traded equity index, U.S. Treasury and currency futures. The Portfolio may also invest in currency forwards. The Portfolios holdings may be frequently adjusted to reflect the Sub-Advisers assessment of changing risks, which could result in high portfolio turnover. The Sub-Adviser believes that these adjustments also can frequently be made efficiently and economically through the use of derivative strategies. The Portfolio may invest in derivatives to the extent permitted by applicable law. It is anticipated that the Portfolios use of derivatives will be consistent with its overall investment strategy of obtaining and managing exposure to various asset classes. Because the Portfolio will use derivatives to obtain and manage the Portfolios exposure to different asset classes, the Portfolios use of derivatives may be substantial. The Portfolios investments in derivatives may be deemed to involve the use of leverage because the Portfolio is not required to invest the full market value of the contract upon entering into the contract but participates in gains and losses on the full contract price. In addition, the Portfolios investments in derivatives may be deemed to involve the use of leverage because the heightened price sensitivity of some derivatives to market changes may magnify the Portfolios gain or loss. It is not generally expected, however, that the Portfolio will be leveraged by borrowing money for investment purposes. From time to time or potentially for extended periods of time in periods of continued market distress, the Portfolio may maintain a considerable percentage of its total assets in cash and cash equivalent instruments as margin or collateral for the Portfolios obligations under derivative transactions, to implement the risk management strategies, and for other portfolio management purposes. The larger the value of the Portfolios derivative positions, as opposed to positions held in non-derivative instruments, the more the Portfolio will be required to maintain cash and cash equivalents as margin or collateral for such derivatives. Show less