The fund seeks after-inflation capital appreciation and current income.

The tables below illustrate the fees and expenses that you may pay if you buy, hold and sell shares of the fund. You may pay other fees, such as brokerage commissions and other fees to financial intermediaries, which are not reflected in the tables and examples below. You may qualify for sales charge discounts in Class A Shares if you and your family invest, or agree to invest in the future, at least $50,000 in Virtus Funds. More information on these and other discounts is available: (i) from your financial professional or other financial intermediary; (ii) under “Sales Charges” on page 59 of the fund’s prospectus; and (iii) with respect to purchase of shares through specific intermediaries, in Appendix A to the fund’s prospectus, entitled “Intermediary Sales Charge Discounts and Waivers.”

The fund pays transaction costs, such as commissions, when it buys and sells securities (or “turns over” its portfolio). A higher portfolio turnover rate may indicate higher transaction costs and may result in higher taxes when 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. During the most recent fiscal year, the fund’s portfolio turnover rate was 115% of the average value of its portfolio.

The fund seeks to achieve its investment objective by primarily investing across global equity securities and U.S. fixed income instruments, with the majority of those assets indirectly invested in those asset classes through mutual funds and/or exchange-traded funds (“ETFs”), including those managed by the fund’s subadvisers and/or their

affiliates. The fund may also invest directly in such asset classes, such as through common stocks, individual bonds, convertible securities, and in derivative instruments such as equity-linked notes and futures. The fund’s allocations to different strategies and instruments are expected to vary over time and from time to time.

The fund’s subadvisers select investments based on their classifications, risk/return expectations, income potential and other factors. The fund’s baseline long-term allocation consists of 60% to global equity exposure (the “Equity Component”) and 40% to fixed income exposure (the “Fixed Income Component”), which is also the allocation of the blended benchmark index against which the fund’s portfolio is managed. The Equity Component can include direct or indirect exposure to equity securities of any market capitalization, including small capitalization, any sector and from any country, including emerging markets. Under normal circumstances, the Equity Component will be invested in securities of both U.S. and non-U.S. issuers. The fund’s subadviser determines the country of each issuer of the fund’s investments and generally bases its determination on the country of the issuer’s domicile. The Fixed Income Component primarily consists of direct or indirect exposure to fixed income securities from any sector, of any credit-quality including high yield bonds (commonly known as “junk bonds”), from any part of the capital structure including loans, preferred securities and convertibles, denominated in any currency and issued by any country including emerging markets. Depending on market conditions, the Equity Component may range between approximately 50% and 70% of the fund’s assets. The Fixed Income Component may range between approximately 10% and 70% of the fund’s assets. The fund’s investments in each component may vary from the ranges due to market movements, and it is at the portfolio managers’ discretion when to bring the fund back within the range. The portfolio managers adjust the fund’s exposure to each of the Equity Component and the Fixed Income Component in response to changes in their views based on their analysis of market, macroeconomic and other factors, such as equity price levels, interest rate levels and their anticipated direction. Such adjustments may be achieved through purchases and/or sales of the fund’s holdings in the Equity Component and/or the Fixed Income Component, and/or through the use of derivatives. As a result of its derivative positions, the fund may have gross investment exposures in excess of 100% of its net assets (i.e., the fund may be leveraged) and therefore subject to a heightened risk of loss. The fund’s performance can depend substantially on the performance of assets or indices underlying its derivatives even though it does not directly or indirectly own those underlying assets or indices.

Under normal circumstances, the fund will seek to generate additional income by buying equity-linked notes (ELNs) that are designed by the fund's portfolio management team to have the effect of writing (selling) covered call options on a portion of its equity portfolio. In implementing its investment strategies, the fund also may make substantial use of other over-the-counter (OTC) and exchange-traded derivatives, including futures contracts, credit default swaps and options (calls and puts) purchased or sold by the fund. The fund may use derivatives for a variety of purposes, including as a hedge against adverse changes in the market price of securities, interest rates, or currency exchange rates; as a substitute for purchasing or selling securities; to increase the fund’s return as a non-hedging strategy that may be considered speculative; and to manage portfolio characteristics. Derivatives positions are eligible to be held in both the Equity Component and the Fixed Income Component of the fund. The fund may maintain a significant percentage of its assets in cash and cash equivalents which will serve as margin or collateral for the fund’s obligations under derivative transactions.

The fund may liquidate a holding if it locates another instrument that offers a more attractive exposure to an asset class or when there is a change in the fund’s target asset allocation, or if the instrument is otherwise deemed inappropriate.

The bar chart and table below provide some indication of the potential risks of investing in the fund. The fund’s past performance, before and after taxes, is not necessarily an indication of how the fund will perform in the future.

The bar chart shows changes in the fund’s performance from year to year over a 10-year period. The table shows how the fund’s average annual returns compare to those of two broad-based securities market indexes and a composite benchmark that reflects the market sectors in which the fund invests. Updated performance information is available at virtus.com or by calling 800-243-1574.

The Bloomberg U.S. Aggregate Bond Index measures the U.S. investment grade fixed rate bond market. The index is calculated on a total return basis. The index is unmanaged and not available for direct investment.

The MSCI All Country World Index (net) is a free float-adjusted market capitalization-weighted index that measures equity performance of developed and emerging markets. The MSCI All Country World Index (net) is calculated on a total return basis with net dividends reinvested. The index is unmanaged and not available for direct investment.

After-tax returns are calculated using the historical highest individual federal marginal income tax rates and do not reflect the impact of state and local taxes. After-tax returns are shown only for Institutional Class Shares; after-tax returns for other classes will vary. Actual after-tax returns depend on the investor’s tax situation and may differ from those shown. After-tax returns are not relevant to investors who hold fund shares in tax-deferred accounts or to shares held by non-taxable entities.

> Market Volatility Risk: The value of the securities in the fund may go up or down in response to the prospects of individual companies and/or general economic conditions. Price changes may be short- or long-term. Local, regional or global events such as war or military conflict (e.g., Russia’s invasion of Ukraine), geopolitical risk, acts of terrorism, the spread of infectious illness or other public health issue, recessions, tariffs and other restrictions on trade, or the threat or potential of one or more such events and developments, could have a significant impact on the fund and its investments, including hampering the ability of the fund’s portfolio manager(s) to invest the fund’s assets as intended.

> Equity Securities Risk: The value of the stocks held by the fund may be negatively affected by the financial market, industries in which the fund invests, or issuer-specific events. Focus on a particular style or in small or medium-sized companies may enhance that risk.

> Interest Rate Risk: The values of debt instruments may rise or fall in response to changes in interest rates, and this risk may be enhanced for securities with longer maturities.

> Affiliated Fund and ETF Risk: The fund’s subadviser may select and substitute affiliated and/or unaffiliated mutual funds and/or exchange-traded funds (ETFs), which may create a conflict of interest because the subadviser or its affiliate(s) may receive fees from affiliated funds and/or ETFs, some of which pay the subadviser or its affiliate(s) more than others.

> Counterparty Risk: There is risk that a party upon whom the fund relies to complete a transaction will default.

> Credit Risk: If the issuer of a debt instrument fails to pay interest or principal in a timely manner, or negative perceptions exist in the market of the issuer’s ability to make such payments, the price of the security may decline.

> Emerging Market Risk: Emerging markets securities may be more volatile, or more greatly affected by negative conditions, than those of their counterparts in more established foreign markets. Such securities may also be subject to Sanctions Risk.

> Equity Linked Notes (ELNs) Risk: When the fund invests in ELNs, it receives cash but limits its opportunity to profit from an increase in the market value of the reference benchmark because of the limits relating to the call options written within the particular ELN. Investments in ELNs often have risks similar to the reference benchmark, which include market risk. Should the price of the reference benchmark move in an unexpected manner, the fund may not achieve the anticipated benefits of an investment in an ELN, and may realize losses, which could be significant and could include the fund’s entire principal investment.

> Foreign Investing Risk: Investing in foreign securities subjects the fund to additional risks such as increased volatility; currency fluctuations; less liquidity; less publicly available information about the foreign investment; and political, regulatory, economic, and market risk.

> High-Yield Fixed Income Securities (Junk Bonds) Risk: High-yield or junk bonds are subject to greater levels of credit and liquidity risk, may be speculative and may decline in value due to increases in interest rates or an issuer’s deterioration or default.

> Leverage Risk: When the fund leverages its portfolio by borrowing or by engaging in certain types of transactions or instruments, including derivatives, the fund may be less liquid, may liquidate positions at an unfavorable time, and the volatility of the fund’s value may increase.

> Mortgage-Backed and Asset-Backed Securities Risk: Changes in interest rates may cause both extension and prepayment risks for mortgage-backed and asset-backed securities. These securities are also subject to risks associated with the non-repayment of underlying collateral, including losses to the fund.

> Portfolio Turnover Risk: The fund’s principal investment strategies may result in a high portfolio turnover rate. See the “Portfolio Turnover” section above for more information about the impact that portfolio turnover can have on your investment.

> Real Estate Investment Risk: The fund may be negatively affected by changes in real estate values or economic conditions, credit risk and interest rate fluctuations, changes in the value of the underlying real estate and defaults by lessees and/or borrowers.

> Sanctions Risk: The imposition of sanctions and other similar measures could cause a decline in the value and/or liquidity of securities issued by or tied to the sanctioned country and increase market volatility and disruption in the sanctioned country and throughout the world. Sanctions and other similar measures could limit or prevent the fund from buying and selling securities (in the sanctioned country and other markets), significantly delay or prevent the settlement of transactions, and negatively impact the fund’s liquidity and performance.

> Variable Distribution Risk: Periodic distributions by investments of variable or floating interest rates vary with fluctuations in market interest rates.

Please see “More Information About Risks of Investing in the Funds” in the fund’s prospectus for a more detailed description of the fund’s risks.