Valic Company I

09/30/2024 | Press release | Distributed by Public on 09/30/2024 12:29

Summary Prospectus by Investment Company - Form 497K

497K
Summary Prospectus
October 1, 2024
VALIC Company I
International Government Bond Fund
(Ticker: VCIFX)
The Fund's Statutory Prospectus and Statement of Additional Information, each dated October 1, 2024, as amended and supplemented from time to time, and the most recent shareholder reports are incorporated into and made part of this Summary Prospectus by reference. The Fund is offered only to registered and unregistered separate accounts of The Variable Annuity Life Insurance Company and its affiliates and to qualifying retirement plans and IRAs and is not intended for use by other investors.
Before you invest, you may want to review the Fund's Statutory Prospectus, which contains more information about the Fund and its risks. You can find the Statutory Prospectus and the above-incorporated information online at https://www.corebridgefinancial.com/rs/prospectus-and-reports/annuities#underlyingfunds. You can also get this information at no cost by calling 800-448-2542 or by sending an e-mail request to [email protected].
The Securities and Exchange Commission has not approved or disapproved these securities, nor has it determined that this Summary Prospectus is accurate or complete. It is a criminal offense to state otherwise.
Investment Objective
The Fund seeks high current income through investments primarily in investment grade debt securities issued or guaranteed by foreign governments.
Fees and Expenses of the Fund
This table describes the fees and expenses that you may pay if you buy, hold and sell shares of the Fund. The table and the example below do not reflect the separate account fees charged in the variable annuity or variable life insurance policy ("Variable Contracts") in which the Fund is offered. If separate account fees were shown, the Fund's annual operating expenses would be higher. Please see your Variable Contract prospectus for more details on the separate account fees.
Annual Fund Operating Expenses (expenses that you pay each year as a percentage of the value of your investment)
Management Fees
0.50%
Other Expenses
0.33%
Total Annual Fund Operating Expenses
0.83%
Fee Waivers and/or Expense Reimbursements1
0.02%
Total Annual Fund Operating Expenses After Fee
Waivers and/or Expense Reimbursements1
0.81%
1
The Fund's investment adviser, The Variable Annuity Life Insurance Company ("VALIC"), has contractually agreed to waive its advisory fee until September 30, 2025, so that the advisory fee payable by the Fund to VALIC equals 0.48% on the first $250 million of the Fund's average daily net assets, 0.43% on the next $250 million of the Fund's average daily net assets, 0.38% on the next $500 million of the Fund's average daily net assets, and 0.33% on average daily net assets over $1 billion. This agreement may be modified or discontinued prior to such time only with the approval of the Board of Directors of the Fund, including a majority of the directors who are not "interested persons" of the Fund as defined in the Investment Company Act of 1940, as amended.
Expense 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 redeem or hold 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 (except that the Example incorporates any appliable fee waiver and/or expense limitation arrangements for only the first year). The Example does not reflect charges imposed by the Variable Contract. If the Variable Contract fees were reflected, the expenses would be higher. See the Variable Contract prospectus for information on such charges. Although your actual costs may be higher or lower, based on these assumptions and the net expenses shown in the fee table, your costs would be:
1 Year
3 Years
5 Years
10 Years
$83
$263
$459
$1,023
Portfolio Turnover
The Fund pays transaction costs, such as commissions, when it buys and sells securities (or "turns over" its portfolio). 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 89% of the average value of its portfolio.
Principal Investment Strategies of the Fund
The Fund aims to give you foreign investment opportunities primarily in investment grade government
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International Government Bond Fund
and government sponsored debt securities. Also, the Fund attempts to have all of its investments payable in foreign currencies. The Fund may also convert its cash to foreign currency.
Under normal circumstances, at least 80% of net assets of the Fund must be government issued, sponsored, or guaranteed. The Fund invests at least 65% of total assets in investment grade debt securities. The Fund may invest up to 35% of total assets in below investment grade securities ("junk bonds"). Examples of Fund investments include foreign debt and foreign money market securities, high quality domestic money market securities and debt obligations issued or guaranteed by the U.S. Government, and foreign currency exchange transactions.
Additionally, the Subadviser may attempt to hedge currency exposure, and may invest up to 50% of total assets in futures and options (derivatives), for currency hedging purposes. The Fund may invest significantly in government securities of emerging market countries.
The Fund is a non-diversified fund, which means that it may invest in a smaller number of issuers than a diversified fund.
In order to generate additional income, the Fund may lend portfolio securities to broker-dealers and other financial institutions provided that the value of the loaned securities does not exceed 30% of the Fund's total assets. These loans earn income for the Fund and are collateralized by cash and securities issued or guaranteed by the U.S. Government or its agencies or instrumentalities. Investors will be given at least 60 days' written notice in advance of any change to the Fund's 80% investment policy set forth above.
Principal Risks of Investing in the Fund
As with any mutual fund, there can be no assurance that the Fund's investment objective will be met or that the net return on an investment in the Fund will exceed what could have been obtained through other investment or savings vehicles. Shares of the Fund are not bank deposits and are not guaranteed or insured by any bank, government entity or the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation. If the value of the assets of the Fund goes down, you could lose money.
The following is a summary of the principal risks of investing in the Fund.
Call or Prepayment Risk. During periods of falling interest rates, a bond issuer may "call" a bond to repay it
before its maturity date. The Fund may only be able to invest the bond's proceeds at lower interest rates, resulting in a decline in the Fund's income.
Credit Risk. The Fund may suffer losses if the issuer of a fixed income security owned by the Fund is unable to make interest or principal payments.
Currency Risk. Because the Fund's foreign investments are generally held in foreign currencies, the Fund could experience gains or losses based solely on changes in the exchange rate between foreign currencies and the U.S. dollar. Such gains or losses may be substantial.
Derivatives Risk. The prices of derivatives may move in unexpected ways due to the use of leverage and other factors and may result in increased volatility or losses. The Fund may not be able to terminate or sell derivative positions, and a liquid secondary market may not always exist for derivative positions.
Hedging Risk. A hedge is an investment made in order to reduce the risk of adverse price movements in a security, by taking an offsetting position (often through a derivative instrument, such as an option or a short sale). While hedging strategies can be very useful and inexpensive ways of reducing risk, they are sometimes ineffective due to unexpected changes in the market. Hedging also involves the risk that changes in the value of the related security will not match those of the instruments being hedged as expected, in which case any losses on the instruments being hedged may not be reduced.
Foreign Investment Risk. Investment in foreign securities involves risks due to several factors, such as illiquidity, the lack of public information, changes in the exchange rates between foreign currencies and the U.S. dollar, unfavorable political, social and legal developments, or economic and financial instability. Foreign companies are not subject to the U.S. accounting and financial reporting standards and may have riskier settlement procedures. U.S. investments that are denominated in foreign currencies or that are traded in foreign markets, or securities of U.S. companies that have significant foreign operations may be subject to foreign investment risk.
Emerging Markets Risk. In addition to the risks associated with investments in foreign securities, emerging market securities are subject to additional risks, which cause these securities generally to be more volatile than securities of issuers located in developed countries.
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International Government Bond Fund
Foreign Sovereign Debt Risk. Foreign sovereign debt securities are subject to the risk that a governmental entity may delay or refuse to pay interest or to repay principal on its sovereign debt, due, for example, to cash flow problems, insufficient foreign currency reserves, political, social and economic considerations, the relative size of the governmental entity's debt position in relation to the economy or the failure to put in place economic reforms required by the International Monetary Fund or other multilateral agencies. If a governmental entity defaults, it may ask for more time in which to pay or for further loans.
Interest Rate Risk. The value of fixed-income securities may decline when interest rates go up or increase when interest rates go down. The interest earned on fixed-income securities may decline when interest rates go down or increase when interest rates go up. Longer-term and lower coupon bonds tend to be more sensitive to changes in interest rates. The Fund may be subject to a greater risk of rising interest rates due to the current period of historically low rates and the effect of potential government fiscal policy initiatives and resulting market reaction to these initiatives. The Fund may be subject to a greater risk of rising interest rates due to the current period of historically low rates and the effect of potential government fiscal policy initiatives and resulting market reaction to these initiatives.
Junk Bond Risk. High yielding, high risk fixed-income securities (often referred to as "junk bonds") may involve significantly greater credit risk, market risk and interest rate risk compared to higher rated fixed-income securities. Issuers of junk bonds are less secure financially and their securities are more sensitive to downturns in the economy. The market for junk bonds may not be as liquid as that for more highly rated securities.
Market Risk. The Fund's share price can fall because of weakness in the broad market, a particular industry, or specific holdings or due to adverse political or economic developments here or abroad, changes in investor psychology, or heavy institutional selling and other conditions or events (including, for example, military confrontations, war, terrorism, disease/virus, outbreaks and epidemics). The prices of individual securities may fluctuate, sometimes dramatically, from day to day. The prices of stocks and other equity securities tend to be more volatile than those of fixed-income securities.
Non-Diversification Risk. Because the Fund may invest in a smaller number of issuers, its value may be affected to a greater extent by the performance of any one of those issuers or by any single economic, political, market or regulatory event affecting any one of those issues than a fund that invests in a larger number of issuers.
Money Market Securities Risk. An investment in the Fund is subject to the risk that the value of its investments in high-quality short-term obligations ("money market securities") may be subject to changes in interest rates, changes in the rating of any money market security and in the ability of an issuer to make payments of interest and principal.
U.S. Government Obligations Risk. U.S. Treasury obligations are backed by the "full faith and credit" of the U.S. Government and are generally considered to have low credit risk. Unlike U.S. Treasury obligations, securities issued or guaranteed by federal agencies or authorities and U.S. Government-sponsored instrumentalities or enterprises may or may not be backed by the full faith and credit of the U.S. Government and are therefore subject to greater credit risk than securities issued or guaranteed by the U.S. Treasury.
Securities Lending Risk. Engaging in securities lending could increase the market and credit risk for Fund investments. The Fund may lose money if it does not recover borrowed securities, the value of the collateral falls, or the value of investments made with cash collateral declines. The Fund's loans will be collateralized by securities issued or guaranteed by the U.S. Government or its agencies and instrumentalities, which subjects the Fund to the credit risk of the U.S. Government or the issuing federal agency or instrumentality. If the value of either the cash collateral or the Fund's investments of the cash collateral falls below the amount owed to a borrower, the Fund also may incur losses that exceed the amount it earned on lending the security. Securities lending also involves the risks of delay in receiving additional collateral or possible loss of rights in the collateral if the borrower fails. Another risk of securities lending is the risk that the loaned portfolio securities may not be available to the Fund on a timely basis and the Fund may therefore lose the opportunity to sell the securities at a desirable price.
Performance Information
The following Risk/Return Bar Chart and Table illustrate the risks of investing in the Fund by showing changes in the Fund's performance from calendar year to calendar year and comparing the Fund's average annual returns to those of the Bloomberg Global Aggregate Index (USD hedged) (a broad-based securities market index) and a blended index, which is comprised of the 70% FTSE WGBI (unhedged) and the 30% JP Morgan EMBI Global Diversified Index (the "Blended Index"), which are relevant to the Fund because they have characteristics similar to the Fund's investment strategies. Fees and expenses incurred at the contract level are not reflected in the bar
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International Government Bond Fund
chart or table. If these amounts were reflected, returns would be less than those shown. Of course, past performance of the Fund is not necessarily an indication of how the Fund will perform in the future.
During the period shown in the bar chart:
Highest Quarterly
Return:
December 31, 2023
8.54%
Lowest Quarterly
Return:
June 30, 2022
-8.68%
Year to Date Most
Recent Quarter:
June 30, 2024
-2.49%
Average Annual Total Returns (For the periods ended December 31, 2023)
1
Year
5
Years
10
Years
Fund
5.98%
0.04%
0.65%
Bloomberg Global Aggregate Index (USD
hdg) (reflects no deduction for fees,
expenses or taxes)
7.15%
1.40%
2.41%
Blended Index
6.95%
-0.40%
0.79%
Investment Adviser
The Fund's investment adviser is The Variable Annuity Life Insurance Company.
The Fund is subadvised by PineBridge Investments LLC.
Portfolio Managers
Name and Title
Portfolio
Manager of the
Fund Since
Anders Faergemann
Managing Director and Senior
Sovereign Portfolio Manager,
Emerging Markets Fixed Income
2009
Dmitri Savin, CFA
Senior Vice President and Portfolio
Manager, Emerging Markets Fixed
Income
2016
Purchases and Sales of Fund Shares
Shares of the Funds may only be purchased or redeemed through Variable Contracts offered by the separate accounts of VALIC or other participating life insurance companies and through qualifying retirement plans ("Plans") and IRAs. Shares of each Fund may be purchased and redeemed each day the New York Stock Exchange is open, at the Fund's net asset value determined after receipt of a request in good order.
The Funds do not have any initial or subsequent investment minimums. However, your insurance company may impose investment or account value minimums. The prospectus (or other offering document) for your Variable Contract contains additional information about purchases and redemptions of the Funds' shares.
Tax Information
A Fund will not be subject to U.S. federal income tax so long as it qualifies as a regulated investment company and distributes its income and gains each year to its shareholders. However, contractholders may be subject to federal income tax (and a federal Medicare tax of 3.8% that applies to net income, including taxable annuity payments, if applicable) upon withdrawal from a Variable Contract. Contractholders should consult the prospectus (or other offering document) for the Variable Contract for additional information regarding taxation.
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International Government Bond Fund
Payments to Broker-Dealers and
Other Financial Intermediaries
The Funds are not sold directly to the general public but instead are offered to registered and unregistered separate accounts of VALIC and its affiliates and to Plans and IRAs. The Funds and their related companies may make payments to the sponsoring insurance company or
its affiliates for recordkeeping and distribution. These payments may create a conflict of interest as they may be a factor that the insurance company considers in including the Funds as underlying investment options in a variable contract. Visit your sponsoring insurance company's website for more information.
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