| Summary Prospectus | AZL® Gateway Fund |
April 29, 2022
AZL® Gateway Fund
Before you invest, you may want to review the Fund’s Prospectus, which contains more information about the Fund and its risks. You can find the Fund’s Prospectus, Statement of Additional Information (“SAI”) and other information about the Fund online at www.allianzlife.com/azlfunds. You can also get this information at no cost by calling 1-800-624-0197 or by sending an email request to Contact.Us@allianzlife.com. The Fund’s Prospectus and SAI, both dated April 29, 2022, as supplemented, are incorporated by reference into this Summary Prospectus.
| Investment Objective |
The Fund seeks to capture the majority of the returns associated with equity market investments, while exposing investors to less risk than other equity investments.
| Fees and Expenses |
Fees and Expenses of the Fund
The following table describes the fees and expenses that you may pay if you buy and hold shares of the Fund. The Fund is offered exclusively as an investment option for certain Contracts. The table below reflects only Fund expenses and does not reflect Contract fees and expenses. If Contract fees and expenses were included, the fees and expenses in the following table would be higher. Please refer to the Contract prospectus for a description of those fees and expenses.
Annual Fund Operating Expenses (expenses that you pay each year as a percentage of the value of your investment)
| Management Fee |
0.80% | |||
| Distribution (12b-1) Fees |
0.25% | |||
| Other Expenses |
0.07% | |||
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| Total Annual Fund Operating Expenses |
1.12% | |||
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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. The example also assumes that your investment has a 5% return each year, that the Fund’s operating expenses remain the same, and that you reinvest all dividends and distributions. It does not reflect any Contract fees. If Contract fees were included, the costs shown would be higher. Although your actual costs may be higher or lower, based on these assumptions your costs would be:
| 1 Year | 3 Years | 5 Years | 10 Years | |||
| $114 | $356 | $617 | $1,363 |
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 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. During the most recent fiscal year, the Fund’s portfolio turnover rate was 11% of the average value of its portfolio.
| Investments, Risks, and Performance |
Principal Investment Strategies of the Fund
Under normal circumstances, the Fund invests in a broadly diversified portfolio of common stocks, while also selling index call options. The Fund also buys index put options, which can protect the Fund from a significant market decline that may occur over a short period of time. The combination of the diversified stock portfolio, the cash flow from the sale of index call options and the
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| Summary Prospectus | AZL® Gateway Fund |
downside protection from index put options is intended to provide the Fund with the majority of the returns associated with equity market investments while exposing investors to less risk than other equity investments. The Fund may invest in companies with small, medium or large market capitalizations. Equity securities purchased by the Fund may include U.S.-exchange-listed common stocks, American Depositary Receipts (ADRs), and interests in real estate investment trusts (REITs).
From time to time, the Fund may reduce its holdings of put options, resulting in an increased exposure to a market decline. The Fund may invest in foreign securities traded in U.S. markets (through ADRs or stocks traded in U.S. dollars). The Fund may also invest in other investment companies, including money market funds, to the extent permitted by the Investment Company Act of 1940. The Fund may enter into repurchase agreements and/or hold cash and cash equivalents.
The Fund not only strives for the majority of the returns associated with equity market investments, but also returns in excess of those available from other investments comparable in volatility. With its core investment in equities, the Fund is significantly less vulnerable to fluctuations in value caused by interest rate volatility, a risk factor present in both fixed income and hybrid investments, although the Fund expects to generally have lower long-term returns than a portfolio consisting solely of equity securities. The Fund intends that its index option-based risk management strategy will limit the volatility inherent in equities while sacrificing less of the higher equity returns than hybrid investments.
Principal Risks of Investing in the Fund
The price per share of the Fund will fluctuate with changes in the value of the investments held by the Fund. You may lose money by investing in the Fund. An investment in the Fund is not a deposit in a bank and is not insured or guaranteed by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation or any other government agency. There is no guarantee that the Fund will achieve its objective.
The following is a summary of the principal risks to which the Fund’s portfolio as a whole is subject, any of which may adversely affect the Fund’s net asset value (NAV), yield, total return and ability to achieve its investment objective. As changes occur in a Fund’s portfolio holdings, the extent to which the portfolio is subject to each of these risks may also change.
| • | Market Risk The market value of portfolio securities may go up or down, sometimes rapidly and unpredictably. |
| • | Issuer Risk The value of a security may decline for a number of reasons directly related to the issuer of the security. |
| • | Selection Risk Because this Fund is actively managed, there can be no guarantee that investment decisions made for the Fund will produce the desired results. |
| • | Correlation Risk The effectiveness of the Fund’s index option-based risk management strategy may be reduced if the performance of the Fund’s equity portfolio does not correlate to the index underlying its option positions. |
| • | Foreign Securities Risk Investing in the securities of non-U.S. issuers involves a number of risks, such as fluctuations in currency values, adverse political, social or economic developments, and differences in social and economic developments or policies. |
| • | Derivatives Risk Investing in derivative instruments involves risks that may be different from or greater than the risks associated with investing directly in securities or other traditional investments. Derivatives are subject to a number of other risks, such as liquidity risk, interest rate risk, market risk, credit risk, counterparty risk, and selection risk. Derivatives also involve the risk of mispricing or improper valuation and the risk that changes in the value may not correlate perfectly with the underlying asset, rate, or index. Using derivatives may result in losses, possibly in excess of the principal amount invested. |
| • | Options Risk The value of the Fund’s positions in index options fluctuates in response to changes in the value of the underlying index. Writing index call options reduces the risk of owning stocks, but it limits the opportunity to profit from an increase in the market value of stocks in exchange for up-front cash at the time of selling the call option. The Fund also risks losing all or part of the cash paid for purchasing index put options. Unusual market conditions or the lack of a ready market for any particular option at a specific time may reduce the effectiveness of the Fund’s option strategies, and for these and other reasons the Fund’s option strategies may not reduce the Fund’s volatility to the extent desired. From time to time, the Fund may reduce its holdings of put options, resulting in an increased exposure to a market decline. |
| • | Capitalization Risk Investing in small- to mid-sized companies creates risk because smaller companies may have unpredictable or limited earnings, and their securities may be less liquid or experience more volatile prices than those of large companies. |
| • | Depositary Receipt Risk Depositary receipts involve many of the same risks as those associated with direct investment in foreign securities. Investing in these instruments may expose a fund to credit risk with respect to the issuer of the depositary receipt, in addition to the risks of the underlying investment. |
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| Summary Prospectus | AZL® Gateway Fund |
| • | Real Estate Investments Risk The performance of investments in real estate depends on the overall strength of the real estate market, the management of real estate investments trusts (REITs), and property management, all of which can be affected by a variety of factors, including national and regional economic conditions. |
| • | Technology Sector Risk Technology companies, including information technology companies, may have limited product lines, markets, financial resources or personnel. Technology companies typically face intense competition and potentially rapid product obsolescence. They are also heavily dependent on intellectual property rights and may be adversely affected by the loss or impairment of those rights. |
| • | Repurchase Agreements and Purchase and Sale Contracts Risk If the other party to a repurchase agreement or purchase and sale contract defaults on its obligation under the agreement, the Fund may suffer delays and incur costs or lose money in exercising its rights under the agreement. If the seller fails to repurchase the security in either situation and the market value of the security declines, the Fund may lose money. |
Performance Information
The following bar chart and table provide an indication of the risks of an investment in the Fund by showing changes in its performance from year to year and by showing how the Fund’s average annual returns for one year, five years, and ten years compare with those of a broad-based measure of market performance.
Both the bar chart and the table assume reinvestment of dividends and distributions.
The performance of the Fund will vary from year to year. The Fund’s performance does not reflect the cost of insurance and separate account charges which are imposed under your Contract. If they were included, performance would be reduced. Past performance does not indicate how the Fund will perform in the future.
Performance Bar Chart and Table
Calendar Year Total Return
Highest and Lowest Quarter Returns (for periods shown in the bar chart)
| Highest (Q2, 2020) |
7.87% | |||
| Lowest (Q1, 2020) |
-9.52% |
Average Annual Total Returns
| One Year Ended December 31, 2021 |
Five Years Ended December 31, 2021 |
Ten Years Ended December 31, 2021 |
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| AZL Gateway Fund | 11.13% | 6.64% | 5.55% | |||||||||
| S&P 500 Index* | 28.71% | 18.47% | 16.55% | |||||||||
| * | Reflects no deduction for fees, expenses, or taxes. |
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| Summary Prospectus | AZL® Gateway Fund |
| Management |
Allianz Investment Management LLC (the “Manager”) serves as the investment adviser to the Fund.
Gateway Investment Advisers, LLC serves as the Subadviser to the Fund.
The portfolio managers for the Fund are Paul R. Stewart, CFA®, Chief Executive Officer of Gateway, since April 2010, Michael T. Buckius, CFA®, President and Chief Investment Officer of Gateway, since April 2010, Kenneth H. Toft, CFA®, a Senior Vice President of Gateway, since February 2013, and Daniel M. Ashcraft, CFA® a portfolio manager of Gateway, since April 2016. Mr. Stewart will retire and no longer serve as a portfolio manager of the Fund effective June 30, 2022.
| Tax Information |
Shares of the Funds are sold exclusively to the separate accounts of certain insurance companies in connection with particular variable annuity and variable life insurance contracts (the “Contracts”). Provided that a Fund and a separate account investing in the Fund satisfy applicable tax requirements, any distributions from the Fund to the separate account will be exempt from current federal income taxation to the extent that such distributions accumulate in the Contract. You should refer to your Contract prospectus for further information regarding the tax treatment of the Contract and the separate accounts in which the Contract is invested.
| Financial Intermediary Compensation |
Shares of the Funds are sold exclusively to certain insurance companies in connection with particular Contracts. The Trust and its related companies may pay such insurance companies (or their related companies) for the sale of shares of the Funds and related services. Such insurance companies (or their related companies) may pay broker-dealers or other financial intermediaries (such as banks) that sell the Contracts for the sale of shares of the Funds and related services. When received by an insurance company, such payments may be a factor that the insurance companies consider in including a Fund as an investment option in the Contracts. The prospectus or other disclosures relating to a Contract may contain additional information about these payments. When received by a broker-dealer or other intermediary, such payments may create a conflict of interest by influencing the broker-dealer or other intermediary and salespersons to recommend the Fund over other mutual funds available as investment options in the Contracts. Ask the salesperson or visit the financial intermediary’s website for more information.
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