497K 1 ftgst_497k.htm SUMMARY PROSPECTUS

Rule 497(k)

File No. 333-178767

First Trust Variable Insurance Trust
 
 
SUMMARY PROSPECTUS 
FIRST TRUST GROWTH STRENGTH PORTFOLIO
CLASS I
 
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 statutory prospectus and other information about the Fund, including the statement of additional information and most recent reports to shareholders, online at www.ftportfolios.com/Retail/VA/VAFundNews.aspx?ProductCode=FTGSTI.  You can also get this information at no cost by calling (800) 621-1675 or by sending an e-mail request to info@ftportfolios.com.  If you purchase shares through a financial intermediary (such as a broker/dealer or bank), you can obtain the Fund’s prospectus and other information from that financial intermediary. The Fund’s prospectus and statement of additional information, both dated May 12, 2023, are all incorporated by reference into this Summary Prospectus.
May 12, 2023
Investment Objective
The First Trust Growth Strength Portfolio (the "Fund") seeks to provide long-term capital appreciation.
Fees and Expenses of the Fund
The following table describes the fees and expenses that you may pay if you buy, hold and sell shares of the Fund. The Total Annual Fund Operating Expenses reflected below do not include contract level fees of the variable annuity or variable life insurance contracts offered by a Participating Insurance Company (each a “Contract”). If such fees were included, the Total Annual Fund Operating Expenses would be higher. More information about eligibility requirements for Class I shares is available from your Participating Insurance Company.
Shareholder Fees
(fees paid directly from your investment) 
 
Class I
Maximum Sales Charge (Load) Imposed on Purchases (as a percentage of offering price)
None
 
Annual Fund Operating Expenses
(expenses that you pay each year as a percentage of the value of your investment) 
 
Class I
Management Fees
0.60%
Distribution and Service (12b-1) Fees
0.25%
Other Expenses(1)
0.43%
Total Annual Fund Operating Expenses
1.28%
Fee Waiver and Expense Reimbursement(2)
0.08%
Total Net Annual Fund Operating Expenses After Fee Waiver and Expense Reimbursement
1.20%
(1)
“Other Expenses” is an estimate based on the expenses the Fund expects to incur for the current fiscal year.
(2)
Pursuant to a contractual agreement between the Trust, on behalf of the Fund, and the Fund’s investment advisor, the Fund's investment advisor has agreed to waive fees and/or pay the Fund’s expenses to the extent necessary to prevent the total net annual fund expenses of the Class I shares (excluding interest expense, brokerage commissions and other trading expenses, taxes and extraordinary expenses) from exceeding 1.20% of the Fund’s average daily net assets at least through May 12, 2025 (the “Expense Cap”). Expenses borne by the Fund’s investment advisor are subject to reimbursement by the Fund for up to three years from the date the fee or expense was initially waived or reimbursed, but no reimbursement payment will be made by the Fund at any time if it would result in Class I share expenses (excluding interest expense, brokerage commissions and other trading expenses, taxes, and extraordinary expenses) exceeding (after the amount of reimbursement is taken into account) the lesser of (i) the applicable expense limitation in place for the most recent fiscal year for which such expense limitation was in place, (ii) the applicable expense limitation in place at the time the fees were waived or expenses were reimbursed, or (iii) the current expense limitation. The agreement may be terminated by the Trust on behalf of the Fund at any time and by the Fund’s investment advisor only after May 12, 2025 upon 60 days’ written notice.
Example
The following 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 hold or sell 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 annual operating expenses (before any fee waiver or expense reimbursement) remain at current levels for the time periods indicated. Additionally, the example assumes that the Fund’s investment advisor’s agreement to waive fees and/or pay the Fund’s expenses to the extent necessary to prevent the operating expenses of the Class I shares (excluding interest expense, brokerage commissions and other trading expenses, taxes and extraordinary expenses) from exceeding 1.20% of the Fund’s average daily net assets will be terminated following May 12, 2025. The example does not take into account Contract level fees. If such fees were included, the estimated expenses would be higher. Although your actual costs may be higher or lower, based on these assumptions, your cost whether you redeem or hold all of your shares, would be: 
Share Class
1 Year
3 Years
Class I
$122
$390
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. The Fund has no operational history and therefore no historical turnover rate.
Principal Investment Strategies
Under normal market conditions, the Fund will invest at least 80% of its net assets (plus any borrowings for investment purposes) in the common stocks and real estate investment trusts (“REITs”) that comprise The Growth Strength IndexTM (the “Index”). The Fund, using an indexing investment approach, attempts to replicate, before fees and expenses, the total return performance of the Index, which includes dividends paid by the common stocks in the Index. The Fund will generally employ a full replication strategy, meaning that it will normally invest in all of the securities comprising the Index in proportion to their weightings in the Index. The Index is developed, maintained and sponsored by Nasdaq, Inc. (the “Index Provider”). The Index Provider may, from time to time, exercise reasonable discretion as it deems appropriate in order to ensure Index integrity.
According to the Index Provider, the Index seeks to provide exposure to a mix of domestic equities with filters for liquidity, return on equity, long-term debt, revenue, cash on hand and cash flow growth. Companies that do not meet requirements for minimum metrics on those criteria are filtered out of, or excluded from, the Index, according to the Index Provider. The Index’s initial selection universe is composed of all the securities comprising the NASDAQ US Benchmark Index. The Index then excludes all securities with a three month average daily trading volume of less than $5 million and duplicate (multiple share classes) companies and ranks the top 500 remaining securities by float-adjusted market capitalization. The universe is further narrowed by excluding those securities issued by companies with less than $1 billion in cash and short-term investments, companies with a long-term debt to market capitalization ratio greater than 30% and companies with a return on equity that is less than 15%. The remaining securities are then ranked by their three-year revenue percentage growth and three-year cash flow percentage growth. Those rankings are then combined equally and the top 50 securities are chosen for inclusion in the Index.
According to the Index Provider, if there are more than fifteen securities from any one industry, as determined by the Industry Classification Benchmark (“ICB”) classification system, the security with the lowest ranking will be removed and replaced with the next eligible security (e.g., the 51st ranked by growth) from a different industry. This process is repeated until no industry has more than fifteen securities. Once finalized, each security is equally-weighted.
The Index is rebalanced and reconstituted quarterly and the Fund will make corresponding changes to its portfolio shortly after the Index changes are made public. The Index’s quarterly rebalance and reconstitution schedule may cause the Fund to experience a higher rate of portfolio turnover. The Fund will be concentrated in an industry or a group of industries to the extent that the Index is so concentrated. As of March 31, 2023, the Index was composed of 50 securities. As of March 31, 2023, the Index had a market capitalization range between $14.2 billion and $2.6 trillion. As of March 31, 2023, the Index had significant exposure to companies within the health care and information technology sectors, although this may change from time to time. The Fund's investments will change as the Index changes, and, as a result, the Fund may have significant investments in jurisdictions or investment sectors that it may not have had as of March 31, 2023. To the extent the Fund invests a significant portion of its assets in a given jurisdiction or investment sector, the Fund may be exposed to the risks associated with that jurisdiction or investment sector.
The Fund is classified as “non-diversified” under the Investment Company Act of 1940, as amended (the “1940 Act”).
Principal Risks
You could lose money by investing in the Fund. An investment in the Fund is not a deposit of a bank and is not insured or guaranteed by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation or any other governmental agency. There can be no assurance that the Fund’s investment objective will be achieved. The order of the below risk factors does not indicate the significance of any particular risk factor.
CYBER SECURITY RISK. The Fund is susceptible to operational risks through breaches in cyber security. A breach in cyber security refers to both intentional and unintentional events that may cause the Fund to lose proprietary information, suffer data corruption or lose operational capacity. Such events could cause the Fund to incur regulatory penalties, reputational damage, additional compliance costs associated with corrective measures and/or financial loss. Cyber security breaches may involve unauthorized access to the Fund’s digital information systems through “hacking” or malicious software coding but may also result from outside attacks such as denial-of-service attacks through efforts to make network services unavailable to intended users. In addition, cyber security breaches of the issuers of securities in which the Fund invests or the Fund’s third-party service providers, such as its administrator, transfer agent, custodian, or sub-advisor, as applicable, can also subject the Fund to many of the same risks associated with direct cyber security breaches. Although the Fund has established risk management systems designed to reduce the risks associated with cyber security, there is no guarantee that such efforts will succeed, especially because the Fund does not directly control the cyber security systems of issuers or third-party service providers.
EQUITY SECURITIES RISK. The value of the Fund’s shares will fluctuate with changes in the value of the equity securities in which it invests. Equity securities prices fluctuate for several reasons, including changes in investors’ perceptions of the financial condition of an issuer or the general condition of the relevant equity market, such as market volatility, or when political or economic events affecting an issuer occur. Common stock prices may be particularly sensitive to rising interest rates, as the cost of capital rises and borrowing costs increase. Equity securities may decline significantly in price over short or extended periods of time, and such declines may occur in the equity market as a whole, or they may occur in only a particular country, company, industry or sector of the market.
GROWTH STOCKS INVESTMENT RISK. Stocks exhibiting growth characteristics tend to be more volatile than certain other types of stocks and their prices usually fluctuate more dramatically than the overall stock market. A stock with growth characteristics can have
sharp price declines due to decreases in current or expected earnings and may lack dividend payments that can help cushion its share price during declining markets.
HEALTH CARE COMPANIES RISK. Health care companies, such as companies providing medical and healthcare goods and services, companies engaged in manufacturing medical equipment, supplies and pharmaceuticals, as well as operating health care facilities and the provision of managed health care, may be affected by government regulations and government health care programs, increases or decreases in the cost of medical products and services and product liability claims, among other factors. Many health care companies are heavily dependent on patent protection, and the expiration of a company’s patent may adversely affect that company’s profitability. Health care companies are also subject to competitive forces that may result in price discounting, may be thinly capitalized and susceptible to product obsolescence.
INDEX CONCENTRATION RISK. The Fund will be concentrated in an industry or a group of industries to the extent that the Index is so concentrated. To the extent that the Fund invests a significant percentage of its assets ina single asset class or the securities of issuers within the same country, state, region, industry or sector, an adverse economic, business or political development may affect the value of the Fund’s investments more than if the Fund were more broadly diversified. A significant exposure makes the Fund more susceptible to any single occurrence and may subject the Fund to greater market risk than a fund that is more broadly diversified.
INDEX PROVIDER RISK. There is no assurance that the Index Provider, or any agents that act on its behalf, will compile the Index accurately, or that the Index will be determined, maintained, constructed, reconstituted, rebalanced, composed, calculated or disseminated accurately. The Index Provider and its agents do not provide any representation or warranty in relation to the quality, accuracy or completeness of data in the Index, and do not guarantee that the Index will be calculated in accordance with its stated methodology. The Advisor’s mandate as described in this prospectus is to manage the Fund consistently with the Index provided by the Index Provider. The Advisor relies upon the Index provider and its agents to accurately compile, maintain, construct, reconstitute, rebalance, compose, calculate and disseminate the Index accurately. Therefore, losses or costs associated with any Index Provider or agent errors generally will be borne by the Fund and its shareholders. To correct any such error, the Index Provider or its agents may carry out an unscheduled rebalance of the Index or other modification of Index constituents or weightings. When the Fund in turn rebalances its portfolio, any transaction costs and market exposure arising from such portfolio rebalancing will be borne by the Fund and its shareholders. Unscheduled rebalances also expose the Fund to additional tracking error risk. Errors in respect of the quality, accuracy and completeness of the data used to compile the Index may occur from time to time and may not be identified and corrected by the Index Provider for a period of time or at all, particularly where the Index is less commonly used as a benchmark by funds or advisors. For example, during a period where the Index contains incorrect constituents, the Fund tracking the Index would have market exposure to such constituents and would be underexposed to the Index’s other constituents. Such errors may negatively impact the Fund and its shareholders. The Index Provider and its agents rely on various sources of information to assess the criteria of issuers included in the Index, including information that may be based on assumptions and estimates. Neither the Fund nor the Advisor can offer assurances that the Index’s calculation methodology or sources of information will provide an accurate assessment of included issuers. Unusual market conditions may cause the Index Provider to postpone a scheduled rebalance, which could cause the Index to vary from its normal or expected composition. The postponement of a scheduled rebalance in a time of market volatility could mean that constituents that would otherwise be removed at rebalance due to changes in market capitalizations, issuer credit ratings, or other reasons may remain, causing the performance and constituents of the Index to vary from those expected under normal conditions. Apart from scheduled rebalances, the Index Provider or its agents may carry out additional ad hoc rebalances to the Index due to unusual market conditions or in order, for example, to correct an error in the selection of index constituents.
INFLATION RISK. Inflation risk is the risk that the value of assets or income from investments will be less in the future as inflation decreases the value of money. The current environment of elevated inflation may cause the present value of the Fund’s assets and distributions to decline.
INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY COMPANIES RISK. Information technology companies produce and provide hardware, software and information technology systems and services. These companies may be adversely affected by rapidly changing technologies, short product life cycles, fierce competition, aggressive pricing and reduced profit margins, the loss of patent, copyright and trademark protections, cyclical market patterns, evolving industry standards and frequent new product introductions. In addition, information technology companies are particularly vulnerable to federal, state and local government regulation, and competition and consolidation, both domestically and internationally, including competition from foreign competitors with lower production costs. Information technology companies also heavily rely on intellectual property rights and may be adversely affected by the loss or impairment of those rights.
LARGE CAPITALIZATION COMPANIES RISK. Large capitalization companies may grow at a slower rate and be less able to adapt to changing market conditions than smaller capitalization companies. Thus, the return on investment in securities of large capitalization companies may be less than the return on investment in securities of small and/or mid capitalization companies. The performance of large capitalization companies also tends to trail the overall market during different market cycles.
MARKET RISK. Market risk is the risk that a particular security, or shares of the Fund in general, may fall in value. Securities are subject to market fluctuations caused by such factors as economic, political, regulatory or market developments, changes in interest rates and perceived trends in securities prices. Shares of the Fund could decline in value or underperform other investments. In addition,
local, regional or global events such as war, acts of terrorism, spread of infectious diseases or other public health issues, recessions, natural disasters, or other events could have a significant negative impact on the Fund and its investments. For example, the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) global pandemic and the ensuing policies enacted by governments and central banks have caused and may continue to cause significant volatility and uncertainty in global financial markets, negatively impacting global growth prospects. While vaccines have been developed, there is no guarantee that vaccines will be effective against future variants of the disease. As this global pandemic illustrated, such events may affect certain geographic regions, countries, sectors and industries more significantly than others. Recent and potential future bank failures could result in disruption to the broader banking industry or markets generally and reduce confidence in financial institutions and the economy as a whole, which may also heighten market volatility and reduce liquidity. These events also adversely affect the prices and liquidity of the Fund’s portfolio securities or other instruments and could result in disruptions in the trading markets. Any of such circumstances could have a materially negative impact on the value of the Fund’s shares and result in increased market volatility. During any such events, the Fund’s shares may trade at increased premiums or discounts to their net asset value and the bid/ask spread on the Fund’s shares may widen.
NEW FUND RISK. The Fund is new and has no performance historyor assets as of the date of this prospectus. The Fund expects to have fewer assets than larger funds. Like other new funds, large inflows and outflows may impact the Fund’s market exposure, and in turn, the Fund’s returns for limited periods of time.
NON-CORRELATION RISK. The Fund’s return may not match the return of the Index for a number of reasons. The Fund incurs operating expenses not applicable to the Index, and may incur costs in buying and selling securities, especially when rebalancing the Fund’s portfolio holdings to reflect changes in the composition of the Index. In addition, the Fund’s portfolio holdings may not exactly replicate the securities included in the Index or the ratios between the securities included in the Index. Additionally, in order to comply with its investment strategies and policies, the Fund portfolio may deviate from the composition of the Index. Accordingly, the Fund's return may underperform the return of the Index.
NON-DIVERSIFICATION RISK. The Fund is classified as “non-diversified” under the 1940 Act. As a result, the Fund is only limited as to the percentage of its assets which may be invested in the securities of any one issuer by the diversification requirements imposed by the Internal Revenue Code of 1986, as amended. The Fund may invest a relatively high percentage of its assets in a limited number of issuers. As a result, the Fund may be more susceptible to a single adverse economic or regulatory occurrence affecting one or more of these issuers, experience increased volatility and be highly invested in certain issuers.
OPERATIONAL RISK. The Fund is subject to risks arising from various operational factors, including, but not limited to, human error, processing and communication errors, errors of the Fund’s service providers, counterparties or other third-parties, failed or inadequate processes and technology or systems failures. The Fund relies on third-parties for a range of services, including custody. Any delay or failure relating to engaging or maintaining such service providers may affect the Fund’s ability to meet its investment objective. Although the Fund and the Fund's investment advisor seek to reduce these operational risks through controls and procedures, there is no way to completely protect against such risks.
PASSIVE INVESTMENT RISK. The Fund is not actively managed. The Fund invests in securities included in or representative of the Index regardless of investment merit. The Fund generally will not attempt to take defensive positions in declining markets. In the event that the Index is no longer calculated, the Index license is terminated or the identity or character of the Index is materially changed, the Fund will seek to engage a replacement index.
PORTFOLIO TURNOVER RISK. High portfolio turnover may result in the Fund paying higher levels of transaction costs and may generate greater tax liabilities for shareholders. Portfolio turnover risk may cause the Fund’s performance to be less than expected.
REIT RISK. REITs typically own and operate income-producing real estate, such as residential or commercial buildings, or real-estate related assets, including mortgages. As a result, investments in REITs are subject to the risks associated with investing in real estate, which may include, but are not limited to: fluctuations in the value of underlying properties; defaults by borrowers or tenants; market saturation; changes in general and local operating expenses; and other economic, political or regulatory occurrences affecting companies in the real estate sector. REITs are also subject to the risk that the real estate market may experience an economic downturn generally, which may have a material effect on the real estate in which the REITs invest and their underlying portfolio securities. REITs may have also a relatively small market capitalization which may result in their shares experiencing less market liquidity and greater price volatility than larger companies. Increases in interest rates typically lower the present value of a REIT's future earnings stream, and may make financing property purchases and improvements more costly. Because the market price of REIT stocks may change based upon investors' collective perceptions of future earnings, the value of the Fund will generally decline when investors anticipate or experience rising interest rates.
Performance
The Fund does not have a performance history. Once available, the Fund’s performance information, and information that gives some indication of the risks of an investment in the Fund by comparing the Fund’s performance with a broad measure of market performance, will be available on the Fund’s website at www.ftportfolios.com. The Fund’s past performance is not necessarily an indication of how the Fund will perform in the future.
Management
Investment Advisor
First Trust Advisors L.P. (“First Trust” or the “Advisor”)
Portfolio Managers
The Fund’s portfolio is managed by a team (the “Investment Committee”) consisting of:
•
Daniel J. Lindquist, Chairman of the Investment Committee and Managing Director of First Trust
•
David G. McGarel, Chief Investment Officer, Chief Operating Officer and Managing Director of First Trust
•
Jon C. Erickson, Senior Vice President of First Trust
•
Roger F. Testin, Senior Vice President of First Trust
•
Chris A. Peterson, Senior Vice President of First Trust
The Investment Committee members are primarily and jointly responsible for the day-to-day management of the Fund. Each Investment Committee member has served as a part of the portfolio management team of the Fund since May 2023.
Purchase and Sale of Fund Shares
Shares of the Fund are sold only to each Participating Insurance Company’s variable insurance account (each an “Account”) to fund the benefits of the Contracts. The Account purchases shares of the Fund in accordance with variable account allocation instructions received from owners of the Contracts.
Individual investors may not purchase or redeem shares in the Fund directly; shares may be purchased or redeemed only through the Contracts. There are no minimum investment requirements. For a discussion of how Contract owners may purchase Fund shares, please refer to the prospectus for the Account. Owners of the Contracts may direct purchase or redemption instructions to their Participating Insurance Company.
The Fund offers to buy back (redeem) shares of the Fund from the Account at any time at net asset value. The Account will redeem shares to make benefit or surrender payments under the terms of the Contracts or to effect transfers among investment options. Redemptions are processed on any day on which the Fund is open for business and are effected at the net asset value next determined after the redemption order, in proper form, is received. Orders received before the close of trading on a business day will receive that day’s closing price; otherwise, the next business day’s price will be used. For a discussion of how Contract owners may redeem shares, please refer to the prospectus for your Account.
Tax Information
Shares of the Fund may be purchased only by the Accounts of Participating Insurance Companies. Participating Insurance Companies and owners of Contracts should seek advice based on their individual circumstances from their own tax advisor. Tax disclosure relating to the Contracts that offer the Fund as an investment alternative is to be contained in the prospectus for the Contracts.
Payments to Broker-Dealers and Other Financial Intermediaries
If you purchase shares of the Fund through a Participating Insurance Company, broker-dealer, registered investment adviser, bank or other financial intermediary (collectively, “intermediaries”), First Trust and First Trust Portfolios L.P., the Fund’s distributor, may pay the intermediary for the sale of Fund shares and related services. These payments may create a conflict of interest by influencing the broker-dealer or other intermediary and your salesperson to recommend the Fund over another investment. Ask your salesperson or visit your financial intermediary’s website for more information.
You can find the Fund’s statutory prospectus and other information about the Fund, including the statement of additional information and most recent reports to shareholders, online at www.ftportfolios.com/Retail/VA/VAFundNews.aspx?ProductCode=FTGSTI.
FTGSTISP0523