Common use of Dividend Yield Clause in Contracts

Dividend Yield. The Government Securities Portfolio may quote a "dividend yield" for its shares. Dividend yield is based on the dividends paid during the actual dividend period. To calculate dividend yield, the dividends declared during a stated period are added together, and the sum is multiplied by 12 (to annualize the yield) and divided by the maximum offering price on the last day of the dividend period. The formula is shown below: Dividend Yield = Distribution Paid / No. of Days in the Period x No. of Days in the Calendar Year ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Maximum Offering Price (payment date) ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Yields for the 30-Day Period Ended 12/31/01 ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- --------------------------------------------- ---------------------------------- -------------------------------- Portfolio Standardized Yield Dividend Yield --------------------------------------------- ---------------------------------- -------------------------------- --------------------------------------------- ---------------------------------- -------------------------------- Government Securities Portfolio 3.83% 6.26% --------------------------------------------- ---------------------------------- -------------------------------- |X| Total Return Information. There are different types of "total returns" to measure a Portfolio's performance. Total return is the change in value of a hypothetical investment in the Portfolio over a given period, assuming that all dividends and capital gains distributions are reinvested in additional shares and that the investment is redeemed at the end of the period. The cumulative total return measures the change in value over the entire period (for example, ten years). An average annual total return shows the average rate of return for each year in a period that would produce the cumulative total return over the entire period. However, average annual total returns do not show actual year-by-year performance. A Portfolio uses standardized calculations for its total returns as prescribed by the SEC. The methodology is discussed below. 1/n ERV --- - 1 = Average Annual Total Return P |_| Average Annual Total Return. The "average annual total return" is an average annual compounded rate of return for each year in a specified number of years. It is the rate of return based on the change in value of a hypothetical initial investment of $1,000 ("P" in the formula below) held for a number of years ("n" in the formula) to achieve an Ending Redeemable Value ("ERV" in the formula) of that investment, according to the following formula: |_| Cumulative Total Return. The "cumulative total return" calculation measures the change in value of a hypothetical investment of $1,000 over an entire period of years. Its calculation uses some of the same factors as average annual total return, but it does not average the rate of return on an annual basis. Cumulative total return is determined as follows: ERV-P ----- = Total Return P Total Returns for the Periods Ended 12/31/01 --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- -------------------------------------- ------------------ ----------------------------------------------------------- Portfolio Cumulative Total Average Annual Total Returns Returns (10 years or Life of Class) -------------------------------------- ------------------ ----------------------------------------------------------- -------------------------------------- ------------------ ------------------- ------------------- ------------------- 1-Year 5-Year 10-Year (or life-of-class) (or life-of-class) -------------------------------------- ------------------ ------------------- ------------------- ------------------- -------------------------------------- ------------------ ------------------- ------------------- ------------------- -------------------------------------- ------------------ ------------------- ------------------- ------------------- -------------------------------------- ------------------ ------------------- ------------------- ------------------- Growth Portfolio1 128.98% -10.61% 0.58% 8.64% -------------------------------------- ------------------ ------------------- ------------------- ------------------- -------------------------------------- ------------------ ------------------- ------------------- ------------------- Total Return Portfolio2 103.01% -6.94% 3.31% 7.34% -------------------------------------- ------------------ ------------------- ------------------- ------------------- -------------------------------------- ------------------ ------------------- ------------------- ------------------- ▇▇▇▇▇▇▇▇▇▇▇ International Growth 96.50% -24.31% 5.88% 7.26% Fund/VA3 -------------------------------------- ------------------ ------------------- ------------------- ------------------- -------------------------------------- ------------------ ------------------- ------------------- ------------------- ▇▇▇▇▇▇▇▇▇▇▇ International Growth -11.48% N/A N/A N/A Fund/VA Service Shares 4 -------------------------------------- ------------------ ------------------- ------------------- ------------------- -------------------------------------- ------------------ ------------------- ------------------- ------------------- Government Securities Portfolio3 90.05% 7.23% 6.86% 6.89% -------------------------------------- ------------------ ------------------- ------------------- ------------------- 1. Inception: 1/21/82. 2. Inception: 9/30/82. 3. Inception: 5/13/92. 4. Inception: 3/19/01 Other Performance Comparisons. Each Portfolio compares its performance annually to that of an appropriate broadly-based market index in its Annual Report to shareholders. You can obtain that information by contacting the Transfer Agent at the addresses or telephone numbers shown on the cover of this Statement of Additional Information. A Portfolio may also compare its performance to that of other investments, including other mutual funds, or use rankings of its performance by independent ranking entities. Examples of these performance comparisons are set forth below. |X| Lipper Rankings. From time to time a Portfolio may publish the ranking of the performance of its shares by Lipper, Inc. ("Lipper"). Lipper is a widely-recognized independent mutual fund monitoring service. Lipper monitors the performance of regulated investment companies, including the Portfolios, and ranks their performance for various periods in categories based on investment styles. The Lipper performance rankings are based on total returns that include the reinvestment of capital gain distributions and income dividends but do not take sales charges or taxes into consideration. Lipper also publishes "peer-group" indices of the performance of all mutual funds in a category that it monitors and averages of the performance of the funds in particular categories. |X| Morningstar Ratings and Rankings. From time to time a Portfolio may publish the star ranking and/or star rating of the performance of its shares by Morningstar, Inc. ("Morningstar"), an independent mutual fund monitoring service. Morningstar rates and ranks mutual funds in broad investment categories: domestic stock funds, international stock funds, taxable bond funds and municipal bond funds. Morningstar proprietary star rankings reflect historical risk-adjusted total investment return. For each fund with at least a three-year history, Morningstar calculates a Morningstar RatingTM metric each month by subtracting the return on a 90-day U.S. Treasury ▇▇▇▇ from the fund's load-adjusted return for the same period, and then adjusting this excess return for risk. The top 10% of funds in each broad asset class receive 5 stars, the next 22.5% receive 4 stars, the next 35% receive 3 stars, the next 22.5% receive 2 stars and the bottom 10% receive 1 star. The Overall Morningstar Rating for a fund is derived from a weighted average of the performance figures associated with its three-, five- and ten-year (if applicable) Morningstar Ratings metrics. A Portfolio may also compare its total return ranking to that of other funds in its Morningstar category, in addition to its star ratings. Those total return rankings are percentages from one percent to one hundred percent and are not risk-adjusted. For example, if a fund is in the 94th percentile, that means that 94% of the funds in the same category performed better than it did. |X| Performance Rankings and Comparisons by Other Entities and Publications. From time to time a Portfolio may include in its advertisements and sales literature performance information about the Portfolio cited in newspapers and other periodicals such as The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, ▇▇▇▇▇▇'▇, or similar publications. That information may include performance quotations from other sources, including Lipper and Morningstar. The performance of the Portfolio's shares may be compared in publications to the performance of various market indices or other investments, and averages, performance rankings or other benchmarks prepared by recognized mutual fund statistical services. Investors may also wish to compare the returns on a Portfolio's shares to the return on fixed-income investments available from banks and thrift institutions. Those include certificates of deposit, ordinary interest-paying checking and savings accounts, and other forms of fixed or variable time deposits, and various other instruments such as Treasury bills. However, a Portfolio's returns and share price are not guaranteed or insured by the FDIC or any other agency and will fluctuate daily, while bank depository obligations may be insured by the FDIC and may provide fixed rates of return. Repayment of principal and payment of interest on Treasury securities is backed by the full faith and credit of the U.S. government. From time to time, a portfolio may publish rankings or ratings of the Manager or Transfer Agent, and of the investor services provided by them to shareholders of the ▇▇▇▇▇▇▇▇▇▇▇ funds, other than performance rankings of the ▇▇▇▇▇▇▇▇▇▇▇ funds themselves. Those ratings or rankings of shareholder and investor services by third parties may include comparisons of their services to those provided by other mutual fund families selected by the rating or ranking services. They may be based upon the opinions of the rating or ranking service itself, using its research or judgment, or based upon surveys of investors, brokers, shareholders or others. I N V E S T I N G I N T H E P O R T F O L I O S How To Buy and Sell Shares Insurance companies that hold shares of the Portfolios in their separate accounts for the benefit of their customers' variable annuities, variable life insurance policies and other investment products are the record holders and the owners of shares of beneficial interest in the Portfolios. The right of those customers of the insurance companies to give directions to the insurance company for the purchase or redemption of shares is determined under the contract between the customer and the insurance company. Those customers are not "shareholders" of the Portfolios. The rights of those insurance companies as record holders and owners of shares of a Portfolio are different from the rights of their customers. The term "shareholder" in this Statement of Additional Information refers only to the insurance companies whose separate accounts hold shares of the Portfolios, and not to contract holders. The sale of shares of the Portfolios is currently limited to Accounts as explained on the cover page of this Statement of Additional Information and the Prospectus. Such shares are sold at their respective offering prices (net asset values without sales charges) and redeemed at their respective net asset values as described in the Prospectus. The Company reserves the right to limit the types of separate accounts that may invest in any Portfolio. Determination of Net Asset Values Per Share. The net asset value per share of each Portfolio is determined as of the close of business of The New York Stock Exchange on each day the Exchange is open. The calculation is done by dividing the value of a Portfolio's net assets by the number of shares outstanding. The Exchange normally closes at 4:00 P.M., New York time, but may close earlier on some days (for example, in case of weather emergencies or on days falling before or after a holiday). The Exchange's most recent annual holiday schedule (which is subject to change) states that it will close New Year's Day, ▇▇▇▇▇▇ ▇▇▇▇▇▇ ▇▇▇▇, ▇▇. Day, Presidents' Day, Good Friday, Memorial Day, Independence Day, Labor Day, Thanksgiving Day and Christmas Day. It may close on other days. Dealers other than Exchange members may conduct trading in certain securities on days on which the Exchange is closed (including weekends and U.S. holidays) or after 4:00 P.M., on a regular business day. Because the Portfolio's net asset values will not be calculated on those days, the Portfolio's net asset values per share may be significantly affected on such days when shareholders may not purchase or redeem shares. Additionally, trading on European and Asian stock exchanges and over-the-counter markets normally is completed before the close of The New York Stock Exchange. Changes in the values of securities traded on foreign exchanges or markets as a result of events that occur after the prices of those securities are determined, but before the close of The New York Stock Exchange, will not be reflected in a Portfolio's calculation of its net asset values that day unless the Manager determines that the event is likely to effect a material change in the value of the security. If such determination is made, the Manager, acting through an internal valuation committee, will establish a valuation for such security. Some of the securities the Portfolios buy may not have readily available market quotations. For these securities, the Board of Directors has authorized the Manager's valuation committee to establish values for them. All valuation determinations by the valuation committee are subject to the approval, ratification and confirmation by the Board at its next ensuing meeting. |X|