Mutual Fund Summary Prospectus (497k)

Waddell & Reed Advisors Science and Technology Fund

 

Summary Prospectus   |   October 31, 2013

Share Class (Ticker):     Class A Shares (UNSCX), Class B Shares (USTBX), Class C Shares (WCSTX), Class Y (USTFX)

 

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 and other information about the Fund (including the Fund’s SAI) online at www.waddell.com/prospectus . You can also get this information at no cost by calling 888.WADDELL or by sending an e-mail request to [e-mail] . You can also get this information from your investment provider. The Fund’s prospectus and SAI dated October 31, 2013 (as each may be amended or supplemented) are incorporated herein by reference.

Objective

To seek to provide growth of capital.

Fees and Expenses

This table describes the fees and expenses that you may pay if you buy and hold shares of the Fund. You may qualify for sales charge discounts if you and your family invest, or agree to invest in the future, at least $100,000 in funds within Waddell & Reed Advisors Funds, InvestEd Portfolios and/or Ivy Funds. More information about these and other discounts is available from your financial professional and in the “Sales Charge Reductions” section on page 81 of the Fund’s prospectus and in the “Purchase, Redemption and Pricing of Shares” section on page 89 of the Fund’s statement of additional information (SAI). Effective January 1, 2014, the Fund’s Class B shares are not available for purchase by new and existing investors. Class B shares will continue to be available for dividend reinvestment and exchanges.

Shareholder Fees

 

(fees paid directly from your investment)		Class A				Class B				Class C				Class Y
Maximum Sales Charge (Load) Imposed on Purchases (as a % of offering price)			5.75%				None				None				None
Maximum Deferred Sales Charge (Load) (as a % of lesser of amount invested or redemption value)			1.00%	1			5.00%	1			1.00%	1			None
Maximum Account Fee			$20	2			None				$20	2			None

Annual Fund Operating Expenses

 

(expenses that you pay each year as a % of the value of your investment)		Class A				Class B				Class C				Class Y
Management Fees			0.83%				0.83%				0.83%				0.83%
Distribution and Service (12b-1) Fees			0.25%				1.00%				1.00%				None
Other Expenses			0.25%				0.67%				0.49%				0.19%
Total Annual Fund Operating Expenses			1.33%				2.50%				2.32%				1.02%

 

1

For Class A shares, a 1% contingent deferred sales charge (CDSC) is only imposed on Class A shares that were purchased at net asset value (NAV) for $1 million or more that are subsequently redeemed within 12 months of purchase. For Class B shares, the CDSC declines from 5% for redemptions within the first year of purchase, to 4% for redemptions within the second year, to 3% for redemptions within the third and fourth years, to 2% for redemptions within the fifth year, to 1% for redemptions within the sixth year and to 0% for redemptions after the sixth year. For Class C shares, a 1% CDSC applies to redemptions within 12 months of purchase.

 

2	With limited exceptions, for Class A and Class C shares, if your Fund account balance is below $750 at the close of business on September 26, 2014, and on the Friday prior to the last week of September each year thereafter, the account will be assessed an account fee of $20.

Example

This example is intended to help you compare the cost of investing in the shares of the Fund with the cost of investing in other mutual funds.

The example assumes that you invest $10,000 in the particular class of shares of the Fund for the time periods indicated and then redeem all 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. 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
Class A Shares		$	703			$	972			$	1,262			$	2,084
Class B Shares			653				1,079				1,431				2,547
Class C Shares			235				724				1,240				2,656
Class Y Shares			104				325				563				1,248

---

You would pay the following expenses if you did not redeem your shares:

 

		1 Year				3 Years				5 Years				10 Years
Class A Shares		$	703			$	972			$	1,262			$	2,084
Class B Shares			253				779				1,331				2,547
Class C Shares			235				724				1,240				2,656
Class Y Shares			104				325				563				1,248

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 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 50% of the average value of its portfolio.

Principal Investment Strategies

Waddell & Reed Advisors Science and Technology Fund seeks to achieve its objective by investing primarily in the equity securities of science and technology companies around the globe. Under normal circumstances, the Fund invests at least 80% of its net assets in securities of science or technology companies. Such companies may include companies that, in the opinion of Waddell & Reed Investment Management Company (WRIMCO), the Fund’s investment manager, derive a competitive advantage by the application of scientific or technological developments or discoveries to grow their business or increase their competitive advantage. Science and technology companies are companies whose products, processes or services, in the opinion of WRIMCO, are being or are expected to be significantly benefited by the use or commercial application of scientific or technological developments or discoveries. The Fund may also invest in companies that utilize science and/or technology as an agent of change to significantly enhance their business opportunities. The Fund may invest in securities issued by companies of any size, and may invest without limitation in foreign securities, including securities of issuers within emerging markets.

WRIMCO typically emphasizes growth potential in selecting stocks; that is, WRIMCO seeks companies in which earnings are likely to grow faster than the economy. WRIMCO aims to identify strong secular trends within industries and then applies a largely bottom-up stock selection process by considering a number of factors in selecting securities for the Fund’s portfolio. These may include but are not limited to a company’s growth potential, earnings potential, quality of management, valuation, financial statements, industry position/market size potential and applicable economic and market conditions as well as whether a company’s products and services have high barriers to entry. The Fund typically holds a limited number of stocks (generally 45 to 65).

Many U.S. companies have diverse operations, with products or services in foreign markets. Therefore, the Fund will have an indirect exposure to additional foreign markets through investments in these companies.

Generally, in determining whether to sell a security, WRIMCO uses the same type of analysis that it uses in buying securities in order to determine whether the security has ceased to offer significant growth potential, has become overvalued and/or whether the company prospects of the issuer have deteriorated due to a change in management, change in strategy and/or a change in its financial characteristics. WRIMCO may also sell a security to reduce the Fund’s holding in that security, to take advantage of what it believes are more attractive investment opportunities or to raise cash.

Principal Investment Risks

As with any mutual fund, the value of the Fund’s shares will change, and you could lose money on your investment. The Fund is not intended as a complete investment program. A variety of factors can affect the investment performance of the Fund and prevent it from achieving its objective. These include:

 

n

Company Risk . A company may perform worse than the overall market due to specific factors, such as adverse changes to its business or investor perceptions about the company.

 

n

Concentration Risk . Because the Fund invests more than 25% of its total assets in the science and technology industry, the Fund’s performance may be more susceptible to a single economic, regulatory or technological occurrence than a fund that does not concentrate its investments in this industry. Securities of companies within specific industries or sectors of the economy may periodically perform differently than the overall market. In addition, the Fund’s performance may be more volatile than an investment in a portfolio of broad market securities and may underperform the market as a whole, due to the relatively limited number of issuers of science and technology related securities.

 

n

Emerging Market Risk . Investments in countries with emerging economies or securities markets may carry greater risk than investments in more developed countries. Political and economic structures in many such countries may be undergoing significant evolution and rapid development, and such countries may lack the social, political and economic stability characteristics of more developed countries. Investments in securities issued in these countries may be more volatile and less liquid than securities issued in more developed countries.

---

n

Foreign Exposure Risk . The securities of many companies may have significant exposure to foreign markets as a result of the company’s products or services in those foreign markets. As a result, a company’s domicile and/or the markets in which the company’s securities trade may not be fully reflective of its sources of revenue. Such securities would be subject to some of the same risks as an investment in foreign securities, including the risk that political and economic events unique to a country or region will adversely affect those markets in which the company’s products or services are sold.

 

n

Foreign Securities Risk . Investing in foreign securities involves a number of economic, financial, legal, and political considerations that may not be associated with the U.S. markets and that could affect the Fund’s performance unfavorably, depending upon the prevailing conditions at any given time. Among these potential risks are: greater price volatility; comparatively weak supervision and regulation of securities exchanges, brokers and issuers; higher brokerage costs; fluctuations in foreign currency exchange rates and related conversion costs; adverse foreign tax consequences; different and/or less stringent financial reporting standards; custody; and settlement delays. In addition, key information about the issuer, the markets or the local government or economy may be unavailable, incomplete or inaccurate.

 

n

Growth Stock Risk . Prices of growth stocks may be more sensitive to changes in current or expected earnings than the prices of other stocks. Growth stocks may not perform as well as value stocks or the stock market in general.

 

n

Holdings Risk . The Fund typically holds a limited number of stocks (generally 45 to 65), and the Fund’s portfolio manager also tends to invest a significant portion of the Fund’s total assets in a limited number of stocks. As a result, the appreciation or depreciation of any one security held by the Fund will have a greater impact on the Fund’s NAV than it would if the Fund invested in a larger number of securities or if the Fund’s portfolio manager invested a greater portion of the Fund’s total assets in a larger number of stocks.

 

n

Large Company Risk . Large capitalization companies may go in and out of favor based on market and economic conditions. Large capitalization companies may be unable to respond quickly to new competitive challenges, such as changes in technology, and also may not be able to attain the high growth rate of successful smaller companies, especially during extended periods of economic expansion. Although the securities of larger companies may be less volatile than those of companies with smaller market capitalizations, returns on investments in securities of large capitalization companies could trail the returns on investments in securities of smaller companies.

 

n

Liquidity Risk . Generally, a security is liquid if the Fund is able to sell the security at a fair price within a reasonable time. Liquidity is generally related to the market trading volume for a particular security. Illiquid securities may trade at a discount from comparable, more liquid investments, and may be subject to wider fluctuations in market value. Less liquid securities are more difficult to dispose of at their recorded values and are subject to increased spreads and volatility. Also, the Fund may not be able to dispose of illiquid securities when that would be beneficial at a favorable time or price.

 

n

Management Risk . Fund performance is primarily dependent on WRIMCO’s skill in evaluating and managing the Fund’s portfolio and the Fund may not perform as well as other similar mutual funds.

 

n

Market Risk . Adverse market conditions, sometimes in response to general economic or industry news, may cause the prices of the Fund’s holdings to fall as part of a broad market decline. The financial crisis in the U.S. and foreign economies over the past several years, including the European sovereign debt crisis, has resulted, and may continue to result, in an unusually high degree of volatility in the financial markets, both U.S. and foreign, and in the NAVs of many mutual funds, including to some extent the Fund. Global economies and financial markets are becoming increasingly interconnected, which increases the possibilities that conditions in one country or region may adversely affect issuers in another country or region, which in turn may adversely affect securities held by the Fund. These circumstances have also decreased liquidity in some markets and may continue to do so. In addition, certain unanticipated events, such as natural disasters, terrorist attacks, war, and other geopolitical events, can have a dramatic adverse effect on securities held by the Fund.

 

n

Mid Size Company Risk . Securities of mid capitalization companies may be more vulnerable to adverse developments than those of large companies due to such companies’ limited product lines, limited markets and financial resources and dependence upon a relatively small management group. Securities of mid capitalization companies may be more volatile and less liquid than the stocks of larger companies and may be more affected than other types of stocks by the underperformance of a sector or during market downturns.

 

n

Science and Technology Industry Risk . Investment risks associated with investing in science and technology securities, in addition to other risks, include: operating in rapidly changing fields, abrupt or erratic market movements, limited product lines, markets or financial resources, management that is dependent on a limited number of people, short product cycles, aggressive pricing of products and services, new market entrants and obsolescence of existing technology.

 

n

Small Company Risk . Securities of small capitalization companies are subject to greater price volatility, lower trading volume and less liquidity due to, among other things, such companies’ small size, limited product lines, limited access to financing sources and limited management depth. In addition, the frequency and volume of trading of such securities may be less than is typical of larger companies, making them subject to wider price fluctuations and such securities may be affected to a greater extent than other types of securities by the underperformance of a sector or during market downturns. In some cases, there could be difficulties in selling securities of small capitalization companies at the desired time.

Performance

The chart and table below provide some indication of the risks of investing in the Fund. The chart shows how performance has varied from year to year for Class A shares. The table shows the average annual total returns for each Class of the Fund and also compares the performance with those of a broad-based securities market index and a Lipper peer group (a universe of mutual funds with investment objectives similar to that of the Fund). The chart does not reflect any sales charges and, if those sales charges were included, returns would be less than those shown.

---

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. Actual after-tax returns depend on an investor’s tax situation and may differ from those shown. After-tax returns are not relevant to investors who hold their Fund shares through tax-deferred arrangements, such as 401(k) plans or individual retirement accounts (IRAs), or to shares held by non-taxable entities. After-tax returns are shown only for Class A shares. After-tax returns for other Classes may vary.

Performance results include the effect of expense reduction arrangements for some or all of the periods shown. If those arrangements had not been in place, the performance results for those periods would have been lower.

The Fund’s past performance (before and after taxes) does not necessarily indicate how it will perform in the future. Current performance may be lower or higher. Please visit www.waddell.com or call 888.WADDELL for the Fund’s updated performance.

Chart of Year-by-Year Returns

as of December 31 each year

 

		In the period shown in the chart, the highest quarterly return was 20.09% (the first quarter of 2012) and the lowest quarterly return was -18.20% (the fourth quarter of 2008). The Class A return for the year through September 30, 2013 was 37.88%.

Average Annual Total Returns

 

as of December 31, 2012		1 Year				5 Years				10 Years
Class A
Return Before Taxes			20.34%				3.83%				11.23%
Return After Taxes on Distributions			19.96%				2.91%				10.02%
Return After Taxes on Distributions and Sale of Fund Shares			13.84%				3.02%				9.71%
Class B
Return Before Taxes			22.17%				3.71%				10.56%
Class C
Return Before Taxes			26.37%				4.01%				10.65%
Class Y
Return Before Taxes			28.04%				5.44%				12.28%
Indexes		1 Year				5 Years				10 Years
S&P North American Technology Sector Index (reflects no deduction for fees, expenses or taxes)			15.23%				3.54%				9.40%
Lipper Science & Technology Funds Universe Average (net of fees and expenses)			12.83%				2.22%				8.92%

Investment Adviser

The Fund is managed by Waddell & Reed Investment Management Company (WRIMCO).

Portfolio Manager

Zachary H. Shafran, Senior Vice President of WRIMCO, has managed the Fund since February 2001.

Purchase and Sale of Fund Shares

The Fund’s shares are redeemable. You may purchase or redeem shares at the Fund’s NAV per share next calculated after your order is received in proper form, subject to any applicable sales charge, on any business day through your broker-dealer or financial adviser (all share classes), by writing to Waddell & Reed Services Company, doing business as WI Services Company (WISC), the Fund’s servicing agent, P.O. Box 29217, Shawnee Mission, Kansas 66201-9217 (all share classes), or by telephone (Class A, B and C: 888.WADDELL; Class Y: 800.532.2783), fax [phone]), or internet ( www.waddell.com ) (Class A, B and C) if you have completed an Express Transaction Authorization Form. If your individual account is not maintained on the Fund’s shareholder servicing system, please contact your selling broker-dealer, plan administrator or third-party record keeper to sell shares of the Fund.

---

The Fund’s initial and subsequent investment minimums generally are as follows, although the Fund and/or Waddell & Reed, Inc. may reduce or waive the minimums in some cases:

 

For Class A, Class B and Class C:
To Open an Account			$500	*
For accounts opened with Automatic Investment Service (AIS)			$50	*
For accounts established through payroll deductions and salary deferrals			Any amount
To Add to an Account			Any amount
For AIS			$25	*
For Class Y:
Please check with your selling broker-dealer, plan administrator or third-party record keeper for information about minimum investment requirements.

 

*	Effective January 1, 2014, for Class A and Class C shares, the minimum amount to open an account will increase to $750 from $500, the minimum amount to open an account with AIS will increase to $150 from $50, and the minimum amount to add an AIS to an account will increase to $50 from $25.

Effective January 1, 2014, the Fund’s Class B shares are not available for purchase by new and existing investors. Class B shares will continue to be available for dividend reinvestment and exchanges.

Tax Information

The Fund’s distributions are generally taxable to you as ordinary income, long-term capital gain, or a combination of the two, unless you are investing through a tax-deferred arrangement, such as a 401(k) plan or an IRA.

Payments to Broker-Dealers and other Financial Intermediaries

If you purchase the Fund through a broker-dealer or other financial intermediary (such as a bank), the Fund and/or WRIMCO and/or its affiliates 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 web site for more information.

 

 

WRSUM-UNSCX