Market Sector Update

• The U.S. stock market declined slightly in the first quarter. Large-capitalization stocks performed in line with small caps overall, and growth stocks led their value counterparts in both the large- and small-cap spaces.
• Equity markets outside of the U.S. produced mixed results, with developed markets in general posting a negative return while emerging markets had a positive return. In fact, emerging markets continue to lead all global equities and produced the only positive return for the quarter among the major equity segments.
• The U.S. dollar continued to weaken, providing a return boost for U.S. investors holding foreign currencies.
• U.S. bond markets fell during the quarter. The U.S. Treasury yield curve rose in a parallel fashion, with most maturities up slightly. The bellwether 10-year Treasury yield ended March at 2.74%, compared with 2.40% at year-end 2017.
• The U.S. Federal Reserve (Fed) increased its base overnight rate in March to a range of 1.50-1.75%. While the Fed forecast for year-end rates was unchanged, it suggested a quicker pace of rate hikes in 2019.
• Real gross domestic product growth in the U.S. was strong at a revised 2.9% annualized rate during the fourth quarter of 2017. Economic activity accelerated for the year versus a year prior, with growth of 2.3% for 2017. Growth in consumer spending was the strongest it has been in three years. However, the trade deficit widened considerably, detracting from domestic growth as imports aided in satisfying consfffmer demand.

Portfolio Strategy

• The Fund had a negative return for the quarter, although it slightly outperformed its blended benchmark index (before the effect of sales charges).
• The Fund ended the quarter with about 34.4% allocated to fixed income products, about 26.2% allocated to domestic equity products and about 39.4% allocated to foreign equity and global real estate products.
• The Fund uses a “fund-of-funds” structure that allocates assets among affiliated equity and fixed income mutual funds with both domestic and foreign investment strategies. The Ivy International Core Equity Fund was the largest allocation to underlying funds during the quarter at about 19.5%, followed by Ivy Government Securities Fund at 9.4%.
• The three largest contributors to performance in the quarter were the allocations to Ivy Emerging Markets Equity Fund, Ivy Large Cap Growth Fund and Ivy Mid Cap Growth Fund. The Ivy Mid Cap Growth Fund had the strongest absolute performance during the quarter in contributing to the Fund’s overall return.

Outlook

• The Fund’s allowable allocation ranges are wide, but we anticipate equity-oriented investments will range from 55- 75% and fixed income-oriented investments will range from 25-45% during most market environments. The Fund’s long-term strategic target is a 65% allocation to global equities and 35% to global fixed income.
• Although global equities are not cheap, we are not concerned about a global recession in the near term. Nearly all of the world’s major economies are continuing their economic expansion. Coupled with strong producer and consumer sentiment and corporate earnings growth, we believe this backdrop will allow most asset classes to avoid a steep and protracted drawdown.
• In the current investment environment, we continue to believe the most compelling investment opportunities include foreign equities. In our Fund allocations, we remain overweight foreign developed and emerging market equities relative to U.S. equities.

The opinions expressed are those of the Fund’s managers and are not meant as investment advice or to predict or project the future performance of any investment product. The opinions are current through March 31, 2018, are subject to change at any time based on market and other current conditions, and no forecasts can be guaranteed. This commentary is being provided as a general source of information and is not intended as a recommendation to purchase, sell, or hold any specific security or to engage in any investment strategy. Investment decisions should always be made based on an investor’s specific objectives, financial needs, risk tolerance and time horizon. Past performance is not a guarantee of future results.

Effective May 18, 2017, the Waddell & Reed Advisors Asset Strategy Fund was renamed Waddell & Reed Advisors Wilshire Global Allocation Fund and its investment strategy was changed to operate as a “fund of funds.” The Fund’s performance prior to that date reflects its former strategy; its performance may have differed if the Fund’s current strategy had been in place.

Waddell & Reed Advisors Wilshire Global Allocation Fund merged into Ivy Wilshire Global Allocation Fund on Feb. 26, 2018. The returns prior to this date reflect the performance of Waddell & Reed Advisors Wilshire Global Allocation Fund, which was incepted on March 9, 1995. Ivy Wilshire Global Allocation Fund adopted that performance as the result of a reorganization in which it acquired all assets and liabilities of WRA Wilshire Global Allocation Fund. Prior to the reorganization, the Ivy Wilshire Global Allocation Fund had no assets and had not commenced operations.

Wilshire Associates sub-advises a portion of the Fund consisting of the multi-asset segment, which invests in affiliated mutual funds, and shall have no responsibility over any other assets or segments of the Fund.

Risk factors: The value of the Fund’s shares will change, and you could lose money on your investment. The performance of the Fund will depend on the success of the allocations among the chosen underlying funds. International investing involves additional risks, including currency fluctuations, political or economic conditions affecting the foreign country, and differences in accounting standards and foreign regulations. These risks are magnified in emerging markets. Fixed-income securities are subject to interest-rate risk and, as such, the net asset value of the Fund may fall as interest rates rise. Investing in high-income securities may carry a greater risk of nonpayment of interest or principal than higher-rated bonds. Investing in small-capitalization stocks may carry more risk than investing in stocks of larger more well-established companies. Although larger companies tend to be less volatile than 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. Investing in companies involved in one specified sector may be more risky and volatile than an investment with greater diversification. Investing in the energy sector can be riskier than other types of investment activities because of a range of factors, including price fluctuation caused by real and perceived inflationary trends and political developments, and the cost assumed by energy companies in complying with environmental safety regulations. Investing in commodities is generally considered speculative because of the significant potential for investment loss due to cyclical economic conditions, sudden political events, and adverse international monetary policies. Investment risks associated with investing in real estate securities, in addition to other risks, include rental income fluctuation, depreciation, property tax value changes and differences in real estate market values. 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. These and other risks are more fully described in the Fund’s prospectus. Not all funds or fund classes may be offered at all broker/ dealers.