2Q21 Global & International Equity VIT Global Technology and Innovation Portfolio

Market Environment • In a reversal from the prior quarter, technology stocks outpaced broader equities. • Internet and software stocks powered sector gains as the global economy entered the next phase of recovery. • Late in the period, investors recast their attention toward tech’s secular drivers and away from near-term macro concerns.

Performance Summary The Portfolio outperformed its primary benchmark, the S&P 500® Index, and its secondary benchmark, the MSCI All Country World Information Technology IndexSM, for the quarter ended June 30, 2021. The Portfolio seeks to invest in companies in which technology is integral to their business models regardless of sector. Over the longer term, we believe harnessing an investment universe complementary to that of the technology benchmark should lead to superior risk-adjusted returns.

For detailed performance information, please visit janushenderson.com/VITperformance. PORTFOLIO Portfolio Discussion Throughout last year’s recession and the ensuing recovery, we have remained focused on positioning the Portfolio toward the secular themes that we believe will drive future sector earnings growth. When merited, we complement secular-growth with high- quality, cyclical-growth names that stand to benefit from an improving economy. What we don’t do is chase near-term macro trends or investment factors that run counter to a company’s fundamentals. For a considerable portion of this year, many investors

COMMENTARY were lured toward deep-value stocks, believing low multiples in a rising-rate environment were sufficient to initiate a durable shift in market leadership. Our disciplined approach was vindicated when the purported threats of rising inflation and higher interest rates appeared less menacing. The Portfolio’s performance reflected this return to fundamentals as several contributors are leveraged to our favored secular themes. Chipmaker Nvidia performed well due to strong demand from major customers for its graphics processing unit (GPU) chips. We believe that GPUs will continue to command higher market share as cloud computing customers seek to leverage artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning to increase the capabilities of ad personalization and other value-added functions. Two other contributors that we consider to be exposed to secular tailwinds were Alphabet and Facebook. Large Internet platforms with their digital advertising capabilities have benefited from a reopening economy as corporations position themselves for rising consumption. Investors also rewarded Alphabet for improving margins, scaling its cloud computing business and becoming more disciplined in capital allocation. Facebook – in addition to exceeding first quarter earnings and revenue expectations – benefited from the dismissal of a government lawsuit alleging monopolistic behavior.

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Despite recent weakness, we remain constructive on several of We believe that organic growth is on track to return to pre- the period’s detractors. China’s Tencent came under pressure pandemic levels. While big-ticket purchases like Workday’s given concerns about encroaching government oversight. platform fell to the back of the queue during the pandemic, the Secondarily, rising inflation concerns tend to weigh on upside is that once they are implemented, they have the emerging market stocks. Neither development diminishes our possibility to generate consistent revenue streams for the view of Tencent’s prospects. The company has continued to vendor for years to come. perform well and has further burnished its reputation as an Ridesharing company Uber suffered from negative news flow astute investor. Management has consistently taken stakes in amid wage pressures emanating from driver shortages. We complementary businesses that broaden Tencent’s platform view this risk as temporary and believe the company is while reinforcing the strong competitive position of its becoming a core platform for users. Uber leads in ridesharing core operations. and is a strong second in food delivery. Importantly, Weakness in Software as a Service (SaaS) company Workday, management has set its sights on making that division in our view, was the result of misplaced investor expectations. profitable and paring back operations in unprofitable countries.

Top Contributors Average Relative Top Detractors Average Relative Weight (%) Contribution (%) Weight (%) Contribution (%) Facebook Inc 5.17 0.36 Workday Inc 2.20 -0.30 Global E Online Ltd 0.24 0.34 Tencent Holdings Ltd 1.73 -0.26 Alphabet Inc 3.54 0.33 Coupang Inc 0.67 -0.22 Adobe Systems Inc 4.10 0.28 Apple Inc 3.90 -0.21 Nvidia Corp 3.46 0.21 Uber Technologies Inc 0.91 -0.18

The holdings identified in this table, in compliance with Janus Henderson policy, do not represent all of the securities purchased, held or sold during the period. To obtain a list showing every holding as a percentage of the portfolio at the end of the most recent publicly available disclosure period, contact 800.668.0434 or visit janushenderson.com/VIT. Relative contribution reflects how the portfolio's holdings impacted return relative to the benchmark. Cash and securities not held in the portfolio are not shown.

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Manager Outlook Portfolio Management We remain enthusiastic about the disruptive potential of technological advancement exemplified by the themes of cloud computing, the Internet of Things (IoT), AI and 5G-enabled connectivity. While the adoption of some of these technologies accelerated during the pandemic, we believe their role in pulling the global economy toward a digital future will only increase. Denny Fish Concerns about 2020’s tech winners facing daunting year-over-year comparisons have largely abated. Recent operational performance bears that out. In contrast, we believe the most difficult comparables are reserved for companies that face negative transformational headwinds but benefited from a one-off boost in business during the pandemic. Given their elongated product cycle, desktop computer makers come to mind. Similarly, the strategic challenges faced by the deep-value tech companies that led markets earlier this year have not gone away. As expected, the global economic reopening has been iterative, dictated to a degree by vaccination rates. Regional disparities have resulted in suppressed levels of cross-border commerce. Acutely affected by this are digital payments processors. We believe that this industry will be a key beneficiary in the next phase of economic reopening. Regulatory risk remains a concern worth monitoring. Within the U.S., candidates for increased scrutiny are Internet companies with massive market share and considerable market power as illustrated by extracting excessive tolls or giving preferential treatment to its own products. In China, behavior that may catch authorities’ attention is more broadly defined. We are less concerned about inflation pushing up interest rates to where they weigh on growth stocks. In fact, we consider the disinflationary nature of technology as a counterbalance to other forces pushing prices higher.

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For more information, please visit janushenderson.com.

Please consider the charges, risks, expenses and investment ending weights rolled up by ticker, gross of advisory fees, may exclude certain derivatives objectives carefully before investing. For a prospectus or, if available, and will differ from actual performance. Investing involves risk, including the possible loss of principal and fluctuation of a summary prospectus containing this and other information, please value. call Janus Henderson at 800.668.0434 or download the file from Foreign securities are subject to additional risks including currency fluctuations, janushenderson.com/VIT. Read it carefully before you invest or political and economic uncertainty, increased volatility, lower liquidity and send money. differing financial and information reporting standards, all of which are magnified in emerging markets. Past performance is no guarantee of future results. Call 800.668.0434 or visit janushenderson.com/VITperformance for current month-end performance. Concentrated investments in a single sector, industry or region will be more susceptible to factors affecting that group and may be more volatile than less Discussion is based on performance of the Fund's "parent" share class (typically that concentrated investments or the market as a whole. with the longest history). Growth stocks are subject to increased risk of loss and price volatility and may As of 6/30/21 the top ten portfolio holdings of Janus Henderson Global Technology and not realize their perceived growth potential. Innovation P are: Microsoft Corp (9.55%), Facebook Inc (5.28%), Amazon.com Inc ® (4.73%), ASML Holding NV (4.67%), Mastercard Inc (4.49%), Adobe Inc (4.40%), Taiwan S&P 500 Index reflects U.S. large-cap equity performance and represents broad U.S. Semiconductor Manufacturing Co Ltd (4.30%), NVIDIA Corp (4.09%), Visa Inc (3.72%) equity market performance. and Alphabet Inc (3.50%). There are no assurances that any portfolio currently holds MSCI All Country World Information Technology IndexSM reflects the performance these securities or other securities mentioned. of information technology stocks from developed and emerging markets. The opinions are as of 6/30/21, are subject to change and may not reflect the views of Index performance does not reflect the expenses of managing a portfolio as an index is others in the organization. Janus Henderson may have a business relationship with unmanaged and not available for direct investment. certain entities discussed. The comments should not be construed as a recommendation Janus Henderson is a trademark of Janus Henderson Group plc or one of its subsidiaries. of individual holdings or market sectors, but as an illustration of broader themes. © Janus Henderson Group plc. For equity portfolios, relative contribution compares the performance of a security in the Janus Henderson Distributors portfolio to the benchmark’s total return, factoring in the difference in weight of that security in the benchmark. Returns are calculated using daily returns and previous day

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