Principal Risks:

• company risk

• currency risk

• derivatives risk

• foreign investment risk

• growth stock risk

• leveraging risk

• management risk

• market risk

• portfolio turnover risk

AST International Value Portfolio
Investment Objective: to seek capital growth.

The Portfolio will invest, under normal circumstances, at least 80% of the Portfolio's investable assets (net assets plus borrowings made for investment purposes) in equity securities. There is a risk that "value" stocks will perform differently from the market as a whole and other types of stocks and can continue to be undervalued by the markets for long periods of time.

The assets of the Portfolio are independently managed by two Subadvisers under a multi-manager structure. Pursuant to the multi-manger structure, the Investment Managers of the Portfolio determine and allocate a portion of the Portfolio's assets to each of the Subadvisers. The allocations will be reviewed by the Investment Managers periodically and may be altered or adjusted by the Investment Managers without prior notice. Such adjustments will be reflected in the annual update to this prospectus.

The Portfolio's Subadvisers are LSV Asset Management (LSV) and Thornburg Investment Management (Thornburg).

A lthough each Subadviser will follow the Portfolio's policy of investing, under normal circumstances, at least 80% of the value of its assets in equity securities, each Subadviser expects to utilize different investment strategies to achieve the Portfolio's investment objective of capital growth. The current asset allocations and principal investment strategies for each of the Subadvisers are summarized below.

LSV uses proprietary quantitative investment models to manage the Portfolio in a bottom-up security selection approach combined with overall portfolio risk management. The primary components of the investment models are: 1) indicators of fundamental undervaluation, such as high dividend yield, low price-to-cash flow ratio or low price-to-earnings ratio, 2) indicators of past negative market sentiment, such as poor past stock price performance, 3) indicators of recent momentum, such as high recent stock price performance, and 4) control of incremental risk relative to the benchmark inde x. All such indicators are measured relative to the overall universe of non-U.S., developed market equities. This investment strategy can be described as a "contrarian value" approach. The objective of the strategy is to outperform the unhedged U.S. dollar return (net of foreign dividend withholding taxes) of the MSCI EAFE Index.

Thornburg selects securities on a bottom-up basis using traditional fundamental securities analysis. Thornburg intends to invest on an opportunistic basis where it believes current prices represent a discount to intrinsic value. The strategy normally invests in stocks that may be depressed or reflect unfavorable market perceptions of company or industry fundamentals.

While we make every effort to achieve our objective, we can't guarantee success and it is possible that you could lose money. As of January 31, 2009, LSV was responsible for managing approximately 38% of the Portfolio's assets, and Thornburg was responsible for managing approximately 62% of the Portfolio's assets.

Principal Risks:

• company risk

• derivatives risk

• foreign investment risk

• leveraging risk

• liquidity risk

• management risk

• market risk

AST JPMorgan International Equity Portfolio
Investment Objective: to seek capital growth.

The Portfolio will invest, under normal circumstances, at least 80% of the value of its assets in equity securities. The Portfolio seeks to meet its investment objective by investing its total assets in a diversified portfolio of equity securities of companies located or operating in developed non-U.S. countries and emerging markets of the world. The equity securities will ordinarily be traded on a recognized foreign securities exchange or traded in a foreign over-the-counter market in the country where the issuer is principally based, but may also be traded in other countries including the United States. The Subadviser intends to focus on companies with an above-average potential for long-term growth and attractive relative valuations. The Subadviser selects companies based on five key factors: growth, valuation, management, risk, and sentiment. In addition, the Subadviser loo ks for companies with the following characteristics: (1) a distinguishable franchise on a local, regional or global basis; (2) a history of effective management demonstrated by expanding revenues and earnings growth; (3) prudent financial and accounting policies; and (4) an ability to capitalize on a changing business environment.

The Portfolio will normally allocate assets among a variety of countries, regions and industry sectors, investing in several countries outside of the United States. In selecting countries, the Subadviser considers such factors as economic growth prospects, monetary and fiscal policies, political stability, currency trends and market liquidity. The Portfolio may invest a substantial part of its total assets in any one country and up to 15% of its assets in securities of issuers located and operating primarily in emerging market countries.

While we make every effort to achieve our objective, we can't guarantee success and it is possible that you could lose money. This Portfolio is subadvised by J.P. Morgan Investment Management, Inc.

Principal Risks:

• company risk

• derivatives risk

• foreign investment risk

• leveraging risk

• liquidity risk

• management risk

• market risk
  
  
  

AST MFS Global Equity Portfolio

Investment Objective: to seek capital growth.

The Portfolio normally invests at least 80% of its net assets in equity securities. The Portfolio may invest in the securities of issuers located in the U.S. and foreign countries (including issuers in emerging market countries). The Subadviser may invest a relatively high percentage of the Portfolio's assets in a single country, a small number of countries, or a particular geographic region.

In selecting investments for the Portfolio, the Subadviser is not constrained to any particular investment style. The Subadviser may invest the Portfolio's assets in the stocks of companies it believes have above average earnings growth potential compared to other companies (growth companies), in the stocks of companies it believes are undervalued compared to their perceived worth (value companies), or in a combination of growthand value companies. While the S ubadviser may invest the Portfolio's assets in companies of any size, the Subadviser generally focuses on companies with large capitalizations.

The Subadviser uses a bottom-up investment approach in buying and selling investments for the Portfolio. Investments are selected primarily based on fundamental analysis of issuers and their potential in light of their current financial condition and industry position, and market, economic, political, and regulatory conditions. Factors considered may include analysis of earnings, cash flows, competitive position, and management ability. Quantitative analysis of these and other factors may also be considered.

While we make every effort to achieve our objective, we can't guarantee success and it is possible that you could lose money. This Portfolio is subadvised by Massachusetts Financial Services Company.

Principal Risks:

• company risk

• common and preferred stocks risk

• depositary receipts risk

• derivatives risk

• foreign investment risk

• geographic focus risk

• growth stock risk

• investment style risk

• leveraging risk

• liquidity risk

• management risk

• market risk

• portfolio turnover risk

AST Parametric Emerging Markets Equity Portfolio

Investment Objective: Long-term capital appreciation

Under normal market conditions, the Portfolio will invest at least 80% of its net assets in equity securities of issuers: (i) located in emerging market countries or (ii) included (or considered for inclusion) as emerging market issuers in one or more broad-based market indices.

A company will be considered to be located in an emerging market country if it is domiciled in, or derives more than 50% of its revenues or profits from, emerging market countries. Emerging market countries are countries that are: (i) generally considered to be developing or emerging countries by the International Bank for Reconstruction and Development (more commonly referred to as the World Bank) or the International Finance Corporation; (ii) classified by the United Nations or otherwise regarded by its own authorities as developing; or (iii) identified by Parametric's portfolio managers as emerging market countries on the basis of market capitalization and liquidity. Emerging market countries include countr ies in Asia, Latin America, the Middle East, Southern Europe, Eastern Europe, Africa and the region comprising the former Soviet Union.

The Portfolio may invest without limit in foreign securities. The Portfolio seeks to employ a top-down, disciplined and structured investment process that emphasizes broad exposure and diversification among emerging market countries, economic sectors, and issuers. This investment strategy uses targeted allocation and periodic rebalancing to take advantage of certain quantitative and behavioral characteristics of emerging markets identified by Parametric's portfolio managers. Parametric's portfolio managers select and allocate across countries based on factors such as size, liquidity, level of economic development, local economic diversification, and perceived risk and potential for growth. The Portfolio expects to maintain a bias to broad inclusion; that is Parametric's portfolio managers intend to allocate portfolio holdings among a variety of emerging market countri es. Relative to capitalization-weighted country indexes, individual country allocation targets generally emphasize the less represented emerging market countries. The Portfolio's country allocations are rebalanced periodically to their target weights which has the effect of reducing exposure to countries with strong relative performance and increasing exposure to countries that have underperformed. Within each country, the Portfolio seeks to maintain exposure across key economic sectors such as industrial/technology, consumer, utilities, basic industry/resource and financial. Relative to capitalization-weighted country indexes, Parametric's portfolio managers generally target weights to these sectors to emphasize the less represented sectors. Parametric's portfolio managers select individual securities as representative of their respective economic sectors and generally weight them by their relative capitalization within that sector.

No more than 25% of the Portfolio's total assets may be denominated in a single foreign currency. The value of foreign assets as measured in U.S. dollars may be affected favorably or unfavorably by changes in foreign currency exchange rates and exchange control regulations. At times, Parametric's portfolio managers may (but are not obligated to) use hedging techniques (including, without limitation, forward contracts and options) to attempt to mitigate adverse effects of foreign currency fluctuations.

The Portfolio may invest in securities of small and new companies. The Portfolio also may invest in privately issued securities, including, without limitation, privately issued securities whose investment results are designed to correspond generally to the performance of a specified stock index or "basket" of securities, or sometimes a single stock (referred to as "equity-linked securities"). The Portfolio may invest up to 15% of its net assets in privately issued securities.

The Portfolio also may invest in convertible instruments that generally will not be rated , but will typically be equivalent in credit quality to securities rated below investment grade (i.e., credit quality equivalent to lower than Baa by Moody's Investors Service Inc. (Moody's) and lower than BBB by Standard & Poor's Ratings Services (S&P)). Convertible debt securities that are not investment grade are commonly called "junk bonds." The Portfolio may invest up to 20% of its assets in these instruments.

As an alternative to holding foreign-traded securities, the Portfolio may invest in dollar-denominated securities of foreign companies that trade on U.S. exchanges or in the U.S. over-the-counter market (including, without limitation, all types of depositary receipts that evidence ownership in underlying foreign securities). The Portfolio's investment in a depositary receipt will satisfy the above-referenced 80% investment policy if the issuer of the depositary receipt is: (i) domiciled in, or derives more than 50% of its revenues or profits from, emerging market countries or (ii) included (or considered for inclusion) as an emerging market issuer in one or more broad-based market indices.

The Portfolio may at times engage in derivatives transactions (including, without limitation, futures contracts and options, covered short sales, and swap agreements) primarily as a substitute for purchasing or selling securities. The Portfolio also may engage in derivatives transactions to protect against price declines or to enhance investment returns. Derivatives are financial instruments

whose value depends upon, or is derived from, the value of something else, such as one or more underlying investments, indexes, or currencies.

While we make every effort to achieve our objective, we can't guarantee success and it is possible that you could lose money. This Portfolio is subadvised by Parametric Portfolio Associates LLC.

Principal Risks:

• company risk

• credit risk

• currency risk

• derivatives risk

• foreign investment risk

• hedging risk

• high yield risk

• inflation risk

• interest rate risk

• leveraging risk

• liquidity risk

• management risk

• market risk

• portfolio turnover risk

• selection risk

• small company risk

• value style risk

Capital Growth Portfolios: Investment Objectives and Principal Strategies

AST Small-Cap Growth Portfolio
Investment Objective: long-term capital growth.

The Portfolio will invest, under normal circumstances, at least 80% of the value of its assets in small-capitalization companies. Small-capitalization companies are generally defined as stocks of companies with market capitalizations that are within the market capitalization range of the Russell 2000 Growth Index. As of January 31, 2009, the market capitalization range of the Russell 2000 Growth Index was $3.6 million to $3.486 billion.

Eagle Asset Management, Inc. (Eagle) uses fundamental research, computer models and proprietary measures of growth in determining which stocks to select for the Portfolio. The Subadviser's investment strategies seek to identify stocks of companies which have strong business momentum, earnings growth, and superior management teams, as well as stocks of those companies whose earnings growth potential may not be currently recognized by the market and whose stock may be considered to be underpriced using various financial measurements employed by the Sub adviser, such as price-to-earnings ratios.

While we make every effort to achieve our objective, we can't guarantee success and it is possible that you could lose money. This Portfolio is subadvised by Eagle.

Principal Risks:

• company risk

• derivatives risk

• foreign investment risk

• leveraging risk

• liquidity risk

• management risk

• market risk

• portfolio turnover risk

• smaller company risk

AST Neuberger Berman Small-Cap Growth Portfolio

Investment Objective: to seek maximum growth of investors' capital from a portfolio primarily of growth stocks of smaller companies.

The Portfolio will invest, under normal circumstances, at least 80% of the value of its assets in small capitalization companies. The Portfolio pursues its investment objective by primarily investing in the equity securities of small-sized companies with a total market capitalization within the market capitalization range of the Russell 2000® Index at time of purchase. Equity securities include common stocks and securities convertible into or exchangeable for common stocks, including warrants and rights. The Portfolio seeks to reduce risk by diversifying among many companies, sectors and industries. As of January 31, 2009, the average market capitalization of the companies in the Russe ll 2000® Index was $410 billion and the median market capitalization was $275 million. The size of the companies in the Russell 2000® Index will change with market conditions.

The Subadviser employs a disciplined investment strategy when selecting growth stocks. Using fundamental research and quantitative analysis, the Manager looks for fast-growing companies with above-average sales and competitive returns on equity relative to their peers. In doing so, the Portfolio Manager analyzes such factors as:

• earnings growth

• finanical condition (such as debt to equity ratio)

• market share and competitive leadership of the company's products

• market valuation in comparison to a stock's own historical norms and the stocks of other small-cap companies.

The Portfolio Manager follows a disciplined selling strategy and may sell a stock when it fails to perform as expected, or when other opportunities appear more attractive.

While we make every effort to achieve our objective, we can't guarantee success and it is possible that you could lose money. This Portfolio is advised by Neuberger Berman Management LLC.

Principal Risks:

• company risk

• liquidity risk

• market risk

• portfolio turnover risk

• smaller company risk

AST Federated Aggressive Growth Portfolio

Investment Objective: to seek capital growth.

The Portfolio will pursue its investment objective, under normal circumstances, by investing primarily in the stocks of small companies that are traded on national securities exchanges, NASDAQ stock exchange and the over-the-counter market. Small companies will be defined as companies with market capitalizations similar to companies in the Russell 2000® Index (which had a market capitalization range of $3.64 million to $3.468 billion as of January 31, 2009) or the Standard & Poor's SmallCap 600 Index (which had a market capitalization range of $21.87 million to $2.221 billion as of January 31, 2009). Such definition will be applied at the time of investment, and the Portfolio will not be required to sell a stock because the company has grown outside the market capitalization range of small capitalization stocks. Up to 30% of the Portfolio's net assets may be invested in foreign securities, which are typically denominated in foreign curr encies. Solely for purposes of complying with this policy an issuer's security will be considered to be a foreign security if the security is denominated in a foreign currency or purchased on a securities exchange outside the United States. Certain securities not included in this definition of foreign securities may still be subject to risks of foreign investing that are described in this prospectus. For example, an issuer that is organized in an offshore jurisdiction but who has its principal place of business or whose securities are traded principally on a securities exchange in the United States will not be considered a foreign security for purposes of this policy but may still be subject to risks associated with foreign securities. When investing in foreign securities, the Portfolio's subadivser may emphasize investment in a particular country or group of countries which may subject the Fund to risks of investing in such country or group of countries and/or emerging market risks to a greater extent than if the Portfolio's foreign security exposure was diversified over a greater number of countries.

Federated Equity Management Company of Pennsylvania ("Federated Equity") manages the Portfolio's assets. This Subadviser is led by the Federated Kaufmann Team ("Kaufmann"). Kaufmann's process for selecting investments is bottom-up and growth oriented. There is an emphasis on individual stock selection rather that trying to time the highs and lows of the market or concentrating in certain industries or sectors. Kaufmann assesses individual companies from the perspective of a long-term investor. Kaufmann seeks to purchase stocks of companies that it believes: are profitable and leaders in the industry; have distinct products and services which address substantial markets; can rapidly grow annual earnings over the next three to five years; or have superior proven management and solid balan ce sheets. Typically, Federated Equity sells an individual security when the company fails to meet expectations, there is a deterioration of underlying fundamentals or the immediate and long-term prospects became poor.

While we make every effort to achieve our objective, we can't guarantee success and it is possible that you could lose money. Since December 15, 2008, Federated Equity was responsible for managing all of the Portfolio's assets. The Portfolio also has a subadvisory agreement with Federated MDTA LLC that is expected to expire on or about July 31, 2009, although Federated MDTA LLC currently is not managing any assets of the Portfolio. It is expected that Federated Equity will become the Portfolio's sole Subadviser on or about July 31, 2009.

Principal Risks:

• company risk

• derivatives risk

• foreign investment risk

• leveraging risk

• liquidity risk

• management risk

• market risk

• portfolio turnover risk

• smaller company risk

AST Goldman Sachs Small-Cap Value Portfolio
Investment Objective: to seek long-term capital appreciation.

The Portfolio will seek its objective, under normal circumstances, through investments primarily in equity securities of small

capitalization companies that are believed to be undervalued in the marketplace. Typically, in choosing stocks, the Subadviser looks for companies using the Subadviser's value investment philosophy. The Subadviser seeks to identify well-positioned businesses that have attractive returns on capital, sustainable earnings and cash flow, and strong company management focused on long-term returns to shareholders as well as attractive valuation opportunities where the intrinsic value is not reflected in the stock price.

Price and Prospects . All successful investing should thoughtfully weigh two important attributes of a stock: price and prospects. Since most value managers tend to focus almost exclusively on price, they often underestimate the importance of prospects. The Subadviser believes a company's prospective abil ity to generate high cash flow and returns on capital will strongly influence investment success.

Uncertainty creates opportunity . Some stock price declines truly reflect a permanently disadvantaged business model. These stocks are the "value traps" that mire price-oriented investors. Other stock price declines merely reflect near-term market volatility. Through our proprietary research and strong valuation discipline, the Subadviser seeks to purchase well-positioned, cash-generating businesses run by shareholder-oriented managements at a price low enough to provide a healthy margin of safety.

Avoiding "value traps." The Subadviser believes the key to successful investing in the small cap value space is to avoid the "losers" or "value traps." Academic studies have shown that small cap value has historically outperformed other asset classes, but with higher volatility and less liquidity. B y focusing on stock selection within sectors and avoiding the "losers," the Subadviser believes it can participate in the long-term performance of small cap value with less risk than other managers.

The Portfolio will invest, under normal circumstances, at least 80% of the value of its assets in small capitalization companies. The Portfolio generally defines small capitalization companies as stocks of companies with market capitalizations that are within the market capitalization range of the Russell 2000® Value Index. As of March 31, 2009, the market capitalization range of the Russell 2000® Value Index was $2 million to $3.047 billion. The Portfolio may invest up to 25% of its assets in foreign securities, including securities in emerging countries or securities traded in foreign currencies.

While we make every effort to achieve our objective, we can't guarantee success and it is possible that you could lose money. This Portfolio is advised by Goldman Sachs Asset Management, L.P.

Principal Risks:

• company risk

• derivatives risk

• emerging markets risk

• foreign investment risk

• initial public offering risk

• investment style risk

• leveraging risk

• liquidity risk

• management risk

• market risk

• portfolio turnover risk

• smaller company risk
  

AST Small-Cap Value Portfolio
Investment Objective: to provide long-term capital growth by investing primarily in small-capitalization stocks that appear to be undervalued.

The Portfolio will invest, under normal circumstances, at least 80% of the value of its assets in small capitalization companies. Small capitalization companies are generally defined as stocks of companies with market capitalizations that are within the market capitalization range of the Russell 2000® Value Index. As of March 31, 2009, the market capitalization range of the Russell 2000® Value Index was $2 million to $3.047 million. Securities of companies whose market capitalizations no longer meet the definition of small capitalization companies after purchase by the Portfolio will still be considered to be small capitalization companies for purposes of the Portfolio's policy of investing, under normal circumstances, at least 80% of the value of its assets in small capitalization companies.

The assets of the Portfolio are independently managed by four Subadvisers under a multi-manager structure. Pursuant to the multi-manager structure, the Investment Managers of the Portfolio de termine and allocate a portion of the Portfolio's assets to each of the

Subadvisers. The allocations will be reviewed by the Investment Managers periodically and may be altered or adjusted by the Investment Managers without prior notice. Such adjustments will be reflected in the annual update to this prospectus. Although each Subadviser will follow the Portfolio's policy of investing, under normal circumstances, at least 80% of the Portfolio's assets in small capitalization companies, each Subadviser expects to utilize different investment strategies to achieve the Portfolio's objective of long-term capital growth. The current asset allocations and principal investment strategies for each of the Subadvisers are summarized below:

J.P. Morgan Investment Management, Inc. ("J.P. Morgan") follows a four-step process. The investment process starts with a disciplined quantitative ranking methodology that identifies stocks in each economic sector that have positive trends in price momentum with attractive relative valuations. We then use a quadratic optimizatio n to create a portfolio of well-diversified, compensated risks that seeks to deliver consistent returns. For each trade suggested by the optimization, the portfolio managers do in-depth fundamental research to ensure that the trade meets the original investment thesis (strong momentum with good relative value). Finally, sophisticated trading techniques are designed to effect trading in a cost-effective manner.

Lee Munder Investments, Ltd. ("Lee Munder") seeks the stocks of companies whose current stock prices do not appear to adequately reflect their underlying value as measured by assets, earnings, cash flow or business franchises. The Subadviser's research team seeks to identify companies that appear to be undervalued by various measures, and may be temporarily out of favor, but have good prospects for capital appreciation. In selecting investments, the Subadviser generally looks to the following: (1) Low price/earnings, price/book value or total capitalization/cash flow ratios relative to t he company's peers; (2) Low stock price relative to a company's underlying asset values; (3) A sound balance sheet and other positive financial characteristics. The Subadviser then determines whether there is an emerging catalyst that will focus investor attention on the underlying assets of the company, such as takeover efforts, a change in management, or a plan to improve the business through restructuring or other means.

ClearBridge Advisors, LLC ("ClearBridge") emphasizes individual security selection while spreading the Fund's investments among industries and sectors. The Subadviser uses both quantitative and fundamental methods to identify stocks of smaller capitalization companies it believes have a high probability of outperforming other stocks in the same industry or sector. The Subadviser uses quantitative parameters to select a universe of smaller capitalized companies that fit the Fund's general investment criteria. In selecting individual securities from within this range, the Sub adviser looks for "value" attributes, such as low stock price relative to earnings, book value and cash flow and high return on invested capital. The Subadviser also uses quantitative methods to identify catalysts and trends that might influence the Portfolio's industry or sector focus, or the Subadviser's individual security selection.

Dreman Value Management, L.L.C. ("Dreman") seeks to provide a total return greater than that of the benchmark over time, to protect client capital during market downturns and to stay consistent in our low price-to-earnings ratio, contrarian value approach to investment management, while taking into consideration dividend yield. Dreman will seek to attain superior returns by using a contrarian value investment approach. Dreman believes that it can attain superior performance by adhering to an investment strategy that is disciplined and has a demonstrated record of success. Dreman's investment strategy emphasizes stocks that offer unique investment values. The cri terion used to identify such stocks include below average price-to-earnings, price-to-book, and/or price-to-cash flow ratios and above average dividend yields. Over the last 25 years, extensive studies, which date as far back as the 1930s, conducted by David Dreman and affiliates of Dreman, have led the Dreman to conclude that consistently applying disciplined value strategies yields superior long-term total returns.

While we make every effort to achieve our objective, we can't guarantee success and it is possible that you could lose money. As of January 31, 2009, J.P. Morgan was responsible for managing approximately 24% of the Portfolio's assets, Lee Munder was responsible for managing approximately 32% of the Portfolio's assets, Clearbridge was responsible for managing approximately 19% of the Portfolio's assets and Dreman was responsible for managing approximately 25% of the Portfolio's assets.

The Investment Managers intend to reallocate the Portfolio's assets in the Second Quarter of 2009 among J.P. Morgan, Lee Munder and Clearbridge. Upon such reallocation of the Portfolio's assets, Dreman will no longer be responsible for managing any of the Portfolio's assets and it is expected that initially J.P. Morgan will be responsible for managing approximately 41.3% of the Portfolio's assets, Lee Munder will be responsible for managing approximately 33.5% of the Portfolio's assets and Clearbridge will be responsible for managing approximately 25.2% of the Portfolio's assets. It is expected that on or about July 31, 2009, the Portfolio's only Subadvisers will be J.P. Morgan, Lee Munder and ClearBridge.

Principal Risks:

• common and preferred stocks risk

• company risk

• derivatives risk

• foreign investment risk

• initial public offering risk

• leveraging risk

• liquidity risk

• management risk

• market risk

• portfolio turnover risk

• real estate risk

• smaller company risk

AST Goldman Sachs Mid-Cap Growth Portfolio
Investment Objective: to seek long-term growth of capital.

The Portfolio will invest, under normal circumstances, at least 80% of the value of its assets in medium capitalization companies. The Portfolio pursues its objective by investing primarily in equity securities selected for their long-term growth potential. Equity securities include common stocks, preferred stocks, warrants and securities convertible into or exchangeable for common or preferred stocks. For purposes of the Portfolio, medium-sized companies are those whose market capitalizations (measured at the time of investment) fall within the range of companies in the Russell Midcap® Growth Index. As of March 31, 2009, the average weighted market capitalization of the companies in the Russell Midcap® Growth Index was $5.492 billion and the median market capitalization was $2.422 billion. The Subadviser generally takes a "bottom up" approach to choosing investments for the Portfolio. In other words, the Subadviser seeks to identify individual companies with earnings gro wth potential that may not be recognized by the market at large.

While we make every effort to achieve our objective, we can't guarantee success and it is possible that you could lose money. This Portfolio is advised by Goldman Sachs Asset Management, L.P.

Principal Risks:

• company risk

• derivatives risk

• foreign investment risk

• growth stock risk

• initial public offering risk

• investment style risk

• leveraging risk

• liquidity risk

• management risk

• market risk

• portfolio turnover risk

AST Neuberger Berman Mid-Cap Growth Portfolio
Investment Objective: to seek capital growth.

The Portfolio will invest, under normal circumstances, at least 80% of its net assets in common stocks of mid-capitalization companies. For purposes of the Portfolio, a mid-capitalization company is defined as a company whose market capitalization is within the range of market capitalizations of companies in the Russell Midcap® Index. As of January 31, 2009, the average market capitalization of the companies in the Russell Midcap® Index was $2.94 billion and the median market capitalization was $2.25 billion. The Portfolio seeks to reduce risk by diversifying among many companies, industries and sectors.

The Subadviser employs a disciplined investment strategy when selecting growth stocks. Using fundamental research and quantitative analysis, the Subadviser looks for fast-growing companies with above average sales and competitive returns on equity relative to their peers. In doing so, the Subadviser analyzes such factors as: financial condition (such as debt to equity ratio); mark et share and competitive leadership of the company's products; earnings growth relative to competitors; and market valuation in comparison to a stock's own historical norms and the stocks of other mid-cap companies.

The Subadviser follows a disciplined selling strategy and may sell a stock when it fails to perform as expected or when other opportunities appear more attractive.

While we make every effort to achieve our objective, we can't guarantee success and it is possible that you could lose money. This

Portfolio is advised by Neuberger Berman Management LLC.

Principal Risks:

• company risk

• derivatives risk

• foreign investment risk

• leveraging risk

• liquidity risk

• management risk

• market risk

• portfolio turnover risk

AST Neuberger Berman / LSV Mid-Cap Value Portfolio
Investment Objective: to seek capital growth.

The Portfolio will invest, under normal circumstances, at least 80% of the value of its assets in medium capitalization companies. Companies with equity market capitalizations that fall within the range of the Russell Midcap ^® Value Index at the time of investment are considered mid-cap companies for purposes of the Portfolio. The market capitalization range of the Russell Midcap ^® Value Index changes constantly, but as of January 31, 2009, the average market capitalization of the Russell Midcap ^® Value Index was $2.72 billion and the median market capitalization was $ 2.06 billion. Some of the Portfolio's assets may be invested in the securities of large-cap companies as well as in small-cap companies. The Portfolio seeks to reduce risk by diversifying among many companies and industries.

The assets of the Portfolio are independently managed by two Subadvisers under a multi-manager structure. Pursuant to the multi-manager strucutre, the division of the Portfolio's assets and daily cash inflows and outflows between the Subadvisers will be determined by the Investment Managers in their sole discretion. The Investment Managers may change the allocation of assets between the Subadvisers, transfer assets between the Subadvisers, or change the allocation of cash inflows or outflows between the Subadvisers for any reason and at any time without prior notice.

Under the Portfolio's value-oriented investment approach the Neuberger Berman Management LLC (Neuberger) looks for well-managed companies whose stock prices are undervalued and that may rise in price when other investors realize their worth. Factors that Neuberger may use to identify these companies include strong fundamentals, such as a low price-to-earnings ratio, consistent cash flow, and a sound tra ck record through all phases of the market cycle. Neuberger may also look for other characteristics in a company, such as a strong position relative to competitors, a high level of stock ownership among management, or a recent sharp decline in stock price that appears to be the result of a short-term market overreaction to negative news.

Neuberger generally considers selling a stock when it reaches a target price, when it fails to perform as expected, or when other opportunities appear more attractive.

LSV Asset Management (LSV) employs an active investment strategy that utilizes a quantitative investment model to evaluate and recommend investment decisions for its segment of the Portfolio in a bottom-up, contrarian value approach.

While we make every effort to achieve our objective, we can't guarantee success and it is possible that you could lose money. As of January 31, 2009, LSV was responsbile for managing 66% of the Portfolio's assets and Neuberger was responsible for managing 34% of the Portfolio's assets.

Principal Risks:

• company risk

• derivatives risk

• foreign investment risk

• interest rate risk

• leveraging risk

• management risk

• market risk

• portfolio turnover risk

AST Mid-Cap Value Portfolio
Investment Objective: to seek capital growth by investing primarily in mid-capitalization stocks that appear to be undervalued.

The Portfolio will invest, under normal circumstances, at least 80% of its net assets in the equity securities of mid-cap companies. For purposes of the Portfolio, mid-capitalization companies are generally those that have market capitalizations, at the time of purchase, within the range of companies included in the Russell Midcap® Value Index during the previous 12-months based on month-end data. The market capitalization range of the Russell Midcap® Value Index changes constantly, but as of January 31, 2009, the range was from $8.5 million to $13.85 billion.

The assets of the Portfolio are independently managed by two Subadvisers under a multi-manager structure. Pursuant to the multi-manger structure, the Investment Managers of the Portfolio determine and allocate a portion of the Portfolio's assets to each of the Subadvisers. The allocations will be reviewed by the Investment Managers periodically and may be altered or adjusted by the Investment Man agers without prior notice. Such adjustments will be reflected in the annual update to this prospectus.

Although each Subadviser will follow the Portfolio's policy of investing, under normal circumstances, 80% of its net assets in the equity securities of mid-cap companies, each Subadviser expects to utilize different investment strategies to achieve the Portfolio's investment objective of capital growth. The current asset allocations and principal investment strategies for each of the Subadvisers are summarized below.

WEDGE Capital Management, LLP ("WEDGE") normally employs a traditional value style, bottom-up investment discipline that is intended to help identify stocks that are undervalued relative to their long term normalized earnings capability. WEDGE first employs two proprietary, fundamentally based screening models, using publicly available data on all eligible companies. The Fundamental Value Model identifies those stocks wit h the greatest potential for profit, based on projected earnings growth, earnings quality, dividend yield, and forward price/earnings ratios. In an effort to avoid financially unsound companies, WEDGE then employs the Financial Quality Model, which focuses on earnings growth, liquidity, profitability, and leverage factors. Stocks are ranked by both models for relative attractiveness, with approximately 37% of the initial universe becoming eligible for subsequent research.

Finally, WEDGE focuses on those companies that meet its value and financial quality parameters. WEDGE's research analysts employ comprehensive, qualitative, and quantitative analysis to identify stocks with unrecognized value. Areas of emphasis include independent earnings forecasts and financial statement analysis, an evaluation of free cash flow generation and return on invested capital, absolute and relative valuations, industry analysis and competitive positioning along with an in-depth asses sment of company management. All potential additions to the Portfolio are reviewed and approved by the firm's Investment Policy Committee. The decision to sell a stock is as highly disciplined as the decision to buy. Stocks are sold when fair valuation is reached, the original investment thesis has materially deteriorated, an upgrade opportunity develops or, with limited flexibility when warranted, the stock's Fundamental Value Model ranking falls to a predetermined level.

EARNEST Partners, LLC ("EARNEST") normally employs a fundamental, bottom-up investment process. The first step in EARNEST's investment process is to screen the relevant universe to identify stocks that it believes are likely to outperform based on their financial characteristics and the current environment. Using an approach called Return Pattern Recognition, the Subadviser seeks to identify the financial and market characteristics that have been in place when an individual company has produced outstanding performance. These characteristics include valuation measures, market trends, operating trends, growth measures, profitability measures, and macroeconomics. The Subadviser screens the relevant universe and selects for an in-depth fundamental review those companies exhibiting the set of characteristics that it believes indicate outperformance. The screening process allows the Subadviser to review many companies and focus on those it considers the best prospects.

Next, the approximately 150 companies identified in the screening process that appear to have superior financial and market characteristics are put through a second more rigorous review. In this step, EARNEST develops and tests an investment thesis for each company. The test generally includes conversations with the company's management team and industry specialists, review of the company's financial reports, analysis of industry and company-specific studies, and independent field research. The S ubadviser eliminates from consideration any company that does not pass its fundamental analysis.

The final step in EARNEST's investment process is to construct a portfolio that includes those stocks it expects to have the best performance and that effectively manages the expected risk of meaningfully underperforming the assigned benchmark. The Subadviser uses a statistical approach called downside deviation to measure and then seeks to constrain the likelihood of significantly underperforming the benchmark. Using this information, the Subadviser seeks to select investments that blend together to manage downside risk. The result is a client portfolio of approximately 60 stocks. This Subadviser expects to focus on purchasing companies that have a market capitalization at the time of purchase between $1 and $20 billion, and expects to typically sell holdings whose market capitalizations have grown to more than twice the upper limit for purchase (i.e., whose market capitalization

have grown to $40 billion).

While we make every effort to achieve our objective, we can't guarantee success and it is possible that you could lose money. As of January 31, 2009, WEDGE was responsible for managing approximately 51% of the Portfolio's assets and EARNEST was responsible for managing approximately 49% of the Portfolio's assets.

Principal Risks:

• company risk

• derivatives risk

• foreign investment risk

• leveraging risk

• liquidity risk

• management risk

• market risk

• mid-cap risk

• stock selection risk

• value style risk

AST T. Rowe Price Large-Cap Growth Portfolio
Investment Objective: to seek long-term growth of capital by investing predominantly in the equity securities of a limited number of large, carefully selected, high-quality U.S. companies that are judged likely to achieve superior earnings growth.

The Portfolio takes a growth approach to investment selection and normally invests at least 80% of its net assets in the common stocks of large companies. A large company is defined as one whose market cap is larger than the median market cap of companies in the Russell 1000® Growth Index, a widely used benchmark of the largest domestic growth stocks (the median market cap as of January 31, 2009, was $3.1 billion, and is subject to change). The market capitalization of the companies in the Portfolio and the Russell 1000® Growth Index changes over time; the Portfolio will not automatically sell or cease to purchase stock of a company it already owns just because the company's market capitalization falls below this level. The Subadviser generally looks for companies with an above-average rate of earnings and cash flow growth and a lucrative niche in the economy that gives them the ability to sustain earnings momentum even during ti mes of slow economic growth.

While most assets will be invested in U.S. common stocks, other securities may also be purchased, including foreign stocks, futures, and options, in keeping with the Portfolio's objectives.

The Portfolio may sell securities for a variety of reasons, such as to secure gains, limit losses, or redeploy assets into more promising opportunities.

In pursuing its investment objective, the Portfolio's management has the discretion to purchase some securities that do not meet its normal investment criteria, as described above, when it perceives an unusual opportunity for gain. These special situations might arise when the Portfolio's management believes a security could increase in value for a variety of reasons, including a change in management, an extraordinary corporate event, or a temporary imbalance in the supply of or demand for the securities.

While we make every effort to achieve our objective, we can't guarantee success and it is possible that you could lose money. This Portfolio is advised by T. Rowe Price Associates, Inc.

Principal Risks:

• company risk

• derivatives risk

• foreign investment risk

• growth stock risk

• leveraging risk

• management risk

• market risk

AST MFS Growth Portfolio Investment Objective: to seek long-term growth of capital and future, rather than current, income.

The Portfolio invests, under normal circumstances, at least 80% of its net assets in common stocks and related securities, such as preferred stocks, convertible securities and depositary receipts. The Subadviser focuses on investing the portfolio's assets in the stocks of companies it believes to have above average earnings growth potential compared to other companies (growth companies). Growth companies tend to have stock prices that are high relative to their earnings, dividends, book value, or other financial measures.

While the Portfolio may invest its assets in companies of any size, the Portfolio generally focuses on companies with large capitalizations.

The Subadviser uses a bottom-up investment approach in buying and selling investments for the Portfolio. Investments are selected primarily based on fundamental analysis of issuers and their potential in light of their current financial condition and industry position, and market, economic, political, and regulatory conditions. Factors considered may include analysis of earnings, cash flows, competitive position, and management ability. Quantitative analysis of these and other factors may also be considered.

The Portfolio may invest up to 35% of its net assets in foreign securities.

While we make every effort to achieve our objective, we can't guarantee success and it is possible that you could lose money. This Portfolio is subadvised by Massachusetts Financial Services Company.

Principal Risks:

• company risk

• derivatives risk

• foreign investment risk

• growth stock risk

• leveraging risk

• liquidity risk

• management risk

• market risk

• portfolio turnover risk

AST Marsico Capital Growth Portfolio
Investment Objective: to seek capital growth. Income is not an investment objective and any income realized on the Portfolio's investments, therefore, will be incidental to the Portfolio's objective.

The AST Marsico Capital Growth Portfolio invests primarily in the common stocks of large capitalization companies that are selected for their growth potential. The Portfolio generally defines large capitalization companies as stocks of companies with market capitalizations within the market capitalization range of the Russell 1000® Growth Index. As of January 31, 2009, the median market capitalization of the Russell 1000® Growth Index was $3.1 billion. The Portfolio will normally hold a core position of between 35 and 50 common stocks. The Portfolio may hold a limited number of additional common stocks at times when the portfolio manager is accumulating new positions, phasing out and replacing existing positions, or responding to exceptional market conditions. This Portfolio is advised by Marsico Capital Management, LLC (Marsico).

In selecting investments for the Portfolio, the Subadviser uses an approach that combines "top-down" macro-econ omic analysis with "bottom-up" stock selection. The "top-down" approach may take into consideration macro-economic factors such as, without limitation, interest rates, inflation, demographics, the regulatory environment, and the global competitive landscape. In addition, the Subadviser may also examine other factors that may include, without limitation, the most attractive global investment opportunities, industry consolidation, and the sustainability of financial trends observed. As a result of the "top-down" analysis, the Subadviser seeks to identify sectors, industries and companies that may benefit from the overall trends the Subadviser has observed.

The Subadviser then looks for individual companies or securities with earnings growth potential that may not be recognized by the market at large. In determining whether a particular company or security may be a suitable investment, the Subadviser may focus on any of a number of different attributes that may include, without limitation, the company's specific market expertise or dominance; its franchise durability and pricing power; solid fundamentals (e.g., a strong balance sheet, improving returns on equity, the ability to generate free cash flow, apparent use of conservative accounting standards, and transparent financial disclosure); strong and ethical

management; commitment to shareholder interests; reasonable valuations in the context of projected growth rates; and other indications that a company or security may be an attractive investment prospect. This process is called "bottom-up" stock selection.

As part of this fundamental, "bottom-up" research, the Subadviser may visit with various levels of a company's management, as well as with its customers and (as relevant) suppliers, distributors, and competitors. The Subadviser also may prepare detailed earnings and cash flow models of companies. These models may assist the Subadviser in projecting potential earnings growth, current income and other important company financial characteristics under different scenarios. Each model is typically customized to follow a particular company and is generally intended to replicate and describe a company's past, present and potential future performance. The models may include quantitative information and detailed narratives that reflect updated interpretations of corporate data and company and industry developments.

The Subadviser may reduce or sell a Fund's investments in portfolio companies if, in the opinion of the Subadviser, a company's fundamentals change substantially, its stock price appreciates excessively in relation to fundamental earnings growth prospects, the company appears not to realize its growth potential or current income potential, more attractive investment opportunities appear elsewhere, or for other reasons.

The core investments of the Portfolio generally may include established companies and securities that offer long-term growth potential. However, the Portfolio also may typically include securities of less mature companies, companies or securities with more aggressive growth characteristics, and companies undergoing significant changes such as the introduction of a new product line, the appointment of a new management team, or an acquisition.

While we make every effort to achieve our objective, we cannot guarantee success and it is possible that you could lose money. This portfolio is subadvised by Marsico Capital Management, LLC.

Principal Risks:

• company risk

• derivatives risk

• foreign investment risk

• growth stock risk

• leveraging risk

• management risk

• market risk

AST Goldman Sachs Concentrated Growth Portfolio

Investment Objective: long-term growth of capital.

The Portfolio will pursue its objective, under normal circumstances, by investing primarily in equity securities. Equity securities include common stocks, preferred stocks, warrants and securities convertible into or exchangeable for common or preferred stocks. Investments will be in companies that the Subadviser believes have potential to achieve capital appreciation over the long-term. The Portfolio seeks to achieve its investment objective by investing, under normal circumstances, in approximately 30-45 companies that are considered by the Subadviser to be positioned for long-term growth.

The Portfolio is non-diversified for purposes of the1940, which means that it may invest more than 5% of its assets in the securities of any one issuer.

While we make every effort to achieve our objective, we can't guarantee success and it is possible that you could lose money. This Portfolio is advised by Goldman Sachs Asset Management, L.P.

Principal Risks:

• company risk

• derivatives risk

• foreign investment risk

• growth stock risk

• industry/sector risk

• initial public offering risk

• investment style risk

• leveraging risk

• liquidity risk

• management risk

• market risk

• non-diversification risk

• small company risk

AST DeAM Large-Cap Value Portfolio Investment Objective: to seek maximum growth of capital by investing primarily in the value stocks of larger companies.

The Portfolio will invest, under normal circumstances, at least 80% of the value of its assets in large capitalization companies. The Portfolio pursues its investment objective by primarily investing in the equity securities of large sized companies included in the Russell 1000® Value Index. Equity securities include common stocks and securities convertible into or exchangeable for common stocks, including warrants and rights. The Subadviser employs an investment strategy that seeks to maintain a portfolio of equity securities which approximates the market risk of those stocks included in the Russell 1000® Value Index, but which outperforms the Russell 1000® Value Index through active stock selection. As of January 31, 2009, the average market capitalization of the companies in the Russell 1000® Value Index was approximately $71.033 billion and the median market capitalization was approximately $2.376 billion. The size of the companies in the Russell 1000® Value Index will change with market conditions. The targeted tracking error of this Portfolio is 4% with a normal deviation of +/- 1%. It is possible that the deviation may be higher. For purposes of this Portfolio, the strategy of attempting to correlate a stock portfolio's market risk with that of a particular index, in this case the Russell 1000® Value Index, while improving upon the return of the same index through active stock selection, is called a "managed alpha" strategy.

The Subadviser generally takes a "bottom up" approach to building the Portfolio, searching for individual companies that demonstrate the best potential for significant return. The Subadviser considers a number of factors in determining whether to invest in a value stock, including earnings growth rate, analysts' estimates of future earnings and industry-relative price multiples. Other factors are net income growth versus cash flow growth as w ell as earnings and price momentum. In the selection of investments, long-term capital appreciation will take precedence over short range market fluctuations. However, the Portfolio may occasionally make investments for short-term capital appreciation.

While we make every effort to achieve our objective, we can't guarantee success and it is possible that you could lose money. This Portfolio is advised by Deutsche Investment Management Americas, Inc.

Principal Risks:

• company risk

• derivatives risk

• foreign investment risk

• leveraging risk

• management risk

• market risk

• portfolio turnover risk

AST Large-Cap Value Portfolio Investment Objective: to seek current income and long-term growth of income, as well as capital appreciation.

The Portfolio will invest, under normal circumstances, at least 80% of the value of its net assets in large capitalization companies. The Portfolio generally defines large capitalization companies as stocks of companies with market capitalizations within the market capitalization range of the Russell 1000® Value Index. The 80% requirement applies at the time the Portfolio invests its assets. As of January 31, 2009, the market capitalization range of the Russell 1000® Value Index was $9 million to $380 billion. Some of these securities may be acquired in initial public offerings (IPOs). In addition to these principal investments, the Portfolio may invest up to 20% of its total assets in foreign securities.

The assets of the Portfolio are independently managed by three Subadvisers under a multi-manager structure. Pursuant to the multi-manager structure, the Investment Managers of the Portfolio determine and allocate a portion of the Portfolio's assets to each of the Subadvisers. The allocations will be reviewed by the Investment Managers periodically and may be altered or adjusted by the Investment Managers without prior notice. Such adjustments will be reflected in the annual update to this prospectus.

Although each Subadviser will follow the Portfolio's policy of investing, under normal circumstances, at least 80% of the Portfolio's assets in large capitalization companies, each Subadviser expects to utilize different investment strategies to achieve the Portfolio's objective of current income and long-term growth of income, as well as capital appreciation. The current asset allocations and principal investment strategies for each of the Subadvisers are summarized below:

Hotchkis and Wiley Capital Management LLC ("Hotchkis and Wiley") normally focuses on stocks that have a high cash dividend or payout yield relative to the market. Payout yield is defined as dividend yield plus net share repurchases. The Subadviser also may invest in stocks that don't pay dividends, but have growth potential unrecognized by the market or changes in business or management that indicate growth potential.

Eaton Vance Management (Eaton Vance) normally invests primarily in value stocks of large-cap companies, which are common stocks that, in the Subadviser's opinion, are inexpensive or undervalued relative to the overall stock market. Investment decisions are made primarily on the basis of fundamental research and involve consideration of numerous factors, including quality of business franchises, financial strength, management capability and integrity, growth potential, valuation and earnings and cash flow capabilities. Many of these considerations are subjective. Eaton Vance intends to manage investment risk by maintaining broad issuer and industry diversification among its holdings, and by utilizing fundamental analysis of risk/return characteristics in securities selection. The Subadviser may sell a security when its price objective for the security is reached, the fundamentals of the company deteriorate, a security's price falls below ac quisition cost or to pursue more attractive investment options.

Dreman Value Management, L.L.C. ("Dreman") seeks to provide a total return greater than that of the benchmark over time, to protect client capital during market downturns and to stay consistent in our low price-to-earnings ratio, contrarian value approach to investment management, while taking into consideration dividend yield. Dreman will seek to attain superior returns by using a contrarian value investment approach.

Dreman believes that it can attain superior performance by adhering to an investment strategy that is disciplined and has a demonstrated record of success. Dreman's investment strategy emphasizes stocks that offer unique investment values. The criterion used to identify such stocks include below average price-to-earnings, price-to-book, price-to-cash flow ratios and above average dividend yields. Over the last 25 years, extensive studies, which date as far back as the 1930s, conducted by David Dreman and affiliates of Drema n, have led the Dreman to conclude that consistently applying disciplined value strategies yields superior long-term total returns.

While we make every effort to achieve our objective, we can't guarantee success and it is possible that you could lose money. On or about April 1, 2009, Hotchkis and Wiley was responsible for managing approximately 15% of the Portfolio's assets, Eaton Vance was responsible for managing approximately 60% of the Portfolio's assets and Dreman was responsible for managing approximately 25% of the Portfolio's assets.

On or about May 1, 2009, the Investment Managers intend to reallocate the Portfolio's assets so that Hotchkis and Wiley will be responsible for managing approximately 20% of the Portfolio's assets and Eaton Vance will be responsible for managing approximately 80% of the Portfolio's assets. Upon such reallocation of the Portfolio's assets, Dreman will no longer be responsible for managing any of the Portfolio's assets. It is expected that Hotchkis and Wiley and Eaton Vance will be the Portfolio's only subadvisers on or about July 31, 2009.

Principal Risks:

• company risk

• derivatives risk

• foreign investment risk

• investment style risk

• leveraging risk

• management risk

• market risk

• portfolio turnover risk

• real estate risk

• selection risk

• value style risk

AST AllianceBernstein Core Value Portfolio Investment Objective: long-term capital growth.

The Portfolio will pursue its objective, under normal circumstances, by investing primarily in common stocks. The Subadviser expects that the majority of the Portfolio's assets will be invested in the common stocks of large companies that appear to be undervalued. Among other things, the Portfolio seeks to identify compelling buying opportunities created when companies are undervalued on the basis of investor reactions to near-term problems or circumstances even though their long-term prospects remain sound. The Subadviser's investment approach is value-based and price-driven, and it relies on the intensive fundamental and quantitative research of its internal research staff to identify these buying opportunities in the marketplace.

Portfolio investments are selected by the Subadviser based upon a model portfolio of 100-150 stocks constructed by the Subadviser. In selecting investments for the model portfolio, the Subadviser takes a "b ottom-up" approach. In other words, the subadvisor seeks to identify individual companies with cash flow potential that may not be recognized by the market at large. The Subadviser relates present value of each company's forecasted future cash flow to the current price of its stock. The Subadviser ranks companies from the highest expected return to the lowest, with the companies at the top of the ranking being the most undervalued.

While we make every effort to achieve our objective, we can't guarantee success and it is possible that you could lose money. This Portfolio is advised by AllianceBernstein L.P.

Principal Risks:

• company risk

• derivatives risk

• foreign investment risk

• leveraging risk

• management risk

• market risk

• portfolio turnover risk

AST QMA US Equity Alpha Portfolio
Investment Objective: Long-term capital appreciation.

The Portfolio uses a long/short investment strategy in seeking to achieve its investment objective. This means the Portfolio shorts a portion of the Portfolio and use the proceeds of the shorts, or other borrowings, to purchase additional stocks long. The Portfolio normally invests (takes long positions) at least 80% of its net assets plus borrowings, if any, for investment purposes in equity and equity-related securities of U.S. issuers. For purposes of this non-fundamental investment policy, U.S. issuers are issuers whose primary listing is on a securities exchange or market inside the United States.

By employing this long/short strategy, the Portfolio will seek to produce returns that exceed those of its benchmark index, the Russell 1000® Index (i.e., the Portfolio seeks additional alpha, often quantified by a fund's excess return above a benchmark index). The Russell 1000® Index is composed of stocks representing more than 90% of the market cap of the U.S. market and includes the largest 1000 securities in the Russell 3000® Index.

While we make every effort to achieve our objective, we can't guarantee success and it is possible that you could lose money. This Portfolio is advised by Quantitative Management Associates LLC.

Principal Risks:

• borrowing risk

• derivatives risk

• hedging risk

• leverage risk

• liquidity risk

• market risk

• portfolio turnover risk

• selection risk

• short sales risk

Growth and Income Portfolios: Investment Objectives and Principal Strategies

AST American Century Income & Growth Portfolio

Investment Objective: to seek capital growth and, secondarily, current income.

The Portfolio invests primarily in large capitalization, publicly-traded U.S. companies. The Portfolio considers large capitalization companies to be those with a market capitalization of greater than $2 billion. To select stocks for purchase the Subadviser utilizes quantitative management techniques in a two-step process. In the first step, the Subadviser ranks stocks from most attractive to least attractive. This is determined by using a quantitative model that combines measures of at stock's value as well as measures of its growth potential. To measure value, the Subadviser uses ratios of stock price to book value and stock price to cash flow, among others. To measure growth, the Subadviser uses the rate of growth in a company's earnings and changes in its earnings estimates, as well as other factors.

In the second step, the Subadviser uses a technique called portfolio optimization. In portfolio optimization, the Subadviser uses a computer to build a portfolio of stocks from the ranking described above that it believes will provide the optimal balance between risk and expected return. The goal is to create a portfolio that provides better returns than its benchmark without taking on significant additional risk. In building the Portfolio, the Subadviser also attempts to create a dividend yield that will be greater than that of the S&P 500® Index.

The Subadviser generally sells stocks from the Portfolio when it believes:

· a stock becomes less attractive relative to other stock opportunities,
· a stock's risk parameters outweigh its return opportunity, and/or
· specific events alter a stock's prospects.

While we make every effort to achieve our objective, we can't guarantee success and it is possible that you could lose money. This Portfolio is advised by American Century Investment Management, Inc.

Principal Risks:

• company risk

• derivatives risk

• foreign investment risk

• leveraging risk

• liquidity risk

• management risk

• market risk

AST AllianceBernstein Growth & Income Portfolio
Investment Objective: long-term growth of capital and income.

The Portfolio will invest, under normal circumstances, in common stocks (and securities convertible into common stocks).

The Subadviser will take a value-oriented approach, in that it will try to keep the Portfolio's assets invested in securities that are selling at reasonable valuations in relation to their fundamental business prospects. In doing so, the Portfolio may forgo some opportunities for gains when, in the judgment of the Subadviser, they are too risky.

In seeking to achieve its objective, the Portfolio invests primarily in the equity securities of U.S. companies that the Subadviser believes are undervalued. The Subadviser believes that, over time, stock prices (of companies in which the Portfolio invests) will come to reflect the companies' intrinsic economic values. The Subadviser uses a disciplined investment process to evaluate the companies in its extensive research universe. Through this process, the Subadviser seeks to identify the stocks of companies tha t offer the best combination of value and potential for price appreciation.

The Subadviser employs a multifactor valuation model which to seeks to discern the relative attractiveness of individual investment opportunities derived from a universe of substantially large, seasoned, U.S. domiciled companies. The Subadviser utilizes this model to systematically identify equity securities whose current market prices do not reflect what it considers to be their relative intrinsic economic values. In determining a company's relative investment attractiveness, the Subadviser takes into account many fundamental factors it believes bear on the ability of the company to perform in the future, including prospective earnings and cash flow growth, the competitive position of the company, forecast balance sheet strength, and the capital usage decisions of management. The Subadviser then ranks each of the companies in order of their relative attractiveness with companies demonstrating the la rgest positive disparities deemed to be the most undervalued. In conjunction with AllianceBernstein's fundamental research teams, the U.S. Relative Value team will select from a candidate list of attractively valued stocks (based on the team's multifactor valuation model) to populate the portfolio with securities it believes are attractively valued.

While we make every effort to achieve our objective, we can't guarantee success and it is possible that you could lose money. This Portfolio is advised by AllianceBernstein L.P.

Principal Risks:

• company risk

• derivatives risk

• foreign investment risk

• management risk

• market risk

• portfolio turnover risk

Special Equity Portfolios: Investment Objectives and Principal Strategies

AST Cohen & Steers Realty Portfolio
Investment Objective: to maximize total return through investment in real estate securities.

The Portfolio will invest, under normal circumstances, at least 80% of its net assets in securities of real estate related issuers. Under normal circumstances, the Portfolio will invest substantially all of its assets in the equity securities of real estate companies. Such equity securities will consist of common stocks, rights or warrants to purchase common stocks, securities convertible into common stocks where the conversion feature represents, in the Subadviser's view, a significant element of the securities' value, and preferred stocks.

For purposes of the Portfolio's investment policies, a "real estate company" is one that derives at least 50% of its revenues from the ownership, construction, financing, management or sale of real estate or that has at least 50% of its assets in real estate. The Portfolio may invest up to 10% of its total assets in securities of foreign real estate companies. Real estate companies may include re al estate investment trusts ("REITs"). REITs pool investors' funds for investment primarily in income producing real estate or real estate related loans or interests.

The Portfolio is non-diversified for purposes of the 1940, which means that it may invest more than 5% of its assets in the securities of any one issuer.

While we make every effort to achieve our objective, we can't guarantee success and it is possible that you could lose money. This Portfolio is advised by Cohen & Steers Capital Management, Inc.

Principal Risks:

• company risk

• credit risk

• derivatives risk

• foreign investment risk

• industry/sector risk

• leveraging risk

• liquidity risk

• management risk

• market risk

• non-diversification risk

• real estate risk

AST Global Real Estate Portfolio
Investment Objective: Capital appreciation and income

The investment objective of the Portfolio is to seek capital appreciation and income. The Portfolio's investment objective is not a fundamental investment policy and, therefore, may be changed by the Board of Trustees of the Trust (the Board) without shareholder approval.

In pursuing its investment objective, the Portfolio will normally invest at least 80% of its investable assets (net assets plus any borrowings made for investment purposes) in equity-related securities of real estate companies. This means that the Portfolio will

concentrate its investments in companies that derive at least 50% of their revenues from the ownership, construction, financing, management or sale of commercial, industrial or residential real estate or companies that have at least 50% of their assets in these types of real estate-related areas.

The Portfolio will invest in equity-related securities of real estate companies on a global basis, which means that the companies may be U.S. companies or foreign companies. There is no limit on the amount of Portfolio assets that may be invested in the securities of foreign companies.

The Portfolio anticipates that its investments in equity-related securities of real estate companies will be primarily in publicly-traded real estate investment trusts (REITs). REITs are like corporations, except that they do not pay income taxes if they meet certain Internal Revenue Service (IRS) requirements. However, while REITs themselves do not pay inco me taxes, the distributions they make to investors are taxable. REITs invest primarily in real estate (offices, hotels, shopping centers, apartments, malls, factories, etc.) or real estate mortgages and distribute almost all of their income - most of which comes from rents, mortgages and gains on sales of property - to shareholders. The Portfolio may invest without limit in the securities of REITs.

The Portfolio may invest up to 15% of its net assets in ownership interests in commercial real estate through investments in private real-estate. The Portfolio will execute its strategy of acquiring ownership interests in commercial real estate through investments in, for example, single member limited liability companies where the Portfolio is the sole member, joint ventures, other equity-linked investments, and mezzanine debt. Investments may include niche property types, such as self storage, medical office, life sciences buildings and smal l hotels, or may include properties that require development, re-development or other management expertise to create or enhance value. Private real estate-related investments are treated as illiquid investments because they may require a substantial length of time to be sold. As illiquid investments, they may be sold at a substantial discount from comparable investments that are liquid.

Under normal circumstances, the Portfolio may invest up to 20% of its investable assets in securities of issuers not in the real estate industry. These include equity-related securities (i.e., securities that may be converted into or exchanged for common stock or the cash value of common stock, known as convertible securities, discussed below), fixed income securities, U.S. Government securities and money market instruments.

The Portfolio is non-diversified for purposes of the1940, which means that it may invest more than 5% of its assets in the securities of any one issuer.

While we make every effort to achieve our objective, we cannot guarantee success and it is possible that you could lose money. The Portfolio's advised by Prudential Real Estate Investors, a business unit of Prudential Investment Management, Inc.

Principal Risks:

• common and preferred stocks risk

• market risk

• selection risk

• foreign investment risk

• currency risk

• liquidity risk

• derivatives risk

• hedging risk

• credit risk

• interest rate risk

• portfolio turnover risk

• real estate risk

• market sector/industry concentration risk

• non-diversification risk

• private real estate-related securities--investments in partnerships and other entities

• valuation of private real estate-related investments risk

AST T. Rowe Price Natural Resources Portfolio

Investment Objective: to seek long-term capital growth primarily through the investment in common stocks of companies that own or develop natural resources (such as energy products, precious metals, and forest products) and other basic commodities.

The Portfolio will invest, under normal circumstances, at least 80% of the value of its assets in natural resource companies. The Portfolio also may invest in non-resource companies with the potential for growth. When selecting stocks, the Subadviser looks for companies that have the ability to expand production, maintain superior exploration programs and production facilities, and the potential to accumulate new resources. Natural resource companies in which the Portfolio invests generally own, develop, refine, service or transport resources, including energy sources, precious metals, nonferrous metals, forest products, real estate, diversified resources and other basic commodities that can be produced and marketed profitably when both labor costs and prices are rising.

Although at least 50% of Portfolio assets will be invested in U.S. securities, up to 50% of total assets also may be invested in foreign securities. The Portfolio may also purchase futures and options in keeping w ith its objective. The Portfolio may sell securities for a variety of reasons, such as to secure gains, limit losses or re-deploy assets into more promising opportunities.

In pursuing its investment objective, the Portfolio's management has the discretion to purchase some securities that do not meet its normal investment criteria, as described above, when it perceives an unusual opportunity for gain. These special situations might arise when the Portfolio's management believes a security could increase in value for a variety of reasons, including a change in management, an extraordinary corporate event, or a temporary imbalance in the supply of or demand for the securities.

While we make every effort to achieve our objective, we can't guarantee success and it is possible that you could lose money. This Portfolio is advised by T. Rowe Price Associates, Inc.

Principal Risks:

• company risk

• derivatives risk

• foreign investment risk

• industry/sector risk

• leveraging risk

• liquidity risk

• management risk

• market risk

Asset Allocation Portfolios: Investment Objectives and Principal Strategies

*These Portfolios primarily invest in other Portfolios of the Trust (Underlying Trust Portfolios) and are each referred to herein as a "Fund of Funds," and collectively as the "Funds of Funds."

AST Academic Strategies Asset Allocation Portfolio

Investment Objective: The investment objective of the Portfolio is to seek long-term capital appreciation. This investment objective is a non-fundamental investment policy of the Portfolio and may be changed by the Board without shareholder approval.

The Portfolio is a multi-asset class fund that pursues both top-down asset allocation strategies and bottom-up selection of securities, investment managers, and mutual funds. Under normal circumstances, it is currently expected that approximately 60% of the Portfolio's assets will be allocated to traditional asset classes and approximately 40% of the Portfolio's assets will be allocated to non-traditional asset classes. Those percentages are subject to change by the Investment Managers.The overall asset allocation strategy for the Portfolio is determined by Quantitative Management Associates LLC (QMA), and the Investment Managers in consultation with Advanced Quantitative Consulting LLC (the Consultant), a consultant that has been retained by AST. The Subadvisers for the Portfolio are listed below:

The Consultant is expected to use academic research on asset allocation along with various quantitative and qualitative research methods to produce a proposed strategic allocation for the Portfolio among the various traditional and non-traditional asset classes and the related investment categories and strategies. QMA and the Investment Managers are then expected to review the proposed strategic allocation from the Consultant. QMA and the Investment Managers will adjust the proposed strategic allocation based upon their own: (i) forward-looking assessment of global macroeconomic, market, financial, currency, security valuation, and other factors and (ii) quantitative and qualitative evaluation of the risks associated with investments in the relevant investment categories and strategies. PI will then: (i) identify other pooled investment vehicles, including, without limitation, open-end or closed-end investment companies, exchange-traded funds, unit investment trusts, domestic or foreign private investment pools (including investment companies not registered with the SEC, such as "hedge funds") (collectively referred to herein as Underlying Funds) that may be used as fulfillment options for the specific investment categories or strategies and (ii) establish specific weighted combinations of Underlying Funds that are consistent with the Portfolio's then-current asset allocation. The Investment Managers will also seek to identify and retain Subadvisers to directly manage all or a portion of the assets that are allocated to a particular investment category or strategy. Under normal circumstances, the Portfolio will invest approximately 65% of its assets in other portfolios of the Trust (collectively, the Underlying Trust Funds). The Subadvisers will directly manage the remaining 35% of the Portfolio's assets under normal circumstances. Those percentages are subject to change by the Inves tment Managers and QMA.

The Investment Managers will monitor the amount of active risk taken within the various investment categories and strategies by conducting holdings-based and returnsbased analyses of the Portfolio's direct and indirect portfolio holdings. QMA and the Investment Managers also expect to meet periodically with the Consultant. QMA and the Investment Managers, in consultation with the Consultant, will seek to opportunistically modify the allocations among the various investment categories and strategies, the Underlying Funds, and the Subadvisers based upon the latest academic research and their ongoing assessment of the above-referenced factors. The extent to which any recommendations from the Consultant are adopted is determined by the Investment Managers and QMA.

Fixed-income investments in which the portfolio may invest include:
(1) securities issued or guaranteed by the U.S. Government, its agencies or government-sponsored enterprises;
(2) corporate debt securities of U.S. and non-U.S. issuers, including convertible securities and corporate commercial paper;
(3) mortgage and other asset-backed securities;
(4) inflation-indexed bonds issued by both governments and corporations;
(5) structured notes, including hybrid or "indexed" securities, event-linked bonds;
(6) loan participations and assignments;
(7) delayed funding loans and revolving credit securities;
(8) bank certificates of deposit, fixed time deposits and bankers' acceptances;
(9) repurchase agreements and reverse repurchase agreements;
(10) debt securities issued by state or local governments and their agencies and government-sponsored enterprises;
(11) obligations of foreign governments or their subdivisions, agencies and government-sponsore d enterprises;
(12) derivative instruments, including futures, options and swap agreements; and
(13) obligations of international agencies or supranational entities.

While we make every effort to achieve our objective, we can't guarantee success and it is possible that you could lose money.

Principal Risks:

• affiliated fund of funds risk

• asset allocation risk

• asset-backed securities risk

• asset transfer program risk

• commodity risk

• common and preferred stock risk

• credit risk

• depository receipts risk

• derivatives risk

• emerging market risk

• equity securities risk

• extension risk

• foreign investment risk

• geographic focus risk

• hedging risk

• high-yield risk

• inflation risk

• infrastructure investment risk

• interest rate risk

• leveraging risk

• liquidity risk

• management risk

• market risk

• mortgage risk

• risk of investment in other debt obligations issued or guaranteed by the U.S. government and government-related entities

• portfolio turnover risk

• prepayment, or call, risk

• privately-issued mortgage-related securities and asset-backed securities

• real estate risk

• selection risk

• short sale risk

• small and mid-capitalization company risk

• underlying fund risk

• underlying portoflio selection risk

• underlying trust funds/potential conflicts of interst and Subadviser selection risk

• U.S. government and agency securities risk

• valuation risk

• yankee obligations risk

AST Schroders Multi-Asset World Strategies Portfolio
(formerly AST American Century Strategic Allocation Portfolio)

Investment Objective: The investment objective of the Portfolio is to seek long-term capital appreciation. This investment objective is a non-fundamental investment policy of the Portfolio and may be changed by the Board without shareholder approval.

The Portfolio seeks long-term capital appreciation through a flexible global asset allocation approach. This asset allocation approach entails investing in traditional asset classes, such as equity and fixed-income investments, and alternative asset classes, such as investments in real estate, commodities, currencies, private equity, and absolute return strategies. Absolute return measures the return that an asset achieves over a certain period of time. Absolute return strategies differ from relative return strategies because they are concerned with the rate of return of a particular asset and do not compare returns with other measures or benchmarks as with relative return strategies.

The Subadvisers will seek exposure to the relevant traditional and alternative asset classes by investing Portfolio assets in varying combinations of (i) securities, including, without limitation, common stocks, preferred stocks, and bonds; (ii) other pooled investment vehicles, including, without limitation, open-end or closed-end investment companies, exchange-traded funds, unit investment trusts, domestic or foreign private investment pools (including investment companies not registered with the SEC, such as "hedge funds") (collectively referred to herein as Underlying Funds); and (iii) certain structured notes and financial and derivative instruments.

The Subadvisers will seek to emphasize the management of risk and volatility. Generally, the Subadvisers will seek to minimize the volatility of the Portfolio by:
• Using a wide range of asset classes whose investment performance the Subadvisers believe will not be highly correlated with each other;
• Employing asset allocation positioning with the aim of providing greater stability of investment performance; and
• Employing derivatives to seek to limit the potential for loss in times of market volatility.

Each asset class will be reviewed on an ongoing basis by the Subadvisers to determine whether it provides the opportunity to enhance investment performance or to reduce risk. Exposure to different asset classes and investment strategies will vary over time based upon the Subadvisers' assessment of changing market, economic, financial, and political factors and events that the Subadvisers believe may impact the value of the Portfolio's investments. The Subadvisers will rely on proprietary asset allocation models to adjust the amount of the Portfolio's investments in the various asset classes.

The Subadvisers may sell securities when they believe that the underlying assets no longer offer attractive potential future returns compared to other investment opportunities or that they present undesirable risks, or in order to limit losses on securities that have declined in value.

While we make every effort to achieve our objective, we cannot guarantee success and it is possible that you could lose money. The Portfolio's Subadvisers are Schroder Investment Management North America Inc. (Schroders) and Schroders Investment Management North America Limited (SIMNA Ltd.).

Principal Risks:

• asset allocation risk

• asset transfer program risk

• asset-backed securities risk

• commodity risk

• common and preferred stock risk

• company risk

• credit risk

• depositary receipts risk

• derivatives risk

• extension risk

• foreign investment risk

• geographic focus risk

• growth stock risk

• high-yield risk

• infrastructure investment risk

• initial public offering (IPO) risk

• interest rate risk

• leveraging risk

• liquidity risk

• management risk

• market risk

• mortgage-backed securities

• real estate risk

• selection risk

• small and mid-capitalization company risk

• underlying portfolio selection risk

• valuation risk

• value stock risk

AST Focus Four Plus Portfolio

Investment Objective: long-term capital growth. Such investment objective is not a fundamental policy of the Portfolio and, therefore, may be changed by the Board without shareholder approval.

Principal Investment Policies of the Portfolio. As explained in more detail below, the Investment Managers will seek to achieve the Portfolio's investment objective by causing the Portfolio's assets to be allocated across five uniquely specialized investment strategies (each, an Investment Strategy and collectively, the Investment Strategies). The Portfolio will have four quantitative strategies that invest primarily in equity securities (each, an Equity Strategy and collectively, the Equity Strategies) and one fixed-income strategy (the Core Plus Strategy). Brief descriptions of the Investment Strategies and the approximate allocation of Portfolio assets across the five Investment Strategies as of January 31, 2009 appear in the table below. These allocations are subject to change. More detailed descriptions of the Investment Strategies are included in this Prospectus under the caption "Investment Objective and Policies."

The Investment Managers are responsible for establishing the overall percentage allocation of Portfolio assets between the four Equity Strategies and the Core Plus Strategy. First Trust Advisors L.P. ("First Trust") serves as the sole Subadviser for the four Equity Strategies of the Portfolio. In that capacity, First Trust will: (i) establish the percentage allocation of Portfolio assets to each individual Equity Strategy based upon the Investment Managers' overall allocation between the four Equity Strategies and the Core Plus Strategy under normal circumstances; (ii) establish the percentage allocation of each security's position within each individual Equity Strategy under normal circumstances; and (iii) handle the day-to-day investment management of Portfolio assets allocated to the Equity Strategies. First Trust reserves the right to over-weight, under-weight, or exclude certain companies from the holdings of the Equity Strategies of the Portfolio. The Investment Managers al so will be responsible for obtaining exposure to the Core Plus Strategy for the Portfolio through investments in the AST Western Asset Core Plus Bond Portfolio (the Core Plus Bond Portfolio). Western Asset Management Company (Western Asset) and Western Asset Management Company Limited (WAML) serve as the Subadvisers for the Core Plus Bond Portfolio.

In addition to the principal risks listed below, the Portfolio is also subject to investment model risk due to its policy of investing solely in securities identified by the four Equity Strategies under normal circumstances. As a result of this policy, equity securities held by the Portfolio will solely not be bought or sold in response to market fluctuations. To the extent this management style is non-dynamic, the Portfolio may subject investors to greater market risk than other mutual funds. First Trust, however, may stop purchasingthe securities of an issuer in accordance with the requirements of one of the strategies in the event the issuer suffers a material adverse development (e.g., bankruptcy, insolvency, etc.).

While we make every effort to achieve our objective, we cannot guarantee success and it is possible that you could lose money.

Principal Risks :

• asset allocation risk

• asset transfer program risk

• asset-backed securities risk

• common and preferred stock risk

• company risk

• investment model risk

• credit risk

• currency risk

• derivatives risk

• extension risk

• foreign investment risk

• hedging risk

• high-yield risk

• interest rate risk

• license risk

• liquidity risk

• market risk

• mortgage-backed securities risk

• portfolio turnover risk

• selection risk

• small and mid-capitalization company risk

• underlying fund risk

• valuation risk

AST Advanced Strategies Portfolio
Investment Objective: to seek a high level of absolute return by using traditional and non-traditional investment strategies and by investing equity and fixed-income securities, derivative instruments and exchange-traded funds.

The Portfolio seeks to achieve its investment objective by investing, under normal circumstances, primarily in a diversified portfolio of equity and fixed-income securities. In particular, QMA, an affiliate of the Investment Manager and a Subadviser to the Portfolio, allocates the net assets of the Portfolio across different investment categories and different Subadvisers. QMA also directly manages a portion of the assets of the Portfolio. Certain investment categories will contain sub-categories. The Subadviser for a category or sub-category will employ a specific investment strategy for that category or sub-category.

QMA employs a two-tiered approach to allocating Portfolio assets across the various investment categories, sub-categories, and Subadvisers. First, QMA analyzes the macro-economic landscape, the capital markets, and the related implications for investment strategy. Second, QMA draws on its understanding of the strategies used by the Subadvisers to dete rmine which advisers are expected to perform best under the prevailing macro-economic landscape.

Overall, the Advanced Strategies Portfolio pursues a combination of traditional and non-traditional investment strategies. The asset allocation generally provides for an allotment of 40% of Portfolio assets to a combination of domestic and international equity strategies and an allotment of 40% of Portfolio assets to a combination of U.S. fixed-income, hedged international bond, real return and exchange-traded fund investment strategies. The allocations will be reviewed by QMA periodically and may be altered or adjusted by the QMA in its discretion at any time without prior notice. Such adjustments will be reflected in the annual update to the prospectus. The Portfolio may use derivative instruments to gain exposure to certain commodity and real estate related indices. The Portfolio may engage in short sales and may invest in fixed-income securities that are rated below investment grade by the major ratings services (Ba or lower by Moody's Investors Service, Inc., or equivalently rated by Standard & Poor's Ratings Services, or Fitch Ratings Ltd., or, if unrated, considered to be of comparable quality, in connection with these investment strategies). Fixed-income debt obligations rated below investment grade by the major ratings services or, if unrated, considered to be of comparable quality, are commonly referred to as "junk bonds" and are regarded as having predominantly speculative characteristics with respect to capacity to pay principal and interest.

Fixed-income investments in which the Portfolio may invest include:

(1) securities issued or guaranteed by the U.S. Government, its agencies or government-sponsored enterprises;
(2) corporate debt securities of U.S. and non-U.S. issuers, including convertible securities and corporate commercial paper;
(3) mortgage and other asset-backed securities;
(4) inflation-indexed bonds issued by both governments and corporations;
(5) structured notes, including hybrid or "indexed" secur ities, event-linked bonds;
(6) loan participations and assignments;
(7) delayed funding loans and revolving credit securities;
(8) bank certificates of deposit, fixed time deposits and bankers' acceptances;
(9) repurchase agreements and reverse repurchase agreements;
(10) debt securities issued by state or local governments and their agencies and government-sponsored enterprises;
(11) obligations of foreign governments or their subdivisions, agencies and government-sponsored enterprises;
(12) derivative instruments, including futures, options and swap agreements;and
(13) obligations of international agencies or supranational entities.

While we make every effort to achieve our objective, we can't guarantee success and it is possible that you could lose money. This Portfolio is advised by Marsico Capital Management, LLC, T. Rowe Price Associates, Inc., William Blair & Company LLC, LSV Asset Management, Pacific Investment Management Company LLC, and QMA.

Principal Risks:

• asset allocation risk

• asset transfer program risk

• asset-backed securities risk

• commodities risk

• common and preferred stocks risk

• company risk

• credit risk

• depositarty receipts risk

• derivatives risk

• foreign investment risk

• growth and value stock risk

• hedging risk

• high yield risk

• inflation-indexed securities risk

• interest rate risk

• leveraging risk

• liquidity risk

• management risk

• market risk

• mortgage risk

• risk of investing in other debt obligations issued or guaranteed by the U.S. government or government-related entities

• portfolio turnover risk

• prepayment, or call, risk

• privately-issued mortgage-related and asset-backed securities risk

• real estate risk

• selection risk

• short sale risk

• U.S. government and agency securities risk

• Yankee obligation risk

AST T. Rowe Price Asset Allocation Portfolio
Investment Objective: to seek a high level of total return by investing primarily in a diversified portfolio of equity and fixed-income securities.

The Portfolio will invest, under normal circumstances, approximately 60% of its total assets in equity securities and 40% in fixed income securities. This mix may vary over shorter time periods; the equity portion may range between 50-70% and the fixed income portion between 30-50%. The Subadviser concentrates common stock investments in larger, more established companies, but the Portfolio may include small and medium-sized companies with good growth prospects. The Portfolio's exposure to smaller companies is not expected to be substantial, and will not constitute more than 30% of the equity portion of the Portfolio. Up to 35% of the equity portion may be invested in foreign (non-U.S. dollar denominated) equity securities. When selecting particular stocks to purchase, the Subadviser will examine relative values and prospects among growth and value-oriented stocks, domestic and international stocks, and small-to large-cap stocks. Domestic stocks are drawn from the overal l U.S. market while international equities are selected primarily from large companies in developed countries.

The fixed income portion of the Portfolio will be allocated among investment grade securities (50-100% of the fixed income portion); high yield or "junk" bonds (up to 30%); foreign (non-U.S. dollar denominated) high quality debt securities and emerging market securities (up to 30%); and cash reserves (up to 20%). Bond investments are primarily investment grade (top four credit ratings) and are chosen from across the entire government and corporate bond markets. A significant portion of the Portfolio's fixed income investments may be in mortgage-related (including mortgage dollar rolls and derivatives such as collateralized mortgage obligations and stripped mortgage-backed securities) and asset-backed securities. Bank debt and loan participations and assignments may also be purchased. Maturities and duration of the fixed income portion of the portfolio will reflect the Subadviser's outlook for interest rates.

The precise mix of equity and fixed income investments will depend on the Subadviser's outlook for the markets. The Portfolio's investments in foreign equity and debt securities are intended to provide additional diversification, and the Subadviser will normally have at least three different countries represented in both the foreign equity and foreign debt portions of the Portfolio.

The Portfolio may also invest in futures, swaps and other derivatives in keeping with its objective. Securities may be sold for a variety of reasons, such as to effect a change in asset allocation, to secure gains or limit losses, or to re-deploy assets into more promising opportunities. Fixed-income securities may be sold to adjust the Portfolio's average maturity, duration, or credit quality or to shift assets into higher yielding securities or different sectors.

In pursuing its investment objective, the Portfolio's management has the discretion to purchase some securities that do not meet its normal investment criteria, as described above, when it perceives an unusual opportunity for gain. These special situations might

arise when the Portfolio's management believes a security could increase in value for a variety of reasons, including a change in management, an extraordinary corporate event, or a temporary imbalance in the supply of or demand for the securities.

While we make every effort to achieve our objective, we can't guarantee success and it is possible that you could lose money. This Portfolio is advised by T. Rowe Price Associates, Inc.

Principal Risks:

• asset-backed securities risk

• company risk

• credit risk

• derivatives risk

• foreign investment risk

• growth and value stock risk

• high-yield risk

• interest rate risk

• leveraging risk

• liquidity risk

• management risk

• market risk

• mortgage risk

• portfolio turnover risk

AST UBS Dynamic Alpha Portfolio

Investment Objective: to seek to maximize total return.

The Portfolio attempts to generate positive returns and manage risk through sophisticated asset allocation, currency management techniques, and security selection. These decisions are integrated with analysis of global market and economic conditions.

The Portfolio is a multi asset-class fund. The asset classes in which the Portfolio may invest include, but are not limited to, the following: U.S. equity, non-U.S. equity, emerging market equity, U.S. fixed-income, non-U.S. fixed-income, emerging market debt, U.S. high-yield or "junk bond" fixed-income, and cash equivalents, including global currencies. The Portfolio may invest in issuers located within and outside the United States or in investment companies advised by UBS or its affiliates to gain exposure to these asset classes. The Portfolio will not pay investment management fees or other fund expenses in connection with it s investment in the investment companies advised by UBS or an affiliate, but may pay expenses associated with such investments.

Asset allocation decisions are tactical, based upon an assessment by UBS Global Asset Management (Americas), Inc. (UBS) of valuations and prevailing market conditions in the U.S. and abroad. Investments also may be made in selected sectors of these asset classes.

The Portfolio may, but is not required to, use derivative instruments for risk management purposes or as part of the Portfolio's investment strategies. Generally, derivatives are financial contracts whose value depends upon, or is derived from, the value of an underlying asset, reference rate, or index, and may relate to stocks, bonds, interest rates, currencies, or currency exchange rates, and related indexes. Examples of derivatives include options, futures, forward agreements, swap agreements (including, but not limited to, interest rate and credit default swaps), and credit-linked securities. The Portfolio may use derivatives to earn income and enhance returns, to manage or adjust the risk profile of the Portfolio, to replace more traditional direct investments, or to obtain exposure to certain markets. In addition, the Portfolio's risk will be carefully monitored with consideration given to the risk generated by individual positions, sect or, country, and currency views. To that end, UBS will employ proprietary risk management systems and models that seek to ensure the Portfolio is compensated for the level of risk it assumes at both the security and market levels.

Investments in equity securities may include common stock and preferred stock of issuers in developed nations (including the U.S.) and emerging markets. Equity investments may include large, intermediate, and small capitalization companies. Within the equity portion of the Portfolio, UBS will primarily use value-oriented strategies but also may use growth-oriented strategies. Within the equity portion of the portfolio, UBS will primarily use value-oriented equity strategies but also may use growth-oriented strategies. When using value-oriented equity strategies, UBS seeks to select securities whose fundamental values it believes are greater than their market prices. To invest in growth equities, UBS will seek to invest in companies that possess a dominant market position and franchise, a major technological edge or a unique competitive advantage, in part by using a proprietary quantitative screening system

that ranks stocks using a series of growth, valuation and momentum metrics.

Investments in fixed-income securities may include debt securities of governments throughout the world (including the U.S.), their agencies and instrumentalities, debt securities of corporations and supranationals, inflation protected securities, convertible bonds, mortgage-backed securities, asset-backed securities, equipment trusts and other collateralized debt securities. Investments in fixed-income securities may include issuers in both developed (including the U.S.) and emerging markets. The Portfolio's fixed income investments may reflect a broad range of investment maturities, qualities and sectors, including convertible debt securities and debt securities rated below investment grade. These lower-rated fixed-income securities are often referred to as "high-yield securities" or "junk bonds."

The Portfolio also may invest in cash or cash equivalent instruments. When political, economic, or market conditions warrant, the Portfolio may invest without limitation in cash equivalents, which may affect its ability to pursue its investment objective.

The Portfolio is non-diversified for purposes of the1940, which means that it may invest more than 5% of its assets in the securities of any one issuer.

While we make every effort to achieve our objective, we can't guarantee success and it is possible that you could lose money. This Portfolio is advised by UBS Global Asset Management (Americas), Inc.

Principal Risks:

• company risk

• credit risk

• derivatives risk

• foreign investment risk

• high-yield risk

• interest rate risk

• leveraging risk

• liquidity risk

• management risk

• market risk

• mortgage risk

• non-diversified risk

• portfolio turnover risk

• prepayment risk

• short sale risk

• small company risk

• value stock risk

AST First Trust Balanced Target Portfolio Investment Objective: long-term capital growth balanced by current income.

AST First Trust Capital Appreciation Target Portfolio
Investment Objective: long-term capital growth.

In seeking to achieve their respective investment objectives, each Portfolio allocates its assets across six uniquely specialized investment strategies (five common strategies, plus a different sixth investment strategy for each Portfolio). The allocation across the investment strategies for each Portfolio is set forth in this Prospectus under "More Detailed Information About How the Portfolios Invest." In addition, the overall mix between equity and fixed-income securities will vary for both Portfolios. The AST First Trust Balanced Target Portfolio will normally invest approximately 65% of its total assets in equity securities and approximately 35% in fixed-income securities as of the security selection date. Depending on market conditions, the equity portion may range between 60-70% and the fixed-income portion between 30-40%. The AST First Trust Capital Appreciation Target Portfolio will normally invest approximately 80% of its total assets in equity securities and approximately 20% in fixed- income securities as of the security selection date. Depending on market conditions, the equity portion may range between 75-85% and the fixed-income portion between 15-25%.

First Trust (as defined below) will select securities for each Portfolio that are identified by a model based on six uniquely specialized investment strategies, as follows:

· Dow Jones Income
· NYSE ^® International Target 25
· Global Dividend Target 15
· Value Line ^® Target 25
· Target Small-Cap
· The Dow ^® Target Dividend (AST First Trust Balanced Target Portfolio only)
· NASDAQ ^® Target 15 (AST First Trust Capital Appreciation Target Portfolio only)

Initially, each Portfolio will invest in securities determined by the model based on its six respective investment strategies. On or about the annual selection date (March 1), each Portfolio will establish both the percentage allocations among the six investment strategies under normal circumstances and the percentage allocation of each security's position within each of the five investment strategies that invest primarily in equity securities (each, an Equity Strategy and collectively the Equity Strategies). First Trust reserves the right to over-weight, under-weight, or exclude certain companies from the holdings of either Portfolio. A more complete description of the investment strategy of each Portfolio is included in this Prospectus under "More Detailed Information About How the Portfolios Invest."

In addition to the principal risks listed below, each Portfolio is also subject to investment model risk due to its policy of investing solely in securities identified by a model based on six investment strategies under normal circumstances. As a result of this policy, securities held by each Portfolio will not be bought or sold in response to market fluctuations. First Trust, however, may stop purchasing the securities of an issuer in accordance with the requirements of one of the strategies in the event the issuer suffers a material adverse development (e.g., bankruptcy, insolvency, etc.). To the extent this management style is non-dynamic, the Portfolios may subject investors to greater market risk than other Portfolios.

While we make every effort to achieve our objective, we can't guarantee success and it is possible that you could lose money. These Portfolios are advised by First Trust Advisors L.P. ("First Trust")

Principal Risks:

• company risk

• credit risk

• currency risk

• derivatives risk

• foreign investment risk

• interest rate risk

• license risk

• liquidity risk

• management risk

• market risk

• mid-capitalization company risk

• portfolio turnover risk

• small company risk

AST Dynamic Asset Allocation Portfolios:
AST Aggressive Asset Allocation Portfolio
AST Balanced Asset Allocation Portfolio (formerly AST Conservative Asset Allocation Portfolio)
AST Capital Growth Asset Allocation Portfolio
AST Preservation Asset Allocation Portfolio

Investment Objective: The investment objective of each Portfolio is to obtain the highest potential total return consistent with its specified level of risk tolerance.

These Portfolios are "funds of funds." That means that each Portoflio invests primarily in one or more mutual funds in accordance with its own asset allocation strategy. Other mutual funds in which they may invest are collectively referred to as the "Underlying Portfolios." Consistent with the investment objectives and policies of the Portfolios, other mutual funds may from time to time may be added to, or removed from, the list of Underlying Portfolios that may be used in connection with the portfolios. Currently, the only Underlying Portfolios in which they invest are other Portfolios of the Trust and certain money market funds advised by the Manager or one of its affiliates.

The asset allocation strategy for each Portfolio is determined by Prudential Investments, LLC (PI) and Quantitative Management Assocaiets LLC (QMA). As a general matter, QMA will begin by constructing a neutral allocation for each Portfolio. Each neutral allocation initially divides the assets for the corresponding Portfolio across three broad-based securities benchmark indexes. These three benchmark indexes are the Russell 3000 Index, which generally serves as a proxy for domestic equities markets, the MSCI EAFE Index, which generally serves as a proxy for international equities markets, and the Barclays Capital U.S. Aggregate Bond Index, which generally serves a proxy for the investment-grade domestic bond market. Generally, the neutral allocation for the more aggressive Portfolios will emphasize investments in the equity asset class while the neutral allocation for the more conservative portfolios will emphasize investments in the debt/money market asset class. The selection of specific combinat ions of Underlying Portfolios for each Portfolio generally will be determined by PI. PI will employ various quantitative and qualitative research methods to establish weighted combinations of Underlying Portfolios that are consistent with the neutral allocation for each Portfolio. QMA will then perform its own forward-looking assessment of macroeconomic, market, financial, security valuation, and other factors. As a result of this assessment, QMA will further adjust the neutral allocation and the preliminary Underlying Portfolio weights for each Portfolio based upon its views on certain factors, including, but not limited to, the following:

• asset class (i.e., increase or decrease allocation to Underlying Portfolios focusing primarily on equity or debt securities)

• geographic focus (i.e., increase or decrease allocation to Underlying Portfolios focusing primarily on domestic or international issuers)

• investment style (i.e., increase or decrease allocation to Underlying Portfolios focusing primarily on securities with value, growth, or core characteristics)

• market capitalization (i.e., increase or decrease allocation to Underlying Portfolios focusing primarily on small-cap, mid-cap, or large-cap issuers) and

• "off-benchmark" factors (e.g., add exposure to asset sub-classes or investment categories generally not captured in the neutral allocation such as real estate, natural resources, global bonds, limited maturity bonds, high-yield bonds (also referred to as "junk bonds"), or cash.

PI and QMA currently expect that any changes to the asset allocation and Underlying Portfolio weights will be effected within certain pre-determined ranges. See the table in the section entitled "More Detailed Information About How the Portfolios Invest" for a description of these ranges. Consistent with each Portfolio's principal investment policies, PI and QMA may, however, change the asset allocation and Underlying Portfolio weights both within and beyond such predetermined ranges at any time in their sole discretion. In addition, PI and QMA may, at any time in their sole discretion, rebalance a Portfolio's investments to cause its composition to match the asset allocation and Underlying Portfolio weights. Although PI and AST Investment serve as the Manager of the Underlying Portfolios, the day-to-day investment management of the Underlying Portfolios is the responsibility of the relevant Subadvisers.

The Dynamic Asset Allocation Portfolios are not limited to investing exclusively in shares of the Underlying Portfolios. Each of these Portfolios is permitted under current law to invest in "securities" as defined under the Investment Company Act of 1940. For these purposes, the term "securities" includes, without limitation, shares of common or preferred stock, warrants, security futures, notes, bonds, debentures, any put, call, straddle, option, or privilege on any security or on any group or index of securities, or any put, call, straddle, option, or privilege entered into on a national securities exchange relating to a foreign currency. In addition, the Investment Managers and the Trust have received exemptive relief from the SEC to permit these Portfolios (among others) to invest in derivative instruments that are not classified as securities under the federal securities laws, including, without limitation, futures contracts, forwards, an d swap agreements. Up to approximately 5% of each Portfolio's net assets will be allocated to: (i) index futures, other futures contracts, and options thereon to provide liquid exposure to the applicable equity and fixed-income benchmark indices and (ii) cash, money market equivalents, short-term debt instruments, money market funds, and short-term debt funds to satisfy all applicable margin requirements for the futures contracts and to provide additional portfolio liquidity to satisfy large-scale redemptions and any variation margin calls with respect to the futures contracts. This Portfolio may also invest in ETFs for additional exposure to relevant markets.

While we make every effort to achieve our objective, we cannot guarantee success. It is possible you could lose money.

Principal Risks:

• asset allocation risk

• asset transfer program risk

• underlying portfolio selection risk

• Subadviser selection risk for underlying trust portfolios

• fund of funds risk

• market risk

• selection risk

• common and preferred stocks risk

• investment style risk

• small- and mid-capitalization company risk

• market sector/industry risk

• portfolio turnover risk

AST Tactical Asset Allocation Portfolios:
AST CLS Growth Asset Allocation Portfolio
AST CLS Moderate Asset Allocation Portfolio
AST Horizon Growth Asset Allocation Portfolio
AST Horizon Moderate Asset Allocation Portfolio
AST Niemann Capital Growth Asset Allocation Portfolio

Investment Objective: The investment objective of each of the Tactical Asset Allocation Portfolios is to obtain the highest potential total return consistent with their respective specified levels of risk tolerance.

The AST CLS Growth Asset Allocation Portfolio, the AST Horizon Growth Asset Allocation Portfolio, and the AST Niemann Capital Growth Asset Allocation Portfolio (collectively, the Growth Asset Allocation Portfolios) generally will have a higher level of risk tolerance than the AST CLS Moderate Asset Allocation Portfolio and the AST Horizon Moderate Asset Allocation Portfolio (together, the Moderate Asset Allocation Portfolios) because the Growth Asset Allocation Portfolios will tend to have greater exposure to equity securities than the Moderate Asset Allocation Portfolios. The investment objective and the definition of risk tolerance level are not fundamental policies for any of the Tactical Asset Allocation Portfolios and, therefore, may be changed by the Board of Trustees of the Trust (the Board) without shareholder approval. No assurance can be given that any of the Tactical Asset Allocation Portfolios will achieve its investment objective.

The Tactical Asset Allocation Portfolios are "funds of funds." That means that each Tactical Asset Allocation Portfolio invests primarily or exclusively in one or more mutual funds in accordance with its own asset allocation strategy. The mutual funds that may be used in connection with the Tactical Asset Allocation Portfolios include: (i) the other investment portfolios of the Trust that are not operated as "funds-of-funds" (collectively, the Underlying Trust Portfolios); (ii) certain exchange-traded funds (i.e., investment companies that are registered under the Investment Company Act of 1940 (the 1940 Act) as open-end funds or unit investment trusts and that have shares that trade intra-day on stock exchanges at market-determined prices) (collectively, the Underlying ETFs); and (iii) registered or non-registered money market funds advised by the Investment Managers or one of their affiliates (collectively, the Underlying Money Market Portfolios). For the purposes of this section of the Prospectus, the Underlying Trust Portfolios, the Underlying Mone y Market Portfolios, and the Underlying ETFs are collectively referred to as the "Underlying Portfolios." Consistent with the investment objectives and policies of the Tactical Asset Allocation Portfolios, other mutual funds from time to time may be added to, or removed from, the list of Underlying Portfolios that may be used in connection with the Tactical Asset Allocation Portfolios.

Under normal market conditions, it is expected that the assets of the Tactical Asset Allocation Portfolios will be allocated among the equity and debt/money market asset classes as set forth below.

Under normal circumstances, at least 90% of a Tactical Asset Allocation Portfolio's assets will be allocated across as many as seven different "core" investment categories. The seven "core" investment categories include: (i) domestic large-cap and mid-cap value equity securities; (ii) domestic large-cap and mid-cap growth equity securities; (iii) domestic small-cap value equity securities; (iv) domestic small-cap growth equity securities; (v) international large-cap value equity securities; (vi) international large-cap growth equity securities; and (vii) domestic fixed-income securities, including U.S. Government securities, investment grade corporate, mortgage-backed, and asset-backed securities, and cash/money market instruments. Only Underlying Trust Portfolios selected by PI will be used to gain exposure to these "core" investment categories.

Under normal circumstances, no more than 10% of a Tactical Asset Allocation Portfolio's assets will be allocated to "off-benchmark" investments. "Off-benchmark" investments may result in exposure to asset classes or investment styles that are not covered by, or are sub-sets of, the above-referenced "core" investment categories. Examples of "off-benchmark" investments include, but are not limited to, investments in: (i) equity sectors such as real estate, technology, utilities, financials, or healthcare; (ii) inflation-indexed debt securities; (iii) international debt securities; and (iv) commodities. Only Underlying ETFs will be used to gain exposure to "off-benchmark" investments; provided, however, that leveraged Underlying ETFs and inverse Underlying ETFs (i.e., Underlying ETFs that seek investment results corresponding to the inverse (opposite) of the performance of an assigned index) may not be used in connection with the Tactical Asset Allocation Portfolios.

CLS Investments, LLC (CLS), Horizon Investments, LLC (Horizon), and Niemann Capital Management, Inc. (Niemann Capital Management) (each, an AA Subadviser and collectively, the AA Subadvisers) will be responsible for constructing the target asset allocations for the relevant Tactical Asset Allocation Portfolios, subject to certain guidelines established by the Investment Managers. The asset allocations and the related guidelines for the Growth Asset Allocation Portfolios as of January 31, 2009 are set forth in Appendix I to this Prospectus. The asset allocations and the related guidelines for the Moderate Asset Allocation Portfolios as of January 31, 2009 are set forth in Appendix II to this Prospectus.

PI will select weighted combinations of Underlying Trust Portfolios for each "core" investment category. This means that all Tactical Asset Allocation Portfolio assets that are allocated to a particular "core" investment category by an AA Subadviser will be invested in accordance with the Underlying Trust Portfolio weights for that category as established by PI. As set forth above, at least 90% of a Tactical Asset Allocation Portfolio's assets normally will be allocated across the "core" investment categories and the related Underlying Trust Portfolios. Under normal circumstances, the remaining 10% of each Tactical Asset Allocation Portfolio's assets will be allocated to "off-benchmark" investments selected by the relevant AA Subadviser. Only Underlying ETFs selected by the Subadvisers will be used to gain exposure to "off-benchmark" investments. The Underlying Portfolio investments for the Tactical Asset Allocation Portfolios as of January 31, 2009 are set forth in Appendix III to this Prospectus.

It is expected that the AA Subadvisers will employ various tactical asset allocation strategies in connection with their establishment of target asset allocations. In general terms, tactical asset allocation involves occasional, short-term, tactical deviations from the base asset class mix in order to capitalize on unusual or exceptional investment opportunities. As described in greater detail above, redemptions of Underlying Trust Portfolio shares will be subject to certain limits established by the Investment Managers from time to time. These limits may adversely affect a Tactical Asset Allocation Portfolio's investment performance by hindering the AA Subadviser's ability to utilize its tactical asset allocation strategy to capitalize on unusual or exceptional investment opportunities.

While we make every effort to achieve our objective, we cannot guarantee success. It is possible that you could lose money.

Principal Risks:

• asset allocation risk

• asset transfer program risk

• underlying portfolio selection risk

• Subadviser selection risk for underlying trust portfolios

• fund of funds risk

• market risk

• selection risk

• common and preferred stocks risk

• investment style risk

• small- and mid-capitalization company risk

• market sector/industry risk

• credit risk

• interest rate risk

• "junk bond" risk

• foreign investment risk

• derivatives risk

• portfolio turnover risk

Fixed Income Portfolios: Investment Objectives and Principal Strategies

AST T. Rowe Price Global Bond Portfolio
Investment Objective: to provide high current income and capital growth by investing in high-quality, foreign and U.S. dollar-denominated bonds.

The Portfolio will invest, under normal circumstances, at least 80% of the value of its assets in fixed income securities. The Portfolio will invest in all types of bonds including those issued or guaranteed by the U.S. or foreign governments or their agencies and by foreign authorities, provinces and municipalities as well as investment grade corporate bonds, mortgage and asset-backed securities and high-yield bonds of U.S. and foreign issuers. The Portfolio seeks to moderate price fluctuation by actively managing its maturity structure and currency exposure. The Subadviser bases its investment decisions on fundamental market factors, currency trends, and credit quality. The Portfolio generally invests in countries where the combination of fixed-income returns and currency exchange rates appears attractive, or, if the currency trend is unfavorable, where the Subadviser believes that the currency risk can be minimized through hedging.
The Portfolio is non-diversified for purposes of the 1940, which means that it may invest more than 5% of its assets in the fixed-income securities of a single issuer or individual foreign government.

Although the Portfolio expects to maintain an intermediate-to-long weighted average maturity, there are no maturity restrictions on the overall portfolio or on individual securities. The Portfolio may and frequently does engage in foreign currency transactions such as forward foreign currency exchange contracts, hedging its foreign currency exposure back to the dollar or against other foreign currencies ("cross-hedging"). The Subadviser also attempts to reduce currency risks through diversification among foreign securities and active management of maturities and currency exposures.

The Portfolio may also invest up to 20% of its assets in the aggregate in below investment-grade, high-risk bonds ("junk bonds") and emerging market bonds. Some emerging market bonds, such as Brady Bonds, may be denominated in U.S.dollars. In addition, the Portfolio may invest up to 30% of its assets in mortgage-related (including mortgage dollar rolls and derivatives, such as collateralized mortgage obligations and stripped mortgage securities) and asset-backed securities. The Portfolio may invest in futures, swaps and other derivatives, in keeping with its objective.

The Portfolio may sell securities for a variety of reasons, such as to secure gains, limit losses, adjust the Portfolio's average maturity, duration, or credit quality, or re-deploy assets into morepromising opportunities.

While we make every effort to achieve our objective, we can't guarantee success and it is possible that you could lose money. This Portfolio is advised by T. Rowe Price International, Inc.

Principal Risks:

• asset-backed securities risk

• credit risk

• derivatives risk

• foreign investment risk

• high-yield risk

• interest rate risk

• liquidity risk

• management risk

• market risk

• mortgage risk

• non-diversification risk

• portfolio turnover risk

AST High Yield Portfolio

Investment Objective: to seek maximum total return, consistent with preservation of capital and prudent investment management.

The Portfolio will invest, under normal circumstances, at least 80% of the Portfolio's net assets plus any borrowings for investment purposes (measured at the time of purchase) in non-investment grade high-yield fixed-income investments, which may be represented by forwards or derivatives such as options, futures contracts, or swap agreements. Non-investment grade investments are financial instruments rated Ba or lower by a Moody's Investors Services, Inc. or equivalently rated by Standard Poor's Corporation, or Fitch Ratings Ltd., or, if unrated, determined by the Subadviser to be of comparable quality. The Portfolio may invest in all types of fixed income securities, including:

(1) securities issued or guaranteed by the U.S. Government, its agencies or government-sponsored enterprises;
(2) corporate debt securities of U.S. and non-U.S. issuers, including convertible securities and corporate commercial paper;
(3) mortgage and other asset-backed securities;
(4) inflation-indexed bonds issued by both governments and corporations;
(5) structured notes, including hybrid or "indexed" securities andevent-linked bonds;
(6) loan participations and assignments;
(7) delayed funding loans and revolving credit securities;
(8) bank certificates of deposit, fixed time deposits and bankers' acceptances;
(9) repurchase agreements and reverse repurchase agreements;
(10) debt securities issued by state or local governments and their agencies and government-sponsored enterprises;
(11) obligations of foreign governments or their subdivisions, agencies and government-sponsored enterprises;
(12) derivative instruments, including futures, options and swap agreeme nts; and
(13) obligations of international agencies or supranational entities.

The Portfolio may engage in short sales.

While we make every effort to achieve our objective, we can't guarantee success and it is possible that you could lose money. This Portfolio is advised by Pacific Investment Management Company LLC.

Principal Risks:

• asset-backed securities risk

• common and preferred stock risk

• credit risk

• derivatives risk

• foreign investment risk

• hedging risk

• high yield risk

• inflation-indexed securities risk

• interest rate risk

• leveraging risk

• liquidity risk

• management risk

• market risk

• mortgage risk

• risk of investment in other debt obligations issued or guaranteed by the U.S. government and government-related entitites

• portfolio turnover risk

• prepayment or call risk

• privately issued mortgage-related and asset-backed securities risk

• short sale risk

• U.S. government and agency securities risk

• Yankee obligation risk

AST Lord Abbett Bond-Debenture Portfolio
Investment Objective: to seek high current income and the opportunity for capital appreciation to produce a high total return.

The Portfolio will invest, under normal circumstances, at least 80% of the value of its assets in fixed income securities. The Portfolio allocates its assets principally among fixed income securities in four market sectors: U.S. investment grade securities, U.S. high yield securities, foreign securities (including emerging market securities) and convertible securities. Under normal circumstances, the Portfolio invests in each of the four sectors described above. However, the Portfolio may invest substantially all of its assets in any one sector at any time, subject to the limitation that at least 20% of the Portfolio's net assets must be invested in any combination of investment grade debt securities, U.S. Government securities and cash equivalents.

The Subadviser believes that a high total return (current income and capital appreciation) may be derived from an actively managed, diversified portfolio of investments. Through portfolio diversification, credit analysis and attention to curre nt developments and trends in interest rates and economic conditions, the Subadviser attempts to reduce the Portfolio's risks. The Subadviser seeks unusual values, using fundamental, "bottom-up" research (i.e., research on individual companies rather than the economy as a whole) to identify undervalued securities. The Portfolio may find good value in high yield securities, sometimes called "lower-rated bonds" or "junk bonds," and frequently may have more than half of its assets invested in those securities. The Portfolio may also make significant investments in mortgage-backed securities. Although the Portfolio expects to maintain a weighted average maturity in the range of five to twelve years, there are no maturity restrictions on the overall Portfolio or on individual securities.

While we make every effort to achieve our objective, we can't guarantee success and it is possible that you could lose money. This Portfolio is advised by Lord, Abbett & Co. LLC.

Principal Risks:

• credit risk

• derivatives risk

• foreign investment risk

• high yield risk

• interest rate risk

• leveraging risk

• liquidity risk

• management risk

• market risk

• mortgage risk

• portfolio turnover risk

AST PIMCO Total Return Bond Portfolio
Investment Objective: to seek to maximize total return, consistent with preservation of capital and prudent investment management.

The Portfolio will invest, under normal circumstances, at least 80% of the value of its net assets in fixed income investments which may be represented by forwards or derivatives such as options, futures contracts, or swap agreements. Fixed-income investments include:

(1) securities issued or guaranteed by the U.S. Government, its agencies or government-sponsored enterprises;
(2) corporate debt securities of U.S. and non-U.S. issuers, including convertible securities and corporate commercial paper;
(3) mortgage and other asset-backed securities;
(4) inflation-indexed bonds issued by both governments and corporations;
(5) structured notes, including hybrid or "indexed" securities and event-linked bonds;
(6) loan participations and assignments;
(7) delayed funding loans and revolving credit securities;
(8) bank certificates of deposit, fixed time deposits and bankers' acceptances;
(9) repurchase agreements and rev erse repurchase agreements;
(10) debt securities issued by state or local governments and their agencies and government-sponsored enterprises;
(11) obligations of foreign governments or their subdivisions, agencies and government-sponsored enterprises;
(12) derivative instruments, including futures, options and swap agreements; and
(13) obligations of international agencies or supranational entities.

Portfolio holdings will be concentrated in areas of the bond market that the Subadviser believes to be relatively undervalued. In selecting fixed income securities, the Subadviser uses economic forecasting, interest rate anticipation, credit and call risk analysis, foreign currency exchange rate forecasting, and other securities selection techniques. The proportion of the Portfolio's assets committed to investment in securities with particular characteristics (such as maturity, type and coupon rate) will vary based on the Subadviser's outlo ok for the U.S. and foreign economies, the financial markets, and other factors. The management of duration is one of the fundamental tools used by the Subadviser.

The Portfolio will invest in fixed-income securities of varying maturities. The average portfolio duration of the Portfolio normally varies within two years (plus or minus) of the duration of the Barclays Capital U.S. Aggregate Bond Index which, as of December 31, 2008, was 3.67 years. The Portfolio can and routinely does invest in certain complex fixed income securities (including mortgage-backed and asset-backed securities) and engage in a number of investment practices (including futures, options, swaps and dollar rolls) that many other fixed income funds do not utilize. The Portfolio may invest up to 10% of its assets in fixed income securities that are rated below investment grade ("junk bonds") (or, if unrated, determined by the Subadviser to be of comparable quality). The Portfolio may engage in short sales.

While we make every effort to achieve our objective, we can't guarantee success and it is possible that you could lose money. This Portfolio is advised by Pacific Investment Management Company LLC.

Principal Risks:

• asset-backed securities risk

• common and preferred stock risk

• credit risk

• derivatives risk

• foreign investment risk

• hedging risk

• high yield risk

• inflation-indexed securities risk

• interest rate risk

• leveraging risk

• liquidity risk

• management risk

• market risk

• mortgage risk

• risk of investing in other debt obligations issued or guaranteed by the U.S. government and government-related entities

• portfolio turnover risk

• prepayment or call risk

• privately-issued mortgage-related and asset-backed securities

• short sale risk

• U.S. government and agency securities risk

• Yankee obligation risk

AST PIMCO Limited Maturity Bond Portfolio
Investment Objective: to seek to maximize total return, consistent with preservation of capital and prudent investment management.

The Portfolio will invest, under normal circumstances, at least 80% of the value of its net assets in fixed income investments, which may be represented by forwards or derivatives such as options, futures contracts, or swap agreements. Fixed-income investments include:

(1) securities issued or guaranteed by the U.S. Government, its agencies or government-sponsored enterprises;
(2) corporate debt securities of U.S. and non-U.S. issuers, including convertible securities and corporate commercial paper;
(3) mortgage and other asset-backed securities;
(4) inflation-indexed bonds issued by both governments and corporations;
(5) structured notes, including hybrid or "indexed" securities and event-linked bonds;
(6) loan participations and assignments;
(7) delayed funding loans and revolving credit securities;
(8) bank certificates of deposit, fixed time deposits and bankers' acceptances;
(9) repurchase agreements and reverse repurchase agreements;
(10) debt securities issued by state or local governments and their agencies and government-sponsored enterprises;
(11) obligations of foreign governments or their subdivisions, agencies and government-sponsored enterprises;
(12) derivative instruments, including futures, options and swap agreements;and
(13) obligations of international agencies or supranational entities.

Portfolio holdings will be concentrated in areas of the bond market that the Subadviser believes to be relatively undervalued. In selecting fixed income securities, the Subadviser uses economic forecasting, interest rate anticipation, credit and call risk analysis, foreign currency exchange rate forecasting, and other securities selection techniques. The proportion of the Portfolio's assets committed to investment in securities with particular characteristics (such as maturity, type and coupon rate) will vary based on the Subadviser's outlook for the U.S. and foreign economies, the financial markets, and other factors. The management of duration is one of the fundamental tools used by the Subadviser.

The Portfolio will invest in fixed-income securities of varying maturities. The average portfolio duration of the Portfolio normally varies within a one- to three-year time frame based on the Subadviser's forecast for interest rates. The Portfolio can and routinely does invest in certain complex fixed income securities (including mortgage-backed and asset-backed securities) and engage in a number of investment practices (including futures, swaps and dollar rolls) that many other fixed income funds do not utilize. The Portfolio may invest up to 10% of its assets in fixed income securities that are rated below investment grade ("junk bonds") (or, if unrated, determined by the Subadviser to be of comparable quality). The Portfolio may engage in short sales.

While we make every effort to achieve our objective, we can't guarantee success a nd it is possible that you could lose money. This Portfolio is advised by Pacific Investment Management Company LLC.

Principal Risks:

• asset-backed securities risk

• common and preferred stock risk

• credit risk

• derivatives risk

• foreign investment risk

• hedging risk

• high yield risk

• inflation-indexed securities risk

• interest rate risk

• leveraging risk

• liquidity risk

• mangement risk

• market risk

• mortgage risk

• risk of investing in other debt obligations issued or guaranteed by the U.S. government and government-related entities

• portfolio turnover risk

• prepayment or call risk

• privately-issued mortgage-related and asset-backed securities risk

• short sale risk

• U.S. government and agency securities risk

• Yankee obligation risk

AST Western Asset Core Plus Bond Portfolio
Investment Objective: To maximize total return, consistent with prudent investment management and liquidity needs, by investing to obtain the average duration specified for the Western Asset Core Plus Bond Portfolio.

The investment objective and specified average duration figure are not fundamental policies for the Portfolio and, therefore, may be changed by the Board without shareholder approval. No assurance can be given that the Portfolio will achieve its investment objective. Western Asset Management Company (Western Asset) and Western Asset Management Company Limited (WAML) serve as the Subadvisers for the Portfolio.

The Portfolio will invest in a portfolio of fixed-income securities of various maturities and, under normal market conditions, will invest at least 80% of its net assets in debt and fixed-income securities. To achieve its investment objective, the Portfolio may invest in a variety of securities and instruments, including:

(1) U.S. Government obligations;
(2) corporate obligations ("corporate obligations" include, without limitation, preferred stock, convertible securities, zero coupon securities and pay-in-kind securities);
(3) inflation-indexed securities;< br>(4) mortgage- and other asset-backed securities;
(5) obligations of non-U.S. issuers, including obligations of non-U.S. governments, international agencies or supranational organizations;
(6) fixed-income securities of non-governmental U.S. or non-U.S. issuers;
(7) taxable municipal obligations;
(8) variable and floating rate debt securities;
(9) commercial paper and other short-term investments;
(10) certificates of deposit, time deposits, and bankers' acceptances;
(11) loan participations and assignments;
(12) structured notes;
(13) repurchase agreements.

Duration refers to the range within which the average modified duration of the Portfolio is expected to fluctuate. Modified duration measures the expected sensitivity of market price to changes in interest rates, taking into account the effects of structural complexities (for example, some bonds can be prepaid by the issuer). The target average modified duration of the Portfolio is expected to ra nge within 30% of the duration of the domestic bond market as a whole (normally three to six years, although this may vary). Therefore, the range within which the average modified duration of the Portfolio is expected to fluctuate is generally 2.5 to 7 years. The Portfolio's average modified duration may fall outside of its expected average modified duration range due to market movements. If this happens, Western Asset and WAML will take action to bring the Portfolio's average modified duration back within the Portfolio's expected average modified duration range within a reasonable period of time.

The Portfolio may invest up to 20% of its net assets in debt securities that are rated, at the time of purchase, below investment grade, but at least B-/B3, or if unrated, are determined by Western Asset or WAML to be of comparable quality. For purposes of the foregoing

credit quality policy, the Portfolio will consider a security to be rated below investment grade if it is not rated Baa/BBB or above by at least one nationally recognized rating agency (or, if unrated, is determined by Western Asset or WAML to be of comparable quality). Securities rated below investment grade are commonly known as "junk bonds" or "high-yield securities." The continued holding of securities downgraded below investment grade or, if unrated, determined by Western Asset or WAML to be of comparable quality, will be evaluated by Western Asset and WAML on a case-by-case basis. As a result, the Portfolio may from time to time hold debt securities that are rated below investment grade. Information on the ratings issued to debt securities by certain rating agencies is included in Appendix IV to this Prospectus.

The Portfolio also may invest: (i) up to 25% of its total assets in the securities of foreign issuers, including emerging markets issuers, and (ii) up to 20% of its total assets in non-U.S. dollar denominated securities.

Principal Risks:

• asset-backed securities risk

• credit risk

• derivatives risk

• foreign investment risk

• high yield risk

• inflation-indexed securities risk

• interest rate risk

• liquidity risk

• management risk

• market risk

• mortgage risk

• portfolio turnover risk

• prepayment risk

• selection risk

AST Target Maturity Portfolios:
AST Bond Portfolio 2015
AST Bond Portfolio 2016
AST Bond Portfolio 2018
AST Bond Portfolio 2019
AST Bond Portfolio 2020

Investment Objectives: To seek the highest total return for a specific period of time, consistent with the preservation of capital and liquidity needs. Total return is comprised of current income and capital appreciation.

AST Investment Grade Bond Portfolio

Investment Objective: To seek to maximize total return, consistent with the preservation of capital and liquidity needs. As set forth above, total return is comprised of current income and capital appreciation.

These investment objectives are not fundamental investment policies for the Portfolios and, therefore, may be changed by the Board without shareholder approval.

Principal Investment Policies of the Target Maturity Portfolios . Under normal market conditions, each Target Maturity Portfolio will invest at least 80% of its investable assets in bonds. For purposes of this 80% policy, bonds include: (i) all debt securities and all fixed-income securities, excluding preferred stock, issued by both government and non-government issuers, and (ii) all derivatives and synthetic instruments that have economic characteristics that are similar to such debt securities and such fixed-income securities. As used in this Prospectus, the term "investable assets" refers to a Portfolio's net assets plus any borrowings for investment purposes. A Portfolio's investable assets will be less than its total assets to the extent that it has borrowed money for non-investment purposes, such as to meet anticipated redemptions.

Each Target Maturity Portfolio will be managed to mature in the year identified in its name in order to match the related liability under certain living benefit programs. As a result, each Target Maturity Portfolio's duration and weighted average maturity will be different. For example, the AST Bond Portfolio 2020 will have a longer duration and a longer weighted average maturity than the AST Bond Portfolio 2015, AST Bond Portfolio 2016, AST Bond Portfolio 2018, and AST Bond Portfolio 2019. In addition, each Target

Maturity Portfolio's duration and weighted average maturity will decline over time as the relevant maturity date approaches. To that end, the Subadviser (Prudential Investment Management, Inc.)(PIM) expects to maintain the duration of each Target Maturity Portfolio within +/– 0.50 years of the secondary benchmark index for that Target Maturity Portfolio. On or about a Target Maturity Portfolio's maturity date, all of the securities held by that Target Maturity Portfolio will be sold and all of the outstanding shares of beneficial interest of that Target Maturity Portfolio will be redeemed. Proceeds from that redemption will be reallocated in accordance with the procedures applicable to the contact owner's variable contract.

PIM currently intends to maintain an overall weighted average credit quality rating of A- or better for each Target Maturity Portfolio. This target overall credit quality for each Target Maturity Portfolio will be bas ed on ratings as of the date of purchase. However, ratings are only the opinions of the agencies issuing them and are not absolute guarantees as to quality. In the event a Target Maturity Portfolio's overall credit quality drops below A- due to downgrades of individual portfolio securities, PIM will take appropriate action based upon the relevant facts and circumstances.

Principal Investment Policies of the Investment Grade Bond Portfolio . Under normal market conditions, the Investment Grade Bond Portfolio will invest at least 80% of its investable assets in investment grade bonds. For purposes of this 80% policy, investment grade bonds include: (i) all debt securities and all fixed-income securities, excluding preferred stock, that are issued by both government and non-government issuers and rated BBB or higher by Standard & Poor's Ratings Services (S&P), Baa or higher by Moody's Investors Service, Inc. (Moody's), BBB or higher by Fitch Ratings Ltd. (Fitch) or, if unrated, are determined by PIM to be of comparable quality, and (ii) all derivatives and synthetic instruments that have economic characteristics that are similar to debt securities and fixed-income securities with such ratings. All references in this Prospectus to the ratings categories used for determining what constitutes an investment grade bond are without regard to gradations within those categories. PIM cu rrently intends to maintain an overall weighted average credit quality rating of A- or better for the Investment Grade Bond Portfolio. This target overall credit quality for the Investment Grade Bond Portfolio will be based on ratings as of the date of purchase. In the event the Investment Grade Bond Portfolio's overall credit quality drops below A- due to downgrades of individual portfolio securities, PIM will take appropriate action based upon the relevant facts and circumstances.

Although the Investment Grade Bond Portfolio may invest in individual bonds of any maturity, PIM expects to maintain the Investment Grade Bond Portfolio's duration within +/- 0.50 years of its primary benchmark index (i.e., the Lehman Brothers Government/Credit 5-10 Year Index). As of December 31, 2008, the average duration of the Barclays Capital Government/Credit 5-10 Year Index was approximately 5.35 years.

The investment objectives of each Target Maturity Portfolio and the AST Investment Grade Bond Portfolio are not fundamental investment policies for the Target Maturity Portfolios and, therefore, may be changed by the Board of Trustees of theFund (the Board) without shareholder approval. While we make every effort to achieve our objectives, we can't guarantee success and it is possible that you could lose money. Each of the Target Maturity Portfolios and the AST Investment Grade Bond Portfolio are subadvised by Prudential Investm ent Management, Inc.

Principal Risks:

• market risk

• selection risk

• interest rate risk

• credit risk

• prepayment or call risk

• special risks relating to asset transfer programs

• mortgage risk

• asset-backed securities risk

• derivatives risk

• U.S. Government and agency securities risk

• other debt obligations issued or guaranteed by the U.S. Government and Government-Related Entities risk

• hedging risk

• portfolio turnover risk

• Yankee obligations risk

• liquidity risk

AST Money Market Portfolio
Investment Objective: to seek high current income and maintain high levels of liquidity.

The Portfolio will invest in high-quality, short-term, U.S. dollar denominated corporate, bank and government obligations. Under the regulatory requirements applicable to money market funds, the Portfolio must maintain a weighted average portfolio maturity of not more than 90 days and invest in securities that have effective maturities of not more than 397 days. In addition, the Portfolio will limit its investments to those securities that, in accordance with guidelines adopted by the Trustees of the Fund, present minimal credit risks. The Portfolio will not purchase any security (other than a United States Government security) unless:

(1) rated in one of the two highest short-term rating categories by at least two rating organizations or, if only one rating organization has rated the security, so rated by that rating organization;
(2) rated in one of the three highest long-term rating categories by at least two rating organizations or, i f only one rating organization has rated the security, so rated by that rating organization; or
(3) if unrated, of comparable quality as determined by the Fund's investment adviser.

While we make every effort to achieve our objective, we can't guarantee success and it is possible that you could lose money. An investment in the Portfolio is not a bank deposit and is not insured or guaranteed by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC). Although the Portfolio seeks to maintain a net asset value of $1 per share, it is possible to lose money by investing in the Portfolio.

This Portfolio is advised by Prudential Investment Management, Inc.

Principal Risks

• credit risk

• market risk

• interest rate risk

• U.S. government and agency securities risk

• management risk

• liquidity risk

Principal Risks

Although we try to invest wisely, all investments involve risk. Like any mutual fund, an investment in a Portfolio could lose value, and you could lose money. The principal risks of investing in each Portfolio, as identified in the Risk/Return Summary, are summarized below.

Certain additional principal risks associated with investing in the Asset Allocation Portfolios are discussed separately, in the following section entitled "Principal Risks--Asset Allocation Portfolios"

Asset Transfer Program Risk. Each Portfolio may be used in connection with certain living benefit programs, including, without limitation, certain "guaranteed minimum accumulation benefit" programs and certain "guaranteed minimum withdrawal benefit" programs. In order for Prudential to manage the guarantees offered in connection with these benefit programs, Prudential generally: (i) limits the number and types of variable sub-accounts in which contract holders may allocate their account values (referred to in this Prospectus as the Permitted Sub-Accounts) and (ii) requires contract holders to participate in certain specialized asset transfer programs. Under these asset transfer programs, Prudential will monitor each contract owner's account value from time to time and, if necessary, will systematically transfer amounts between the Permitted Sub-Accounts and the Portfolios as dictated by certain non-discretionary mathematical formulas. These mathematical formulas will generally focus on the amounts guaranteed at specific future dates or the present value of the estimated lifetime payments to be made, as applicable. The asset transfer programs are an important part of the guarantees offered in connection with the applicable living benefit programs.

As an example of how these asset transfer programs will operate under certain market environments, a downturn in the equity markets (i.e., a reduction in a contract holder's account value within the Permitted Sub-Accounts) and certain market return scenarios involving "flat" returns over a period of time may cause Prudential to transfer some or all of such contract owner's account value to a Portfolio. In general terms, such transfers are designed to ensure that an appropriate percentage of the projected guaranteed amounts are offset by assets in investments like the Portfolios.

Such asset transfers may, however, result in large-scale asset flows into and out of the Portfolios and subject the Portfolios to certain risks. Such asset transfers could adversely affect a Portfolio's investment performance by requiring the Subadviser to purchase and sell securities at inopportune times and by otherwise limiting the Subadviser's ability to fully implement the Portfolio's investment strategies. In addition, these asset transfers may result in relatively small asset bases and relatively high operating expense ratios for the Portfolios compared to other similar funds. For more information on the Asset Transfer Programs, please see "Risk/Return Summary—Principal Risks of the Portfolios—Special Risks Relating to Asset Transfer Programs" herein.

For more information on the relevant living benefit programs and asset transfer programs, please see your contract prospectus.

The AST Dynamic Asset Allocation Portfolios and the AST Tactical Asset Allocation Portfolios (together, the Funds of Funds) are structured as "fund-of-funds." This means that each Fund of Funds invests primarily or exclusively in other Portfolios of the Fund that are not operated as "funds-of-funds." The Portfolios in which the Funds of Funds invest are referred to as Underlying Portfolios. Transactions by the Funds of Funds in Underlying Portfolio shares are not subject to any limitations and are not considered frequent or short-term trading. For example, the Funds of Funds may engage in significant transactions in Underlying Portfolio shares in order to: (i) change their investment focus, (ii) rebalance their investments to match the then-current asset allocation mix, (iii) respond to significant purchases or redemptions of Fund of Funds shares, including significant purchases and redemptions caused by the above-referenced asset transfer pro grams, or (iv) respond to changes required by the underlying contracts (as describe in more detail below). These transactions by the Funds of Funds in Underlying Portfolio shares may be disruptive to the management of an Underlying Portfolio because such transactions may: (i) cause the Underlying Portfolio to sell portfolio securities at inopportune times or to borrow money on a temporary basis in order to have the cash necessary to pay redemption requests initiated by the Funds of Funds, hurting the investment performance of the Underlying Portfolios (and the Funds of Funds as well), (ii) make it difficult for the Subadvisers for the Underlying Portfolios to fully implement their investment strategies, and (iii) lead to increased transaction and tax costs. In addition, because a Fund of Funds may own a substantial portion of an Underlying Portfolio, a large-scale redemption initiated by one or more Funds of Funds could cause an Underlying Portf olio's expense ratio to increase as such portfolio's fixed costs would be spread over a smaller asset base. As a result, these transactions could have an adverse effect on the relevant Funds of Funds and Underlying Portfolios.

Asset-backed securities risk. Asset-backed securities are fixed income securities that represent an interest in an underlying pool of assets, such as credit card receivables. Like traditional fixed-income securities, the value of asset-backed securities typically increases when interest rates fall and decreases when interest rates rise. Certain asset-backed securities may also be subject to the risk of prepayment. In a period of declining interest rates, borrowers may pay what they owe on the underlying assets more quickly than anticipated. Prepayment reduces the yield to maturity and the average life of the asset-backed securities. In addition, when a Portfolio reinvests the proceeds of a prepayment it may receive a lower interest rate. Asset-backed securities may also be subject to extension risk, that is, the risk that, in a period of rising interest rates, prepayments may occur at a slower rate than expected. As a result, the

average duration of the portfolio of a Portfolio may increase. The value of longer-term securities generally changes more in response to changes in interest rates than shorter-term securities.

Borrowing risk. A Portfolio may borrow money from banks for investment purposes, and invest the proceeds of such loans, as permitted under the Investment Company Act of 1940, as amended (the 1940 Act). Under the 1940 Act, a Portfolio may borrow from a bank up to one-third of its total assets (including the amount borrowed). When a Portfolio borrows money for investment purposes or otherwise leverages its portfolio, any increase or decrease in the Portfolio's NAV is exaggerated by the use of leverage. Leverage risks are described below.

Commodity risk. A Portfolio's investments in commodity-linked derivative instruments may subject the Portfolio to greater volatility than investments in traditional equity and debt securities. The value of commodity-linked derivative instruments may be affected by changes in overall market movements, commodity index volatility, changes in interest rates, or factors affecting a particular industry or commodity, such as drought, floods, weather, acts of terrorism, livestock disease, embargoes, tariffs, and international economic, political and regulatory developments.

Common and preferred stocks risk. Each Portfolio may invest in common and preferred stocks. Common and preferred stocks represent shares of ownership in a company. Generally, preferred stock has a specified dividend and ranks after bonds and before common stocks in its claim on the company's income for purposes of receiving dividend payments and on the company's assets in the event of liquidation. Common and preferred stocks can experience sharp declines in value over short or extended periods of time, regardless of the success or failure of a company's operations. Stocks can decline for many reasons, including due to adverse economic, financial, or political developments and developments related to the particular company, the industry of which it is a part, or the securities markets generally.

Company risk. The price of the stock of a particular company can vary based on a variety of factors, such as the company's financial performance, changes in management and product trends, and the potential for takeover and acquisition. This is especially true with respect to equity securities of smaller companies, whose prices may go up and down more than equity securities of larger, more established companies. Also, since equity securities of smaller companies may not be traded as often as equity securities of larger, more established companies, it may be difficult or impossible for a Portfolio to sell securities at a desirable price. Foreign securities have additional risks, including exchange rate changes, political and economic upheaval, the relative lack of information about these companies, relatively low market liquidity and the potential lack of strict financial and accounting controls and standards.

Credit risk. Each Portfolio is also subject to credit risk to the extent it invests in fixed-income securities. Credit risk is the risk that an issuer of securities or a counterparty will be unable to pay principal and interest when due, or that the value of the security will suffer because investors believe the issuer or counterparty is less able to make required principal and interest payments. This is broadly gauged by the credit ratings of the securities in which each Portfolio invests. However, ratings are only the opinions of the agencies issuing them and are not absolute guarantees as to quality. The lower the rating of a debt security held by a Portfolio, the greater the degree of credit risk that is perceived to exist by the rating agency with respect to that security. Although debt obligations rated BBB by S&P, Baa by Moody's, or BBB by Fitch, are regarded as investment-grade, such obligations have speculative characteristics and are riskier than highe r-rated securities. Adverse economic developments are more likely to affect the payment of interest and principal on debt obligations rated BBB/Baa than on higher rated debt obligations. Non-investment grade debt—also known as "high-yield bonds" or "junk bonds"—have a higher risk of default and tend to be less liquid than higher-rated securities. Increasing the amount of Portfolio assets allocated lower-rated securities generally will increase the credit risk to which the Portfolio is subject. Information on the ratings issued to debt securities by certain rating agencies is included in Appendix IV to this Prospectus. Not all securities are rated. In the event that the relevant rating agencies assign different ratings to the same security, the Portfolio's Subadviser will determine which rating it believes best reflects the security's quality and risk at that time. Credit risk may also be gauged by the cost of buying protection on the credit default swap market with respect to an issuer's debt securities. If the cost to buy protection against an issuer's default increases, the credit risk associated with the issuer's debt securities will be deemed to be higher by many market participants and could adversely affect the value of the issuer's debt securities.

Depositary Receipts Risk. Investments in non-U.S. issuers through Depositary Receipts and similar instruments may involve certain risks not applicable to investing in U.S. issuers, including changes in currency rates, application of local tax laws, changes in governmental administration or economic or monetary policy or changed circumstances in dealings between nations. Costs may be incurred in connection with conversions between various currencies.

Derivatives risk. Certain Portfolios may, but are not required to, use derivative instruments for risk management purposes or as part of their investment strategies. Generally, a derivative is a financial contract, the value of which depends upon, or is derived from, the value of an underlying asset, reference rate, or index, and may relate to stocks, bonds, interest rates, currencies, or currency exchange rates, and related indexes. Examples of derivatives (without limitation) include options, futures, forward agreements, swap agreements (including, but not limited to, interest rate and credit default swaps), and credit-linked securities. Portfolios may use derivatives to earn income and enhance returns, to manage or adjust their risk profile, to replace more traditional direct investments, or to obtain exposure to certain markets.

As open-end investment companies registered with the Securities and Exchange Commission (the Commission), the Portfolios are subject to the federal securities laws, including the 1940 Act, related rules, and various Commission and Commission staff positions. In accordance with these positions, with respect to certain kinds of derivatives, the Portfolios must "set aside" (referred to sometimes as "asset segregation") liquid assets, or engage in other Commission- or staff-approved measures, while the derivative contracts are open. For example, with respect to forwards and futures contracts that are not contractually required to "cash-settle," the Portfolios must cover their open positions by setting aside liquid assets equal to the contracts' full, notional value. With respect to forwards and futures that are contractually required to "cash-settle," however, the Portfolios are permitted to set aside liquid assets in an amount equal to such Portfolio's daily marked-to-market (net) obligations, if any (i.e., such Portfolio's daily net liability, if any), rather than the notional value. By setting aside assets equal to only its net obligations under cash-settled forward and futures contracts, the Portfolios will have the ability to employ leverage to a greater extent than if such Portfolio were required to segregate assets equal to the full notional value of such contracts. The Fund reserves the right to modify the asset segregation policies of thePortfolios in the future to comply with any changes in the positions articulated from time to time by the Commission and its staff.

Derivatives are volatile and may be subject to significant price movement. The use of derivatives involves significant risks, including:

Credit risk. The risk that the counterparty (the party on the other side of the transaction) on a derivative transaction will be unable to honor its financial obligation to the Portfolio. For example, a Portfolio would be exposed to credit risk (and counterparty risk) to the extent it purchases protection against a default by a debt issuer and the swap counterparty does not maintain adequate reserves to cover such a default.

Currency risk. The risk that changes in the exchange rate between currencies will adversely affect the value (in U.S. dollar terms) of an investment.

Leverage risk. The risk associated with certain types of investments or trading strategies that relatively small market movements may result in large changes in the value of an investment. Certain investments or trading strategies that involve leverage can result in losses that greatly exceed the amount originally invested.

Liquidity risk. The risk that certain securities may be difficult or impossible to buy or sell at the time that the seller would like, or at the price that the seller believes the security is currently worth.

Additional risks: Derivatives involve risks different from, and possibly greater than, the risks associated with investing directly in securities and other instruments. Derivatives require investment techniques and risk analyses different from those of other investments. If a Subadviser incorrectly forecasts the value of securities, currencies, interest rates, or other economic factors in using derivatives, the Portfolio might have been in a better position if the Portfolio had not entered into the derivatives. While some strategies involving derivatives can protect against the risk of loss, the use of derivatives can also reduce the opportunity for gain or even result in losses by offsetting favorable price movements in other Portfolio investments. Derivatives also involve the risk of mispricing or improper valuation (i.e., the risk that changes in the value of a derivative may not correlate perfectly with the underlying asset, rate, index, or overall securities markets). Gains or losses involving some options, futures, and other derivatives may be substantial (for example, for some derivatives, it is possible for a Portfolio to lose more than the amount the Portfolio invested in the derivatives). Some derivatives tend to be more volatile than other investments, resulting in larger gains or losses in response to market changes.

Certain Portfolios may use derivatives for hedging purposes, including anticipatory hedges. Hedging is a strategy in which such a portfolio uses a derivative to offset the risks associated with its other holdings. While hedging can reduce losses, it can also reduce or eliminate gains or cause losses if the market moves in a manner different from that anticipated by the Portfolio or if the cost of the derivative outweighs the benefit of the hedge. Hedging also involves the risk that changes in the value of the derivative will not match those of the holdings being hedged as expected by the relevant Portfolio, in which case any losses on the holdings being hedged may not be reduced and may be increased. No assurance can be given that any hedging strategy will reduce risk or that hedging transactions will be either available or cost effective. The relevant Portfolio is not required to use hedging and may choose not to do so. Because certain Portfol ios may use derivatives to seek to enhance returns, their investments will expose them to the risks outlined above to a greater extent than if they used derivatives solely for hedging purposes. The use of derivatives to seek to enhance returns may be considered speculative.

Extension Risk. During periods of rising interest rates, the average life of certain types of securities may be extended because of slower than expected principal payments. This may lock in a below-market interest rate, increase the security's duration, and reduce the value of the security.

Foreign investment risk. Investing in foreign securities generally involves more risk than investing in securities of U.S. issuers. Foreign investment risk includes the specific risks described below:

Currency risk. Changes in currency exchange rates may affect the value of foreign securities held by a Portfolio and the amount of income available for distribution. Currency exchange rates can be volatile and affected by, among other factors, the general economic conditions of a country, the actions of the U.S. and non-U.S. governments or central banks, the imposition of currency controls, and speculation. A security may be denominated in a currency that is different from the currency of the country where the issuer is domiciled. Changes in currency exchange rates may affect the value of foreign securities held by a Portfolio and the amount of income available for distribution. If a foreign currency grows weaker relative to the U.S. dollar, the value of securities denominated in that foreign currency generally decreases in terms of U.S. dollars. If a Portfolio does not correctly anticipate changes in exchange rates, its share price coul d decline as a result. In addition to the policies described elsewhere in this Prospectus, each Portfolio may from time to time attempt to hedge a portion of their currency risk using a variety of techniques, including currency futures, forwards, and options. However, these instruments may not always work as intended, and in certain cases the Portfolio may be worse off than if it had not used a hedging instrument. For most emerging market currencies, suitable hedging instruments are not available. See "Hedging Risk" below for more information.

Emerging market risk. To the extent that a Portfolio invests in emerging markets to enhance overall returns, it may face higher political, information, and stock market risks. In addition, profound social changes and business practices that depart from norms in developed countries' economies have sometimes hindered the orderly growth of emerging economies and their stock markets in the past. High levels of debt may make emerging economies heavily reliant on foreign capital and vulnerable to capital flight.

Foreign market risk. Foreign markets, especially those in developing countries, tend to be more volatile than U.S. markets and are generally not subject to regulatory requirements comparable to those in the U.S. Because of differences in accounting standards and custody and settlement practices, investing in foreign securities generally involves more risk than investing in securities of U.S. issuers.

Information risk. Financial reporting standards for companies based in foreign markets usually differ from those in the United States. Since the "numbers" themselves sometimes mean different things, each Subadviser devotes research effort to understanding and assessing the impact of these differences upon a company's financial conditions and prospects.

Liquidity risk. Stocks that trade less can be more difficult or more costly to buy, or to sell, than more liquid or active stocks. This liquidity risk is a factor of the trading volume of a particular stock, as well as the size and liquidity of the entire local market. On the whole, foreign exchanges are smaller and less liquid than the U.S. market. This can make buying and selling certain shares more difficult and costly. Relatively small transactions in some instances can have a disproportionately large effect on the price and supply of shares. In certain situations, it may become virtually impossible to sell a stock in an orderly fashion at a price that approaches an estimate of its value.

Political developments. Political developments may adversely affect the value of a Portfolio's foreign securities.

Political risk. Some foreign governments have limited the outflow of profits to investors abroad, extended diplomatic disputes to include trade and financial relations, and imposed high taxes on corporate profits.

Regulatory risk. Some foreign governments regulate their exchanges less stringently, and the rights of shareholders may not be as firmly established.

Taxation risk . Many foreign markets are not as open to foreign investors as U.S. markets. Each Portfolio may be required to pay special taxes on gains and distributions that are imposed on foreign investors. Payment of these foreign taxes may reduce the investment performance of a Portfolio.

Fund of Funds Risk. The Dynamic Asset Allocation Portfolios, the Tactical Asset Allocation Portfolios, and the AST Academic Strategies Asset Allocation Portfolio (collectively, the Asset Allocation Portfolios) invest primarily or exclusively in other Portfolios of the Fund (collectively, the Underlying Trust Portfolios). Underlying Trust Portfolios may experience relatively large mandatory or discretionary purchases and sales from one or more of the Asset Allocation Portfolios. The use of the Asset Allocation Portfolios in connection with certain variable annuity living benefit programs may result in mandatory asset flows into and out of the Asset Allocation Portfolios (and the relevant Underlying Trust Portfolios) on a large scale. The Investment Managers may, however, seek to minimize the impact of certain discretionary transactions by structuring them over a reasonable period of time or through the enforcement of certain limits on rede mptions of Underlying Trust Portfolio shares. Despite these efforts, the relevant Underlying Trust Portfolios may experience increased expenses as they buy and sell securities to respond to transactions initiated by the Asset Allocation Portfolios. An Underlying Trust Portfolio's investment performance also may be adversely affected if it must buy and sell securities at inopportune times to respond to transactions initiated by an Asset Allocation Portfolio. In addition, because the Asset Allocation Portfolios may own a substantial portion of an Underlying Trust Portfolio, a large-scale redemption initiated by one or more Asset Allocation Portfolio could cause an Underlying Trust Portfolio's expense ratio to increase as such portfolio's fixed costs

would be spread over a smaller asset base. As a result, these transactions could have an adverse effect on an Asset Allocation Portfolio which continues to remain invested in such Underlying Trust Portfolios.

Geographic Focus Risk. To the extent a Portfolio invests a substantial amount of its assets in a single country, a small number of countries, or a particular geographic region, its performance may at times be worse than the performance of other mutual funds that invest more broadly.

Growth stock risk. Investors often expect growth companies to increase their earnings at a certain rate. If these expectations are not met, investors can punish the stocks inordinately, even if earnings do increase. In addition, growth stocks typically lack the dividend yield that can cushion stock prices in market downturns.

Hedging risk. The decision as to whether and to what extent a Portfolio will engage in hedging transactions to hedge against such risks as credit risk, currency risk, counterparty risk, and interest rate risk will depend on a number of factors, including prevailing market conditions, the composition of such portfolio and the availability of suitable transactions. Accordingly, no assurance can be given that a Portfolio will engage in hedging transactions at any given time or from time to time, even under volatile market environments, or that any such strategies, if used, will be successful. Hedging transactions involve costs and may result in losses.

High-yield risk. Portfolios that invest in high yield securities and unrated securities of similar credit quality (commonly known as "junk bonds") may be subject to greater levels of interest rate, credit and liquidity risk than Portfolios that do not invest in such securities. High-yield securities are considered predominantly speculative with respect to the issuer's continuing ability to make principal and interest payments. An economic downturn or period of rising interest rates could adversely affect the market for high-yield securities and reduce a Portfolio's ability to sell its high-yield securities (liquidity risk). In addition, the market for lower-rated bonds may be thinner and less active than the market for higher-rated bonds, and the prices of lower-rated bonds may fluctuate more than the prices of higher-rated bonds, particularly in times of market stress.

Industry/sector risk. Portfolios that invest in a single market sector or industry can accumulate larger positions in single issuers or an industry sector. As a result, the Portfolio's performance may be tied more directly to the success or failure of a smaller group of portfolio holdings.

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. As inflation increases, the value of a Portfolio's assets can decline as can the value of income received by the Portfolio. The prices of common stocks and fixed-income securities may be particularly sensitive to rising interest rates, as the cost of capital rises and borrowing costs increase.

Inflation-indexed securities risk. Inflation-indexed bonds are fixed income securities whose principal value is periodically adjusted according to the rate of inflation. The interest rate on these bonds is fixed at issuance, and is generally lower than the interest rate on typical bonds. Over the life of the bond, however, this interest will be paid based on a principal value that has been adjusted for inflation. Repayment of the adjusted principal upon maturity may be guaranteed, but the market value of the bonds is not guaranteed, and will fluctuate. Each Portfolio may have exposure to inflation-indexed bonds that do not provide a repayment guarantee. While these securities are expected to be protected from long-term inflationary trends, short-term increases in inflation may lead to losses.

Infrastructure investment risk. A Portfolio's infrastructure-related investments expose that Portfolio to potential adverse economic, regulatory, political and other changes affecting such investments. Issuers in infrastructure-related businesses are subject to a variety of factors that may adversely affect their business or operations including high interest costs in connection with capital construction programs, costs associated with environmental and other regulations, the effects of economic slowdown and surplus capacity, increased competition from other providers of services, uncertainties concerning the availability of fuel at reasonable prices, the effects of energy conservation policies, and other factors.

Initial public offering (IPO) risk. The prices of securities purchased in IPOs can be very volatile. The effect of IPOs on the performance of a Portfolio depends on a variety of factors, including the number of IPOs the Portfolio invests in relative to the size of the Portfolio and whether and to what extent a security purchased in an IPO appreciates or depreciates in value. As a Portfolio's asset base increases, IPOs often have a diminished effect on a Portfolio's performance.

Interest rate risk. Each Portfolio investing in fixed-income securities is subject to interest rate risk. Interest rate risk is the risk that the rates of interest income generated by the fixed-income investments of a Portfolio may decline due to a decrease in market interest rates and that the market prices of the fixed-income investments of a Portfolio may decline due to an increase in market interest rates. Generally, the longer the maturity of a fixed-income security, the greater is the negative effect on its value when rates increase. As a result, mutual funds with longer durations and longer weighted average maturities generally have more volatile share prices than funds with shorter durations and shorter weighted average maturities. The prices of debt obligations generally move in the opposite direction to that of market interest rates.

Investment model risk. Each of the AST Focus Four Plus Portfolio, AST First Trust Balanced Target Portfolio, and AST First Trust Capital Appreciation Target Portfolio is also exposed to additional market risk due to its policy of investing solely in securities identified by the each of the relevant Equity Strategies under normal cirucmstances. As a result of this policy, equity securities held by each Portfolio will not be bought or sold in response to market fluctuations under normal circumstances. To the extent this management style is non-dynamic, the Portfolio may subject investors to greater market risk than other mutual funds.

Investment style risk. Different investment styles tend to shift in and out of favor depending upon market and economic conditions as well as investor sentiment. A Fund may outperform or underperform other funds that employ a different investment style. Examples of different investment styles include growth and value investing. Growth stocks may be more volatile than other stocks because they are more sensitive to investor perceptions of the issuing company's growth of earnings potential. Growth companies are often expected by investors to increase their earnings at a certain rate. When these expectations are not met, investors can punish the stocks inordinately even if earnings showed an absolute increase. Also, since growth companies usually invest a high portion of earnings in their business, growth stocks may lack the dividends of some value stocks that can cushion stock prices in a falling market. Growth oriented funds will typically underperform when value investing is in favor. Value stocks are those that are undervalued in comparison to their peers due to adverse business developments or other factors.

Leveraging risk. Certain transactions may give rise to a form of leverage. Such transactions may include, among others, reverse repurchase agreements, loans of portfolio securities, and the use of when-issued, delayed delivery or forward commitment contracts. The use of derivatives may also create leveraging risks. To mitigate leveraging risk, a Subadviser can segregate liquid assets or otherwise cover the transactions that may give rise to such risk. The use of leverage may cause a Portfolio to liquidate portfolio positions when it may not be advantageous to do so to satisfy its obligations or to meet segregation requirements. Leverage, including borrowing, may cause a Portfolio to be more volatile than if the Portfolio had not been leveraged. This volatility occurs because leveraging tends to exaggerate the effect of any increase or decrease in the value of a Portfolio's securities.

License risk. Certain Portfolios rely on licenses from third parties to the relevant Subadviser that permit the use of the intellectual property of such parties in connection with the investment strategies for those Portfolios. Such licenses may be terminated by the licensors under certain circumstances, and as a result, a Portfolio may lose its ability to use the licensed name and/or the licensed investment strategy. Accordingly, in the event a license is terminated, it may have a significant effect on the operation of the affected Portfolio.

Liquidity risk. Liquidity risk exists when particular investments are difficult to purchase or sell. Liquidity risk may result if an investment trades in lower volumes. Liquidity risk may also result if a Portfolio makes investments that become less liquid in response to market developments or adverse investor perceptions. When there are few willing buyers and investments cannot be readily sold at the desired time or price, a Portfolio may have to accept a lower price or may not be able to sell the investment at all. An inability to sell a portfolio position can adversely affect a Portfolio's return by causing a decrease in the value of the investment or by preventing the Portfolio from being able to take advantage of other investment opportunities. Portfolios with principal investment strategies that involve foreign securities, derivatives or securities with substantial market and/or credit risk tend to have the greatest exposure to liquidity risk. Each Portfolio (other than the Money Market Portfolio) generally may invest up to 15% of its net assets in illiquid securities. The Money Market Portfolio may invest up to 10% of its net assets in illiquid securities. The relevant Subadviser will seek to maintain an adequate level of portfolio liquidity, based on all relevant facts and circumstances, with consideration given to the Portfolio's exposure to illiquid securities in the event the market value of such securities exceeds 10% or 15% (as applicable) of the Portfolio's net assets as a result of a decline in the market value of the Portfolio.

Management risk. Actively managed investment portfolios are subject to management risk. Each Subadviser will apply investment techniques and risk analyses in making investment decisions for the Portfolios, but there can be no guarantee that these will produce the desired results.

Market risk. Market risk is the risk that the equity and fixed-income markets in which the Portfolios invest will experience market volatility and go down in value, including the possibility that a market will go down sharply and unpredictably. Common stocks are subject to market risk stemming from factors independent of any particular security. Investment markets fluctuate. All markets go through cycles, and market risk involves being on the wrong side of a cycle. Factors affecting market risk include political events, broad economic and social changes, and the mood of the investing public. You can see market risk in action during large drops in the stock market. If investor sentiment turns gloomy, the price of all stocks may decline. It may not matter that a particular company has great profits and its stock is selling at a relatively low price. If the overall market is dropping, the values of all stocks are likely to drop. Generally, the stock prices of large companie s are more stable than the stock prices of smaller companies, but this is not always the case. Smaller companies often offer a smaller range of products and services than large companies. They may also have limited financial resources and may lack management depth. As a result, stocks issued by smaller companies may fluctuate in value more than the stocks of larger, more established companies.

Market sector/industry concentration risk. Funds that emphasize investments in a particular market sector or industry like real estate

are subject to an additional risk factor because they are generally less diversified than most equity funds. Property values may fall due to increasing vacancies or declining rents resulting from economic, demographic or legal developments.

Mid-capitalization company risk. The Portfolio may invest in securities of medium and new companies. Investments in intermediate capitalization size companies may be more volatile than investments in larger companies, as intermediate capitalization size companies generally experience higher growth and failure rates. The trading volume of these securities is normally lower than that of larger companies. Such securities may be less liquid than others and could make it difficult to sell a security at a time or price desired. Changes in the demand for these securities generally have a disproportionate effect on their market price, tending to make prices rise more in response to buying demand and fall more in response to selling pressure.

Mortgage risk. Mortgage-backed securities represent the right to receive a portion of principal and/or interest payments made on a pool of residential or commercial mortgage loans and are subject to certain risks. Rising interest rates tend to extend the duration of mortgage-related securities, making them more sensitive to changes in interest rates. As a result, in a period of rising interest rates, a Portfolio that has exposure to mortgage-related securities may exhibit additional volatility. This is known as extension risk. In addition, mortgage-related securities are subject to prepayment risk. When interest rates decline, borrowers may pay off their mortgages sooner than expected. This can reduce the returns of a Portfolio because such portfolio will have to reinvest that money at the lower prevailing interest rates.

Most mortgage-backed securities are issued by federal government agencies such as Ginnie Mae, or by government sponsored enterprises such as Freddie Mac or Fannie Mae. Principal and interest payments on mortgage-backed securities issued by the federal government and some Federal government agencies, such as Ginnie Mae, are guaranteed by the Federal government and backed by the full faith and credit of the United States. Mortgage-backed securities issued by other government agencies or government sponsored enterprises, such as Freddie Mac or Fannie Mae, are backed only by the credit of the government agency or enterprise and are not backed by the full faith and credit of the United States. Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac are authorized to borrow from the U.S. Treasury to meet their obligations. Although the U.S. government has provided financial support to Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, there can be no assurance that it will support these or other government-sponsored enterprises in the future. Private mortgage-backed securities are issued by private corporations rather than government agencies and are subject to credit risk and interest rate risk. The risks associated with investments in mortgage-related securities, particularly credit risk and liquidity risk, are heightened for investments in sub-prime mortgage-related securities.

Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac hold or guarantee approximately $5 trillion worth of mortgages. The value of the companies' securities has fallen sharply in 2008 due to concerns that the firms do not have sufficient capital to offset losses resulting from the mortgage crisis. In mid-2008, the U.S. Treasury Department was authorized to increase the size of home loans in certain residential areas Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac could buy, and until 2009, to lend Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac emergency funds and to purchase the entities' stock. On September 6, 2008, at the request of the Secretary of the U.S. Treasury, the Chairman of the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve and the Director of the FHFA, each of Freddie Mac's and Fannie Mae's boards of directors adopted resolutions consenting to putting the respective companies into conservatorship. After obtaining these consents, the Director of FHFA appointed FHFA as the conservator of each of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac on September 6, 2008. Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac report that as of November 7, 2008 and November 14, 2008, respectively, the conservator for each company has advised them that it has not disaffirmed or repudiated any contracts entered into by Fannie Mae or Freddie Mac prior to its appointment as conservator. The effect that this conservatorship will have on the companies' debt and equities is unclear. Each of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac has been the subject of investigations by federal regulators over certain accounting matters. Such investigations, and any resulting restatements of financial statements, may adversely affect the guaranteeing entity and, as a result, the payment of principal or interest on these types of securities.

Non-diversification risk. The chance that a Portfolio's performance may be disproportionately hurt by the performance ofrelatively few securities. A Portfolio which is non-diversified may invest more of its assets in a smaller number of issuers than a diversified Portfolio. Concentrating investments may result in greater potential losses for Portfolios investing in a broader variety of issuers. A Portfolio may be more susceptible to adverse developments affecting a single issuer held in its portfolio, and may be more susceptible to greater losses because of these developments.

Portfolio turnover risk. A Portfolio may actively and frequently trade its portfolio securities to achieve its investment objective. This may occur due to active portfolio management by the Portfolio's Subadviser. High portfolio turnover results in higher transaction costs (such as brokerage commissions, dealer mark-ups and other transaction-related expenses), which can adversely affect a Portfolio's performance. Each Subadviser generally will not consider the length of time a Portfolio has held a particular security in making investment decisions. In fact, each Subadviser may engage in active trading on behalf of a Portfolio—that is, frequent trading of its securities—in order to take advantage of new investment opportunities or return differentials. Each Portfolio's turnover rate may be higher than that of other mutual funds due to the Subadviser's investment strategies.

In addition, certain Portfolios may be used in connection with certain living benefit programs, including, without limitation, certain "guaranteed minimum accumulation benefit" programs and certain "guaranteed minimum withdrawal benefit" programs. In order for Prudential to manage the guarantees offered in connection with these benefit programs, Prudential generally: (i) limits the number and types of variable sub-accounts in which contract holders may allocate their account values and (ii) requires contract holders to participate in certain specialized asset transfer programs. The use of these asset transfers may, however, result in large-scale asset flows into and out of the relevant Portfolios. This is particularly true for th Target Maturity Portfolios and the AST Investment Grade Bond Portfolio. Such asset transfers could adversely affect a Portfolio's investment performance by requiring the relevant Subadviser to purchase and sell securities at inopportune times and by otherwise lim iting the ability of the relevant Subadviser to fully implement the Portfolio's investment strategies. In addition, these asset transfers may result in relatively small asset bases and relatively high transaction costs and operating expense ratios for a Portfolio compared to other similar funds.

Prepayment or call risk. Prepayment or call risk is the risk that issuers will prepay fixed-rate obligations held by a Portfolio when interest rates fall, forcing the Portfolio to reinvest in obligations with lower interest rates than the original obligations. Mortgage-related securities and asset-backed securities are particularly subject to prepayment risk.

Real estate risk. Certain Portfolios may invest in REITs and real estate-linked derivative instruments. Such on emphasis on these types of investments will subject a Portfolio to risks similar to those associated with direct ownership of real estate, including losses from casualty or condemnation, and changes in local and general economic conditions, supply and demand, interest rates, zoning laws, regulatory limitations on rents, property taxes, and operating expenses. An investment in a real estate-linked derivative instrument that is linked to the value of a REIT is subject to additional risks, such as poor performance by the manager of the REIT, adverse changes to the tax laws, or failure by the REIT to qualify for tax-free pass-through of income under the Internal Revenue Code of 1986. In addition, some REITs have limited diversification because they invest in a limited number of properties, a narrow geographic area, or a single type of property.

Selection risk. The risk that the securities, derivatives, and other instruments selected by a Portfolio's Subadviser will underperform the market, the relevant indices or other funds with similar investment objectives and investment strategies, or that securities sold short will experience positive price performance.

Short sale risk. A Portfolio that enters into short sales, which involves selling a security it does not own in anticipation that the security's price will decline, exposes the Portfolio to the risk that it will be required to buy the security sold short (also known as "covering" the short position) at a time when the security has appreciated in value, thus resulting in a loss to the Portfolio. Theoretically, the amount of these losses can be unlimited, although for fixed-income securities an interest rate of 0% forms an effective limit on how high a securities' price would be expected to rise. Although certain Portfolios may try to reduce risk by holding both long and short positions at the same time, it is possible that a Portfolio's securities held long will decline in value at the same time that the value of the Portfolio's securities sold short increases, thereby increasing the potential for loss.

Small company risk. The shares of small companies tend to trade less frequently than those of larger, more established companies, which can have an adverse effect on the pricing of these securities and on a Portfolio's ability to sell these securities. Such investments may be more volatile than investments in larger companies, as smaller companies generally experience higher growth and failure rates. The securities of smaller companies may be less liquid than others, which may make it difficult to sell a security at a time or price desired. Changes in the demand for these securities generally have a disproportionate effect on their market price, tending to make prices rise more in response to buying demand and fall more in response to selling pressure. In the case of small cap technology companies, the risks associated with technology company stocks, which tend to be more volatile than other sectors, are magnified.

Underlying Fund risk. The value of an investment in a Portfolio will be related in large part to the investment performance of any of the Portfolio's investments in an underlying fund. Therefore, the principal risks of investing in such a Portfolio are closely related to the principal risks associated with the underlying portfolio and its investments as well as exposing the Portfolio to a pro rata portion of the underlying portfolio's fees and expenses.

U.S. government and agency securities risk. In addition to market risk, interest rate risk and credit risk, such securities may limit a Portfolio's potential for capital appreciation. Not all U.S. Government securities are insured or guaranteed by the U.S. Government, some are only insured or guaranteed by the issuing agency, which must rely on its own resources to repay the debt. Mortgage-backed securities issued by government sponsored enterprises such as Freddie Mac or Fannie Mae are not backed by the full faith and credit of the United States.

Other debt obligations issued or guaranteed by the U.S. government and government-related entities risk. Securities issued by agencies of the U.S. Government or instrumentalities of the U.S. Government, including those which are guaranteed by Federal agencies or instrumentalities, may or may not be backed by the full faith and credit of the United States. Obligations of the GNMA, the Farmers Home Administration, the Export-Import Bank, and the Small Business Administration are backed by the full faith and credit of the United States. Obligations of the FNMA, the FHLMC, the Federal Home Loan Bank, the Tennessee Valley Authority and

the United States Postal Service are not backed by the full faith and credit of the U.S. Government. In the case of securities not backed by the full faith and credit of the United States, a Portfolio generally must look principally to the agency issuing or guaranteeing the obligation for ultimate repayment and may not be able to assert a claim against the United States if the agency or instrumentality does not meet its commitments. The yield and market value of these securities are not guaranteed by the U.S. government or the relevant government sponsored enterprise.

Valuation Risk. Due to the nature of some Portfolios' investments and the market environment, a portion of a given Portfolio's assets may be valued at fair value pursuant to guidelines established by the Fund's Board of Trustees. A Portfolio's assets may be valued using prices provided by a pricing service or, alternatively, a broker-dealer or other market intermediary (sometimes just one broker-dealer or other market intermediary) when other reliable pricing sources may not be available. No assurance can be given that such prices accurately reflect the price a Portfolio would receive upon sale of a security. To the extent a Portfolio sells a security at a price lower than the price it has been using to value the security, its net asset value will be adversely affected. When a Portfolio invests in Underlying Portfolios that are not advised, managed, or sponsored by the Investment Managers or their affiliates (collectively, the Underlying Non-Prudential Portfolios), it will generally value its investments in those Underlying Non-Prudential Portfolios based upon net asset valuation determinatinos provided by the Underlying Non-Prudential Portfolios. These values may not be precisely the same as if the investments of the Underlying Non-Prudential Portfolios had been valued using the procedures employed by a Portfolio to value its own assets. In addition, if there is wide variation in hte fair value estimates produced by the market participants with respect to investments held by a Portfolio, such variations may make it harder for the Portfolio to sell that investment (i.e., such variation may tend to increase liquidity risk).

Valuation of Private Real Estate-Related Investments risk. Private real estate-related investments owned by the Global Real Estate Portfolio will be fair valued each day using a methodology set forth in Valuation Policies and Procedures adopted by the Board of the Trust that incorporate periodic independent appraised value of the properties. An appraisal is an estimate of market value. The realizable market value of real estate depends to a great extent on economic and other conditions beyond the control of the Global Real Estate Portfolio.

Value Style risk. Certain stocks purchased by the Emerging Markets Equity Portfolio may be undervalued due to adverse economic conditions or other near-term difficulties that cause them not to achieve their expected financial potential. Undervaluation may also arise because companies are misunderstood by investors or because they are out of step with favored market themes.

Yankee obligations risk. Yankee obligations are U.S. dollar-denominated debt securities of foreign corporations issued in the United States and U.S. dollar-denominated debt securities issued or guaranteed as to payment of principal and interest by governments, quasi-governmental entities, government agencies, and other governmental entities of foreign countries and supranational entities, which securities are issued in the United States. Debt securities of quasi-governmental entities are issued by entities owned by either a national, state, or equivalent government or are obligations of a political unit that is not backed by the national government's full faith and credit and general taxing powers. Investments in the securities of foreign corporations and governments, even those denominated in U.S. dollars, involve certain risks not typically associated with investments in domestic issuers. The values of the securities of foreign corpora tions and governments are subject to economic and political developments in the countries and regions where the issuers operate or are domiciled, such as changes in economic or monetary policies. In addition, Yankee obligations may be less liquid than the debt obligations of U.S. issuers. In general, less information is publicly available about foreign corporations than about U.S. companies. Foreign corporations are generally not subject to the same accounting, auditing, and financial reporting standards as are U.S. companies. Some securities issued by foreign governments or their subdivisions, agencies, and instrumentalities may not be backed by the full faith and credit of such governments. Even where a security is backed by the full faith and credit of a foreign government, it may be difficult for the Portfolio to pursue its rights against such government in that country's courts. Some foreign governments have defaulted on principal and interest payments. In addition, a Portfolio's investments in Yankee obligations may be subject to the risk of nationalization or expropriation of a foreign corporation's assets, imposition of currency exchange controls, or restrictions on the repatriation of non-U.S. currency, confiscatory taxation, political or financial instability and adverse diplomatic developments.These risks are heightened in all respects with respect to Yankee obligations issued by foreign corporations and governments located in emerging markets.

Principal Risks: Funds of Funds

"Fund of Funds" Structure Description . As previously discussed, each of the Dynamic and Tactical Asset Allocation Portfolios, as well as the Academic Strategies Asset Alloction Portfolio (each, a Fund of Funds, and collectively, the Funds of Funds) is a "fund of funds." That means that each Fund of Funds invests primarily or exclusively in shares of other pooled investment vehicles (collectively, the Underlying Portfolios), including, without limitation, other Portfolios of the Fund (collectively, the Underlying Trust Portfolios). Each Fund of Funds has its own target asset allocation and will invest in different combinations of Underlying Portfolios. The value of mutual fund shares will fluctuate. As a result, the investment performance of each Fund of Funds will depend on how its assets are allocated and reallocated among the Underlying Portfolios. Because each of the Funds of Funds invests primarily or exclusively in shares of the Und erlying Trust Portfolios under normal circumstances, the risks associated with each Fund of Funds will be closely related to the risks associated with the securities and other investments held by the relevant Underlying Portfolios. The ability of each

Fund of Funds to achieve its investment objective will depend on the ability of the relevant Underlying Portfolios to achieve their respective investment objectives.

Asset Allocation risk . Asset allocation risk is the risk that an AA Subadviser may allocate assets to an asset class that underperforms other asset classes. For example, a Tactical Asset Allocation Portfolio may be overweighed in the equity asset class when the stock market is falling and the fixed-income market is rising. Likewise, a Tactical Asset Allocation Portfolio may be overweighed in the fixed-income asset class when the stock market is falling and the equity markets are rising.

Asset Program Transfer Risk. Investments in the Funds of Funds are subject to asset transfer program risk. For a description of this risk factor, please see the information above under the caption "Principal Risks."

Underlying Fund Risk. The value of an investment in an Fund of Funds will be related in part to the investment performance of any Underlying Portfolio in which it invests. Therefore, to the extent an Fund of Funds invests in Underlying Portfolios, the principal risks of investing in the Fund of Funds will be related to the principal risks associated with those Underlying Portfolios and their investments. The risks associated with the securities and investment methods that the Underlying Portfolios may invest in or use are described above under the caption "Principal Risks." Investing in an Underlying Portfolio will also expose the relevant Fund of Funds to a pro rata portion of the Underlying Portfolio's fees and expenses. Underlying Portfolios that are not registered under the federal securities laws are not subject to the same level of regulation as are registered investment companies, including investor protection laws, rule s, and regulations.

Underlying Portfolio Selection Risk . Underlying Portfolio selection risk is the risk that the Underlying ETFs selected by the AA Subadvisers and the Underlying Trust Portfolios selected by PI will underperform relevant markets, relevant indices, or other mutual funds with similar investment objectives and strategies.

Underlying Trust Portfolios: Potential Conflicts of Interest and Subadviser Selection Risk. Under normal circumstances, the Dynamic Asset Allocation Portfolios invests 100% of their respective assets in shares of Underlying Trust Portfolios while not less than 90% of each Tactical Asset Allocation Portfolio's assets are invested in shares of Underlying Trust Portfolios. In addition, the AST Academic Strategies Asset Allocation Portfolio normally invests approximately 65% of its assets in shares of Underlying Trust Portfolios. These investments in Underlying Trust Portfolio shares may be subject to certain potential conflicts of interest. As described above, the Investment Managers have engaged the Subadvisers to conduct the investment programs of the Underlying Trust Portfolio, including the purchase, retention and sale of portfolio securities and investments. Subadvisory fees are paid by the Investment Managers to the relevant Subadvisers out of the management fees received by the Investment Managers from the Underlying Trust Portfolios. Because the amount of fees to be retained by the Investment Managers will differ depending upon which Underlying Trust Portfolios are used in connection with the Funds of Funds, it is possible that the interests of the Investment Managers and Contract owners could conflict. In addition, the Investment Managers may have an incentive to take into account the effect on an Underlying Trust Portfolio in which a Fund of Funds may invest in determining whether, and under what circumstances, to purchase or sell shares in that Underlying Trust Portfolio. As a result, it is possible that the interests of the Underlying Trust Portfolio may not be consistent with those of a Fund of Funds.

Each Fund of Funds' investments in the Underlying Trust Portfolios will also be subject to subadviser selection risk. Subadviser selection risk is the risk that the Investment Managers' decision to select or replace a subadviser for an Underlying Trust Portfolio does not produce the intended result. The Investment Managers, however, are not responsible for the day-to-day management of the Underlying Trust Portfolios.