AMERICAN CENTURY VARIABLE PORTFOLIOS INC, 485BPOS, 2000-04-10

Throughout this book you'll find definitions of key investment terms and phrases. When you see a word printed in blue italics, look for its definition in the left margin.

[GRAPHIC OMITTED: POINTING FINGER] This symbol highlights special information and helpful tips.

American Century Investments

An Overview of the Fund

What is the fund's investment objective?

The fund seeks long-term capital growth and current income by investing approximately 40% of its assets in equity securities, 40% in fixed-income securities and the remaining 20% in cash and cash equivalents.

What are the fund's primary investment strategy and principal risks?

In selecting stocks for the equity portion of VP Advantage, the fund managers look for common stocks of growing companies. The basis of the equity strategy is that, over the long term, stocks of companies with earnings and revenue growth have a greater-than-average chance to increase in value over time. The fixed-income and cash portions of the fund are invested in fixed-income securities of the U.S. government and its agencies and instrumentalities. A more detailed description of the fund's investment strategies begins on page 5.

The fund's principal risks include

Market Risk — The value of a fund's shares will go up and down based on the performance of the companies whose securities it owns and other factors generally affecting the securities market.
Price Volatility — The value of a fund's shares may fluctuate significantly in the short term.
Principal Loss — As with all mutual funds, if you sell your shares when their value is less than the price you paid, you will lose money.

Who may want to invest in the fund?

The fund may be a good investment if you are

seeking a fund that combines the potential for long-term capital growth with income
seeking the convenience of a fund that invests in both equity and fixed-income securities
comfortable with the risks associated with the fund's investment strategy

Who may not want to invest in the fund?

The fund may not be a good investment if you are

investing for a short period of time
uncomfortable with volatility in the value of your investment

[GRAPHIC OMITTED: POINTING FINGER] An investment in the fund is not a bank deposit, and it is not insured or guaranteed by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) or any other government agency.

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American Century Investments 3

Fund Performance History

VP Advantage Fund

[GRAPHIC OMITTED: POINTING FINGER] The performance information on this page is designed to help you see how the fund's returns can vary. Keep in mind that past performance does not predict how the fund will perform in the future.

Annual Total Returns

The following bar chart shows the performance of the fund's shares for each full calendar year in the life of the fund. It indicates the volatility of the fund's historical returns from year to year.

[GRAPHIC OMITTED]

[The following table was depicted as a bar chart in the printed material.]

                        1992      1993      1994     1995     1996      1997     1998      1999
VP Advantage Fund      -3.76%     6.84%     1.03%   16.75%    9.25%    12.83%   17.19%    14.76%

The highest and lowest quarterly returns for the period reflected in the bar chart are:

                  Highest              Lowest
=======================================================
VP Advantage      10.26% (4Q 1999)     -5.07% (1Q 1992)

[GRAPHIC OMITTED: POINTING FINGER] For current performance information, please call us at 1-800-345-6488.

Average Annual Total Returns

For the calendar year ended
December 31, 1999                             1 year      5 years      Life of Fund(1)
======================================================================================
VP Advantage                                  14.76%      14.11%       10.33%
Blended index(2)                               9.56%      15.22%       11.54%
Lehman Intermediate Government Bond Index      0.49%       6.93%        6.70%

S&P 500 Index                                 21.04%      28.56%       19.86%
90-Day Treasury Bill Index                     4.74%       5.11%        4.56%

The inception date for VP Advantage is August 1, 1991.
The blended index is a combination of three widely known indices in proportion to the approximate asset mix of the fund. Accordingly, 40% of the blended index consists of the performance of the Lehman Intermediate Government Bond Index, another 40% of the blended index consists of the S&P 500 Index, and the remaining 20% consists of the 90-Day Treasury Bill Index.

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Objectives, Strategies and Risks

VP Advantage Fund

What is the fund's investment objective?

[GRAPHIC OMITTED: POINTING FINGER] Accelerating growth is shown, for example, by growth that is faster this quarter than last or faster this year than the year before.

How does the fund pursue its investment objective?

For the equity portion of the fund, the fund managers use a growth investment strategy developed by American Century to invest in stocks of companies they believe will increase in value over time. The managers use a bottom-up approach to select stocks for the fund. That means they first look for strong, growing companies to invest in, rather than simply buying any company in a growing industry or sector. Using American Century's extensive computer database, the managers track financial information for of companies to identify trends in the companies' earnings and revenues. This information is used to help the fund managers select or decide to continue to hold the stocks of companies they believe will be able to sustain accelerating growth and to sell stocks of companies whose growth begins to slow down.

Although most of the equity portion of the fund will be invested in U.S. companies, there is no limit on the amount of assets the fund can invest in foreign companies. Most of the fund's foreign investments are in companies located and doing business in developed countries. Investments in foreign securities present some unique risks that are more fully described in the fund's Statement of Additional Information.

The fixed-income and cash portions of the fund will be invested only in obligations of the U.S. government and its agencies and instrumentalities. The fixed-income securities in which the fund may invest include (1) direct obligations of the United States, such as Treasury bonds, notes and bonds, and (2) obligations (including mortgage-backed and other asset-backed securities) issued or guaranteed by agencies and instrumentalities of the U.S. government that are established under an act of Congress. Under normal market conditions, the fixed-income portion is expected to have a weighted average maturity of three to 10 years, and the cash portion is expected to have a weighted average maturity of six months or less. Securities will be chosen based on their income level and price stability.

The fund managers do not attempt to time the market. Instead, under normal market conditions, they intend to keep the fund essentially fully invested in stocks regardless of the movement of stock prices generally. When the managers believe it is prudent, the fund may invest a portion of its assets in convertible debt securities, equity-equivalent securities, foreign securities, short-term instruments, bonds, notes and debt securities of companies, debt obligations of governments and their agencies, nonleveraged stock index futures contracts and other similar securities. Stock index futures contracts, a type of derivative security, can help the fund's cash assets remain liquid while performing more like stocks. The fund has a policy governing stock index futures and similar derivative securities to help manage the risk of these types of investments. For example, the managers cannot leverage the fund's assets by investing in a derivative security. A complete description of the derivatives policy is included in the Statement of Additional Information.

Weighted average maturity is a tool that the fund managers use to approximate the remaining term to maturity of a fund's investment portfolio. Generally, the longer a fund's weighted average maturity, the more sensitive it is to changes in interest rates.

Nonleveraged means that the fund may not invest in futures contracts when it would be possible to lose more than the fund invested.

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American Century Investments 5

Additional information about the fund's investments is available in its annual and semiannual reports. In these reports you will find a discussion of the market conditions and investment strategies that significantly affected the fund's performance during the most recent fiscal period. You may get these reports at no cost by calling the insurance company from which you purchased the shares or by calling us.

[GRAPHIC OMITTED: POINTING FINGER] Fixed-income securities are rated by nationally recognized securities rating organizations (SROs), such as Moody's and Standard & Poor's. Each SRO has its own system for classifying securities, but each tries to indicate a company's ability to make timely payments of interest and principal. A detailed description of SROs, their ratings system and what we do if a security isn't rated is included in the Statement of Additional Information.

What are the principal risks of investing in the fund?

The value of VP Advantage shares depends on the value of the stocks, bonds and other securities it owns.

The value of the individual equity securities VP Advantage owns will go up and down depending on the performance of the companies that issued them, general market and economic conditions, and investor confidence.
The value of the fund's fixed-income securities will be affected primarily by rising or falling interest rates and the continued ability of the issuers of these securities to make payments of interest and principal as they become due.

Generally, when interest rates rise, the value of the fund's fixed-income securities will decline. The opposite is true when interest rates decline. The interest rate risk is higher for VP Advantage than for funds that have a shorter weighted average maturity, such as money market and short-term bond funds.

As with all funds, your shares may be worth more or less at any given time than the price you paid for them. If you sell your shares when the value is less than the price you paid, you will lose money.

The fund managers may buy a large amount of a company's stock quickly for the equity portion of the fund, and often will dispose of it quickly if the company's earnings or revenues decline. While the managers believe this strategy provides substantial appreciation potential over the long term, in the short term it can create a significant amount of share price volatility.

Market performance tends to be cyclical, and in the various cycles, certain investment styles may fall in and out of favor. If the market is not favoring the fund's style, the fund's gains may not be as big as, or its losses may be bigger than, other equity funds using different investment styles.

Foreign investment involves additional risks, including fluctuations in currency exchange rates, less stable political and economic structures, reduced availability of public information, and lack of uniform financial reporting and regulatory practices similar to those that apply in the United States. These factors make investing in foreign securities generally riskier than investing in U.S. stocks. To the extent the fund invests in foreign securities, the overall risk of the fund could be affected.

The fund is offered only to insurance companies for the purpose of offering the fund as an investment option under variable annuity or variable life insurance contracts. Although the fund does not foresee any disadvantages to contract owners due to the fact that it offers its shares as an investment medium for both variable annuity and variable life products, the interests of various contract owners participating in the fund might, at some time, be in conflict due to future differences in tax treatment of variable products or other considerations. Consequently, the fund's Board of Directors will monitor events in order to identify any material irreconcilable conflicts that may possibly arise and to determine what action, if any, should be taken in response to such conflicts. If a conflict were to occur, an insurance company separate account might be required to withdraw its investments in the fund, and the fund might be forced to sell securities at disadvantageous prices to redeem such investments.

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Management

Who manages the fund?

The Board of Directors, investment advisor and fund management team play key roles in the management of the fund.

The Board of Directors

The Board of Directors oversees the management of the fund and meets at least quarterly to review reports about fund operations. Although the Board of Directors does not manage the fund, it has hired an investment advisor to do so. More than two-thirds of the directors are independent of the fund's advisor; that is, they are not employed by and have no financial interest in the advisor.

The Investment Advisor

The fund's investment advisor is American Century Investment Management, Inc. The advisor has been managing mutual funds since 1958 and is headquartered at 4500 Main Street, Kansas City, Missouri 64111.

The advisor is responsible for managing the investment portfolios of the fund and directing the purchase and sale of its investment securities. The advisor also arranges for transfer agency, custody and all other services necessary for the fund to operate.

For the services it provided to the fund during the most recent fiscal year, the advisor received a unified management fee of 1.0% of the average net assets of the fund. The amount of the management fee is calculated daily and paid monthly.

Out of that fee, the advisor paid all expenses of managing and operating the fund except brokerage expenses, taxes, interest, fees and expenses of the independent directors (including legal counsel fees), and extraordinary expenses. A portion of the management fee may be paid by the fund's advisor to unaffiliated third parties who provide recordkeeping and administrative services that would otherwise be performed by an affiliate of the advisor.

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American Century Investments 7

The Fund Management Team

The advisor uses a team of portfolio managers, assistant portfolio managers and analysts to manage the fund. The team meets regularly to review portfolio holdings and discuss purchase and sale activity. Team members buy and sell securities for a fund as they see fit, guided by the fund's investment objective and strategy.

[GRAPHIC OMITTED: POINTING FINGER] Code of Ethics

American Century has a Code of Ethics designed to ensure that the interests of fund shareholders come before the interests of the people who manage the fund. Among other provisions, the Code of Ethics prohibits portfolio managers and other investment personnel from buying securities in an initial public offering or profiting from the purchase and sale of the same security within 60 calendar days. In addition, the Code of Ethics requires portfolio managers and other employees with access to information about the purchase or sale of securities by the fund to obtain approval before executing permitted personal trades.

The portfolio managers on the investment team are identified below:

James E. Stowers III

Mr. Stowers, Chief Executive Officer and Portfolio Manager, has been a member of the team that manages the equity portion of VP Advantage since the fund's inception. He also is the Chief Investment Officer — U.S. Growth Equities and as such oversees the investment discipline used by the fund and seven other growth funds. He joined American Century in 1981. He has a bachelor's degree in finance from Arizona State University.

Jeffrey L. Houston

Mr. Houston, Vice President and Portfolio Manager, has been a member of the team that manages the fixed-income portion of VP Advantage since June 1995. He joined American Century as an Investment Analyst in November 1990 and was promoted to Portfolio Manager in 1994. He has a bachelor of arts from the University of Delaware and an MPA from Syracuse University. He is a Chartered Financial Analyst.

John R. Sykora

Mr. Sykora, Vice President and Senior Portfolio Manager, has been a member of the team that manages the equity portion of VP Advantage since November 1997. He joined American Century in May 1994 as an Investment Analyst. He has a bachelor's degree in accounting finance and an MBA in finance from Michigan State University. He is a Chartered Financial Analyst.

Bruce A. Wimberly

Mr. Wimberly, Vice President and Senior Portfolio Manager, has been a member of the team that manages the equity portion of VP Advantage since July 1996. He joined American Century in September 1994 as an Investment Analyst. He has a bachelor of arts from Middlebury College and an MBA from Kellogg Graduate School of Management, Northwestern University.

John F. Walsh

Mr. Walsh, Portfolio Manager, has been a member of the team that manages the equity portion of VP Advantage since July 1996. He joined American Century in February 1996 as an Investment Analyst. Prior to joining American Century, he served as an Assistant Vice President and Analyst for First Interstate Bank, Los Angeles, from July 1993 to January 1996. He has a bachelor's degree in marketing from Loyola Marymount University and an MBA in finance from Creighton University.

Fundamental Investment Policies

Fundamental investment policies contained in the Statement of Additional Information and the investment objective of the fund may not be changed without a shareholder vote. The Board of Directors may change any other policies and investment strategies.

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Share Price, Distributions and Taxes

Purchase and Redemption of Shares

For instructions on how to purchase and redeem shares, read the prospectus of your insurance company separate account. Your order will be priced at the net asset value next determined after your request is received in the form required by the insurance company separate account. There are no sales commissions or redemption charges. However, certain sales or deferred sales charges and other charges may apply to the variable annuity or life insurance contracts. Those charges are disclosed in the separate account prospectus.

Abusive Trading Practices

We do not permit market timing or other abusive trading practices in our funds.

Excessive, short-term (market timing) or other abusive trading practices may disrupt portfolio management strategies and harm fund performance. To minimize harm to the fund and its shareholders, we reserve the right to reject any purchase order (including exchanges) from any investor we believe has a history of abusive trading or whose trading, in our judgment, has been or may be disruptive to a fund. In making this judgment, we may consider trading done in multiple accounts under common ownership or control. We also reserve the right to delay delivery of redemption proceeds up to seven days.

Modifying or Canceling an Investment

Investment instructions are irrevocable. That means that once you have mailed or otherwise transmitted your investment instruction, you may not modify or cancel it. Each fund reserves the right to suspend the offering of shares for a period of time, and each fund reserves the right to reject any specific purchase order (including purchases by exchange or conversion). Additionally, we may refuse a purchase if, in our judgment, it is of a size that would disrupt the management of a fund.

Share Price

The net asset value, or NAV, of a fund is the price of the fund's shares.

American Century determines the net asset value (NAV) of each fund as of the close of regular trading on the New York Stock Exchange (usually 4 p.m. Eastern time) on each day the Exchange is open. On days when the Exchange is not open (including certain U.S. holidays), we do not calculate the NAV. The NAV of a fund share is the current value of the fund's assets, minus any liabilities, divided by the number of fund shares outstanding.

If current market prices of securities owned by a fund are not readily available, the advisor may determine their fair value in accordance with procedures adopted by the fund's Board. Trading of securities in foreign markets may not take place every day the Exchange is open. Also, trading in some foreign markets and on some electronic trading networks may take place on weekends or holidays when a fund's NAV is not calculated. So, the value of a fund's portfolio may be affected on days when you can't purchase or redeem shares of the fund.

We will price your purchase, exchange or redemption at the NAV next determined after the insurance company separate account receives your transaction request in good order.

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American Century Investments 9

Distributions

Capital gains are increases in the values of capital assets, such as stock, from the time the assets are purchased.

Federal tax laws require each fund to make distributions to its shareholders in order to qualify as a "regulated investment company." Qualification as a regulated investment company means the fund will not be subject to state or federal income tax on amounts distributed. The distributions generally consist of dividends and interest received, as well as capital gains realized on the sale of investment securities. Each fund generally pays distributions from net income and capital gains, if any, once a year in March. The fund may make more frequent distributions, if necessary, to comply with Internal Revenue Code provisions.

You will participate in fund distributions, when they are declared, starting the day after your purchase is effective. For example, if you purchase shares on a day that a distribution is declared, you will not receive that distribution. If you redeem shares, you will receive any distribution declared on the day you redeem. If you redeem all shares, we will include any such distributions received with your redemption proceeds. All distributions from the fund will be invested in additional shares.

Taxes

Consult the prospectus of your insurance company separate account for a discussion of the tax status of your variable contract.

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Financial Highlights

Understanding the Financial Highlights

The table on the next page itemizes what contributed to the changes in share price during the most recently ended fiscal year. It also shows the changes in share price for this period in comparison to changes over the last five fiscal years.

On a per-share basis, each table includes as appropriate

share price at the beginning of the period
investment income and capital gains or losses
distributions of income and capital gains paid to investors
share price at the end of the period

Each table also includes some key statistics for the period as appropriate

Total Return — the overall percentage of return of the fund, assuming the reinvestment of all distributions
Expense Ratio — the operating expenses as a percentage of average net assets
Net Income Ratio — the net investment income as a percentage of average net assets
Portfolio Turnover — the percentage of the fund's buying and selling activity

The Financial Highlights have been audited by Deloitte & Touche LLP, independent auditors. Their Independent Auditors' Report is included in the fund's annual report for the year ended December 31, 1999, which is incorporated by reference into the Statement of Additional Information, and is available upon request.

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American Century Investments 11

VP Advantage Fund

For a Share Outstanding Throughout the Years Ended December 31

Per-Share Data

                                                           1999         1998         1997         1996         1995
======================================================================================================================
Net Asset Value, Beginning of Period                    $  6.94      $  6.60      $  6.29      $  6.19      $  5.48
                                                        --------------------------------------------------------------
Income From Investment Operations
  Net Investment Income                                    0.21         0.19         0.19         0.20         0.20
  Net Realized and Unrealized Gain on
    Investment Transactions                                0.73         0.86         0.56         0.34         0.71
                                                        --------------------------------------------------------------
  Total From Investment Operations                         0.94         1.05         0.75         0.54         0.91
                                                        --------------------------------------------------------------
Distributions
  From Net Investment Income                              (0.20)       (0.15)       (0.10)       (0.15)       (0.20)
  From Net Realized Gains on Investment Transactions      (0.48)       (0.56)       (0.34)       (0.29)          --
                                                        --------------------------------------------------------------
  Total Distributions                                     (0.68)       (0.71)       (0.44)       (0.44)       (0.20)
                                                        --------------------------------------------------------------
Net Asset Value, End of Period                          $  7.20      $  6.94      $  6.60      $  6.29      $  6.19
                                                        ==============================================================
  Total Return(1)                                         14.76%       17.19%       12.83%        9.25%       16.75%

Ratios/Supplemental Data

                                                           1999         1998         1997         1996         1995
======================================================================================================================
Ratio of Operating Expenses to Average Net Assets          1.00%        1.00%        0.99%        0.98%        0.95%
Ratio of Net Investment Income to Average Net Assets       2.47%        2.74%        2.85%        3.10%        3.32%
Portfolio Turnover Rate                                      52%          82%          69%          80%          99%
Net Assets, End of Period (in thousands)                $22,024      $26,308      $25,244      $25,230      $24,037

Total return assumes investment of dividends and capital gains distributions, if any.

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More information about the fund is contained in these documents

Annual and Semiannual Reports

These reports contain more information about the fund's investments and the market conditions and investment strategies that significantly affected the fund's performance during the most recent fiscal period.

Statement of Additional Information (SAI)

The SAI contains a more detailed, legal description of the fund's operations, investment restrictions, policies and practices. The SAI is incorporated by reference into this Prospectus. This means that it is legally part of this Prospectus, even if you don't request a copy.

You may obtain a free copy of the SAI or annual and semiannual reports, and ask questions about the fund or your accounts, by contacting American Century at the address or telephone numbers listed below.

You also can get information about the fund (including the SAI) from the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The SEC charges a duplicating fee to provide copies of this information.

In person	SEC Public Reference Room Washington, D.C. Call 202-942-8090 for location and hours.
On the Internet	EDGAR database at www.sec.gov By email request at [email protected]
By mail	SEC Public Reference Section Washington, D.C. 20549-0102

Investment Company Act File No. 811-5188

[AMERICAN CENTURY LOGO]

American Century Investments
P.O. Box 419385
Kansas City, Missouri 64141-6385

1-800-345-6488 or 816-531-5575

0005
SH-PRS-19466

Your
AMERICAN CENTURY
prospectus

VP Balanced Fund

MAY 1, 2000

The Securities and Exchange Commission has not approved or disapproved these securities or determined if this Prospectus is accurate or complete. Anyone who tells you otherwise is committing a crime.

Funds Distributor, Inc. and
American Century Investment
Services, Inc., Distributors

[AMERICAN CENTURY LOGO]

Table of Contents

Throughout this book you'll find definitions of key investment terms and phrases. When you see a word printed in blue italics, look for its definition in the left margin.

[GRAPHIC OMITTED: POINTING FINGER] This symbol highlights special information and helpful tips.

American Century Investments

An Overview of the Fund

What is the fund's investment objective?

The fund seeks long-term capital growth and current income by investing approximately 60% of its assets in equity securities and the remainder in bonds and other fixed-income securities.

What are the fund's primary investment strategy and principal risks?

In selecting stocks for the equity portion of VP Balanced, the fund managers select primarily from the largest 1,500 publicly traded U.S. companies. The fixed-income portion of the fund is invested in a diversified portfolio of high-grade securities. A more detailed description of the fund's investment strategies begins on page 5.

The fund's principal risks include

Market Risk — The value of a fund's shares will go up and down based on the performance of the companies whose securities it owns and other factors generally affecting the securities market.
Price Volatility — The value of a fund's shares may fluctuate significantly in the short term.
Principal Loss — As with all mutual funds, if you sell your shares when their value is less than the price you paid, you will lose money.

Who may want to invest in the fund?

The fund may be a good investment if you are

seeking a fund that combines the potential for long-term capital growth with income
seeking the convenience of a fund that invests in both equity and fixed-income securities
comfortable with the risks associated with the fund's investment strategy

Who may not want to invest in the fund?

The fund may not be a good investment if you are

investing for a short period of time
uncomfortable with volatility in the value of your investment

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American Century Investments 3

Fund Performance History

VP Balanced Fund

Annual Total Returns

The following bar chart shows the performance of the fund's shares for each full calendar year in the life of the fund. It indicates the volatility of the fund's historical returns from year to year.

[GRAPHIC OMITTED]

[The following table was depicted as a bar chart in the printed material.]

                     1992     1993     1994      1995      1996      1997      1998      1999
VP Balanced Fund    -6.04%    7.69%    0.61%    21.12%    12.21%    15.81%    15.77%    10.06%

The highest and lowest quarterly returns for the period reflected in the bar chart are:

               Highest             Lowest
===================================================
VP Balanced    12.16% (2Q 1997)    -7.28% (3Q 1998)

[GRAPHIC OMITTED: POINTING FINGER] For current performance information, including yields, please call us at 1-800-345-6488.

Average Annual Total Returns

The following table shows the average annual total returns of the fund's shares for the periods indicated. The benchmark is an unmanaged index that has no operating costs and is included in the table for performance comparison.

For the calendar year ended
December 31, 1999                 1 year    5 years   Life of Fund(1)
=====================================================================
VP Balanced                       10.06%    14.92%    11.47%
Blended index(2)                  12.30%    20.23%    14.83%
S&P 500 Index                     21.04%    28.56%    19.80%
Lehman Aggregate Bond Index       -0.82%     7.73%     7.38%

The inception date for VP Balanced is May 1, 1991.
The blended index is a combination of two widely known indices in proportion to the approximate asset mix of the fund. Accordingly, 60% of the blended index consists of the performance of the S&P 500, which represents the equity portion of the fund, and 40% of the blended index consists of the Lehman Aggregate Bond Index, which represents the fixed-income portion.

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Objectives, Strategies and Risks

VP Balanced Fund

What is the fund's investment objective?

This fund seeks long-term capital growth and current income by investing approximately 60% of its assets in equity securities and the remainder in bonds and other fixed-income securities.

How does the fund pursue its investment objective?

For the equity portion of the VP Balanced portfolio, the fund managers utilize quantitative management techniques in a two-step process that draws heavily on computer technology. In the first step, the fund managers rank stocks, primarily the 1,500 largest publicly traded companies in the United States (measured by the value of their stock) from most attractive to least attractive. These rankings are determined by using a computer model that combines measures of a stock's value, as well as measures of its growth potential. To measure value, the managers use ratios of stock price-to-book value and stock price-to-cash flow, among others. To measure growth, the managers use, among others, the rate of growth of a company's earnings and changes in its earnings estimates.

In the second step, the managers use a technique called portfolio optimization. In portfolio optimization, the managers use a computer to build a portfolio of stocks from the ranking described earlier that they think will provide the optimal balance between risk and expected return. The goal is to create an equity portfolio that provides better returns than the S&P 500 without taking on significant additional risk.

The fixed-income portion of the fund's portfolio is invested primarily in a diversified portfolio of high-grade government, corporate, asset-backed and similar securities payable in U.S. currency. At least 80% of the fixed-income assets will be invested in securities that, at the time of purchase, are rated within the three highest categories by a nationally recognized statistical rating organization. Up to 20% of the fixed-income portion may be invested in the fourth category-rated securities, and up to 15% may be invested in the fifth category. Under normal market conditions, the weighted average maturity for the fixed-income portfolio will be in the three- to 10-year range.

The fund managers do not attempt to time the market. Instead, under normal market conditions, they intend to keep the equity portion of the fund essentially fully invested in stocks regardless of the movement of stock prices generally. When the managers believe it is prudent, the fund may invest a portion of its assets in convertible debt securities, equity-equivalent securities, foreign securities, short-term securities, nonleveraged stock index futures contracts and other similar securities. Stock index futures contracts, a type of derivative security, can help the fund's cash assets remain liquid while performing more like stocks. The fund has a policy governing stock index futures and similar derivative securities to help manage the risk of these types of investments. For example, the managers cannot leverage the fund's assets by investing in a derivative security. A complete description of the derivatives policy is included in the Statement of Additional Information.

Nonleveraged means that the fund may not invest in futures contracts when it would be possible to lose more than the fund invested.

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American Century Investments 5

What are the principal risks of investing in the fund?

The value of VP Balanced shares depends on the value of the stocks, bonds and other securities it owns.

The value of the individual equity securities VP Balanced owns will go up and down depending on the performance of the companies that issued them, general market and economic conditions, and investor confidence.
The value of the fund's fixed-income securities will be affected primarily by rising or falling interest rates and the continued ability of the issuers of these securities to make payments of interest and principal as they become due.

Generally, when interest rates rise, the value of the fund's fixed-income securities will decline. The opposite is true when interest rates decline. The interest rate risk is higher for VP Balanced than for funds that have a shorter weighted average maturity, such as money market and short-term bond funds.

The lowest rated bonds in which the fund may invest, BBB- and BB-rated bonds, contain some speculative characteristics. Having these bonds in the fund's portfolio means the fund's value may go down more if interest rates or other economic conditions change than if the fund contained only higher-rated bonds.

Because the equity portion of the fund is managed to the S&P 500 index, its performance will be closely tied to the index's performance. If the index goes down, it is likely that the performance of the fund's equity portion will go down.

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Management

Who manages the fund?

The Board of Directors, investment advisor and fund management team play key roles in the management of the fund.

The Board of Directors

The Investment Advisor

For the services it provided to the fund during the most recent fiscal year, the advisor received a unified management fee of 0.90% of the average net assets of the fund. The amount of the management fee is calculated daily and paid monthly.

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American Century Investments 7

The Fund Management Team

[GRAPHIC OMITTED: POINTING FINGER] Code of Ethics

The portfolio managers on the investment team are identified below:

Equity

John Schniedwind

Mr. Schniedwind, Senior Vice President, Senior Portfolio Manager and Group Leader — Quantitative Equity, has been a member of the team that manages the equity portion of VP Balanced since November 1998. He joined American Century in 1982 and also supervises other portfolio management teams. He has degrees from Purdue University and an MBA in finance from the University of California — Berkley. He is a Chartered Financial Analyst.

Jeffrey R. Tyler

Mr. Tyler, Senior Vice President and Senior Portfolio Manager, has been a member of the team that manages the equity portion of VP Balanced since November 1998. He joined American Century as a Portfolio Manager in January 1988. He has a bachelor's degree in business economics from the University of California — Santa Barbara and an MBA in finance and economics from Northwestern University. He is a Chartered Financial Analyst.

Fixed Income

Jeffrey L. Houston

Mr. Houston, Vice President and Portfolio Manager, has been a member of the team that manages the fixed-income portion of VP Balanced since June 1995. He joined American Century as an Investment Analyst in November 1990 and was promoted to Portfolio Manager in 1994. He has a bachelor of arts from the University of Delaware and an MPA from Syracuse University. He is a Chartered Financial Analyst.

John F. Walsh

Mr. Walsh, Portfolio Manager, has been a member of the team that manages the fixed-income portion of VP Balanced since January 1999. He joined American Century in February 1996 as an Investment Analyst. Prior to joining American Century, he served as an Assistant Vice President and Analyst for First Interstate Bank, Los Angeles, from July 1993 to January 1996. He has a bachelor's degree in marketing from Loyola Marymount University and an MBA in finance from Creighton University.

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Fund Performance

VP Balanced has the same management team and investment policies as another fund in the American Century family of funds. The fees and expenses of the funds are expected to be similar, and they will be managed with substantially the same investment objective and strategies. Notwithstanding these general similarities, this fund and the retail fund are separate mutual funds that will have different investment performance. Differences in cash flows into the two funds, the size of their portfolios and specific investments held by the two funds, as well as the additional expenses of the insurance product, will cause performance to differ.

Please consult the separate account prospectus for a description of the insurance product through which the fund is offered and its associated fees.

Fundamental Investment Policies

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American Century Investments 9

Share Price, Distributions and Taxes

Purchase and Redemption of Shares

Abusive Trading Practices

We do not permit market timing or other abusive trading practices in our funds.

Modifying or Canceling an Investment

Investment instructions are irrevocable. That means that once you have mailed or otherwise transmitted your investment instruction, you may not modify or cancel it. The fund reserves the right to suspend the offering of shares for a period of time, and the fund reserves the right to reject any specific purchase order (including purchases by exchange or conversion). Additionally, we may refuse a purchase if, in our judgment, it is of a size that would disrupt the management of a fund.

Share Price

The net asset value, or NAV, of a fund is the price of the fund's shares.

American Century determines the net asset value (NAV) of the fund as of the close of regular trading on the New York Stock Exchange (usually 4 p.m. Eastern time) on each day the Exchange is open. On days when the Exchange is not open (including certain U.S. holidays), we do not calculate the NAV. The NAV of a fund share is the current value of the fund's assets, minus any liabilities, divided by the number of fund shares outstanding.

We will price your purchase, exchange or redemption at the NAV next determined after the insurance company separate account receives your transaction request in good order.

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Distributions

Capital gains are increases in the values of capital assets, such as stock, from the time the assets are purchased.

Federal tax laws require the fund to make distributions to its shareholders in order to qualify as a "regulated investment company." Qualification as a regulated investment company means the fund will not be subject to state or federal income tax on amounts distributed. The distributions generally consist of dividends and interest received, as well as capital gains realized on the sale of investment securities. The fund generally pays distributions from net income and capital gains, if any, once a year in March. The fund may make more frequent distributions, if necessary, to comply with Internal Revenue Code provisions.

Taxes

Consult the prospectus of your insurance company separate account for a discussion of the tax status of your variable contract.

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American Century Investments 11

Financial Highlights

Understanding the Financial Highlights

On a per-share basis, the table includes as appropriate

share price at the beginning of the period
investment income and capital gains or losses
distributions of income and capital gains paid to investors
share price at the end of the period

The table also includes some key statistics for the period as appropriate

Total Return — the overall percentage of return of the fund, assuming the reinvestment of all distributions
Expense Ratio — the operating expenses as a percentage of average net assets
Net Income Ratio — the net investment income as a percentage of average net assets
Portfolio Turnover — the percentage of the fund's buying and selling activity

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VP Balanced Fund

For a Share Outstanding Throughout the Years Ended December 31

Per-Share Data

                                                            1999         1998         1997         1996         1995
=======================================================================================================================
Net Asset Value, Beginning of Period                    $   8.34     $   8.24     $   7.54     $   7.04     $   5.96
                                                        ---------------------------------------------------------------
Income From Investment Operations
  Net Investment Income                                     0.19         0.16         0.19         0.18         0.17
  Net Realized and Unrealized Gain on
    Investment Transactions                                 0.52         1.04         0.94         0.65         1.08
                                                        ---------------------------------------------------------------
  Total From Investment Operations                          0.71         1.20         1.13         0.83         1.25
                                                        ---------------------------------------------------------------
Distributions
  From Net Investment Income                               (0.16)       (0.15)       (0.09)       (0.13)       (0.17)
  From Net Realized Gains on Investment Transactions       (1.10)       (0.95)       (0.34)       (0.20)          --
                                                        ---------------------------------------------------------------
  Total Distributions                                      (1.26)       (1.10)       (0.43)       (0.33)       (0.17)
                                                        ---------------------------------------------------------------
Net Asset Value, End of Period                          $   7.79     $   8.34     $   8.24     $   7.54     $   7.04
                                                        ===============================================================
  Total Return(1)                                          10.06%       15.77%       15.81%       12.21%       21.12%

Ratios/Supplemental Data

                                                            1999         1998         1997         1996         1995
=======================================================================================================================
Ratio of Operating Expenses to Average Net Assets           0.90%        0.97%(2)     1.00%        0.99%        0.97%
Ratio of Net Investment Income to Average Net Assets        2.45%        2.16%(2)     2.19%        2.43%        2.69%
Portfolio Turnover Rate                                       83%         158%         125%         130%          87%
Net Assets, End of Period (in thousands)                $285,072     $280,437     $219,087     $215,393     $153,823

Total return assumes reinvestment of dividends and capital gains distributions, if any.
The fund's advisor voluntarily waived a portion of its management fee from October 1, 1998 through November 16, 1998. In absence of the waiver, the annualized ratio of operating expenses to average net assets and annualized ratio of net investment income to average net assets would have been 0.99% and 2.15%, respectively, for the year ended December 31, 1998.

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American Century Investments 13

More information about the fund is contained in these documents

Annual and Semiannual Reports

Statement of Additional Information (SAI)

You also can get information about the fund (including the SAI) from the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The SEC charges a duplicating fee to provide copies of this information.

In person	SEC Public Reference Room Washington, D.C. Call 202-942-8090 for location and hours.
On the Internet	EDGAR database at www.sec.gov By email request at [email protected]
By mail	SEC Public Reference Section Washington, D.C. 20549-0102

Investment Company Act File No. 811-5188

[AMERICAN CENTURY LOGO]

American Century Investments
P.O. Box 419385
Kansas City, Missouri 64141-6385

1-800-345-6488 or 816-531-5575

0005
SH-PRS-19467

Your
AMERICAN CENTURY
prospectus

VP Capital Appreciation Fund

MAY 1, 2000

The Securities and Exchange Commission has not approved or disapproved these securities or determined if this Prospectus is accurate or complete. Anyone who tells you otherwise is committing a crime.

Funds Distributor, Inc. and
American Century Investment
Services, Inc., Distributors

[AMERICAN CENTURY LOGO]

Table of Contents

Throughout this book you'll find definitions of key investment terms and phrases. When you see a word printed in blue italics, look for its definition in the left margin.

[GRAPHIC OMITTED: POINTING FINGER] This symbol highlights special information and helpful tips.

American Century Investments

An Overview of the Fund

What is the fund's investment objective?

This fund seeks capital growth.

What are the fund's primary investment strategy and principal risks?

The fund looks for common stocks of growing companies. The basis of the strategy used by this fund is that, over the long term, stocks of companies with earnings and revenue growth have a greater than average chance to increase in value over time. A more detailed description of American Century's "growth" investment style begins on page 5.

The fund's principal risks include

Market Risk — The value of a fund's shares will go up and down based on the performance of the companies whose securities it owns and other factors generally affecting the securities market.
Price Volatility — The value of a fund's shares may fluctuate significantly in the short term.
Principal Loss — As with all mutual funds, if you sell your shares when their value is less than the price you paid, you will lose money
Style Risk — If a fund's investment style is out of favor with the market, a fund's performance may suffer.
Foreign Risk — The fund invests primarily in foreign securities, which are generally riskier than U.S. stocks.

Who may want to invest in the fund?

The fund may be a good investment if you are

seeking long-term capital growth from your investment
comfortable with short-term price volatility
comfortable with the risks associated with the investment strategy

Who may not want to invest in the fund?

The fund may not be a good investment if you are

investing for a short period of time
uncomfortable with short-term volatility in the value of your investment

www.americancentury.com

American Century Investments 3

Fund Performance History

VP Capital Appreciation Fund

[GRAPHIC OMITTED: POINTING FINGER] The performance information on this page is designed to help you see how fund returns can vary. Keep in mind that past performance does not predict how the fund will perform in the future.

Annual Total Returns

The following bar chart shows the performance of the fund's shares for each of the last 10 calendar years. It indicates the volatility of the fund's historical returns from year to year.

[GRAPHIC OMITTED]

[The following table was depicted as a bar chart in the printed material.]

                     1990     1991     1992     1993     1994     1995     1996     1997     1998     1999
VP Capital
Appreciation Fund   -1.25%   41.88%   -1.34%   10.31%   -1.17%   31.10%   -4.32%   -3.26%   -2.16%   64.52%

The highest and lowest quarterly returns for the period reflected in the bar chart are:

                           Highest             Lowest
================================================================
VP Capital Appreciation    45.49% (4Q 1999)    -19.03% (3Q 1998)

[GRAPHIC OMITTED: POINTING FINGER] For current performance information, please call us at 1-800-345-6488.

Average Annual Total Returns

For the calendar year ended
December 31, 1999                    1 year    5 years   10 years  Life of Fund(1)
==================================================================================
VP Capital Appreciation              64.52%    14.32%    11.39%    12.06%
S&P 500 Index                        21.04%    28.56%    18.21%    19.73%(2)
S&P MidCap 400/BARRA Growth Index    28.74%    27.81%    N/A(3)    N/A(3)

The inception date for VP Capital Appreciation is November 20, 1987.
Since November 30, 1987, the date closest to the fund's inception for which data are available.
Benchmark began May 21, 1991.

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Objectives, Strategies and Risks

VP Capital Appreciation Fund

What is the fund's investment objective?

This fund seeks capital growth.

How does the fund pursue its investment objective?

The fund managers use a growth investment strategy developed by American Century to invest in stocks of companies that they believe will increase in value over time. The managers use a bottom-up approach to select stocks for the fund. That means they first look for strong, growing companies to invest in, rather than simply buying any company in a growing industry or sector. Using American Century's extensive computer database, the managers track financial information for thousands of companies to identify trends in the companies' earnings and revenues. This information is used to help the fund managers select or decide to continue to hold the stocks of companies they believe will be able to sustain accelerating growth and to sell stocks of companies whose growth begins to slow down.

Although most of the fund's assets will be invested in U.S. companies, there is no limit on the amount of assets the fund can invest in foreign companies. Most of the fund's foreign investments are in companies located and doing business in developed countries. Investments in foreign securities present some unique risks that are more fully described in the fund's Statement of Additional Information.

The fund managers do not attempt to time the market. Instead, under normal market conditions, they intend to keep the fund essentially fully invested in stocks regardless of the movement of stock prices generally. When the managers believe it is prudent, the fund may invest a portion of its assets in convertible securities, foreign securities, short-term instruments, bonds, notes and debt securities of companies, debt obligations of governments and their agencies, nonleveraged stock index futures contracts and other similar securities. Stock index futures contracts, a type of derivative security, can help the fund's cash assets remain liquid while performing more like stocks. The fund has a policy governing stock index futures and similar derivative securities to help manage the risk of these types of investments. For example, the managers cannot leverage the fund's assets by investing in a derivative security. A complete description of the derivatives policy is included in the Statement of Additional Information.

[GRAPHIC OMITTED: POINTING FINGER] Accelerating growth is shown, for example, by growth that is faster this quarter than last or faster this year than the year before.

Nonleveraged means that the fund may not invest in futures contracts when it would be possible to lose more than the fund invested.

What kinds of securities does the fund buy?

The fund will usually purchase common stocks of U.S. and foreign companies, but it can purchase other types of securities as well, such as domestic and foreign preferred stocks, convertible securities, equity-equivalent securities, notes, bonds and other debt securities. The fund limits its purchase of debt securities to investment-grade obligations.

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American Century Investments 5

What are the principal risks of investing in the fund?

The value of the fund's shares depends on the value of the stocks and other securities it owns. The value of the individual securities the fund owns will go up and down depending on the performance of the companies that issued them, general market and economic conditions, and investor confidence.

The fund managers may buy a large amount of a company's stock quickly, and often will dispose of it quickly if the company's earnings or revenues decline. While the managers believe this strategy provides substantial appreciation potential over the long term, in the short term it can create a significant amount of share price volatility. This volatility can be greater than that of the average stock fund.

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Management

Who manages the fund?

The Board of Directors, investment advisor and fund management team play key roles in the management of the fund.

The Board of Directors

The Investment Advisor

For the services it provided to the fund during the most recent fiscal year, the advisor received a unified management fee of 1.0% of the average net assets of the Investor Class shares of each fund. The amount of the management fee is calculated daily and paid monthly.

Out of that fee, the advisor paid all expenses of managing and operating the fund except brokerage expenses, taxes, interest, fees and expenses of the independent directors (including legal counsel fees), and extraordinary expenses. A portion of the management fee may be paid by the funds' advisor to unaffiliated third parties who provide recordkeeping and administrative services that would otherwise be performed by an affiliate of the advisor.

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American Century Investments 7

The Fund Management Team

[GRAPHIC OMITTED: POINTING FINGER] Code of Ethics

The portfolio managers on the investment team are identified below:

Linda K. Peterson

Ms. Peterson, Vice President and Portfolio Manager, has been a member of the team that manages VP Capital Appreciation since March 1998. She joined American Century in 1986. She served as an Investment Analyst for American Century's growth-oriented equity funds from April 1994 until February 1998. She has a bachelor's degree in finance from the University of Northern Iowa and an MBA from the University of Missouri — Kansas City. She is a Chartered Financial Analyst.

Kurt R. Stalzer

Mr. Stalzer, Vice President and Portfolio Manager, has been a member of the team that manages VP Capital Appreciation since joining American Century in January 2000. Before joining American Century, he was a Portfolio Manager for Scudder Kemper Investments from January 1997 to October 1999 and for Munder Capital Management from January 1994 to December 1996. He has a BBA in finance and accounting from the University of Michigan — Dearborn.

Fundamental Investment Policies

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Share Price, Distributions and Taxes

Purchase and Redemption of Shares

Abusive Trading Practices

We do not permit market timing or other abusive trading practices in our funds.

Modifying or Canceling an Investment

Share Price

The net asset value, or NAV, of a fund is the price of the fund's shares.

We will price your purchase, exchange or redemption at the NAV next determined after we receive your transaction request in good order.

www.americancentury.com

American Century Investments 9

Distributions

Capital gains are increases in the values of capital assets, such as stock, from the time the assets are purchased.

Taxes

Consult the prospectus of your insurance company separate account for a discussion of the tax status of your variable contract.

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Financial Highlights

Understanding the Financial Highlights

On a per-share basis, the table includes as appropriate

share price at the beginning of the period
investment income and capital gains or losses
distributions of income and capital gains paid to investors
share price at the end of the period

The table also includes some key statistics for the period as appropriate

Total Return — the overall percentage of return of the fund, assuming the reinvestment of all distributions
Expense Ratio — the operating expenses as a percentage of average net assets
Net Income Ratio — the net investment income as a percentage of average net assets
Portfolio Turnover — the percentage of the fund's buying and selling activity

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American Century Investments 11

VP Capital Appreciation Fund

For a Share Outstanding Throughout the Years Ended December 31

Per-Share Data

                                                 1999         1998         1997           1996           1995
================================================================================================================
Net Asset Value, Beginning of Period         $   9.02     $   9.68     $  10.24     $    12.06     $     9.21
                                             -------------------------------------------------------------------
Income From Investment Operations
  Net Investment Loss                           (0.05)       (0.01)       (0.05)(1)      (0.06)(1)      (0.02)
  Net Realized and Unrealized Gain (Loss)
    on Investment Transactions                   5.87        (0.17)       (0.30)         (0.40)          2.88
                                             -------------------------------------------------------------------
  Total From Investment Operations               5.82        (0.18)       (0.35)         (0.46)          2.86
                                             -------------------------------------------------------------------
Distributions
  From Net Investment Income                       --           --           --             --          (0.01)
  From Net Realized Gains on
    Investment Transactions                        --        (0.48)       (0.21)         (1.36)            --
                                             -------------------------------------------------------------------
  Total Distributions                              --        (0.48)       (0.21)         (1.36)         (0.01)
                                             -------------------------------------------------------------------
Net Asset Value, End of Period               $  14.84     $   9.02     $   9.68     $    10.24     $    12.06
                                             ===================================================================
  Total Return(2)                               64.52%       (2.16)%      (3.26)%        (4.32)%        31.10%

Ratios/Supplemental Data

                                                 1999         1998         1997           1996           1995
================================================================================================================
Ratio of Operating Expenses
  to Average Net Assets                          1.00%        1.00%        1.00%          1.00%          0.99%
Ratio of Net Investment Loss
  to Average Net Assets                         (0.41)%      (0.07)%      (0.53)%        (0.59)%        (0.23)%
Portfolio Turnover Rate                           119%         206%         107%           182%           147%
Net Assets, End of Period
  (in thousands)                             $607,263     $448,701     $593,698     $1,313,865     $1,461,124

Computed using average shares outstanding throughout the period.
Total return assumes reinvestment of dividends and capital gains distributions, if any.

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More information about the fund is contained in these documents

Annual and Semiannual Reports

Statement of Additional Information (SAI)

You also can get information about the fund (including the SAI) from the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The SEC charges a duplicating fee to provide copies of this information.

In person	SEC Public Reference Room Washington, D.C. Call 202-942-8090 for location and hours.
On the Internet	EDGAR database at www.sec.gov By email request at [email protected]
By mail	SEC Public Reference Section Washington, D.C. 20549-0102

Investment Company Act File No. 811-5188

[AMERICAN CENTURY LOGO]

American Century Investments
P.O. Box 419385
Kansas City, Missouri 64141-6385

1-800-345-6488 or 816-531-5575

0005
SH-PRS-19468

Your
AMERICAN CENTURY
prospectus

VP Income & Growth Fund

MAY 1, 2000

The Securities and Exchange Commission has not approved or disapproved these securities or determined if this Prospectus is accurate or complete. Anyone who tells you otherwise is committing a crime.

Funds Distributor, Inc. and
American Century Investment
Services, Inc., Distributors

[AMERICAN CENTURY LOGO]

Table of Contents

Throughout this book you'll find definitions of key investment terms and phrases. When you see a word printed in blue italics, look for its definition in the left margin.

This symbol highlights special information and helpful tips.

www.americancentury.com

American Century Investments

An Overview of the Fund

What are the fund's investment objectives?

VP Income & Growth seeks capital growth by investing in common stocks. Income is a secondary objective.

What are the fund's primary investment strategies and principal risks?

In selecting stocks for VP Income & Growth, the fund managers select primarily from the largest 1,500 publicly traded U.S. companies. The managers use quantitative, computer-driven models to construct the portfolio of stocks. A more detailed description of the fund's investment strategies begins on page 5.

The fund's principal risks include

Market Risk — The value of a fund's shares will go up and down based on the performance of the companies whose securities it owns and other factors generally affecting the securities market.
Price Volatility — The value of a fund's shares may fluctuate significantly in the short term.
Principal Loss — As with all mutual funds, if you sell your shares when their value is less than the price you paid, you will lose money.

Who may want to invest in the fund?

The fund may be a good investment if you are

seeking long-term capital growth from your investment
comfortable with the fund's short-term price volatility
comfortable with the risks associated with the fund's investment strategy

Who may not want to invest in the fund?

The fund may not be a good investment if you are

investing for a short period of time
uncomfortable with volatility in the value of your investment

www.americancentury.com

American Century Investments 3

Fund Performance History

VP Income & Growth Fund

The performance information on this page is designed to help you see how the fund's returns can vary. Keep in mind that past performance does not predict how the fund will perform in the future.

Annual Total Returns

The following bar chart shows the performance of the fund's shares for each full calendar year in the life of the fund. It indicates the volatility of the fund's historical returns from year to year.

[GRAPHIC OMITTED]

[The following table was depicted as a bar chart in the printed material.]

                            1998      1999
VP Income & Growth Fund    26.87%    18.02%

The highest and lowest quarterly returns for the period reflected in the bar chart are:

                      Highest             Lowest
===========================================================
VP Income & Growth    21.69% (1Q 1998)    -11.25% (3Q 1998)

For current performance information, please call us at 1-800-345-6488.

Average Annual Total Returns

For the calendar year ended
December 31, 1999              1 year    Life of Fund (1)
=========================================================
VP Income & Growth             18.02%    24.69%
S&P 500 Index                  21.04%    26.88%

The inception date for VP Income & Growth is October 30, 1997.

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Objectives, Strategies and Risks

VP Income & Growth Fund

What are the fund's investment objectives?

VP Income & Growth seeks capital growth by investing in common stocks. Income is a secondary objective.

How does the fund pursue its investment objective?

The fund's investment strategy utilizes quantitative management techniques in a two-step process that draws heavily on computer technology. In the first step, the fund managers rank stocks, primarily the 1,500 largest publicly traded companies in the United States (measured by the value of their stock) from most attractive to least attractive. This is determined by using a computer model that combines measures of a stock's value, as well as measures of its growth potential. To measure value, the managers use ratios of stock price to book value and stock price to cash flow, among others. To measure growth, the managers use, among others, the rate of growth of a company's earnings and changes in its earnings estimates.

In the second step, the managers use a technique called portfolio optimization. In portfolio optimization, the managers use a computer to build a portfolio of stocks from the ranking described earlier that they believe will provide the optimal balance between risk and expected return. The goal is to create a fund that provides better returns than the S&P 500 without taking on significant additional risk. The managers also attempt to create a dividend yield for the fund that will be greater than that of the S&P 500.

The fund managers do not attempt to time the market. Instead, under normal market conditions, they intend to keep the fund essentially fully invested in stocks regardless of the movement of stock prices generally. When the managers believe it is prudent, the fund may invest a portion of its assets in convertible debt securities, equity-equivalent securities, foreign securities, short-term securities, nonleveraged stock index futures contracts and other similar securities. Stock index futures contracts, a type of derivative security, can help the fund's cash assets remain liquid while performing more like stocks. The fund has a policy governing stock index futures and similar derivative securities to help manage the risk of these types of investments. For example, the managers cannot leverage the fund's assets by investing in a derivative security. A complete description of the derivatives policy is included in the Statement of Additional Information.

Nonleveraged means that the fund may not invest in futures contracts when it would be possible to lose more than the fund invested.

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American Century Investments 5

What are the principal risks of investing in the fund?

Because the fund is managed to the S&P 500 index, its performance will be closely tied to the index's performance. If the index goes down, it is likely that the performance of the fund's equity portion will go down.

Although income is an objective for the fund, if the stocks that make up the S&P 500 Index do not have a high dividend yield, then the fund's dividend yield will not be high.

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Management

Who manages the fund?

The Board of Directors, investment advisor and fund management team play key roles in the management of the fund.

The Board of Directors

The Investment Advisor

For the services it provided to the fund during the most recent fiscal year, the advisor received a unified management fee of 0.70% of the average net assets of the fund. The amount of the management fee is calculated daily and paid monthly.

www.americancentury.com

American Century Investments 7

The Fund Management Team

Code of Ethics

The portfolio managers on the investment team are identified below:

John Schniedwind

Mr. Schniedwind, Senior Vice President, Senior Portfolio Manager and Group Leader-Quantitative Equity, has been a member of the team since the fund's inception. He joined American Century in 1982 and also supervises other portfolio management teams. He has degrees from Purdue University and an MBA in finance from the University of California — Berkley. He is a Chartered Financial Analyst.

Kurt Borgwardt

Mr. Borgwardt, Vice President and Senior Portfolio Manager, joined American Century in August 1990, and has managed the quantitative equity research effort since then. He has been a member of the team since the fund's inception. He has a bachelor of arts from Stanford University and an MBA with a specialization in finance from the University of Chicago. He is a Chartered Financial Analyst.

Fund Performance

VP Income & Growth has the same management team and investment policies as another fund in the American Century family of funds. The fees and expenses of the funds are expected to be similar, and they will be managed with substantially the same investment objective and strategies. Notwithstanding these general similarities, this fund and the retail fund are separate mutual funds that will have different investment performance. Differences in cash flows into the two funds, the size of their portfolios and specific investments held by the two funds, as well as the additional expenses of the insurance product, will cause performance to differ.

Please consult the separate account prospectus for a description of the insurance product through which the fund is offered and its associated fees.

Fundamental Investment Policies

8 American Century Investments

1-800-345-6488

Share Price, and Distributions

Purchase and Redemption of Shares

Abusive Trading Practices

We do not permit market timing or other abusive trading practices in our funds.

Modifying or Canceling an Investment

Share Price

The net asset value, or NAV, of a fund is the price of the fund's shares.

We will price your purchase, exchange or redemption at the NAV next determined after we receive your transaction request in good order.

www.americancentury.com

American Century Investments 9

Distributions

Capital gains are increases in the values of capital assets, such as stock, from the time the assets are purchased.

Federal tax laws require the fund to make distributions to its shareholders in order to qualify as a "regulated investment company." Qualification as a regulated investment company means the fund will not be subject to state or federal income tax on amounts distributed. The distributions generally consist of dividends and interest received, as well as capital gains realized on the sale of investment securities. The fund generally pays distributions from net income and capital gains, if any, once a year in December. The fund may make more frequent distributions, if necessary, to comply with Internal Revenue Code provisions.

Taxes

Consult the prospectus of your insurance company separate account for a discussion of the tax status of your variable contract.

10 American Century Investments

1-800-345-6488

Financial Highlights

Understanding the Financial Highlights

On a per-share basis, the table includes as appropriate

share price at the beginning of the period
investment income and capital gains or losses
distributions of income and capital gains paid to investors
share price at the end of the period

The table also includes some key statistics for the period as appropriate

Total Return — the overall percentage of return of the fund, assuming the reinvestment of all distributions
Expense Ratio — the operating expenses as a percentage of average net assets
Net Income Ratio — the net investment income as a percentage of average net assets
Portfolio Turnover — the percentage of the fund's buying and selling activity

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American Century Investments 11

VP Income & Growth Fund

For a Share Outstanding Throughout the Years Ended December 31 (except as noted)

Per-Share Data

                                                                     1999           1998          1997(1)
===========================================================================================================
Net Asset Value, Beginning of Period                             $   6.78       $   5.39        $ 5.00
                                                                 -----------------------------------------
Income From Investment Operations
  Net Investment Income                                              0.08(2)        0.03          0.02
  Net Realized and Unrealized Gain on Investment Transactions        1.14           1.41          0.37
                                                                 -----------------------------------------
  Total From Investment Operations                                   1.22           1.44          0.39
                                                                 -----------------------------------------
Distributions
  From Net Investment Income                                           --(3)       (0.04)           --
  From Net Realized Gains on Investment Transactions                   --          (0.01)           --
                                                                 -----------------------------------------
  Total Distributions                                                  --(3)       (0.05)           --
                                                                 -----------------------------------------
Net Asset Value, End of Period                                   $   8.00       $   6.78        $ 5.39
                                                                 =========================================
  Total Return(4)                                                   18.02%         26.87%         7.80%

Ratios/Supplemental Data

                                                                     1999           1998          1997(1)
===========================================================================================================
Ratio of Operating Expenses to Average Net Assets                    0.70%          0.70%         0.70%(5)
Ratio of Net Investment Income to Average Net Assets                 1.09%          1.43%         1.94%(5)
Portfolio Turnover Rate                                                50%            55%           10%
Net Assets, End of Period (in thousands)                         $459,110       $109,626        $1,230

October 30, 1997 (inception) through December 31, 1997.
Computed using average shares outstanding throughout the period.
Per share amount is less than $0.005.
Total return assumes reinvestment of dividends and capital gains distributions, if any. Total returns for periods less than one year are not annualized.
Annualized.

12 American Century Investments

1-800-345-6488

More information about the fund is contained in these documents

Annual and Semiannual Reports

Statement of Additional Information (SAI)

You also can get information about the fund (including the SAI) from the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The SEC charges a duplicating fee to provide copies of this information.

In person	SEC Public Reference Room Washington, D.C. Call 202-942-8090 for location and hours.
On the Internet	EDGAR database at www.sec.gov By email request at [email protected]
By mail	SEC Public Reference Section Washington, D.C. 20549-0102

Investment Company Act File No. 811-5188

[AMERICAN CENTURY LOGO]

American Century Investments
P.O. Box 419385
Kansas City, Missouri 64141-6385

1-800-345-6488 or 816-531-5575

0005
SH-PRS-19469

Your
AMERICAN CENTURY
prospectus

VP International Fund

MAY 1, 2000

The Securities and Exchange Commission has not approved or disapproved these securities or determined if this Prospectus is accurate or complete. Anyone who tells you otherwise is committing a crime.

Funds Distributor, Inc. and
American Century Investment
Services, Inc., Distributors

[AMERICAN CENTURY LOGO]

Table of Contents

Throughout this book you'll find definitions of key investment terms and phrases. When you see a word printed in blue italics, look for its definition in the left margin.

[GRAPHIC OMITTED: POINTING FINGER] This symbol highlights special information and helpful tips.

American Century Investments

An Overview of the Fund

What is the fund's investment objective?

This fund seeks capital growth.

What are the fund's primary investment strategy and principal risks?

The fund managers look for stocks of growing foreign companies. The investment strategy of these funds is based on the belief that, over the long term, stocks of companies with earnings and revenue growth have a greater-than-average chance to increase in value over time. A more detailed description of American Century's growth investment style and the fund's investment strategies and risks begins on page 5.

The fund's principal risks include

Market Risk — The value of a fund's shares will go up and down based on the performance of the companies whose securities it owns and other factors generally affecting the securities market.
Price Volatility — The value of a fund's shares may fluctuate significantly in the short term.
Principal Loss — As with all funds, if you sell your shares when their value is less than the price you paid, you will lose money.
Foreign Risk — The fund invests primarily in foreign securities, which are generally riskier than U.S. stocks. As a result the fund is subject to foreign risk, meaning that political events (civil unrest, national elections, imposition of exchange controls), social and economic events (labor strikes, rising inflation) and natural disasters occurring in a country where the fund invests could cause the fund's investments in that country to experience gains or losses.
Currency Risk — Because the fund's foreign investments are generally held in foreign currencies, the fund is subject to currency risk, meaning that the fund could experience gains or losses solely on changes in the exchange rate between foreign currencies and the U.S. dollar.

Who may want to invest in the fund?

The fund may be a good investment if you are

seeking long-term capital growth from your investment
seeking diversification of your investment portfolio through investment in foreign securities
comfortable with the risks associated with investing in U.S. and foreign growth securities
comfortable with short-term price volatility

Who may not want to invest in the fund?

The fund may not be a good investment if you are

seeking current income from your investment
investing for a short period of time
uncomfortable with the risks associated with investing in foreign securities
uncomfortable with short-term volatility in the value of your investment

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American Century Investments 3

Fund Performance History

VP International Fund

Annual Total Returns

The following bar chart shows the performance of the fund's shares for each full calendar year in the life of the fund. It indicates the volatility of the fund's historical returns from year to year.

[GRAPHIC OMITTED]

[The following table was depicted as a bar chart in the printed material.]

                          1995      1996      1997      1998      1999
VP International Fund    12.21%    14.41%    18.63%    18.76%    64.04%

The highest and lowest quarterly returns for the period reflected in the bar chart are:

                    Highest             Lowest
=========================================================
VP International    47.58% (4Q 1999)    -18.28% (3Q 1998)

[GRAPHIC OMITTED: POINTING FINGER] For current performance information, please call us at 1-800-345-6488.

Average Annual Total Returns

For the calendar year ended
December 31, 1999              1 year    5 years    Life of Fund(1)
===================================================================
VP International               64.04%    24.28%     20.07%
S&P 500 Index                  21.04%    28.56%     25.66%
Morgan Stanley Capital
International EAFE Index       26.96%    12.83%     11.21%

The inception date for VP International is May 1, 1994.

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Objectives, Strategies and Risks

VP International Fund

What is the fund's investment objective?

This fund seeks capital growth.

How does the fund pursue its investment objective?

The fund managers use a growth investment strategy developed by American Century to invest in stocks of companies that they believe will increase in value over time. This strategy looks for companies with earnings and revenue growth. Ideally, the fund managers look for companies whose earnings and revenues are not only growing, but growing at a successively faster, or accelerating, pace. This strategy is based on the premise that, over the long term, the stocks of companies with earnings and revenue growth have a greater-than-average chance to increase in value.

The managers use a bottom-up approach to select stocks to buy for the fund. That means they first look for strong, growing companies to invest in, rather than simply buying any company in a growing industry or sector. The managers track financial information for thousands of companies to identify trends in the companies' earnings and revenues. This information is used to help the fund managers select or decide to continue to hold the stocks of companies they believe will be able to sustain their growth, and to sell stocks of companies whose growth begins to slow down.

In addition to locating strong companies with earnings and revenue growth, the fund managers believe that it is important to diversify the fund's holdings across different countries and geographical regions in an effort to manage the risks of an international portfolio. For this reason, the fund managers also consider the prospects for relative economic growth among countries or regions, economic and political conditions, expected inflation rates, currency exchange fluctuations and tax considerations when making investments.

The fund managers do not attempt to time the market. Instead, under normal market conditions, they intend to keep the fund essentially fully invested in stocks regardless of the movement of stock prices generally. When the managers believe it is prudent, the fund may invest a portion of its assets in convertible debt securities, equity-equivalent securities, short-term instruments, bonds, notes and debt securities of companies, debt obligations of governments and their agencies, nonleveraged stock index futures contracts and other similar securities. Stock index futures contracts, a type of derivative security, can help the fund's cash assets remain liquid while performing more like stocks. The fund has a policy governing stock index futures and similar derivative securities to help manage the risk of these types of investments. For example, the managers cannot leverage the fund's assets by investing in a derivative security. A complete description of the derivatives policy is included in the Statement of Additional Information.

[GRAPHIC OMITTED: POINTING FINGER] Accelerating growth is shown, for example, by growth that is faster this quarter than last or faster this year than the year before.

Nonleveraged means that the fund may not invest in futures contracts when it would be possible to lose more than the fund invested.

What kinds of securities does the fund buy?

The fund's assets will be primarily invested in securities of companies in at least three developed countries (excluding the United States). The funds can purchase other types of securities as well, such as domestic and foreign preferred stocks, convertible debt securities, equity-equivalent securities, nonleveraged futures and options, notes, bonds and other debt securities of companies, and obligations of domestic or foreign governments and their agencies. In the event of exceptional market or economic conditions, the fund may, as a

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American Century Investments 5

temporary defensive measure, invest all or a substantial portion of its assets in cash or high-quality, short-term debt securities. To the extent the fund assumes a defensive position, it will not be pursuing its objective of capital growth. The fund limits its purchase of debt securities to investment-grade obligations.

In determining whether a company is foreign, the fund managers will consider various factors, including where the company is headquartered, where the company's principal operations are located, where the company's revenues are derived, where the principal trading market is located and the country in which the company was legally organized. The weighting given to each of these factors will vary depending on the circumstances in a given case. The funds consider developed countries to include Australia, Austria, Belgium, Canada, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Hong Kong, Ireland, Italy, Japan, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, New Zealand, Norway, Portugal, Singapore, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, the United Kingdom and the United States. Securities of issuers in emerging market countries means (i) securities of issuers for which the principal securities trading market is an emerging market country or (ii) securities of issuers having their principal place of business or principal office in an emerging market country.

What are the principal risks of investing in the fund?

Investing in foreign securities has certain unique risks that make it generally riskier than investing in U.S. stocks. These risks include increased exposure to political, social and economic events in world markets; limited availability of public information about a company; less developed trading markets and regulatory practices; and a lack of uniform financial reporting practices compared to those that apply in the United States. In addition, foreign securities are subject to currency risk, meaning that because the fund's investments are generally held in foreign currencies, the fund could experience gains or losses based solely on changes in the exchange rate between foreign currencies and the U.S. dollar.

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Management

Who manages the fund?

The Board of Directors, investment advisor and fund management team play key roles in the management of the fund.

The Board of Directors

The Investment Advisor

For the services it provided to the fund during the most recent fiscal year, the advisor received a unified management fee of 1.34% of the average net assets of the fund. The amount of the management fee is calculated daily and paid monthly.

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American Century Investments 7

The Fund Management Team

[GRAPHIC OMITTED: POINTING FINGER] Code of Ethics

The portfolio managers on the investment team are identified below:

Henrik Strabo

Mr. Strabo, Chief Investment Officer—International Equities, has been a member of the team that manages VP International since the fund's inception on May 1, 1994. He joined American Century in 1993 as an Investment Analyst and was promoted to Portfolio Manager in April 1994. He has a bachelor's degree in business from the University of Washington.

Mark S. Kopinski

Mr. Kopinski, Senior Vice President and Senior Portfolio Manager, has been a member of the team that manages VP International since rejoining American Century in April 1997. Before rejoining American Century, he served as Vice President and Portfolio Manager at Federated Investors, Inc. from June 1995 to March 1997. Prior to 1995, he served as Vice President and Portfolio Manager of American Century. He has a bachelor's degree in business administration from Monmouth College and an MA in Asian studies from the University of Illinois.

Fund Performance

VP International has the same management team and investment policies as another fund in the American Century family of funds. The fees and expenses of the funds are expected to be similar, and they will be managed with substantially the same investment objective and strategies. Notwithstanding these general similarities, this fund and the retail fund are separate mutual funds that will have different investment performance. Differences in cash flows into the two funds, the size of their portfolios and specific investments held by the two funds, as well as the additional expenses of the insurance product, will cause performance to differ.

Please consult the separate account prospectus for a description of the insurance product through which the fund is offered and its associated fees.

Fundamental Investment Policies

8 American Century Investments

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Share Price, Distributions and Taxes

Purchase and Redemption of Shares

Abusive Trading Practices

We do not permit market timing or other abusive trading practices in our funds.

Modifying or Canceling an Investment

Share Price

The net asset value, or NAV, of a fund is the price of the fund's shares.

We will price your purchase, exchange or redemption at the NAV next determined after the insurance company separate account receives your transaction request in good order.

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American Century Investments 9

Distributions

Capital gains are increases in the values of capital assets, such as stock, from the time the assets are purchased.

You will participate in fund distributions, when they are declared, starting on the day after your purchase is effective. For example, if you purchase shares on a day that a distribution is declared, you will not receive that distribution. If you redeem shares, you will receive any distribution declared on the day you redeem. If you redeem all shares, we will include any distributions received with your redemption proceeds. All distributions from the fund will be invested in additional shares.

Taxes

Consult the prospectus of your insurance company separate account for a discussion of the tax status of your variable contract.

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Financial Highlights

Understanding the Financial Highlights

On a per-share basis, the table includes as appropriate

share price at the beginning of the period
investment income and capital gains or losses
distributions of income and capital gains paid to investors
share price at the end of the period

The table also includes some key statistics for the period as appropriate

Total Return — the overall percentage of return of the fund, assuming the reinvestment of all distributions
Expense Ratio — the operating expenses as a percentage of average net assets
Net Income Ratio — the net investment income as a percentage of average net assets
Portfolio Turnover — the percentage of the fund's buying and selling activity

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American Century Investments 11

VP International Fund

For a Share Outstanding Throughout the Years Ended December 31

Per-Share Data

                                            1999          1998         1997          1996           1995
==============================================================================================================
Net Asset Value, Beginning of Period    $   7.62      $   6.84     $   5.96      $   5.33        $  4.75
                                        ----------------------------------------------------------------------
Income From Investment Operations
  Net Investment Income (Loss)             (0.01)         0.02        (0.02)         0.02(1)        0.03(1)
  Net Realized and Unrealized Gain
    on Investment Transactions              4.89          1.24         1.11          0.74           0.55
                                        ----------------------------------------------------------------------
  Total From Investment Operations          4.88          1.26         1.09          0.76           0.58
                                        ----------------------------------------------------------------------
Distributions
  From Net Investment Income                  --         (0.04)       (0.06)        (0.03)            --
  In Excess of Net Investment Income          --            --        (0.01)        (0.07)            --
  From Net Realized Gains on
    Investment Transactions                   --         (0.36)       (0.14)        (0.03)            --
  In Excess of Net Realized Gains             --         (0.08)          --            --             --
                                        ----------------------------------------------------------------------
  Total Distributions                         --         (0.48)       (0.21)        (0.13)            --
                                        ----------------------------------------------------------------------
Net Asset Value, End of Period          $  12.50      $   7.62     $   6.84      $   5.96        $  5.33
                                        ======================================================================
  Total Return(2)                          64.04%        18.76%       18.63%        14.41%         12.21%

Ratios/Supplemental Data

                                            1999          1998         1997          1996           1995
==============================================================================================================
Ratio of Operating Expenses
  to Average Net Assets                     1.34%         1.47%(3)     1.50%         1.50%          1.50%
Ratio of Net Investment Income (Loss)
  to Average Net Assets                    (0.17)%        0.25%(3)    (0.08)%        0.31%          0.70%
Portfolio Turnover Rate                      109%          181%         173%          154%           214%
Net Assets, End of Period
  (in thousands)                        $799,842      $418,962     $216,523      $101,335        $51,609

Computed using average shares outstanding throughout the period.
Total return assumes reinvestment of dividends and capital gains distributions, if any.
ACIM voluntarily waived a portion of its management fee from October 1, 1998 through November 16, 1998. In absence of the waiver, the annualized ratio of operating expenses to average net assets and annualized ratio of net investment income to average net assets would have been 1.48% and 0.24%, respectively, for the year ended December 31, 1998.

12 American Century Investments

1-800-345-6488

More information about the fund is contained in these documents

Annual and Semiannual Reports

Statement of Additional Information (SAI)

You may obtain a free copy of the SAI or annual and semi annual reports, and ask questions about the fund or your accounts, by contacting American Century at the address or telephone numbers listed below.

You also can get information about the fund (including the SAI) from the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The SEC charges a duplicating fee to provide copies of this information.

In person	SEC Public Reference Room Washington, D.C. Call 202-942-8090 for location and hours.
On the Internet	EDGAR database at www.sec.gov By email request at [email protected]
By mail	SEC Public Reference Section Washington, D.C. 20549-0102

Investment Company Act File No. 811-5188

[AMERICAN CENTURY LOGO]

American Century Investments
P.O. Box 419385
Kansas City, Missouri 64141-6385

1-800-345-6488 or 816-531-5575

0005
SH-PRS-19470

Your
AMERICAN CENTURY
prospectus

VP Value Fund

MAY 1, 2000

The Securities and Exchange Commission has not approved or disapproved these securities or determined if this Prospectus is accurate or complete. Anyone who tells you otherwise is committing a crime.

Funds Distributor, Inc. and
American Century Investment
Services, Inc., Distributors

[AMERICAN CENTURY LOGO]

Table of Contents