Dear Contract Owner:

The Boards of Trustees of the above referenced Funds (the “Board”), each of which is a series of either the Allianz Variable Insurance Products Trust or the Allianz Variable Insurance Products Fund of Funds Trust (each, a “Trust”, and collectively, the “Trusts”), has called a special joint meeting of each Fund’s shareholders.  The meeting will be held at [10:10:00 a.m.] Central Time on [June 3],June 3, 2021.  In light of the public health impact of the coronavirus outbreak (COVID-19) and the related institution of social distancing and other measures and guidance and declarations from various relevant governmental authorities, and in accordance with Section 3806(f) of the Delaware Statutory Trust Act and each of the Trust’s Agreement and Declaration of Trust and By-Laws, as amended to date, the special joint meeting of the shareholders of the Funds will be conducted over the Internet in a virtual meeting format.  Directions for attending the meeting are set forth in the Notice of Special Joint Meeting of Shareholders below. At the meeting, shareholders of each Fund will consider the following proposals:

1.            To elect Trustees;

2.            To approve amended fundamental restrictions regarding investments in commodities; and

3.            To approve amended fundamental restrictions regarding borrowing.

As the owner of a variable life insurance policy or variable annuity contract issued by Allianz Life Insurance Company of North America or Allianz Life Insurance Company of New York, you are an indirect shareholder in one or more of the Funds.  Accordingly, we ask that you indicate whether you approve or disapprove of each proposal by completing and returning the enclosed voting instruction form.  The Board unanimously recommends that you vote FOR all proposals.

Please carefully review the proxy statement and the enclosed voting instruction form.  You may provide your voting instructions by phone, Internet, or mail.  In order to avoid the additional expense of further solicitation, we respectfully ask for your cooperation in casting your votes.

Thank you for your prompt attention and participation.

[April __],16, 2021

A special joint meeting of the shareholders of each of the above referenced Funds, each of which is a series of either the Allianz Variable Insurance Products Trust or the Allianz Variable Insurance Products Fund of Funds Trust (each a “Trust” and collectively, the “Trusts”), will be held at [10:10:00 a.m.] Central Time on [June 3],June 3, 2021. In light of the public health impact of the coronavirus outbreak (COVID-19) and the related institution of social distancing and other measures and guidance and declarations from various relevant governmental authorities, and in accordance with Section 3806(f) of the Delaware Statutory Trust Act and each of the Trust’s Agreement and Declaration of Trust and By-Laws, as amended to date, the special joint meeting of the shareholders of the Funds will be conducted over the Internet in a virtual meeting format. Directions for attending the meeting are set forth below in this Notice of Special Joint Meeting of Shareholders.

At the meeting, shareholders of each Fund will consider the following proposals:

1.            To elect individuals to serve on the Board of Trustees;

2.            To approve amended fundamental restrictions regarding investments in commodities; and

3.            To approve amended fundamental restrictions regarding borrowing.

The Funds issue and sell their shares to certain separate accounts of Allianz Life Insurance Company of North America (“Allianz Life”) and Allianz Life Insurance Company of New York (“Allianz Life of NY”). The separate accounts hold shares of mutual funds, including the Funds, which serve as a funding vehicle for benefits under variable life insurance policies or variable annuity contracts issued by Allianz Life or Allianz Life of NY (collectively, the “Contracts”). In addition, shares of certain Funds also may be held by other Funds that are managed as funds of funds (the “Funds of Funds”).

As the owners of the assets held in the separate accounts, Allianz Life and Allianz Life of NY, together with the Funds of Funds, are the sole shareholders of the Funds and are entitled to vote all of the shares of the Funds. However, Allianz Life and Allianz Life of NY will vote outstanding shares of the Funds held by them in accordance with instructions given by the owners of the Contracts (“Contract Owners”) for which the Funds serve as a funding vehicle. This Notice is being delivered both to ownersshareholders of record who are entitled to vote at the Contractsmeeting and to Contract Owners who, by virtue of their ownership of the Contracts, beneficially owned shares of the Funds on the record date, so that they may instruct Allianz Life and Allianz Life of NY how to vote the shares of the Funds underlying their Contracts.

Accessing the Virtual Meeting – To access the virtual meeting, send a request to attend the virtual meeting to shareholdermeetings@computershare.com. Please include your full name and the control number located on your proxy card or voting instruction form. You then will receive instructions to access and attend the virtual meeting. Requests to attend the virtual meeting must be received at least three business days prior to the meeting. You mayIf you will not vote atbe attending the virtual meeting; to be counted, yourmeeting, proxy votes or voting instructions must be received by 4:00 p.m. Central time on the day prior to the meeting. You may also attend the meeting and vote or provide voting instructions.

Shareholders of record at the close of business on March 5, 2021 are entitled to vote at the meeting.

The Boards of Trustees (the “Board”) of the Allianz Variable Insurance Products Trust (the “VIP Trust”) and the Allianz Variable Insurance Products Fund of Funds Trust (the “FOF Trust,” and together with the VIP Trust, the “Trusts”) is furnishing this proxy statement in connection with their solicitation of voting instructions to be used at the special joint meeting of the shareholders of each Fund, to be held at [10:10:00 a.m.] Central Time on [June 3],June 3, 2021 (the “Meeting”), and at any adjournment of the Meeting.  In light of the public health impact of the coronavirus outbreak (COVID-19) and the related institution of social distancing and other measures and guidance and declarations from various relevant governmental authorities, and in accordance with Section 3806(f) of the Delaware Statutory Trust Act and each of the Trust’s Agreement and Declaration of Trust and By-Laws, as amended to date, the Meeting of the shareholders of the Funds will be conducted over the Internet in a virtual meeting format. Directions for attending the meetingMeeting are set forth above in the Notice of Special Joint Meeting of Shareholders. At the Meeting, shareholders of record of each Fund at the close of business on March 5, 2021 will consider and are entitled to vote on the following proposals:

1.            To elect individuals to serve on the Board of Trustees;

2.            To approve amended fundamental restrictions regarding investments in commodities; and

3.            To approve amended fundamental restrictions regarding borrowing.

This proxy statement was first mailed to contractshareholders of record and to owners (���Contract Owners”) of variable life insurance policies or variable annuity contracts issued by Allianz Life or Allianz Life of NY (collectively, the “Contracts”) on or about [April __],April 16, 2021.

Important Notice Regarding the Availability of Proxy Materials for the Shareholder Meeting to Be Held on [June 3],June 3, 2021.

The Notice of Special Joint Meeting of Shareholders, Proxy Statement and Voting Instruction Form are available at https://www.proxy-direct.com/azl-32021.

SECTION A – Proposals

At the Meeting, shareholders will be asked to elect the seven nominees named below (the “Nominees”) as Trustees of the Trusts. If elected, each Trustee will serve until a successor is elected and qualified or until such Trustee dies, resigns, retires, or is removed as provided in the governing documents of the Trust. If any or all of the Nominees should become unavailable for election due to events not now known or anticipated, then the insurance company named on the voting instruction form will vote for such other Nominee or Nominees as the current Trustees may recommend.

TRUSTEE NOMINEE INFORMATION

The following table sets forth important information regarding each Nominee, including each Nominee’s principal occupation during the last five years and other information relating to the experience, qualifications attributes, or skills relevant to the Nominee’s qualifications to serve as a Trustee, which led to the conclusion that the Nominee should serve as a Trustee for each Trust.  All seven Nominees currently serve as Trustees of the Trusts, as well as of the AIM ETF Products Trust. The Trusts and the AIM ETF Products Trust together are referred to as the AIM Complex. Each of the Nominees has indicated that he or she is willing to serve as a Trustee. The business address for each Nominee is the same as that of the Funds’ investment adviser: 5701 Golden Hills Drive, Minneapolis, MN 55416. The term of office for each Nominee is indefinite.

Trustee Nominees.  The Nominees you are being asked to elect as Trustees of the Trusts are as follows:

Trustee Qualifications.  The following briefly describes specific experiences, qualifications, attributes or skills each Trustee brings to his or her service on the Board of Trustees of the Trusts.

Mr. Burnim - Brings to the Board of Trustees over 45 years of experience in management and director positions in the financial services industry. Mr. Burnim’s management experience includes over 25 years in various senior management positions for Citibank/Citicorp’s Corporate, Private and Investment banking sectors and extensive experience as Managing Director or Executive Vice President at various privately owned investment firms. Mr. Burnim also has substantial prior board experience, including service on the boards of The Bank of Bermuda and various hedge funds and insurance companies, as well as various nonprofits. Mr. Burnim offers the Board of Trustees his considerable knowledge of the securities, banking and insurance industries in which the Trusts function and in Board governance matters.

Ms. Ettestad - Brings to the Board of Trustees over 25 years of senior management experience, including over ten years of experience in senior management positions specifically at mutual fund, annuities, insurance and other financial service firms. Her consulting experience includes work in interim “C-suite” positions and Finance and IT organizational redesign.  Ms. Ettestad’s subject matter expertise includes creation and analysis of financial systems and design and implementation of compliance and control processes, both directly applicable to the Board’s supervision of the Trusts’ finance, operations, and compliance functions.

Ms. Fagely - Brings to the Board of Trustees extensive experience with mutual fund management and governance. She has over 20 years of senior management experience with various mutual fund and financial services firms, as well as prior experience serving as a member of the board of trustees and the audit committee chair for the Diamond Hill Funds, another mutual fund complex. This experience is directly applicable to the Board’s supervision of the Trusts’ finance, operational and audit functions.

Mr. Forde - Brings to the Board of Trustees over 30 years of experience in the investment department of CIGNA (and its predecessors), including eight years as Chief Investment Officer and many prior years as senior managing director. Mr. Forde also has board experience with Connecticut Water Service, Inc. Mr. Forde therefore brings to the Board considerable experience with the securities industry, considerable knowledge of investments, and experience in board governance matters.

Ms. Leonardi - Brings to the Board of Trustees more than 30 years of senior management experience, including approximately 20 years of experience as senior vice president, managing director or general partner of two private equity fund-of-funds managers and experience launching a new insurance subsidiary of Phoenix Home Life Mutual Insurance Co. Ms. Leonardi has substantial prior board experience, including service on the boards of the University of Connecticut Health Center (14 years), the University of Connecticut (10 years) and the Connecticut Children’s Medical Center (3 years). Ms. Leonardi therefore brings considerable knowledge of the securities and insurance industries in which the Trusts function and in Board governance matters.

Mr. Lewis - Brings to the Board of Trustees over 40 years of management experience at various companies, including nearly 10 years in senior management positions at Fortis Financial Group and IDS Financial Services, Inc. Mr. Lewis brings to the Board of Trustees considerable experience in a variety of business functions, including sales and marketing, strategic planning, new product development and financial management. Mr. Lewis also has significant prior board experience with for profit and nonprofit organizations, including nearly 24 years on the Orono, Minnesota Board of Education. Mr. Lewis therefore also brings considerable knowledge of Board governance matters.

Mr. Muench - As President, is responsible for the day-to-day functions of the investment advisor, including management of the investment research process and the investment analytical group which monitors and makes recommendations regarding the retention of existing subadvisors and addition of new subadvisors within the investment option line-up.  Mr. Muench brings to the Board of Trustees not only his expertise in investment management, but also his day-to-day working knowledge of the strategic direction of the Trusts and the performance of the various funds of the Trusts.

Board and Shareholder Meeting Attendance.  Each Nominee for Trustee currently in office attended at least 75% of the aggregate of the total number of meetings of the Board and the total number of meetings held by all committees of the Board on which the Nominee serves during the Trusts’ most recent fiscal year. During the fiscal year ended December 31, 2020, there were ten meetings of the Board, two meetings of the Audit Committee, four meetings of the Investment Committee and two meetings of the Nominating and Corporate Governance Committee. The Trusts do not hold annual shareholder meetings

and therefore do not have a policy with regard to Trustees’ attendance at such meetings. However, as a matter of practice, at least one Trustee will attend special shareholder meetings.

Ownership of Fund Affiliates.  As of February 26, 2021, none of the non-interested Nominees or their immediate family members owned any securities of the investment adviser or principal underwriter of the Trusts, or a person directly or indirectly controlling, controlled by, or under common control with the investment adviser or principal underwriter of the Trusts. In addition, no Trustee purchased or sold any securities of the investment adviser or its affiliates during the past fiscal year.

Ownership of Fund Shares.  The following table provides the dollar range of equity securities beneficially owned by the Board members on February 26, 2021:

In addition, as of February 26, 2021, all of the Trustees and officers of each Trust, as a group, beneficially owned no shares of the Funds.

Compensation.  The following table sets forth total compensation paid to each Trustee for the fiscal year ended December 31, 2020.  No pension or retirement benefits have been accrued as part of the Trust’s expenses, and there are no estimated annual benefits upon retirement. The Interested Trustee does not receive compensation from the Trusts but all Trustees are reimbursed for all out-of-pocket expenses relating to attendance at meetings.

The Board of Trustees and Its Role.  Overall responsibility for management of the Trusts rests with its respective Board. The Trustees elect the officers of the Trusts to supervise day‑to‑day operations. Subject to the provisions of the Agreement and Declarations of Trust, the Board manages the business of the Trusts and the Trustees have all powers necessary or convenient to carry out this responsibility including the power to engage in transactions of all kinds on behalf of the Trusts. The Board is responsible for oversight of the officers and may elect and remove, with or without cause, such officers as they consider appropriate.

The Leadership of the Board.  The Chair of the Board is Brian Muench who is an “interested person” of the Trust, as defined under the 1940 Act, by virtue of his employment with AIM and Allianz Life. The Trust has a Lead Independent (non-“interested”) Trustee, who is Peggy Ettestad. The Lead Independent Trustee was established to enable the independent members of the Board to have a single point of contact with Fund management and AIM, to coordinate the independent trustees' control and influence over fund governance. The Lead Independent Trustee is a member of the Board, who plays an active role in setting agendas, facilitating discussions, and serving as an interface between the Board and Fund management. The Lead Independent Trustee's responsibilities include (i) serving as leader of the independent trustees (keeping members focused on the objectives at hand, helping to shape meeting agendas, leading discussions, serving as spokesperson for the independent trustees, overseeing the quality, quantity, and timeliness of information received from Fund management, and seeking to improve the governance process); (ii) communicating regularly with other members of the Board and with the Chair; and (iii) conducting evaluations of the members of the Board.  The independent trustees believe that they have adequate control and influence over the governance of the Board and the Trusts.

The independent trustees, through the Lead Independent Trustee, regularly communicate with Brian Muench, President and Chair of the Trusts, regarding matters of interest or concern to them, and the independent trustees, through the Lead Independent Trustee, participate in developing agenda items for Board meetings.  Under normal circumstances, the Board meets at least four times each year and also at such other times as the Board deems appropriate. At each meeting, the Board may hold one or more executive sessions at which the independent trustees are free to discuss any matter of interest or concern to them and obtain information directly from officers, employees and other agents of the Trusts.

Board Committees.  The Board has established three committees:  Audit, Investment and Nominating and Corporate Governance.  The chairs and membership of the Audit, Investment and Nominating and Corporate Governance Committees are composed entirely of independent trustees. Through these committees, the independent trustees have direct oversight of accounting, auditing and financial matters affecting the Trusts, the evaluation and supervision of AIM and the selection and nomination of candidates to the Board.

Audit Committee.  The Audit Committee is made up of Mr. Burnim, Ms. Ettestad, Ms. Fagely, Mr. Forde, Ms. Leonardi and Mr. Lewis.  Ms. Fagely serves as chair of the Audit Committee.  The functions of the Audit Committee include advising the full Board with respect to accounting, auditing and financial matters affecting the Trust.  The Audit Committee met two times during the last fiscal year.  For more information about the Trusts’ auditor and related fee information, see Appendix A.

Investment Committee.  The Investment Committee is made up of Mr. Burnim, Ms. Ettestad, Ms. Fagely, Mr. Forde, Ms. Leonardi and Mr. Lewis. Mr. Burnim and Mr. Forde serve as co-chairs of the Investment Committee.  The functions of the Investment Committee include evaluating and supervising the investment adviser and the various investment portfolios of the Trust.  The Investment Committee met four times during the last fiscal year.

Nominating and Corporate Governance Committee.  The Nominating and Corporate Governance Committee is made up of Mr. Burnim, Ms. Ettestad, Ms. Fagely, Mr. Forde, Ms. Leonardi and Mr. Lewis.  Mr. Lewis serves as chair of the Nominating and Corporate Governance Committee.  The Nominating and Corporate Governance Committee advises the Board of Trustees with respect to the selection and nomination of candidates for election to the Board of Trustees.  The Nominating and Corporate Governance Committee does not consider nominees recommended by shareholders of the Trusts.  The Board believes this policy to be appropriate since the Nominating and Corporate Governance Committee has been able to identify, and expects to continue to be able to identify, an ample number of qualified Board candidates through a robust selection process.  Additionally, with respect to the Board’s responsibilities under Rule 38a-1 under the 1940 Act regarding the Chief Compliance Officer (“CCO”) of the Trusts, the chair of the Nominating and Corporate Governance Committee consults with the CCO on several issues, including but not limited to (i) the annual assessment of the adequacy of compliance policies and procedures and any proposed revisions or additions to such policies and procedures and (ii) material compliance matters (as defined in Rule 38a-1), if any, that the CCO should report to the Board before their next regular meeting. The Nominating and Corporate Governance Committee met two times during the last fiscal year.

The process for identifying and evaluating candidates to be nominated as Trustees requires that each candidate be evaluated by the Nominating and Corporate Governance Committee with respect to the relevant business and industry experience that would enable the candidate to serve effectively as a non-interested Trustee, as well as his or her compatibility with respect to business philosophy and style. In addition, the members of the Nominating and Corporate Governance Committee may conduct in-person interviews of each candidate using a standardized questionnaire.  When all of the viable candidates have been evaluated and interviewed, the Nominating and Corporate Governance Committee determines which of the viable candidates should be (a) recommended to fill a vacancy on the Board, when at least two-thirds of the Trustees have been elected by the shareholders, or (b) presented to the shareholders for election to become a member of the Board.  In addition, the Nominating and Corporate Governance Committee periodically reviews the composition of the Board to determine whether it may be appropriate to add individuals with different backgrounds or skill sets from those persons who are already members of the Board. Other than the process described here, the Nominating and Corporate Governance Committee does not impose a minimum set of qualifications or standards upon those individuals whom they are considering as nominees for Trustee.  The Nominating and Corporate Governance Committee has not adopted any specific policy on the issue of diversity but will take diversity into account, among other factors, in its consideration of new candidates for the Board.  Neither Trust regularly pays third parties fees to assist in the process of identifying and evaluating candidates.  The Nominating and Corporate Governance Committee has the resources and authority appropriate to discharge its responsibilities, including the authority to retain special counsel and other experts or consultants at the expense of the Trusts.

The charter for the Nominating and Corporate Governance Committee is attached hereto as Appendix B.

Risk Oversight by the Board.  The Board is actively involved in the risk oversight of the Trusts. The Board, as a whole and through its Audit and Investment committees, supervises the Trusts’ accounting and audit functions, as well as other financial matters affecting the Trusts, and evaluates and supervises AIM.  The Board regularly receives detailed reports from, and has opportunity to question representatives of, the Trusts’ CCO, independent audit firm, and administrator.  The CCO’s reports include a quarterly risk assessment outlining all identified compliance risks, all identified exceptions and their resolution. As noted above, the Board has established Audit, Investment and Nominating and Corporate Governance committees to assist in the oversight of the Trusts.

Required Vote Needed to Approve the Proposal.  All shares of each Trust then entitled to vote shall be voted together in aggregate. Approval of the election of each of the Nominees to the Board requires the affirmative vote of a plurality of the shares of each Trust voted at the Meeting.  A vote requiring a plurality to elect Nominees to the Board means that the Nominees receiving the largest number of votes cast will be elected to fill the available positions for each Trust and a Nominee may be elected even if he or she

receives the affirmative vote of less than a majority of the outstanding shares of a Trust.Trust voting.  Because the Nominees are running unopposed, all Nominees are expected to be elected, as all Nominees who receive votes in favor will be elected while votes withheld or abstentions have no effect on the outcome of this Proposal.

The following table sets forth important information regarding the officers of the Trusts (along with Brian Muench, the “Officers”). Mr. Muench is President of the Trusts. Information regarding Mr. Muench may be obtained from the Trustee Nominee table in Section A, Proposal No. 1 above. Each of the Officers has indicated that he is willing to serve as an Officer. The term of office for each Officer is indefinite.  No executive officer or person affiliated with the Trusts, other than the Trustees, received compensation from any Fund for the fiscal year ended December 31, 2020, in excess of $60,000.

The shareholders of each Trust are insurance company separate accounts.  Separate account Contract Owners own units in the insurance company separate accounts through variable life insurance policies and variable annuity contracts, and the separate accounts in turn own shares of the VIP Trust or FOF Trust, among other mutual fund investment options. In addition, shares of certain Funds also may be held by other Funds that are managed as funds of funds (the “Funds of Funds”).

A Contract Owner may communicate with the Board of either Trust by phone at
1-800-624-0197, or by mail at 5701 Golden Hills Drive, A3-765, Minneapolis, Minnesota 55416. All communications addressed to the Board of Trustees or any individual Trustee are logged and sent to the Board or individual Trustee.

The number of shares outstanding and the number of votes entitled of the Funds of the VIP Trust and FOF Trust and each of the Fund’s share classes on the record date, March 5, 2021, is listed in the following tables.  Shareholders are entitled to one vote for each dollar, and a fractional vote for each fraction of a dollar, of net asset value per share for each share held on the record date. Similarly, the number of Fund shares for which Contract Owners may provide instructions will be based on the dollar amount of Fund shares that that the Contract Owner owns beneficially through the subaccount accumulation units and/or annuity units in its Contract on the record date.  Each accumulation unit or annuity unit represents a specified dollar value and a specified number of Fund shares.  For each dollar of value, the Contract Owner is permitted to vote one Fund share.  Fractional votes are also counted.

To the knowledge of the Trusts, the persons listed in the following table are the only persons who beneficially owned more than 5% of the outstanding shares of any class of any of the Funds as of the record date, March 5, 2021.