Dreyfus Worldwide Growth Fund

 

Summary Prospectus

July 1, 2013

       
 

Class   Ticker

A   PGROX
C   PGRCX
I   DPWRX

Y   DPRIX  

Before you invest, you may want to review the fund's prospectus, which contains more information about the fund and its risks. You can find the fund's prospectus and other information about the fund, including the statement of additional information and most recent reports to shareholders, online at www.dreyfus.com/funddocuments . You can also get this information at no cost by calling 1-800-DREYFUS (inside the U.S. only) or by sending an e-mail request to info@dreyfus.com . The fund's prospectus and statement of additional information, dated July 1, 2013 (each as revised or supplemented), are incorporated by reference into this summary prospectus.

Investment Objective

The fund seeks long-term capital appreciation consistent with the preservation of capital; current income is a secondary goal.

Fees and Expenses

This table describes the fees and expenses that you may pay if you buy and hold shares of the fund. You may qualify for sales charge discounts if you and your family invest, or agree to invest in the future, at least $50,000 in certain funds in the Dreyfus Family of Funds. More information about these and other discounts is available from your financial professional and in the Shareholder Guide section beginning on page 8 of this prospectus and in the How to Buy Shares section and the Additional Information About How to Buy Shares section beginning on page II-1 and page III-1, respectively, of the fund's Statement of Additional Information.

           

Shareholder Fees (fees paid directly from your investment)

 
 

Class A

Class C

Class I

Class Y

 

Maximum sales charge (load) imposed on purchases

(as a percentage of offering price)

5.75

none

none

none

 

Maximum deferred sales charge (load)

(as a percentage of lower of purchase or sale price)

none*

1.00

none

none

 
           

Annual Fund Operating Expenses (expenses that you pay each year as a percentage of the value of your investment)

   
 

Class A

Class C

Class I

Class Y

 

Management fees

.75

.75

.75

.75

 

Distribution (12b-1) fees

none

.75

none

none

 

Other expenses (including shareholder services fees)**

.47

.47

.22

.10

 

Total annual fund operating expenses

1.22

1.97

.97

.85

 

* Class A shares bought without an initial sales charge as part of an investment of $1 million or more may be charged a deferred sales charge of 1.00% if redeemed within one year.

**Other expenses for Class Y are based on estimated amounts for the current fiscal year.

Example

The Example is intended to help you compare the cost of investing in the fund with the cost of investing in other mutual funds. The Example assumes that you invest $10,000 in the fund for the time periods indicated and then redeem all of your shares at the end of those periods. The Example also assumes that your investment has a 5% return each year and that the fund's operating expenses remain the same. Although your actual costs may be higher or lower, based on these assumptions your costs would be:

   


0070SP0713

 

 

         
 

1 Year

3 Years

5 Years

10 Years

Class A

$692

$940

$1,207

$1,967

Class C

$300

$618

$1,062

$2,296

Class I

$99

$309

$536

$1,190

Class Y

$87

$271

$471

$1,049

You would pay the following expenses if you did not redeem your shares:

         
 

1 Year

3 Years

5 Years

10 Years

Class A

$692

$940

$1,207

$1,967

Class C

$200

$618

$1,062

$2,296

Class I

$99

$309

$536

$1,190

Class Y

$87

$271

$471

$1,049

Portfolio Turnover

The fund pays transaction costs, such as commissions, when it buys and sells securities (or "turns over" its portfolio). A higher portfolio turnover may indicate higher transaction costs and may result in higher taxes when fund shares are held in a taxable account. These costs, which are not reflected in annual fund operating expenses or in the example, affect the fund's performance. During the most recent fiscal year, the fund's portfolio turnover rate was 2.41% of the average value of its portfolio.

Principal Investment Strategy

To pursue its goals, the fund normally invests at least 80% of its net assets, plus any borrowings for investment purposes, in the common stock of U.S. and foreign companies. The fund will normally invest at least 25% of its assets in foreign companies and at least 25% of its assets in U.S. companies. The fund focuses on "blue chip" multinational companies with total market values of more than $5 billion. In choosing stocks, the fund's portfolio managers first identify economic sectors that they believe will expand over the next three to five years or longer. Using fundamental analysis, the fund's portfolio managers then seek companies within these sectors that have demonstrated sustained patterns of profitability, strong balance sheets, an expanding global presence and the potential to achieve predictable, above-average earnings growth.

The fund also may invest in U.S. dollar-denominated American Depositary Receipts (ADRs).

The fund employs a "buy-and-hold" investment strategy, which is an investment strategy characterized by a low portfolio turnover rate, which helps reduce the fund's trading costs and minimizes tax liability by limiting the distribution of capital gains.

Principal Risks

An investment in the fund is not a bank deposit. It is not insured or guaranteed by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) or any other government agency. It is not a complete investment program. The fund's share price fluctuates, sometimes dramatically, which means you could lose money.

·   Risks of stock investing . Stocks generally fluctuate more in value than bonds and may decline significantly over short time periods. There is the chance that stock prices overall will decline because stock markets tend to move in cycles, with periods of rising prices and falling prices. The market value of a stock may decline due to general weakness in the stock market or because of factors that affect the company or its particular industry.

·   Foreign investment risk. To the extent the fund invests in foreign securities, the fund's performance will be influenced by political, social and economic factors affecting investments in foreign issuers. Special risks associated with investments in foreign issuers include exposure to currency fluctuations, less liquidity, less developed or less efficient trading markets, lack of comprehensive company information, political and economic instability and differing auditing and legal standards. Investments denominated in foreign currencies are subject to the risk that such currencies will decline in value relative to the U.S. dollar and affect the value of these investments held by the fund.

·   Market sector risk. The fund may significantly overweight or underweight certain companies, industries or market sectors, which may cause the fund's performance to be more or less sensitive to developments affecting those companies, industries or sectors.

·   Blue chip risk. By focusing on large capitalization, high quality stocks, the fund may underperform funds that invest in the stocks of lower quality, smaller capitalization companies during periods when the stocks of such companies are in favor.

·   ADR risk. ADRs may be subject to certain of the risks associated with direct investments in the securities of foreign companies, such as currency risk, political and economic risk and market risk, because their values depend on the performance of the non-dollar denominated underlying foreign securities. Certain countries may limit the ability to convert ADRs into the

   

Dreyfus Worldwide Growth Fund Summary

2

 

 

underlying foreign securities and vice versa, which may cause the securities of the foreign company to trade at a discount or premium to the market price of the related ADR.

Performance

The following bar chart and table provide some indication of the risks of investing in the fund. The bar chart shows changes in the performance of the fund's Class A shares from year to year. The table compares the average annual total returns of the fund's shares to those of a broad measure of market performance. The fund's past performance (before and after taxes) is not necessarily an indication of how the fund will perform in the future. Sales charges, if any, are not reflected in the bar chart, and if those charges were included, returns would have been less than those shown. More recent performance information may be available at www.dreyfus.com .

Since the fund's Class Y shares are new, past performance information is not available for Class Y shares as of the date of this prospectus. Class Y shares would have had substantially similar annual returns as Class A, C and I shares because each share class is invested in the same portfolio of securities and the annual returns would have differed only to the extent that the classes do not have the same expenses.

   

Year-by-Year Total Returns as of 12/31 each year (%)

Class A

Best Quarter
Q3, 2009: 15.49%

Worst Quarter
Q4, 2008: -15.41%

The year-to-date return of the fund's Class A shares as of March 31, 2013 was 6.89%.

After-tax performance is shown only for Class A shares. After-tax performance of the fund's other share classes will vary. After-tax returns are calculated using the historical highest individual federal marginal income tax rates, and do not reflect the impact of state and local taxes. Actual after-tax returns depend on the investor's tax situation and may differ from those shown, and the after-tax returns shown are not relevant to investors who hold their shares through tax-deferred arrangements such as 401(k) plans or individual retirement accounts.

       

Average Annual Total Returns (as of 12/31/12)

Class

 

1 Year

5 Years

10 Years

Class A returns before taxes

6.89%

1.35%

7.61%

Class A returns after taxes on distributions

6.58%

0.92%

7.27%

Class A returns after taxes on distributions and sale of fund shares

4.88%

1.09%

6.67%

Class C returns before taxes

11.60%

1.81%

7.45%

Class I returns before taxes

13.73%

2.83%

8.54%

Morgan Stanley Capital International World Index

reflects no deduction for fees, expenses or taxes

15.83%

-1.18%

7.51%

Portfolio Management

The fund's investment adviser is The Dreyfus Corporation and the fund's sub-investment adviser is Fayez Sarofim & Co. (Sarofim & Co.). The fund is managed by a team of portfolio managers employed by Sarofim & Co., consisting of Fayez Sarofim, Catherine Crain, Jeff Jacobe, Gentry Lee, Christopher Sarofim and Charles Sheedy. The team is supported by Sarofim & Co.'s Investment Committee, all the members of which are senior investment professionals at Sarofim & Co. The team members hold the following positions at Sarofim & Co.: Mr. Fayez Sarofim is Chief Executive Officer, Chairman of the Board and Chief Investment Officer, Ms. Crain is a Vice President and Director of Marketing and Client Services, Mr. Jacobe is a Director of Investments and a Senior Vice President, Mr. Lee is the President, Mr. Christopher Sarofim is a Vice Chairman and Mr. Sheedy is a Senior Vice President.

   

Dreyfus Worldwide Growth Fund Summary

3

 

 

Purchase and Sale of Fund Shares

In general, for each share class, other than Class Y, the fund's minimum initial investment is $1,000 and the minimum subsequent investment is $100. For Class Y shares, the minimum initial investment generally is $1,000,000, with no minimum subsequent investment. You may sell (redeem) your shares on any business day by calling 1-800-DREYFUS (inside the U.S. only) or by visiting www.dreyfus.com . If you invested in the fund through a third party, such as a bank, broker-dealer or financial adviser, or in a 401 (k) or other retirement plan, you may mail your request to sell shares to Dreyfus Institutional Department, P.O. Box 9882, Providence, Rhode Island 02940-8082. If you invested directly through the fund, you may mail your request to sell shares to Dreyfus Shareholder Services, P.O. Box 9879, Providence, Rhode Island 02940-8079. If you are an Institutional Direct accountholder, you may redeem your shares only by written request. Please contact your BNY Mellon relationship manager for mailing instructions.

Tax Information

The fund's distributions are taxable as ordinary income or capital gains, except when your investment is through an IRA, 401(k) plan or other tax-advantaged investment plan (in which case you may be taxed upon withdrawal of your investment from such account).

Payments to Broker-Dealers and Other Financial Intermediaries

If you purchase shares through a broker-dealer or other financial intermediary (such as a bank), the fund and its related companies may pay the intermediary for the sale of fund shares and related services. These payments may create a conflict of interest by influencing the broker-dealer or other intermediary and your salesperson to recommend the fund over another investment. Ask your salesperson or visit your financial intermediary's website for more information.

   

Dreyfus Worldwide Growth Fund Summary

4

 

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