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false
2012-12-27
2013-01-01
<tt>The fund pays transaction costs, such as commissions, when it buys and sells<br />securities (or "turns over" its portfolio). A higher portfolio turnover may<br />indicate higher transaction costs and may result in higher taxes when fund<br />shares are held in a taxable account. These costs, which are not reflected in<br />annual fund operating expenses or in the example, affect the fund's performance.<br />During the most recent fiscal year, the fund's portfolio turnover rate was .65%<br />of the average value of its portfolio.</tt>
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<tt>The fund seeks long-term capital appreciation.</tt>
<tt>The Example is intended to help you compare the cost of investing in the fund<br />with the cost of investing in other mutual funds. The Example assumes that you<br />invest $10,000 in the fund for the time periods indicated and then redeem all <br />of your shares at the end of those periods. The Example also assumes that your<br />investment has a 5% return each year and that the fund's operating expenses<br />remain the same. Although your actual costs may be higher or lower, based on<br />these assumptions your costs would be:</tt>
reflects no deduction for fees, expenses or taxes
<tt>To pursue its goal, the fund normally invests at least 80% of its net assets,<br />plus any borrowings for investment purposes, in common stock. The fund focuses<br />on "blue chip" companies with market capitalizations exceeding $5 billion at the<br />time of purchase, including multinational companies.<br /> <br />In choosing stocks, the fund first identifies economic sectors that the fund's<br />portfolio managers believe will expand over the next three to five years or<br />longer. Using fundamental analysis, the fund then seeks companies within these<br />sectors that have dominant positions in their industries and that have<br />demonstrated sustained patterns of profitability, strong balance sheets, <br />an expanding global presence and the potential to achieve predictable,<br />above-average earnings growth. The fund is also alert to companies which <br />the fund's portfolio managers consider undervalued in terms of current <br />earnings, assets or growth prospects.<br /> <br />The fund employs a "buy-and-hold" investment strategy, which generally has<br />resulted in an annual portfolio turnover of below 15%. The fund typically <br />sells a stock when the fund's portfolio managers believe there is a <br />significant adverse change in the company's business fundamentals that <br />may lead to a sustained impairment in earnings power.</tt>
Fund Summary
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.
Example
After-tax returns are calculated using the historical highest individual federal
marginal tax rates, and do not reflect the impact of state and local taxes.
Investment Objective
The fund's past performance (before and after taxes) is not necessarily an
indication of how the fund will perform in the future.
The fund's share price fluctuates, sometimes dramatically,
which means you could lose money.
Principal Risks
Shareholder Fees (fees paid directly from your investment)
0.0065
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.
Year-by-Year Total Returns as of 12/31 each year (%) -- Class A
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.
Performance
50000
The following bar chart and table provide some indication of the risks of investing in the fund.
<tt>Best Quarter                         <br />Q3, 2009: 13.37%                     <br />Worst Quarter                        <br />Q4, 2008: -18.64%     <br />               <br />The year-to-date total return of the fund's Class A shares as of 9/30/12 was    <br />12.17%.</tt>
Annual Fund Operating Expenses (expenses that you pay each year as a percentage of the value of your investment)
Average Annual Total Returns (as of 12/31/11) Class (Inception Date)
<tt>The bar chart shows changes in the performance of the fund's Class A shares <br />from year to year. Sales charges, if any, are not reflected in the bar chart, <br />and if those charges were included, returns would have been less than those <br />shown.</tt>
Portfolio Turnover
<tt>An investment in the fund is not a bank deposit. It is not insured or guaranteed<br />by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) or any other government<br />agency. It is not a complete investment program. The fund's share price<br />fluctuates, sometimes dramatically, which means you could lose money.<br /> <br />o Risks of stock investing. Stocks generally fluctuate more in value than bonds<br />and may decline significantly over short time periods. There is the chance that<br />stock prices overall will decline because stock markets tend to move in cycles,<br />with periods of rising prices and falling prices. The market value of a stock<br />may decline due to general weakness in the stock market or because of factors<br />that affect the company or its particular industry.<br /> <br />o Blue chip risk. By focusing on large capitalization, high quality stocks, the<br />fund may underperform funds that invest in the stocks of lower quality, smaller<br />capitalization companies during periods when the stocks of such companies are in<br />favor.<br /> <br />o Foreign investment risk. Special risks associated with investments in foreign<br />issuers include exposure to currency fluctuations, less liquidity, less developed <br />or less efficient trading markets, lack of comprehensive company information, <br />political and economic instability and differing auditing and legal standards. <br />Investments denominated in foreign currencies are subject to the risk that such <br />currencies will decline in value relative to the U.S. dollar and affect the value <br />of these investments held by the fund.<br /> <br />o Market sector risk. The fund may significantly overweight or underweight<br />certain companies, industries or market sectors, which may cause the fund's<br />performance to be more or less sensitive to developments affecting those<br />companies, industries or sectors.</tt>
Fees and Expenses
After-tax performance is shown only for Class A shares. After-tax performance of the fund's other share classes will vary.
Principal Investment Strategy
www.dreyfus.com
<tt>The following bar chart and table provide some indication of the risks of<br />investing in the fund. The table compares the average annual total returns <br />of the fund's shares to those of a broad measure of market performance. The <br />fund's past performance (before and after taxes) is not necessarily an <br />indication of how the fund will perform in the future. More recent <br />performance information may be available at www.dreyfus.com.</tt>
<tt>This table describes the fees and expenses that you may pay if you buy and hold<br />shares of the fund. You may qualify for sales charge discounts if you and your<br />family invest, or agree to invest in the future, at least $50,000 in certain<br />funds in the Dreyfus Family of Funds. More information about these and other<br />discounts is available from your financial professional and in the Shareholder<br />Guide section on page 8 of the Prospectus and in the How to Buy Shares section<br />and the Additional Information About How to Buy Shares section on page II-1 and<br />page III-1, respectively, of the fund's Statement of Additional Information.<br />Class A shares bought without an initial sales charge as part of an investment<br />of $1 million or more may be charged a deferred sales charge of 1.00% if<br />redeemed within one year.</tt>
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You would pay the following expenses if you did not redeem your shares:
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<tt>After-tax performance is shown only for Class A shares. After-tax performance of<br />the fund's other share classes will vary. After-tax returns are calculated using<br />the historical highest individual federal marginal tax rates, and do not reflect<br />the impact of state and local taxes. Actual after-tax returns depend on the<br />investor's tax situation and may differ from those shown, and the after-tax<br />returns shown are not relevant to investors who hold their shares through<br />tax-deferred arrangements such as 401(k) plans or individual retirement<br />accounts.<br /> <br />For the fund's Class C and I shares, periods prior to 4/15/02 reflect the<br />performance of the fund's Class A shares adjusted to reflect each share class'<br />applicable sales charge. Such performance figures have not been adjusted,<br />however, to reflect applicable class fees and expenses; if such fees and<br />expenses had been reflected, the performance shown for Class C shares for <br />such periods may have been lower.</tt>
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.
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S&P 500® Index reflects no deduction for fees, expenses or taxes
0.0209
-0.0025
0.0292
Class A returns after taxes on distributions and sale of fund shares
0.0059
0.0034
0.0170
1998-09-30
Class A returns after taxes on distributions
0.0039
0.0020
0.0183
1998-09-30
DPERX
0.0000
Class I returns before taxes
112
112
350
-0.0001
1340
606
0.0689
0.0001
0.0110
1340
0.0187
350
606
0.0000
0.0303
0.0110
0.0111
2002-04-15
0.0000
DPECX
0.0000
Class C returns before taxes
313
213
658
-0.0001
2431
1129
0.0482
0.0001
0.0110
2431
0.0086
658
1129
0.0100
0.0187
0.0210
0.0211
2002-04-15
0.0100
DLTSX
-0.1740
Worst Quarter
Best Quarter
0.0575
2012-09-30
Class A returns before taxes
705
2009-09-30
705
978
-0.1864
0.0406
-0.0001
0.1507
2105
1272
0.0579
0.1337
0.0056
0.0001
-0.3181
0.0110
2008-12-31
2105
0.2237
0.0042
0.0299
978
1272
year-to-date total return
0.0668
0.1685
0.0025
0.0201
0.0135
0.0136
0.1553
1998-09-30
0.1217
0.0000
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The Dreyfus Corporation has agreed to pay all of the fund's expenses, except management fees, Rule 12b-1 fees, and certain other expenses, including the fees and expenses of the non-interested board members and their counsel. The Dreyfus Corporation has agreed to reduce its fee in an amount equal to the fund's allocable portion of the fees and expenses of the non-interested board members and their counsel (in the amount of .01% for the past fiscal year).