Summary Prospectus

March 1, 2011

Class / Ticker:  Z / ASCZX

Alger Small Cap Growth Fund

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 online at www.alger.com. You can also get this information at no cost by calling 1(800) 992-3863 or by sending an e-mail request to summaryprospectus@alger.com. The Fund's Prospectus and Statement of Additional Information, both dated March 1, 2011, are incorporated by reference to this Summary Prospectus, and may be obtained at no cost in the same manner as described above.

Investment Objective

Alger Small Cap Growth Fund seeks long-term capital appreciation.

Fund Fees and Expenses

This table describes the fees and expenses that you may pay if you buy and hold shares of the Fund. There are no sales charges on purchases or redemptions. "Other Expenses" below are estimated assuming $20 million in net assets. If actual net assets are less, the actual expense ratio will be higher.

Class	Z
Shareholder Fees (fees paid directly from your investment)		None
Annual Fund Operating Expenses (expenses that you pay each year as a percentage of the value of your investment)
Management Fees		.81	%
Distribution and/or Service (12b-1) Fees		None
Other Expenses		.22	%
Total Annual Fund Operating Expenses		1.03	%
Expense Reimbursement*		.04	%*
Total Annual Fund Operating Expenses After Expense Reimbursement		.99	%

* Fred Alger Management, Inc. has contractually agreed to waive its fee and/or reimburse Fund expenses through February 28, 2012 to the extent necessary to limit the annual operating expenses (excluding dividends on short sales, interest, taxes, brokerage, and extraordinary expenses) of Class Z Shares of the Fund to .99% of the Fund's average net assets. This expense reimbursement cannot be terminated.

Example

The following examples are intended to help you compare the cost of investing in the Fund with the cost of investing in other mutual funds. The examples assume that you invest $10,000.00 in the Fund for the time periods indicated, 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 you would pay the following expenses regardless of whether you redeemed your shares at the end of each period:

Class	1 Year	3 Years	5 Years	10 Years
Z	$ 101	$ 324	$ 565	$ 1,256

Absent expense reimbursement, expenses would be as follows:

Class	1 Year	3 Years	5 Years	10 Years
Z	$ 105	$ 328	$ 569	$ 1,259

Inspired by Change, Driven by Growth.

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 rate 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 examples, affect the Fund's performance. During the most recent fiscal year, the Fund's portfolio turnover rate was 48.85% of the average value of its portfolio.

Principal Investment Strategy

Fred Alger Management, Inc. believes companies undergoing Positive Dynamic Change offer the best investment opportunities. Positive Dynamic Change refers to companies realizing High Unit Volume Growth or companies undergoing Positive Lifecycle Change. High Unit Volume Growth companies are traditional growth companies experiencing, for example, significantly growing demand or market dominance. Positive Lifecycle Change companies are, for example, companies benefitting from regulatory change, a new product introduction or management change.

The Fund focuses on small, fast-growing companies that Fred Alger Management, Inc. believes offer innovative products, services or technologies to a rapidly-expanding marketplace. Under normal circumstances, the Fund invests at least 80% of its net assets in equity securities of companies that, at the time of purchase of the securities, have total market capitalization within the range of companies included in the Russell 2000 Growth Index or the S&P SmallCap 600 Index, as reported by the indexes as of the most recent quarter-end. Both indexes are broad indexes of small capitalization stocks. At December 31, 2010, the market capitalization of the companies in these indexes ranged from $24.2 million to $5 billion.

The Fund can also invest in derivative instruments. The Fund currently expects that its primary uses of derivatives will involve: (1) purchasing put and call options and selling (writing) covered put and call options, on securities and securities indexes, to increase gain, to hedge against the risk of unfavorable price movements in the underlying securities, or to provide diversification of risk, and (2) entering into forward currency contracts to hedge the Fund's foreign currency exposure when it holds, or proposes to hold, non-U.S. dollar denominated securities.

The Board of Trustees of The Alger Funds has authorized a partial closing of Alger Small Cap Growth Fund. Because of the continuing issue of limited investment opportunities, Class Z Shares of the Fund are available for purchase only by existing advisory clients of Fred Alger Management, Inc., the Fund's investment manager, who maintain open Small Cap Growth mutual fund or separate accounts.

The Fund may resume sales to all investors at some future date if the Board of Trustees determines that doing so would be in the best interest of shareholders.

Principal Risks

As with any fund that invests in stocks, your investment will fluctuate in value, and the loss of your investment is a risk of investing. The Fund's price per share will fluctuate due to changes in the market prices of its investments. Also, the Fund's investments may not grow as fast as the rate of inflation and stocks tend to be more volatile than some other investments you could make, such as bonds.

Prices of growth stocks tend to be higher in relation to their companies' earnings and may be more sensitive to market, political and economic developments than other stocks, making their prices more volatile. An investment in the Fund may be better suited to investors who seek long-term capital growth and can tolerate fluctuations in their investment's value.

A small investment in derivatives could have a potentially large impact on the Fund's performance. When purchasing options, the Fund bears the risk that if the market value of the underlying security does not move to a level that would make exercise of the option profitable, the option will expire unexercised. When a call option written by the Fund is exercised, the Fund will not participate in any increase in the underlying security's value above the exercise price. When a put option written by the Fund is exercised, the Fund will be required to purchase the underlying security at a price in excess of its market value. Use of options on securities indexes is subject to the risk that trading in the options may be interrupted if trading in certain securities included in the index is interrupted, the risk that price movements in the Fund's portfolio securities may not correlate precisely with movements in the level of an index, and the risk that Fred Alger Management, Inc. may not predict correctly movements in the direction of a particular market or of the stock market generally. Because certain options may require settlement in cash, the Fund may be forced to liquidate portfolio securities to meet settlement obligations. Forward currency contracts are subject to currency exchange rate risks, the risk of non-performance by the contract counterparty, and the risk that Fred Alger Management, Inc. may not predict accurately future foreign exchange rates.

The following risks also apply:

•  the possibility of greater risk by investing in smaller, less seasoned companies rather than larger, more established companies due to such factors as inexperienced management and limited product lines or financial resources.

•  it may be difficult or impossible to liquidate a security position at a time and price acceptable to the Fund because of the potentially less frequent trading of stocks of smaller market capitalization.

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Performance

The following bar chart and the table beneath it provide some indication of the risks of investing in the Fund by showing changes in the Fund's performance from year to year and by showing how the Fund's average annual returns for the indicated periods compare with those of an appropriate benchmark of market performance. Class Z Shares were not offered prior to December 29, 2010. Historical performance prior to December 29, 2010 is that of the Fund's Class A Shares. Performance in the bar chart does not reflect the effect of the sales charge applicable to Class A Shares of the Fund. If the bar chart reflected the applicable sales charges, returns would be less than those shown. Remember that the Fund's past performance (before and after taxes) is not necessarily an indication of how it will perform in the future. Updated performance information is available on the Fund's website www.alger.com.

Best Quarter:
Q2 2009   20.75%

Worst Quarter:
Q1 2001   -27.45%

Average Annual Total Return as of December 31, 2010*

	1 Year			5 Years			10 Years			Since 12/31/96
Class Z (Inception 12/29/10)
Return Before Taxes		25.30	%		6.17	%		2.58	%		2.87	%
Return After Taxes on Distributions		25.30	%		6.17	%		2.58	%		1.89	%
Return After Taxes on Distributions and Sale of Fund Shares		16.44	%		5.34	%		2.23	%		2.05	%
Russell 2000 Growth Index (reflects no deduction for fees, expenses or taxes)		29.09	%		5.30	%		3.78	%		4.45	%

* Performance of the Fund's Class Z Shares prior to December 29, 2010 reflects the performance of the Fund's Class A Shares, as adjusted with currently applicable sales charges and operating expenses, which differ from historical charges and expenses.

In the foregoing table, 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 an investor's tax situation and may differ from those shown. The after-tax returns shown may not be relevant to investors who hold their Fund shares through tax-deferred arrangements, such as 401(k) plans or individual retirement accounts.

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Management

Investment Manager:	Fred Alger Management, Inc.
Portfolio Manager:	Jill Greenwald, CFA Executive Vice President and Portfolio Manager Since November 2001

Shareholder Information

Purchasing and Redeeming Fund Shares

The Fund's Class Z Shares are generally subject to a minimum initial investment of $500,000.

Investors may purchase or redeem Fund shares on any business day through a financial intermediary.

Tax Information

The Fund's distributions may be taxable as ordinary income or capital gains.

Payments to Broker-Dealers and Other Financial Intermediaries

If you purchase the Fund 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.

Fred Alger & Company, Incorporated • 111 Fifth Avenue • New York, NY 10003 • 800.992.3863 • www.alger.com

SmallCapZ 3111