497K 1 d708370d497k.htm TAF-I_SP INTERNATIONAL FOCUS FUND - Z TAF-I_SP International Focus Fund - Z
Alger International Focus Fund
Summary Prospectus
March 1, 2019 Class Ticker Symbol
  Z ALCZX
   
   
Optional Internet Availability of Alger Shareholder Reports
Beginning on January 1, 2021, as permitted by regulations adopted by the Securities and Exchange Commission, paper copies of the Fund’s shareholder reports will no longer be sent by mail, unless you specifically request paper copies of the reports from the Fund or from your financial intermediary. Instead, the reports will be made available on a website, and you will be notified by mail each time a report is posted and provided with a website link to access the report.
If you already elected to receive shareholder reports electronically, you will not be affected by this change and you need not take any action. You may elect to receive shareholder reports and other communications from the Fund electronically by signing up for paperless delivery at www.icsdelivery.com/alger. If you own these shares through a financial intermediary, contact your financial intermediary.
You may elect to receive all future reports in paper free of charge. You can inform the Fund that you wish to continue receiving paper copies of your shareholder reports by contacting us at 1-866-460-9497 or fundreports.com. If you own these shares through a financial intermediary, contact your financial intermediary to elect to continue to receive paper copies of your shareholder reports. Your election to receive reports in paper will apply to all funds held with the Alger Fund Complex or your financial intermediary.
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, reports to shareholders, and other information about the Fund online at www.alger.com. You can also get this information at no cost by calling (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, 2019, 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 International Focus 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.
  Alger International
Focus Fund
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)
Advisory Fees .71%
Distribution and/or Service (12b-1) Fees None
Other Expenses .30%
Total Annual Fund Operating Expenses 1.01%
Fee Waiver and/or Expense Reimbursement* (.12)%*
Total Annual Fund Operating Expenses After Fee Waiver and/or Expense Reimbursement .89%
* Fred Alger Management, Inc. has contractually agreed to waive fees or to reimburse Fund expenses (excluding acquired fund fees and expenses, dividend expense on short sales, borrowing costs, interest, taxes, brokerage and extraordinary expenses) through February 28, 2021 to the extent necessary to limit the total annual fund operating expenses of the Class Z Shares of the Fund to .89% of the class’s average daily net assets. This expense reimbursement may only be amended or terminated prior to its expiration date by agreement between Fred Alger Management, Inc. and the Fund’s Board of Trustees, and will terminate automatically in the event of termination of the Investment Advisory Agreement. Fred Alger Management, Inc. may, during the first year of the expense reimbursement contract, recoup any expenses waived or reimbursed pursuant to the expense reimbursement contract to the extent that such recoupment would not cause the expense ratio to exceed the lesser of the stated limitation in effect at the time of (i) the waiver or reimbursement and (ii) the recoupment after the repayment of the recoupment is taken into account.
Example
The following 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, that your investment has a 5% return each year and that the Fund’s operating expenses remain the same. The one-year example and the first two years of the three-, five- and ten-years examples are based on net operating expenses, which reflect the contractual expense limitation agreed
Inspired by Change, Driven by Growth.

 

Alger International Focus Fund 2/4
Summary Prospectus
March 1, 2019
to by Fred Alger Management, Inc. Although your actual costs may be higher or lower, based on these assumptions you would pay the following expenses whether or not you redeemed your shares at the end of each period:
  1 Year 3 Years 5 Years 10 Years
Class Z $91 $297 $534 $1,214
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 example, affect the Fund’s performance. During the most recent fiscal year, the Fund’s portfolio turnover rate was 207.22% of the average value of its portfolio.
Principal Investment Strategy
The Fund invests in companies that it believes are attractively valued, high quality growth companies. High quality growth companies are those companies that have definable strategic advantages/moat and competitive positioning that offer strong earnings visibility and sustainability. Moat refers to a business’ ability to maintain competitive advantages over its competitors in order to protect its long-term profits and market share from competing firms. The Fund focuses on analyzing growth trajectories and identifying catalysts for future growth for companies that are in a positive earnings revision cycle. The Fund is an all-cap, all-country, opportunistic focus fund which generally holds less than 50 holdings.
Under normal circumstances, the Fund invests at least 80% of its net assets in equity securities, including common stocks, American Depositary Receipts and Global Depositary Receipts, of foreign companies. Foreign companies are companies (i) that are organized under the laws of a foreign country; (ii) whose securities are primarily listed in a foreign country; or (iii) that have a majority of their assets, or derive more than 50% of their revenue or profits from businesses, investments, or sales, outside the U.S. The Fund normally focuses its foreign investments in developed countries, but may also invest in emerging market securities. The Fund may invest in companies of any market capitalization, from large, well-established companies to small, emerging growth companies.
Emerging market countries include all countries categorized as Emerging Markets or Frontier Markets by MSCI.
The Fund generally invests in at least three foreign countries, and, at times, may invest a substantial portion of its assets in a single foreign country. The Fund’s benchmark is the Morgan Stanley Capital International (MSCI) All Country World Index (ACWI) ex USA, which is an unmanaged, market capitalization-weighted index designed to provide a broad measure of equity market performance throughout the world, including both developed and emerging markets, but excluding the United States.
The Fund’s portfolio manager(s) may sell a stock when it reaches a target price, it fails to perform as expected, or other opportunities appear more attractive. As a result, the Fund may engage in active trading of portfolio securities.
The Fund may invest a significant portion of its assets in securities of companies conducting business within a single sector, including the information technology, consumer discretionary, and health care sectors.
Principal Risks
An investment in the Fund involves risks. The Fund’s share price may go down, which means you could lose money. An investment in the Fund is not a deposit of a bank and is not insured or guaranteed by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation or any other government agency.
Investment Risk – An investment in the Fund is subject to investment risk, including the possible loss of the entire principal amount that you invest.
Market Risk – Your investment in Fund shares represents an indirect investment in the securities owned by the Fund. The value of these securities, like other investments, may move up or down, sometimes rapidly and unpredictably. Your Fund shares at any point in time may be worth less than what you invested, even after taking into account the reinvestment of Fund dividends and distributions.
Equity Securities Risk – 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.
Small Number of Holdings Risk – Under normal circumstances, the Fund invests in a small number of issuers. Therefore, the Fund’s performance may be more vulnerable to changes in the market value of a single issuer and more susceptible to risks associated with a single economic, political, or regulatory occurrence than a fund that has a higher number of holdings.
Sector Risk – The Fund may have a significant portion of its assets invested in securities of companies conducting business within a single sector. Companies in the same sector may be similarly affected by economic, regulatory, political or market events

 

Alger International Focus Fund 3/4
Summary Prospectus
March 1, 2019
or conditions, which may make the Fund more vulnerable to unfavorable developments in that sector than a fund that has a more diversified portfolio. Generally, the more broadly the Fund invests, the more it spreads risk and potentially reduces the risks of loss and volatility.
Growth Stocks Risk – 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.
Foreign Securities Risk – The Fund’s performance will be influenced by political, social and economic factors affecting investments in foreign issuers, particularly emerging country issuers. Special risks associated with investments in emerging country issuers include exposure to currency fluctuations, less liquidity, less developed or less efficient trading markets, lack of comprehensive company information, political instability and differing audit and legal standards. The securities of issuers located in emerging markets can be more volatile, and less liquid, than those of issuers in more mature economies.
Emerging Markets Risk – The Fund may invest in issuers located in emerging countries (such as Brazil, Russia, India and China), and therefore may be exposed to the economies, industries, securities and currency markets of such countries, which may be adversely affected by protectionist trade policies, a slow U.S. economy, political and social instability, regional and global conflicts, terrorism and war, including actions that are contrary to the interests of the U.S.
Smaller Cap Securities Risk – Investing in companies of all capitalizations involves the risk that smaller issuers in which the Fund invests may have limited product lines or financial resources, or lack management depth. It may also 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.
Portfolio Turnover (Active Trading) Risk – Because the Fund may engage in active trading of portfolio securities, it may incur increased transaction costs and brokerage commissions, both of which can lower the actual return on an investment. Active trading may also increase short-term gains and losses, which may affect the taxes a shareholder has to pay.
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. Before March 28, 2018, the Fund followed different investment strategies and was managed by different portfolio managers. Prior to May 31, 2013 the Fund was named “Alger Large Cap Growth Fund,” and from May 31, 2013 to August 15, 2018 the Fund was named “Alger International Growth Fund.” Performance prior to March 28, 2018 reflects these prior management styles and does not reflect the Fund’s current investment strategies and investment personnel. 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.
Annual Total Return for Class Z Shares as of December 31 (%)
Best Quarter: Q1 2012 14.29% Worst Quarter: Q4 2018 -16.85%

 

Alger International Focus Fund 4/4
Summary Prospectus
March 1, 2019
Average Annual Total Return as of December 31, 2018
  1 Year 5 Years Since
Inception
Class Z (Inception 12/29/10)      
Return Before Taxes -20.53% -1.13% 3.17%
Return After Taxes on Distributions -21.79% -2.25% 2.39%
Return After Taxes on Distributions and Sale of Shares -11.63% -1.32% 2.14%
MSCI AC WORLD INDEX ex USA (reflects no deductions for fees, expenses or taxes) -13.77% 1.14% 2.86%
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. A “Return After Taxes on Distributions and Sale of Fund Shares” may sometimes be higher than the other two return figures; this happens when there is a capital loss on redemptions, giving rise to a tax benefit to the shareholder.
Management
Investment Manager Portfolio Managers Jointly and Primarily Responsible for Day-to-Day Management of the Fund’s Portfolio
Fred Alger Management, Inc. Gregory Jones, CFA
Senior Vice President and Portfolio Manager
Since March 2018
Pragna Shere, CFA
Senior Vice President and Portfolio Manager
Since March 2018
Shareholder Information
Purchasing and Redeeming Fund Shares
The Fund’s Class Z Shares are generally subject to a minimum initial investment of $500,000, which may be waived for group employer-sponsored 401(k) plans, 457 plans, employer sponsored 403(b) plans, profit-sharing and money purchase pension plans, defined benefit plans, retiree health benefit plans and non-qualified deferred compensation plans. The waiver is available only for retirement plans that hold omnibus positions, or for aggregate plan participant positions, for each Fund made available for the plan. The waiver is generally not available to non-retirement accounts, traditional and Roth Individual Retirement Accounts, Coverdell Education Savings Accounts, SEPs, SARSEPs, SIMPLE IRAs, individual 401(k) plans or individual 403(b) plans.
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/or its Manager or Distributor 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 financial advisor to recommend the Fund over another investment. Ask your financial advisor or visit your financial intermediary’s website for more information.
Fred Alger & Company, Incorporated 360 Park Avenue South, New York, NY 10010 / 800.992.3863 / www.alger.com
IntFocus 3119