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Dec. 31, 2021
Class Y Shares | Alger Small Cap Growth Fund - Y
<span style="color:#262626;font-family:Arial;font-size:10pt;font-weight:bold;margin-left:0%;text-transform:uppercase;">Alger Small Cap Growth Fund</span>
<span style="color:#0065D2;font-family:Arial;font-size:10pt;font-weight:bold;margin-left:0%;">Investment Objective</span>
Alger Small Cap Growth Fund seeks long-term capital appreciation.
<span style="color:#0065D2;font-family:Arial;font-size:10pt;font-weight:bold;margin-left:0%;">Fund Fees and Expenses</span>
This table describes the fees and expenses that you may pay if you buy, hold and sell shares of the Fund.
<span style="color:#262626;font-family:Arial;font-size:9pt;font-weight:bold;margin-left:0%;">Shareholder Fees</span> <br/><span style="color:#262626;font-family:Arial;font-size:9pt;">(fees paid directly from your investment)</span>
<span style="color:#262626;font-family:Arial;font-size:9pt;font-weight:bold;margin-left:0%;">Annual Fund Operating Expenses</span> <br/><span style="color:#262626;font-family:Arial;font-size:9pt;">(expenses that you pay each year as a percentage of the value of your investment)</span>
<span style="color:#0065D2;font-family:Arial;font-size:9pt;font-weight:bold;margin-left:0%;">Example</span>
The following example is intended to help you compare the cost of investing in the Fund with the cost of investing in other 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 period of the three-, five- and ten-year example through February 29, 2024 are based on net operating expenses, which reflect the contractual expense limitation agreed to by the Manager. Although your actual costs may be higher or lower, based on these assumptions you would pay the following expenses if you redeemed your shares at the end of each period:
<span style="color:#0065D2;font-family:Arial;font-size:10pt;font-weight:bold;margin-left:0%;">Portfolio Turnover</span>
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 34.85% of the average value of its portfolio.
<span style="color:#0065D2;font-family:Arial;font-size:10pt;font-weight:bold;margin-left:0%;">Principal Investment Strategy</span>
The Manager 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, rapidly growing demand or market dominance. Positive Lifecycle Change companies are, for example, companies benefitting from new regulations, a new product innovation or new management.The Fund focuses on small, fast-growing companies that the Manager believes offer innovative products, services or technologies to a rapidly-expanding marketplace. The Fund normally invests at least 80% of its net assets, plus any borrowings for investment purposes, in equity securities of companies that, at the time of purchase of the securities, have total market capitalization between (1) the higher of (a) $5 billion or (b) the company in either the Russell 2000 Growth Index or the MSCI USA Small Cap Index (each, an “Index” and together, the “Indexes”) with the highest capitalization, and (2) the company in either Index with the lowest capitalization, at any time during the most recent 12-month period as reported by either Index. Both Indexes are broad-based indexes of small capitalization stocks. At December 31, 2020, the market capitalization of the companies in the Indexes ranged from $42 million to $25.8 billion. Because of the Fund’s long-term approach to investing, it could have a significant portion of its assets invested in securities of issuers that have appreciated beyond the market capitalization thresholds noted. Equity securities include common or preferred stocks that are listed on U.S. exchanges.The Fund may invest a significant portion of its assets in securities of companies conducting business within a single sector, as defined by third party sources, including the information technology and healthcare sectors.The Fund may sell a stock when it reaches a target price, it fails to perform as expected, or other opportunities appear more attractive.The Fund invests in cash (and cash equivalents) when the Fund is unable to find enough attractive long-term investments to meet its investment objective, to meet redemptions and/or when the Manager believes it is advisable to do so during times of short-term market volatility. During these times, cash (and cash equivalents) will not exceed 15% of the Fund’s assets.
<span style="color:#0065D2;font-family:Arial;font-size:10pt;font-weight:bold;margin-left:0%;">Principal Risks</span>
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. The following is a summary description of principal risks involved in investing in the Fund.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. Local, regional or global events such as war, acts of terrorism, the spread of infectious illness or other public health issues, recessions, or other events could have a significant impact on the Fund and its investments.An outbreak of respiratory disease caused by a novel coronavirus designated as COVID-19 was first detected in China in December 2019 and subsequently spread internationally. The transmission of COVID-19 and efforts to contain its spread have resulted in, among other things, border closings and other significant travel restrictions and disruptions; significant disruptions to business operations, supply chains and customer activity; lower consumer demand for goods and services; significant job losses and increasing unemployment; event cancellations and restrictions; service cancellations, reductions and other changes; significant challenges in healthcare service preparation and delivery; prolonged quarantines; as well as general concern and uncertainty that has negatively affected the economic environment. The impact of this outbreak and any other epidemic or pandemic that may arise in the future could adversely affect the economies of many nations or the entire global economy and the financial performance of individual issuers, sectors, industries, asset classes, and markets in significant and unforeseen ways. Although the Federal Reserve has taken a number of actions to mitigate the impact of COVID-19 on U.S. markets and institutions, including decreasing interest rates and implementing a variety of emergency stimulus measures, these actions may not succeed or have the intended effect. This crisis or other public health crises may also exacerbate other pre-existing political, social, economic, market and financial risks. The duration of the COVID-19 outbreak and its effects cannot be determined with certainty. The foregoing could result in significant market volatility, exchange trading suspensions and closures, declines in global financial markets, higher default rates and a substantial economic downturn or recession. Such impacts could impair the Fund’s ability to maintain operational standards (such as with respect to satisfying redemption requests), disrupt the operations of the Fund’s service providers, adversely affect the value and liquidity of the Fund’s investments and negatively impact the Fund’s performance and your investment in the Fund.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.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.Small Cap Securities Risk – There may be greater risk in investing in companies with small market capitalizations rather than larger, more established issuers owing to such factors as more limited product lines or financial resources or lack of 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.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 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.Technology Companies Risk – The Fund may have a significant portion of its assets invested in securities of technology-related companies. Therefore, the Fund may be more susceptible to particular risks that may affect companies in the information technology sector and technology-related sectors than if it were invested in a wider variety of companies in unrelated sectors. At times, the performance of such companies will lag the performance of other industries or the broader market as a whole. Certain technology related companies may face special risks that their products or services may not prove to be commercially successful. Technology related companies are also strongly affected by worldwide scientific or technological developments. As a result, their products may rapidly become obsolete. Such companies are also often subject to governmental regulation and may, therefore, be adversely affected by governmental policies. These factors may lead to limited earnings and/or failing profit margins. As a result, the value of technology related companies’ securities may fall or fail to rise. Many technology related companies’ securities have historically been more volatile than other securities, especially over the short term.Healthcare Companies Risk – The Fund may have a significant portion of its assets invested in securities of healthcare companies. At times, the performance of healthcare companies will lag the performance of other industries or the broader market as a whole, and the performance of such companies may be more volatile. Healthcare companies may also be significantly affected by intense competition, aggressive pricing, government regulation, technological innovations, product obsolescence, patent considerations, product compatibility and consumer preferences.Cash Position Risk – The Fund’s large cash position may underperform relative to both equity and fixed-income securities.
<span style="color:#0065D2;font-family:Arial;font-size:10pt;font-weight:bold;margin-left:0%;">Performance</span>
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 Y Shares do not have a performance history as of the date of this prospectus. As a result, the chart and the table give you a picture of the long-term performance for Class Z Sharesof the Fund, which are not offered in this prospectus. The returns of Class Y Shares would be substantially similar to the annual returns of Class Z Shares because the shares are invested in the same portfolio securities and the annual returns differ only to the extent that Class Z Shares and Class Y Shares have different expenses. The actual returns of Class Y Shares would have been higher than those of Class Z Shares because Class Y Shares have lower expenses than Class Z Shares.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.
<span style="color:#262626;font-family:Arial;font-size:10pt;font-weight:bold;margin-left:0%;">Annual Total Return for Class Z Shares</span><span style="color:#262626;font-family:Arial;font-size:10pt;"> </span><span style="color:#262626;font-family:Arial;font-size:10pt;font-style:italic;"> as of December 31 (%)</span>
Best Quarter:Q2 202039.60%Worst Quarter:Q3 2011-22.89%The Fund’s year-to-date return as of September 30, 2021 was 3.62%.
<span style="color:#0065D2;font-family:Arial;font-size:10pt;font-weight:bold;margin-left:0%;">Average Annual Total Return as of December 31, 2020</span>
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.