497K 1 summarypsp.htm SUMMARY PROSPECTUS

OPPENHEIMER

Gold & Special Minerals Fund

Summary Prospectus     October 29, 2010

NYSE Ticker Symbols

Class A

OPGSX

Class B

OGMBX

Class C

OGMCX

Class N

OGMNX

Class Y

OGMYX

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, Statement of Additional Information, Annual Report and other information about the Fund online at https://www.oppenheimerfunds.com/fund/investors/overview/GoldSpecialMineralsFund. You can also get this information at no cost by calling 1.800.225.5677 or by sending an email request to: info@oppenheimerfunds.com.

The Fund's prospectus and Statement of Additional Information ("SAI"), both dated October 29, 2010, and pages 6 through 60 of its most recent Annual Report, dated June 30, 2010, are incorporated by reference into this Summary Prospectus. You can access the Fund's prospectus and SAI at https://www.oppenheimerfunds.com/fund/investors/overview/GoldSpecialMineralsFund. The Fund's prospectus is also available from financial intermediaries who are authorized to sell Fund shares.

Investment Objective. The Fund seeks capital appreciation.

Fees and Expenses of the Fund. This table describes the fees and expenses that you may pay if you buy and hold or redeem shares of the Fund. You may qualify for sales charge discounts if you (or you and your spouse) invest, or agree to invest in the future, at least $25,000 in certain funds in the Oppenheimer family of funds. More information about these and other discounts is available from your financial professional and in the section "About Your Account" beginning on page 21 of the prospectus and in the sections "How to Buy Shares" beginning on page 54 and "Appendix A" in the Fund's Statement of Additional Information.

Shareholder Fees (fees paid directly from your investment)

Class A Shares

Class B Shares

Class C Shares

Class N Shares

Class Y Shares

Maximum Sales Charge (Load) imposed on purchases (as % of offering price)

5.75%

None

None

None

None

Maximum Deferred Sales Charge (Load) (as % of the lower of original offering price or redemption proceeds)

None

5%

1%

1%

None

 

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

Class A Shares

Class B Shares

Class C Shares

Class N Shares

Class Y Shares3

Management Fees of the Fund and the Subsidiary1

0.74%

0.74%

0.74%

0.74%

0.74%

Distribution and/or Service (12b-1) Fees

0.24%

1.00%

1.00%

0.50%

None

Other Expenses

     Other Expenses of the Fund

0.25%

0.35%

0.25%

0.42%

0.35%

     Other Expenses of the Subsidiary

0.00%

0.00%

0.00%

0.00%

0.00%

Total Other Expenses

0.25%

0.35%

0.25%

0.42%

0.35%

Total Annual Fund Operating Expenses1

1.23%

2.09%

1.99%

1.66%

1.09%

     Fee Waiver and Expense Reimbursement2

(0.11%)

(0.11%)

(0.11%)

(0.17%)

(0.11%)

Total Annual Fund Operating Expenses After Fee Waiver and Expense Reimbursement

1.12%

1.98%

1.88%

1.49%

0.98%

1. Includes the gross management fee paid to the Manager by the Fund during the fiscal year ended June 30, 2010 and the estimated gross management fee of 0.11% for the Subsidiary during its first fiscal year of operation ending June 30, 2011.
2. The Manager has contractually agreed to waive the management fee it receives from the Fund in an amount equal to the management fee it receives from the Subsidiary. This expense limitation will continue in effect for as long as the Fund invests in the Subsidiary and may not be terminated unless approved by the Fund's Board of Trustees. The Fund's transfer agent has voluntarily agreed to limit its fees for all classes to 0.35% of average annual net assets per class. These waivers and expense limitations may not be amended or withdrawn until one year after the date of this prospectus.
3. Class Y shares were not available as of the Fund's fiscal year ended June 30, 2010. The expenses for Class Y shares are estimated for the first full fiscal year that they are offered.


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 a class of shares of the Fund for the time periods indicated.  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 expenses would be as follows:

 

If shares are redeemed

If shares are not redeemed

1 Year

3 Years

5 Years

10 Years

1 Year

3 Years

5 Years

10 Years

Class A Shares

$

683

$

935

$

1,206

$

1,977

$

683

$

935

$

1,206

$

1,977

Class B Shares

$

703

$

951

$

1,325

$

2,007

$

203

$

651

$

1,125

$

2,007

Class C Shares

$

293

$

620

$

1,073

$

2,330

$

193

$

620

$

1,073

$

2,330

Class N Shares

$

253

$

511

$

893

$

1,967

$

153

$

511

$

893

$

1,967

Class Y Shares

$

100

$

337

$

593

$

1,326

$

100

$

337

$

593

$

1,326

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 the 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 20% of the average value of its portfolio.

Principal Investment Strategies. The Fund invests mainly in common stocks of companies that are involved in mining, processing or dealing in gold or other metals or minerals and may invest all of its assets in those securities. As a non-fundamental policy, under normal market conditions, at least 80% of the Fund's net assets, plus any borrowings for investment purposes, will be invested in those companies. As a fundamental policy, the Fund invests at least 25% of its investments in mining securities and metal investments.

     The Fund may invest in U.S. or foreign companies, including companies in developing or emerging markets. The Fund has no limit on its foreign investments. The Fund may buy securities issued by companies of any size or market capitalization range and at times might increase its emphasis on securities of issuers in a particular capitalization range.

     The Fund relies primarily on evaluations of a company's fundamentals. It also uses a proprietary model that is designed to assess a company's financial statements and management structure, as well as the company's operations and new developments. To arrive at buy and sell decisions, the Fund considers the growth potential and the valuations of the stocks of particular companies, and ranks the companies that have been reviewed by the model.

The Fund intends to establish a Cayman Islands company before the end of calendar year 2010 that will be wholly-owned and controlled by the Fund (the "Subsidiary"). The Fund expects to invest up to 25% of its total assets in the Subsidiary. It is anticipated that the Subsidiary will invest primarily in commodity-linked derivatives related to gold or other special minerals (including commodity futures, financial futures, options and swap contracts), and certain fixed-income securities and other investments that may serve as margin or collateral for its derivatives positions. Investments in the Subsidiary are intended to provide the Fund with exposure to minerals commodities market returns within the limitations of the federal tax requirements that apply to the Fund. The Subsidiary will be subject to the same investment restrictions and guidelines, and follow the same compliance policies and procedures, as the Fund.

The Fund's anticipated investment in the Subsidiary may vary based on the portfolio manager's use of different types of commodity-linked derivatives, fixed-income securities and other investments. Since the Fund may invest a substantial portion of its assets in the Subsidiary, which may hold certain of the investments described in this prospectus, the Fund may be considered to be investing indirectly in those investments through its Subsidiary. Therefore, references in this prospectus to investments by the Fund include the Fund's indirect investments through the Subsidiary.

Principal Risks. The price of the Fund's shares can go up and down substantially. The value of the Fund's investments may change because of broad changes in the markets in which the Fund invests or from poor security selection, which could cause the Fund to underperform other funds with similar investment objectives. There is no assurance that the Fund will achieve its investment objective. When you redeem your shares, they may be worth more or less than what you paid for them. These risks mean that you can lose money by investing in the Fund.

Main Risks of Investing in Stock. The value of the Fund's portfolio may be affected by changes in the stock markets. Stock markets may experience great short-term volatility and may fall sharply at times. Different stock markets may behave differently from each other and U.S. stock markets may move in the opposite direction from one or more foreign stock markets.
     The prices of individual stocks generally do not all move in the same direction at the same time and a variety of factors can affect the price of a particular company's stock. These factors may include, but are not limited to: poor earnings reports, a loss of customers, litigation against the company, general unfavorable performance of the company's sector or industry, or changes in government regulations affecting the company or its industry.

Risks of Mining & Metal Industry Securities. Investments in mining and metal industry companies may be speculative and may be subject to greater price volatility than investments in other types of companies. The special risks of mining and metal industry investments include:

  • changes in international monetary policies or economic and political conditions can affect the supply of gold and precious metals and consequently the value of mining and metal company investments;

  • the United States or foreign governments may pass laws or regulations limiting metal investments for strategic or other policy reasons;

  • the principal supplies of gold are concentrated in only five countries or territories: Australia, Canada, Russia and certain other former Soviet Union countries, South Africa and the United States;

  • increased environmental or labor costs may depress the value of mining and metal investments; and

  • investments in mining and in metals entail the risk that the Fund might not qualify as a "regulated investment company" under the Internal Revenue Code, and its income might become subject to federal income taxes, reducing returns to shareholders.

Concentration Risk. Concentration risk is the risk that the Fund's investments in the securities of companies in one industry will cause the Fund to be more exposed to developments affecting a single industry or market sector than a more broadly diversified fund would be.

     Because the Fund invests primarily in mining and metals, the Fund may perform poorly during a downturn in that industry.

Risks of Non-Diversification. The Fund may invest a greater portion of its assets in the securities of a single issuer than if it were a "diversified" fund. To the extent that the Fund invests a higher percentage of its assets in the securities of a single issuer, the Fund is more subject to the risks associated with and developments affecting that issuer.

Main Risks of Foreign Investing. Foreign securities are subject to special risks. Foreign issuers are usually not subject to the same accounting and disclosure requirements that U.S. companies are subject to, which may make it difficult for the Fund to evaluate a foreign company's operations or financial condition. A change in the value of a foreign currency against the U.S. dollar will result in a change in the U.S. dollar value of securities denominated in that foreign currency and in the value of any income or distributions the Fund may receive on those securities. The value of foreign investments may be affected by exchange control regulations, foreign taxes, higher transaction and other costs, delays in the settlement of transactions, changes in economic or monetary policy in the United States or abroad, expropriation or nationalization of a company's assets, or other political and economic factors. These risks may be greater for investments in developing or emerging market countries.

     Special Risks of Developing and Emerging Markets. The economies of developing or emerging market countries may be more dependent on relatively few industries that may be highly vulnerable to local and global changes. Their governments may also be more unstable than the governments of more developed countries. These countries generally have less developed securities markets or exchanges, and legal and accounting systems. Securities may be more difficult to sell at an acceptable price and may be more volatile than securities in countries with more mature markets. The value of developing or emerging market currencies may fluctuate more than the currencies of countries with more mature markets. Investments in developing or emerging market countries may be subject to greater risks of government restrictions, including confiscatory taxation, expropriation or nationalization of a company's assets, restrictions on foreign ownership of local companies and restrictions on withdrawing assets from the country. Investments in companies in developing or emerging market countries may be considered speculative.

Main Risks of Derivative Investments. Derivatives may involve significant risks. Some derivatives have the potential for unlimited loss, regardless of the size of the Fund's initial investment. Derivatives may be illiquid and may be more volatile than other types of investments. Derivative investments can increase portfolio turnover and transaction costs. Derivatives are subject to counter-party credit risk and may lose money if the issuer fails to pay the amounts due.

Main Risks of Commodity-Linked Investments. Commodity-linked investments are considered speculative and have substantial risks, including the risk of loss of a significant portion of their principal value. Prices of commodities and commodity-linked investments may fluctuate significantly over short periods due to a variety of factors, including for example agricultural, economic and regulatory developments. These risks may make commodity-linked investments more volatile than other types of investments.

Main Risks Of Investments In The Fund's Wholly-Owned Subsidiary. The Subsidiary will not be registered under the Investment Company Act of 1940 and will not be subject to its investor protections (except as otherwise noted in this prospectus). As an investor in the Subsidiary, the Fund will not have all of the protections offered to investors by the Investment Company Act of 1940. However, the Subsidiary will be wholly-owned and controlled by the Fund and managed by the Manager. Therefore, the Fund's expected ownership and control of the Subsidiary make it unlikely that the Subsidiary would take actions contrary to the interests of the Fund or its shareholders.

Changes in the laws of the Cayman Islands (where the Subsidiary is to be organized) could prevent the Subsidiary from operating as described in this prospectus and could negatively affect the Fund and its shareholders. For example, the Cayman Islands currently does not impose certain taxes on exempted limited companies like the Subsidiary, including income and capital gains tax, among others. If Cayman Islands laws were changed to require such entities to pay Cayman Islands taxes, the investment returns of the Fund would likely decrease.

 

Who Is the Fund Designed For? The Fund is designed primarily for investors seeking capital appreciation over the long term in a fund that emphasizes investments in the gold and precious minerals industries. Those investors should be willing to assume the risks of short-term share price fluctuations that are typical for an aggressive fund that concentrates its investments in those industries and the special risks of investing in both developed and emerging foreign countries. The Fund is not designed for investors needing current income. The Fund is not a complete investment program. You should carefully consider your own investment goals and risk tolerance before investing.

An investment in the Fund is not a deposit of any bank and is not insured or guaranteed by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation or any other government agency.

The Fund's Past Performance. The bar chart and table below 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 1, 5 and 10 years compare with those of a broad measure of market performance. The Fund's past investment performance (before and after taxes) is not necessarily an indication of how the Fund will perform in the future. More recent performance information is available by calling the toll-free number on the back of this prospectus and on the Fund's website: https://www.oppenheimerfunds.com/fund/investors/overview/GoldSpecialMineralsFund

Sales charges and taxes are not included and the returns would be lower if they were.  During the period shown, the highest return for a calendar quarter was 29.28% (1st qtr 02) and the lowest return was -36.56% (3rd qtr 08). For the period from January 1, 2010 to September 30, 2010, the cumulative return before sales charges and taxes was 32.62%.


The following table shows the average annual total returns for each class of the Fund's shares. After-tax returns are calculated using the highest individual federal marginal income tax rates and do not reflect the impact of state or local taxes. Your actual after-tax returns, depending on your individual tax situation, may differ from those shown and after-tax returns shown are not relevant to investors who hold their Fund shares through tax-deferred arrangements, such as 401(k) plans or individual retirement accounts. After-tax returns are shown for only one class and after-tax returns for other classes will vary.

No performance information is included for Class Y shares because they were not offered during the period ended December 31, 2009.

 

Average Annual Total Returns for the periods ended December 31, 2009

1 Year

5 Years

10 Years (or life of class, if less)

Class A Shares (inception 07/19/83)

Return Before Taxes

69.00%

20.50%

18.84%

Return After Taxes on Distributions

68.15%

18.44%

16.95%

Return After Taxes on Distributions and Sale of Fund Shares

45.08%

16.96%

15.89%

Class B Shares (inception 11/01/95)

72.71%

20.76%

19.00%

Class C Shares (inception 11/01/95)

76.94%

21.03%

18.65%

Class N Shares (inception 03/01/01)

77.66%

21.56%

23.56%

MSCI World Index

29.99%

2.01%

(0.24%)

(reflects no deduction for fees, expenses or taxes)

2.13%*

* From 2-28-01


Investment Adviser. OppenheimerFunds, Inc. is the Fund's investment adviser (the "Manager").

Portfolio Manager. Shanquan Li has been a Vice President and portfolio manager of the Fund since July 1997.

Purchase and Sale of Fund Shares. In most cases, you can buy Fund shares with a minimum initial investment of $1,000 and make additional investments with as little as $50. For certain investment plans and retirement accounts, the minimum initial investment is $500 and, for some, the minimum additional investment is $25. For certain fee based programs the minimum initial investment is $250.
     Shares may be purchased through a financial intermediary or the Distributor and redeemed through a financial intermediary or the Transfer Agent on days the New York Stock Exchange is open for trading. Shareholders may purchase or redeem shares by mail, through the website at www.oppenheimerfunds.com or by calling 1.800.225.5677. Share transactions may be paid by check, by Federal Funds wire or directly from or into your bank account.

Taxes. If your shares are not held in a tax-deferred account, Fund distributions are subject to Federal income tax as ordinary income or as capital gains and they may also be subject to state or local taxes.

Payments to Broker-Dealers and Other Financial Intermediaries. If you purchase Fund shares through a broker-dealer or other financial intermediary (such as a bank), the Fund, the Manager, or their 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.

For More Information About Oppenheimer Gold & Special Minerals Fund

You can access the Fund's prospectus and SAI at https://www.oppenheimerfunds.com/fund/investors/overview/GoldSpecialMineralsFund. You can also request additional information about the Fund or your account:

By Telephone:

Call OppenheimerFunds Services toll-free: 1.800.CALL OPP (225.5677)

By Mail:

For requests by mail:
OppenheimerFunds Services
P.O. Box 5270
Denver, Colorado 80217-5270

For courier or express mail requests:
OppenheimerFunds Services
12100 East Iliff Avenue, Suite 300
Aurora, Colorado 80014

On the Internet:

You can read or download information on the OppenheimerFunds website at: www.oppenheimerfunds.com

PR0410.001.1010