497K 1 d497k.htm RS INVESTMENT TRUST - TECHNOLOGY FUND Y RS Investment Trust - Technology Fund Y

SUMMARY PROSPECTUS – MAY 1, 2011

RS Technology Fund

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Share Class (Ticker):

Class Y (RIFYX)

    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, including the Fund’s Statement of Additional Information (SAI) and most recent reports to shareholders, online at www.RSinvestments.com/Communications/ProspectusesandAnnualReports.htm. You can also get this information at no cost by calling 800-766-3863 or by sending an e-mail request to prospectus@rsinvestments.com. You can also get this information from your financial intermediary. This Summary Prospectus incorporates by reference the Fund’s Prospectus and SAI, each dated May 1, 2011, and the financial statements included in the Fund’s annual report to shareholders, dated December 31, 2010.

Investment Objective

Long-term capital growth.

Fees and Expenses of the Fund

The table below describes the fees and expenses that you may pay if you buy and hold shares of the Fund. No sales loads are imposed on Class Y shares.

 

Annual Fund Operating Expenses (expenses are deducted from Fund assets as a percentage of average daily net assets)  
Share Class      Class Y  
Management Fees        1.00%   
Distribution (12b-1) Fees        N/A   
Other Expenses        0.19%   
Total Annual Fund Operating Expenses        1.19%   

Example

This Example is intended to help you compare the cost of investing in the Fund with the costs of investing in other mutual funds. The Example assumes that you invest $10,000 in the Fund for the time periods indicated, whether or not you redeem at the end of such periods. This Example also assumes that your investment earns a 5% return each year and that the Fund’s operating expenses remain the same as shown above. Although your actual costs may be higher or lower, based on these assumptions, your costs would be:

 

        Class Y  
1 Year      $ 121   
3 Years      $ 378   
5 Years      $ 654   
10 Years      $ 1,443   

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 for you if your 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 117% of the average value of its portfolio.

Investments, Risks, and Performance

Principal Investment Strategies

The Fund invests principally in equity securities. The Fund normally invests at least 80% of its net assets in technology companies. The Fund may invest in companies of any size. The Fund typically invests most of its assets in securities of U.S. companies but may also invest a portion of its assets in foreign securities.

The Fund’s investment team performs in-depth analysis in search of what it believes are innovative companies that drive market share gains in technology, leading to sustainable earnings growth and long-term stock price appreciation. The Fund’s investment team employs both rigorous fundamental analysis and quantitative screening to identify potential investment candidates with greater earnings potential than expected by the market. Investment candidates typically exhibit some or all of the following key criteria: strong organic revenue growth, expanding margins and profitability, defensible competitive advantages, growing market share and experienced management teams. Valuation is an integral part of the investment process and purchase decisions are based on the potential reward relative to risk of each security based on the investment team’s proprietary earnings calculations.

 

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RS TECHNOLOGY FUND

 

 

A particular company will be considered to be in the technology sector if, at the time of investment, at least 50% of the company’s assets, gross income, or net profits are, in the investment team’s judgment, committed to, or derived from, industries in the technology sector. A company will also be considered to be in the technology sector if the Fund’s investment team considers that the company has the potential for capital appreciation primarily as a result of particular products, technology, patents, or other market advantages in those industries.

Principal Risks

You may lose money by investing in the Fund. The Fund may not achieve its investment objective. The principal risks of investing in the Fund, which could adversely affect its net asset value and total return, are as follows.

Equity Securities Risk

The value of a company’s stock may decline in response to factors affecting that particular company or stock markets generally.

Investment Style Risk

A mutual fund investing principally in aggressive growth style stocks may at times underperform other mutual funds that invest more broadly or that have different investment styles.

Concentration Risk

Concentrating investments in the information technology sector increases the risk of loss because the stocks of many or all of the companies in the sector may decline in value due to developments adversely affecting the sector. In addition, investors may buy or sell substantial amounts of the Fund’s shares in response to factors affecting or expected to affect the information technology sector, resulting in extreme inflows and outflows of cash into and out of the Fund. Such inflows or outflows might affect management of the Fund adversely to the extent they were to cause the Fund’s cash position or cash requirements to exceed normal levels.

Overweighting Risk

Overweighting investments in an industry or group of industries relative to the Fund’s benchmark increases the risk that the Fund will underperform its benchmark because a general decline in the prices of stocks in that industry or group of industries will affect the Fund to a greater extent than its benchmark.

Underweighting Risk

If the Fund underweights its investment in an industry or group of industries relative to the Fund’s benchmark, the Fund will participate in any general increase in the value of companies in that industry or group of industries to a lesser extent than the Fund’s benchmark.

Technology Investment Risk

Investments in technology companies may be highly volatile. Their values may be adversely affected by such factors as, for example, rapid technological change, changes in management personnel, changes in the competitive environment, and changes in investor sentiment. Many technology companies are small or mid-sized companies and may be newly organized.

Foreign Securities Risk

Foreign securities are subject to political, regulatory, and economic risks not present in domestic investments. In addition, when the Fund buys securities denominated in a foreign currency, there are special risks such as changes in currency exchange rates and the risk that a foreign government could regulate foreign exchange transactions. In addition, to the extent that investments are made in a limited number of countries, events in those countries will have a more significant impact on the Fund.

Portfolio Turnover Risk

Frequent purchases and sales of portfolio securities may result in higher Fund expenses and may result in more significant distributions of short-term capital gains to investors, which are taxed as ordinary income. In recent periods, the Fund has experienced annual portfolio turnover in excess of 100% and will likely experience high portfolio turnover rates in the future.

Cash Position Risk

To the extent that the Fund holds assets in cash and cash equivalents and not in the investments previously described, the ability of the Fund to meet its objective may be limited.

Liquidity Risk

Lack of a ready market or restrictions on resale may limit the ability of the Fund to sell a security at an advantageous time or price. In addition, the Fund, by itself or together with other accounts managed by RS Investments, may hold a position in a security that is large relative to the typical trading volume for that security, which can make it difficult for the Fund to dispose of the position at an advantageous time or price.

Small and Mid-sized Companies Risk

Small and mid-sized companies may be subject to a number of risks not associated with larger, more established companies, potentially making their stock prices more volatile and increasing the risk of loss.

 

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RS TECHNOLOGY FUND

 

 

Fund Performance

The bar chart and the table on the next page 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 comparing the Fund’s returns with those of two broad measures of market performance. The Fund’s past performance (before and after taxes) is not an indication of future performance. Updated performance information for the Fund is available at www.rsinvestments.com or by calling 800-766-3863.

 

Annual Total Return for Class Y Shares1 (calendar year-end)
 
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Best Quarter  Fourth Quarter 2001  46.02%            Worst Quarter  Third Quarter 2001  -33.81%
1   Returns for the periods through May 1, 2007 reflect performance of the Fund’s Class A shares. Class A shares represent an investment in the same portfolio of securities as Class Y shares. Annual returns for Class A and Class Y shares differ to the extent Class Y shares do not have the same expenses as Class A shares.

 

Average Annual Total Returns (periods ended 12/31/10)                            
    

1

Year

   

5

Years1

   

10

Years1

   

Since
Inception1

(11/15/95)

 
Class Y Shares                                
Return Before Taxes     36.52%        9.41%        3.23%        9.31%   
Return After Taxes on Distributions     35.85%        8.40%        2.71%        8.24%   
Return After Taxes on Distributions and Sale of Fund Shares     24.63%        7.84%        2.61%        7.89%   
S&P North American Technology Sector Index™ (reflects no deduction for fees, expenses or taxes)     12.65%        5.83%        -0.86%        7.34% 1 
S&P 500® Index (reflects no deduction for fees, expenses or taxes)     15.06%        2.29%        1.41%        6.98%   
1  

Since inception returns for the S&P North American Technology Sector Index reflect, for periods after August 29, 1996, the reinvestment of dividends paid on the securities constituting the index; for periods through August 29, 1996, index returns do not reflect the reinvestment of dividends.

2   Returns for the periods through May 1, 2007 reflect performance of the Fund’s Class A shares. Class A shares represent an investment in the same portfolio of securities as Class Y shares. Annual returns for Class A and Class Y shares differ to the extent Class Y shares do not have the same expenses as Class A shares.

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. 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.

The Fund commenced investment operations November 15, 1995, with the offering of Class A shares, and subsequently offered Class Y shares on May 1, 2007. Performance shown for Class Y shares reflects the performance of the Fund’s Class A shares for periods through the Class Y shares’ offering. Blended class performance has been adjusted to take into account differences in sales load applicable to these share classes (Class A shares charge a sales load and Class Y shares do not charge a sales load), but has not been adjusted to take into account differences in class-specific operating expenses (such as Rule 12b-1 fees; Class A shares pay a 12b-1 fee of 0.25% and Class Y shares do not pay a 12b-1 fee). Because Class Y shares’ operating expenses are lower than Class A shares’ historical operating expenses, historical performance of Class A shares is likely lower than what the performance of Class Y shares would have been during that period.

Management of the Fund

Investment Adviser

RS Investment Management Co. LLC

Investment Team

Stephen J. Bishop has been a co-portfolio manager and analyst of the Fund since 2001. Allison K. Thacker has been a co-portfolio manager and analyst of the Fund since 2003.

 

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RS TECHNOLOGY FUND

 

 

Purchase and Sale of Fund Shares

Shares of the Fund are only available to investors that meet certain eligibility requirements. There is no minimum initial investment in the Fund. The minimum on subsequent investments is $100.

You may redeem your shares on any business day when the New York Stock Exchange is open by mail (Boston Financial Data Services, RS Technology Fund, P.O. Box 219717, Kansas City, MO 64121-9717), by telephone (800-766-3863), or online (www.RSinvestments.com).

Tax Information

The Fund normally distributes its net investment income and net realized capital gains, if any, to shareholders. These distributions are generally taxable to you as ordinary income or capital gains, unless you are investing through a tax-deferred arrangement, such as a 401(k) plan or an individual retirement account.

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.

 

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