lp1-083.htm - Generated by SEC Publisher for SEC Filing

Dreyfus Short Term Income Fund

Summary Prospectus

December 6, 2017

Summary Prospectus

December 6, 2017

Class Ticker

D DSTIX

497K 1 lp1-083.htm SUMMARY PROSPECTUS lp1-083.htm - Generated by SEC Publisher for SEC Filing

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 statement of additional information and most recent reports to shareholders, online at www.dreyfus.com/funddocuments. You can also get this information at no cost by calling 1-800-DREYFUS (inside the U.S. only) or by sending an e-mail request to info@dreyfus.com. The fund's prospectus and statement of additional information, dated December 1, 2017 (each as revised or supplemented), are incorporated by reference into this summary prospectus.

Investment Objective

The fund seeks to maximize total return, consisting of capital appreciation and current income.

Fees and Expenses

This table describes the fees and expenses that you may pay if you buy and hold shares of the fund.


Annual Fund Operating Expenses (expenses that you pay each year as a percentage of the value of your investment)
Management fees		0.50%
Other expenses (including shareholder services fees)		0.50%
Total annual fund operating expenses		1.00%
Fee waiver and/or expense reimbursement^*		(0.35)%
Total annual fund operating expenses (after fee waiver and/or expense reimbursement)		0.65%
^*The fund's investment adviser, The Dreyfus Corporation, has contractually agreed, until November 30, 2018, to waive receipt of its fees and/or assume the expenses of the fund so that the direct expenses of the fund (excluding shareholder services fees, taxes, interest, brokerage commissions, commitment fees on borrowings and extraordinary expenses) do not exceed 0.45%. On or after November 30, 2018, The Dreyfus Corporation may terminate this expense limitation at any time.

Example

The 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 and then hold or redeem all of your shares at the end of those periods. The Example also assumes 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 year of the three-, five- and ten-years examples are based on net operating expenses, which reflect the expense limitation agreement by The Dreyfus Corporation. Although your actual costs may be higher or lower, based on these assumptions your costs would be:


1 Year	3 Years	5 Years	10 Years
$66	$284	$518	$1,193

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 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 41.03% of the average value of its portfolio.


0083SP1217A

Principal Investment Strategy

To pursue its goal, the fund normally invests at least 80% of its net assets, plus any borrowings for investment purposes, in fixed-income securities of U.S. and foreign issuers rated investment grade or the unrated equivalent as determined by The Dreyfus Corporation. These securities include: U.S. government bonds and notes, corporate bonds, municipal bonds, convertible securities, preferred stocks, inflation-indexed securities, asset-backed securities, mortgage-related securities (including CMOs), floating rate loans (limited to up to 20% of the fund's net assets) and other floating rate securities and foreign bonds. Typically, the fund's portfolio can be expected to have an average effective maturity and an average effective duration of three years or less. A bond's maturity is the length of time until the principal must be fully repaid with interest. Average effective portfolio maturity is an average of the maturities of bonds held by the fund directly and the bonds underlying derivative instruments entered into by the fund, if any, adjusted to reflect provisions or market conditions that may cause a bond's principal to be repaid earlier than at its stated maturity. Duration is an indication of an investment's "interest rate risk," or how sensitive a bond or the fund's portfolio may be to changes in interest rates.

For additional yield, the fund may invest up to 20% of its assets in fixed-income securities rated below investment grade ("high yield" or "junk" bonds) to as low as Caa/CCC or the unrated equivalent as determined by The Dreyfus Corporation. The fund will focus on U.S. securities, but may invest up to 30% of its total assets in fixed-income securities of foreign issuers (i.e., securities issued by companies organized under the laws of countries other than the U.S. or securities issued by foreign governments), including those of issuers in emerging markets.

Principal Risks

An investment in the fund is not a bank deposit. It is not insured or guaranteed by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) or any other government agency. It is not a complete investment program. The fund's share price fluctuates, sometimes dramatically, which means you could lose money.

· Fixed-income market risk. The market value of a fixed-income security may decline due to general market conditions that are not specifically related to a particular company, such as real or perceived adverse economic conditions, changes in the outlook for corporate earnings, changes in interest or currency rates or adverse investor sentiment generally. The fixed-income securities market can be susceptible to increases in volatility and decreases in liquidity. Liquidity can decline unpredictably in response to overall economic conditions or credit tightening. Increases in volatility and decreases in liquidity may be caused by a rise in interest rates (or the expectation of a rise in interest rates), which currently are at or near historic lows in the United States and in other countries. An unexpected increase in fund redemption requests, including requests from shareholders who may own a significant percentage of the fund's shares, which may be triggered by market turmoil or an increase in interest rates, could cause the fund to sell its holdings at a loss or at undesirable prices and adversely affect the fund's share price and increase the fund's liquidity risk, fund expenses and/or taxable distributions.

· Interest rate risk. Prices of bonds and other fixed rate fixed-income securities tend to move inversely with changes in interest rates. Typically, a rise in rates will adversely affect fixed-income securities and, accordingly, will cause the value of the fund's investments in these securities to decline. During periods of very low interest rates, which occur from time to time due to market forces or actions of governments and/or their central banks, including the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System in the U.S., the fund may be subject to a greater risk of principal decline from rising interest rates. When interest rates fall, the fund's investments in new securities may be at lower yields and may reduce the fund's income. The magnitude of these fluctuations in the market price of fixed-income securities is generally greater for securities with longer effective maturities and durations because such instruments do not mature, reset interest rates or become callable for longer periods of time. The change in the value of a fixed-income security or portfolio can be approximated by multiplying its duration by a change in interest rates. For example, the market price of a fixed-income security with a duration of three years would be expected to decline 3% if interest rates rose 1%. Conversely, the market price of the same security would be expected to increase 3% if interest rates fell 1%. Risks associated with rising interest rates are heightened given that interest rates in the United States and other countries currently are at or near historic lows. Unlike investment grade bonds, however, the prices of high yield bonds may fluctuate unpredictably and not necessarily inversely with changes in interest rates. Interest rate changes may have different effects on the values of mortgage-related securities because of prepayment and extension risks. In addition, the rates on floating rate instruments adjust periodically with changes in market interest rates. Although these instruments are generally less sensitive to interest rate changes than fixed rate instruments, the value of floating rate loans and other floating rate securities may decline if their interest rates do not rise as quickly, or as much, as general interest rates.

· Credit risk. Failure of an issuer of a security to make timely interest or principal payments when due, or a decline or perception of a decline in the credit quality of the security, can cause the security's price to fall. The lower a security's credit rating, the greater the chance that the issuer of the security will default or fail to meet its payment obligations.

· High yield securities risk. High yield ("junk") securities involve greater credit risk, including the risk of default, than investment grade securities, and are considered predominantly speculative with respect to the issuer's ability to make principal and interest


Dreyfus Short Term Income Fund- Class D Summary	2

payments. The prices of high yield securities can fall in response to bad news about the issuer or its industry, or the economy in general, to a greater extent than those of higher rated securities.

· Liquidity risk. When there is little or no active trading market for specific types of securities, it can become more difficult to sell the securities in a timely manner at or near their perceived value. In such a market, the value of such securities and the fund's share price may fall dramatically, even during periods of declining interest rates. The secondary market for certain municipal bonds tends to be less well developed or liquid than many other securities markets, which may adversely affect the fund’s ability to sell such municipal bonds at attractive prices. Investments that are illiquid or that trade in lower volumes may be more difficult to value. The market for below investment grade securities may be less liquid and therefore these securities may be harder to value or sell at an acceptable price, especially during times of market volatility or decline. Investments in foreign securities, particularly those of issuers located in emerging markets, tend to have greater exposure to liquidity risk than domestic securities. No active trading market may exist for some of the floating rate loans in which the fund invests and certain loans may be subject to restrictions on resale. Because some floating rate loans that the fund invests in may have a more limited secondary market, liquidity risk is more pronounced for the fund than for mutual funds that invest primarily in other types of fixed-income instruments or equity securities. Liquidity risk also may refer to the risk that the fund will not be able to pay redemption proceeds within the allowable time period stated in this prospectus because of unusual market conditions, an unusually high volume of redemption requests, or other reasons. To meet redemption requests, the fund may be forced to sell securities at an unfavorable time and/or under unfavorable conditions, which may adversely affect the fund's share price.

· Foreign investment risk. To the extent the fund invests in foreign securities, the fund's performance will be influenced by political, social and economic factors affecting investments in foreign issuers. Special risks associated with investments in foreign issuers include exposure to currency fluctuations, less liquidity, less developed or less efficient trading markets, lack of comprehensive company information, political and economic instability and differing auditing and legal standards. Investments denominated in foreign currencies are subject to the risk that such currencies will decline in value relative to the U.S. dollar and affect the value of these investments held by the fund.

· Emerging market risk. The securities of issuers located or doing substantial business in emerging market countries tend to be more volatile and less liquid than the securities of issuers located in countries with more mature economies. Emerging markets generally have less diverse and less mature economic structures and less stable political systems than those of developed countries. Investments in these countries may be subject to political, economic, legal, market and currency risks. The risks may include less protection of property rights and uncertain political and economic policies, the imposition of capital controls and/or foreign investment limitations by a country, nationalization of businesses and the imposition of sanctions by other countries, such as the United States.

· Non-diversification risk. The fund is non-diversified, which means that the fund may invest a relatively high percentage of its assets in a limited number of issuers. Therefore, the fund's performance may be more vulnerable to changes in the market value of a single issuer or group of issuers and more susceptible to risks associated with a single economic, political or regulatory occurrence than a diversified fund.

· Inflation-indexed security risk. Interest payments on inflation-indexed securities can be unpredictable and will vary as the principal and/or interest is periodically adjusted based on the rate of inflation. If the index measuring inflation falls, the interest payable on these securities will be reduced. The U.S. Treasury has guaranteed that in the event of a drop in prices, it would repay the par amount of its inflation-indexed securities. Inflation-indexed securities issued by corporations generally do not guarantee repayment of principal. Any increase in the principal amount of an inflation-indexed security will be considered taxable ordinary income, even though investors do not receive their principal until maturity. As a result, the fund may be required to make annual distributions to shareholders that exceed the cash the fund received, which may cause the fund to liquidate certain investments when it is not advantageous to do so. Also, if the principal value of an inflation-indexed security is adjusted downward due to deflation, amounts previously distributed may be characterized in some circumstances as a return of capital.

· Government securities risk. Not all obligations of the U.S. government, its agencies and instrumentalities are backed by the full faith and credit of the U.S. Treasury. Some obligations are backed only by the credit of the issuing agency or instrumentality, and in some cases there may be some risk of default by the issuer. Any guarantee by the U.S. government or its agencies or instrumentalities of a security held by the fund does not apply to the market value of such security or to shares of the fund itself. A security backed by the U.S. Treasury or the full faith and credit of the United States is guaranteed only as to the timely payment of interest and principal when held to maturity.

· Municipal securities risk. The amount of public information available about municipal securities is generally less than that for corporate equities or bonds. Special factors, such as legislative changes, and state and local economic and business developments, may adversely affect the yield and/or value of the fund's investments in municipal securities. Other factors include the general conditions of the municipal securities market, the size of the particular offering, the maturity of the obligation and the rating of the issue. The municipal securities market can be susceptible to increases in volatility and decreases in liquidity. Liquidity can decline unpredictably in response to overall economic conditions or credit tightening. Increases in


Dreyfus Short Term Income Fund- Class D Summary	3

volatility and decreases in liquidity may be caused by a rise in interest rates (or the expectation of a rise in interest rates), which currently are at or near historic lows in the United States. An unexpected increase in fund redemption requests, including requests from shareholders who may own a significant percentage of the fund's shares, which may be triggered by market turmoil or an increase in interest rates, could cause the fund to sell its holdings at a loss or at undesirable prices and adversely affect the fund's share price and increase the fund's liquidity risk and fund expenses. Changes in economic, business or political conditions relating to a particular municipal project, municipality, or state, territory or possession of the United States in which the fund invests may have an impact on the fund's share price.

· Portfolio turnover risk. The fund may engage in short-term trading, which could produce higher transaction costs and taxable distributions, and lower the fund's after-tax performance. The fund's forward roll transactions will increase its portfolio turnover rate.

· Issuer risk. A security's market value may decline for a number of reasons which directly relate to the issuer, such as management performance, financial leverage and reduced demand for the issuer's products or services, or factors that affect the issuer's industry, such as labor shortages or increased production costs and competitive conditions within an industry.

Performance

The following bar chart and table provide some indication of the risks of investing in the fund. The bar chart shows changes in the performance of the fund's Class D shares from year to year. The table compares the average annual total returns of the fund's shares to those of a broad measure of market performance. The fund's past performance (before and after taxes) is not necessarily an indication of how the fund will perform in the future. More recent performance information may be available at www.dreyfus.com.


Year-by-Year Total Returns as of 12/31 each year (%) Class D
	Best Quarter Q2, 2009: 5.96% Worst Quarter Q4, 2008: -3.30%
The year-to-date total return of the fund's Class D shares as of September 30, 2017 was 1.57%.

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 the investor's tax situation and may differ from those shown, and the after-tax returns shown are not relevant to investors who hold their shares through U.S. tax-deferred arrangements such as 401(k) plans or individual retirement accounts. Returns after taxes on distributions and sale of fund shares may be higher than returns before taxes or returns after taxes on distributions due to an assumed tax benefit from losses on a sale of the fund's shares at the end of the period.


Average Annual Total Returns (as of 12/31/16)
	1 Year	5 Years	10 Years
Class D returns before taxes	1.32%	1.20%	2.27%
Class D returns after taxes on distributions	0.82%	0.46%	1.22%
Class D returns after taxes on distributions and sale of fund shares	0.74%	0.61%	1.34%
BofA Merrill Lynch 1-5 Year U.S. Corporate/Government Index reflects no deduction for fees, expenses or taxes	1.62%	1.39%	3.08%

Portfolio Management

The fund's investment adviser is The Dreyfus Corporation (Dreyfus).

Investment decisions for the fund are made by a team of portfolio managers from Standish Mellon Asset Management Company LLC (Standish), an affiliate of Dreyfus. The team members are David Horsfall, CFA, and David Bowser, CFA, each of whom also is an employee of Dreyfus. The team members have served as primary portfolio managers of the fund since April 2011. Mr.


Dreyfus Short Term Income Fund- Class D Summary	4

Horsfall is deputy chief investment officer and a senior portfolio manager at Standish. Mr. Bowser has served as a portfolio manager of the fund since July 2008. Mr. Bowser is a director of active fixed-income strategies and a senior portfolio manager at Standish.

Purchase and Sale of Fund Shares

In general, the fund's minimum initial investment is $2,500 and the minimum subsequent investment is $100. You may sell (redeem) your shares on any business day by calling 1-800-DREYFUS (inside the U.S. only) or by visiting www.dreyfus.com. If you invested in the fund through a third party, such as a bank, broker-dealer or financial adviser, or through a Retirement Plan (as defined below), you may mail your request to sell shares to Dreyfus Institutional Department, P.O. Box 9882, Providence, Rhode Island 02940-8082. If you invested directly through the fund, you may mail your request to sell shares to Dreyfus Shareholder Services, P.O. Box 9879, Providence, Rhode Island 02940-8079. If you are an Institutional Direct accountholder, please contact your BNY Mellon relationship manager for instructions.

Retirement Plans include qualified or non-qualified employee benefit plans, such as 401(k), 403(b)(7), Keogh, pension, profit-sharing and other deferred compensation plans, whether established by corporations, partnerships, sole proprietorships, non-profit entities, trade or labor unions, or state and local governments, but do not include IRAs (including, without limitation, traditional IRAs, Roth IRAs, Coverdell Education Savings Accounts, IRA "Rollover Accounts" or IRAs set up under Simplified Employee Pension Plans (SEP-IRAs), Salary Reduction Simplified Employee Pension Plans (SARSEPs) or Savings Incentive Match Plans for Employees (SIMPLE IRAs)).

Tax Information

The fund's distributions are taxable as ordinary income or capital gains, except when your investment is through an IRA, Retirement Plan or other U.S. tax-advantaged investment plan (in which case you may be taxed upon withdrawal of your investment from such account).

Payments to Broker-Dealers and Other Financial Intermediaries

If you purchase shares 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. To the extent that the intermediary may receive lesser or no payments in connection with the sale of other investments, the payments from the fund and its related companies may create a potential conflict of interest by influencing the broker-dealer or other intermediary and your financial representative to recommend the fund over the other investments. This potential conflict of interest may be addressed by policies, procedures or practices adopted by the financial intermediary. As there may be many different policies, procedures or practices adopted by different intermediaries to address the manner in which compensation is earned through the sale of investments or the provision of related services, the compensation rates and other payment arrangements that may apply to a financial intermediary and its representatives may vary by intermediary. Ask your financial representative or visit your financial intermediary's website for more information.

This prospectus does not constitute an offer or solicitation in any state or jurisdiction in which, or to any person to whom, such offering or solicitation may not lawfully be made.


Dreyfus Short Term Income Fund- Class D Summary	5

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Investment Objective

The fund seeks to maximize total return, consisting of capital appreciation and current income.

Fees and Expenses

This table describes the fees and expenses that you may pay if you buy and hold shares of the fund.


Annual Fund Operating Expenses (expenses that you pay each year as a percentage of the value of your investment)
Management fees	0.50%
Other expenses (including shareholder services fees)	0.62%
Total annual fund operating expenses	1.12%
Fee waiver and/or expense reimbursement^*	(0.42)%
Total annual fund operating expenses (after fee waiver and/or expense reimbursement)	0.70%
^*The fund's investment adviser, The Dreyfus Corporation, has contractually agreed, until November 30, 2018, to waive receipt of its fees and/or assume the expenses of the fund so that the direct expenses of the fund (excluding shareholder services fees, taxes, interest, brokerage commissions, commitment fees on borrowings and extraordinary expenses) do not exceed 0.45%. On or after November 30, 2018, The Dreyfus Corporation may terminate this expense limitation at any time.

Example


1 Year	3 Years	5 Years	10 Years
$72	$314	$576	$1,326

Portfolio Turnover


0171SP1217A

Principal Investment Strategy

Principal Risks


Dreyfus Short Term Income Fund- Class P Summary	2

payments. The prices of high yield securities can fall in response to bad news about the issuer or its industry, or the economy in general, to a greater extent than those of higher rated securities.


Dreyfus Short Term Income Fund- Class P Summary	3

Performance

The following bar chart and table provide some indication of the risks of investing in the fund. The bar chart shows changes in the performance of the fund's Class P shares from year to year. The table compares the average annual total returns of the fund's shares to those of a broad measure of market performance. The fund's past performance (before and after taxes) is not necessarily an indication of how the fund will perform in the future. More recent performance information may be available at www.dreyfus.com.


Year-by-Year Total Returns as of 12/31 each year (%) Class P
	Best Quarter Q2, 2009: 5.93% Worst Quarter Q4, 2008: -3.29%
The year-to-date total return of the fund's Class P shares as of September 30, 2017 was 1.62%.


Average Annual Total Returns (as of 12/31/16)
	1 Year	5 Years	10 Years
Class P returns before taxes	1.12%	1.14%	2.23%
Class P returns after taxes on distributions	0.67%	0.42%	1.19%
Class P returns after taxes on distributions and sale of fund shares	0.63%	0.57%	1.32%
BofA Merrill Lynch 1-5 Year U.S. Corporate/Government Index reflects no deduction for fees, expenses or taxes	1.62%	1.39%	3.08%

Portfolio Management

The fund's investment adviser is The Dreyfus Corporation (Dreyfus).


Dreyfus Short Term Income Fund- Class P Summary	4

manager of the fund since July 2008. Mr. Bowser is a director of active fixed-income strategies and a senior portfolio manager at Standish.

Purchase and Sale of Fund Shares

In general, the fund's minimum initial investment is $100,000 and the minimum subsequent investment is $100. You may sell (redeem) your shares on any business day by calling 1-800-DREYFUS (inside the U.S. only) or by visiting www.dreyfus.com. If you invested in the fund through a third party, such as a bank, broker-dealer or financial adviser, or through a Retirement Plan (as defined below), you may mail your request to sell shares to Dreyfus Institutional Department, P.O. Box 9882, Providence, Rhode Island 02940-8082. If you invested directly through the fund, you may mail your request to sell shares to Dreyfus Shareholder Services, P.O. Box 9879, Providence, Rhode Island 02940-8079. If you are an Institutional Direct accountholder, please contact your BNY Mellon relationship manager for instructions.

Tax Information

Payments to Broker-Dealers and Other Financial Intermediaries

This prospectus does not constitute an offer or solicitation in any state or jurisdiction in which, or to any person to whom, such offering or solicitation may not lawfully be made.


Dreyfus Short Term Income Fund- Class P Summary	5

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Dreyfus Short Term Income Fund- Class P Summary	6