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Dreyfus Total Emerging Markets Fund
Fund Summary
Investment Objective

The fund seeks to maximize total return.

Fees and Expenses

This table describes the fees and expenses that you may pay if you buy and hold shares of the fund. You may qualify for sales charge discounts if you and your family invest, or agree to invest in the future, at least $50,000 in certain funds in the Dreyfus Family of Funds. More information about these and other discounts is available from your financial professional and in the Shareholder Guide section beginning on page 14 of the prospectus and in the How to Buy Shares section and the Additional Information About How to Buy Shares section beginning on page II-1 and page III-1, respectively, of the fund's Statement of Additional Information.

Shareholder Fees - Dreyfus Total Emerging Markets Fund
A
C
I
Class Y
Maximum sales charge (load) imposed on purchases (as a percentage of offering price) 5.75% none none none
Maximum deferred sales charge (load) (as a percentage of lower of purchase or sale price) none [1] 1.00% none none
Redemption fee (as a percentage of amount redeemed; charged only when selling shares you have owned for less than 60 days) 2.00% 2.00% 2.00% 2.00%
[1] Class A shares bought without an initial sales charge as part of an investment of $1 million or more may be charged a deferred sales charge of 1.00% if redeemed within one year.
Annual Fund Operating Expenses - Dreyfus Total Emerging Markets Fund
A
C
I
Class Y
Management fees 1.00% 1.00% 1.00% 1.00%
Distribution (12b-1) fees none 0.75% none none
Other expenses (including shareholder services fees) 0.72% 0.71% 0.36% 0.38%
Total annual fund operating expenses 1.72% 2.46% 1.36% 1.38%
Fee waiver and/or expense reimbursement [1] (0.12%) (0.11%) (0.01%) (0.08%)
Total annual fund operating expenses (after fee waiver and/or expense reimbursement) 1.60% 2.35% 1.35% 1.30%
[1] The fund's investment adviser, The Dreyfus Corporation, has contractually agreed, until March 1, 2017, to waive receipt of its fees and/or assume the direct expenses of the fund so that the expenses of Class A, Class C, Class I and Class Y shares of the fund (excluding Rule 12b-1 fees, shareholder services fees, taxes, interest, brokerage commissions, commitment fees on borrowings and extraordinary expenses) do not exceed 1.35%, 1.35%, 1.35% and 1.30%, respectively. On or after March 1, 2017, 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 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 by The Dreyfus Corporation. Although your actual costs may be higher or lower, based on these assumptions your costs would be:

Expense Example - Dreyfus Total Emerging Markets Fund - USD ($)
1 Year
3 Years
5 Years
10 Years
A 728 1,075 1,444 2,479
C 338 756 1,301 2,788
I 137 430 744 1,634
Class Y 132 429 748 1,650
You would pay the following expenses if you did not redeem your shares:
Expense Example No Redemption - Dreyfus Total Emerging Markets Fund - USD ($)
1 Year
3 Years
5 Years
10 Years
A 728 1,075 1,444 2,479
C 238 756 1,301 2,788
I 137 430 744 1,634
Class Y 132 429 748 1,650
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 125.89% of the average value of its portfolio.

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 the securities of emerging market issuers and other investments that are tied economically to emerging market countries. The fund normally allocates its investments among emerging market equities, bonds and currencies. Emerging market countries generally are those countries defined as having an emerging or developing economy by the World Bank or its related organizations, or the United Nations or its authorities.


The portfolio construction process starts with the fund's portfolio managers assessing the risk and return expectations of equities, bonds and currencies for each emerging market country over a 12-month period. These expectations are guided primarily by the portfolio managers' common global macro-economic view and top-down country-specific outlooks. Moreover, these expectations also reflect the portfolio managers' bottom-up valuation assessments of individual securities. The fund's assets are then allocated to the more attractive emerging market asset classes and countries. After making asset and country allocation decisions, the portfolio managers select individual securities for the fund's portfolio.


In choosing bonds and currency investments for the fund, the portfolio managers rely on in-depth fundamental analysis. The portfolio managers seek to anticipate shifts in country fundamentals and their impact on bond and currency valuations. Bond selection is underpinned by a detailed assessment of sovereign risk, which encompasses an analysis of debt sustainability, liquidity, inflation expectations, and institutional factors. In considering the attractiveness of local currency exposures (through investment in forward contracts, bonds or equities), the portfolio managers focus, among other things, on the balance of payments outlook for the relevant country.


The fund may invest in bonds of any maturity or duration. 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.


In choosing equity investments for the fund, the portfolio managers rely on in-depth fundamental analysis supported by proprietary quantitative models. A preference is given to companies whose business is focused on domestic consumption. The portfolio managers seek to identify attractive stocks with low relative price multiples and positive trends in earnings forecasts. The quantitative models used by the portfolio managers combine relative value characteristics (such as price/earnings and price/book ratios) and relative growth characteristics (estimated trends and revision ratios) to create a relative attractiveness score for each stock. The portfolio managers' fundamental analysis includes qualitatively reviewing the more attractively ranked stocks to assess the sustainability of a company's business momentum by analyzing the company's financial statements and meeting with management, suppliers, customers and competitors.


The fund may, but is not required to, use derivative instruments, such as options, futures and options on futures (including those relating to securities, indexes, foreign currencies and interest rates), forward contracts and swap agreements, as a substitute for investing directly in equities, bonds and currencies, to increase returns, to manage credit, interest rate or currency risk, to manage the effective maturity or duration of the fund's portfolio, as part of a hedging strategy, or for other purposes related to the management of the fund.

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.


· Allocation risk. The ability of the fund to achieve its investment goal depends, in part, on the ability of the fund's portfolio manager to allocate effectively the fund's assets among the emerging market equities, bonds and currencies. There can be no assurance that the actual allocations will be effective in achieving the fund's investment goal.


· Correlation risk. Because the fund allocates its investments among different asset classes, the fund is subject to correlation risk. Although the prices of equity securities and fixed-income securities, as well as other asset classes, often rise and fall at different times so that a fall in the price of one may be offset by a rise in the price of the other, in down markets the prices of these securities and asset classes can also fall in tandem.


· 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. To the extent the fund's investments are focused in a limited number of foreign countries, the fund's performance could be more volatile than that of more geographically diversified funds.


· 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.


· Foreign currency risk. Investments in foreign currencies are subject to the risk that those currencies will decline in value relative to the U.S. dollar or, in the case of hedged positions, that the U.S. dollar will decline relative to the currency being hedged. Currency exchange rates may fluctuate significantly over short periods of time. Foreign currencies, particularly the currencies of emerging market countries, are also subject to risks caused by inflation, interest rates, budget deficits and low savings rates, political factors and government intervention and controls.


· Foreign government obligations and securities of supranational entities risk. Investing in foreign government (sovereign) obligations and debt obligations of supranational entities creates exposure to the direct or indirect consequences of political, social or economic changes in the countries that issue the securities or in which the issuers are located. The ability and willingness of sovereign obligors or the governmental authorities that control repayment of their debt to pay principal and interest on such debt when due may depend on general economic and political conditions within the relevant country. Certain countries in which the fund may invest have historically experienced, and may continue to experience, high rates of inflation, high interest rates and extreme poverty and unemployment. Some of these countries are also characterized by political uncertainty or instability. These risks are heightened with respect to emerging market obligors. A sovereign obligor may default on its obligations.


· Risks of stock investing. Stocks generally fluctuate more in value than bonds and may decline significantly over short time periods. There is the chance that stock prices overall will decline because stock markets tend to move in cycles, with periods of rising prices and falling prices. The market value of a stock may decline due to general market conditions or because of factors that affect the particular company or the company's industry.


· 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 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.


· 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 a security, can cause the security's price to fall, lowering the value of the fund's investment in such security. 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 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.


· 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 values of already-issued fixed rate fixed-income securities generally rise. However, 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 are at or near historic lows. Risks associated with rising interest rates are heightened given that interest rates in the United States and other countries are at or near historic lows. Unlike investment grade bonds, however, the prices of high yield ("junk") bonds may fluctuate unpredictably and not necessarily inversely with changes in interest rates.


· 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. 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.


· 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.


· Derivatives risk. A small investment in derivatives could have a potentially large impact on the fund's performance. The use of derivatives involves risks different from, or possibly greater than, the risks associated with investing directly in the underlying assets, and the fund's use of derivatives may result in losses to the fund. Derivatives in which the fund may invest can be highly volatile, illiquid and difficult to value, and there is the risk that changes in the value of a derivative held by the fund will not correlate with the underlying instruments or the fund's other investments in the manner intended. Certain types of derivatives, including swap agreements, forward contracts, over-the-counter options and other over-the-counter transactions involve greater risks than the underlying obligations because, in addition to general market risks, they are subject to illiquidity risk, counterparty risk, credit risk and pricing risk. Because many derivatives have a leverage component, adverse changes in the value or level of the underlying asset, reference rate or index can result in a loss substantially greater than the amount invested in the derivative itself. Certain derivatives have the potential for unlimited loss, regardless of the size of the initial investment.


· 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.

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 A 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. Sales charges, if any, are not reflected in the bar chart, and if those charges were included, returns would have been less than those shown. More recent performance information may be available at www.dreyfus.com.

Year-by-Year Total Returns as of 12/31 each year (%) Class A
Bar Chart

Best Quarter
Q1, 2012: 10.22%


Worst Quarter
Q3, 2015: -13.36%

Average Annual Total Returns (as of 12/31/15)

After-tax performance is shown only for Class A shares. After-tax performance of the fund's other share classes will vary. 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.


For the fund’s Class Y shares, periods prior to the inception date reflect the performance of the fund’s Class A shares, not reflecting the applicable sales charges for Class A shares. Such performance figures have not been adjusted to reflect applicable class fees and expenses.

Average Annual Returns - Dreyfus Total Emerging Markets Fund
Average Annual Returns, 1 Year
Average Annual Returns, Since Inception
Average Annual Returns, Inception Date
A (15.87%) (4.96%) Mar. 25, 2011
C (12.37%) (4.50%) Mar. 25, 2011
I (10.59%) (3.55%) Mar. 25, 2011
Class Y (10.50%) (3.59%) Jul. 01, 2013
After Taxes on Distributions | A (15.71%) (5.18%)  
After Taxes on Distributions and Sale of Fund Shares | A (8.82%) (4.20%)  
MSCI Emerging Markets Index reflects no deduction for fees, expenses or taxes (14.92%) (5.46%) [1] Mar. 31, 2011
Customized Blended Index (70% Morgan Stanley Capital International Emerging Markets Index/15% JP Morgan (JPM) Government Bond Index-Emerging Markets Global Diversified/7.5% JPM Emerging Markets Bond Index-Global/7.5% JPM Corporate Emerging Markets Bond Index-Diversified), reflects no deduction for fees, expenses or taxes (12.53%) (3.62%) [1] Mar. 31, 2011
[1] For comparative purposes, the value of the index on March 31, 2011 is used as the beginning value on March 25, 2011.