DREYFUS INVESTMENT PORTFOLIOS -- EMERGING MARKETS PORTFOLIO
SUPPLEMENT TO PROSPECTUS
DATED DECEMBER 31, 2000
THIS INFORMATION SUPERSEDES ANY CONTRARY INFORMATION IN THE FUND'S
PROSPECTUS.
Effective January 1, 2001, D. Kirk Henry became the portfolio's primary
portfolio manager. Mr. Henry has been employed by The Dreyfus Corporation since
May 1996. He also is senior vice president and international equity portfolio
manager of The Boston Company Asset Management, an affiliate of Dreyfus, a
position he has held since May 1994.
Mr. Henry employs a value-oriented, research-driven approach. In pursuing
this approach, he identifies potential investments through extensive
quantitative and fundamental research. With Mr. Henry as portfolio manager, the
portfolio will focus on individual stock selection rather than economic and
industry trends, emphasizing three key factors:
. VALUE, or how a stock is valued relative to its intrinsic
worth based on traditional value measures
. BUSINESS HEALTH, or overall efficiency and profitability
as measured by return on assets and return on equity
. BUSINESS MOMENTUM, or the presence of a catalyst (such as
corporate restructuring, change in management or spin-off) that
potentially will trigger a price increase near term or midterm
Value companies are companies that appear underpriced according to certain
financial measurements of their intrinsic worth or business prospects (such as
price-to-earnings or price-to-book ratios). For international investing, "value"
is determined relative to a company' s home market and/or to its industry.
Because a stock can remain undervalued for years, value investors often look for
factors that could trigger a rise in price.
The portfolio typically will sell a stock when it is no longer considered a
value company, appears less likely to benefit from the current market and
economic environment, shows deteriorating fundamentals or declining momentum, or
falls short of the portfolio manager's expectations.
Value stocks involve the risk that they may never reach what the portfolio
manager believes is their full market value either because the market fails to
recognize the stock's intrinsic worth or the manager misgauged that worth. They
also may decline in price, even though in theory they are already undervalued.
Because different types of stocks tend to shift in and out of favor depending on
market and economic conditions, the portfolio's performance may sometimes be
lower or higher than that of other types of funds (such as those emphasizing
growth stocks).
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