DREYFUS HIGH YIELD STRATEGIES FUND
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NOTICE OF ANNUAL MEETING OF SHAREHOLDERS
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To the Shareholders of:
DREYFUS HIGH YIELD STRATEGIES FUND
The Annual Meeting of Shareholders of Dreyfus High Yield Strategies Fund
(the "Fund" ) will be held at the offices of The Dreyfus Corporation, 200 Park
Avenue, 7th Floor, New York, New York, on Friday, August 4, 2000 at 10:00 a.m.,
for the following purposes:
1. To elect three Class I Trustees to serve for a three year term and until
their successors are duly elected and qualified;
2. To ratify the selection of KPMG LLP as independent auditors of the Fund;
and
3. To transact such other business as may properly come before the meeting,
or any adjournment or adjournments thereof.
Shareholders of record at the close of business on June 1, 2000 will be
entitled to receive notice of and to vote at the meeting.
By Order of the Board
Michael Rosenberg
Assistant Secretary
New York, New York
June 15, 2000
WE NEED YOUR PROXY VOTE IMMEDIATELY
A SHAREHOLDER MAY THINK HIS OR HER VOTE IS NOT IMPORTANT, BUT IT IS VITAL. BY
LAW, THE ANNUAL MEETING OF SHAREHOLDERS OF THE FUND WILL HAVE TO BE ADJOURNED
WITHOUT CONDUCTING ANY BUSINESS IF LESS THAN A QUORUM IS REPRESENTED. IN THAT
EVENT, THE FUND WOULD CONTINUE TO SOLICIT VOTES IN AN ATTEMPT TO ACHIEVE A
QUORUM. CLEARLY, YOUR VOTE COULD BE CRITICAL TO ENABLE THE FUND TO HOLD THE
MEETING AS SCHEDULED, SO PLEASE RETURN YOUR PROXY CARD IMMEDIATELY. YOU AND
ALL OTHER SHAREHOLDERS WILL BENEFIT FROM YOUR COOPERATION.
DREYFUS HIGH YIELD STRATEGIES FUND
PROXY STATEMENT
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ANNUAL MEETING OF STOCKHOLDERS
TO BE HELD ON FRIDAY, AUGUST 4, 2000
This proxy statement is furnished in connection with a solicitation of
proxies by the Board of Trustees of Dreyfus High Yield Strategies Fund (the
"Fund") to be used at the Annual Meeting of Shareholders of the Fund, to be held
on Friday, August 4, 2000 at 10:00 a.m., and at any adjournments thereof, at the
offices of The Dreyfus Corporation ("Dreyfus"), 200 Park Avenue, 7th Floor, New
York, New York, for the purposes set forth in the accompanying Notice of Annual
Meeting of Shareholders. Shareholders of record at the close of business on June
1, 2000 are entitled to be present and to vote at the meeting. Each share of
beneficial interest of the Fund is entitled to one vote. Shares represented by
executed and unrevoked proxies will be voted in accordance with the
specifications made thereon. If the enclosed form of proxy is executed and
returned, it nevertheless may be revoked by another proxy or by letter or
telegram directed to the Fund, which must indicate the shareholder's name. To be
effective, such revocation must be received prior to the meeting. In addition,
any shareholder who attends the meeting in person may vote by ballot at the
meeting, thereby canceling any proxy previously given. There were 64,258,674
shares of beneficial interest of the Fund outstanding as of June 1, 2000. To the
Fund's knowledge, no shareholder beneficially owned 5% or more of its
outstanding shares on that date.
Proxy materials will be mailed to shareholders of record on or about June
22, 2000. Copies of the Fund's current Annual Report have been mailed to its
shareholders and may be obtained free of charge by calling 1-800-334-6899. The
principal executive offices of the Fund are located at 200 Park Avenue, New
York, New York 10166.
PROPOSAL 1. ELECTION OF TRUSTEES
The Board of Trustees of the Fund is divided into three classes with the
terms of office of one class expiring at the annual meeting of shareholders of
the Fund each year. It is proposed that shareholders of the Fund consider the
election of three Class I Trustees to serve for three year terms and until their
respective successors are duly elected and qualified. The individual nominees
(the "Nominees" ) proposed for election are listed below and each has consented
to being named in this proxy statement and has agreed to serve as a Trustee if
elected. Biographical information about each Nominee is set forth below.
Biographical information about the Fund's continuing Trustees and other relevant
information is set forth on Exhibit A. Election of a Nominee requires the
approval of a majority of shares of beneficial interest in the Fund represented
in person or by proxy and entitled to vote at the Annual Meeting, if a quorum is
present.
<TABLE>
<CAPTION>
NAME OF NOMINEE, PRINCIPAL YEAR
OCCUPATION AND BUSINESS EXPERIENCE TRUSTEE TERM
FOR PAST FIVE YEARS AGE SINCE EXPIRES
CLASS I:
<S> <C> <C> <C>
KENNETH A. HIMMEL 54 1998 2003
Trustee of the Fund; President & CEO, The Palladium Company;
President & CEO, Himmel and Company, Inc.; CEO, American Food Management;
former Director, The Boston Company, Inc. ("TBC") and Boston Safe Deposit and
Trust Company, each an affiliate of Dreyfus. Address: 625 Madison Avenue,
New York, New York 10022.
STEPHEN J. LOCKWOOD 53 1998 2003
Trustee of the Fund; Chairman and CEO, Stephen J. Lockwood & Company,
LLC; Vice Chairman, HCCH. Address: 27 Congress Street, Suite 108, Salem,
Massachusetts 01970
BENAREE PRATT WILEY 54 1998 2003
</TABLE>
Trustee of the Fund; President and CEO of The Partnership, an Organization
dedicated to increasing the representation of African Americans in positions of
leadership, influence and decision-making in Boston, Massachusetts; Trustee,
Boston College; Trustee, WGBH Educational Foundation; Trustee, Children's
Hospital; Director, The Greater Boston Chamber of Commerce; Director, The First
Albany Companies, Inc.; from April 1995 to March 1998, Director, TBC. Address:
334 Boylston Street, Suite 400, Boston, Massachusetts 02146.
The persons named in the accompanying form of proxy intend to vote each such
proxy for the election of the Nominees, unless shareholders specifically
indicate on their proxies the desire to withhold authority to vote for elections
to office. It is not contemplated that any Nominee will be unable to serve as a
Board member for any reason, but if that should occur prior to the meeting, the
proxyholders reserve the right to substitute another person or persons of their
choice as nominee or nominees.
The Fund has an audit committee comprised of all of the Trustees of the
Fund, the function of which is to routinely review financial statements and
other audit-related matters as they arise throughout the year. The Fund also has
a nominating committee comprised of those Trustees who are not "interested
persons" of the Fund as defined in the Investment Company Act of 1940, as
amended (the "1940 Act" ), the function of which is, from time to time, to
nominate persons to be considered by the Board for Board member positions. The
Fund does not have a standing compensation committee or any committee performing
similar functions. As of May 31, 2000, Mr. DiMartino owned 60,000 shares, Mr.
Goeschel owned 65,000 shares and Mr. Roger E. King, Executive Vice President of
the Fund and the Fund's primary portfolio manager, owned 7,000 shares of the
Fund's beneficial interest, constituting less than 1% of such Fund's outstanding
shares. As of such date, no other Nominee, Trustee or officer owned any shares
of the Fund's beneficial interest outstanding.
<Page 2>
For the fiscal year ended March 31, 2000, the Fund held 8 Board and / or
Committee meetings. All Trustees (except Messrs. Himmel and Lockwood) attended
at least 75% of all Board and Committee meetings, as applicable, during the last
fiscal year. Certain information concerning the Fund's officers is also set
forth in Exhibit A.
Each Trustee who is not an "interested person" of the Fund as defined in
the 1940 Act, received prior to August 1, 1999, $5,000 per year, and, as of
August 1, 1999, receives $17,000 per year, plus $1,000 for each Board meeting
attended, and $2,000 for separate committee meetings attended which are not held
in conjunction with a regularly scheduled Board meeting. If there is a joint
committee meeting of The Dreyfus/Laurel Funds, Inc., The Dreyfus/Laurel Tax-Free
Municipal Funds, and The Dreyfus/Laurel Funds Trust, collectively, (the "
Dreyfus/Laurel Funds") and the Fund, the $2,000 Committee Meeting fee will be
allocated between the Dreyfus/Laurel Funds and the Fund. Each Trustee who is not
an interested person also receives $500 for Board meetings and separate
committee meetings attended that are conducted by telephone. The Fund also
reimburses each Trustee who is not an "interested person" (as defined in the
1940 Act) of the Fund for travel and out-of-pocket expenses. The Chairman of the
Board receives an additional 25% of such compensation (with the exception of
reimbursable amounts).
The Fund does not pay any other remuneration to its officers and Board
members, and the Fund does not have a bonus, pension, profit-sharing or
retirement plan. The Fund has adopted a Director Emeritus Program whereby a
Trustee (" Director" ) who has served on a Dreyfus-managed fund board (or its
predecessor) for a minimum of 10 years and who has reached age 72 is entitled to
elect Emeritus status for each of the fund Boards on which he or she then
serves. Also, upon reaching age 80 Emeritus status is mandatory. The 10-year
prerequisite for service as a fund Director is waived for a Director who reaches
age 80 but has not served as a Director for 10 years. Directors Emeritus are
entitled to serve in such position for a maximum of 10 years and are paid 50% of
the annual retainer fee and 50% of any meeting fees otherwise applicable to the
Director, together with reasonable out-of-pocket expenses for each meeting
attended, but no payments will be made under the Program if the Dreyfus/Laurel
Funds aggregate net assets are below $100 million at the end of a calendar
quarter. Finally, a Director Emeritus is relieved of the formal responsibilities
and the potential liability that being a Director ordinarily entails. Ruth Marie
Adams, Francis P. Brennan and Arch S. Jeffrey currently are Directors Emeritus.
The aggregate amount of compensation paid to each Nominee by the Fund for
the fiscal year ended March 31, 2000, and by all funds in the Dreyfus Family of
Funds for which such Nominee was a Board member (the number of which is set
forth in parentheses next to each Nominee's total compensation)* for the year
ended December 31, 1999, was as follows:
TOTAL
COMPENSATION
FROM FUND AND
AGGREGATE FUND COMPLEX
COMPENSATION PAID TO
NAME OF NOMINEE FROM THE FUND** BOARD MEMBER
Kenneth A. Himmel $16,000 $62,489 (28)
Stephen J. Lockwood $16,500 $68,989 (28)
Benaree Pratt Wiley $19,000 $80,989 (28)
----------------------------------------------
* Represents the number of separate portfolios comprising the investment
companies in the fund complex, including the Fund, for which the Nominee serves
as a Board Member.
** Amount does not include reimbursed expenses for attending Board
meetings, which amounted to $15,365 for all Board Members as a group.
<Page 3>
PROPOSAL 2. RATIFICATION OF THE SELECTION OF INDEPENDENT AUDITORS
The 1940 Act requires that the Fund's independent auditors be selected by a
majority of those Trustees who are not "interested persons" (as defined in the
1940 Act) of the Fund, that such selection be submitted for ratification or
rejection at the Annual Meeting of Shareholders, and that the employment of such
independent auditors be conditioned upon the right of the Fund, by vote of a
majority of its outstanding securities at any meeting called for that purpose,
to terminate such employment forthwith without penalty. The Fund's Board,
including a majority of those Trustees who are not "interested persons" (as
defined in the 1940 Act) of the Fund, approved the selection of KPMG LLP for the
fiscal year ending March 31, 2001 at a Board meeting held on April 27, 2000.
Accordingly, the selection by the Fund' s Board of KPMG LLP as independent
auditors of the Fund for the fiscal year ending March 31, 2001 is submitted to
shareholders for ratification. Apart from its fees received as independent
auditors, neither KPMG LLP nor any of its partners has a direct, or material
indirect, financial interest in the Fund or Dreyfus.
KPMG LLP, a major international accounting firm, has acted as auditors of
the Fund since the Fund' s organization. The Fund's Board believes that the
continued employment of the services of KPMG LLP for the fiscal year ending
March 31, 2001 is in the best interests of the Fund.
A representative of KPMG LLP is expected to be present at the meeting, will
have the opportunity to make a statement, and will be available to respond to
appropriate questions.
THE FUND'S BOARD OF TRUSTEES, INCLUDING THE "NON-INTERESTED" TRUSTEES,
RECOMMENDS THAT SHAREHOLDERS VOTE "FOR" RATIFICATION OF THE SELECTION OF KPMG
LLP AS INDEPENDENT AUDITORS OF THE FUND.
VOTING INFORMATION
If a proxy is properly executed and returned accompanied by instructions to
withhold authority to vote, represents a broker "non-vote" (that is, a proxy
from a broker or nominee indicating that such person has not received
instructions from the beneficial owner or other person entitled to vote shares
of the Fund on a particular matter with respect to which the broker or nominee
does not have discretionary power), or marked with an abstention (collectively,
" abstentions" ), the Fund's shares represented thereby will be considered to be
present at the meeting for purposes of determining the existence of quorum for
the transaction of business. Under Massachusetts law, abstentions do not
constitute a vote "for" or "against" a matter and will be disregarded in
determining "votes cast" on an issue.
Authorizations to execute proxies may be obtained by telephonic or
electronically transmitted instructions in accordance with procedures designed
to authenticate the shareholder' s identity. In all cases where a telephonic
proxy is solicited, the shareholder will be asked to provide his or her address,
social security number (in the case of an individual) or taxpayer identification
number (in the case of a non-individual) and the number of shares owned and to
confirm that the stockholder has received the Fund's proxy statement and proxy
card in the mail. Within 72 hours of receiving a shareholder's telephonic or
electronically transmitted voting instructions, a confirmation will be sent to
the shareholder to ensure that the vote has been taken in accordance with the
shareholder's instructions and to provide a telephone number to call immediately
if the shareholder' s instructions are not correctly reflected in the
confirmation. Any shareholder giving a proxy may revoke it at any time before it
is exercised by submitting to the Fund a written notice of revocation or a
subsequently executed proxy or by attending the meeting and voting in person.
The Fund will bear the cost of soliciting proxies. In addition to the use
of the mail, proxies may be solicited personally, by telephone, or by telegraph,
or electronically and the Fund may pay persons holdings shares of the Fund in
their names or those of their nominees for their expenses in sending soliciting
materials to their principals.
<Page 4>
OTHER MATTERS
The Fund's Board is not aware of any other matter which may come before the
meeting. However, should a matter with respect to the Fund properly come before
the meeting, it is the intention of the persons named in the accompanying form
of proxy to vote the proxy in accordance with their judgment on such matter.
Proposals that shareholders wish to include in the Fund's proxy statement
for the Fund's next Annual Meeting of Shareholders must be sent to and received
by the Fund no later than February 28, 2001, at the principal executive offices
of the Fund at 200 Park Avenue, New York, New York 10166, Attention: General
Counsel.
Dreyfus, located at 200 Park Avenue, New York, New York 10166, serves as the
Fund' s investment adviser.
NOTICE TO BANKS, BROKER/DEALERS AND
VOTING TRUSTEES AND THEIR NOMINEES
Please advise the Fund, in care of ChaseMellon Shareholder Services,
L.L.C., c/o Proxy Services Corporation, 115 Amity Street, Jersey City, New
Jersey 07304, whether other persons are the beneficial owners of the shares for
which proxies are being solicited and, if so, the number of copies of the proxy
statement and other soliciting material you wish to receive in order to supply
copies to the beneficial owners of shares.
IT IS IMPORTANT THAT PROXIES BE RETURNED PROMPTLY. THEREFORE, SHAREHOLDERS WHO
DO NOT EXPECT TO ATTEND THE MEETING IN PERSON ARE URGED TO COMPLETE, SIGN, DATE
AND RETURN THE ENCLOSED PROXY CARD IN THE ENCLOSED STAMPED ENVELOPE.
Dated: June 15, 2000
<Page 5>
EXHIBIT A
PART I
<TABLE>
<CAPTION>
Part I sets forth information relevant to the continuing Trustees. Unless
otherwise indicated the information set forth herein applies to all Funds.
NAME OF CONTINUING TRUSTEE, PRINCIPAL YEAR
OCCUPATION AND BUSINESS EXPERIENCE TRUSTEE TERM
FOR PAST FIVE YEARS AGE SINCE EXPIRES
CLASS II:
<S> <C> <C> <C>
JAMES M. FITZGIBBONS 65 1998 2001
Trustee of the Fund; Director, Lumber Mutual Insurance Company;
Director, Barrett Resources, Inc.; Chairman of the Board, Davidson Cotton
Company; former Chairman of the Board and CEO of Fieldcrest Cannon, Inc.
Address: 40 Norfolk Road, Brookline, Massachusetts 02167.
ROSLYN M. WATSON 50 1998 2001
Trustee of the Fund; Principal, Watson Ventures, Inc.; Director,
American Express Centurion Bank; Director, Ontario Hydro Services Company;
Director, the Hyams Foundation, Inc. Address: 25 Braddock Park,
Boston, Massachusetts 02116-5816.
CLASS III:
JOSEPH S. DIMARTINO 56 1998 2002
Chairman of the Board and Trustee of the Fund. Since January 1995, Mr.
DiMartino has served as Chairman of the Board for various funds in the
Dreyfus Family of Funds. He is also a Director of The Muscular Dystrophy
Association; HealthPlan Services Corporation, a provider of marketing,
administrative and risk management services to health and other
benefit programs; Carlyle Industries, Inc. (formerly Belding Heminway
Company, Inc.), a button packager and distributor; Century Business
Services, Inc. (formerly, International Alliance Services, Inc.), a
provider of various outsourcing functions for small and medium sized
companies; and QuickCat.com, Inc., a private company engaged in the
development of high speed movement, routing, storage and encryption of
data across cable, wireless and all other modes of data transport. For
more than five years prior to January 1995, he was President, a Director
and, until August 24, 1994, Chief Operating Officer of Dreyfus and
Executive Vice President and a Director of Dreyfus Service Corporation,
a wholly-owned subsidiary of Dreyfus. From August 1994 to December
31, 1994, he was a Director of Mellon Financial Corporation. Address:
200 Park Avenue, New York, New York 10166.
A-1
NAME OF CONTINUING TRUSTEE, PRINCIPAL YEAR
OCCUPATION AND BUSINESS EXPERIENCE TRUSTEE TERM
FOR PAST FIVE YEARS AGE SINCE EXPIRES
CLASS III CONTINUED
*J. TOMLINSON FORT 72 1998 2002
Trustee of the Fund; Of Counsel, Reed, Smith, Shaw & McClay
(law firm). Address: 204 Woodcock Drive, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania 15215.
ARTHUR L. GOESCHEL 78 1998 2002
</TABLE>
Trustee of the Fund; Director, Calgon Carbon Corporation; Director, Cerex
Corporation; former Chairman of the Board and Director, Rexene Corporation.
Address: Way Hollow Road and Woodland Road, Sewickley, Pennsylvania 15143
----------------------------
* "Interested person" as defined in the 1940 Act
<TABLE>
<CAPTION>
PERTAINING TO THE BOARD OF THE FUND
Compensation Table. The aggregate amount of compensation paid to each
continuing Trustee by the Fund for the fiscal year ended March 31, 2000 and by
all funds in the Dreyfus Family of Funds for which such continuing Trustee was a
Board member (the number of which is set forth in parentheses next to each
Trustee' s total compensation) * for the year ended December 31, 1999, was as
follows:
TOTAL
COMPENSATION
FROM EACH FUND AND
AGGREGATE FUND COMPLEX
NAME OF CONTINUING COMPENSATION PAID TO
DIRECTOR AND FUND FROM THE FUND** CONTINUING TRUSTEE
<S> <C> <C> <C>
Joseph S. DiMartino $23,750 $642,177 (189)
James M. Fitzgibbons $18,000 $74,989 (28)
J. Tomlinson Fort $19,000 $80,989 (28)
Arthur L. Goeschel $19,000 $80,989 (28)
Roslyn M. Watson $19,000 $80,989 (28)
------------------------------------
*Represents the number of separate portfolios comprising the investment
companies in the fund complex, including the Fund, for which the continuing
Trustee serves as a Board member.
**Amount does not include reimbursed expenses for attending Board meetings,
</TABLE>
which amounted to $15,365 for all Board Members as a group.
<TABLE>
<CAPTION>
A-2
PART II
Part II sets forth information relevant to the executive officers of the
Fund.
NAME AND POSITION PRINCIPAL OCCUPATION AND BUSINESS
WITH FUND AGE EXPERIENCE FOR PAST FIVE YEARS
STEPHEN E. CANTER
<S> <C> <C>
President 54 President, Chief Operating Officer,
and Chief Investment Officer of Dreyfus,
and an officer of other investment companies
advised and administered by Dreyfus. Mr. Canter
also is a Director or an Executive Committee
Member of the other investment management
subsidiaries of Mellon Financial Corporation,
each of which is an affiliate of Dreyfus.
ROGER KING
Executive Vice President 48 Portfolio Manager and Director of High Yield
Taxable Fixed Income of Dreyfus. He also is Vice
President and a Portfolio Manager of Dreyfus
Investment Advisors, Inc. From 1991 to February
1996, Mr. King was a research analyst and a
director of research with Citicorp
Securities, Inc.
MARK N. JACOBS
Vice President 53 Vice President, General Counsel and Secretary
to Dreyfus, and an officer of other investment
companies advised and administered by Dreyfus.
JOSEPH CONNOLLY
Vice President and Treasurer 42 Director -- Mutual Fund Accounting
of Dreyfus, and an officer of other investment
companies advised and administered by Dreyfus.
STEVEN F. NEWMAN
Secretary 50 Associate General Counsel and Assistant
Secretary of Dreyfus, and an officer of other
investment companies advised and administered by
Dreyfus.
JEFFREY PRUSNOFSKY
Assistant Secretary 34 Assistant General Counsel of Dreyfus, and an
officer of other investment companies advised and
administered by Dreyfus.
A-3
NAME AND POSITION PRINCIPAL OCCUPATION AND BUSINESS
WITH FUND AGE EXPERIENCE FOR PAST FIVE YEARS
MICHAEL ROSENBERG
Assistant Secretary 40 Associate General Counsel of Dreyfus, and an
officer of other investment companies advised and
administered by Dreyfus.
WILLIAM MCDOWELL
Assistant Treasurer 41 Senior Accounting Manager -- Taxable Fixed Income
of Dreyfus, and an officer of other investment companies
advised and administered by Dreyfus.
</TABLE>
<TABLE>
A-4
<S> <C> <C>
PLEASE MARK BOXES IN BLUE OR BLACK INK.
Please mark
your votes as indicated in
this example
X
</TABLE>
The Board of Trustees recommends a vote For items 1 and 2.
1. Election of Nominees.
FOR All
Nominees listed to the right (except as marked to the contrary)
WITHHOLD
authority for
ALL Nominees listed to the right
Nominees for Class I Trustee are: Kenneth A. Himmel, Stephen J. Lockwood,
Benaree Pratt Wiley
WITHHELD FOR (write name of Nominee(s) in space provided below)
2. To ratify the selection of KPMG Peat Marwick LLP
as independent auditors of the Fund.
FOR AGAINST ABSTAIN
3. In their discretion, the Proxies are authorized
to vote upon such other business as may properly
come before the meeting, or any adjournment or
adjournments thereof.
THIS PROXY IS SOLICITED BY THE BOARD OF TRUSTEES AND WILL BE VOTED FOR ELECTION
OF THE PROPOSED TRUSTEES AND FOR THE ABOVE PROPOSALS UNLESS OTHERWISE INDICATED
Signature(s) should be exactly as name or names appearing on this proxy. If
shares are held jointly, each holder should sign. If signing is by attorney,
executor, administrator, trustee or guardian, please give full title.
Dated: , 2000
Signature(s)
Signature(s)
SIGN, DATE AND RETURN THE PROXY CARD PROMPTLY USING THE ENCLOSED ENVELOPE
S FOLD AND DETACH HERE S
DREYFUS HIGH YIELD STRATEGIES FUND
PROXY
ANNUAL MEETING OF SHAREHOLDERS - AUGUST 4, 2000
The undersigned stockholder of Dreyfus High Yield Strategies Fund (the "Fund")
hereby appoints James Bitetto and Robert R. Mullery and each of them, the
attorneys and proxies of the undersigned, with full power of substitution, to
vote, as indicated herein, all of the shares of beneficial interest (the
" shares" ) of the Fund standing in the name of the undersigned at the close of
business on June 1, 2000 at the Annual Meeting of Shareholders of the Fund to be
held at the offices of The Dreyfus Corporation, 200 Park Avenue, 7th Floor, New
York, New York, at 10: 00 on August 4, 2000, and at any and all adjournments
thereof, with all the powers the undersigned would possess if then and there
personally present and especially (but without limiting the general
authorization and power hereby given) to vote as indicated on the proposals, as
more fully described in the Proxy Statement for the meeting.
(PLEASE FILL IN BOTH SIDES OF THIS CARD AND RETURN IT PROMPTLY IN THE ENCLOSED
ENVELOPE.)
S FOLD AND DETACH HERE S
<PAGE>
DREYFUS HIGH YIELD STRATEGIES FUND
IMPORTANT
No matter how many shares you own, please sign, date and mail your proxy
IMMEDIATELY.
To hold the meeting, a majority of the shares eligible to vote is required by
law to be represented. Therefore, it is important that you vote NOW so that your
Fund will not bear the unnecessary expense of another solicitation of proxies.
