PROSPECTUS | September 30, 1999
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YOU SHOULD KNOW WHAT INVESCO KNOWS (TM)
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INVESCO MONEY MARKET FUNDS, INC.
INVESCO CASH RESERVES FUND
INVESCO TAX-FREE MONEY FUND
INVESCO U.S. GOVERNMENT MONEY FUND
THREE NO-LOAD MUTUAL FUNDS DESIGNED FOR INVESTORS SEEKING A HIGH LEVEL OF
CURRENT INCOME, CONSISTENT WITH THE PRESERVATION OF CAPITAL AND THE MAINTENANCE
OF LIQUIDITY.
TABLE OF CONTENTS
Investment Goals And Strategies...............3
Fund Performance..............................4
Fees And Expenses.............................5
Investment Risks..............................6
Risks Associated With Particular Investments..7
Fund Management...............................8
Portfolio Managers............................8
Potential Rewards.............................9
Share Price...................................9
How To Buy Shares............................10
Your Account Services........................13
How To Sell Shares...........................14
Dividends And Taxes..........................17
Financial Highlights.........................18
[INVESCO ICON]
INVESCO
The Securities and Exchange Commission has not approved or disapproved the
shares of these Funds. Likewise, the Commission has not determined if this
Prospectus is truthful or complete. Anyone who tells you otherwise is committing
a federal crime.
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THIS PROSPECTUS WILL TELL YOU MORE ABOUT:
[KEY ICON] Investment Objectives & Strategies
[ARROW ICON] Potential Investment Risks
[GRAPH ICON] Past Performance & Potential Advantages
[INVESCO ICON] Working With INVESCO
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[KEY ICON] INVESTMENT GOALS AND STRATEGIES
FACTORS COMMON TO ALL THE FUNDS
INVESCO Funds Group, Inc. ("INVESCO") is the investment adviser for the
Funds. Together with our affiliated companies, we at INVESCO direct all aspects
of the management and sale of the Funds.
FOR MORE DETAILS ABOUT EACH FUND'S CURRENT INVESTMENTS AND MARKET OUTLOOK,
PLEASE SEE THE MOST RECENT ANNUAL OR SEMIANNUAL REPORT.
The Funds are money market funds. They invest in "money market" securities,
which are high quality debt securities with a life span or remaining maturity of
397 days or less. The average dollar-weighted maturity of each Fund's portfolio
is 90 days or less.
The Funds are not intended for investors seeking capital appreciation.
While not intended as a complete investment program, any of these Funds may be a
valuable element of your investment portfolio.
INVESTMENT POLICIES APPLICABLE TO ALL THE FUNDS
The Funds operate under policies designed to ensure compliance with
specific federal regulations applied to money market funds. These policies
include requirements for:
o maintaining high credit quality of the Funds' investments;
o maintaining a short average portfolio maturity;
o ensuring adequate diversification of both the issuers of the Funds'
investments and the guarantors of those investments, if any; and
o monitoring accurate pricing of the Funds' investments so unfairness does
not result from the use of the amortized cost method to value those
investments.
[ARROW ICON] An investment in any of the Funds is not insured or guaranteed
by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation ("FDIC") or any other governmental
agency. Although the Funds seek to preserve the value of your investment at
$1.00 per share, it is possible to lose money by investing in any of the Funds.
[KEY ICON] INVESCO CASH RESERVES FUND
Cash Reserves Fund invests primarily in short-term debt securities issued
by large creditworthy corporations, banks and finance companies, and debt
securities issued by the U.S. government. These securities include corporate
debt securities, bank obligations, short-term commercial paper, U.S. government
debt, and repurchase agreements.
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[KEY ICON] INVESCO TAX-FREE MONEY FUND
Tax-Free Money Fund invests primarily in short-term municipal securities
issued by state, county, and city governments, including industrial development
obligations and private activity bonds which generally are not guaranteed by the
governmental entity that issues them. The interest on these securities is
generally exempt from federal income tax, although the interest may be included
in your income if you are subject to the Federal Alternative Minimum Tax. The
interest on these securities may be subject to state and/or local income taxes.
These securities include municipal notes, short-term municipal bonds, and
variable rate debt obligations. Municipal obligations may be purchased or sold
on a delayed delivery or a when-issued basis with settlement taking place in the
future. The Fund may purchase securities together with the right to resell them
to the seller at an agreed-upon price or yield within a specific time period
prior to the maturity date of the securities. This is commonly known as a
"demand feature" or a "put."
The rest of the Fund's investment portfolio may be invested in short-term
taxable instruments. These may include corporate debt securities, bank
obligations, commercial paper, U.S. government debt, and repurchase agreements.
The circumstances under which the Fund will invest in taxable securities include
but are not limited to: (a) pending investment of proceeds or sales of portfolio
securities; (b) pending settlement of portfolio securities; and (c) maintaining
liquidity to meet the need for anticipated redemptions. We seek to manage the
Fund so that substantially all of the income produced is exempt from federal
income tax when paid to you, although we cannot guarantee this result.
[KEY ICON] INVESCO U.S. GOVERNMENT MONEY FUND
U.S. Government Money Fund invests in debt securities issued or guaranteed
by the U.S. government or its agencies. Direct U.S. government obligations
include Treasury bonds, bills and notes, and are backed by the full faith and
credit of the U.S. Treasury. Federal agency securities are direct obligations of
the issuing agency, and may or may not be guaranteed by the U.S. government
(GNMA, FNMA, FHLMC). Treasury bills, notes, bonds and some agency securities are
exempt from state income tax.
[GRAPH ICON] FUND PERFORMANCE
The bar charts below show each Fund's actual yearly performance for the
years ended December 31 (commonly known as its "total return") over the past
decade. The table below shows average annual total returns for various periods
ended December 31, 1998 for each Fund. To obtain a Fund's current 7-day yield
information, please call INVESCO at 1-800-525-8085. The bar charts provide some
indication of the risks of investing in a particular Fund by showing changes in
the year to year performance of each Fund. Remember, past performance does not
indicate how a Fund will perform in the future.
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The three charts below contain the following plot points:
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ACTUAL ANNUAL TOTAL RETURN(1),(2)
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Cash Reserves Fund
1989 1990 1991 1992 1993 1994 1995 1996 1997 1998
8.82% 7.10% 5.58% 3.16% 2.36% 3.70% 5.26% 4.70% 4.81% 4.74%
Best Calendar Qtr. 6/95 1.32%
Worst Calendar Qtr. 3/93 0.55%
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ACTUAL ANNUAL TOTAL RETURN(1),(2)
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Tax-Free Money Fund
1989 1990 1991 1992 1993 1994 1995 1996 1997 1998
5.72% 5.25% 3.87% 2.43% 1.88% 2.23% 3.28% 2.86% 3.03% 2.87%
Best Calendar Qtr. 6/89 2.29%
Worst Calendar Qtr. 6/93 0.56%
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ACTUAL ANNUAL TOTAL RETURN(1),(2),(3)
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U.S. Government Money Fund
1992 1993 1994 1995 1996 1997 1998
2.97% 2.36% 3.61% 5.16% 4.59% 4.70% 4.66%
Best Calendar Qtr. 6/89 1.51%
Worst Calendar Qtr. 3/94 0.43%
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AVERAGE ANNUAL TOTAL RETURN(1)
AS OF 12/31/98
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10 YEARS
OR SINCE
1 YEAR 5 YEARS INCEPTION
Cash Reserves Fund 4.74% 4.64% 5.08%
Tax-Free Money Fund 2.87% 2.85% 3.34%
U.S. Government Money Fund 4.66% 4.54% 4.08%(3)
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(1) Total return figures include reinvested dividends and the effect of
each Fund's expenses.
(2) Year-to-date return for the Cash Reserves, Tax-Free Money and U.S.
Government Money Funds was 1.99%, 1.20% and 1.96%, respectively, as
of the calendar quarter ended June 30, 1999.
(3) The Fund commenced investment operations on April 26, 1991.
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FEES AND EXPENSES
SHAREHOLDER FEES PAID DIRECTLY FROM YOUR ACCOUNT
You pay no fees to purchase Fund shares, to exchange to another INVESCO
fund, or to sell your shares. Accordingly, no fees are paid directly from your
shareholder account. The only Fund costs you pay are annual Fund operating
expenses that are deducted from Fund assets.
ANNUAL FUND OPERATING EXPENSES THAT ARE DEDUCTED FROM FUND ASSETS
CASH RESERVES FUND
Management Fees 0.40%
Distribution and Service (12b-1) Fees None
Other Expenses (1)(2)(3) 0.51%
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Total Annual Fund Operating Expenses (1)(2)(3) 0.91%
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TAX-FREE MONEY FUND
Management Fees 0.50%
Distribution and Service (12b-1)Fees None
Other Expenses(1)(2)(3) 0.52%
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Total Annual Fund Operating Expenses (1)(2)(3) 1.02%
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U.S. GOVERNMENT MONEY FUND
Management Fees 0.50%
Distribution and Service (12b-1)Fees None
Other Expenses(1)(2)(3) 0.58%
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Total Annual Fund Operating Expenses (1)(2)(3) 1.08%
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(1) Each Fund's actual Total Annual Operating Expenses were lower than the
figures shown, because their custodian fees were reduced under expense
offset arrangements.
(2) The expense information presented in the table has been restated to
reflect a change in the administrative services fee.
(3) Certain expenses of each Fund were absorbed voluntarily by INVESCO pursuant
to a commitment to the Funds. After absorption, Cash Reserves Money Fund's
Other Expenses and Total Annual Fund Operating Expenses were 0.50% and
0.90%, respectively; Tax-Free Money Fund's Other Expenses and Total Annual
Fund Operating Expenses were 0.35% and 0.85%, respectively; and U.S.
Government Money Fund's Other Expenses and Total Annual Fund Operating
Expenses were 0.36% and 0.86%, respectively. This commitment may be changed
at any time following consultation with the board of directors.
EXAMPLE
This Example is intended to help you compare the cost of investing in the
Funds to the cost of investing in other mutual funds.
The Example assumes that you invested $10,000 in a Fund for the time
periods indicated and redeemed all of your shares at the end of each period. The
Example also assumes that your investment had a hypothetical 5% return each
year, and assumes that a Fund's expenses remained the same. Although a Fund's
actual costs and performance may be higher or lower, based on these assumptions
your costs would have been:
1 year 3 years 5 years 10 years
Cash Reserves Fund $ 93 $290 $504 $1,120
Tax-Free Money Fund $104 $325 $563 $1,248
U.S. Government Money Fund $110 $343 $595 $1,317
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[ARROW ICON] INVESTMENT RISKS
BEFORE INVESTING IN A FUND, YOU SHOULD DETERMINE THE LEVEL OF RISK WITH WHICH
YOU ARE COMFORTABLE. TAKE INTO ACCOUNT FACTORS LIKE YOUR AGE, CAREER, INCOME
LEVEL, AND TIME HORIZON.
You should determine the level of risk with which you are comfortable before you
invest. The principal risks of investing in any mutual fund, including these
Funds, are:
NOT INSURED. Mutual funds are not insured by the FDIC or any other agency,
unlike bank deposits such as CDs or savings accounts.
NO GUARANTEE. No mutual fund can guarantee that it will meet its investment
objectives.
POSSIBLE LOSS OF INVESTMENT. A mutual fund cannot guarantee its
performance. Investment professionals generally consider money market funds
conservative and safe investments, compared to many other investment
alternatives. However, as with all types of securities investing, investments in
money market funds are not guaranteed, and do present some risk of loss. The
Funds will not reimburse you for any losses.
NOT A COMPLETE INVESTMENT PLAN. An investment in any mutual fund does not
constitute a complete investment plan. The Funds are designed to be only a part
of your personal investment plan.
YEAR 2000. Many computer systems in use today may not be able to recognize
any date after December 31, 1999. If these systems are not fixed by that date,
it is possible that they could generate erroneous information or fail
altogether. INVESCO has committed substantial resources in an effort to make
sure that its own major computer systems will continue to function on and after
January 1, 2000. Of course, INVESCO cannot fix systems that are beyond its
control. If INVESCO's own systems, or the systems of third parties upon which it
relies, do not perform properly after December 31, 1999, the Funds could be
adversely affected.
In addition, the markets for, or value of, securities in which the Funds
invest may possibly be hurt by computer failures affecting portfolio investments
or trading of securities beginning January 1, 2000. For example, improperly
functioning systems could result in securities trade settlement problems and
liquidity issues, production issues for individual companies and overall
economic uncertainties. Individual issuers may incur increased costs in making
their own systems Year 2000 compliant. The combination of market uncertainty and
increased costs means that there is a possibility that Year 2000 computer issues
may adversely affect the Funds' investments.
[ARROW ICON] RISKS ASSOCIATED WITH PARTICULAR INVESTMENTS
You should consider the special factors associated with the policies
discussed below in determining the appropriateness of investing in a Fund. See
the Statement of Additional Information for a discussion of additional risk
factors.
INTEREST RATE RISK
Changes in interest rates will affect the resale value of debt securities.
When interest rates go up, the market values of previously issued debt
securities generally decline. Also, a Fund's new investments are likely to be in
debt securities paying lower rates than the rest of a Fund's portfolio when
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interest rates go down. This reduces a Fund's yield. A weak economy or strong
stock market may cause interest rates to decline.
CREDIT RISK
The Funds invest in debt instruments, such as notes, bonds and commercial
paper. There is a possibility that the issuers of these instruments will be
unable to meet interest payments or repay principal. Changes in the financial
strength of an issuer may reduce the credit rating of its debt instruments and
may affect their value.
DURATION RISK
Duration is a measure of a debt security's sensitivity to interest rate
changes. Duration of money market securities is usually expressed in terms of
days or months, with longer durations usually more sensitive to interest rate
fluctuations.
OPPORTUNITY RISK
With long-term investment plans, there may be a risk that you are not
taking enough risk, and thus missing the opportunity on other less conservative
but potentially more rewarding investments. The Funds have an investment goal of
current income, not capital appreciation. Therefore the Funds, by themselves,
will not be a suitable investment for people seeking long-term growth for
objectives such as retirement or the funding of a child's college education.
COUNTERPARTY RISK
This is a risk associated primarily with repurchase agreements. It is the
risk that the other party in the transaction will not fulfill its contractual
obligation to complete the transaction with a Fund.
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[INVESCO ICON] FUND MANAGEMENT
THE INVESTMENT ADVISER
INVESCO IS A SUBSIDIARY OF AMVESCAP PLC, AN INTERNATIONAL INVESTMENT MANAGEMENT
COMPANY THAT MANAGES MORE THAN $296 BILLION IN ASSETS WORLDWIDE. AMVESCAP IS
BASED IN LONDON, WITH MONEY MANAGERS LOCATED IN EUROPE, NORTH AND SOUTH AMERICA,
AND THE FAR EAST.
INVESCO, located at 7800 E. Union Avenue, Denver, Colorado, is the investment
adviser of the Funds. INVESCO was founded in 1932 and manages over $24 billion
for more than 926,831 shareholders of 42 INVESCO mutual funds. INVESCO performs
a wide variety of other services for the Funds, including administrative and
transfer agent functions (the processing of purchases, sales and exchanges of
Fund shares).
A wholly owned subsidiary of INVESCO, INVESCO Distributors, Inc.
("IDI") is the Funds' distributor and is responsible for the sale of the Funds'
shares.
INVESCO and IDI are subsidiaries of AMVESCAP PLC.
The following table shows the fees the Funds paid to INVESCO for its advisory
services in the fiscal year ended May 31, 1999:
ADVISORY FEE AS A PERCENTAGE OF
AVERAGE ANNUAL NET ASSETS
UNDER MANAGEMENT
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Cash Reserves Fund 0.40%
Tax-Free Money Fund 0.50%
U.S. Government Money Fund 0.50%
[INVESCO ICON] PORTFOLIO MANAGERS
The following individuals are primarily responsible for the day-to-day
management of each Fund's portfolio holdings:
RICHARD R. HINDERLIE is the portfolio manager of Cash Reserves Fund and
U.S. Government Money Fund and a vice president of INVESCO. Dick received his
M.B.A. from Arizona State University and his B.A. in Economics from Pacific
Lutheran University.
INGEBORG S. COSBY is the portfolio manager of Tax-Free Money Fund and a
vice president of INVESCO. Inge joined INVESCO in 1985 and became assistant
portfolio manager of the Fund in 1987 and portfolio manager in 1992. Before
joining INVESCO, Inge was a portfolio manager assistant at First Affiliated
Securities, Inc.
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[INVESCO ICON] POTENTIAL REWARDS
NO SINGLE FUND SHOULD REPRESENT YOUR COMPLETE INVESTMENT PROGRAM NOR SHOULD YOU
ATTEMPT TO USE THE FUNDS FOR LONG-TERM CAPITAL GROWTH PURPOSES.
The Funds offer shareholders the potential for monthly payment of daily
income, while maintaining a stable share value, at a level of risk lower than
many other types of investments. Yields on short-term securities tend to be
lower than the yields on longer-term fixed-income securities. The Funds seek to
provide higher returns than other money market funds and the money market in
general, but cannot guarantee that performance.
SUITABILITY FOR INVESTORS
Only you can determine if an investment in a Fund is right for you based
upon your own economic situation, the risk level with which you are comfortable
and other factors. In general, the Funds are most suitable for investors who:
o want to earn income at current money market rates
o want to preserve the value of their investment
o do not want to be exposed to a high level of risk
o are seeking federally tax-exempt income (Tax-Free Money Fund only)
o are seeking state tax-exempt income (U.S. Government Money Fund only)
You probably do not want to invest in the Funds if you are:
o primarily seeking long-term growth (although the Funds may serve as
the cash equivalent portion of a balanced investment program).
[INVESCO ICON] SHARE PRICE
The value of your Fund shares is not likely to change from $1.00, although
this cannot be guaranteed. This value is known as the Net Asset Value per share,
or NAV. INVESCO determines the value of each investment in each Fund's portfolio
each day that the New York Stock Exchange ("NYSE") is open, at the close of
trading on that exchange (normally 4:00 p.m. Eastern time). Therefore, shares of
the Funds are not priced on days when the NYSE is closed, which generally is on
weekends and national holidays in the U.S.
THE COMBINATION OF THE AMORTIZED COST METHOD OF VALUATION AND THE DAILY
DECLARATION OF DIVIDENDS MEANS THAT EACH FUND'S NET ASSET VALUE IS EXPECTED TO
BE $1.00 PER SHARE, DESPITE CHANGES IN THE MARKET VALUE OF A FUND'S SECURITIES.
The Funds use the amortized cost method for establishing the value of their
investments. The amortized cost method values securities at their cost at the
time of purchase, and then amortizes the discount or premium to maturity. The
Funds declare dividends daily, based upon the interest earned by the Funds'
investments that day. The combination of the amortized cost method of valuation
and the daily declaration of dividends means that each Fund's net asset value is
expected to be $1.00 per share, despite changes in the market value of a Fund's
securities. However, we cannot guarantee that each Fund's net asset value will
be maintained at a constant value of $1.00 per share.
All purchases, sales and exchanges of Fund shares are made by INVESCO at
the NAV next calculated after INVESCO receives proper instructions from you to
purchase, redeem or exchange shares of a Fund. Your instructions must be
received by INVESCO no later than the close of the NYSE to effect transactions
that day. If INVESCO hears from you after that time, your instructions will be
processed on the next day that the NYSE is open.
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[INVESCO ICON] HOW TO BUY SHARES
TO BUY SHARES AT THAT DAY'S CLOSING PRICE, YOU MUST CONTACT US BEFORE THE
CLOSE OF THE NYSE, NORMALLY 4:00 P.M. EASTERN TIME.
The following chart shows several convenient ways to invest in the Funds.
There is no charge to invest, exchange or redeem shares when you make
transactions directly through INVESCO. However, if you invest in a Fund through
a securities broker, you may be charged a commission or transaction fee for
either purchases or sales of Fund shares. For all new accounts, please send a
completed application form, and specify the fund or funds you wish to purchase.
INVESCO reserves the right to increase, reduce or waive each Fund's minimum
investment requirements in its sole discretion, if it determines this action is
in the best interests of that Fund's shareholders. INVESCO also reserves the
right in its sole discretion to reject any order to buy Fund shares, including
purchases by exchange.
MINIMUM INITIAL INVESTMENT. $1,000, which is waived for regular investment
plans, including EasiVest and Direct Payroll Purchase, and certain retirement
plans, including IRAs.
MINIMUM SUBSEQUENT INVESTMENT. $50 (Minimums are lower for certain
retirement plans.)
EXCHANGE POLICY. You may exchange your shares in any of the Funds for those
in another INVESCO mutual fund on the basis of their respective NAVs at the time
of the exchange.
FUND EXCHANGES CAN BE A CONVENIENT WAY FOR YOU TO DIVERSIFY YOUR INVESTMENTS, OR
TO REALLOCATE YOUR INVESTMENTS WHEN YOUR OBJECTIVES CHANGE.
Before making any exchange, be sure to review the prospectuses of the funds
involved and consider the differences between the funds. Also, be certain that
you qualify to purchase certain classes of shares in the new fund. An exchange
is the sale of shares from one fund immediately followed by the purchase of
shares in another. Therefore, any gain or loss realized on the exchange is
recognizable for federal income tax purposes (unless, of course, you or your
account qualifies as tax-deferred under the Internal Revenue Code). If the
shares of the fund you are selling have gone up in value since you bought them,
the sale portion of an exchange may result in taxable income to you.
We have the following policies governing exchanges:
o Both fund accounts involved in the exchange must be registered in exactly
the same name(s)and Social Security or federal tax I.D. number(s).
o You may make up to four exchanges out of each Fund per 12-month period.
o Each Fund reserves the right to reject any exchange request, or to modify or
terminate the exchange policy if it is in the best interests of the Fund and
its shareholders. Notice of all such modifications or termination that affect
all shareholders of the Fund will be given at least 60 days prior to the
effective date of the change, except in unusual instances, including a
suspension of redemption of the exchanged security under Section 22(e) of the
Investment Company Act of 1940.
In addition, the ability to exchange may be temporarily suspended at any
time that sales of the fund into which you wish to exchange are temporarily
stopped.
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INTERNET TRANSACTIONS: Investors may open new accounts, exchange and redeem
shares of any INVESCO Fund through the INVESCO Web site. To utilize this
service, you will need a web browser (presently Netscape version 1.2 or higher,
or Internet Explorer version 2.0 or higher) and utilize the INVESCO Web site.
INVESCO will accept Internet purchase instructions only for exchanges or if the
purchase price is paid to INVESCO through debiting your bank account, and any
Internet cash redemptions will be paid only to the same bank account from which
the payment to INVESCO originated. INVESCO imposes a limit of $25,000 on
Internet purchase and redemption transactions. You may also download an
application to open an account from the Web site, complete it by hand, and mail
it to INVESCO, along with a check.
INVESCO employs reasonable procedures to confirm that transactions entered
into over the Internet are genuine. These procedures include the use of
alphanumeric passwords, secure socket layering, encryption and other precautions
reasonably designed to protect the integrity, confidentiality and security of
shareholder information. In order to enter into a transaction on the INVESCO Web
site, you will need an account number, your Social Security Number and an
alphanumeric password. By entereing into the user's agreement with INVESCO to
open an account through our Web site, you lose certain rights if someone gives
fraudulent or unauthorized instructions to INVESCO that result in a loss to you.
If INVESCO follows these procedures, neither INVESCO, its affiliates nor any
Fund will be liable for any loss, liability, cost or expense for following
instructions communicated via the Internet that are reasonably believed to be
genuine or that follow INVESCO's security procedures.
METHOD INVESTMENT MINIMUM PLEASE REMEMBER
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BY CHECK $1,000 for regular Please remember that
Mail to: accounts; if you pay by check or
INVESCO Funds Group, $250 for an IRA; wire and your funds do
Inc., $50 minimum for not clear, you will be
P.O. Box 173706, each subsequent responsible for any
Denver, CO 80217-3706. invest ment. related loss to any
You may send your check Fund or INVESCO. If
by overnight courier to: you are already an
7800 E. Union Ave. INVESCO funds
Denver, CO 80237. shareholder, the Fund
may seek reimbursement
for any loss from your
existing account(s).
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METHOD INVESTMENT MINIMUM PLEASE REMEMBER
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BY WIRE $1,000 Payment must be
You may send your received within 3
payment by business days, or the
bank wire (call INVESCO transaction may be
for cancelled.
instructions).
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BY TELEPHONE WITH ACH $50 You must forward your
Call 1-800-525-8085 to bank account
request your purchase. information to INVESCO
INVESCO will move money prior to using this
from your designated option.
bank/credit union
checking or savings
account in order to
purchase shares, upon
your telephone
instructions, whenever
your wish.
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BY INTERNET $1,000 for regular You will need a web browser
Go to the INVESCO accounts; $250 for an to utilize this service.
Web site at IRA; $50 minimum for Internet transactions are
www.invesco.com each subsequent limited to $25,000.
investment
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REGULAR INVESTING WITH $50 per month for Like all regular
EASIVEST EasiVest; $50 investment plans, nei-
OR DIRECT PAYROLL per pay period for ther EasiVest nor
PURCHASE Direct Payroll Direct Payroll Pur-
You may enroll on your Purchase. You may chase ensures a profit
fund start or stop your or protects against
application, or call us regular investment loss in a falling
for a separate plan at any time, market. Because you'll
form and more details. with two weeks' invest continually,
Investing notice to INVESCO. regardless of varying
the same amount on a price levels, consider
monthly basis your financial abil-
allows you to buy more ity to keep buying
shares when prices are through low price
low and fewer shares levels. And remember
when prices are high. that you will lose
This "dollar cost averag money if you redeem
ing" may help offset your shares when the
market fluctuations. market value of all
Over a period of time, your shares is less
your average cost per than their cost.
share may be less than
the actual average price
per share.
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BY PAL(R) $1,000; $250 for Be sure to write down
Your "Personal Account an IRA. the confirmation
Line" is number provided by
available for subsequent PAL(R). Payment must be
purchases received within 3
and exchanges 24 hours a business days, or the
day. transaction may be
Simply call cancelled.
1-800-424-8085.
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METHOD INVESTMENT MINIMUM PLEASE REMEMBER
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BY EXCHANGE $1,000 to open a See "Exchange Policy."
Between two INVESCO new account; $50
funds. Call for written
1-800-525-8085 for requests to pur-
prospectuses of chase additional
other INVESCO funds. shares for an
Exchanges existing account.
may be made by phone or (The exchange
at our minimum is $250
Web site at for exchanges
www.invesco.com. You requested by
may also establish an telephone.)
automatic
monthly exchange service
between
two INVESCO funds; call
us for further details
and the correct form.
[INVESCO ICON] YOUR ACCOUNT SERVICES
INVESCO PROVIDES YOU WITH SERVICES DESIGNED TO MAKE IT SIMPLE FOR YOU TO BUY,
SELL OR EXCHANGE YOUR SHARES OF ANY INVESCO MUTUAL FUND.
SHAREHOLDER ACCOUNTS. INVESCO maintains your share account, which contains
your current Fund holdings. The Funds do not issue share certificates.
QUARTERLY INVESTMENT SUMMARIES. Each calendar quarter, you receive a
written statement which consolidates and summarizes account activity and value
at the beginning and end of the period for each of your INVESCO funds.
TRANSACTION CONFIRMATIONS. You receive detailed confirmations of individual
purchases, exchanges and sales. If you choose certain recurring transaction
plans (for instance, EasiVest), your transactions are confirmed on your
quarterly Investment Summaries.
CHECKWRITING. If you have $1,000 or more in your account, you may redeem
shares of a Fund by check. We will provide personalized checks at no charge
within 30 days of your account opening. Checks may be made payable to any party
in any amount of $500 or more. Shares of the Fund will be redeemed to cover
payment of the check. INVESCO reserves the right to institute a charge for this
service upon notice to all shareholders. Further information about this option
may be obtained from INVESCO.
YOU CAN CONDUCT MOST TRANSACTIONS AND CHECK ON YOUR ACCOUNT THROUGH OUR
TOLL-FREE TELEPHONE NUMBER. YOU MAY ALSO ACCESS PERSONAL ACCOUNT INFORMATION AT
OUR WEB SITE, WWW.INVESCO.COM.
TELEPHONE TRANSACTIONS. You may exchange and sell Fund shares by telephone,
unless you specifically decline these privileges when you fill out the INVESCO
new account Application.
Unless you decline the telephone transaction privileges, when you fill out
and sign the new account Application, a Telephone Transaction Authorization
Form, or use your telephone transaction privileges, you lose certain rights if
someone gives fraudulent or unauthorized instructions to INVESCO that result in
a loss to you. In general, if INVESCO has followed reasonable procedures, such
as recording telephone instructions and sending written transaction
confirmations, INVESCO is not liable for following telephone instructions that
it believes to be genuine. Therefore, you have the risk of loss due to
unauthorized or fraudulent instructions.
IRAS AND OTHER RETIREMENT PLANS. Shares of any INVESCO mutual fund may be
purchased for IRAs and many other types of tax-deferred retirement plans. Please
call INVESCO for information and forms to establish or transfer your existing
retirement plan or account.
<PAGE>
[INVESCO ICON] HOW TO SELL SHARES
The following chart shows several convenient ways to sell your Fund shares.
Shares of the Funds may be sold at any time at the next NAV calculated after
your request to sell in proper form is received by INVESCO. Depending on Fund
performance, the NAV at the time you sell your shares may be more or less than
the price you paid to purchase your shares.
TO SELL SHARES AT THAT DAY'S CLOSING PRICE, YOU MUST CONTACT US BEFORE
4:00 P.M. EASTERN TIME.
If you own shares in more than one INVESCO fund, please specify the fund whose
shares you wish to sell. Remember that any sale or exchange of shares in a
non-retirement account will likely result in a taxable gain or loss.
While INVESCO attempts to process telephone redemptions promptly, there may
be times - particularly in periods of severe economic or market disruption -
when you may experience delays in redeeming shares by phone.
INVESCO usually mails you the proceeds from the sale of fund shares within
seven days after we receive your request to sell in proper form. However,
payment may be postponed under unusual circumstances -- for instance, if normal
trading is not taking place on the NYSE, or during an emergency as defined by
the Securities and Exchange Commission. If your INVESCO fund shares were
purchased by a check which has not yet cleared, payment will be made promptly
when your purchase check does clear; that can take up to 15 days.
If you participate in EasiVest, the Funds' automatic monthly investment
program, and sell all of the shares in your account, we will not make any
additional EasiVest purchases unless you give us other instructions.
Because of the Funds' expense structure, it costs as much to handle a small
account as it does to handle a large one. If the value of your account in a Fund
falls below $250 as a result of your actions (for example, sale of your Fund
shares), each Fund reserves the right to sell all of your shares, send the
proceeds of the sale to you and close your account. Before this is done, you
will be notified and given 60 days to increase the value of your account to $250
or more.
METHOD REDEMPTION MINIMUM PLEASE REMEMBER
- --------------------------------------------------------------------------------
BY TELEPHONE $250 (or, if less, INVESCO's telephone
Call us toll-free at: full liquidation of redemption privileges
1-800-525-8085. the account)for a may be modified or
redemption check; terminated in the
$1,000 for a wire to future at INVESCO's
your bank of record. discretion.
The maximum amount
which may be redeemed by
telephone is generally
$25,000.
- --------------------------------------------------------------------------------
IN WRITING Any amount. The redemption
Mail your request to request must be
INVESCO Funds Group, signed by all
Inc., P.O. Box registered account
173706, Denver, CO owners. Payment will
80217-3706. You may be mailed to your
also send your address as it appears
request by overnight on INVESCO's records,
courier to 7800 E. or to a bank
Union Ave., designated by you in
Denver, CO 80237. writing.
<PAGE>
METHOD REDEMPTION MINIMUM PLEASE REMEMBER
- --------------------------------------------------------------------------------
BY CHECK $500 minimum per Personalized checks
check. are available from INVESCO
at no charge within 30 days
of your account opening upon
request. Checks may be
payable to any party.
- --------------------------------------------------------------------------------
BY TELEPHONE WITH ACH $50. You must forward your
Call 1-800-525-8085 bank account
to request your information to
redemption. INVESCO INVESCO prior to
will automatically using this option.
pay the proceeds into
your designated bank
account.
- --------------------------------------------------------------------------------
BY INTERNET None You will need a web browser
Go to the INVESCO to utilize this service.
Web site at Internet transactions are
www.invesco.com limited to $25,000.
- --------------------------------------------------------------------------------
BY EXCHANGE $250 for exchanges See "Exchange Policy."
Between two INVESCO requested by When opening a new
funds. Call telephone. account, investment
1-800-525-8085 for minimums apply.
prospectuses of other
INVESCO funds.
Exchanges may be made
by phone or at our Web
site at www.invesco.com.
You may also establish
an automatic monthly
exchange service
between two INVESCO
funds; call us for
further details and
the correct form.
- --------------------------------------------------------------------------------
PERIODIC WITHDRAWAL $100 per payment on a You must have at
PLAN monthly or quarterly least $10,000 total
You may call us to basis. The redemption invested with the
request the check may be made INVESCO funds with at
appropriate form and payable to any party least $5,000 of that
more information at you designate. total invested in the
1-800-525-8085. fund from which
withdrawals will be
made.
- --------------------------------------------------------------------------------
PAYMENT TO THIRD Any amount. All registered
PARTY account owners must
Mail your request to sign the request,
INVESCO with signature
Funds Group, Inc., guarantees from an
P.O. Box eligible guarantor
173706, Denver, CO financial
80217-3706. institution, such as
a commercial bank or a
recognized national or
regional securities firm.
[INVESCO ICON] DIVIDENDS AND TAXES
TO AVOID BACKUP WITHHOLDING, BE SURE WE HAVE YOUR CORRECT SOCIAL SECURITY
OR TAXPAYER IDENTIFICATION NUMBER. WE WILL PROVIDE YOU WITH DETAILED INFORMATION
EVERY YEAR ABOUT YOUR DIVIDENDS.
Everyone's tax status is unique. We encourage you to consult your own tax
adviser on the tax impact to you of investing in the Funds.
<PAGE>
Each Fund earns ordinary or investment income from interest on its
investments. The Funds expect to distribute substantially all of this investment
income, less Fund expenses, to shareholders. You will ordinarily earn income on
each day you are invested in one of the Funds, and that income is paid by the
Fund to you once a month. Dividends are automatically reinvested in additional
shares of a Fund at the net asset value on the monthly dividend distribution
date, unless you request that dividends be paid in cash.
Unless you are (or your account is) exempt from income taxes, you must
include all dividends paid to you by Cash Reserves and U.S. Government Money
Funds in your taxable income for federal, state and local income tax purposes.
Dividends and other distributions usually are taxable whether you receive them
in cash or automatically reinvest them in shares of the distributing Fund or
other INVESCO funds.
Substantially all of the dividends that you receive from Tax-Free Money
Fund are expected to be exempt from federal income taxes, but there is no
assurance that this will be the case. For the fiscal year ended May 31, 1999,
99.53% of the dividends declared by this Fund were exempt from federal income
taxes. There is no assurance that this will be the case in future years.
Dividends that you receive from the Tax-Free Money Fund may be subject to state
and local taxes, or to the federal Alternative Minimum Tax.
If you have not provided INVESCO with complete, correct tax information,
the Funds are required by law to withhold 31% of your distributions and any
money that you receive from the sale of shares of the Funds as a backup
withholding tax.
Each year, INVESCO will provide you with information about any Fund
dividends, and the tax status of your dividends, that is required for you to
complete your yearly tax filings.
<PAGE>
FINANCIAL HIGHLIGHTS
The financial highlights table is intended to help you understand a Fund's
financial performance for the past five years (or, if shorter, the period of the
Fund's operations). Certain information reflects financial results for a single
fund share. The total returns in the table represent the rate that an investor
would have earned (or lost) on an investment in a Fund (assuming reinvestment of
all dividends and distributions). This information has been audited by
PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP, independent accountants, whose report, along with
the financial statements, is included in INVESCO Money Market Funds, Inc.'s 1999
Annual Report to Shareholders, which is incorporated by reference into the
Statement of Additional Information. The Report is available without charge by
contacting IDI at the address or telephone number on the back cover of this
Prospectus.
YEAR ENDED MAY 31
----------------------------------------------------------
1999 1998 1997 1996 1995
CASH RESERVES FUND
PER SHARE DATA
Net Asset Value -
Beginning of Period $1.00 $1.00 $1.00 $1.00 $1.00
- --------------------------------------------------------------------------------
INCOME AND DISTRIBUTIONS
FROM INVESTMENT
OPERATIONS
Net Investment Income
Earned and
Distributed to
Shareholders 0.04 0.05 0.05 0.05 0.05
================================================================================
Net Asset Value -
End of Period $1.00 $1.00 $1.00 $1.00 $1.00
================================================================================
TOTAL RETURN 4.45% 4.82% 4.69% 5.01% 4.76%
RATIOS
Net Assets - End of
Period ($000 Omitted) $814,158 $766,670 $661,648 $587,277 $644,341
Ratio of Expense to
Average Net
Assets(a) 0.90%(b) 0.91%(b) 0.86%(b) 0.87%(b) 0.75%
Ratio of Net Investment
Income to Average Net
Assets(a) 4.36% 4.76% 4.62% 4.86% 4.65%
(a) Various expenses of the Fund were voluntarily absorbed by INVESCO for the
years ended May 31, 1999, 1998, 1997, 1996 and 1995. If such expenses had
not been voluntarily absorbed, ratio of expenses to average net assets
would have been 0.91%, 0.93%, 0.92%, 0.92% and 0.85%, respectively, and
ratio of net investment income to average net assets would have been 4.35%,
4.74%, 4.56%, 4.81% and 4.55%, respectively.
(b) Ratio is based on Total Expenses of the Fund, less Expenses Absorbed by
INVESCO, which is before any expense offset arrangements.
<PAGE>
FINANCIAL HIGHLIGHTS (CONTINUED)
YEAR ENDED MAY 31
----------------------------------------------------------
1999 1998 1997 1996 1995
TAX-FREE MONEY FUND
PER SHARE DATA
Net Asset Value -
Beginning of Period $1.00 $1.00 $1.00 $1.00 $1.00
- --------------------------------------------------------------------------------
INCOME AND DISTRIBUTIONS
FROM INVESTMENT
OPERATIONS
Net Investment Income
Earned and
Distributed to
Shareholders 0.03 0.03 0.03 0.03 0.03
================================================================================
Net Asset Value -
End of Period $1.00 $1.00 $1.00 $1.00 $1.00
================================================================================
TOTAL RETURN 2.63% 3.03% 2.90% 3.08% 2.86%
RATIOS
Net Assets - End of
Period ($000 Omitted) $50,697 $54,801 $47,577 $51,649 $58,780
Ratio of Expense to
Average Net
Assets(a) 0.77%(b) 0.76%(b) 0.76%(b) 0.77%(b) 0.75%
Ratio of Net Investment
Income to Average Net
Assets(a) 2.61% 3.01% 2.86% 3.03% 2.77%
(a) Various expenses of the Fund were voluntarily absorbed by INVESCO for the
years ended May 31, 1999, 1998, 1997, 1996 and 1995. If such expenses had
not been voluntarily absorbed, ratio of expenses to average net assets
would have been 1.02%, 1.06%, 1.01%, 1.05% and 1.00%, respectively, and
ratio of net investment income to average net assets would have been 2.36%,
2.71%, 2.61%, 2.75% and 2.52%, respectively.
(b) Ratio is based on Total Expenses of the Fund, less Expenses Absorbed by
INVESCO, which is before any expense offset arrangements.
<PAGE>
FINANCIAL HIGHLIGHTS (CONTINUED)
YEAR ENDED MAY 31
----------------------------------------------------------
1999 1998 1997 1996 1995
U.S. GOVERNMENT MONEY FUND
PER SHARE DATA
Net Asset Value -
Beginning of Period $1.00 $1.00 $1.00 $1.00 $1.00
- --------------------------------------------------------------------------------
INCOME AND DISTRIBUTIONS
FROM INVESTMENT
OPERATIONS
Net Investment Income
Earned and
Distributed to
Shareholders 0.04 0.05 0.04 0.05 0.05
================================================================================
Net Asset Value -
End of Period $1.00 $1.00 $1.00 $1.00 $1.00
================================================================================
TOTAL RETURN 4.36% 4.74% 4.57% 4.90% 4.66%
RATIOS
Net Assets - End of
Period ($000 Omitted) $91,509 $73,918 $66,451 $79,392 $60,843
Ratio of Expense to
Average Net
Assets(a) 0.86%(b) 0.87%(b) 0.86%(b) 0.87%(b) 0.75%
Ratio of Net Investment
Income to Average Net
Assets(a) 4.28% 4.72% 4.51% 4.78% 4.55%
(a) Various expenses of the Fund were voluntarily absorbed by INVESCO for the
years ended May 31, 1999, 1998, 1997, 1996 and 1995. If such expenses had
not been voluntarily absorbed, ratio of expenses to average net assets
would have been 1.08%, 1.12%, 1.06%, 1.05% and 1.10%, respectively, and
ratio of net investment income to average net assets would have been 4.06%,
4.47%, 4.31%, 4.60% and 4.20%, respectively.
(b) Ratio is based on Total Expenses of the Fund, less Expenses Absorbed by
INVESCO, which is before any expense offset arrangements.
<PAGE>
September 30, 1999
INVESCO MONEY MARKET FUNDS, INC.
INVESCO CASH RESERVES FUND
INVESCO TAX-FREE MONEY FUND
INVESCO U.S. GOVERNMENT MONEY FUND
You may obtain additional information about the Funds from several sources:
FINANCIAL REPORTS. Although this Prospectus describes the Funds'
anticipated investments and operations, the Funds also prepare annual and
semiannual reports that detail the Funds' actual investments at the report date.
These reports include discussion of each Fund's recent performance, as well as
market and general economic trends affecting each Fund's performance. The annual
report also includes the report of the Funds' independent accountants.
STATEMENT OF ADDITIONAL INFORMATION. The SAI, dated September 30, 1999, is
a supplement to this Prospectus and has detailed information about the Funds and
their investment policies and practices. A current SAI for the Funds is on file
with the Securities and Exchange Commission and is incorporated into this
Prospectus by reference; in other words, the SAI is legally a part of this
Prospectus, and you are considered to be aware of the contents of the SAI.
INTERNET. The current Prospectus of the Funds may be accessed through the
INVESCO Web site at www.invesco.com. In addition, the current Prospectus, SAI,
annual or semiannual report are available on the SEC Web site at www.sec.gov.
To obtain a free copy of the current Prospectus, SAI, annual report or
semiannual report, write to INVESCO Distributors, Inc., P.O. Box 173706, Denver,
Colorado 80217-3706; or call 1-800-525-8085. Copies of these materials are also
available (with a copying charge) from the SEC's Public Reference Section at 450
Fifth Street, N.W., Washington, D.C. Information on the Public Reference Section
can be obtained by calling 1-800-SEC-0330. The SEC file numbers for the Funds
are 811-2606 and 002-55079.
811-2606
<PAGE>
STATEMENT OF ADDITIONAL INFORMATION
INVESCO Money Market Funds, Inc.
INVESCO Cash Reserves Fund
INVESCO Tax-Free Money Fund
INVESCO U.S. Government Money Fund
Address: Mailing Address:
7800 E. Union Ave., Denver, CO 80237 P.O. Box 173706, Denver, CO 80217-3706
Telephone:
In continental U.S., 1-800-525-8085
September 30, 1999
- ------------------------------------------------------------------------------
A Prospectus for INVESCO Cash Reserves, INVESCO Tax-Free Money and INVESCO U.S.
Government Money Funds dated September 30, 1999 provides the basic information
you should know before investing in a Fund. This Statement of Additional
Information ("SAI") is incorporated by reference into the Funds' Prospectus; in
other words, this SAI is legally part of the Funds' Prospectus. Although this
SAI is not a prospectus, it contains information in addition to that set forth
in the Prospectus. It is intended to provide additional information regarding
the activities and operations of the Funds and should be read in conjunction
with the Prospectus.
You may obtain, without charge, copies of the current Prospectus of the Funds,
SAI and current annual and semiannual reports by writing to INVESCO
Distributors, Inc., P.O. Box 173706, Denver, CO 80217-3706 , or by calling
1-800-525-8085. Copies of the Prospectus are also available through the INVESCO
Web site at www.invesco.com.
<PAGE>
TABLE OF CONTENTS
The Company...........................................................1
Investments, Policies and Risks.......................................1
Investment Restrictions..............................................10
Management of the Funds..............................................12
Other Service Providers..............................................29
Brokerage Allocation and Other Practices.............................30
Capital Stock........................................................32
Tax Consequences of Owning Shares of a Fund..........................32
Performance..........................................................33
Financial Statements.................................................36
Appendix A...........................................................37
<PAGE>
THE COMPANY
The Company was incorporated on April 2, 1993, under the laws of Maryland. On
July 1, 1993, the Company, through Cash Reserves Fund, Tax-Free Money Fund and
U.S. Government Money Fund, respectively, assumed all of the assets and
liabilities of Financial Daily Income Shares, Inc. (incorporated in Colorado on
October 14, 1975), Financial Tax-Free Money Fund, Inc. (incorporated in Colorado
on March 4, 1983) and Financial U.S. Government Money Fund, a series of
Financial Series Trust (organized as a Massachusetts business trust on July 15,
1987) (collectively, the "Predecessor Funds"). All financial and other
information about the Funds for the period prior to July 1, 1993, relates to
such Predecessor Funds.
The Company is an open-end, diversified, no-load management investment company
currently consisting of three portfolios of investments: INVESCO Cash Reserves
Fund, INVESCO Tax-Free Money Fund and INVESCO U.S. Government Money Fund (the
"Funds"). Additional funds may be offered in the future.
"Open-end" means that each Fund issues an indefinite number of shares which it
continuously offers to redeem at net asset value per share ("NAV"). A
"management" investment company actively buys and sells securities for the
portfolio of each Fund at the direction of a professional manager. Open-end
management investment companies (or one or more series of such companies, such
as the Funds) are commonly referred to as mutual funds. The Funds do not charge
sales fees to purchase their shares.
INVESTMENTS, POLICIES AND RISKS
The principal investments and policies of the Funds are discussed in the
Prospectus of the Funds. The investment objective of each of the Funds is to
achieve as high a level of current income as is consistent with the preservation
of capital, the maintenance of liquidity, and investing in high-quality debt
securities. (What constitutes a high-quality debt security varies with the type
of security and, where applicable, is noted in the discussion of each security.)
Tax-Free Money Fund also seeks income exempt from federal income tax. Each
Fund's assets are invested in securities having maturities of 397 days or less,
and the dollar-weighted average maturity of the portfolio will not exceed 90
days. The Funds buy only securities determined by INVESCO Funds Group, Inc.
("INVESCO"), the Funds' adviser, pursuant to procedures approved by the board of
directors, to be of high quality with minimal credit risk and to be eligible for
investment by the Funds under applicable U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission
("SEC") rules. Generally, the Funds are required to invest at least 95% of their
total assets in the securities of issuers with the highest credit rating. Credit
ratings are the opinion of the private companies (such as Standard & Poor's
("S&P") or Moody's Investors Services, Inc. ("Moody's")) that rate companies on
their securities; they are not guarantees. See Appendix A for descriptions of
the investment instruments referred to below, as well as discussions of the
degrees of risk involved in purchasing these instruments.
CERTIFICATES OF DEPOSIT IN FOREIGN BANKS AND U.S. BRANCHES OF FOREIGN BANKS --
The Funds may maintain time deposits in and invest in U.S. dollar denominated
CDs issued by foreign banks and U.S. branches of foreign banks. The Funds limit
investments in foreign bank obligations to U.S. dollar denominated obligations
of foreign banks which have more than $10 billion in assets, have branches or
<PAGE>
agencies in the U.S., and meet other criteria established by the board of
directors. Investments in foreign securities involve special considerations.
There is generally less publicly available information about foreign issuers
since many foreign countries do not have the same disclosure and reporting
requirements as are imposed by the U.S. securities laws. Moreover, foreign
issuers are generally not bound by uniform accounting and auditing and financial
reporting requirements and standards of practice comparable to those applicable
to domestic issuers. Such investments may also entail the risks of possible
imposition of dividend withholding or confiscatory taxes, possible currency
blockage or transfer restrictions, expropriation, nationalization or other
adverse political or economic developments, and the difficulty of enforcing
obligations in other countries.
The Funds may also invest in bankers' acceptances, time deposits and
certificates of deposit of U.S. branches of foreign banks and foreign branches
of U.S. banks. Investments in instruments of U.S. branches of foreign banks will
be made only with branches that are subject to the same regulations as U.S.
banks. Investments in instruments issued by a foreign branch of a U.S. bank will
be made only if the investment risk associated with such investment is the same
as that involving an investment in instruments issued by the U.S. parent, with
the U.S. parent unconditionally liable in the event that the foreign branch
fails to pay on the investment for any reason.
COMMERCIAL PAPER -- Commercial paper is the term for short-term promissory notes
issued by domestic corporations to meet current working capital needs.
Commercial paper may be unsecured by the corporation's assets but may be backed
by a letter of credit from a bank or other financial institution. The letter of
credit enhances the paper's creditworthiness. The issuer is directly responsible
for payment but the bank "guarantees" that if the note is not paid at maturity
by the issuer, the bank will pay the principal and interest to the buyer.
INVESCO will consider the creditworthiness of the institution issuing the letter
of credit, as well as the creditworthiness of the issuer of the commercial
paper, when purchasing paper enhanced by a letter of credit. Commercial paper is
sold either as interest-bearing or on a discounted basis, with maturities not
exceeding 270 days.
Commercial paper acquired by a Fund must be rated by at least two nationally
recognized securities ratings organizations (NRSROs), generally S&P and Moody's,
in the highest rating category (A-1 by S&P or P-1 by Moody's), or, where the
obligation is rated by only S&P or Moody's and not by any other NRSRO, such
obligation is rated A-1 or P-1. Money market instruments purchased by a Fund
which are not rated by any NRSRO must be determined by INVESCO to be of
equivalent credit quality to the rated securities in which a Fund may invest. In
INVESCO's opinion, obligations that are not rated are not necessarily of lower
quality than those which are rated; however, they may be less marketable and
typically may provide higher yields. The Funds invest in unrated securities only
when such an investment is in accordance with a Fund's investment objective of
achieving a high level of current income and when such investment will not
impair the Fund's ability to comply with requests for redemptions. Commercial
paper is usually secured by the corporation's assets but may sometimes be backed
by a letter of credit from a bank or other financial institution.
CREDIT ENHANCEMENTS -- The Funds may acquire a right to sell an obligation to
another party at a guaranteed price approximating par value, either on demand or
at specified intervals. The right to sell may form part of the obligation or be
<PAGE>
acquired separately by a Fund. These rights may be referred to as demand
features, guarantees or puts, depending on their characteristics (collectively
referred to as "Guarantees"), and may involve letters of credit or other credit
support arrangements supplied by domestic or foreign banks supporting the other
party's ability to purchase the obligation from a Fund. The Funds will acquire
Guarantees solely to facilitate portfolio liquidity and does not intend to
exercise them for trading purposes. In considering whether an obligation meets
the Fund's quality standards, a Fund may look to the creditworthiness of the
party providing the right to sell or to the quality of the obligation itself.
The acquisition of a Guarantee will not affect the valuation of the underlying
obligation which will continue to be valued in accordance with the amortized
cost method of valuation.
DIVERSIFICATION -- The Company is a diversified investment company under the
Investment Company Act of 1940, as amended ("the 1940 Act"). Except to the
extent permitted under Rule 2a-7 of the 1940 Act or any successor rule thereto,
no more than 5% of the value of each Fund's total assets can be invested in the
securities of any one issuer (other than securities issued or guaranteed by the
U.S. government or any of its agencies or instrumentalities, or securities of
other investment companies).
DOMESTIC BANK OBLIGATIONS -- U.S. banks (including their foreign branches) issue
certificates of deposit ("CDs") and bankers' acceptances which may be purchased
by the Funds if an issuing bank has total assets in excess of $5 billion and the
bank otherwise meets the Funds' credit rating requirements. CDs are issued
against deposits in a commercial bank for a specified period and rate and are
normally negotiable. Eurodollar CDs are certificates issued by a foreign branch
(usually London) of a U.S. domestic bank, and, as such, the credit is deemed to
be that of the domestic bank. Bankers' acceptances are short-term credit
instruments evidencing the promise of the bank (by virtue of the bank's
"acceptance") to pay at maturity a draft which has been drawn on it by a
customer (the "drawer"). Bankers' acceptances are used to finance the import,
export, transfer, or storage of goods and reflect the obligation of both the
bank and the drawer to pay the face amount. Both types of securities are subject
to the ability of the issuing bank to meet its obligations, and are subject to
risks common to all debt securities. In addition, banker's acceptances may be
subject to foreign currency risk and certain other risks of investment in
foreign securities.
ILLIQUID SECURITIES -- Securities which do not trade on stock exchanges or in
the over the counter market, or have restrictions on when and how they may be
sold, are generally considered to be "illiquid." An illiquid security is one
<PAGE>
that a Fund may have difficulty -- or may even be legally precluded from --
selling at any particular time. The Funds may invest in illiquid securities,
including restricted securities and other investments which are not readily
marketable. The Funds do not currently intend to purchase any security if, as a
result, more than 10% of its net assets would be invested in securities that are
deemed to be illiquid because they are subject to legal or contractual
restrictions on resale or because they cannot be sold or disposed of in the
ordinary course of business at approximately the prices at which they are
valued. Repurchase agreements maturing in more than seven days are considered
illiquid for purposes of this restriction.
The principal risk of investing in illiquid securities is that a Fund may be
unable to dispose of them at the time desired or at a reasonable price. In
addition, in order to resell a restricted security, a Fund might have to bear
the expense and incur the delays associated with registering the securities with
the SEC and obtaining listing on a securities exchange or in the over the
counter market.
INSURANCE FUNDING AGREEMENTS -- The Funds may also invest in funding agreements
issued by domestic insurance companies. Such funding agreements will only be
purchased from insurance companies which have outstanding an issue of long-term
debt securities rated AAA or AA by S&P, or Aaa or Aa by Moody's. In all cases,
the Funds will attempt to obtain the right to demand payment, on not more than
seven days' notice, for all or any part of the amount subject to the funding
agreement, plus accrued interest. The Funds intend to execute their right to
demand payment only as needed to provide liquidity to meet redemptions, or to
maintain a high quality investment portfolio. A Fund's investments in funding
agreements that do not have this demand feature, or for which there is not a
readily available market, are considered to be investments in illiquid
securities.
LOAN PARTICIPATION INTERESTS -- The Funds may purchase loan participation
interests in all or part of specific holdings of corporate debt obligations. The
issuer of such debt obligations is also the issuer of the loan participation
interests into which the obligations have been apportioned. A Fund will purchase
only loan participation interests issued by companies whose commercial paper is
currently rated in the highest rating category by at least two NRSROs, generally
S&P and Moody's (A-1 by S&P or P-1 by Moody's), or where such instrument is
rated only by S&P or Moody's and not by any other NRSRO, such instrument is
rated A-1 or P-1. Such loan participation interests will only be purchased from
banks which meet the criteria for banks discussed above and registered
broker-dealers or registered government securities dealers which have
outstanding either commercial paper or other short-term debt obligations rated
in the highest rating category by at least two NRSROs or by one NRSRO if such
obligation is rated by only one NRSRO. Such banks and security dealers are not
guarantors of the debt obligations represented by the loan participation
interests, and therefore are not responsible for satisfying such debt
obligations in the event of default. Additionally, such banks and securities
dealers act merely as facilitators, with regard to repayment by the issuer, with
no authority to direct or control repayment. A Fund will attempt to ensure that
there is a readily available market for all of the loan participation interests
in which it invests. The Funds' investments in loan participation interests for
which there is not a readily available market are considered to be investments
in illiquid securities.
<PAGE>
MUNICIPAL OBLIGATIONS -- Tax-Free Money Fund may invest in short-term municipal
debt securities including municipal bonds, notes and commercial paper.
Municipal Bonds -- Municipal bonds are classified as general obligation or
revenue bonds. General obligation bonds are secured by the issuer's pledge
of its full faith, credit and unlimited taxing power for the payment of
principal and interest. Revenue bonds are payable only from the revenues
generated by a particular facility or class of facility, or in some cases
from the proceeds of a special excise tax or specific revenue source.
Industrial development obligations are a particular kind of municipal bond
which are issued by or on behalf of public authorities to obtain funds for
many kinds of local, privately operated facilities. Such obligations are,
in most cases, revenue bonds that generally are secured by a lease with a
particular private corporation.
Municipal Notes -- Municipal notes are short-term debt obligations issued
by municipalities which normally have a maturity at the time of issuance
of six months to three years. Such notes include tax anticipation notes,
bond anticipation notes, revenue anticipation notes and project notes.
Notes sold in anticipation of collection of taxes, a bond sale or receipt
of other revenues are normally obligations of the issuing municipality or
agency.
Municipal Commercial Paper -- Municipal commercial paper is short-term
debt obligations issued by municipalities which may be issued at a
discount (sometimes referred to as Short-Term Discount Notes). These
obligations are issued to meet seasonal working capital needs of a
municipality or interim construction financing and are paid from a
municipality's general revenues or refinanced with long-term debt.
Although the availability of municipal commercial paper has been limited,
from time to time the amounts of such debt obligations offered have
increased, and INVESCO believes that this increase may continue.
Variable Rate Obligations -- The interest rate payable on a variable rate
municipal obligation is adjusted either at predetermined periodic
intervals or whenever there is a change in the market rate of interest
upon which the interest rate payable is based. A variable rate obligation
may include a demand feature pursuant to which the Fund would have the
right to demand prepayment of the principal amount of the obligation prior
to its stated maturity. The issuer of the variable rate obligation may
retain the right to prepay the principal amount prior to maturity.
It is a policy of the Tax-Free Money Fund that, under normal market conditions,
it will have at least 80% of its net assets invested in municipal obligations
that, based on the opinion of counsel to the issuer, pay interest free from
federal income tax. It is the Fund's present intention to invest its assets so
that substantially all of its annual income will be tax-exempt. The Funds may
invest in municipal obligations whose interest income may be specially treated
as a tax preference item under the alternative minimum tax ("AMT"). Securities
that generate income that is a tax preference item may not be counted towards
the 80% tax exempt threshold described above. Tax-exempt income may result in an
indirect tax preference item for corporations, which may subject an investor to
liability under the AMT depending on its particular situation. Tax-Free Money
Fund, however, will not invest more than 20% of its net assets in obligations
<PAGE>
the interest from which gives rise to a preference item for the purpose of the
AMT and in other investments subject to federal income tax. Distributions from
this Fund may be subject to state and local taxes.
Tax-Free Money Fund will not purchase a municipal obligations unless the Fund
has been advised that the issuer's bond counsel has rendered an opinion that
such obligations have been validly issued and that the interest thereon is
exempt from federal income taxation. In addition, Tax-Free Money Fund will not
purchase a municipal obligation that, in the opinion of INVESCO, is reasonably
likely to be held not to be validly issued or to pay interest thereon which is
not exempt from federal income taxation.
Municipal obligations purchased by a Fund must be rated by at least two
NRSROs - generally S&P and Moody's - in the highest rating category (AAA or AA
by S&P or Aaa or Aa by Moody's), or by one NRSRO in the highest rating category
if such obligations are rated by only one NRSRO. Municipal notes or municipal
commercial paper must be rated in the highest rating category by at least two
NRSROs, or where the note or paper is rated only by one NRSRO, in the highest
rating category by that NRSRO. If a security is unrated, a Fund may invest in
such security if the Adviser determines, in an analysis similar to that
performed by Moody's or S&P in rating similar securities and issuers, that the
security is comparable to that eligible for investment by the Fund. After a Fund
has purchased an issue of municipal obligations, such issue might cease to be
rated or its rating might be reduced below the minimum required for purchase. If
a security originally rated in the highest rating category by a NRSRO has been
downgraded to the second highest rating category, INVESCO must assess promptly
whether the security presents minimal credit risk and must take such action with
respect to the security as it determines to be in the best interest of the Fund.
If a security is downgraded below the second highest rating of an NRSRO, is in
default, or no longer presents a minimal credit risk, the security must be
disposed of either within five business days of INVESCO becoming aware of the
new rating, the default or the credit risk, or as soon as practicable consistent
with achieving an orderly disposition of the security, whichever is the first to
occur, unless the executive committee of the Company's board of directors
determines within the aforesaid five business days that holding the security is
in the best interest of a Fund.
PORTFOLIO SECURITIES LOANS -- The Company, on behalf of each of the Funds, may
lend limited amounts of its portfolio securities (not to exceed 33 1/3% of a
Fund's total assets). Because there could be delays in recovery of loaned
securities or even a loss of rights in collateral should the borrower fail
financially, loans will be made only to firms deemed by INVESCO to be of good
standing and will not be made unless, in the judgment of INVESCO, the
consideration to be earned from such loans would justify the risk. INVESCO will
evaluate the creditworthiness of such borrowers in accordance with procedures
adopted and monitored by the board of directors. It is expected that the
Company, on behalf of the applicable Fund, will use the cash portions of loan
collateral to invest in short-term income producing securities for the Fund's
account and that the Company may share some of the income from these investments
with the borrower. See "Portfolio Securities Loans" at Appendix A to this SAI.
REPURCHASE AGREEMENTS -- A Fund may enter into repurchase agreements and reverse
repurchase agreements. (See Appendix A to this SAI for a discussion of these
agreements and the risks involved with such transactions.) The Funds will enter
<PAGE>
into repurchase agreements and reverse repurchase agreements only with (i) banks
which have total assets in excess of $4 billion and meet other criteria
established by the board of directors and (ii) with registered broker-dealers or
registered government securities dealers which have outstanding either
commercial paper or other debt obligations rated in the highest rating category
by at least two NRSROs or by one NRSRO if such obligations are rated by only one
NRSRO. INVESCO Funds Group, Inc. ("INVESCO") as investment adviser of the Funds,
will monitor the creditworthiness of such entities in accordance with procedures
adopted and monitored by the board of directors. The Funds will enter into
repurchase agreements whenever, in the opinion of INVESCO, such transactions
would be advantageous to the Funds. Repurchase agreements afford an opportunity
for the Funds to earn a return on temporarily available cash. The Funds will
enter into reverse repurchase agreements only for the purpose of obtaining funds
necessary for meeting redemption requests of shareholders. Interest earned by
the Funds on repurchase agreements would not be tax-exempt, and thus would
constitute taxable income.
TEMPORARY DEFENSIVE POSITION -- From time to time, on a temporary basis for
defensive purposes, the Fund may also hold 100% of its assets in cash or invest
in taxable short term investments ("taxable investments"), including obligations
of the U.S. government, its agencies or instrumentalities; commercial paper
limited to obligations which are rated by at least two NRSROs - generally S&P
and Moody's - in the highest rating category (A-1 by S&P and P-1 by Moody's), or
by one NRSRO if such obligations are rated by only one NRSRO; certificates of
deposit of U.S. domestic banks, including foreign branches of domestic banks
meeting the criteria described in the discussion above; time deposits; and
repurchase agreements with respect to any of the foregoing with registered
broker-dealers, registered government securities dealers or banks.
U.S. GOVERNMENT SECURITIES -- Each Fund may purchase debt securities issued by
the U.S. government without limit. These securities include Treasury bills,
notes and bonds. Treasury bills have a maturity of one year or less, Treasury
notes generally have a maturity of one to ten years and Treasury bonds generally
have maturities of more than ten years.
U.S. government debt securities also include securities issued or guaranteed by
agencies or instrumentalities of the U.S. government. Some obligations of U.S.
government agencies, which are established under the authority of an act of
Congress, such as Government National Mortgage Association ("GNMA")
participation certificates, are supported by the full faith and credit of the
U.S. Treasury. GNMA Certificates are mortgage-backed securities representing
part ownership of a pool of mortgage loans. These loans -- issued by lenders
such as mortgage bankers, commercial banks and savings and loan associations --
are either insured by the Federal Housing Administration or guaranteed by the
Veterans Administration. A "pool" or group of such mortgages is assembled and,
after being approved by GNMA, is offered to investors through securities
dealers. Once approved by GNMA, the timely payment of interest and principal on
each mortgage is guaranteed by GNMA and backed by the full faith and credit of
the U.S. government. The market value of GNMA Certificates is not guaranteed.
GNMA Certificates are different from bonds because principal is paid back
monthly by the borrower over the term of the loan rather than returned in a lump
sum at maturity, as is the case with a bond. GNMA Certificates are called
"pass-through" securities because both interest and principal payments
(including prepayments) are passed through to the holder of the GNMA
Certificate.
<PAGE>
Other United States government debt securities, such as securities of the
Federal Home Loan Banks, are supported by the right of the issuer to borrow from
the Treasury. Others, such as bonds issued by Fannie Mae, a federally chartered
private corporation, are supported only by the credit of the corporation. In the
case of securities not backed by the full faith and credit of the United States,
a Fund must look principally to the agency issuing or guaranteeing the
obligation in the event the agency or instrumentality does not meet its
commitments. A Fund will invest in securities of such instrumentalities only
when INVESCO is satisfied that the credit risk with respect to any such
instrumentality is comparatively minimal.
WHEN-ISSUED/DELAYED DELIVERY -- Ordinarily, the Funds buy and sell securities on
an ordinary settlement basis. That means that the buy or sell order is sent, and
a Fund actually takes delivery or gives up physical possession of the security
on the "settlement date," which is three business days later. However, the Funds
also may purchase and sell securities on a when-issued or delayed delivery
basis.
When-issued or delayed delivery transactions occur when securities are purchased
or sold by a Fund and payment and delivery take place at an agreed-upon time in
the future. The Funds may engage in this practice in an effort to secure an
advantageous price and yield. However, the yield on a comparable security
available when delivery actually takes place may vary from the yield on the
security at the time the when-issued or delayed delivery transaction was entered
into. When a Fund engages in when-issued and delayed delivery transactions, it
relies on the seller or buyer to consummate the sale at the future date. If the
seller or buyer fails to act as promised, that failure may result in the Fund
missing the opportunity of obtaining a price or yield considered to be
advantageous. No payment or delivery is made by a Fund until it receives
delivery or payment from the other party to the transaction. However,
fluctuation in the value of the security from the time of commitment until
delivery could adversely affect a Fund.
INVESTMENT RESTRICTIONS
The Funds operate under certain investment restrictions. For purposes of the
following restrictions, all percentage limitations apply immediately after a
purchase or initial investment. Any subsequent change in a particular percentage
resulting from fluctuations in value does not require elimination of any
security from a Fund.
The following restrictions are fundamental policies and may not be changed with
respect to a Fund without prior approval of a majority of the outstanding voting
securities of that Fund, as defined in the 1940 Act. Each Fund, unless otherwise
indicated, may not:
1. purchase the securities of any issuer (other than securities issued or
guaranteed by the U.S. government or any of its agencies or
instrumentalities, municipal securities or securities issued or guaranteed
by domestic banks, including U.S. branches of foreign banks and foreign
branches of U.S. banks) if, as a result, more than 25% of the Fund's total
assets would be invested in the securities of companies whose principal
business activities are in the same industry;
<PAGE>
2. except to the extent permitted under Rule 2a-7 of the 1940 Act, or any
successor rule thereto, purchase the securities of any issuer (other than
securities issued or guaranteed by the U.S. government or any of its
agencies or instrumentalities, or securities of other investment
companies) if, as a result, (i) more than 5% of the Fund's total assets
would be invested in the securities of that issuer, or (ii) the Fund would
hold more than 10% of the outstanding voting securities of that issuer;
3. underwrite securities of other issuers, except insofar as it may be
deemed to be an underwriter under the Securities Act of 1933 (the "1933
Act"), as amended, in connection with the disposition of the Fund's
portfolio securities;
4. borrow money, except that the Fund may borrow money in an amount not
exceeding 33 1/3% of its total assets (including the amount borrowed) less
liabilities (other than borrowings);
5. issue senior securities, except as permitted under the 1940 Act;
6. lend any security or make any loan if, as a result, more than 33 1/3%
of its total assets would be lent to other parties, but this limitation
does not apply to the purchase of debt securities or to repurchase
agreements;
7. purchase or sell physical commodities; however, this policy shall not
prevent the Fund from purchasing and selling foreign currency, futures
contracts, options, forward contracts, swaps, caps, floors, collars and
other financial instruments; or
8. purchase or sell real estate unless acquired as a result of ownership
of securities or other instruments (but this shall not prevent the Fund
from investing in securities or other instruments backed by real estate or
securities of companies engaged in the real estate business).
9. Each Fund may, notwithstanding any other fundamental investment policy
or limitation, invest all of its assets in the securities of a single
open-end management investment company managed by INVESCO or an affiliate
or a successor thereof, with substantially the same fundamental investment
objective, policies and limitations as the Fund.
In addition, each Fund has the following non-fundamental policies, which may be
changed without shareholder approval:
A. The Fund may not sell securities short (unless it owns or has the right
to obtain securities equivalent in kind and amount to the securities sold
short) or purchase securities on margin, except that (i) this policy does
not prevent the Fund from entering into short positions in foreign
currency, futures contracts, options, forward contracts, swaps, caps,
floors, collars and other financial instruments, (ii) the Fund may obtain
such short-term credits as are necessary for the clearance of
transactions, and (iii) the Fund may make margin payments in connection
with futures contracts, options, forward contracts, swaps, caps, floors,
collars and other financial instruments.
<PAGE>
B. The Fund may borrow money only from a bank or from an open-end
management investment company managed by INVESCO or an affiliate or a
successor thereof for temporary or emergency purposes (not for leveraging
or investing) or by engaging in reverse repurchase agreements with any
party (reverse repurchase agreements will be treated as borrowings for
purposes of fundamental limitation (4)).
C. The Fund does not currently intend to purchase any security if, as a
result, more than 10% of its net assets would be invested in securities
that are deemed to be illiquid because they are subject to legal or
contractual restrictions on resale or because they cannot be sold or
disposed of in the ordinary course of business at approximately the prices
at which they are valued.
D. The Fund may invest in securities issued by other investment companies
to the extent that such investments are consistent with the Fund's
investment objective and policies and permissible under the 1940 Act.
E. With respect to fundamental limitation (1), domestic and foreign
banking will be considered to be different industries.
In addition, with respect to a Fund that may invest in municipal obligations,
the following non-fundamental policy applies, which may be changed without
shareholder approval:
Each state (including the District of Columbia and Puerto Rico), territory
and possession of the United States, each political subdivision, agency,
instrumentality and authority thereof, and each multi-state agency of
which a state is a member is a separate "issuer." When the assets and
revenues of an agency, authority, instrumentality or other political
subdivision are separate from the government creating the subdivision and
the security is backed only by assets and revenues of the subdivision,
such subdivision would be deemed to be the sole issuer. Similarly, in the
case of an Industrial Development Bond or Private Activity Bond, if that
bond is backed only by the assets and revenues of the non-governmental
user, then that non-governmental user would be deemed to be the sole
issuer.
Following is a chart outlining some of the limitations pursuant to
non-fundamental investment policies set by the board of directors. These
non-fundamental policies may be changed by the board of directors without
shareholder approval:
- --------------------------------------------------------------------------------
INVESTMENT CASH RESERVES TAX-FREE MONEY U.S. GOVERNMENT MONEY
- --------------------------------------------------------------------------------
DEBT SECURITIES At least 95% in
Corporate Debt the highest
short-term
rating category
- --------------------------------------------------------------------------------
U.S. Government No Limit Up to 20%, No Limit
Obligations including
private
activity bonds
and other tax-
able
- --------------------------------------------------------------------------------
<PAGE>
- --------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Municipal At least 80%
Obligations
- --------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Private Activity Up to 20%,
Bonds and including U.S.
taxable securities government
obligations
- --------------------------------------------------------------------------------
TEMPORARY TAXABLE Up to 100% for
defensive
purposes
- --------------------------------------------------------------------------------
MANAGEMENT OF THE FUNDS
THE INVESTMENT ADVISER
INVESCO, located at 7800 East Union Avenue, Denver, Colorado, is the Company's
investment adviser. INVESCO was founded in 1932 and serves as investment adviser
to:
INVESCO Bond Funds, Inc. (formerly, INVESCO Income Funds, Inc.)
INVESCO Combination Stock & Bond Funds, Inc. (formerly, INVESCO Flexible
Funds, Inc.)
INVESCO International Funds, Inc.
INVESCO Money Market Funds, Inc.
INVESCO Sector Funds, Inc. (formerly, INVESCO Strategic Portfolios, Inc.)
INVESCO Specialty Funds, Inc.
INVESCO Stock Funds, Inc. (formerly, INVESCO Equity Funds, Inc.)
INVESCO Treasurer's Series Funds, Inc. (formerly, INVESCO Treasurer's
Series Trust)
INVESCO Variable Investment Funds, Inc.
As of August 31, 1999, INVESCO managed 42 mutual funds having combined assets of
$24 billion, on behalf of more than 926,831 shareholders.
INVESCO is an indirect, wholly owned subsidiary of AMVESCAP PLC, a publicly
traded holding company. Through its subsidiaries, AMVESCAP PLC engages in the
business of investment management on an international basis. AMVESCAP PLC is one
of the largest independent investment management businesses in the world with
approximately $296 billion in assets under management on June 30, 1999.
AMVESCAP PLC's North American subsidiaries include:
INVESCO Retirement and Benefit Services, Inc. ("IRBS"), Atlanta, Georgia,
develops and provides domestic and international defined contribution
retirement plan services to plan sponsors, institutional retirement plan
sponsors, institutional plan providers and foreign governments.
INVESCO Retirement Plan Services ("IRPS"), Atlanta, Georgia, a division of
IRBS, provides recordkeeping and investment selection services to defined
contribution plan sponsors of plans with between $2 million and $200 million
in assets. Additionally, IRPS provides investment consulting services to
institutions seeking to provide retirement plan products and services.
<PAGE>
Institutional Trust Company doing business as INVESCO Trust Company
("ITC"), Denver, Colorado, a division of IRBS, provides retirement account
custodian and/or trust services for individual retirement accounts ("IRAs")
and other retirement plan accounts. This includes services such as
recordkeeping, tax reporting and compliance. ITC acts as trustee or
custodian to these plans. ITC accepts contributions and provides complete
transfer agency functions: correspondence, sub-accounting, telephone,
communications and processing of distributions.
INVESCO Capital Management, Inc., Atlanta, Georgia, manages institutional
investment portfolios, consisting primarily of discretionary employee
benefit plans for corporations and state and local governments, and
endowment funds.
INVESCO Management & Research, Inc., Boston, Massachusetts, primarily
manages pension and endowment accounts.
PRIMCO Capital Management, Inc., Louisville, Kentucky, specializes in
managing stable return investments, principally on behalf of Section 401(k)
retirement plans.
INVESCO Realty Advisors, Inc., Dallas, Texas, is responsible for providing
advisory services in the U.S. real estate markets for AMVESCAP PLC's clients
worldwide. Clients include corporate pension plans and public pension funds
as well as endowment and foundation accounts.
INVESCO (NY), Inc., New York, is an investment adviser for separately
managed accounts, such as corporate and municipal pension plans,
Taft-Hartley Plans, insurance companies, charitable institutions and private
individuals. INVESCO NY further serves as investment adviser to several
closed-end investment companies, and as sub-adviser with respect to certain
commingled employee benefit trusts.
A I M Advisors, Inc., Houston, Texas, provides investment advisory and
administrative services for retail and institutional mutual funds.
A I M Capital Management, Inc., Houston, Texas, provides investment
advisory services to individuals, corporations, pension plans and other
private investment advisory accounts and also serves as sub-adviser to
certain retail and institutional mutual funds, one Canadian mutual fund and
one portfolio of an open-end registered investment company that is offered
to separate accounts of variable insurance companies.
A I M Distributors, Inc. and Fund Management Trust, Houston, Texas are
registered broker-dealers that act as the principal underwriters for retail
and institutional mutual funds.
The corporate headquarters of AMVESCAP PLC are located at 11 Devonshire Square,
London, EC2M4YR, England.
<PAGE>
THE INVESTMENT ADVISORY AGREEMENT
INVESCO serves as investment adviser to the Funds under an investment advisory
agreement dated February 28, 1997 (the "Agreement") with the Company.
The Agreement requires that INVESCO manage the investment portfolio of each Fund
in a way that conforms with the Fund's investment policies. INVESCO may directly
manage a Fund itself, or may hire a sub-adviser, which may be an affiliate of
INVESCO, to do so. Specifically, INVESCO is responsible for:
o managing the investment and reinvestment of all the assets of the Funds,
and executing all purchases and sales of portfolio securities;
o maintaining a continuous investment program for the Funds, consistent with
(i) each Fund's investment policies as set forth in the Company's Articles
of Incorporation, Bylaws and Registration Statement, as from time to time
amended, under the 1940 Act, and in any prospectus and/or statement of
additional information of the Funds, as from time to time amended and in
use under the 1933 Act, and (ii) the Company's status as a regulated
investment company under the Internal Revenue Code of 1986, as amended;
o determining what securities are to be purchased or sold for the Funds,
unless otherwise directed by the directors of the Company, and executing
transactions accordingly;
o providing the Funds the benefit of all of the investment analysis and
research, the reviews of current economic conditions and trends, and the
consideration of a long-range investment policy now or hereafter generally
available to the investment advisory customers of the adviser or any
sub-adviser;
o determining what portion of each Fund's assets should be invested in the
various types of securities authorized for purchase by a Fund; and
o making recommendations as to the manner in which voting rights, rights to
consent to Fund action and any other rights pertaining to a Fund's
portfolio securities shall be exercised.
INVESCO also performs all of the following services for the Funds:
o administrative
o internal accounting (including computation of net asset value)
o clerical and statistical
o secretarial
o all other services necessary or incidental to the administration of the
affairs of the Funds
<PAGE>
o supplying the Company with officers, clerical staff and other employees
o furnishing office space, facilities, equipment, and supplies; providing
personnel and facilities required to respond to inquiries related to
shareholder accounts
o conducting periodic compliance reviews of the Funds' operations;
preparation and review of required documents, reports and filings by
INVESCO's in-house legal and accounting staff or in conjunction with
independent attorneys and accountants (including the prospectus, statement
of additional information, proxy statements, shareholder reports, tax
returns, reports to the SEC, and other corporate documents of the Funds)
o supplying basic telephone service and other utilities
o preparing and maintaining certain of the books and records required to be
prepared and maintained by the Funds under the 1940 Act.
Expenses not assumed by INVESCO are borne by the Funds. As compensation for its
advisory services to the Company, INVESCO receives a monthly fee from each Fund.
The fee is calculated at the annual rate of 0.50% on the first $300 million of
each Fund's average net assets, 0.40% on the next $200 million of each Fund's
average net assets and 0.30% on each Fund's average net assets in excess of $500
million.
During the fiscal years ended May 31, 1999, 1998 and 1997, the Funds paid
INVESCO advisory fees in the dollar amounts shown below. If applicable, the
advisory fees were offset by credits in the amounts shown below, so that
INVESCO's fees were not in excess of the expense limitations shown below, which
have been voluntarily agreed to by the Company and INVESCO.
Advisory Total Expense Total Expense
Fee Dollars Reimbursements Limitations
Cash Reserves Fund
May 31, 1999 $3,157,241 $ 87,157 0.90%
May 31, 1998 $2,789,986 $140,835 0.90%
May 31, 1997 $2,978,520 $430,651 0.85%
Tax-Free Money Fund
May 31, 1999 $ 246,764 $123,371 0.85%*
May 31, 1998 $ 238,537 $144,423 0.75%
May 31, 1997 $ 282,216 $143,085 0.75%
<PAGE>
U.S. Government Money
Fund
May 31, 1999 $ 450,781 $195,925 0.85%
May 31, 1998 $ 369,593 $187,969 0.85%
May 31, 1997 $ 426,139 $172,695 0.85%
*0.75% prior to May 13, 1999.
ADMINISTRATIVE SERVICES AGREEMENT
INVESCO, either directly or through affiliated companies, provides certain
administrative, sub-accounting, and recordkeeping services to the Funds pursuant
to an Administrative Services Agreement.
The Administrative Services Agreement requires INVESCO to provide the following
services to the Funds:
o such sub-accounting and recordkeeping services and functions as are
reasonably necessary for the operation of the Funds; and
o such sub-accounting, recordkeeping, and administrative services and
functions, which may be provided by affiliates of INVESCO, as are
reasonably necessary for the operation of Fund shareholder accounts
maintained by certain retirement plans and employee benefit plans for the
benefit of participants in such plans.
As full compensation for services provided under the Administrative Services
Agreement, each Fund pays a monthly fee to INVESCO consisting of a base fee of
$10,000 per year plus an additional incremental fee computed daily and paid
monthly at an annual rate of 0.015% of the average net assets of each Fund prior
to May 13, 1999 and 0.045% per year of the average net assets of each Fund
effective May 13, 1999.
TRANSFER AGENCY AGREEMENT
INVESCO also performs transfer agent, dividend disbursing agent, and registrar
services for the Funds pursuant to a Transfer Agency Agreement.
The Transfer Agency Agreement provides that each Fund pays INVESCO an annual fee
of $27.00 per shareholder account, or, where applicable, per participant in an
omnibus account. This fee is paid monthly at the rate of 1/12 of the annual fee
and is based upon the actual number of shareholder accounts and omnibus account
participants in each Fund at any time during each month.
FEES PAID TO INVESCO
For the fiscal years ended May 31, 1999, 1998 and 1997, the Funds paid the
following fees to INVESCO (prior to the absorption of certain Fund expenses by
INVESCO):
<PAGE>
Cash Reserves Fund
Type of Fee 1999 1998 1997
- ----------- ---- ---- ----
Advisory $3,157,241 $2,789,986 $2,978,520
Administrative Services 140,326 109,499 118,983
Transfer Agency 3,167,337 2,779,935 2,995,219
Tax-Free Money Fund
Type of Fee 1999 1998 1997
- ----------- ---- ---- ----
Advisory $ 246,764 $ 238,537 $ 282,216
Administrative Services 18,152 17,156 18,463
Transfer Agency 138,487 151,577 74,207
U.S. Government Money Fund
Type of Fee 1999 1998 1997
- ----------- ---- ---- ----
Advisory $ 450,781 $ 369,593 $ 426,139
Administrative Services 24,949 21,088 22,784
Transfer Agency 363,724 303,712 339,383
DIRECTORS AND OFFICERS OF THE COMPANY
The overall direction and supervision of the Company come from the board of
directors. The board of directors is responsible for making sure that the Funds'
general investment policies and programs are carried out and that the Funds are
properly administered.
The board of directors has an audit committee comprised of four of the directors
who are not affiliated with INVESCO (the "Independent Directors"). The committee
meets quarterly with the Company's independent accountants and officers to
review accounting principles used by the Company, the adequacy of internal
controls, the responsibilities and fees of the independent accountants, and
other matters.
The Company has a management liaison committee which meets quarterly with
various management personnel of INVESCO in order to facilitate better
understanding of management and operations of the Company, and to review legal
and operational matters which have been assigned to the committee by the board
of directors, in furtherance of the board of directors' overall duty of
supervision.
The Company has a soft dollar brokerage committee. The committee meets
periodically to review soft dollar and other brokerage transactions by the
Funds, and to review policies and procedures of INVESCO with respect to
brokerage transactions. It reports on these matters to the Company's board of
directors.
The Company has a derivatives committee. The committee meets periodically to
review derivatives investments made by the Funds. It monitors derivatives usage
by the Funds and the procedures utilized by INVESCO to ensure that the use of
such instruments follows the policies on such instruments adopted by the
Company's board of directors. It reports on these matters to the Company's board
of directors.
<PAGE>
The officers of the Company, all of whom are officers and employees of INVESCO,
are responsible for the day-to-day administration of the Company and the Funds.
The officers of the Company receive no direct compensation from the Company or
the Funds for their services as officers. INVESCO has the primary responsibility
for making investment decisions on behalf of the Funds. These investment
decisions are reviewed by the investment committee of INVESCO.
All of the officers and directors of the Company hold comparable positions with
the following funds, which, with the Company, are collectively referred to as
the "INVESCO Funds":
INVESCO Bond Funds, Inc. (formerly, INVESCO Income Funds, Inc.)
INVESCO Combination Stock & Bond Funds, Inc. (formerly, INVESCO Flexible
Funds, Inc.)
INVESCO International Funds, Inc.
INVESCO Money Market Funds, Inc.
INVESCO Sector Funds, Inc. (formerly, INVESCO Strategic Portfolios, Inc.)
INVESCO Specialty Funds, Inc.
INVESCO Stock Funds, Inc. (formerly, INVESCO Equity Funds, Inc.)
INVESCO Treasurer's Series Funds, Inc. (formerly, INVESCO Treasurer's
Series Trust)
INVESCO Variable Investment Funds, Inc.
The table below provides information about each of the Company's directors and
officers. Their affiliations represent their principal occupations.
Name, Address, and Age Position(s) Held Principal Occupation(s)
With Company During Past Five Years
Charles W. Brady *+ Director and Chairman of the Board
1315 Peachtree St., N.E. Chairman of the Board of INVESCO Global
Atlanta, Georgia Health Sciences Fund;
Age: 64 Chief Executive Officer
and Director of AMVESCAP
PLC, London, England and
various subsidiaries of
AMVESCAP PLC.
<PAGE>
Name, Address, and Age Position(s) Held Principal Occupation(s)
With Company During Past Five Years
Fred A. Deering +# Director and Vice Trustee of INVESCO Global
Security Life Center Chairman of the Board Health Sciences
1290 Broadway Fund; formerly,
Denver, Colorado Chairman of the Executive
Age: 71 Committee and Chairman of
the Board of Security
Life of Denver Insurance
Company; Director of ING
American Holdings Company
and First ING Life
Insurance Company of New
York.
Mark H. Williamson *+ President, Chief President, Chief Executive
7800 E. Union Avenue Executive Officer Officer and Director of
Denver, Colorado and Director INVESCO Funds Group, Inc.;
Age: 48 President, Chief Executive
Officer and Director of
INVESCO Distributors,
Inc.; President, Chief
Operating Officer and
Trustee of INVESCO Global
Health Sciences Fund;
formerly, Chairman and
Chief Executive Officer
of NationsBanc Advisors,
Inc.; formerly, Chairman
of NationsBanc
Investments, Inc.
<PAGE>
Name, Address, and Age Position(s) Held Principal Occupation(s)
With Company During Past Five Years
Victor L. Andrews, Ph.D. Director Professor Emeritus,
**! Chairman Emeritus and
34 Seawatch Drive Chairman of the CFO
Savannah, Georgia Roundtable of the
Age: 69 Department of Finance of
Georgia State University;
President, Andrews Finan-
cial Associates, Inc.(con-
sulting firm); formerly,
member of the faculties of
the Harvard Business
School and the Sloan
School of Management of
MIT; Director of The
Sheffield Funds, Inc.
Bob R. Baker +** Director President and Chief
AMC Cancer Research Executive Officer of AMC
Center Cancer Research Center,
1600 Pierce Street Denver, Colorado, since
Denver, Colorado January 1989; until mid-
Age: 62 December 1988, Vice
Chairman of the Board of
First Columbia Financial
Corporation, Englewood,
Colorado; formerly,
Chairman of the Board and
Chief Executive Officer of
First Columbia Financial
Corporation.
Lawrence H. Budner # @ Director Trust Consultant; prior to
7608 Glen Albens Circle June 30, 1987, Senior Vice
Dallas, Texas President and Senior Trust
Age: 69 Officer of InterFirst
Bank, Dallas, Texas.
<PAGE>
Name, Address, and Age Position(s) Held Principal Occupation(s)
With Company During Past Five Years
Wendy L. Gramm, Ph.D.**! Director Self-employed (since
4201 Yuma Street, N.W. 1993); Professor of
Washington, DC Economics and Public
Age: 54 Administration, University
of Texas at Arlington;
formerly, Chairman,
Commodity Futures Trading
Commission; Administrator
for Information and
Regulatory Affairs at the
Office of Management and
Budget; Executive Director
of the Presidential
Task Force on Regulatory
Relief; and Director of
the Federal Trade Commis-
sion's Bureau of Econom-
ics; also, Director of
Chicago Mercantile
Exchange, Enron Corpora-
tion, IBP, Inc., State
Farm Insurance Company,
Independent Women's Forum,
International Republic
Institute, and the
Republican Women's
Federal Forum. Also,
Member of Board of
Visitors, College of
Business Administration,
University of Iowa, and
Member of Board of
Visitors, Center for Study
of Public Choice, George
Mason University.
<PAGE>
Name, Address, and Age Position(s) Held Principal Occupation(s)
With Company During Past Five Years
Kenneth T. King +#@ Director Retired. Formerly,
4080 North Circulo Chairman of the Board
Manzanillo of The Capitol Life
Tucson, Arizona Insurance Company,
Age: 73 Providence Washington
Insurance Company and
Director of numerous U.S.
subsidiaries thereof;
formerly, Chairman of the
Board of The Providence
Capitol Companies in the
United Kingdom and
Guernsey; Chairman of the
Board of the Symbion
Corporation until 1987.
John W. McIntyre + #@ Director Retired. Formerly,
7 Piedmont Center Vice Chairman of the
Suite 100 Board of Directors of
Atlanta, Georgia the Citizens and
Age: 68 Southern Corporation and
Chairman of the Board and
Chief Executive Officer
of the Citizens and
Southern Georgia Corp. and
the Citizens and Southern
National Bank; Trustee of
INVESCO Global Health
Sciences Fund, Gables
Residential Trust,
Employee's Retirement
System of GA, Emory
University and J.M. Tull
Charitable Foundation;
Director of Kaiser Foun-
dation Health Plans of
Georgia, Inc.
<PAGE>
Name, Address, and Age Position(s) Held Principal Occupation(s)
With Company During Past Five Years
Larry Soll, Ph.D.!** Director Retired. Formerly,
345 Poorman Road Chairman of the Board
Boulder, Colorado (1987 to 1994), Chief
Age: 57 Executive Officer (1982 to
1989 and 1993 to 1994) and
President (1982 to 1989)
of Synergen Inc.; Director
of Synergen since
incorporation in 1982;
Director of Isis
Pharmaceuticals, Inc.;
Trustee of INVESCO Global
Health Sciences Fund.
Glen A. Payne Secretary Senior Vice President,
7800 E. Union Avenue General Counsel and
Denver, Colorado Secretary of INVESCO
Age: 51 Funds Group, Inc.; Senior
Vice President, Secretary
and General Counsel of
INVESCO Distributors,
Inc.; Secretary, INVESCO
Global Health Sciences
Fund; formerly, General
Counsel of INVESCO Trust
Company (1989 to1998);
formerly, employee of a
U.S. regulatory agency,
Washington, D.C. (1973 to
1989).
<PAGE>
Name, Address, and Age Position(s) Held Principal Occupation(s)
With Company During Past Five Years
Ronald L. Grooms Chief Accounting Senior Vice President,
7800 Union Avenue Officer, Chief Finan- Treasurer and Director
Denver, Colorado cial Officer and of INVESCO Funds
Age: 52 Treasurer Group, Inc.; Senior
Vice President,
Treasurer and Direc-
tor of INVESCO
Distributors, Inc.;
Treasurer, Principal
Financial and
Accounting Officer of
INVESCO Global Health
Sciences Fund;
formerly, Senior Vice
President and
Treasurer of INVESCO
Trust Company (1988 to
1998).
William J. Galvin, Jr. Assistant Secretary Senior Vice President
7800 E. Union Avenue and Assistant
Denver, Colorado Secretary of INVESCO
Age: 42 Funds Group, Inc.;
Senior Vice President
and Assistant
Secretary of INVESCO
Distributors, Inc.;
formerly, Trust
Officer of INVESCO
Trust Company.
Pamela J. Piro Assistant Treasurer Vice President and
7800 E. Union Avenue Assis tant Treasurer
Denver, Colorado of INVESCO Funds
Age: 39 Group, Inc.; Assistant
Treasurer of INVESCO
Distributors, Inc.;
formerly, Assistant
Vice President (1996
to 1997), Director -
Portfolio Accounting
(1994 to 1996),
Portfolio Accounting
Manager (1993 to 1994)
and Assistant
Accounting Manager
(1990 to 1993).
<PAGE>
Name, Address, and Age Position(s) Held Principal Occupation(s)
With Company During Past Five Years
Alan I. Watson Assistant Secretary Vice President of
7800 E. Union Avenue INVESCO Funds Group,
Denver, Colorado Inc.; formerly, Trust
Age: 57 Officer of INVESCO
Trust Company.
Judy P. Wiese Assistant Secretary Vice President and
7800 E. Union Avenue Assis tant Secretary
Denver, Colorado of INVESCO Funds
Age: 51 Group, Inc.; Assistant
Secretary of INVESCO
Distributors, Inc.;
formerly, Trust Officer of
INVESCO Trust Company.
# Member of the audit committee of the Company.
+ Member of the executive committee of the Company. On occasion, the executive
committee acts upon the current and ordinary business of the Company between
meetings of the board of directors. Except for certain powers which, under
applicable law, may only be exercised by the full board of directors, the
executive committee may exercise all powers and authority of the board of
directors in the management of the business of the Company. All decisions are
subsequently submitted for ratification by the board of directors.
* These directors are "interested persons" of the Company as defined in the
1940 Act.
** Member of the management liaison committee of the Company.
@ Member of the soft dollar brokerage committee of the Company.
! Member of the derivatives committee of the Company.
The following table shows the compensation paid by the Company to its
Independent Directors for services rendered in their capacities as directors of
the Company; the benefits accrued as Company expenses with respect to the
Defined Benefit Deferred Compensation Plan discussed below; and the estimated
annual benefits to be received by these directors upon retirement as a result of
their service to the Company, all for the fiscal year ended May 31, 1999.
<PAGE>
In addition, the table sets forth the total compensation paid by all of the
INVESCO Funds and INVESCO Global Health Sciences Fund (collectively, the
"INVESCO Complex") to these directors or trustees for services rendered in their
capacities as directors or trustees during the year ended December 31, 1998. As
of December 31, 1998, there were 53 funds in the INVESCO Complex.
<TABLE>
<CAPTION>
- -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Name of Person Aggregate Benefits Estimated Total Compensa-
and Position Compensation Accrued As Annual Benefits tion From
From Company(1) Part of Upon INVESCO Complex
Company Retirement(3) Paid To
Expenses(2) Directors(6)
- -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
<S> <C> <C> <C> <C>
Fred A. Deering $ 4,671 $ 3,014 $ 2,036 $103,700
Vice Chairman
of the Board
- -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Victor L. Andrews 4,345 2,883 2,244 80,350
- -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Bob R. Baker 4,423 2,574 3,007 84,000
- -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Lawrence H. Budner 4,330 2,883 2,244 79,350
- -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Daniel D. Chabris(4) 2,752 2,946 1,846 70,000
- -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Wendy L. Gramm 4,280 0 0 79,000
- -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Kenneth T. King 4,573 3,076 1,846 77,050
- -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
John W. McIntyre 4,555 0 0 98,500
- -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Larry Soll 4,280 0 0 96,000
- -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Total $38,209 $17,376 $13,233 $767,950
- -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
% of Net Assets 0.0039%(5) 0.0018%(5) 0.0035%(6)
- -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
</TABLE>
(1) The vice chairman of the board, the chairmen of the Funds' committees who
are Independent Directors, and the members of the Funds' committees who are
Independent Directors each receive compensation for serving in such capacities
in addition to the compensation paid to all Independent Directors.
(2) Represents estimated benefits accrued with respect to the Defined
Benefit Deferred Compensation Plan discussed below, and not compensation
deferred at the election of the directors.
(3) These amounts represent the Company's share of the estimated annual benefits
payable by the INVESCO Funds upon the directors' retirement, calculated using
the current method of allocating director compensation among the INVESCO Funds.
These estimated benefits assume retirement at age 72 and further assume that the
basic retainer payable to the directors will be adjusted periodically for
inflation, for increases in the number of funds in the INVESCO Funds, and for
<PAGE>
other reasons during the period in which retirement benefits are accrued on
behalf of the respective directors. This results in lower estimated benefits for
directors who are closer to retirement and higher estimated benefits for
directors who are further from retirement. With the exception of Drs. Soll and
Gramm, each of these directors has served as a director of one or more of the
funds in the INVESCO Funds for the minimum five-year period required to be
eligible to participate in the Defined Benefit Deferred Compensation Plan.
Although Mr. McIntyre became eligible to participate in the Defined Benefit
Deferred Compensation Plan as of November 1, 1998, he will not be included in
the calculation of retirement benefits until November 1, 1999.
(4) Mr. Chabris retired as a director of the Company on September 30, 1998.
(5) Totals as a percentage of the Company's net assets as of May 31, 1999.
(6) Total as a percentage of the net assets of the INVESCO Complex as of
December 31, 1998.
Messrs. Brady and Williamson, as "interested persons" of the Company and the
other INVESCO Funds, receive compensation as officers or employees of INVESCO or
its affiliated companies, and do not receive any director's fees or other
compensation from the Company or the other funds in the INVESCO Funds for their
service as directors.
The boards of directors of the mutual funds in the INVESCO Funds have adopted a
Defined Benefit Deferred Compensation Plan (the "Plan") for the Independent
Directors of the funds. Under this Plan, each director who is not an interested
person of the funds (as defined in Section 2(a)(19) of the 1940 Act) and who has
served for at least five years (a "Qualified Director") is entitled to receive,
upon termination of service as a director (normally, at the retirement age of 72
or the retirement age of 73 or 74, if the retirement date is extended by the
boards for one or two years, but less than three years), continuation of payment
for one year (the "First Year Retirement Benefit") of the annual basic retainer
and annualized board meeting fees payable by the funds to the Qualified Director
at the time of his/her retirement (the "Basic Benefit"). Commencing with any
such director's second year of retirement, and commencing with the first year of
retirement of a director whose retirement has been extended by the board for
three years, a Qualified Director shall receive quarterly payments at an annual
rate equal to 50% of the Basic Benefit. These payments will continue for the
remainder of the Qualified Director's life or ten years, whichever is longer
(the "Reduced Benefit Payments"). If a Qualified Director dies or becomes
disabled after age 72 and before age 74 while still a director of the funds, the
First Year Retirement Benefit and Reduced Benefit Payments will be made to
him/her or to his/her beneficiary or estate. If a Qualified Director becomes
disabled or dies either prior to age 72 or during his/her 74th year while still
a director of the funds, the director will not be entitled to receive the First
Year Retirement Benefit; however, the Reduced Benefit Payments will be made to
his/her beneficiary or estate. The Plan is administered by a committee of three
directors who are also participants in the Plan and one director who is not a
Plan participant. The cost of the Plan will be allocated among the INVESCO Funds
in a manner determined to be fair and equitable by the committee. The Company
began making payments under the Plan to Mr. Chabris as of October 1, 1998. The
<PAGE>
Company has no stock options or other pension or retirement plans for management
or other personnel and pays no salary or compensation to any of its officers. A
similar plan has been adopted by INVESCO Global Health Sciences Fund's board of
trustees. All trustees of INVESCO Global Health Sciences Fund are also directors
of the INVESCO Funds.
The Independent Directors have contributed to a deferred compensation plan,
pursuant to which they have deferred receipt of a portion of the compensation
which they would otherwise have been paid as directors of certain of the INVESCO
Funds. Certain of the deferred amounts have been invested in the shares of all
INVESCO Funds, except Funds offered by INVESCO Variable Investment Funds, Inc.,
in which the directors are legally precluded from investing. Each Independent
Director may, therefore, be deemed to have an indirect interest in shares of
each such INVESCO Fund, in addition to any INVESCO Fund shares the Independent
Directors may own either directly or beneficially.
CONTROL PERSONS AND PRINCIPAL SHAREHOLDERS
As of August 31, 1999, no persons owned more than 5% of the outstanding shares
of the Funds.
As of September 14, 1999, officers and directors of the Company, as a group,
beneficially owned less than 3% of any Fund's outstanding shares.
DISTRIBUTOR
INVESCO Distributors, Inc. ("IDI"), a wholly owned subsidiary of INVESCO, is the
distributor of the Funds.
OTHER SERVICE PROVIDERS
INDEPENDENT ACCOUNTANTS
PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP, 950 Seventeenth Street, Suite 2500, Denver,
Colorado, are the independent accountants of the Company. The independent
accountants are responsible for auditing the financial statements of the Funds.
CUSTODIAN
State Street Bank and Trust Company, P.O. Box 351, Boston, Massachusetts, is the
custodian of the cash and investment securities of the Company. The custodian is
also responsible for, among other things, receipt and delivery of each Fund's
investment securities in accordance with procedures and conditions specified in
the custody agreement with the Company. The custodian is authorized to establish
separate accounts in foreign countries and to cause foreign securities owned by
the Funds to be held outside the United States in branches of U.S. banks and, to
the extent permitted by applicable regulations, in certain foreign banks and
securities depositories.
<PAGE>
TRANSFER AGENT
INVESCO, 7800 E. Union Avenue, Denver, Colorado, is the Company's transfer
agent, registrar, and dividend disbursing agent. Services provided by INVESCO
include the issuance, cancellation and transfer of shares of the Funds, and the
maintenance of records regarding the ownership of such shares.
LEGAL COUNSEL
The firm of Kirkpatrick & Lockhart LLP, 1800 Massachusetts Avenue, N.W., 2nd
Floor, Washington, D.C., is legal counsel for the Company. The firm of Moye,
Giles, O'Keefe, Vermeire & Gorrell LLP, 1225 17th Street, Suite 2900, Denver,
Colorado, acts as special counsel to the Company.
BROKERAGE ALLOCATION AND OTHER PRACTICES
As the investment adviser to the Funds, INVESCO places orders for the purchase
and sale of securities with broker-dealers based upon an evaluation of the
financial responsibility of the broker-dealers and the ability of the
broker-dealers to effect transactions at the best available prices.
Consistent with the standard of seeking to obtain favorable execution on
portfolio transactions, INVESCO may select brokers that provide research
services to INVESCO and the Company, as well as other INVESCO mutual funds and
other accounts managed by INVESCO. Research services include statistical and
analytical reports relating to issuers, industries, securities and economic
factors and trends, which may be of assistance or value to INVESCO in making
informed investment decisions. Research services prepared and furnished by
brokers through which a Fund effects securities transactions may be used by
INVESCO in servicing all of its accounts and not all such services may be used
by INVESCO in connection with a particular Fund. Conversely, a Fund receives
benefits of research acquired through the brokerage transactions of other
clients of INVESCO.
Because the securities that the Funds invest in are generally traded on a
principal basis, it is unusual for a Fund to pay any brokerage commissions. The
Funds paid no brokerage commissions for the fiscal years ended May 31, 1999,
1998 and 1997. For the fiscal year ended May 31, 1999, brokers providing
research services received $0 in commissions on portfolio transactions effected
for the Funds. The aggregate dollar amount of such portfolio transactions was
$0. Commissions totaling $0 were allocated to certain brokers in recognition of
their sales of shares of the Funds on portfolio transactions of the Funds
effected during the fiscal year ended May 31, 1999.
<PAGE>
At May 31, 1999, each Fund held debt securities of its regular brokers or
dealers, or their parents, as follows:
- --------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Fund Broker or Dealer Value of Securities
at May 31, 1999
================================================================================
Cash Reserves Heller Financial $45,000,000.00
- --------------------------------------------------------------------------------
American Express Credit $43,000,000.00
- --------------------------------------------------------------------------------
General Electric $43,000,000.00
Company
- --------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Associates Corp of $40,000,000.00
North America
- --------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Ford Motor Credit $40,000,000.00
- --------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Morgan Stanley Dean $39,994,654.31
Witter
- --------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Household Finance $38,000,000.00
- --------------------------------------------------------------------------------
General Motors $31,822,934.33
Acceptance
- --------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Merrill Lynch $19,973,171.93
- --------------------------------------------------------------------------------
State Street Bank and $ 2,940,000.00
Trust
- --------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Tax-Free Money General Electric $ 2,200,000.00
Capital
- --------------------------------------------------------------------------------
U.S. Government Money State Street Bank and
Trust $13,205,000.00
- --------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Neither INVESCO nor any affiliate of INVESCO receives any brokerage commissions
on portfolio transactions effected on behalf of the Funds, and there is no
affiliation between INVESCO or any person affiliated with INVESCO or the Funds
and any broker or dealer that executes transactions for the Funds.
CAPITAL STOCK
The Company is authorized to issue up to ten billion shares of common stock with
a par value of $0.01 per share. As of August 31, 1999, the following shares of
each Fund were outstanding:
<PAGE>
Cash Reserves Fund 862,978,477
Tax-Free Money Fund 43,850,596
U.S. Government Money Fund 90,886,052
All shares of each Fund are of one class with equal rights as to voting,
dividends and liquidation. All shares issued and outstanding are, and all shares
offered hereby when issued will be, fully paid and nonassessable. The board of
directors has the authority to designate additional classes of common stock
without seeking the approval of shareholders and may classify and reclassify any
authorized but unissued shares.
Shares have no preemptive rights and are freely transferable on the books of
each Fund.
All shares of the Company have equal voting rights based on one vote for each
share owned. The Company is not generally required and does not expect to hold
regular annual meetings of shareholders. However, when requested to do so in
writing by the holders of 10% or more of the outstanding shares of the Company
or as may be required by applicable law or the Company's Articles of
Incorporation, the board of directors will call special meetings of
shareholders.
Directors may be removed by action of the holders of a majority of the
outstanding shares of the Company. The Funds will assist shareholders in
communicating with other shareholders as required by the 1940 Act.
Fund shares have noncumulative voting rights, which means that the holders of a
majority of the shares of the Company voting for the election of directors of
the Company can elect 100% of the directors if they choose to do so. If that
occurs, the holders of the remaining shares voting for the election of directors
will not be able to elect any person or persons to the board of directors.
Directors may be removed by action of the holders of a majority of the
outstanding shares of the Company.
TAX CONSEQUENCES OF OWNING SHARES OF A FUND
Each Fund intends to continue to conduct its business and satisfy the applicable
diversification of assets, distribution and source of income requirements to
qualify as a regulated investment company under Subchapter M of the Internal
Revenue Code of 1986, as amended. Each Fund qualified as a regulated investment
company and intends to continue to qualify during its current fiscal year. It is
the policy of each Fund to distribute all investment company taxable income. As
a result of this policy and the Funds' qualifications as regulated investment
companies, it is anticipated that none of the Funds will pay federal income or
excise taxes and that the Funds will be accorded conduit or "pass through"
treatment for federal income tax purposes. Therefore, any taxes that a Fund
would ordinarily owe are paid by its shareholders on a pro-rata basis. If a Fund
does not distribute all of its net investment income, it will be subject to
income and excise tax on the amount that is not distributed. If a Fund does not
qualify as a regulated investment company, it will be subject to corporate tax
on its net investment income at the corporate tax rates.
<PAGE>
Tax-Free Money Fund intends to qualify to pay "exempt-interest dividends" to its
shareholders. The Fund will qualify if at least 50% of the value of its total
assets are invested in municipal securities at the end of each quarter of the
Fund's fiscal year. The exempt interest portion of the monthly income dividend
may be based on the ratio of that Fund's tax-exempt income to taxable income for
the entire fiscal year. The ratio is calculated and reported to shareholders at
the end of each fiscal year of the Fund. The tax-exempt portion of any
particular dividend may be based on the tax-exempt portion of all distributions
for the year, rather than on the tax-exempt portion of that particular dividend.
A corporation includes exempt-interest dividends in calculating its alternative
minimum taxable income in situations where the adjusted current earnings of the
corporation exceed its alternative minimum taxable income.
Entities or persons who are "substantial users" (or persons related to
"substantial users") of facilities financed by private activity bonds or
industrial development bonds should consult their tax advisers before purchasing
shares of the Tax-Exempt Fund because, for users of certain of these facilities,
the interest on such bonds is not exempt from federal income tax. For these
purposes, the term "substantial user" is defined generally to include a
"non-exempt person" who regularly uses in trade or business a part of a facility
financed from the proceeds of such bonds.
The Funds' investment objectives and policies, including their policy of
attempting to maintain a net asset value of $1.00 per share, make it unlikely
that any capital gains will be paid to investors. However, the Fund cannot
guarantee that such a net asset value will be maintained. Accordingly, a
shareholder may realize a capital gain or loss upon redemption of shares of a
Fund. Capital gain or loss on shares held for one year or less is classified as
short-term capital gain or loss while capital gain or loss on shares held for
more than one year is classified as long-term capital gain or loss. Any loss
realized on the redemption of fund shares held for six months or less is
nondeductible to the extent of any exempt-interest dividends paid with respect
to such shares. Each Fund will be subject to a nondeductible 4% excise tax to
the extent it fails to distribute by the end of any calendar year substantially
all of its ordinary income for that year and its net capital gains for the
one-year period ending on October 31 of that year, plus certain other amounts.
You should consult your own tax adviser regarding specific questions as to
federal, state and local taxes. Dividends will generally be subject to
applicable state and local taxes. Qualification as a regulated investment
company under the Internal Revenue Code of 1986, as amended, for income tax
purposes does not entail government supervision of management or investment
policies.
PERFORMANCE
To keep shareholders and potential investors informed, INVESCO will occasionally
advertise the Funds' total returns for one-, five-, and ten-year periods (or
since inception). Total return figures show the rate of return on a $10,000
investment in a Fund, assuming reinvestment of all dividends for the periods
cited.
Cumulative total return shows the actual rate of return on an investment for the
period cited; average annual total return represents the average annual
percentage change in the value of an investment. Both cumulative and average
annual total returns tend to "smooth out" fluctuations in a Fund's investment
results, because they do not show the interim variations in performance over the
<PAGE>
periods cited. More information about the Funds' recent and historical
performance is contained in the Company's Annual Report to Shareholders. You can
get a free copy by calling or writing to INVESCO using the phone number or
address on the back cover of the Funds' Prospectus.
We may also advertise a Fund's "yield" and "effective yield." Both yield figures
are based on historical earnings and are not intended to indicate future
performance. The "yield" of a Fund refers to the income generated by an
investment in the Fund over a seven-day period (which period will be stated in
the advertisement). This income is then "annualized." That is, the amount of
income generated by the investment during that week is assumed to be generated
each week over a 52-week period and is shown as a percentage of the investment.
The "effective yield" is calculated similarly but, when annualized, the income
earned by an investment in the Fund is assumed to be reinvested. The "effective
yield" will be slightly higher than the "yield" because of the compounding
effect of this assumed reinvestment. For the seven days ended May 31, 1999, Cash
Reserves Fund's current and effective yields were 4.00% and 4.08%, respectively;
Tax-Free Money Fund's current and effective yields were 2.61% and 2.64%,
respectively; and U.S. Government Money Fund's current and effective yields were
4.00% and 4.08%, respectively.
When we quote mutual fund rankings published by Lipper Inc., we may compare a
Fund to others in its appropriate Lipper category, as well as the broad-based
Lipper general fund groupings. These rankings allow you to compare a Fund to its
peers. Other independent financial media also produce performance- or
service-related comparisons, which you may see in our promotional materials.
Performance figures are based on historical earnings and are not intended to
suggest future performance.
Average annual total return performance for the one-, five-, and ten-year
periods ended May 31, 1999 was:
Name of Fund 1 Year 5 Year 10 Year
- ------------ ------ ------ -------
Cash Reserves Fund 4.45% 4.74% 4.87%
Tax-Free Money Fund 2.63% 2.90% 3.19%
U.S. Government Money Fund 4.36% 4.65% 4.07%*
* Inception date of April 26, 1991
Average annual total return performance for each of the periods indicated was
computed by finding the average annual compounded rates of return that would
equate the initial amount invested to the ending redeemable value, according to
the following formula:
P(1 + T)(n) = ERV
<PAGE>
where: P = a hypothetical initial payment of $10,000
T = average annual total return
n = number of years
ERV = ending redeemable value of initial payment
The average annual total return performance figures shown above were determined
by solving the above formula for "T" for each time period indicated.
In conjunction with performance reports, comparative data between a Fund's
performance for a given period and other types of investment vehicles, including
certificates of deposit, may be provided to prospective investors and
shareholders.
In conjunction with performance reports and/or analyses of shareholder services
for a Fund, comparative data between that Fund's performance for a given period
and recognized indices of investment results for the same period, and/or
assessments of the quality of shareholder service, may be provided to
shareholders. Such indices include indices provided by Dow Jones & Company,
Standard & Poor's, Lipper Inc., Lehman Brothers, National Association of
Securities Dealers Automated Quotations, Frank Russell Company, Value Line
Investment Survey, the American Stock Exchange, Morgan Stanley Capital
International, Wilshire Associates, the Financial Times Stock Exchange, the New
York Stock Exchange, the Nikkei Stock Average and Deutcher Aktienindex, all of
which are unmanaged market indicators. In addition, rankings, ratings, and
comparisons of investment performance and/or assessments of the quality of
shareholder service made by independent sources may be used in advertisements,
sales literature or shareholder reports, including reprints of, or selections
from, editorials or articles about the Fund. These sources utilize information
compiled (i) internally; (ii) by Lipper Inc.; or (iii) by other recognized
analytical services. The Lipper Inc. mutual fund rankings and comparisons which
may be used by the Fund in performance reports will be drawn from the Money
Market Funds mutual fund groupings for Cash Reserves Fund, the Tax-Exempt Money
Market Funds mutual fund groupings for Tax-Free Money Fund, and the U.S.
Government Money Market Funds mutual fund grouping for U.S. Government Money
Fund, in addition to the broad-based Lipper general fund groupings:
Sources for Fund performance information and articles about the Funds include,
but are not limited to, the following:
AMERICAN ASSOCIATION OF INDIVIDUAL INVESTORS' JOURNAL
BANXQUOTE
BARRON'S
BUSINESS WEEK
CDA INVESTMENT TECHNOLOGIES
CNBC
CNN
CONSUMER DIGEST
FINANCIAL TIMES
FINANCIAL WORLD
FORBES
FORTUNE
<PAGE>
IBBOTSON ASSOCIATES, INC.
INSTITUTIONAL INVESTOR
INVESTMENT COMPANY DATA, INC.
INVESTOR'S BUSINESS DAILY
KIPLINGER'S PERSONAL FINANCE
LIPPER INC.'S MUTUAL FUND PERFORMANCE ANALYSIS
MONEY
MORNINGSTAR
MUTUAL FUND FORECASTER
NO-LOAD ANALYST
NO-LOAD FUND X
PERSONAL INVESTOR
SMART MONEY
THE NEW YORK TIMES
THE NO-LOAD FUND INVESTOR
U.S. NEWS AND WORLD REPORT
UNITED MUTUAL FUND SELECTOR
USA TODAY
THE WALL STREET JOURNAL
WIESENBERGER INVESTMENT COMPANIES SERVICES
WORKING WOMAN
WORTH
FINANCIAL STATEMENTS
The financial statements for the Company for the fiscal year ended May 31, 1999
are incorporated herein by reference from the Company's Annual Report to
Shareholders dated May 31, 1999.
<PAGE>
APPENDIX A
Some of the terms used in the Statement of Additional Information are
described below.
BANK OBLIGATIONS include certificates of deposit which are negotiable
certificates evidencing the indebtedness of a commercial bank to repay funds
deposited with it for a definite period of time (usually from 14 days to one
year) at a stated interest rate.
BANKERS' ACCEPTANCES are credit instruments evidencing the obligation of a
bank to pay a draft which has been drawn on it by a customer. These instruments
reflect the obligation both of the bank and of the drawer to pay the face amount
of the instrument upon maturity.
BOND ANTICIPATION NOTES normally are issued to provide interim financing
until long-term financing can be arranged. The long-term bonds then provide the
money for the repayment of the Notes.
BONDS: MUNICIPAL BONDS may be issued to raise money for various public
purposes -- like constructing public facilities and making loans to public
institutions. Certain types of municipal bonds, such as certain project notes,
are backed by the full faith and credit of the United States. Certain types of
municipal bonds are issued to obtain funding for privately operated facilities.
The two principal classifications of municipal bonds are "general obligation"
and "revenue" bonds. General obligation bonds are backed by the taxing power of
the issuing municipality and are considered the safest type of municipal bond.
Issuers of general obligation bonds include states, counties, cities, towns and
regional districts. The proceeds of these obligations are used to fund a wide
range of public projects including the construction or improvement of schools,
highways and roads, water and sewer systems and a variety of other public
purposes. The basic security of general obligation bonds is the issuer's pledge
of its faith, credit, and taxing power for the payment of principal and
interest. Revenue bonds are backed by the net revenues derived from a particular
facility or group of facilities of a municipality or, in some cases, from the
proceeds of a special excise or other specific revenue source. Although the
principal security behind these bonds varies widely, many provide additional
security in the form of a debt service reserve fund whose monies may also be
used to make principal and interest payments on the issuer's obligations.
Industrial development revenue bonds are a specific type of revenue bond backed
by the credit and security of a private user and therefore investments in these
bonds have more potential risk. Although nominally issued by municipal
authorities, industrial development revenue bonds are generally not secured by
the taxing power of the municipality but are secured by the revenues of the
authority derived from payments by the industrial user.
COMMERCIAL PAPER consists of short-term (usually one to 180 days)
unsecured promissory notes issued by corporations in order to finance their
current operations.
CORPORATE DEBT OBLIGATIONS are bonds and notes issued by corporations and
other business organizations, including business trusts, in order to finance
their long-term credit needs.
MONEY MARKET refers to the marketplace composed of the financial
institutions which handle the purchase and sale of liquid, short-term,
<PAGE>
high-grade debt instruments. The money market is not a single entity, but
consists of numerous separate markets, each of which deals in a different type
of short-term debt instrument. These include U.S. government securities,
commercial paper, certificates of deposit and bankers' acceptances, which are
generally referred to as money market instruments.
PORTFOLIO SECURITIES LOANS: The Company, on behalf of each of the Funds,
may lend limited amounts of its portfolio securities (not to exceed 33 1/3% of a
particular Fund's total assets). Management of the Company understands that it
is the current view of the staff of the SEC that the Funds are permitted to
engage in loan transactions only if the following conditions are met: (1) the
applicable Fund must receive 100% collateral in the form of cash or cash
equivalents, e.g., U.S. Treasury bills or notes, from the borrower; (2) the
borrower must increase the collateral whenever the market value of the
securities (determined on a daily basis) rises above the level of the
collateral; (3) the Company must be able to terminate the loan after notice; (4)
the applicable Fund must receive reasonable interest on the loan or a flat fee
from the borrower, as well as amounts equivalent to any dividends, interest or
other distributions on the securities loaned and any increase in market value;
(5) the applicable Fund may pay only reasonable custodian fees in connection
with the loan; (6) voting rights on the securities loaned may pass to the
borrower; however, if a material event affecting the investment occurs, the
Company must be able to terminate the loan and vote proxies or enter into an
alternative arrangement with the borrower to enable the Company to vote proxies.
Excluding items (1) and (2), these practices may be amended from time to time as
regulatory provisions permit.
REPURCHASE AGREEMENTS: A repurchase agreement is a transaction in which a
Fund purchases a security and simultaneously commits to sell the security to the
seller at an agreed upon price and date (usually not more than seven days) after
the date of purchase. The resale price reflects the purchase price plus an
agreed upon market rate of interest which is unrelated to the coupon rate or
maturity of the purchased security. A Fund's risk is limited to the ability of
the seller to pay the agreed upon amount on the delivery date. In the opinion of
management this risk is not material; if the seller defaults, the underlying
security constitutes collateral for the seller's obligations to pay. This
collateral will be held by the custodian for the Company's assets. However, in
the absence of compelling legal precedents in this area, there can be no
assurance that the Company will be able to maintain its rights to such
collateral upon default of the issuer of the repurchase agreement. To the extent
that the proceeds from a sale upon a default in the obligation to repurchase are
less than the repurchase price, the particular Fund would suffer a loss.
REVENUE ANTICIPATION NOTES are issued in expectation of receipt of other
kinds of revenue, such as federal revenues available under the Federal Revenue
Sharing Program.
REVERSE REPURCHASE AGREEMENTS are transactions where a Fund temporarily
transfers possession of a portfolio security to another party, such as a bank or
broker-dealer, in return for cash, and agrees to buy the security back at a
future date and price. The use of reverse repurchase agreements will create
leverage, which is speculative. Reverse repurchase agreements are borrowings
subject to the Funds' investment restrictions applicable to that activity. The
Company will enter into reverse repurchase agreements solely for the purpose of
obtaining funds necessary for meeting redemption requests. The proceeds received
from a reverse repurchase agreement will not be used to purchase securities for
investment purposes.
<PAGE>
SHORT-TERM DISCOUNT NOTES (tax-exempt commercial paper) are promissory
notes issued by municipalities to supplement their cash flow. The ratings A-1
and P-1 are the highest commercial paper ratings assigned by S&P and Moody's,
respectively.
TAX ANTICIPATION NOTES are to finance working capital needs of
municipalities and are issued in anticipation of various seasonal tax revenues,
to be payable from these specific future taxes.
TIME DEPOSITS are non-negotiable deposits maintained in a banking
institution for a specified period of time at a stated interest rate. Time
deposits which may be held by the Funds will not benefit from insurance from the
Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation.
U.S. GOVERNMENT SECURITIES are debt securities (including bills, notes,
and bonds) issued by the U.S. Treasury or issued by an agency or instrumentality
of the U.S. government which is established under the authority of an Act of
Congress. Such agencies or instrumentalities include, but are not limited to,
Fannie Mae, Ginnie Mae (also known as Government National Mortgage Association),
the Federal Farm Credit Bank, and the Federal Home Loan Banks. Although all
obligations of agencies, authorities and instrumentalities are not direct
obligations of the U.S. Treasury, payment of the interest and principal on these
obligations may be backed directly or indirectly by the U.S. government. This
support can range from the backing of the full faith and credit of the United
States to U.S. Treasury guarantees, or to the backing solely of the issuing
instrumentality itself. In the case of securities not backed by the full faith
and credit of the United States, the investor must look principally to the
agency issuing or guaranteeing the obligation for ultimate repayment, and may
not be able to assert a claim against the United States itself in the event the
agency or instrumentality does not meet its commitments.
RATINGS OF MUNICIPAL AND CORPORATE DEBT OBLIGATIONS
The four highest ratings of Moody's and S&P for municipal and corporate
debt obligations are Aaa, Aa, A and Baa and AAA, AA, A and BBB, respectively.
MOODY'S. The characteristics of these debt obligations rated
by Moody's are generally as follows:
Aaa -- Bonds which are rated Aaa are judged to be of the best quality.
They carry the smallest degree of investment risk and are generally referred to
as "gilt edge." Interest payments are protected by a large or by an
exceptionally stable margin and principal is secure. While the various
protective elements are likely to change, such changes as can be visualized are
most unlikely to impair the fundamentally strong position of such issues.
Aa -- Bonds which are rated Aa are judged to be of high quality by all
standards. Together with the Aaa group they comprise what are generally known as
high grade bonds. They are rated lower than the best bonds because margins of
protection may not be as large as in Aaa securities or fluctuation of protective
elements may be of greater amplitude or there may be other elements present
which make the long-term risks appear somewhat larger than in Aaa securities.
Moody's applies the numerical modifiers 1, 2 and 3 to the Aa rating
classification. The modifier 1 indicates a ranking for the security in the
higher end of this rating category; the modifier 2 indicates a mid- range
<PAGE>
ranking; and the modifier 3 indicates a ranking in the lower end of this rating
category.
A -- Bonds which are rated A possess many favorable investment attributes
and are to be considered as upper medium grade obligations. Factors giving
security to principal and interest are considered adequate but elements may be
present which suggest a susceptibility to impairment sometime in the future.
Baa -- Bonds which are rated Baa are considered as medium grade
obligations, i.e., they are neither highly protected nor poorly secured.
Interest payments and principal security appear adequate for the present but
certain protective elements may be lacking or may be characteristically
unreliable over any great length of time. Such bonds lack outstanding investment
characteristics and in fact have speculative characteristics as well.
Moody's ratings for state and municipal notes and other short-term loans
are designated Moody's Investment Grade ("MIG"). This distinction is in
recognition of the difference between short-term credit and long-term credit. A
short-term rating may also be assigned on an issue having a demand feature. Such
ratings are designated as VMIG. Short-term ratings on issues with demand
features are differentiated by the use of the VMIG symbol to reflect such
characteristics as payment upon demand rather than fixed maturity dates and
payment relying on external liquidity.
MIG 1/VMIG 1 -- Notes and loans bearing this designation are of the best
quality, enjoying strong protection from established cash flows of funds for
their servicing or from established and broad-based access to the market for
refinancing, or both.
MIG 2/VMIG 2 -- Notes and loans bearing this designation are of high
quality, with margins of protection ample although not so large as in the
preceding group.
S&P'S RATING SERVICES. The characteristics of these debt obligations rated by
S&P are generally as follows:
AAA -- This is the highest rating assigned by Standard & Poor's to a debt
obligation and indicates an extremely strong capacity to pay principal and
interest.
AA -- Bonds rated AA also qualify as high quality debt obligations.
Capacity to pay principal and interest is very strong, and in the majority of
instances they differ from AAA issues only in small degree.
A -- Debt rated A has a strong capacity to pay interest and repay
principal although it is somewhat more susceptible to the adverse effects of
changes in circumstances and economic conditions than debt in higher rated
categories.
BBB -- Debt rated BBB is regarded as having an adequate capacity to pay
interest and repay principal. Whereas it normally exhibits adequate protection
parameters, adverse economic conditions or changing circumstances are more
likely to lead to a weakened capacity to pay interest and repay principal for
debt in this category than in higher rated categories.
<PAGE>
S&P ratings for short-term notes are as follows:
SP-1 -- Very strong capacity to pay principal and interest.
SP-2 -- Satisfactory capacity to pay principal and interest.
SP-3 -- Speculative capacity to pay principal and interest.
A debt rating is not a recommendation to purchase, sell or hold a
security, inasmuch as it does not comment as to market price or suitability for
a particular investor.
RATINGS OF COMMERCIAL PAPER
DESCRIPTION OF MOODY'S COMMERCIAL PAPER RATINGS. Among the factors
considered by Moody's Investors Services, Inc. in assigning commercial paper
ratings are the following: (1) evaluation of the management of the issuer; (2)
economic evaluation of the issuer's industry or industries and an appraisal of
the risks which may be inherent in certain areas; (3) evaluation of the issuer's
products in relation to competition and customer acceptance; (4) liquidity; (5)
amount and quality of long-term debt; (6) trend of earnings over a period of ten
years; (7) financial strength of a parent company and the relationships which
exist with the issuer; and (8) recognition by the management of obligations
which may be present or may arise as a result of public interest questions and
preparations to meet such obligations. Relative differences in strength and
weakness in respect to these criteria would establish a rating of one of three
classifications; P-1 (Highest Quality), P-2 (Higher Quality) or P-3 (High
Quality).
DESCRIPTION OF S&P COMMERCIAL PAPER RATINGS. An S&P commercial paper
rating is a current assessment of the likelihood of timely payment of debt
having an original maturity of no more than 365 days. Ratings are graded into
four categories, ranging from "A" for the highest quality obligations to "D" for
the lowest. The "A" categories are as follows:
A -- Issues assigned this highest rating are regarded as having the
greatest capacity for timely payment. Issues in this category are delineated
with the numbers 1, 2, and 3 to indicate the relative degree of safety.
A-1 -- This designation indicates that the degree of safety regarding
timely payment is either overwhelming or very strong.
A-2 -- Capacity for timely payment on issues with this designation is
strong. However, the relative degree of safety is not as high as for issues
designated A-1.
A-3 -- Issues carrying this designation have a satisfactory capacity for
timely payment. They are, however, somewhat more vulnerable to the adverse
effects of changes in circumstances than obligations carrying the higher
designations.
