YEAR 2000 ISSUES (UNAUDITED)
The fund could be adversely affected if the computer systems used by The
Dreyfus Corporation and the fund' s other service providers do not properly
process and calculate date-related information from and after January 1, 2000.
The Dreyfus Corporation is working to avoid Year 2000-related problems in its
systems and to obtain assurances from other service providers that they are
taking similar steps. In addition, issuers of securities in which the fund
invests may be adversely affected by Year 2000-related problems. This could have
an impact on the value of the fund's investments and its share price.
DREYFUS GLOBAL GROWTH FUND
- -----------------------------------------------------------------------------
LETTER TO SHAREHOLDERS
Dear Shareholder:
We are pleased to provide you with this report for the Dreyfus Global Growth
Fund for the 12-month period ended December 31, 1998. Your Fund produced a
modest total return of 1.16% for 1998,* which compares unfavorably with the
14.46% total return for the Lipper Global Funds Category Average for the year
under review.**
There are two major reasons for the disappointing year your Fund has
experienced. Both have to do with the turbulent world market conditions of
August and September, 1998. First, in an effort to protect assets during the
period of turmoil, your Fund's foreign currency exposure was completely hedged.
Hedging is meant to offset an increase in the value of the U.S. dollar versus
foreign currencies, and is generally considered a defensive strategy. During the
recent market turmoil, the value of the dollar decreased, even as investors
around the world rushed to invest in "safe haven" assets such as U.S. government
bonds. Thus, our hedging strategy resulted in losses for your Fund in the August
and September portion of the year just ended.
The second reason for the Fund's underperformance was its substantial position
in European financial stocks. You may recall financial stocks around the world
performed very poorly in August and September as the emerging-market crisis
spread to Russia and a large U.S.-based investment fund required financial
support from its banks. Although most of the banks and insurance companies held
by your Fund are primarily involved in local European markets, generally their
stock prices declined as sharply as those of the large international banks and
more than many other nonfinancial stocks. A few examples of the Dreyfus Global
Growth Fund holdings that sustained such losses are the local Finnish insurer
Sampo Insurance Cl.A, Dutch insurer ING Groep, and Schweizerische
Lebensversicherungs- und Rentenanstalt. Prices of these issues experienced some
recovery by fiscal year-end.
Beyond the difficulties described above, shares of a number of growth
companies held by your Fund performed quite well over the period. Two of these,
COLT Telecom and Olivetti, are entrants in the newly deregulated European
telecom market. As a result of very high levels of customer and revenue growth,
these stocks performed very well. Other strong performers in 1998 were the
German retailer Douglas Holding and Japanese disk drive equipment-maker NIDEC.
INVESTMENT APPROACH
The Portfolio's strategy during the fiscal year included having a wide variety
of holdings in 15 to 25 markets around the world, exposure to rapidly growing
emerging markets when they were attractive for investment, and active currency
management. The crucial challenge was trying to judge the relative
attractiveness of various markets when there could be scores to choose from. We
looked to address this challenge by evaluating information on growth, valuation,
interest rates, liquidity, technical factors and currency in each of the world's
major markets. Our work in these areas was driven by PC-based tools developed
over time. Markets and industry sectors were overweighted, underweighted or
market-weighted relative to the Morgan Stanley Capital International World Index
("World").((+)) Dreyfus Global Growth Fund invested in emerging markets when, in
our opinion, significant opportunities presented themselves in this asset class
In the investment process, stocks were managed in a disciplined way. We
searched for stocks expected to have higher earnings growth rates than the
market in which they trade. Attractive companies often made a corporate change
in management, strategy or business structure that we believed could positively
alter their future growth rate. Generally, stocks purchased also needed to have
attractive valuations relative to both their own history and that of the local
market. Companies typically have been sold when growth was forecast to fall
below our own or consensus estimates, the valuation target was reached or the
weighting in that market reduced as a result of an asset allocation decision
STRATEGY
Looking across world markets through the filter of our six screens - growth,
valuation, interest rates, liquidity, currency, and technical analysis - is not
an easy task in a world undergoing so much change. Let us take a moment and
survey the big picture before focusing on specific opportunities in each region
We believe that economic growth is likely to be slow in 1999. The full effect
of the difficulties that began in Asian emerging markets in the summer and fall
of 1997 has begun to hit the developed economies in Europe and the U.S., even
while it has been causing deeper problems for the already troubled Japanese
economy. The Dreyfus Global Growth Fund research team estimates that the
strongest growth potential in both GDP and earnings should be in continental
Europe. We believe that earnings growth potential there compares favorably with
another year of anticipated earnings decline in Japan and most emerging markets,
as well as in the U.K. Global stock valuations had been rather stretched in the
summer of 1998 but became much more attractive following the sharp market
correction of August and September. Stocks in continental Europe were trading on
an average of 20 times estimated 1999 earnings at the end of the fiscal period.
We think that Japanese stocks, while not cheap on projected earnings, exhibited
attractive valuations in the areas of price/book, price/sales and price/cash
flow ratios. We believe that many emerging-market equities also seem cheap. It
is our belief, from our six-factor analysis, that there could be a broad decline
in interest rates. Generally, the Dreyfus Global Growth Fund research team
currently expects interest rates to decline substantially in both continental
Europe and the U.K. in 1999 and to remain low in the rest of the world
All in all, continental Europe continued to look like an attractive place for
investment. In addition to a relatively favorable outlook for growth, valuation
and interest rates, three additional positive factors are worth mentioning.
First, continental companies have continued to restructure and move toward the
investment perspective of the shareholders. Second, private pension systems and
equity-oriented savings plans began to find favor. Third, continental European
governments appear to have the financial resources to spur growth with fiscal
policy should they decide this is necessary. Where specific stocks are
concerned, the Dreyfus Global Growth Fund investment team continued to find
attractive growth at a reasonable price among many of the regional banks and
insurance companies on the Continent during the fiscal year. Many of these are
in the process of restructuring. Among your Fund's core holdings in this area
are Skandia Forsakrings AB of Sweden and Schweizerische Lebensversicherungs- und
Rentenanstalt. As mentioned in the first portion of this letter, the newly
deregulated telecom services business was a profitable investment area for your
Fund in the fiscal year ended December 31, 1998. Core positions in the telecom
area include COLT Telecom, Olivetti, Mannesmann, and NetCom AB.
Although, in our opinion, overall prospects for the U.K. are less buoyant than
those of the Continent, a number of stocks with attractive growth prospects and
valuation are held in the U.K. portion of the portfolio. Perhaps most
interesting among these is British Sky Broadcasting, one of the pioneers in the
digital television broadcasting industry in the country. Overall, however, your
Fund remains underweight in the U.K. market compared to that market's weight in
the World Index.
In the U.S., valuations were higher and earnings growth was lower than in
Continental Europe. These were the main issues that made the U.S. market less
attractive than Continental Europe in our view. Nevertheless, the U.S. market
constituted the second largest investment for the Fund after continental Europe.
It is our opinion that the U.S., the world's largest market, continued to offer
many individual stock opportunities. The Fund's core investments in the U.S.
market include telecom giant MCI WorldCom, Waste Management, the environmental
services company, and, in the technology area, Hewlett-Packard.
Dreyfus Global Growth Fund remained underweight in the Japanese market.
Calendar 1999 looks to us to be another year of declining GDP and earnings in
Japan. Although (as noted above) stocks appeared cheap on some measures in that
market, investor enthusiasm has been restrained by ongoing questions not only
about growth but also about the commitment of the Japanese government and
companies to reform. On the government level, deregulation of the economy and
reform of the banking system remained a stop-and-go process. Some deregulatory
steps have been taken in industries such as retailing, but much more needs to be
done. In the bank sector, the government moved to inject new capital into the
banks but, sadly, not to reform the practices under which loans are made and bad
loans are recognized and provided for on the balance sheet. Some private
companies began to restructure and recognize shareholders as the true owners of
the company, but this is a small minority at present.
Where emerging markets are concerned, we believe one could be a bit more
sanguine today, but not bullish on the asset class in general. Economic growth
is not, in our view, going to return to the Asian emerging markets in 1999. The
picture in Latin America currently appears more positive to us. The Dreyfus
Global Growth Fund research team believes that Latin markets have been unfairly
painted with the "Asian emerging-market" brush. Reforms are being enacted and
implemented in Brazil, the region's largest nation. Brazilian stocks, valued at
price-to-earnings ratios of 6 to 9, represent some of the cheapest stocks in the
world in our view. The Fund began to make small investments in this region
during the fiscal period.
As manager of Dreyfus Global Growth Fund, I look forward to communicating with
you again in 1999 in the
semi-annual shareholder letter.
Sincerely,
[Ron Chapman signature]
Ron Chapman
Portfolio Manager
January 21, 1999
New York, N.Y.
* Total return includes reinvestment of dividends and any capital gains paid.
** SOURCE: LIPPER ANALYTICAL SERVICES, INC.
(+)SOURCE: LIPPER ANALYTICAL SERVICES, INC.-- Unlike the Fund, which may
invest in various types of securities and engage in different investment
techniques, the Morgan Stanley Capital International World Index is an unmanaged
index of global stock market performance, including the United States, Canada,
Europe, Australia, New Zealand and the Far East. The Index includes net
dividends reinvested.
DREYFUS GLOBAL GROWTH FUND DECEMBER 31, 1998
- -----------------------------------------------------------------------------
COMPARISON OF CHANGE IN VALUE OF $10,000 INVESTMENT IN DREYFUS GLOBAL GROWTH
FUND AND THE MORGAN STANLEY CAPITAL INTERNATIONAL WORLD INDEX
Dollars
$36,159
Dreyfus Global Growth Fund
$32,190
Morgan Stanley Capital International World Index*
*Source: Lipper Analytical Services, Inc.
<TABLE>
Average Annual Total Returns
- -----------------------------------------------------------------------------
One Year Ended Five Years Ended Ten Years Ended From Inception (4/10/87)
December 31, 1998 December 31, 1998 December 31, 1998 to December 31, 1998
__________________ __________________ __________________ _________________________
<S> <C> <C> <C>
1.16% 5.68% 8.93% 11.58%
- ------------------------
Past performance is not predictive of future performance.
</TABLE>
The above graph compares a $10,000 investment made in Dreyfus Global Growth Fund
on 4/10/87 (Inception Date) to a $10,000 investment made in the Morgan Stanley
Capital International World Index on that date. For comparative purposes, the
value of the Index on 3/31/87 is used as the beginning value on 4/10/87. All
dividends and capital gain distributions are reinvested.
The Fund's performance shown in the line graph takes into account all applicable
fees and expenses. The Morgan Stanley Capital International World Index, which
is the property of Morgan Stanley & Co. Incorporated, is an unmanaged index of
global stock market performance, including the United States, Canada, Europe,
Australia, New Zealand and the Far East and includes net dividends reinvested.
The Index does not take into account charges, fees and other expenses. Further
information relating to Fund performance, including expense reimbursements, if
applicable, is contained in the Financial Highlights section of the Prospectus
and elsewhere in this report.
<TABLE>
DREYFUS GLOBAL GROWTH FUND
- ------------------------------------------------------------------------------
STATEMENT OF INVESTMENTS DECEMBER 31, 1998
Common Stocks--94.3% Shares Value
- ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- ---------------- ---------------
<S> <C> <C>
Brazil--2.7% Companhia de Saneamento Basico do
Estado de Sao Paulo . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11,000 $ 832,988
Embratel Participacoes, ADS . . . . . . . . . . 14,400 200,700
Tele Celular Sul Participacoes, ADS . . . . . . 1,440 25,110
Tele Centro Oeste Celular Participacoes, ADS . . 4,800 14,100
Tele Centro Sul Participacoes, ADS . . . . . . . 15,780 659,801
Tele Leste Celular Participacoes, ADS . . . . . 288 8,172
Tele Nordeste Celular Participacoes, ADS . . . . 720 13,320
Tele Norte Celular Participacoes, ADS . . . . . 288 6,498
Tele Norte Leste Participacoes, ADS . . . . . . 14,400 179,100
Tele Sudeste Celular Participacoes, ADS . . . . 2,880 59,580
Telecomunicacoes Brasileiras, ADS . . . . . . . 14,400 1,575
Telemig Celular Participacoes, ADS . . . . . . . 720 15,300
Telesp Celular Participacoes, ADS . . . . . . . 5,760 100,800
____________
2,117,044
____________
France--6.2% Accor . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2,500 541,513
Alcatel . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5,000 612,223
Axa . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7,000 1,015,001
Pathe . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3,500 977,409
Rhone-Poulenc . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 17,000 875,228
Suez Lyonnaise des Eaux . . . . . . . . . . . . 4,000 822,026
Vivendi (Warrants) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7,000 18,170
____________
4,861,570
____________
Germany--4.6% Douglas Holding . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13,000 788,304
Douglas Holding (New) . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2,300 124,280
Hoechst . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 19,500 808,988
Linde . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 650 400,006
Mannesmann . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5,000 573,367
Muenchener Rueckversicherungs-Gesellschaft . . . 2,000 969,020
____________
3,663,965
____________
Ireland--4.8% Bank of Ireland . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 129,000 2,875,468
Ryanair, ADS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 25,000 (a) 943,750
____________
3,819,218
____________
Italy--6.7% Banca Nazionale del Lavoro . . . . . . . . . . . 300,000 (a) 896,757
Istituto Nazionale delle Assicurazioni . . . . . 350,000 927,777
Olivetti . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 400,000 (a) 1,398,472
Seat Pagine Gialle . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1,200,000 (a) 922,046
Telecom Italia . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 110,000 938,535
Unione Immobiliare . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 350,000 (a) 182,845
____________
5,266,432
____________
Japan--9.7% Daikin Industries . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 50,000 494,569
Hitachi . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 80,000 494,569
DREYFUS GLOBAL GROWTH FUND
- ------------------------------------------------------------------------------
STATEMENT OF INVESTMENTS (CONTINUED) DECEMBER 31, 1998
Common Stocks (continued) Shares Value
- ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- ---------------- ---------------
Japan (continued) Honda Motor . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 25,000 $ 819,129
Hosiden . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 30,000 522,476
Mitsui Chemicals . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 170,000 590,038
NIDEC . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6,000 732,845
NTT Mobile Communication Network . . . . . . . . 6 246,401
Nintendo . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5,000 483,529
Nippon Telegraph & Telephone . . . . . . . . . . 30 231,034
Ryohin Keikaku . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5,000 664,576
Sekisui House . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 40,000 422,150
Sumitomo Trust & Banking . . . . . . . . . . . . 390,000 1,033,295
TDK . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10,000 912,302
____________
7,646,913
____________
Mexico--2.5% Grupo Televisa, GDS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 46,200 (a) 1,140,563
Telefonos de Mexico, ADS . . . . . . . . . . . . 16,300 793,606
____________
1,934,169
____________
Netherlands--4.0% ING Groep . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16,000 976,181
Koninklijke (Royal) Philips Electronics . . . . 11,000 744,563
Schlumberger . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 30,800 1,420,650
____________
3,141,394
____________
Norway--.9% Merkantildata . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 75,000 736,980
____________
Portugal--2.7% Banco Portugues do Atlantico . . . . . . . . . . 7,600 (a) 155,755
Brisa-Auto Estradas de Portugal . . . . . . . . 25,000 1,471,605
Portugal Telecom . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10,000 458,496
____________
2,085,856
____________
South Africa--.7% Investec Group . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9,000 305,587
Liberty Life Association of Africa . . . . . . . 18,000 247,526
____________
553,113
____________
Spain--7.4% Adolfo Dominguez . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15,000 (a) 302,762
Aldeasa . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 22,000 866,364
Banco Santander . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 60,000 1,194,109
Centros Comerciales Pryca . . . . . . . . . . . 30,000 931,574
Repsol . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 18,000 961,639
Telefonica . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 35,000 1,558,623
Telefonica (Rights) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 35,000 31,123
____________
5,846,194
____________
Sweden--5.1% Electrolux AB . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 57,500 987,255
Fastighets AB Balder . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1,800 (a) 19,939
NetCom AB . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 21,000 (a) 852,945
Skandia Forsakrings AB . . . . . . . . . . . . . 40,000 610,477
DREYFUS GLOBAL GROWTH FUND
- ------------------------------------------------------------------------------
STATEMENT OF INVESTMENTS (CONTINUED) DECEMBER 31, 1998
Common Stocks (continued) Shares Value
- ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- ---------------- ---------------
Sweden (continued) Svenska Handelsbanken, Cl. A . . . . . . . . . . 18,000 $ 757,680
Telefonaktiebolaget LM Ericsson . . . . . . . . 34,000 807,650
____________
4,035,946
____________
Switzerland--2.3% Nestle . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 300 652,839
Schweizerische Lebensversicherungs-
und Rentenanstalt . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 900 668,122
UBS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1,625 499,090
____________
1,820,051
____________
United Kingdom--7.9% ARM Holdings . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 30,600 (a) 648,097
British Petroleum . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 60,000 892,779
British Sky Broadcasting . . . . . . . . . . . . 70,000 529,782
COLT Telecom . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 68,000 (a) 1,010,689
Diageo . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 37,128 421,033
Granada . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 41,000 722,223
Vodafone . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 70,000 1,132,677
Zeneca . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 19,000 824,358
____________
6,181,638
____________
United States--26.1% AT&T . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16,000 1,204,000
BankAmerica . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 28,700 1,725,588
BankBoston . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 19,500 759,281
Chubb . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11,400 739,575
Citigroup . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 18,250 903,375
Exxon . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 22,400 1,638,000
Hewlett-Packard . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 24,000 1,639,500
IDX Systems . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 18,200 (a) 800,800
Intel . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13,500 1,600,594
MCI WorldCom . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 23,119 (a) 1,658,788
McDonald's . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15,500 1,187,688
Newell . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 29,000 1,196,250
Parametric Technology . . . . . . . . . . . . . 102,300 (a) 1,675,162
Texaco . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 26,000 1,374,750
Texas Utilities . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 17,000 793,688
Waste Management . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 34,600 1,613,225
____________
20,510,264
____________
TOTAL COMMON STOCKS
(cost $65,461,583) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . $74,220,747
____________
Preferred Stocks--2.3%
- --------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Brazil: Companhia Energetica de Minas Gerais . . . . . . 37,685 $ 717,339
Telecomunicacoes de Sao Paulo . . . . . . . . . 8,000 1,090,458
____________
TOTAL PREFERRED STOCKS
(cost $2,331,028) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . $ 1,807,797
____________
DREYFUS GLOBAL GROWTH FUND
- ------------------------------------------------------------------------------
STATEMENT OF INVESTMENTS (CONTINUED) DECEMBER 31, 1998
Principal
Short-Term Investments--3.5% Amount Value
- ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- ---------------- -----------------
U.S. Treasury Bills: 4.37%, 3/18/99 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . $ 711,000 $ 704,707
4.44%, 3/25/99 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2,023,000 2,002,756
____________
TOTAL SHORT-TERM INVESTMENTS
(cost $2,706,730) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . $ 2,707,463
____________
TOTAL INVESTMENTS (cost $70,499,341) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 100.1% $78,736,007
_______ ____________
LIABILITIES, LESS CASH AND RECEIVABLES . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . (.1%) $ (51,594)
_______ ____________
NET ASSETS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 100.0% $78,684,413
_______ ____________
Notes to Statement of Investments:
- -----------------------------------------------------------------------------
(a) Non-income producing.
SEE NOTES TO FINANCIAL STATEMENTS.
</TABLE>
<TABLE>
DREYFUS GLOBAL GROWTH FUND
- -----------------------------------------------------------------------------
STATEMENT OF ASSETS AND LIABILITIES DECEMBER 31, 1998
Cost Value
_____________ ____________
<S> <C> <C>
ASSETS: Investments in securities--See Statement of Investments . . . . $70,499,341 $78,736,007
Cash . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2,185,253
Dividends receivable . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 248,415
Receivable for investment securities sold . . . . . . . . . . . 218,486
Net unrealized appreciation on forward currency
exchange contracts--Note 4(a) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 20,250
Prepaid expenses . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8,959
_____________
81,417,370
_____________
LIABILITIES: Due to The Dreyfus Corporation and affiliates . . . . . . . . . 54,356
Due to Distributor . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16,628
Payable for investment securities purchased . . . . . . . . . . 1,882,963
Payable for shares of Beneficial Interest redeemed . . . . . . 666,316
Accrued expenses . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 112,694
_____________
2,732,957
_____________
NET ASSETS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . $78,684,413
_____________
REPRESENTED BY: Paid-in capital . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . $71,245,817
Accumulated undistributed investment income--net . . . . . . . 16,065
Accumulated net realized gain (loss) on investments
and foreign currency transactions. . . . . . . . . . . . . . (841,189)
Accumulated net unrealized appreciation (depreciation)
on investments and foreign currency transactions . . . . . . 8,263,720
_____________
NET ASSETS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . $78,684,413
_____________
SHARES OUTSTANDING
(UNLIMITED NUMBER OF $.001 PAR VALUE SHARES OF BENEFICIAL INTEREST AUTHORIZED) . . . . . . 2,263,357
NET ASSET VALUE, offering and redemption price per share . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . $34.76
_______
SEE NOTES TO FINANCIAL STATEMENTS.
</TABLE>
<TABLE>
DREYFUS GLOBAL GROWTH FUND
- -----------------------------------------------------------------------------
STATEMENT OF OPERATIONS YEAR ENDED DECEMBER 31, 1998
INVESTMENT INCOME
<S> <C> <C>
INCOME: Cash dividends (net of $174,609 foreign taxes
withheld at source) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . $1,494,802
Interest . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 95,574
____________
Total Income . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . $1,590,376
EXPENSES: Management fee--Note 3(a) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 673,379
Shareholder servicing costs--Note 3(b) . . . . . . . . . . . . 301,776
Custodian fees . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 82,624
Trustees' fees and expenses--Note 3(c) . . . . . . . . . . . 45,105
Interest expense--Note 2 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 39,595
Professional fees . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 36,118
Registration fees . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 26,021
Prospectus and shareholders' reports . . . . . . . . . . . . 8,595
Miscellaneous . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8,367
____________
Total Expenses . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1,221,580
____________
INVESTMENT INCOME--NET . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 368,796
____________
REALIZED AND UNREALIZED GAIN (LOSS) ON INVESTMENTS--Note 4:
Net realized gain (loss) on investments and
foreign currency transactions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . $5,748,209
Net realized gain (loss) on forward currency exchange contracts . . (3,558,567)
____________
Net Realized Gain (Loss) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2,189,642
Net unrealized appreciation (depreciation) on investments
and foreign currency transactions . . . . . . . . . . . . . (301,311)
____________
NET REALIZED AND UNREALIZED GAIN (LOSS) ON INVESTMENTS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1,888,331
____________
NET INCREASE IN NET ASSETS RESULTING FROM OPERATIONS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . $2,257,127
____________
SEE NOTES TO FINANCIAL STATEMENTS.
</TABLE>
<TABLE>
DREYFUS GLOBAL GROWTH FUND
- -----------------------------------------------------------------------------
STATEMENT OF CHANGES IN NET ASSETS
Year Ended Year Ended
December 31, 1998 December 31, 1997
__________________ __________________
<S> <C> <C>
OPERATIONS:
Investment income (loss)--net . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . $ 368,796 $ (38,663)
Net realized gain (loss) on investments . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2,189,642 7,768,638
Net unrealized appreciation (depreciation) on investments . . . . . . . . . . (301,311) 3,781,544
________________ _________________
Net Increase (Decrease) in Net Assets Resulting from Operations . . . . . 2,257,127 11,511,519
________________ _________________
DIVIDENDS TO SHAREHOLDERS:
From investment income--net . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . (360,909) (251,558)
From net realized gain on investments . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . -- (6,680,619)
In excess of net realized gain on investments . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . -- (3,030,831)
________________ _________________
Total Dividends . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . (360,909) (9,963,008)
________________ _________________
BENEFICIAL INTEREST TRANSACTIONS:
Net proceeds from shares sold . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 120,336,230 89,828,509
Dividends reinvested . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 336,853 9,578,154
Cost of shares redeemed . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . (135,359,697) (105,656,612)
________________ _________________
Increase (Decrease) in Net Assets from Beneficial Interest Transactions . (14,686,614) (6,249,949)
________________ _________________
Total Increase (Decrease) in Net Assets . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . (12,790,396) (4,701,438)
NET ASSETS:
Beginning of Period . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 91,474,809 96,176,247
________________ _________________
End of Period . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . $ 78,684,413 $ 91,474,809
________________ _________________
UNDISTRIBUTED INVESTMENT INCOME--NET . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . $ 16,065 $ 8,178
________________ _________________
Shares Shares
________________ _________________
CAPITAL SHARE TRANSACTIONS:
Shares sold . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3,394,639 2,304,373
Shares issued for dividends reinvested . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9,969 281,514
Shares redeemed . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . (3,790,910) (2,714,455)
________________ _________________
Net Increase (Decrease) in Shares Outstanding . . . . . . . . . . . . . . (386,302) (128,568)
________________ _________________
SEE NOTES TO FINANCIAL STATEMENTS.
</TABLE>
<TABLE>
DREYFUS GLOBAL GROWTH FUND
- -----------------------------------------------------------------------------
FINANCIAL HIGHLIGHTS
Contained below is per share operating performance data for a share of
Beneficial Interest outstanding, total investment return, ratios to average net
assets and other supplemental data for each period indicated. This information
has been derived from the Fund's financial statements.
Year Ended December 31,
____________________________________________________________
PER SHARE DATA: 1998 1997 1996 1995 1994
______ ______ ______ ______ ______
<S> <C> <C> <C> <C> <C>
Net asset value, beginning of period . . . . . . $34.52 $34.62 $36.97 $32.99 $35.66
______ ______ ______ ______ ______
Investment Operations:
Investment income (loss)--net . . . . . . . . . . .16 (.01) .19 1.01 .33
Net realized and unrealized gain (loss)
on investments . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .24 4.19 4.19 2.97 (3.00)
______ ______ ______ ______ ______
TOTAL FROM INVESTMENT OPERATIONS . . . . . . . . .40 4.18 4.38 3.98 (2.67)
______ ______ ______ ______ ______
Distributions:
Dividends from investment income--net . . . . . . (.16) (.11) (.18) -- --
Dividends in excess of investment income--net . . -- -- (.06) -- --
Dividends from net realized gain on investments . -- (2.87) (6.22) -- --
Dividends in excess of net realized gain
on investments . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . -- (1.30) (.27) -- --
______ ______ ______ ______ ______
TOTAL DISTRIBUTIONS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . (.16) (4.28) (6.73) -- --
______ ______ ______ ______ ______
Net asset value, end of period . . . . . . . . . $34.76 $34.52 $34.62 $36.97 $32.99
______ ______ ______ ______ ______
TOTAL INVESTMENT RETURN. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1.16% 12.27% 11.95% 12.06%* (7.49%)*
RATIOS/SUPPLEMENTAL DATA:
Ratio of operating expenses to average net assets . . 1.32% 1.34% 1.39% 1.46% 1.40%
Ratio of interest expense and dividends on securities
sold short to average net assets . . . . . . . .04% .01% -- .01% --
Ratio of net investment income (loss)
to average net assets . . . . . . . . . . . . .41% (.04%) .51% .86% .57%
Portfolio Turnover Rate . . . . . . . . . . . . 206.70% 145.59% 163.12% 225.45% 147.28%
Net Assets, end of period (000's Omitted) . . . $78,684 $91,475 $96,176 $104,561 $134,067
- -----------------------------
* Exclusive of sales load.
SEE NOTES TO FINANCIAL STATEMENTS.
</TABLE>
DREYFUS GLOBAL GROWTH FUND
- -----------------------------------------------------------------------------
NOTES TO FINANCIAL STATEMENTS
NOTE 1--SIGNIFICANT ACCOUNTING POLICIES:
Dreyfus Global Growth Fund (the "Fund") is registered under the Investment
Company Act of 1940, as amended (the "Act"), as a non-diversified open-end
management investment company. The Fund' s investment objective is capital
growth. The Dreyfus Corporation (the "Manager") serves as the Fund's investment
adviser. The Manager is a direct subsidiary of Mellon Bank, N.A. Premier Mutual
Fund Services, Inc. (the "Distributor") is the distributor of the Fund's shares,
which are sold to the public without a sales charge.
The Fund' s financial statements are prepared in accordance with generally
accepted accounting principles which may require the use of management estimates
and assumptions. Actual results could differ from those estimates.
(A) PORTFOLIO VALUATION: Investments in securities (including options and
financial futures) are valued at the last sales price on the securities exchange
on which such securities are primarily traded or at the last sales price on the
national securities market. Securities not listed on an exchange or the national
securities market, or securities for which there were no transactions, are
valued at the average of the most recent bid and asked prices, except for open
short positions, where the asked price is used for valuation purposes. Bid price
is used when no asked price is available. Securities for which there are no such
valuations are valued at fair value as determined in good faith under the
direction of the Board of Trustees. Investments denominated in foreign
currencies are translated to U.S. dollars at the prevailing rates of exchange.
Forward currency exchange contracts are valued at the forward rate.
(B) FOREIGN CURRENCY TRANSACTIONS: The Fund does not isolate that portion of
the results of operations resulting from changes in foreign exchange rates on
investments from the fluctuations arising from changes in the market prices of
securities held. Such fluctuations are included with the net realized and
unrealized gain or loss from investments.
Net realized foreign exchange gains or losses arise from sales and maturities
of short-term securities, sales of foreign currencies, currency gains or losses
realized on securities transactions and the difference between the amount of
dividends, interest and foreign withholding taxes recorded on the Fund's books
and the U.S. dollar equivalent of the amounts actually received or paid. Net
unrealized foreign exchange gains and losses arise from changes in the value of
assets and liabilities other than investments in securities, resulting from
changes in exchange rates. Such gains and losses are included with net realized
and unrealized gain or loss on investments.
(C) SECURITIES TRANSACTIONS AND INVESTMENT INCOME: Securities transactions
are recorded on a trade date basis. Realized gain and loss from securities
transactions are recorded on the identified cost basis. Dividend income is
recognized on the ex-dividend date and interest income, including, where
applicable, amortization of discount on investments, is recognized on the
accrual basis. Under the terms of the custody agreement, the Fund receives net
earnings credits based on available cash balances left on deposit.
(D) DIVIDENDS TO SHAREHOLDERS: Dividends are recorded on the ex-dividend
date. Dividends from investment income-net and dividends from net realized
capital gain are normally declared and paid annually, but the Fund may make
distributions on a more frequent basis to comply with the distribution
requirements of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986, as amended (the "Code"). To
the extent that net realized capital gain can be offset by capital loss
carryovers, it is the policy of the Fund not to distribute such gain.
(E) FEDERAL INCOME TAXES: It is the policy of the Fund to continue to qualify
as a regulated investment company, if such qualification is in the best
interests of its shareholders, by complying with the applicable provisions of
the Code, and to make distributions of taxable income sufficient to relieve it
from substantially all Federal income and excise taxes.
DREYFUS GLOBAL GROWTH FUND
- -----------------------------------------------------------------------------
NOTES TO FINANCIAL STATEMENTS (CONTINUED)
The Fund has an unused capital loss carryover of approximately $99,000
available for Federal income tax purposes to be applied against future net
securities profits, if any, realized subsequent to December 31, 1998. If not
applied, the carryover expires in fiscal 2006.
NOTE 2--BANK LINE OF CREDIT:
In accordance with an agreement with a bank, the Fund may borrow up to $10
million under a short-term unsecured line of credit. Interest on borrowings is
charged at rates which are related to the Federal Funds rate in effect from time
to time.
The average daily amount of borrowings outstanding during the period ended
December 31, 1998 was approximately $639,200 with a related weighted average
annualized interest rate of 6.19%.
NOTE 3--MANAGEMENT FEE AND OTHER TRANSACTIONS WITH AFFILIATES:
(A) Pursuant to a management agreement with the Manager, the management fee
is computed at the annual rate of .75 of 1% of the value of the Fund's average
daily net assets and is payable monthly.
(B) Under the Shareholder Services Plan, the Fund pays the Distributor for
the provision of certain services at an annual rate of .25 of 1% of the value of
the Fund's average daily net assets. The services provided may include personal
services relating to shareholder accounts, such as answering shareholder
inquiries regarding the Fund and providing reports and other information, and
services related to the maintenance of shareholder accounts. The Distributor may
make payments to Service Agents (a securities dealer, financial institution or
other industry professional) in respect of these services. The Distributor
determines the amounts to be paid to Service Agents. During the period ended
December 31, 1998, the Fund was charged $224,460 pursuant to the Shareholder
Services Plan.
The Fund compensates Dreyfus Transfer, Inc., a wholly-owned subsidiary of the
Manager, under a transfer agency agreement for providing personnel and
facilities to perform transfer agency services for the Fund. During the period
ended December 31, 1998, the Fund was charged $61,989 pursuant to the transfer
agency agreement.
(C) Each trustee who is not an "affiliated person" as defined in the Act
receives from the Fund an annual fee of $2,500 and an attendance fee of $250 per
meeting. The Chairman of the Board receives an additional 25% of such
compensation and the Trustee Emeritus receives 50% of such compensation.
NOTE 4--SECURITIES TRANSACTIONS:
(A) The aggregate amount of purchases and sales of investment securities,
excluding short-term securities and forward currency exchange contracts, during
the period ended December 31, 1998 amounted to $180,837,155 and $193,839,962,
respectively.
In addition, the following summarizes open forward currency exchange
contracts at December 31, 1998:
<TABLE>
Foreign Currency Unrealized
Forward Currency Exchange Contracts Amounts Proceeds Value Appreciation
_________________________________ _______________ __________ __________ ____________
<S> <C> <C> <C> <C>
Sales:
_____
British Pounds, expiring 2/2/99 . . . . . . . . . . . 3,000,000 $4,995,750 $4,975,500 $20,250
________
</TABLE>
DREYFUS GLOBAL GROWTH FUND
- -----------------------------------------------------------------------------
NOTES TO FINANCIAL STATEMENTS (CONTINUED)
The Fund enters into forward currency exchange contracts in order to hedge
its exposure to changes in foreign currency exchange rates on its foreign
portfolio holdings. When executing forward currency exchange contracts, the Fund
is obligated to buy or sell a foreign currency at a specified rate on a certain
date in the future. With respect to sales of forward currency exchange
contracts, the Fund would incur a loss if the value of the contract increases
between the date the forward contract is opened and the date the forward
contract is closed. The Fund realizes a gain if the value of the contract
decreases between those dates. With respect to purchases of forward currency
exchange contracts, the Fund would incur a loss if the value of the contract
decreases between the date the forward contract is opened and the date the
forward contract is closed. The Fund realizes a gain if the value of the
contract increases between those dates. The Fund is also exposed to credit risk
associated with counter party nonperformance on these forward currency exchange
contracts which is typically limited to the unrealized gain on each open
contract.
(B) At December 31, 1998, accumulated net unrealized appreciation on
investments and forward currency exchange contracts was $8,256,916, consisting
of $12,438,238 gross unrealized appreciation and $4,181,322 gross unrealized
depreciation.
At December 31, 1998, the cost of investments for Federal income tax purposes
was substantially the same as the cost for financial reporting purposes (see the
Statement of Investments).
DREYFUS GLOBAL GROWTH FUND
- -----------------------------------------------------------------------------
REPORT OF ERNST & YOUNG LLP, INDEPENDENT AUDITORS
SHAREHOLDERS AND BOARD OF TRUSTEES
DREYFUS GLOBAL GROWTH FUND
We have audited the accompanying statement of assets and liabilities of
Dreyfus Global Growth Fund, including the statement of investments, as of
December 31, 1998, and the related statement of operations for the year then
ended, the statement of changes in net assets for each of the two years in the
period then ended, and financial highlights for each of the years indicated
therein. These financial statements and financial highlights are the
responsibility of the Fund' s management. Our responsibility is to express an
opinion on these financial statements and financial highlights based on our
audits.
We conducted our audits in accordance with generally accepted auditing
standards. Those standards require that we plan and perform the audit to obtain
reasonable assurance about whether the financial statements and financial
highlights are free of material misstatement. An audit includes examining, on a
test basis, evidence supporting the amounts and disclosures in the financial
statements and financial highlights. Our procedures included confirmation of
securities owned as of December 31, 1998 by correspondence with the custodian
and brokers. An audit also includes assessing the accounting principles used and
significant estimates made by management, as well as evaluating the overall
financial statement presentation. We believe that our audits provide a
reasonable basis for our opinion.
In our opinion, the financial statements and financial highlights referred to
above present fairly, in all material respects, the financial position of
Dreyfus Global Growth Fund at December 31, 1998, the results of its operations
for the year then ended, the changes in its net assets for each of the two years
in the period then ended, and the financial highlights for each of the indicated
years, in conformity with generally accepted accounting principles.
New York, New York
February 3, 1999
DREYFUS GLOBAL GROWTH FUND
- -----------------------------------------------------------------------------
IMPORTANT TAX INFORMATION (UNAUDITED)
In accordance with Federal tax law, the Fund elects to provide each
shareholder with their portion of the Fund's foreign taxes paid and the income
sourced from foreign countries. Accordingly, the Fund hereby makes the following
designations regarding its fiscal year ended December 31, 1998:
-- the total amount of taxes paid to foreign countries was $174,609.
-- the total amount of income sourced from foreign countries was $232,876.
As required by Federal tax law rules, shareholders will receive notification
of their proportionate share of foreign taxes paid and foreign source income for
the 1998 calendar year with Form 1099-DIV which will be mailed by January 31,
1999.
For Federal tax purposes the Fund hereby designates 82.24% of the ordinary
dividends paid during the fiscal year ended December 31, 1998 as qualifying for
the corporate dividends received deduction.
[reg.tm logo]
(reg.tm)
DREYFUS GLOBAL GROWTH FUND
200 Park Avenue
New York, NY 10166
MANAGER
The Dreyfus Corporation
200 Park Avenue
New York, NY 10166
CUSTODIAN
The Bank of New York
90 Washington Street
New York, NY 10286
TRANSFER AGENT &
DIVIDEND DISBURSING AGENT
Dreyfus Transfer, Inc.
P.O. Box 9671
Providence, RI 02940
Printed in U.S.A. 033AR9812
Global
Growth Fund
Annual Report
December 31, 1998
COMPARISON OF CHANGE IN VALUE OF $10,000 INVESTMENT IN
DREYFUS GLOBAL GROWTH FUND AND THE MORGAN STANLEY CAPITAL
INTERNATIONAL WORLD INDEX
EXHIBIT A:
MORGAN STANLEY
CAPITAL
PERIOD DREYFUS GLOBAL INTERNATIONAL
GROWTH FUND WORLD INDEX*
4/10/87 10,000 10,000
12/31/87 13,308 9,483
12/31/88 15,369 11,692
12/31/89 18,600 13,634
12/31/90 19,677 11,313
12/31/91 23,123 13,381
12/31/92 22,492 12,681
12/31/93 27,431 15,535
12/31/94 25,377 16,325
12/31/95 28,438 19,708
12/31/96 31,838 22,364
12/31/97 35,742 25,889
12/31/98 36,159 32,190
*Source: Lipper Analytical Services, Inc.
