File No. 33-12660
811-5074
SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION
Washington, D.C. 20549
FORM N-1A
REGISTRATION STATEMENT UNDER THE SECURITIES ACT OF 1933 [X]
Pre-Effective Amendment No. [_]
Post-Effective Amendment No. 25 [X]
and/or
REGISTRATION STATEMENT UNDER THE INVESTMENT COMPANY ACT OF 1940 [X]
Amendment No. 25 [X]
(Check appropriate box or boxes.)
DREYFUS BASIC GNMA FUND
(Exact Name of Registrant as Specified in Charter)
c/o The Dreyfus Corporation
200 Park Avenue, New York, New York 10166
(Address of Principal Executive Offices) (Zip Code)
Registrant's Telephone Number, including Area Code: (212) 922-6000
Mark N. Jacobs, Esq.
200 Park Avenue
New York, New York 10166
(Name and Address of Agent for Service)
It is proposed that this filing will become effective (check appropriate box)
immediately upon filing pursuant to paragraph (b)
----
on (DATE) pursuant to paragraph (b)
----
60 days after filing pursuant to paragraph (a)(1)
----
X on May 1, 1999 pursuant to paragraph (a)(1)
----
75 days after filing pursuant to paragraph (a)(2)
----
on (DATE) pursuant to paragraph (a)(2) of Rule 485
----
If appropriate, check the following box:
this post-effective amendment designates a new effective date
for a previously filed post-effective amendment.
----
Dreyfus BASIC GNMA Fund
Investing in mortgage-related securities for current income and capital
preservation
PROSPECTUS May 1, 1999
As with all mutual funds, the Securities and Exchange Commission has not
approved or disapproved these securities or passed upon the adequacy of this
prospectus. Any representation to the contrary is a criminal offense.
<PAGE>
Contents
THE FUND
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What every investor should
know about the fund
2 Goal/Approach
3 Main Risks
4 Past Performance
5 Expenses
6 Management
7 Financial Highlights
YOUR INVESTMENT
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Information for managing
your fund account
8 Account Policies
11 Distributions and Taxes
12 Services for Fund Investors
14 Instructions for Regular Accounts
16 Instructions for IRAs
FOR MORE INFORMATION
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Where to learn more about
this and other Dreyfus funds
Back Cover
<PAGE>
The Fund
Dreyfus BASIC GNMA Fund
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Ticker Symbol: DIGFX
GOAL/APPROACH
The fund seeks as high a level of current income as is consistent with the
preservation of capital. To pursue this goal, the fund normally invests
substantially all of its net assets in GNMA certificates (popularly called
"Ginnie Maes"), which are guaranteed as to timely payment of principal and
interest by the Government National Mortgage Association.
The fund also may invest in other mortgage-related securities, including those
issued by government-related organizations such as the Federal National Mortgage
Association and the Federal Home Loan Mortgage Corporation, collateralized
mortgage obligations (CMOs) and stripped mortgage-backed securities. In
addition, the fund may purchase other securities issued or guaranteed by the
U.S. government or its agencies and its instrumentalities, and repurchase
agreements.
INFORMATION ON THE FUND'S RECENT STRATEGIES AND HOLDINGS CAN BE FOUND IN THE
CURRENT ANNUAL/SEMIANNUAL REPORT (SEE BACK COVER).
Concepts to understand
GINNIE MAES: securities backed by a pool of residential mortgages, which pass
through to investors the interest and principal payments of homeowners. The
Government National Mortgage Association guarantees that investors will receive
timely principal and interest payments even if homeowners do not make mortgage
payments on time.
CMOS: multi-class bonds backed by pools of mortgage pass-through securities or
mortgage loans.
STRIPPED MORTGAGE-BACKED SECURITIES: the separate income or principal component
of a mortgage pass-through security or CMO. CMOs may be partially stripped so
that each investor receives some interest and some principal, or fully stripped
into interest-only and principal-only components.
MAIN RISKS
A security guaranteed by the U.S. government is guaranteed only as to principal
and interest. Neither the market value of such security nor the fund's share
price is guaranteed. Prices of certain Ginnie Maes and other mortgage-related
securities tend to move inversely with changes in interest rates. While a rise
in rates may allow the fund to invest for higher yields, the most immediate
effect is usually a drop in the security's price, and therefore in the fund's
share price as well. As a result, the value of your investment in the fund could
go up or down, which means that you could lose money.
Although the price of a Ginnie Mae or other mortgage-related security may
decline when interest rates rise, the converse is not necessarily true. In
periods of declining interest rates, the mortgages underlying a mortgage-related
security are more likely to be prepaid, which could hurt the fund's share price
or yield. During periods of rapidly rising interest rates, such mortgages may be
prepaid at slower than expected rates, which effectively may lengthen a
mortgage-related security' s expected maturity and cause the value of the
security to fluctuate more widely in response to changes in interest rates.
Other mortgage-related securities also are subject to credit risks associated
with the underlying mortgage properties. These securities may be more volatile
and less liquid than more traditional debt securities.
Other potential risks
Most mortgage-related securities are a form of derivative. The fund also may
invest some of its assets in other derivative securities, such as options and
futures. These practices are used primarily to hedge the fund's portfolio, but
may be used to increase returns; however, such practices may lower returns or
increase volatility. Derivatives can be illiquid and a small investment in
certain derivatives could have a potentially large impact on the fund's
performance.
The fund will engage in short-term trading, which could produce higher brokerage
costs and taxable distributions.
The fund can buy securities with borrowed money (a form of leverage), which
could have the effect of magnifying the fund's gains or losses.
<PAGE>
PAST PERFORMANCE
The two tables below show the fund' s annual returns and its long-term
performance. The first table shows you how the fund's performance has varied
from year to year. The second compares the fund's performance over time to that
of the Lehman Brothers GNMA Index, an unmanaged total-return performance
benchmark. Both tables assume reinvestment of dividends and distributions. As
with all mutual funds, the past is not a prediction of the future.
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Year-by-year total return AS OF 12/31 EACH YEAR (%) [Exhibit A]
BEST QUARTER: Q4 '91 +6.03%
WORST QUARTER: Q1 '92 -2.16%
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Average annual total return AS OF 12/31/98
1 Year 5 Years 10 Years
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FUND 4.71% 6.78% 7.98%
LEHMAN BROTHERS
GNMA INDEX 6.93% 7.34% 9.25%
What this fund is -- and isn't
This fund is a mutual fund: a pooled investment that is professionally managed
and gives you the opportunity to participate in financial markets. It strives to
reach its stated goal, although as with all mutual funds, it cannot offer
guaranteed results.
An investment in this fund is not a bank deposit. It is not insured or
guaranteed by the FDIC or any other government agency. It is not a complete
investment program. You could lose money in this fund, but you also have the
potential to make money.
EXPENSES
As an investor, you pay certain fees and expenses in connection with the fund,
which are described in the table below. Shareholder transaction fees are paid
from your account. Annual fund operating expenses are paid out of fund assets,
so their effect is included in the share price. The fund has no sales charge
(load) or 12b-1 distribution fees.
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Fee table
Maximum account fee $12
CHARGED ONLY TO REGULAR ACCOUNTS WITH BALANCES
BELOW $2,000 (SEE "ACCOUNT POLICIES")
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SHAREHOLDER TRANSACTION FEES
CHARGED IF YOUR ACCOUNT BALANCE IS
LESS THAN $50,000
Exchange fee $5.00
Account closeout fee $5.00
Wire and TeleTransfer redemption fee $5.00
Checkwriting charge $2.00
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ANNUAL FUND OPERATING EXPENSES
% OF AVERAGE DAILY NET ASSETS
Management fees 0.00%
Shareholder services fee 0.00%
expenses 0.00%
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TOTAL 0.00%
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Expense example
1 Year 3 Years 5 Years 10 Years
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$000 $000 $000 $0,000
This example shows what you could pay in expenses over
time. It uses the same hypothetical conditions other
funds use in their prospectuses: $10,000 initial
investment, 5% total return each year and no changes in
expenses. The figures shown would be the same whether
you sold your shares at the end of a period or kept
them. Because actual return and expenses will be
different, the example is for comparison only.
Concepts to understand
MANAGEMENT FEE: the fee paid to the investment adviser for managing the fund's
portfolio and assisting in all aspects of the fund's operations.
For the fiscal year ended Month xx, 19xx, Dreyfus waived a portion of its fee so
that the effective management fee paid by the fund was 0.xx%, reducing total
expenses from x.xx% to x.xx%. This waiver was voluntary and is no longer in
effect.
SHAREHOLDER SERVICES FEE: a fee of 0.25% paid to the fund's distributor for
shareholder account service and maintenance.
OTHER EXPENSES: fees paid by the fund for miscellaneous items such as transfer
agency, custody, professional and registration fees.
<PAGE>
MANAGEMENT
The investment adviser for the fund is The Dreyfus Corporation, 200 Park Avenue,
New York, New York 10166. Founded in 1947, Dreyfus manages one of the nation's
leading mutual fund complexes, with more than $117 billion in more than 160
mutual fund portfolios. Dreyfus is the mutual fund business of Mellon Bank
Corporation, a broad-based financial services company with a bank at its core.
With more than $350 billion of assets under management and $1.7 trillion of
assets under administration and custody, Mellon provides a full range of
banking, investment and trust products and services to individuals, businesses
and institutions. Its mutual fund companies place Mellon as the leading bank
manager of mutual funds. Mellon is headquartered in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.
The Dreyfus asset management philosophy is based on the belief that discipline
and consistency are important to investment success. For each fund, the firm
seeks to establish clear guidelines for portfolio management and to be
systematic in making decisions. This approach is designed to provide each fund
with a distinct, stable identity, and offers the potential for measuring
performance and volatility in consistent ways.
Michael Hoeh, CFA, has managed the fund since March 1997 and has been employed
by Dreyfus since October 1996. Previously, he was Vice President of Portfolio
Management at ARM Capital Investors, Inc. Prior to that, he was Vice President,
Risk Management, at Blackrock Financial Management.
Concepts to understand
YEAR 2000 ISSUES: the fund could be adversely affected if the computer systems
used by Dreyfus and the fund's other service providers do not properly process
and calculate date-related information from and after January 1, 2000.
Dreyfus 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.
FINANCIAL HIGHLIGHTS
This table describes the fund's performance for the fiscal periods indicated.
"Total return" shows how much your investment in the fund would have increased
(or decreased) during each period, assuming you had reinvested all dividends and
distributions. These figures have been independently audited by Ernst & Young
LLP, whose report, along with the fund's financial statements, is included in
the annual report.
<TABLE>
<CAPTION>
YEAR ENDED DECEMBER 31,
1998 1997 1996 1995 1994
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PER-SHARE DATA ($)
<S> <C> <C> <C> <C>
Net asset value, beginning of period 15.14 15.42 14.16 15.39
Investment operations:
Investment income -- net .99 .98 1.03 1.08
Net realized and unrealized
gain (loss) on investments .41 (.27) 1.25 (1.23)
Total from investment operations 1.40 .71 2.28 (.15)
Distributions:
Dividends from investment
income -- net (.99) (.99) (1.02) (1.08)
Dividends from net realized
gain on investments (.23) -- -- --
Total distributions (1.22) (.99) (1.02) (1.08)
Net asset value, end of period 15.32 15.14 15.42 14.16
Total return (%) 9.55 4.81 16.62 (.99)
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RATIOS/SUPPLEMENTAL DATA
Ratio of expenses to
average net assets (%) .65 .65 .50 .06
Ratio of interest expense to
average net assets (%) -- -- -- --
Ratio of net investment income to
average net assets (%) 6.46 6.50 6.86 7.34
Decrease reflected in above
expense ratios due to actions by Dreyfus (%) .42 .52 .78 1.43
Portfolio turnover rate (%) 534.25 332.96 254.36 290.20
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Net assets, end of period ($ x 1,000) 75,930 57,665 55,615 44,937
</TABLE>
<PAGE>
Your Investment
ACCOUNT POLICIES
Buying shares
YOU PAY NO SALES CHARGES to invest in this fund. Your price for fund shares is
the fund's net asset value per share (NAV), which is generally calculated as of
the close of trading on the New York Stock Exchange (usually 4:00 p.m. Eastern
time) every day the exchange is open. Your order will be priced at the next NAV
calculated after your order is accepted by the fund's transfer agent or other
entity authorized to accept orders on behalf of the fund. The fund's investments
are generally valued based on market value or, where market quotations are not
readily available, based on fair value as determined in good faith by the fund's
board.
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Minimum investments
Initial Additional
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REGULAR ACCOUNTS $10,000 $1,000
$1,000 FOR
TELETRANSFER INVESTMENTS
TRADITIONAL IRAS $5,000 $1,000
SPOUSAL IRAS $5,000 $1,000
ROTH IRAS $5,000 $1,000
EDUCATION IRAS $500 NO MINIMUM
AFTER THE FIRST YEAR
All investments must be in U.S. dollars. Third-party checks cannot be accepted.
You may be charged a fee for any check that does not clear. Maximum TeleTransfer
purchase is $150,000 per day.
Third-party investments
If you invest through a third party (rather than directly with Dreyfus), the
policies and fees may be different than those described here. Banks, brokers,
401(k) plans, financial advisers and financial supermarkets may charge
transaction fees and may set different minimum investments or limitations on
buying or selling shares. Consult a representative of your plan or financial
institution if in doubt.
Selling shares
YOU MAY SELL SHARES AT ANY TIME. Your shares will be sold at the next NAV
calculated after your order is accepted by the fund's transfer agent or other
entity authorized to accept orders on behalf of the fund. Any certificates
representing fund shares being sold must be returned with your redemption
request. Your order will be processed promptly and you will generally receive
the proceeds within a week.
BEFORE SELLING OR WRITING A CHECK FOR RECENTLY PURCHASED SHARES, please note
that if the fund has not yet collected payment for the shares you are selling,
it may delay sending the proceeds until it has collected payment, which may take
up to eight business days.
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Limitations on selling shares by phone
Proceeds
sent by Minimum Maximum
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CHECK NO MINIMUM? $150,000 PER DAY
WIRE $5,000 $250,000 FOR JOINT
ACCOUNTS EVERY 30 DAYS
TELETRANSFER $1,000 $250,000 FOR JOINT
ACCOUNTS EVERY 30 DAYS
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Maximum account fee $12
CHARGED ONLY TO REGULAR ACCOUNTS WITH BALANCES
BELOW $2,000 (SEE "ACCOUNT POLICIES")
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SHAREHOLDER TRANSACTION FEES
CHARGED IF YOUR ACCOUNT BALANCE IS
LESS THAN $50,000
Exchange fee $5.00
Account closeout fee $5.00
Wire and TeleTransfer redemption fee $5.00
Checkwriting charge $2.00
Written sell orders
Some circumstances require written sell orders along with signature guarantees.
These include:
o amounts of $1,000 or more on accounts whose address has been changed
within the last 30 days
o requests to send the proceeds to a different payee or address
Written sell orders of $100,000 or more must also be signature guaranteed.
A SIGNATURE GUARANTEE helps protect against fraud. You can obtain one from most
banks or securities dealers, but not from a notary public. For joint accounts,
each signature must be guaranteed. Please call us to ensure that your signature
guarantee will be processed correctly.
<PAGE>
General policies
UNLESS YOU DECLINE TELEPHONE PRIVILEGES on your application, you may be
responsible for any fraudulent telephone order as long as Dreyfus takes
reasonable measures to verify the order.
THE FUND RESERVES THE RIGHT TO:
o refuse any purchase or exchange request that could adversely affect the
fund or its operations, including those from any individual or group
who, in the fund's view, is likely to engage in excessive trading
(usually defined as more than four exchanges out of the fund within a
calendar year)
o refuse any purchase or exchange request in excess of 1% of the fund's
total assets
o change or discontinue its exchange privilege, or temporarily suspend
this privilege during unusual market conditions
o change its minimum investment amounts
o delay sending out redemption proceeds for up to seven days (generally
applies only in cases of very large redemptions, excessive trading or
during unusual market conditions)
The fund also reserves the right to make a "redemption in kind" -- payment in
portfolio securities rather than cash -- if the amount you are redeeming is
large enough to affect fund operations (for example, if it represents more than
1% of the fund's assets).
Small account policies
To offset the relatively higher costs of servicing smaller accounts, the fund
charges regular accounts with balances below $2,000 an annual fee of $12. The
fee will be imposed during the fourth quarter of each calendar year.
The fee will be waived for: any investor whose aggregate Dreyfus mutual fund
investments total at least $25,000; IRA accounts; accounts participating in
automatic investment programs; and accounts opened through a financial
institution.
If your account falls below $5000*, the fund may ask you to increase your
balance. If it is still below $5000* after 30 days, the fund may close your
account and send you the proceeds.
*BELOW $500 IF YOU WERE A FUND SHAREHOLDER ON OCTOBER 31, 1995.
DISTRIBUTIONS AND TAXES
THE FUND USUALLY PAYS ITS SHAREHOLDERS dividends from its net investment income
once a month, and distributes any net capital gains that it has realized once a
year. Your dividends and distributions will be reinvested in the fund unless you
instruct the fund otherwise. There are no fees or sales charges on
reinvestments.
FUND DIVIDENDS AND DISTRIBUTIONS ARE TAXABLE to most investors (unless your
investment is in an IRA or other tax-advantaged account). The tax status of any
distribution is the same regardless of how long you have been in the fund and
whether you reinvest your distributions or take them in cash. In general,
distributions are taxable as follows:
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Taxability of distributions
Type of Tax rate for Tax rate for
distribution 15% bracket 28% bracket or above
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INCOME ORDINARY ORDINARY
DIVIDENDS INCOME RATE INCOME RATE
SHORT-TERM ORDINARY ORDINARY
CAPITAL GAINS INCOME RATE INCOME RATE
LONG-TERM
CAPITAL GAINS 10% 20%
The tax status of your dividends and distributions will be detailed in your
annual tax statement from the fund.
Because everyone's tax situation is unique, always consult your tax professional
about federal, state and local tax consequences.
Taxes on transactions
Except in tax-advantaged accounts, any sale or exchange of fund shares,
including through the checkwriting privilege, may generate a tax liability.
The table at right can provide a guide for your potential tax liability when
selling or exchanging fund shares. "Short-term capital gains" applies to fund
shares sold up to 12 months after buying them. "Long-term capital gains" applies
to shares sold after 12 months.
<PAGE>
SERVICES FOR FUND INVESTORS
Dreyfus Dividend Sweep
FOR AUTOMATICALLY REINVESTING the dividends and distributions from one Dreyfus
fund into another, use Dreyfus Dividend Sweep (not available for IRAs). You can
set up this service with your application or by calling 1-800-645-6561.
Retirement plans
DREYFUS OFFERS A VARIETY OF RETIREMENT PLANS, including traditional, Roth and
Education IRAs. Here' s where you call for information:
o for traditional, rollover, Roth and Education IRAs, call 1-800-645-6561
o for SEP-IRAs, Keogh accounts, 401(k) and 403(b) accounts, call
1-800-358-0910
Checkwriting privilege
YOU MAY WRITE REDEMPTION CHECKS against your account in amounts of $1,000 or
more. There is a $2.00 charge for each check written. An additional fee will be
charged if you request a stop payment or if the transfer agent cannot honor a
redemption check due to insufficient funds or another valid reason. Please do
not postdate your checks or use them to close your account.
Exchange privilege
YOU CAN EXCHANGE $1,000 OR MORE from one Dreyfus fund into another. You can
request your exchange in writing or by phone. Be sure to read the current
prospectus for any fund into which you are exchanging. Any new account
established through an exchange will have the same privileges as your original
account (as long as they are available). There is a $5.00 exchange fee, and you
may be charged a sales load when exchanging into any fund that has one.
Dreyfus TeleTransfer privilege
TO MOVE MONEY BETWEEN YOUR BANK ACCOUNT and your Dreyfus fund account with a
phone call, use the Dreyfus TeleTransfer privilege. You can set up TeleTransfer
on your account by providing bank account information and following the
instructions on your application. For accounts with a balance below $50,000,
there is a $5.00 fee for TeleTransfer redemptions.
The Dreyfus Touch(reg.tm)
FOR 24-HOUR AUTOMATED ACCOUNT ACCESS, use Dreyfus Touch. With a touch-tone
phone, you can easily manage your Dreyfus accounts, obtain information on other
Dreyfus mutual funds and get current stock market quotes.
Account statements
EVERY DREYFUS INVESTOR automatically receives regular account statements. You'll
also be sent a yearly statement detailing the tax characteristics of any
dividends and distributions you have received.
Dreyfus Financial Centers
THROUGH A NATIONWIDE NETWORK of Dreyfus Financial Centers, Dreyfus offers a full
array of investment services and products. This includes information on mutual
funds, brokerage services, tax-advantaged products and retirement planning.
OUR EXPERIENCED FINANCIAL CONSULTANTS can help you make informed choices and
provide you with personalized attention in handling account transactions. The
Financial Centers also offer informative seminars and events. To find the
Financial Center nearest you, call 1-800-499-3327.
INSTRUCTIONS FOR REGULAR ACCOUNTS
TO OPEN AN ACCOUNT
In Writing
Complete the application.
Mail your application and a check to:
The Dreyfus Family of Funds
P.O. Box 9387,
Providence, RI 02940-9387
By Telephone
WIRE Have your bank send your investment to The Bank of New York, with these
instructions:
* DDA# 8900119535
* the fund name
* your Social Security or tax ID number
* name(s) of investor(s)
Call us to obtain an account number. Return your application.
Via the Internet
COMPUTER Visit the Dreyfus Web site http://www.dreyfus.com and follow the
instructions to download an account application.
TO ADD TO AN ACCOUNT
Fill out an investment slip, and write your account number on your check.
Mail the slip and the check to:
The Dreyfus Family of Funds
P.O. Box 105,
Newark, NJ 07101-0105
WIRE Have your bank send your investment to The Bank of New York, with these
instructions:
* DDA# 8900119535
* the fund name
* your account number
* name(s) of investor(s)
ELECTRONIC CHECK Same as wire, but insert "1111" before your account number and
add ABA# 021000018
TELETRANSFER Request TeleTransfer on your application. Call us to request your
transaction.
TO SELL SHARES
Write a redemption check OR write a letter of instruction that includes:
* your name(s) and signature(s)
* your account number
* the fund name
* the dollar amount you want to sell
* how and where to send the proceeds
Obtain a signature guarantee or other documentation, if required (see "Account
Policies -- Selling Shares").
Mail your request to:
The Dreyfus Family of Funds
P.O. Box 9671,
Providence, RI 02940-9671
WIRE Be sure the fund has your bank account information on file. Call us to
request your transaction. Proceeds will be wired to your bank.
TELETRANSFER Be sure the fund has your bank account information on file. Call us
to request your transaction. Proceeds will be sent to your bank by electronic
check.
CHECK Call us to request your transaction. A check will be sent to the address
of record.
To reach Dreyfus, call toll free in the U.S.
1-800-645-6561
Outside the U.S. 516-794-5452
Make checks payable to:
THE DREYFUS FAMILY OF FUNDS
You also can deliver requests to any Dreyfus Financial Center. Because
processing time may vary, please ask the representative when your account will
be credited or debited.
Concepts to understand
WIRE TRANSFER: for transferring money from one financial institution to another.
Wiring is the fastest way to move money, although your bank may charge a fee to
send or receive wire transfers. Wire redemptions from the fund are subject to a
$5,000 minimum.
ELECTRONIC CHECK: for transferring money out of a bank account. Your transaction
is entered electronically, but may take up to eight business days to clear.
Electronic checks usually are available without a fee at all Automated Clearing
House (ACH) banks.
<PAGE>
INSTRUCTIONS FOR IRAS
TO OPEN AN ACCOUNT
In Writing
Complete an IRA application, making sure to specify the fund name and to
indicate the year the contribution is for.
Mail your application and a check to:
The Dreyfus Trust Company,
Custodian P.O. Box 6427,
Providence, RI 02940-6427
Via the Internet
COMPUTER Visit the Dreyfus Web site http://www.dreyfus.com and follow the
instructions to download an account application.
TO ADD TO AN ACCOUNT
Fill out an investment slip, and write your account number on your check.
Indicate the year the contribution is for.
Mail in the slip and the check (see "To Open an Account" at left).
By Telephone
WIRE Have your bank send your investment to The Bank of New York, with these
instructions:
* DDA# 8900119535
* the fund name
* your account number
* name of investor
* the contribution year
ELECTRONIC CHECK Same as wire, but insert "1111" before your account number and
add ABA# 021000018
TELEPHONE CONTRIBUTION Call to request us to move money from a regular Dreyfus
account to an IRA (both accounts must be held in the same shareholder name).
TO SELL SHARES
Write a redemption check OR letter of instruction that includes:
* your name and signature
* your account number
* the fund name
* the dollar amount you want to sell
* how and where to send the proceeds
* whether the distribution is qualified or premature
* whether the 10% TEFRA should be withheld
Obtain a signature guarantee or other documentation, if required.
Mail in your request (see "To Open an Account" at left).
* A redemption check written for a qualified distribution is not subject to
TEFRA.
To reach Dreyfus, call toll free in the U.S.
1-800-645-6561
Outside the U.S. 516-794-5452
Make checks payable to:
THE DREYFUS TRUST CO., CUSTODIAN
You also can deliver requests to any Dreyfus Financial Center. Because
processing time may vary, please ask the representative when your account will
be credited or debited.
Concepts to understand
WIRE TRANSFER: for transferring money from one financial institution to another.
Wiring is the fastest way to move money, although your bank may charge a fee to
send or receive wire transfers. Wire redemptions from the fund are subject to a
$5,000 minimum.
ELECTRONIC CHECK: for transferring money out of a bank account. Your transaction
is entered electronically, but may take up to eight business days to clear.
Electronic checks usually are available without a fee at all Automated Clearing
House (ACH) banks.
<PAGE>
For More Information
Dreyfus BASIC GNMA Fund
-----------------------------
SEC file number: 811-5074
More information on this fund is available
free upon request, including the following:
ANNUAL/SEMIANNUAL REPORT
Describes the fund' s performance, lists portfolio
holdings and contains a letter from the fund's manager
discussing recent market conditions, economic trends and
fund strategies.
STATEMENT OF ADDITIONAL INFORMATION (SAI)
Provides more details about the fund and its policies.
A current SAI is on file with the Securities and Exchange
Commission (SEC) and is incorporated by reference (is
legally considered part of this prospectus).
To obtain information:
BY TELEPHONE Call 1-800-645-6561
BY MAIL Write to:
The Dreyfus Family of Funds
144 Glenn Curtiss Boulevard
Uniondale, NY 11556-0144
BY E-MAIL Send your request to [email protected]
ON THE INTERNET Text-only versions of fund documents can be viewed online or
downloaded from:
SEC
http://www.sec.gov
DREYFUS
http://www.dreyfus.com
You can also obtain copies by visiting the SEC's Public Reference Room in
Washington, DC (phone 1-800-SEC-0330) or by sending your request and a
duplicating fee to the SEC's Public Reference Section, Washington, DC
20549-6009.
(c) 1999, Dreyfus Service Corporation 080P0599
<PAGE>
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DREYFUS BASIC GNMA FUND
STATEMENT OF ADDITIONAL INFORMATION
MAY 1, 1999
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This Statement of Additional Information, which is not a prospectus,
supplements and should be read in conjunction with the current Prospectus of
Dreyfus BASIC GNMA Fund (the "Fund"), dated May 1, 1999, as it may be revised
from time to time. To obtain a copy of the Fund's Prospectus, please write to
the Fund at 144 Glenn Curtiss Boulevard, Uniondale, New York 11556-0144, or call
the following numbers:
Call Toll Free 1-800-645-6561
In New York City - Call 1-718-895-1206
Outside the U.S. - Call 516-794-5452
The Fund's most recent Annual Report and Semi-Annual Report to
Shareholders are separate documents supplied with this Statement of Additional
Information, and the financial statements, accompanying notes and report of
independent auditors appearing in the Annual Report are incorporated by
reference into this Statement of Additional Information.
TABLE OF CONTENTS
PAGE
Description of the Fund..................................................B-2
Management of the Fund...................................................B-16
Management Arrangements..................................................B-22
How to Buy Shares........................................................B-25
Shareholder Services Plan................................................B-27
How to Redeem Shares.....................................................B-28
Shareholder Services.....................................................B-31
Determination of Net Asset Value.........................................B-33
Dividends, Distributions and Taxes.......................................B-34
Portfolio Transactions...................................................B-36
Performance Information..................................................B-37
Information about the Fund...............................................B-38
Counsel and Independent Auditors.........................................B-40
<PAGE>
DESCRIPTION OF THE FUND
The Fund is a Massachusetts business trust that commenced operations
on January 1, 1994. The Fund is an open-end management investment company, known
as a mutual fund. The Fund is a diversified fund, which means that, with respect
to 75% of its total assets, the Fund will not invest more than 5% of its assets
in the securities of any single issuer.
The Dreyfus Corporation (the "Manager") serves as the Fund's
investment adviser.
Premier Mutual Fund Services, Inc. (the "Distributor") is the
distributor of the Fund's shares.
CERTAIN PORTFOLIO SECURITIES
The following information supplements and should be read in
conjunction with the Fund's Prospectus.
GINNIE MAES. It is fundamental policy of the Fund that it will invest
at least 65% of the value of its net assets (except when maintaining a temporary
defensive position) in GNMA Certificates. GNMA Certificates also may include
other securities that in the future are guaranteed by the Government National
Mortgage Association ("GNMA").
Ginnie Maes are created by an "issuer," which is a Federal Housing
Administration ("FHA") approved mortgagee that also meets criteria imposed by
the GNMA. The issuer assembles a pool of FHA, Farmers' Home Administration or
Veterans' Administration ("VA") insured or guaranteed mortgages which are
homogeneous as to interest rate, maturity and type of dwelling. Upon application
by the issuer, and after approval by the GNMA of the pool, the GNMA provides its
commitment to guarantee timely payment of principal and interest on the Ginnie
Maes backed by the mortgages included in the pool. The Ginnie Maes, endorsed by
the GNMA, then are sold by the issuer through securities dealers. The Fund will
invest in Ginnie Maes only of the "fully modified pass-through" type which are
guaranteed as to timely payment of principal and interest by the GNMA, a U.S.
Government corporation.
The GNMA is authorized under the National Housing Act to guarantee
timely payment of principal and interest on Ginnie Maes. This guarantee is
backed by the full faith and credit of the United States. The GNMA may borrow
U.S. Treasury funds to the extent needed to make payments under its guarantee.
When mortgages in the pool underlying a Ginnie Mae are prepaid by
mortgagors or by result of foreclosure, such principal payments are passed
through to the certificate holders. Accordingly, the life of the Ginnie Mae is
likely to be substantially shorter than the stated maturity of the mortgages in
the underlying pool. Because of such variation in prepayment rates, it is not
possible to predict the life of a particular Ginnie Mae.
Ginnie Maes bear a stated "coupon rate" which represents the effective
FHA-VA mortgage rate at the time of issuance, less 0.5%, which constitutes the
GNMA's and issuer's fees. For providing its guarantee, the GNMA receives an
annual fee of 0.06% of the outstanding principal on certificates backed by
single family dwelling mortgages, and the issuer receives an annual fee of 0.44%
for assembling the pool and for passing through monthly payments of interest and
principal.
Payments to holders of Ginnie Maes consist of the monthly
distributions of interest and principal less the GNMA's and issuer's fees. The
actual yield to be earned by a holder of a Ginnie Mae is calculated by dividing
interest payments by the purchase price paid for the Ginnie Mae (which may be at
a premium or a discount from the face value of the certificate). Monthly
distributions of interest, as contrasted to semi-annual distributions which are
common for other fixed interest investments, have the effect of compounding and
thereby raising the effective annual yield earned on Ginnie Maes. Because of the
variation in the life of the pools of mortgages which back various Ginnie Maes,
and because it is impossible to anticipate the rate of interest at which future
principal payments may be reinvested, the actual yield earned from a portfolio
of Ginnie Maes will differ significantly from the yield estimated by using an
assumption of a 12-year life for each Ginnie Mae included in such a portfolio as
described above.
OTHER MORTGAGE-RELATED SECURITIES. The Fund also may invest in other
mortgage-related securities, including those issued by government-related
organizations such as the Federal National Mortgage Association ("FNMA") and the
Federal Home Loan Mortgage Corporation ("FHLMC"), private mortgage pass-through
securities and collateralized mortgage obligations, including real estate
mortgage investment conduits or REMICs. The mortgage-related securities in which
the Fund may invest include those with fixed, floating and variable interest
rates, those with interest rates that change based on multiples of changes in
interest rates and those with interest rates that change inversely to changes in
interest rates, as well as stripped mortgage-backed securities.
GOVERNMENT-RELATED SECURITIES--Mortgage-related securities issued by the FNMA
include FNMA Guaranteed Mortgage Pass-Through Certificates (also known as
"Fannie Maes") which are solely the obligations of the FNMA and are not backed
by or entitled to the full faith and credit of the United States. The FNMA is a
government-sponsored organization owned entirely by private stockholders. Fannie
Maes are guaranteed as to timely payment of principal and interest by the FNMA.
Mortgage-related securities issued by the FHLMC include FHLMC Mortgage
Participation Certificates (also known as "Freddie Macs" or "PCs"). The FHLMC is
a corporate instrumentality of the United States, created pursuant to an Act of
Congress, which is owned entirely by Federal Home Loan Banks. Freddie Macs are
not guaranteed by the United States or by any Federal Home Loan Bank and do not
constitute a debt or obligation of the United States or of any Federal Home Loan
Bank. Freddie Macs entitle the holder to timely payment of interest, which is
guaranteed by the FHLMC. The FHLMC guarantees either ultimate collection or
timely payment of all principal payments on the underlying mortgage loans. While
the FHLMC does not guarantee timely payment of principal, the FHLMC may remit
the amount due on account of its guarantee of ultimate payment of principal at
any time after default on an underlying mortgage, but in no event later than one
year after it becomes payable.
COLLATERALIZED MORTGAGE OBLIGATIONS--Collateralized mortgage obligations or
"CMOs," which include those issued through REMICs, are debt securities that are
structured to pay principal and interest based on payments received on a pool of
mortgage-related securities pledged to secure the obligations. The issuers of
CMOs typically do not have assets other than those pledged to secure separately
the obligations. Holders of these obligations must rely principally on
distributions on the underlying mortgage-related securities and other collateral
securing the obligations for payments of principal and interest on the
obligations. Typically, CMOs are collateralized by Ginnie Mae, Fannie Mae or
Freddie Mac Certificates, but also may be collateralized by whole loans or
Private Pass-Throughs, described below (such collateral collectively hereinafter
referred to as "Mortgage Assets"). Although Mortgage Assets may be subject to a
government guarantee or third-party support, the obligations are not so
guaranteed. Consequently, if the Mortgage Assets are insufficient to make
payments on the obligations, a holder could sustain a loss. Multiclass
pass-through securities may be equity interests in a trust composed of Mortgage
Assets. Unless the context indicates otherwise, all references herein to CMOs
include multiclass pass-through securities. Payments of principal of and
interest on the Mortgage Assets, and any reinvestment income thereon, provide
the funds to pay debt service on the CMOs or make scheduled distributions on the
multiclass pass-through securities. CMOs may be issued by agencies or
instrumentalities of the U.S. Government, or by private originators of, or
investors in, mortgage loans, including savings and loan associations, mortgage
banks, commercial banks, investment banks and special purpose subsidiaries of
the foregoing. The issuer of a series of CMOs may elect to be treated as a
REMIC.
PRIVATE MORTGAGE PASS-THROUGH SECURITIES--Private mortgage pass-through
securities ("Private Pass-Throughs") are structured similarly to the Ginnie Mae,
Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac mortgage pass-through securities and are issued by
originators of, or investors in, mortgage loans, including savings and loan
associations, mortgage banks, commercial banks, investment banks and special
purpose subsidiaries of the foregoing. Private Pass- Throughs usually are backed
by a pool of conventional fixed rate or adjustable rate mortgage loans. Since
Private Pass-Throughs typically are not guaranteed by an entity having the
credit status of Ginnie Mae, Fannie Mae or Freddie Mac, such securities
generally are structured with one or more types of credit enhancement.
STRIPPED MORTGAGE-BACKED SECURITIES--Stripped mortgage-backed securities
("SMBS") are derivative multiclass mortgage securities. SMBS may be issued by
agencies or instrumentalities of the U.S. Government, or by private originators
of, or investors in, mortgage loans, including savings and loan associations,
mortgage banks, commercial banks, investment banks and special purpose
subsidiaries of the foregoing.
SMBS usually are structured with two classes that receive different
proportions of the interest and principal distributions on a pool of Mortgage
Assets. A common type of SMBS will have one class receiving some of the interest
and most of the principal from the Mortgage Assets, while the other class will
receive most of the interest and the remainder of the principal. In the most
extreme case, one class will receive all of the interest (the interest-only or
"IO" class), while the other class will receive all of the principal (the
principal-only or "PO" class). The yield to maturity on an IO class is extremely
sensitive to the rate of principal payments (including prepayments) on the
related underlying Mortgage Assets, and a rapid rate of principal payments may
have a material adverse effect on the Fund's yield to maturity. If the
underlying Mortgage Assets experience greater than anticipated prepayments of
principal, the Fund may fail to fully recoup its initial investment in these
securities even if the securities are rated in the highest rating category by
any nationally recognized statistical rating organization. In addition, no
assurance can be given as to the liquidity of the market for certain SMBS.
Determination as to the liquidity of such securities will be made in accordance
with guidelines established by the Fund's Board. In accordance with such
guidelines, the Manager will monitor the Fund's investments in such securities
with particular regard to trading activity, availability of reliable price
information and other relevant information. The Fund will not invest more than
15% of the value of its net assets in securities that are illiquid.
REPURCHASE AGREEMENTS. The Fund may enter into repurchase agreements. In a
repurchase agreement, the Fund buys, and the seller agrees to repurchase, a
security at a mutually agreed upon time and price (usually within seven days).
The repurchase agreement thereby determines the yield during the purchaser's
holding period, while the seller's obligation to repurchase is secured by the
value of the underlying security. The Fund's custodian or sub-custodian will
have custody of, and will hold in a segregated account, securities acquired by
the Fund under a repurchase agreement. Repurchase agreements are considered by
the staff of the Securities and Exchange Commission to be loans by the Fund. In
an attempt to reduce the risk of incurring a loss on a repurchase agreement, the
Fund will enter into repurchase agreements only with domestic banks with total
assets in excess of $1 billion, or primary government securities dealers
reporting to the Federal Reserve Bank of New York, with respect to securities of
the type in which the Fund may invest, and will require that additional
securities be deposited with it if the value of the securities purchased should
decrease below resale price. Repurchase agreements could involve risks in the
event of a default or insolvency of the other party to the agreement, including
possible delays or restrictions upon the Fund's ability to dispose of the
underlying securities. The Fund may enter into repurchase agreements with
certain banks or non-bank dealers.
ILLIQUID SECURITIES. The Fund may invest up to 15% of the value of its net
assets in securities as to which a liquid trading market does not exist,
provided such investments are consistent with the Fund's investment objective.
These securities may include securities that are not readily marketable, such as
certain securities that are subject to legal or contractual restrictions on
resale, repurchase agreements providing for settlement in more than seven days
after notice, certain mortgage-backed securities, and certain privately
negotiated, non-exchange traded options and securities used to cover such
options. As to these securities, the Fund is subject to a risk that should the
Fund desire to sell them when a ready buyer is not available at a price that the
Fund deems representative of their value, the value of the Fund's net assets
could be adversely affected.
INVESTMENT TECHNIQUES
The following information supplements and should be read in conjunction
with the Fund's Prospectus.
LEVERAGE. Leveraging (that is, buying securities using borrowed money)
exaggerates the effect on net asset value of any increase or decrease in the
market value of the Fund's portfolio. These borrowings will be subject to
interest costs which may or may not be recovered by appreciation of the
securities purchased; in certain cases, interest costs may exceed the return
received on the securities purchased. For borrowings for investment purposes,
the Investment Company Act of 1940, as amended (the "1940 Act"), requires the
Fund to maintain continuous asset coverage (that is, total assets including
borrowings, less liabilities exclusive of borrowings) of 300% of the amount
borrowed. If the required coverage should decline as a result of market
fluctuations or other reasons, the Fund may be required to sell some of its
portfolio holdings within three days to reduce the amount of its borrowings and
restore the 300% asset coverage, even though it may be disadvantageous from an
investment standpoint to sell securities at that time. The Fund also may be
required to maintain minimum average balances in connection with such borrowing
or pay a commitment or other fee to maintain a line of credit; either of these
requirements would increase the cost of borrowing over the stated interest rate.
The Fund may enter into reverse repurchase agreements with banks, brokers
or dealers. This form of borrowing involves the transfer by the Fund of an
underlying debt instrument in return for cash proceeds based on a percentage of
the value of the security. The Fund retains the right to receive interest and
principal payments on the security. At an agreed upon future date, the Fund
repurchases the security at principal plus accrued interest. Except for these
transactions, the Fund's borrowings generally will be unsecured.
SHORT-SELLING. In these transactions, the Fund sells a security it does not
own in anticipation of a decline in the market value of the security. To
complete the transaction, the Fund must borrow the security to make delivery to
the buyer. The Fund is obligated to replace the security borrowed by purchasing
it subsequently at the market price at the time of replacement. The price at
such time may be more or less than the price at which the security was sold by
the Fund, which would result in a loss or gain, respectively.
Securities will not be sold short if, after effect is given to any such
short sale, the total market value of all securities sold short would exceed 25%
of the value of the Fund's net assets. The Fund may not make a short sale which
results in the Fund having sold short in the aggregate more than 5% of the
outstanding securities of any class of an issuer.
The Fund also may make short sales "against the box," in which the Fund
enters into a short sale of a security it owns. At no time will more than 15% of
the value of the Fund's net assets be in deposits on short sales against the
box.
Until the Fund closes its short position or replaces the borrowed security,
the Fund will: (a) maintain a segregated account, containing permissible liquid
assets, at such a level that the amount deposited in the account plus the amount
deposited with the broker as collateral always equals the current value of the
security sold short, or (b) otherwise cover its short position.
DERIVATIVES. The Fund may invest in, or enter into, derivatives, such as
options and futures, for a variety of reasons, including to hedge certain market
risks, to manage the interest rate sensitivity (sometimes called duration) of
fixed-income securities, to provide a substitute for purchasing or selling
particular securities or to increase potential income gain. Derivatives may
provide a cheaper, quicker or more specifically focused way for the Fund to
invest than "traditional" securities would.
Derivatives can be volatile and involve various types and degrees of risk,
depending upon the characteristics of the particular derivative and the
portfolio as a whole. Derivatives permit the Fund to increase or decrease the
level of risk, or change the character of the risk, to which its portfolio is
exposed in much the same way as the Fund can increase or decrease the level of
risk, or change the character of the risk, of its portfolio by making
investments in specific securities.
Derivatives may entail investment exposures that are greater than their
cost would suggest, meaning that a small investment in derivatives could have a
large potential impact on the Fund's performance.
If the Fund invests in derivatives at inopportune times or judges market
conditions incorrectly, such investments may lower the Fund's return or result
in a loss. The Fund also could experience losses if its derivatives were poorly
correlated with its other investments, or if the Fund were unable to liquidate
its position because of an illiquid secondary market. The market for many
derivatives is, or suddenly can become, illiquid. Changes in liquidity may
result in significant, rapid and unpredictable changes in the prices for
derivatives.
Although the Fund will not be a commodity pool, certain derivatives subject
the Fund to the rules of the Commodity Futures Trading Commission which limit
the extent to which the Fund can invest in such derivatives. The Fund may invest
in futures contracts and options with respect thereto for hedging purposes
without limit. However, the Fund may not invest in such contracts and options
for other purposes if the sum of the amount of initial margin deposits and
premiums paid for unexpired options with respect to such contracts, other than
for bona fide hedging purposes, exceeds 5% of the liquidation value of the
Fund's assets, after taking into account unrealized profits and unrealized
losses on such contracts and options; provided, however, that in the case of an
option that is in-the-money at the time of purchase, the in-the-money amount may
be excluded in calculating the 5% limitation.
Derivatives may be purchased on established exchanges or through privately
negotiated transactions referred to as over-the-counter derivatives.
Exchange-traded derivatives generally are guaranteed by the clearing agency
which is the issuer or counterparty to such derivatives. This guarantee usually
is supported by a daily payment system (i.e., variation margin requirements)
operated by the clearing agency in order to reduce overall credit risk. As a
result, unless the clearing agency defaults, there is relatively little
counterparty credit risk associated with derivatives purchased on an exchange.
By contrast, no clearing agency guarantees over-the-counter derivatives.
Therefore, each party to an over-the-counter derivative bears the risk that the
counterparty will default. Accordingly, the Manager will consider the
creditworthiness of counterparties to over-the-counter derivatives in the same
manner as it would review the credit quality of a security to be purchased by
the Fund. Over-the-counter derivatives are less liquid than exchange-traded
derivatives since the other party to the transaction may be the only investor
with sufficient understanding of the derivative to be interested in bidding for
it.
FUTURES TRANSACTIONS--The Fund may enter into futures contracts in U.S. domestic
markets. Engaging in these transactions involves risk of loss to the Fund which
could adversely affect the value of the Fund's net assets. Although the Fund
intends to purchase or sell futures contracts only if there is an active market
for such contracts, no assurance can be given that a liquid market will exist
for any particular contract at any particular time. Many futures exchanges and
boards of trade limit the amount of fluctuation permitted in futures contract
prices during a single trading day. Once the daily limit has been reached in a
particular contract, no trades may be made that day at a price beyond that limit
or trading may be suspended for specified periods during the trading day.
Futures contract prices could move to the limit for several consecutive trading
days with little or no trading, thereby preventing prompt liquidation of futures
positions and potentially subjecting the Fund to substantial losses.
Successful use of futures by the Fund also is subject to the Manager's
ability to predict correctly movements in the direction of the relevant market
and, to the extent the transaction is entered into for hedging purposes, to
ascertain the appropriate correlation between the transaction being hedged and
the price movements of the futures contract. For example, if the Fund uses
futures to hedge against the possibility of a decline in the market value of
securities held in its portfolio and the prices of such securities instead
increase, the Fund will lose part or all of the benefit of the increased value
of securities which it has hedged because it will have offsetting losses in its
futures positions. Furthermore, if in such circumstances the Fund has
insufficient cash, it may have to sell securities to meet daily variation margin
requirements. The Fund may have to sell such securities at a time when it may be
disadvantageous to do so.
Pursuant to regulations and/or published positions of the Securities and
Exchange Commission, the Fund may be required to set aside permissible liquid
assets in a segregated account to cover its obligations relating to its
transactions in derivatives. To maintain this required cover, the Fund may have
to sell portfolio securities at disadvantageous prices or times since it may not
be possible to liquidate a derivative position at a reasonable price. In
addition, the segregation of such assets will have the effect of limiting the
Fund's ability otherwise to invest those assets.
The Fund may purchase and sell interest rate futures contracts. An interest
rate future obligates the Fund to purchase or sell an amount of a specific debt
security at a future date at a specific price.
OPTIONS--The Fund may invest up to 5% of its assets, represented by the premium
paid, in the purchase of call and put options. The Fund may write (i.e., sell)
covered call and put option contracts to the extent of 20% of the value of its
net assets at the time such option contracts are written. A call option gives
the purchaser of the option the right to buy, and obligates the writer to sell,
the underlying security or securities at the exercise price at any time during
the option period, or at a specific date. Conversely, a put option gives the
purchaser of the option the right to sell, and obligates the writer to buy, the
underlying security or securities at the exercise price at any time during the
option period, or at a specific date.
A covered call option written by the Fund is a call option with respect to
which the Fund owns the underlying security or otherwise covers the transaction
by segregating cash or other securities. A put option written by the Fund is
covered when, among other things, cash or liquid securities having a value equal
to or greater than the exercise price of the option are placed in a segregated
account with the Fund's custodian to fulfill the obligation undertaken. The
principal reason for writing covered call and put options is to realize, through
the receipt of premiums, a greater return than would be realized on the
underlying securities alone. The Fund receives a premium from writing covered
call or put options which it retains whether or not the option is exercised.
There is no assurance that sufficient trading interest to create a liquid
secondary market on a securities exchange will exist for any particular option
or any particular time, and for some options no such secondary market may exist.
A liquid secondary market in an option may cease to exist for a variety of
reasons. In the past, for example, higher than anticipated trading activity or
order flow, or other unforeseen events, at times have rendered certain of the
clearing facilities inadequate and resulted in the institution of special
procedures, such as trading rotations, restrictions on certain types of orders
or trading halts or suspensions in one or more options. There can be no
assurance that similar events, or events that may otherwise interfere with the
timely execution of customers' orders, will not recur. In such event, it might
not be possible to effect closing transactions in particular options. If, as a
covered call option writer, the Fund is unable to effect a closing purchase
transaction in a secondary market, it will not be able to sell the underlying
security until the option expires or it delivers the underlying security upon
exercise or it otherwise covers its position.
Successful use by the Fund of options will be subject to the Manager's
ability to predict correctly movements in interest rates and prices of
securities underlying options. To the extent the Manager's predictions are
correct, the Fund may incur losses.
FUTURE DEVELOPMENTS. The Fund may take advantage of opportunities in the
area of options and futures contracts and options on futures contracts and any
other derivatives which are not presently contemplated for use by the Fund or
which are not currently available but which may be developed, to the extent such
opportunities are both consistent with the Fund's investment
objective and legally permissible for the Fund. Before entering into such
transactions or making any such investment, the Fund will provide appropriate
disclosure in its Prospectus or Statement of Additional Information.
FORWARD COMMITMENTS. The Fund may purchase or sell Ginnie Maes and other
mortgage-related securities on a forward commitment, when-issued or delayed
delivery basis, which means delivery and payment take place a number of days
after the date of the commitment to purchase or sell the securities at a
predetermined price and/or yield. Typically, no interest accrues to the
purchaser until the security is delivered. When purchasing a security on a
forward commitment basis, the Fund assumes the rights and risks of ownership of
the security, including the risk of price and yield fluctuations, and takes such
fluctuations into account when determining its net asset value. Because the Fund
is not required to pay for these securities until the delivery date, these risks
are in addition to the risks associated with the Fund's other investments. If
the Fund is fully or almost fully invested when forward commitment purchases are
outstanding, such purchases may result in a form of leverage. The Fund intends
to engage in forward commitments to increase its portfolio's financial exposure
to the types of securities in which it invests. Leveraging the portfolio in this
manner will increase the Fund's exposure to changes in interest rates and will
increase the volatility of its returns. The Fund will set aside in a segregated
account permissible liquid assets at least equal at all times to the amount of
the Fund's purchase commitments. At no time will the Fund have more than 33-l/3%
of its assets committed to purchase securities on a forward commitment basis.
Securities purchased on a forward commitment or when-issued basis are
subject to changes in value (generally changing in the same way, i.e.,
appreciating when interest rates decline and depreciating when interest rates
rise) based upon the public's perception of the creditworthiness of the issuer
and changes, real or anticipated, in the level of interest rates. Securities
purchased on a forward commitment or when-issued basis may expose the Fund to
risks because they may experience such fluctuations prior to their actual
delivery. Purchasing securities on a when- issued basis can involve the
additional risk that the yield available in the market when the delivery takes
place actually may be higher than that obtained in the transaction itself.
Purchasing securities on a forward commitment or when-issued basis when the Fund
is fully or almost fully invested may result in greater potential fluctuation in
the value of the Fund's net assets and its net asset value per share.
FORWARD ROLL TRANSACTIONS. To enhance current income, the Fund may enter
into forward roll transactions with respect to mortgage-related securities. In a
forward roll transaction, the Fund sells a mortgage-related security to a
financial institution, such as a bank or broker-dealer, and simultaneously
agrees to repurchase a similar security from the institution at a later date at
an agreed upon price. The securities that are repurchased will bear the same
interest rate as those sold, but generally will be collateralized by different
pools of mortgages with different prepayment histories than those sold. During
the period between the sale and repurchase, the Fund will not be entitled to
receive interest and principal payments on the securities sold. Proceeds of the
sale will be invested in short-term instruments, particularly repurchase
agreements, and the income from these investments, together with any additional
fee income received on the sale, will generate income for the Fund exceeding the
yield on the securities sold. Forward roll transactions involve the risk that
the market value of the securities sold by the Fund may decline below the
purchase price of those securities. The Fund will set aside in a segregated
account permissible liquid assets at least equal to the amount of the repurchase
price (including accrued interest).
LENDING PORTFOLIO SECURITIES. The Fund may lend securities from its
portfolio to brokers, dealers and other financial institutions needing to borrow
securities to complete certain transactions. In connection with such loans, the
Fund continues to be entitled to payments in amounts equal to the dividends,
interest or other distributions payable on the loaned securities which affords
the Fund an opportunity to earn interest on the amount of the loan and at the
same time to earn income on the loaned securities' collateral. Loans of
portfolio securities may not exceed 33-l/3% of the value of the Fund's total
assets, and the Fund will receive collateral consisting of cash, U.S. Government
securities or irrevocable letters of credit which will be maintained at all
times in an amount equal to at least 100% of the current market value of the
loaned securities. Such loans are terminable by the Fund at any time upon
specified notice. The Fund might experience risk of loss if the institution with
which it has engaged in a portfolio loan transaction breaches its agreement with
the Fund. In connection with its securities lending transactions, the Fund may
return to the borrower or a third party which is unaffiliated with the Fund, and
which is acting as a "placing broker," a part of the interest earned from the
investment of collateral received for securities loaned.
INVESTMENT CONSIDERATIONS AND RISKS
GENERAL. The Fund's net asset value per share should be expected to
fluctuate. You should consider the Fund as a supplement to an overall investment
program and should invest only if you are willing to undertake the risks
involved. The Fund is designed to benefit investors who do not engage in
frequent redemptions or exchanges of Fund shares. Because charges may apply to
redemptions and exchanges of Fund shares, the Fund may not be an appropriate
investment for an investor who intends to engage frequently in such
transactions.
SIMULTANEOUS INVESTMENTS. Investment decisions for the Fund are made
independently from those of other investment companies advised by the Manager.
If, however, such other investment companies desire to invest in, or dispose of,
the same securities as the Fund, available investments or opportunities for
sales will be allocated equitably to each investment company. In some cases,
this procedure may adversely effect the size of the position obtained for or
disposed of by the Fund or the price paid or received by the Fund.
INVESTMENT RESTRICTIONS
The Fund's investment objective is a fundamental policy, which cannot be
changed without approval by the holders of a majority (as defined in the 1940
Act) of the Fund's outstanding voting shares. In addition, the Fund has adopted
investment restrictions numbered 1 through 8 as fundamental policies. Investment
restrictions numbered 9 through 13 are not fundamental policies and may be
changed by a vote of a majority of the Fund's Board members at any time. The
Fund may not:
1. Invest more than 25% of the value of its total assets in the securities
of issuers in any single industry, provided that there shall be no limitation on
the purchase of Ginnie Maes or other securities issued or guaranteed by the U.S.
Government, its agencies or instrumentalities.
2. Invest in commodities, except that the Fund may purchase and sell
options, forward contracts, futures contracts, including those relating indices,
and options on futures contracts or indices.
3. Purchase, hold or deal in real estate, or oil, gas or other mineral
leases or exploration or development programs, provided that the Fund may
purchase Ginnie Maes without limitation and purchase and sell securities that
are secured by real estate or issued by companies that invest or deal in real
estate, real estate investment trust securities and mortgage-backed securities.
4. Borrow money, except to the extent permitted under the 1940 Act (which
currently limits borrowing to no more than 33-1/3% of the value of the Fund's
total assets). For purposes of this Investment Restriction, the entry into
options, forward contracts, futures contracts, including those relating to
indices, and options on futures contracts or indices shall not constitute
borrowing.
5. Make loans to others, except through the purchase of debt obligations or
the entry into repurchase agreements. However, the Fund may lend its portfolio
securities in an amount not to exceed 33-1/3% of the value of its total assets.
Any loans of portfolio securities will be made according to guidelines
established by the Securities and Exchange Commission and the Fund's Trustees.
6. Act as an underwriter of securities of other issuers.
7. Issue any senior security (as such term is defined in Section 18(f) of
the 1940 Act), except to the extent the activities permitted in Investment
Restriction Nos. 2, 4 and 10 may be deemed to give rise to a senior security.
8. Purchase securities on margin, but the Fund may make margin deposits in
connection with transactions in options, forward contracts, futures contracts,
including those relating to indices, and options on futures contracts or
indices.
9. Invest in the securities of a company for the purpose of exercising
management or control.
10. Pledge, hypothecate, mortgage or otherwise encumber its assets, except
to the extent necessary to secure permitted borrowings and to the extent related
to the deposit of assets in escrow in connection with writing covered put and
call options and the purchase of securities on a forward commitment basis and
collateral and initial or variation margin arrangements with respect to options,
forward contracts, futures contracts, including those relating to indices, and
options on futures contracts or indices.
11. Enter into repurchase agreements providing for settlement in more than
seven days after notice or purchase securities which are illiquid, if, in the
aggregate, more than 15% of the value of the Fund's net assets would be so
invested.
12. Invest in securities of other investment companies, except to the
extent permitted under the 1940 Act.
13. Purchase common stocks, preferred stocks, warrants or other equity
securities, or purchase corporate bonds or debentures, state bonds, municipal
bonds or industrial bonds.
If a percentage restriction is adhered to at the time of investment, a
later change in percentage resulting from a change in values or assets will not
constitute a violation of that restriction.
MANAGEMENT OF THE FUND
The Fund's Board is responsible for the management and supervision of the
Fund. The Board approves all significant agreements with those companies that
furnish services to the Fund. These companies are as follows:
The Dreyfus Corporation................. Investment Adviser
Premier Mutual Fund
Services, Inc. ...................... Distributor
Dreyfus Transfer, Inc................... Transfer Agent
Mellon Bank, N.A........................ Custodian
Board members and officers of the Fund, together with information as to
their principal business occupations during at least the last five years, are
shown below. Each Board member who is deemed to be an "interested person" of the
Fund, as defined in the 1940 Act, is indicated by an asterisk.
BOARD MEMBERS OF THE FUND
JOSEPH S. DiMARTINO, CHAIRMAN OF THE BOARD. Since January 1995, Chairman of the
Board of various funds in the Dreyfus Family of Funds. He is a
director of The Noel Group, Inc., a venture capital company (for
which, from February 1995 until November 1997, he was Chairman of the
Board), The Muscular Dystrophy Association, HealthPlan Services
Corporation, a provider of marketing, administrative and risk
management services to health and other benefit programs, Carlyle
Industries, Inc. (formerly, Belding Heminway Company, Inc.), a button
packager and distributor, Century Business Services, Inc., a provider
of various outsourcing functions for small to medium sized companies,
and Career Blazers, Inc. (formerly, Staffing Resources, Inc.), a
temporary placement agency. For more than five years prior to January
1995, he was President, a director and, until August 1994, Chief
Operating Officer of the Manager and Executive Vice President and a
director of Dreyfus Service Corporation, a wholly-owned subsidiary of
the Manager and, until August 24, 1994, the Fund's distributor. From
August 1994 to December 31, 1994, he was a director of Mellon Bank
Corporation. He is 55 years old and his address is 200 Park Avenue,
New York, New York 10166.
GORDON J. DAVIS, BOARD MEMBER. Since October 1994, senior partner with the law
firm of LeBoeuf, Lamb, Greene & MacRae. From 1983 to September 1994,
Mr. Davis was a senior partner with the law firm of Lord Day & Lord,
Barrett Smith. From 1978 to 1983, he was Commissioner of Parks and
Recreation for the City of New York. He also is a Director of
Consolidated Edison, a utility company, and Phoenix Home Life
Insurance Company and a member of various other corporate and
not-for-profit boards. He is 56 years old and his address is 241
Central Park West, New York, New York 10024.
DAVID P. FELDMAN, BOARD MEMBER. Trustee of Corporate Property Investors, a real
estate investment company, and a director of several mutual funds in
the 59 Wall Street Mutual Funds Group, and of the Jeffrey Company, a
private investment company. Mr. Feldman was employed by AT&T from July
1961 to his retirement in April 1997, most recently serving as
Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of AT&T Investment Management
Corporation. He is 59 years old and his address is c/o AT&T, One Oak
Way, Berkeley Heights, New Jersey 07922.
LYNN MARTIN, BOARD MEMBER. Professor, J.L. Kellogg Graduate School of
Management, Northwestern University. During the Spring Semester 1993,
she was a Visiting Fellow at the Institute of Politics, Kennedy School
of Government, Harvard University. She also is an advisor to the
international accounting firm of Deloitte & Touche, LLP and chair of
its Council for the Advancement of Women. From January 1991 through
January 1993, Ms. Martin served as Secretary of the United States
Department of Labor. From 1981 to 1991, she served in the United
States House of Representatives as a Congresswoman from the State of
Illinois. She also is a Director of Harcourt General, Inc., Ameritech,
Ryder System, Inc., The Proctor & Gamble Co., a consumer company, and
TRW, Inc., an aerospace and automotive equipment company. She is 58
years old and her address is c/o Deloitte & Touche, LLP, Two
Prudential Plaza, 180 N. Stetson Avenue, Chicago, Illinois 60601.
DANIEL ROSE, BOARD MEMBER. President and Chief Executive Officer of Rose
Associates, Inc., a New York based real estate development and
management firm. In July 1994, Mr. Rose received a Presidential
appointment to serve as a Director of the Baltic-American Enterprise
Fund, which will make equity investments and loans, and provide
technical business assistance to new business concerns in the Baltic
states. He also is Chairman of the Housing Committee of the Real
Estate Board of New York, Inc., and a trustee of Corporate Property
Investors, a real estate investment company. He is 68 years old and
his address is c/o Rose Associates, Inc., 200 Madison Avenue, New
York, New York 10016.
*PHILIP L. TOIA, BOARD MEMBER. Retired. Mr. Toia was employed by the Manager
from August 1986 through January 1997, most recently serving as Vice
Chairman, Administration and Operations. He is 65 years old and his
address is 9022 Michael Circle, Naples, Florida 34113.
SANDER VANOCUR, BOARD MEMBER. Since January 1992, President of Old Owl
Communications, a full-service communications firm. From May 1995 to
June 1996, he was a Professional in Residence at the Freedom Forum in
Arlington, VA; from January 1994 to May 1995, he served as Visiting
Professional Scholar at the Freedom Forum Amendment Center at
Vanderbilt University; and from November 1989 to November 1995 he was
a director of the Damon Runyon-Walter Winchell Cancer Research Fund.
From June 1977 to December 1991, he was a Senior Correspondent of ABC
News and, from October 1986 to December 1991, he was Anchor of the ABC
News program "Business World," a weekly business program on the ABC
television network. He is 70 years old and his address is 2928 P
Street, N.W., Washington, DC 20007.
ANNE WEXLER, BOARD MEMBER. Chairman of the Wexler Group, consultants
specializing in government relations and public affairs. She also is a
director of Alumax, Comcast Corporation, The New England Electric
System, NOVA Corporation and a member of the Board of the Carter
Center of Emory University, the Council of Foreign Relations, the
National Park Foundation, Visiting Committee of the John F. Kennedy
School of Government at Harvard University and the Economic Club of
Washington. She is 68 years old and her address is c/o The Wexler
Group, 1317 F Street, Suite 600, N.W., Washington, DC 20004.
REX WILDER, BOARD MEMBER. Financial Consultant. He is 77 years old and his
address is 290 Riverside Drive, New York, New York 10025.
For so long as the Fund's plan described in the section captioned
"Shareholder Services Plan" remains in effect, the Board members of the Fund who
are not "interested persons" of the Fund, as defined in the 1940 Act, will be
selected and nominated by the Board members who are not "interested persons" of
the Fund.
The Fund typically pays its Board members an annual retainer and a per
meeting fee and reimburses them for their expenses. The Chairman of the Board
receives an additional 25% of such compensation. Emeritus Board members are
entitled to receive an annual retainer and a per meeting fee of one-half the
amount paid to them as Board members. The aggregate amount of compensation paid
to each Board member by the Fund and by all other funds in the Dreyfus Family of
Funds for which such person is a Board member (the number of which is set forth
in parenthesis next to each Board member's total compensation) for the year
ended December 31, 1998, was as follows:
Total
Compensation from
Aggregate Fund and Fund
Name of Board Compensation from Complex Paid to
MEMBER FUND* BOARD MEMBER
Joseph S. DiMartino $_____ $_______ (__)
Gordon J. Davis $_____ $_______ (__)
David P. Feldman $_____ $_______ (__)
Lynn Martin $_____ $_______ (__)
Eugene McCarthy+ $_____ $_______ (__)
Daniel Rose $_____ $_______ (__)
Philip L. Toia $_____ $_______ (__)
Sander Vanocur $_____ $_______ (__)
Anne Wexler $_____ $_______ (__)
Rex Wilder $_____ $_______ (__)
- ------------------
* Amount does not include reimbursed expenses for attending Board
meetings, which amounted to $_____ for all Board members as a group.
+ Board member Emeritus as of March 29, 1996.
OFFICERS OF THE FUND
MARIE E. CONNOLLY, PRESIDENT AND TREASURER. President, Chief Executive Officer,
Chief Compliance Officer and a director of the Distributor and Funds
Distributor, Inc., the ultimate parent of which is Boston
Institutional Group, Inc., and an officer of other investment
companies advised or administered by the Manager. She is 41 years old.
MARGARET W. CHAMBERS, VICE PRESIDENT AND SECRETARY. Senior Vice President and
General Counsel of Funds Distributor, Inc., and an officer of other
investment companies advised or administered by the Manager. From
August 1996 to March 1998, she was Vice President and Assistant
General Counsel for Loomis, Sayles & Company, L.P. From January 1986
to July 1996, she was an associate with the law firm of Ropes & Gray.
She is 38 years old.
MICHAEL S. PETRUCELLI, VICE PRESIDENT, ASSISTANT SECRETARY AND ASSISTANT
TREASURER. Senior Vice President of Funds Distributor, Inc., and an
officer of other investment companies advised or administered by the
Manager. From December 1989 through November 1996, he was employed by
GE Investments where he held various financial, business development
and compliance positions. He also served as Treasurer of the GE Funds
and as a Director of GE Investment Services. He is 37 years old.
STEPHANIE D. PIERCE, VICE PRESIDENT, ASSISTANT SECRETARY AND ASSISTANT
TREASURER. Vice President and Client Development Manager of Funds
Distributor, Inc., and an officer of other investment companies
advised or administered by the Manager. From April 1997 to March 1998,
she was employed as a Relationship Manager with Citibank, N.A. From
August 1995 to April 1997, she was an Assistant Vice President with
Hudson Valley Bank, and from September 1990 to August 1995, she was
Second Vice President with Chase Manhattan Bank. She is 30 years old.
MARY A. NELSON, VICE PRESIDENT AND ASSISTANT TREASURER. Vice President of the
Distributor and Funds Distributor, Inc., and an officer of other
investment companies advised or administered by the Manager. From
September 1989 to July 1994, she was an Assistant Vice President and
Client Manager for The Boston Company, Inc. She is 34 years old.
GEORGE A. RIO, VICE PRESIDENT AND ASSISTANT TREASURER. Executive Vice
President and Client Service Director of Funds Distributor, Inc., and
an officer of other investment companies advised or administered by
the Manager. From June 1995 to March 1998, he was Senior Vice
President and Senior Key Account Manager for Putnam Mutual Funds. From
May 1994 to June 1995, he was Director of Business Development for
First Data Corporation. From September 1983 to May 1994, he was Senior
Vice President and Manager of Client Services and Director of Internal
Audit at The Boston Company, Inc. He is 43 years old.
JOSEPH F. TOWER, III, VICE PRESIDENT AND ASSISTANT TREASURER. Senior Vice
President, Treasurer, Chief Financial Officer and a director of the
Distributor and Funds Distributor, Inc., and an officer of other
investment companies advised or administered by the Manager. From July
1988 to August 1994, he was employed by The Boston Company, Inc. where
he held various management positions in the Corporate Finance and
Treasury areas. He is 36 years old.
DOUGLAS C. CONROY, VICE PRESIDENT AND ASSISTANT SECRETARY. Assistant Vice
President of Funds Distributor, Inc., and an officer of other
investment companies advised or administered by the Manager. From
April 1993 to January 1995, he was a Senior Fund Accountant for
Investors Bank & Trust Company. He is 29 years old.
CHRISTOPHER J. KELLEY, VICE PRESIDENT AND ASSISTANT SECRETARY. Vice President
and Senior Associate General Counsel of the Distributor and Funds
Distributor, Inc., and an officer of other investment companies
advised or administered by the Manager. From April 1994 to July 1996,
he was Assistant Counsel at Forum Financial Group. From October 1992
to March 1994, he was employed by Putnam Investments in legal and
compliance capacities. He is 33 years old.
KATHLEEN K. MORRISEY, VICE PRESIDENT AND ASSISTANT SECRETARY. Manager of
Treasury Services Administration of Funds Distributor, Inc., and an
officer of other investment companies advised or administered by the
Manager. From July 1994 to November 1995, she was a Fund Accountant
for Investors Bank & Trust Company. She is 26 years old.
ELBA VASQUEZ, VICE PRESIDENT AND ASSISTANT SECRETARY. Assistant Vice President
of Funds Distributor, Inc., and an officer of other investment
companies advised or administered by the Manager. From March 1990 to
May 1996, she was employed by U.S. Trust Company of New York where she
held various sales and marketing positions. She is 37 years old.
The address of each officer of the Fund is 200 Park Avenue, New York, New
York 10166.
The Fund's Board members and officers, as a group, owned less than 1% of
the Fund's voting securities outstanding on __________, 1999.
MANAGEMENT ARRANGEMENTS
INVESTMENT ADVISER. The Manager is a wholly-owned subsidiary of Mellon
Bank, N.A., which is a wholly-owned subsidiary of Mellon Bank Corporation
("Mellon"). Mellon is a publicly owned multibank holding company incorporated
under Pennsylvania law in 1971 and registered under the Federal Bank Holding
Company Act of 1956, as amended. Mellon provides a comprehensive range of
financial products and services in domestic and selected international markets.
Mellon is among the twenty-five largest bank holding companies in the United
States based on total assets.
The Manager provides management services pursuant to the Management
Agreement (the "Agreement") dated August 24, 1994 with the Fund, which is
subject to annual approval by (i) the Fund's Board or (ii) vote of a majority
(as defined in the 1940 Act) of the outstanding voting securities of the Fund,
provided that in either event the continuance also is approved by a majority of
the Board members who are not "interested persons" (as defined in the 1940 Act)
of the Fund or the Manager, by vote cast in person at a meeting called for the
purpose of voting such approval. The Agreement was approved by shareholders on
August 3, 1994, and was last approved by the Fund's Board, including a majority
of the Board members who are not "interested persons" of any party to the
Agreement, at a meeting held on __________, 1998. The Agreement is terminable
without penalty, on 60 days' notice, by the Fund's Board or by vote of the
holders of a majority of the Fund's outstanding securities, or, on 90 days'
notice, by the Manager. The Agreement will terminate automatically in the event
of its assignment (as defined in the 1940 Act).
The following persons are officers and/or directors of the Manager: W.
Keith Smith, Chairman of the Board; Christopher M. Condron, President, Chief
Executive Officer, Chief Operating Officer and a director; Stephen E. Canter,
Vice Chairman, Chief Investment Officer and a director; Lawrence S. Kash, Vice
Chairman--Distribution and a director; J. David Officer, Vice Chairman and a
director; Ronald P. O'Hanley III, Vice Chairman; William T. Sandalls, Jr.,
Executive Vice President; Mark N. Jacobs, Vice President, General Counsel and
Secretary; Patrice M. Kozlowski, Vice President--Corporate Communications; Mary
Beth Leibig, Vice President--Human Resources; Andrew S. Wasser, Vice
President--Information Systems; Theodore A. Schachar, Vice President; Wendy
Strutt, Vice President; Richard Terres, Vice President; William H. Maresca,
Controller; James Bitetto, Assistant Secretary; Steven F. Newman, Assistant
Secretary; and Mandell L. Berman, Burton C. Borgelt, Frank V. Cahouet and
Richard Syron, directors.
The Manager manages the Fund's portfolio of investments in accordance with
the stated policies of the Fund, subject to the approval of the Fund's Board.
The Manager is responsible for investment decisions, and provides the Fund with
portfolio managers who are authorized by the Board to execute purchases and
sales of securities. The Fund's portfolio managers are Michael Hoeh, Roger King,
Kevin M. McClintock, Matthew Olson and Gerald E. Thunelius. The Manager also
maintains a research department with a professional staff of portfolio managers
and securities analysts who provide research services for the Fund as well as
for other funds advised by the Manager.
The Manager maintains office facilities on behalf of the Fund and furnishes
statistical and research data, clerical help, accounting, data processing,
bookkeeping and internal auditing and certain other required services to the
Fund. The Manager may pay the Distributor for shareholder services from the
Manager's own assets, including past profits but not including the management
fees paid by the Fund. The Distributor may use part or all of such payments to
pay Service Agents (as defined below) in respect of these services. The Manager
also may make such advertising or promotional expenditures, using its own
resources, as it from time to time deems appropriate.
All expenses incurred in the operation of the Fund are borne by the Fund,
except to the extent specifically assumed by the Manager. The expenses borne by
the Fund include: taxes, interest, loan commitment fees, interest and
distributions paid on securities sold short, brokerage fees and commissions, if
any, fees of Board members who are not officers, directors, employees or holders
of 5% or more of the outstanding voting securities of the Manager, Securities
and Exchange Commission fees, state Blue Sky qualification fees, advisory fees,
charges of custodians, transfer and dividend disbursing agents' fees, certain
insurance premiums, industry association fees, outside auditing and legal
expenses, costs of maintaining the Fund's existence, costs of independent
pricing services, costs attributable to investor services (including, without
limitation, telephone and personnel expenses), costs of shareholders' reports
and meetings, costs of preparing and printing prospectuses and statements of
additional information for regulatory purposes and for distribution to existing
shareholders, and any extraordinary expenses.
As compensation for its services, the Fund has agreed to pay the Manager a
monthly management fee at the annual rate of .60 of 1% of the value of the
Fund's average daily net assets. All fees and expenses are accrued daily and
deducted before declaration of dividends to investors. For the fiscal years
ended December 31, 1996, 1997 and 1998, the management fees payable to the
Manager amounted to $331,359, $376,576 and $__________, respectively,
which amounts were reduced by $288,728, $261,446 and $__________, respectively,
pursuant to undertakings by the Manager, resulting in $42,631, $115,130 and
$__________ being paid by the Fund for fiscal years 1996, 1997 and 1998,
respectively.
The Manager has agreed that if in any fiscal year the aggregate expenses of
the Fund, exclusive of taxes, brokerage, interest on borrowings and (with the
prior written consent of the necessary state securities commissions)
extraordinary expenses, but including the management fee, exceed the expense
limitation of any state having jurisdiction over the Fund, the Fund may deduct
from the payment to be made to the Manager under the Agreement, or the Manager
will bear, such excess expense to the extent required by state law. Such
deduction or payment, if any, will be estimated daily, and reconciled and
effected or paid, as the case may be, on a monthly basis.
The aggregate of the fees payable to the Manager is not subject to
reduction as the value of the Fund's net assets increases.
DISTRIBUTOR. Premier Mutual Fund Services, Inc., located at 60 State
Street, Boston, Massachusetts 02109, serves as the Fund's distributor on a best
efforts basis pursuant to an agreement which is renewable annually.
The Distributor may pay dealers a fee of up to .5% of the amount invested
through such dealers in Fund shares by employees participating in qualified or
non-qualified employee benefit plans or other programs where (i) the employers
or affiliated employers maintaining such plans or programs have a minimum of 250
employees eligible for participation in such plans or programs or (ii) such
plan's or program's aggregate investment in the Dreyfus Family of Funds or
certain other products made available by the Distributor to such plans or
programs exceeds $1,000,000 ("Eligible Benefit Plans"). Shares of funds in the
Dreyfus Family of Funds then held by Eligible Benefit Plans will be aggregated
to determine the fee payable. The Distributor reserves the right to cease paying
these fees at any time. The Distributor will pay such fees from its own funds,
other than amounts received from a Fund, including past profits or any other
source available to it.
TRANSFER AND DIVIDEND DISBURSING AGENT AND CUSTODIAN. Dreyfus Transfer,
Inc. (the "Transfer Agent"), a wholly-owned subsidiary of the Manager, P.O. Box
9671, Providence, Rhode Island 02940-9671, is the Fund's transfer and dividend
disbursing agent. Under a transfer agency agreement with the Fund, the Transfer
Agent arranges for the maintenance of shareholder account records for the Fund,
the handling of certain
communications between shareholders and the Fund and the payment of dividends
and distributions payable by the Fund. For these services, the Transfer Agent
receives a monthly fee computed on the basis of the number of shareholder
accounts it maintains for the Fund during the month, and is reimbursed for
certain out-of-pocket expenses. The Transfer Agent will receive the $5.00
exchange fee, the $5.00 account closeout fee, the $5.00 wire and Dreyfus
TELETRANSFER redemption fee and the $2.00 checkwriting charge, described below.
A sufficient number of your shares will be redeemed automatically to pay these
amounts. These payments will reduce the transfer agency fee otherwise payable by
the Fund. By purchasing Fund shares, you are deemed to have consented to this
procedure.
Mellon Bank, N.A. (the "Custodian"), One Mellon Bank Center, Pittsburgh,
Pennsylvania 15258, acts as custodian of the Fund's investments. Under a custody
agreement with the Fund, the Custodian holds the Fund's securities and keeps all
necessary accounts and records. For its custody services, the Custodian receives
a monthly fee based on the market value of the Fund's assets held in custody and
receives certain securities transaction charges.
HOW TO BUY SHARES
GENERAL. Fund shares are sold without a sales charge. Certain financial
institutions (which may include banks), securities dealers and other industry
professionals (collectively, "Service Agents") effecting transactions in Fund
shares may charge their clients direct fees in connection with such
transactions.
Stock certificates are issued only upon your written request. No
certificates are issued for fractional shares. The Fund reserves the right to
reject any purchase order.
The minimum initial investment is $10,000. Subsequent investments must be
at least $1,000. However, the minimum initial investment for Dreyfus-sponsored
Keogh Plans, IRAs, IRAs set up under a Simplified Employee Pension Plan
("SEP-IRAs") and 403(b)(7) Plans with only one participant is $5,000. Subsequent
investments through such retirement plan accounts must be at least $1,000. The
initial investment must be accompanied by the Account Application.
Shares are sold on a continuous basis at the net asset value per share next
determined after an order in proper form is received by the Transfer Agent or
other entity authorized to receive orders on behalf of the Fund. Net asset value
per share is determined as of the close of trading on the floor of the New York
Stock Exchange (currently 4:00 p.m., New York time) on each day the New York
Stock Exchange is open for business. For purposes of computing net asset value,
options and futures contracts will be valued 15 minutes after the close of
trading on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange. Net asset value per share
is computed by dividing the value of the Fund's net assets (i.e., the value of
its assets less liabilities) by the total number of shares outstanding. The
Fund's investments are valued each business day using available market
quotations or at fair value as determined by one or more independent pricing
services approved by the Fund's Board. Each pricing service's procedures are
reviewed under the general supervision of the Board. For further information
regarding the methods employed in valuing the Fund's investments, see
"Determination of Net Asset Value."
For certain institutions that have entered into agreements with the
Distributor, payment for the purchase of shares may be transmitted, and must be
received by the Transfer Agent, within three business days after the order is
placed. If such payment is not received within three business days after the
order is placed, the order may be canceled and the institution could be held
liable for resulting fees and/or losses.
DREYFUS TELETRANSFER PRIVILEGE. You may purchase shares by telephone if you
have checked the appropriate box and supplied the necessary information on the
Account Application or have filed a Shareholder Services Form with the Transfer
Agent. The proceeds will be transferred between the bank account designated in
one of these documents and your Fund account. Only a bank account maintained in
a domestic financial institution which is an Automated Clearing House member may
be so designated.
Dreyfus TELETRANSFER purchase orders may be made at any time. Purchase
orders received by 4:00 p.m., New York time, on any business day that the
Transfer Agent and the New York Stock Exchange are open for business will be
credited to the shareholder's Fund account on the next bank business day
following such purchase order. Purchase orders made after 4:00 p.m., New York
time, on any business day the Transfer Agent and the New York Stock Exchange are
open for business, or orders made on Saturday, Sunday or any Fund holiday (e.g.,
when the New York Stock Exchange is not open for business), will be credited to
the shareholder's Fund account on the second bank business day following such
purchase order. To qualify to use the Dreyfus TELETRANSFER Privilege, the
initial payment for purchase of Fund shares must be drawn on, and redemption
proceeds paid to, the same bank and account as are designated on the Account
Application or Shareholder Services Form on file. If the proceeds of a
particular redemption are to be wired to an account at any other bank, the
request must be in writing and signature- guaranteed. See "How to Redeem
Shares--Dreyfus TELETRANSFER Privilege."
REOPENING AN ACCOUNT. You may reopen an account with a minimum investment
of $10,000 without filing a new Account Application during the calendar year the
account is closed or during the following calendar year, provided the
information on the old Account Application is still applicable.
SHAREHOLDER SERVICES PLAN
The Fund has adopted a Shareholder Services Plan pursuant to which the Fund
reimburses Dreyfus Service Corporation an amount not to exceed an annual rate of
.25% of the value of the Fund's average daily net assets for certain allocated
expenses of providing personal services and/or maintaining shareholder accounts.
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.
A quarterly report of the amounts expended under the Shareholder Services
Plan, and the purposes for which such expenditures were incurred, must be made
to the Board for its review. In addition, the Shareholder Services Plan provides
that material amendments of the Shareholder Services Plan must be approved by
the Fund's Board, and by the Board members who are not "interested persons" (as
defined in the 1940 Act) of the Fund and have no direct or indirect financial
interest in the operation of the Shareholder Services Plan by vote cast in
person at a meeting called for the purpose of considering such amendments. The
Shareholder Services Plan is subject to annual approval by such vote of the
Board members cast in person at a meeting called for the purpose of voting on
the Shareholder Services Plan. The Shareholder Services Plan was last so
approved on __________, 1998. The Shareholder Services Plan is terminable at any
time by vote of a majority of the Board members who are not "interested persons"
and have no direct or indirect financial interest in the operation of the
Shareholder Services Plan.
For the fiscal year ended December 31, 1998, the Fund paid $____________
pursuant to the Shareholder Services Plan.
HOW TO REDEEM SHARES
TRANSACTION FEES. If your account balance is less than $50,000, you will be
charged $5.00 when you redeem all shares in your account or your account is
otherwise closed out. The fee will be deducted from your redemption proceeds and
paid to the Transfer Agent. The account closeout fee does not apply to exchanges
out of the Fund or to wire or Dreyfus TELETRANSFER redemptions, for each of
which a $5.00 fee applies if your account balance is less than $50,000.
CHECK REDEMPTION PRIVILEGE. The Fund provides Redemption Checks ("Checks")
automatically upon opening an account unless you specifically refuse the Check
Redemption Privilege by checking the applicable "No" box on the Account
Application. The Check Redemption Privilege may be established for an existing
account by a separate signed Shareholder Services Form. Checks will be sent only
to the registered owner(s) of the account and only to the address of record. The
Account Application or Shareholder Services Form must be manually signed by the
registered owner(s). Checks are drawn on your Fund account and may be made
payable to the order of any person in an amount of $1,000 or more. When a Check
is presented to the Transfer Agent for payment, the Transfer Agent, as your
agent, will cause the Fund to redeem a sufficient number of shares in your
account to cover the amount of the Check and the $2.00 charge, if applicable.
Dividends are earned until the Check clears. After clearance, a copy of the
Check will be returned to you. You generally will be subject to the same rules
and regulations that apply to checking accounts, although election of this
Privilege creates only a shareholder-transfer agent relationship with the
Transfer Agent.
You should date your Checks with the current date when you write them.
Please do not postdate your Checks. If you do, the Transfer Agent will honor,
upon presentment, even if presented before the date of the Check, all postdated
Checks which are dated within six months of presentment for payment, if they are
otherwise in good order.
The Transfer Agent will impose a fee for stopping payment of a Check upon
your request or if the Transfer Agent cannot honor a Check due to insufficient
funds or other valid reason. If the amount of the Check, plus any applicable
charges, is greater than the value of the shares in your account, the Check will
be returned marked "insufficient funds." Checks should not be used to close an
account.
This Privilege will be terminated immediately, without notice, with respect
to any account which is, or becomes, subject to backup withholding on
redemptions. Any Redemption Check written on an account which has become subject
to backup withholding on redemptions will not be honored by the Transfer Agent.
If you hold shares in a Dreyfus-sponsored IRA account, you may be permitted to
make withdrawals from your IRA account using checks furnished to you by The
Dreyfus Trust Company.
WIRE REDEMPTION PRIVILEGE. By using this Privilege, you authorize the
Transfer Agent to act on wire, telephone or letter redemption instructions from
any person representing himself or herself to be you and reasonably believed by
the Transfer Agent to be genuine. You will be charged a $5.00 fee for each wire
redemption from the Fund, which will be deducted from your account and paid to
the Transfer Agent, if your account balance is less than $50,000. Ordinarily,
the Fund will initiate payment for shares redeemed pursuant to this Privilege on
the next business day after receipt by the Transfer Agent of a redemption
request in proper form. Redemption proceeds ($5,000 minimum) will be transferred
by Federal Reserve wire only to the commercial bank account specified by you on
the Account Application or Shareholder Services Form, or to a correspondent bank
if your bank is not a member of the Federal Reserve System. Fees ordinarily are
imposed by such bank and borne by the investor. Immediate notification by the
correspondent bank to your bank is necessary to avoid a delay in crediting the
funds to your bank account.
If you have access to telegraphic equipment, you may wire redemption
requests to the Transfer Agent by employing the following transmittal code which
may be used for domestic or overseas transmissions:
Transfer Agent's
TRANSMITTAL CODE ANSWER BACK SIGN
144295 144295 TSSG PREP
If you do not have direct access to telegraphic equipment, you may have the
wire transmitted by contacting a TRT Cables operator at 1-800-654-7171, toll
free. You should advise the operator that the above transmittal code must be
used and should also inform the operator of the Transfer Agent's answer back
sign.
To change the commercial bank or account designated to receive redemption
proceeds, a written request must be sent to the Transfer Agent. This request
must be signed by each shareholder, with each signature guaranteed as described
below under "Share Certificates; Signatures."
DREYFUS TELETRANSFER PRIVILEGE. You may request by telephone that
redemption proceeds (minimum $1,000 per day) be transferred between your Fund
account and your bank account. Only a bank account maintained in a domestic
financial institution which is an Automated Clearing House ("ACH") member may be
designated. Holders of jointly registered Fund or bank accounts may redeem
through the Dreyfus TELETRANSFER Privilege for transfer to their bank account
not more than $250,000 within any 30-day period. You should be aware that if you
have selected the Dreyfus TELETRANSFER Privilege, any request for a wire
redemption will be effected as a Dreyfus TELETRANSFER transaction through the
ACH system unless more prompt transmittal specifically is requested. Redemption
proceeds will be on deposit in your account at an ACH member bank ordinarily two
business days after receipt of the redemption request. You will be charged a
$5.00 fee for each redemption made pursuant to this Privilege, which will be
deducted from your account and paid to the Transfer Agent, if your account
balance is less than $50,000. See "How to Buy Shares--Dreyfus TELETRANSFER
Privilege."
SHARE CERTIFICATES; SIGNATURES. Any certificates representing Fund shares
to be redeemed must be submitted with the redemption request. Written redemption
requests must be signed by each investor, including each owner of a joint
account, and each signature must be guaranteed. Signatures on endorsed
certificates submitted for redemption also must be guaranteed. The Transfer
Agent has adopted standards and procedures pursuant to which
signature-guarantees in proper form generally will be accepted from domestic
banks, brokers, dealers, credit unions, national securities exchanges,
registered securities associations, clearing agencies and savings associations,
as well as from participants in the New York Stock Exchange Medallion Signature
Program, the Securities Transfer Agents Medallion Program ("STAMP"), and the
Stock Exchanges Medallion Program. Guarantees must be signed by an authorized
signatory of the guarantor and "Signature-Guaranteed" must appear with the
signature. The Transfer Agent may request additional documentation from
corporations, executors, administrators, trustees or guardians, and may accept
other suitable verification arrangements from foreign investors, such as
consular verification. For further information with respect to signature-
guarantees, investors may call one of the telephone numbers listed on the cover.
REDEMPTION COMMITMENT. The Fund has committed itself to pay in cash all
redemption requests by any investor of record, limited in amount during any
90-day period to the lesser of $250,000 or 1% of the value of the Fund's net
assets at the beginning of such period. Such commitment is irrevocable without
the prior approval of the Securities and Exchange Commission and is a
fundamental policy of the Fund, which may not be changed without shareholder
approval. In the case of requests for redemption in excess of such amount, the
Board reserves the right to make payments in whole or part in securities or
other assets of the Fund in case of an emergency or any time a cash distribution
would impair the liquidity of the Fund to the detriment of the existing
shareholders. In such event, the securities would be valued in the same manner
as the Fund's portfolio is valued. If the recipient sold such securities,
brokerage charges might be incurred.
SUSPENSION OF REDEMPTIONS. The right of redemption may be suspended or the
date of payment postponed (a) during any period when the New York Stock Exchange
is closed (other than customary weekend and holiday closings), (b) when trading
in the markets the Fund ordinarily utilizes is restricted, or when an emergency
exists as determined by the Securities and Exchange Commission so that disposal
of the Fund's investments or determination of its net asset value is not
reasonably practicable, or (c) for such other periods as the Securities and
Exchange Commission by order may permit to protect the Fund's shareholders.
SHAREHOLDER SERVICES
FUND EXCHANGES. You may purchase, in exchange for shares of the Fund,
shares of certain other funds managed or administered by the Manager, to the
extent such shares are offered for sale in your state of residence. Shares of
other funds purchased by exchange will be purchased on the basis of relative net
asset value per share as follows:
A. Exchanges for shares of funds that are offered without a sales load
will be made without a sales load.
B. Shares of funds purchased without a sales load may be exchanged for
shares of other funds sold with a sales load, and the applicable sales
load will be deducted.
C. Shares of funds purchased with a sales load may be exchanged without a
sales load for shares of other funds sold without a sales load.
D. Shares of funds purchased with a sales load, shares of funds acquired
by a previous exchange from shares purchased with a sales load, and
additional shares acquired through reinvestment of dividends or
distributions of any such funds (collectively referred to herein as
"Purchased Shares") may be exchanged for shares of other funds sold
with a sales load (referred to herein as "Offered Shares"), provided
that, if the sales load applicable to the Offered Shares exceeds the
maximum sales load that could have been imposed in connection with the
Purchased Shares (at the time the Purchased Shares were acquired),
without giving effect to any reduced loads, the difference will be
deducted.
To accomplish an exchange under item D above, you must notify the Transfer
Agent of your prior ownership of fund shares and your account number.
To request an exchange, you must give exchange instructions to the Transfer
Agent in writing or by telephone. The ability to issue exchange instructions by
telephone is given to all Fund shareholders automatically, unless you check the
applicable "No" box on the Account Application, indicating that you specifically
refuse this privilege. By using the Telephone Exchange Privilege, you authorize
the Transfer Agent to act on telephonic instructions (including over The Dreyfus
Touch(R) automated telephone system) from any person representing himself or
herself to be you and reasonably believed by the Transfer Agent to be genuine.
Telephone exchanges may be subject to limitations as to the amount involved or
the number of telephone exchanges permitted. Shares issued in certificate form
are not eligible for telephone exchange. You will be charged a $5.00 fee for
each exchange made out of the Fund, which will be deducted from your account and
paid to the Transfer Agent, if your account balance is less than $50,000.
Exchanges out of the Fund pursuant to the Fund Exchanges service are limited to
four per calendar year.
To establish a personal retirement plan by exchange, shares of the fund
being exchanged must have a value of at least the minimum initial investment
required for the fund into which the exchange is being made.
Shares may be exchanged only between accounts having identical names and
other identifying designations.
Shareholder Services Forms and prospectuses of the other funds may be
obtained by calling 1-800-645-6561. The Fund reserves the right to reject any
exchange request in whole or in part. The availability of the Fund Exchanges
service may be modified or terminated at any time upon notice to shareholders.
DREYFUS DIVIDEND SWEEP PRIVILEGE. Dreyfus Dividend Sweep Privilege allows
you to invest automatically your dividends or dividends and capital gain
distributions, if any, from the Fund, in shares of another fund in the Dreyfus
Family of Funds of which you are a shareholder. Shares of other funds purchased
pursuant to this privilege will be purchased on the basis of relative net asset
value per share as follows:
A. Dividends and distributions paid by a fund may be invested
without imposition of a sales load in shares of other funds
that are offered without a sales load.
B. Dividends and distributions paid by a fund which does not
charge a sales load may be invested in shares of other funds
sold with a sales load, and the applicable sales load will be
deducted.
C. Dividends and distributions paid by a fund that charges
a sales load may be invested in shares of other funds
sold with a sales load (referred to herein as "Offered
Shares"), provided that, if the sales load applicable
to the Offered Shares exceeds the maximum sales load
charged by the fund from which dividends or
distributions are being swept, without giving effect to
any reduced loads, the difference will be deducted.
D. Dividends and distributions paid by a fund may be invested in
shares of other funds that impose a contingent deferred sales
charge ("CDSC") and the applicable CDSC, if any, will be
imposed upon redemption of such shares.
DETERMINATION OF NET ASSET VALUE
VALUATION OF PORTFOLIO SECURITIES. The Fund's investments are valued each
business day using available market quotations or at fair value as determined by
one or more independent pricing services (collectively, the "Service") approved
by the Fund's Board. The Service may use available market quotations, employ
electronic data processing techniques and/or a matrix system to determine
valuations. The procedures of the Service are reviewed by the officers of the
Fund under the general supervision of the Fund's Board. Expenses and fees,
including the management fees (reduced by the expense limitation, if any), are
accrued daily and are taken into account for the purpose of determining the net
asset value of Fund shares.
NEW YORK STOCK EXCHANGE CLOSINGS. The holidays (as observed) on which the
New York Stock Exchange is closed currently are: New Year's Day, Martin Luther
King Jr. Day, Presidents' Day, Good Friday, Memorial Day, Independence Day,
Labor Day, Thanksgiving and Christmas.
DIVIDENDS, DISTRIBUTIONS AND TAXES
Management of the Fund believes that the Fund has qualified for the fiscal
year ended December 31, 1998 as a "regulated investment company" under the
Internal Revenue Code of 1986, as amended (the "Code"). The Fund intends to
continue to so qualify if such qualification is in the best interests of its
shareholders. As a regulated investment company, the Fund pays no Federal income
tax on net investment income and net realized capital gains to the extent that
such income and gains are distributed to shareholders. If the Fund did not
qualify as a regulated investment company, it would be treated for tax purposes
as an ordinary corporation subject to Federal income tax. The term "regulated
investment company" does not imply the supervision of management or investment
practices or policies by any government agency.
If you elect to receive dividends and distributions in cash, and your
dividend or distribution check is returned to the Fund as undeliverable or
remains uncashed for six months, the Fund reserves the right to reinvest such
dividend or distribution and all future dividends and distributions payable to
you in additional Fund shares at net asset value. No interest will accrue on
amounts represented by uncashed distribution or redemption checks.
Any dividend or distribution declared and paid shortly after your purchase
may have the effect of reducing the aggregate net asset value of your shares
below the cost of his investment. Such a distribution would be a return on
investment in an economic sense although taxable as stated in the Prospectus. In
addition, the Code provides that if a shareholder has not held his shares for
more than six months and has received a capital gains dividend with respect to
such shares, any loss incurred on the sale of such shares will be treated as
long-term capital loss to the extent of the capital gain received.
Ordinarily, gains and losses realized from portfolio transactions will be
treated as capital gain or loss. However, all or a portion of any gains realized
from the sale or other disposition of certain market discount bonds will be
treated as ordinary income under Section 1276 of the Code. In addition, all or a
portion of the gain realized from engaging in "conversion transactions" may be
treated as ordinary income under Section 1258 of the Code. "Conversion
transactions" are defined to include certain forward, futures, option and
"straddle" transactions, transactions marketed or sold to produce capital gains,
or transactions described in Treasury regulations to be issued in the future.
Under Section 1256 of the Code, any gain or loss the Fund realizes from
certain futures and options transactions will be treated as 60% long-term
capital gain or loss and 40% short-term capital gain or loss. Gain or loss will
arise upon exercise or lapse of such futures contracts and options as well as
from closing transactions. In addition, any such futures contracts or options
remaining unexercised at the end of the Fund's taxable year will be treated as
sold for their then fair market value, resulting in additional gain or loss to
the Fund characterized in the manner described above.
Offsetting positions held by the Fund involving certain futures contracts
or options may constitute "straddles." "Straddles" are defined to include
"offsetting positions" in actively traded personal property. The tax treatment
of "straddles" is governed by Sections 1092 and 1258 of the Code, which, in
certain circumstances, overrides or modifies the provisions of Section 1256 of
the Code. As such, all or a portion of any short or long-term capital gain from
certain "straddle" transactions may be recharacterized to ordinary income. If
the Fund were treated as entering into "straddles" by reason of its futures or
options transactions, such "straddles" would be characterized as "mixed
straddles" if the futures or options transactions comprising a part of such
"straddles" were governed by Section 1256 of the Code. The Fund may make one or
more elections with respect to "mixed straddles." Depending on which election is
made, if any, the results to the Fund may differ. If no election is made to the
extent the "straddle" rules apply to positions established by the Fund, losses
realized by the Fund will be deferred to the extent of unrealized gain in the
related offsetting position. Moreover, as a result of the "straddle" and
conversion transaction rules, short-term capital loss on "straddle" positions
may be recharacterized as long-term capital loss, and long-term capital gain on
straddle positions may be treated as short-term capital gain or ordinary income.
The Taxpayer Relief Act of 1997 included constructive sale provisions that
generally apply if the Fund either (1) holds an appreciated financial position
with respect to stock, certain debt obligations, or partnership interests
("appreciated financial position") and then enters into a short sale, futures,
forward, or offsetting notional principal contract (collectively, a "Contract")
respecting the same or substantially identical property or (2) holds an
appreciated financial position that is a Contract and then acquires property
that is the same as, or substantially identical to, the underlying property. In
each instance, with certain exceptions, the Fund generally will be taxed as if
the appreciated financial position were sold at its fair market value on the
date the Fund enters into the financial position or acquires the property,
respectively. Transactions that are identified hedging or straddle transactions
under other provisions of the Code can be subject to the constructive sale
provisions.
Investment by the Fund in securities issued at a discount or providing for
deferred interest or for payment of interest in the form of additional
obligations could cause the Fund to recognize income prior to the receipt of
cash payments. For example, the Fund could be required to accrue as income each
year a portion of the discount (or deemed discount) at which such securities
were issued. A portion of such income would be allocable to an investor even
though no corresponding distribution were made to the investor, thus causing the
investor's income to exceed distributions to the investor.
PORTFOLIO TRANSACTIONS
Portfolio securities are purchased from and sold to parties acting as
either principal or agent. Newly-issued securities ordinarily are purchased
directly from the issuer or from an underwriter; other purchases and sales
usually are placed with those dealers from whom it appears that the best price
or execution will be obtained. Usually no brokerage commissions, as such, are
paid by the Fund for such purchases and sales, although the price paid usually
includes an undisclosed compensation to the dealer acting as agent. The prices
paid to underwriters of newly-issued securities usually include a concession
paid by the issuer to the underwriter, and purchases of after-market securities
from dealers ordinarily are executed at a price between the bid and asked price.
No brokerage commissions have been paid by the Fund to date.
Portfolio turnover may vary from year to year, as well as within a year.
High turnover rates are likely to result in comparatively greater brokerage
expenses. The overall reasonableness of brokerage commissions paid is evaluated
by the Manager based upon its knowledge of available information as to the
general level of commissions paid by other institutional investors for
comparable services.
Transactions are allocated to various dealers by the Fund's portfolio
managers in their best judgment. The primary consideration is prompt and
effective execution of orders at the most favorable price. Subject to that
primary consideration, dealers may be selected for research, statistical or
other services to enable the Manager to supplement its own research and analysis
with the views and information of other securities firms and may be selected
based upon their sales of shares of the Fund or other funds advised by the
Manager or its affiliates.
Research services furnished by brokers through which the Fund effects
securities transactions may be used by the Manager in advising other funds it
advises and, conversely, research services furnished to the Manager by brokers
in connection with other funds the Manager advises may be used by the Manager in
advising the Fund. Although it is not possible to place a dollar value on these
services, it is the opinion of the Manager that the receipt and study of such
services from brokers should not reduce the overall expenses of its research
department.
PERFORMANCE INFORMATION
The Fund's current yield for the 30-day period ended December 31, 1998 was
____%, which reflects the waiver of a portion of the management fee by the
Manager. Had a portion of the management fee not been waived, the Fund's current
yield for the 30-day period ended December 31, 1998 would have been ____%.
Current yield is computed pursuant to a formula which operates as follows: the
amount of the Fund's expenses accrued for the 30-day period (net of
reimbursements) is subtracted from the amount of the dividends and interest
earned (computed in accordance with regulatory requirements) by the Fund during
the period. That result is then divided by the product of: (a) the average daily
number of shares outstanding during the period that were entitled to receive
dividends, and (b) the net asset value per share on the last day of the period
less any undistributed earned income per share reasonably expected to be
declared as a dividend shortly thereafter. The quotient is then added to 1, and
that sum is raised to the 6th power, after which 1 is subtracted. The current
yield is then arrived at by multiplying the result by 2.
The Fund's average annual total return for the 1, 5 and 10 year periods
ended December 31, 1998 was ___%, ___% and ____%, respectively. The Fund's
average annual total return for the [7.36] year period beginning with the
effectiveness of the Fund's current investment objective, fundamental investment
policies and investment restrictions on August 23, 1991 and ending December 31,
1998 was ___%. The Fund's average annual total return figures referenced above
reflect the absorption of certain expenses. Had these expenses not been
absorbed, average annual total return would have been lower. Average annual
total return is calculated by determining the ending redeemable value of an
investment purchased with a hypothetical $1,000 payment made at the beginning of
the period (assuming the reinvestment of dividends and distributions), dividing
by the amount of the initial investment, taking the "n"th root of the quotient
(where "n" is the number of years in the period) and subtracting 1 from the
result.
Total return is calculated by subtracting the amount of the Fund's net
asset value per share at the beginning of a stated period from the net asset
value per share at the end of the period (after giving effect to the
reinvestment of dividends and distributions during the period), and dividing the
result by the net asset value per share at the beginning of the period. The
Fund's total return for the period from August 5, 1987 to December 31, 1998, and
the period August 23, 1991 to December 31, 1998, was ___% and ____%,
respectively. The Fund's total return figures referenced above reflect the
absorption of certain expenses. Had these expenses not been absorbed, total
return would have been lower.
Comparative performance information may be used from time to time in
advertising or marketing the Fund's shares, including data from Lipper
Analytical Services, Inc., Bank Rate MonitorTM, N. Palm Beach, Fla. 33408,
Merrill Lynch Mortgage Master Index, Moody's Bond Survey Bond Index, Lehman
Brothers Bond Indices, Salomon Smith Barney Bond Indices, Morningstar, Inc. and
other industry publications. In addition, data may be used comparing the
difference in yields between Ginnie Maes and comparable term Treasury Notes
(which are direct obligations of the U.S. Government). From time to time,
advertising materials for the Fund may include this information and also may
include comparisons to FDIC-insured bank investments, such as certificates of
deposit. In addition, advertising material for the Fund may include biographical
information relating to its portfolio manager and may refer to, or include
commentary by, the portfolio manager relating to investment strategy, asset
growth, current or past business, political, economic or financial conditions
and other matters of general interest to investors. Because of the Fund's
organizational structure and its investment policies, as of the date hereof, the
Fund has the ability to seek higher yields than those generally available from
other GNMA funds. For purposes of advertising, calculations of average annual
total return and certain calculations of total return will take into account the
performance of Dreyfus Investors GNMA Fund, L.P. the assets and liabilities of
which were transferred to the Fund in exchange for shares of the Fund on
December 31, 1993.
INFORMATION ABOUT THE FUND
Each Fund share has one vote and, when issued and paid for in accordance
with the terms of the offering, is fully paid and non-assessable. Fund shares
are of one class and have equal rights as to dividends and in liquidation.
Shares have no preemptive, subscription or conversion rights and are freely
transferable.
The Fund is organized as an unincorporated business trust under the laws of
the Commonwealth of Massachusetts. Under Massachusetts law, shareholders, under
certain circumstances, could be held personally liable for the obligations of
the Fund. However, the Fund's Agreement and Declaration of Trust ("Trust
Agreement") disclaims shareholder liability for acts or obligations of the Fund
and requires that notice of such disclaimer be given in each agreement,
obligation or instrument entered into or executed by the Fund or a Trustee. The
Trust Agreement provides for indemnification from the Fund's property for all
losses and expenses of any shareholder held personally liable for the
obligations of the Fund. Thus, the risk of a shareholder's incurring financial
loss on account of shareholder liability is limited to circumstances in which
the Fund itself would be unable to meet its obligations, a possibility which
management believes is remote. Upon payment of any liability incurred by the
Fund, the shareholder paying such liability will be entitled to reimbursement
from the general assets of the Fund. The Fund intends to conduct its operations
in such a way so as to avoid, as far as possible, ultimate liability of the
shareholders for liabilities of the Fund.
Meetings of shareholders will not be held for the purpose of electing Board
members unless and until such time as less than a majority of the Board members
holding office have been elected by shareholders, at which time the Board
members then in office will call a shareholders' meeting for the election of
Board members. Under the 1940 Act, shareholders of record of not less than
two-thirds of the outstanding shares of the Fund may remove a Board member
through a declaration in writing or by vote cast in person or by proxy at a
meeting called for that purpose. The Board members are required to call a
meeting of shareholders for the purpose of voting upon the question of removal
of any such Board member when requested in writing to do so by the shareholders
of record of not less than 10% of the Fund's outstanding shares.
The Fund is intended to be a long-term investment vehicle and is not
designed to provide investors with a means of speculating on short-term market
movements. A pattern of frequent purchases and exchanges can be disruptive to
efficient portfolio management and, consequently, can be detrimental to the
Fund's performance and its shareholders. Accordingly, if the Fund's management
determines that an investor is following a market-timing strategy or is
otherwise engaging in excessive trading, the Fund, with or without prior notice,
may temporarily or permanently terminate the availability of Fund Exchanges, or
reject in whole or part any purchase or exchange request, with respect to such
investor's account. Such investors also may be barred from purchasing other
funds in the Dreyfus Family of Funds. Generally, an investor who makes more than
four exchanges out of the Fund during any calendar year or who makes exchanges
that appear to coincide with a market-timing strategy may be deemed to be
engaged in excessive trading. Accounts under common ownership or control will be
considered as one account for purposes of determining a pattern of excessive
trading. In addition, the Fund may refuse or restrict purchase or exchange
requests by any person or group if, in the judgment of the Fund's management,
the Fund would be unable to invest the money effectively in accordance with its
investment objective and policies or could otherwise be adversely affected or if
the Fund receives or anticipates receiving simultaneous orders that may
significantly affect the Fund (e.g., amounts equal to 1% or more of the Fund's
total assets). If an exchange request is refused, the Fund will take no other
action with respect to the Fund shares until it receives further instructions
from the investor. The Fund may delay forwarding redemption proceeds for up to
seven days if the investor redeeming shares is engaged in excessive trading or
if the amount of the redemption request otherwise would be disruptive to
efficient portfolio management or would adversely affect the Fund. The Fund's
policy on excessive trading applies to investors who invest in the Fund directly
or through financial intermediaries, but does not apply to the Dreyfus
Auto-Exchange Privilege, to any automatic investment or withdrawal privilege
described herein, or to participants in employer-sponsored retirement plans.
During times of drastic economic or market conditions, the Fund may suspend
the Fund Exchanges temporarily without notice and treat exchange requests based
on their separate components-- redemption orders with a simultaneous request to
purchase the other fund's shares. In such a case, the redemption request would
be processed at the Fund's next determined net asset value but the purchase
order would be effective only at the net asset value next determined after the
fund being purchased receives the proceeds of the redemption, which may result
in the purchase being delayed.
The Fund sends annual and semi-annual financial statements to all its
shareholders.
COUNSEL AND INDEPENDENT AUDITORS
Stroock & Stroock & Lavan LLP, 180 Maiden Lane, New York, New York
10038-4982, as counsel for the Fund, has rendered its opinion as to certain
legal matters regarding the due authorization and valid issuance of the shares
being sold pursuant to the Fund's Prospectus.
Ernst & Young LLP, 787 Seventh Avenue, New York, New York 10019,
independent auditors, have been selected as independent auditors of the Fund.
<PAGE>
DREYFUS BASIC GNMA FUND
PART C. OTHER INFORMATION
-------------------------
Item 23. Exhibits
- ------- ----------
(a) Registrant's Agreement and Declaration of Trust is incorporated by
reference to Exhibit (1) of Post-Effective Amendment No. 14 to the
Registration Statement on Form N-1A, filed on November 1, 1993.
Articles of Amendment are incorporated by reference to Exhibit (1)(b)
of Post-Effective Amendment No. 19 to the Registration Statement on
Form N-1A, filed on August 24, 1995.
(b) Registrant's By-Laws, as amended, are incorporated by reference to
Exhibit (2) of Post-Effective Amendment No. 14 to the Registration
Statement on Form N-1A, filed on November 1, 1993.
(d) Management Agreement is incorporated by reference to Exhibit (5) of
Post-Effective Amendment No. 20 to the Registration Statement on Form
N-1A, filed on October 25, 1995.
(e) Distribution Agreement is incorporated by reference to Exhibit (6) of
Post-Effective Amendment No. 20 to the Registration Statement on Form
N-1A, filed on October 25, 1995.
(g) Custody Agreement is incorporated by reference to Exhibit 8 of
Post-Effective Amendment No. 21 to the Registration Statement on Form
N-1A, filed on April 11, 1996.
(h) Shareholder Services Plan is incorporated by reference to Exhibit (9)
of Post-Effective Amendment No. 20 to the Registration Statement on
Form N-1A, filed on October 25, 1995.
(i) Opinion and consent of Registrant's counsel is incorporated by
reference to Exhibit (10) of Pre-Effective Amendment No. 15 to the
Registration Statement on Form N-1A, filed on December 30, 1993.
(j) Consent of Independent Auditors.*
(n) Financial Data Schedule.*
- --------------------
* To be filed by Amendment.
Other Exhibits
--------------
(a) Powers of Attorney of the Board members and officers are
incorporated by reference to Other Exhibits (a) of Post-
Effective Amendment No. 24 to the Registration Statement on
Form N-1A, filed on April 23, 1998.
(b) Certificate of Secretary is incorporated by reference to
Other Exhibits (b) of Post-Effective Amendment No. 24 to
the Registration Statement on Form N-1A, filed on
April 23, 1998.
Item 24. Persons Controlled by or under Common Control with Registrant.
- ------- --------------------------------------------------------------
Not Applicable
Item 25. Indemnification
- ------- ---------------
The Statement as to the general effect of any contract, arrangements
or statute under which a director, officer, underwriter or affiliated
person of the Registrant is insured or indemnified in any manner
against any liability which may be incurred in such capacity, other
than insurance provided by any director, officer, affiliated person or
underwriter for their own protection, is incorporated by reference to
Item 27 of Part C of Post-Effective Amendment No. 24 to the
Registration Statement on Form N-1A, filed on April 23, 1998.
Reference is also made to the Distribution Agreement attached as
Exhibit (6) of Pre-Effective Amendment No. 20 to the Registration
Statement on Form N-1A, filed on October 25, 1995.
Item 26. Business and Other Connections of Investment Adviser.
- ------- ----------------------------------------------------
The Dreyfus Corporation ("Dreyfus") and subsidiary companies comprise
a financial service organization whose business consists primarily of
providing investment management services as the investment adviser and
manager for sponsored investment companies registered under the
Investment Company Act of 1940 and as an investment adviser to
institutional and individual accounts. Dreyfus also serves as sub-
investment adviser to and/or administrator of other investment
companies. Dreyfus Service Corporation, a wholly-owned subsidiary of
Dreyfus, serves primarily as a registered broker-dealer. Dreyfus
Investment Advisors, Inc., another wholly-owned subsidiary, provides
investment management services to various pension plans, institutions
and individuals.
<TABLE>
<CAPTION>
Officers and Directors of Investment Adviser
<S> <C> <C> <C>
Name and Position
With Dreyfus Other Businesses Position Held Dates
Christopher M. Condron Mellon Preferred Director 3/96 - 11/96
Chairman of the Board and Capital Corporation*
Chief Executive Officer
TBCAM Holdings, Inc.* President 10/97 - 6/98
Chairman 10/97 - 6/98
The Boston Company Chairman 1/98 - 6/98
Asset Management, LLC* President 1/98 - 6/98
The Boston Company President 9/95 - 1/98
Asset Management, Inc.* Chairman 4/95 - 1/98
Chief Executive Officer 4/95 - 4/97
Pareto Partners Partner Representative 11/95 - 5/97
271 Regent Street
London, England W1R 8PP
Franklin Portfolio Holdings, Inc.* Director 1/97 - Present
Franklin Portfolio
Associates Trust* Trustee 9/95 - 1/97
Certus Asset Advisors Corp.**
Director 6/95 - Present
The Boston Company of Director 6/95 - 4/96
Southern California Chief Executive Officer 6/95 - 4/96
Los Angeles, CA
Mellon Capital Management Director 5/95 - Present
Corporation***
Mellon Bond Associates, LLP+ Executive Committee 1/98 - Present
Member
Mellon Bond Associates+ Trustee 5/95 -1/98
Mellon Equity Associates, LLP+ Executive Committee 1/98 - Present
Member
Mellon Equity Associates+ Trustee 5/95 - 1/98
Boston Safe Advisors, Inc.* Director 5/95 - Present
President 5/95 - Present
Access Capital Strategies Corp. Director 5/95 - 1/97
124 Mount Auburn Street
Suite 200 North
Cambridge, MA 02138
Mellon Bank, N.A. + Chief Operating Officer 3/98 - Present
President 3/98 - Present
Vice Chairman 11/94 - Present
Mellon Bank Corporation+ Chief Operating Officer 1/99 - Present
President 1/99 - Present
Director 1/98 - Present
Vice Chairman 11/94 - 1/99
The Boston Company Financial Director 4/94- 8/96
Services, Inc.* President 4/94 - 8/96
The Boston Company, Inc.* Vice Chairman 1/94 - Present
Director 5/93 - Present
Laurel Capital Advisors, LLP+ Exec. Committee 1/98 - Present
Member
Laurel Capital Advisors+ Trustee 10/93 - 1/98
Boston Safe Deposit and Trust Chairman 3/93 - 2/96
Company of CA Chief Executive Officer 6/93 - 2/96
Los Angeles, CA Director 6/89 - 2/96
MY, Inc.* President 9/91 - 3/96
Director 9/91 - 3/96
Reco, Inc.* President 8/91 - 11/96
Director 8/91 - 11/96
Boston Safe Deposit and Trust Director 6/89 - 2/96
Company of NY
New York, NY
Boston Safe Deposit and Trust President 9/89 - 6/96
Company* Director 5/93 -Present
The Boston Company Financial President 6/89 - Present
Strategies, Inc. * Director 6/89 - Present
The Boston Company Financial President 6/89 - 1/97
Strategies Group, Inc. * Director 6/89- 1/97
Mandell L. Berman Self-Employed Real Estate Consultant, 11/74 - Present
Director 29100 Northwestern Highway Residential Builder and
Suite 370 Private Investor
Southfield, MI 48034
Burton C. Borgelt DeVlieg Bullard, Inc. Director 1/93 - Present
Director 1 Gorham Island
Westport, CT 06880
Mellon Bank Corporation+ Director 6/91 - Present
Mellon Bank, N.A. + Director 6/91 - Present
Dentsply International, Inc. Director 2/81 - Present
570 West College Avenue Chief Executive Officer 2/81 - 12/96
York, PA Chairman 3/89 - 1/96
Stephen E. Canter Dreyfus Investment Chairman of the Board 1/97 - Present
President, Chief Operating Advisors, Inc.++ Director 5/95 - Present
Officer, Chief Investment President 5/95 - Present
Officer, and Director
Founders Asset Management, LLC Acting Chief Executive 7/98 - 12/98
2930 East Third Ave. Officer
Denver, CO 80206
The Dreyfus Trust Company+++ Director 6/95 - Present
Thomas F. Eggers Dreyfus Service Corporation++ Executive Vice President 4/96 - Present
Vice Chairman - Institutional Director 9/96 - Present
and Director
Steven G. Elliott Mellon Bank Corporation+ Senior Vice Chairman 1/99 - Present
Director Chief Financial Officer 1/90 - Present
Vice Chairman 6/92 - 1/99
Treasurer 1/90 - 5/98
Mellon Bank, N.A.+ Senior Vice Chairman 3/98 - Present
Vice Chairman 6/92 - 3/98
Chief Financial Officer 1/90 - Present
Mellon EFT Services Corporation Director 10/98 - Present
Mellon Bank Center, 8th Floor
1735 Market Street
Philadelphia, PA 19103
Mellon Financial Services Director 1/96 - Present
Corporation #1 Vice President 1/96 - Present
Mellon Bank Center, 8th Floor
1735 Market Street
Philadelphia, PA 19103
Boston Group Holdings, Inc.* Vice President 5/93 - Present
APT Holdings Corporation Treasurer 12/87 - Present
Pike Creek Operations Center
4500 New Linden Hill Road
Wilmington, DE 19808
Allomon Corporation Director 12/87 - Present
Two Mellon Bank Center
Pittsburgh, PA 15259
Collection Services Corporation Controller 10/90 - Present
500 Grant Street Director 9/88 - Present
Pittsburgh, PA 15258 Vice President 9/88 - Present
Treasurer 9/88 - Present
Mellon Financial Company+ Principal Exec. Officer 1/88 - Present
Chief Financial Officer 8/87 - Present
Director 8/87 - Present
President 8/87 - Present
Mellon Overseas Investments Director 4/88 - Present
Corporation+ Chairman 7/89 - 11/97
President 4/88 - 11/97
Chief Executive Officer 4/88 - 11/97
Mellon International Investment Director 9/89 - 8/97
Corporation+
Mellon Financial Services Treasurer 12/87 - Present
Corporation # 5+
Lawrence S. Kash Dreyfus Investment Director 4/97 - Present
Vice Chairman Advisors, Inc.++
And Director
Dreyfus Brokerage Services, Inc. Chairman 11/97 - Present
401 North Maple Ave. Chief Executive Officer 11/97 - Present
Beverly Hills, CA
Dreyfus Service Corporation++ Director 1/95 - Present
President 9/96 - Present
Dreyfus Precious Metals, Inc.++ + Director 3/96 - 12/98
President 10/96 - 12/98
Dreyfus Service Director 12/94 - Present
Organization, Inc.++ President 1/97 - Present
Executive Vice President 12/94 - 1/97
Seven Six Seven Agency, Inc. ++ Director 1/97 - Present
Dreyfus Insurance Agency of Chairman 5/97 - Present
Massachusetts, Inc.++++ President 5/97 - Present
Director 5/97 - Present
The Dreyfus Trust Company+++ Chairman 1/97 - Present
President 2/97 - Present
Chief Executive Officer 2/97 - Present
Director 12/94 - Present
The Dreyfus Consumer Credit Chairman 5/97 - Present
Corporation++ President 5/97 - Present
Director 12/94 - Present
The Boston Company Advisors* Chairman 8/93 - 11/95
The Boston Company Advisors, Chairman 12/95 - Present
Inc. Chief Executive Officer 12/95 - Present
Wilmington, DE President 12/95 - Present
Cornice Acquisition Board of Managers 12/97 - Present
Company, LLC
Denver, CO
The Boston Company, Inc.* Director 5/93 - Present
President 5/93 - Present
Mellon Bank, N.A.+ Executive Vice President 2/92 - Present
Laurel Capital Advisors, LLP+ President 12/91 - Present
Executive Committee 12/91 - Present
Member
Boston Group Holdings, Inc.* Director 5/93 - Present
President 5/93 - Present
Martin G. McGuinn Mellon Bank Corporation+ Chairman 1/99 - Present
Director Chief Executive Officer 1/99 - Present
Director 1/98 - Present
Vice Chairman 1/90 - 1/99
Mellon Bank, N. A. + Chairman 3/98 - Present
Chief Executive Officer 3/98 - Present
Director 1/98 - Present
Vice Chairman 1/90 - 1/99
Mellon Leasing Corporation+ Vice Chairman 12/96 - Present
Mellon Bank (DE) National Director 4/89 - 12/98
Association
Wilmington, DE
Mellon Bank (MD) National Director 1/96 - 4/98
Association
Rockville, Maryland
Mellon Financial Vice President 9/86 - 10/97
Corporation (MD)
Rockville, Maryland
J. David Officer Dreyfus Service Corporation++ Executive Vice President 5/98 - Present
Vice Chairman
And Director Dreyfus Insurance Agency of Director 5/98 - Present
Massachusetts, Inc.++++
Seven Six Seven Agency, Inc.++ Director 10/98 - Present
Mellon Residential Funding Corp. + Director 4/97 - Present
Mellon Trust of Florida, N.A. Director 8/97 - Present
2875 Northeast 191st Street
North Miami Beach, FL 33180
Mellon Bank, NA+ Executive Vice President 7/96 - Present
The Boston Company, Inc.* Vice Chairman 1/97 - Present
Director 7/96 - Present
Mellon Preferred Capital Director 11/96 - Present
Corporation*
RECO, Inc.* President 11/96 - Present
Director 11/96 - Present
The Boston Company Financial President 8/96 - Present
Services, Inc.* Director 8/96 - Present
Boston Safe Deposit and Trust Director
Company* President 7/96 - Present
Executive Vice President 7/96 - 1/99
1/91 - 7/96
Mellon Trust of New York Director
1301 Avenue of the Americas 6/96 - Present
New York, NY 10019
Mellon Trust of California Director 6/96 - Present
400 South Hope Street
Suite 400
Los Angeles, CA 90071
Mellon Bank, N.A.+ Executive Vice President 2/94 - Present
Mellon United National Bank Director 3/98 - Present
1399 SW 1st Ave., Suite 400
Miami, Florida
Boston Group Holdings, Inc.* Director 12/97 - Present
Dreyfus Financial Services Corp. + Director 9/96 - Present
Dreyfus Investment Services Director 4/96 - Present
Corporation+
Richard W. Sabo Founders Asset Management LLC President 12/98 - Present
Director 2930 East Third Avenue Chief Executive Officer 12/98 - Present
Denver, CO. 80206
Prudential Securities Senior Vice President 07/91 - 11/98
New York, NY Regional Director 07/91 - 11/98
Richard F. Syron American Stock Exchange Chairman 4/94 - Present
Director 86 Trinity Place Chief Executive Officer 4/94 - Present
New York, NY 10006
Ronald P. O'Hanley Franklin Portfolio Holdings, Inc.* Director 3/97 - Present
Vice Chairman
TBCAM Holdings, Inc.* Chairman 6/98 - Present
Director 10/97 - Present
The Boston Company Asset Chairman 6/98 - Present
Management, LLC* Director 1/98 - 6/98
The Boston Company Asset Director 2/97 - 12/97
Management, Inc. *
Boston Safe Advisors, Inc. * Chairman 6/97 - Present
Director 2/97 - Present
Pareto Partners Partner Representative 5/97 - Present
271 Regent Street
London, England W1R 8PP
Mellon Capital Management Director 5/97 -Present
Corporation***
Certus Asset Advisors Corp.** Director 2/97 - Present
Mellon Bond Associates+ Trustee 2/97 - Present
Chairman 2/97 - Present
Mellon Equity Associates+ Trustee 2/97 - Present
Chairman 2/97 - Present
Mellon-France Corporation+ Director 3/97 - Present
Laurel Capital Advisors+ Trustee 3/97 - Present
McKinsey & Company, Inc. Partner 8/86 - 2/97
Boston, MA
Mark N. Jacobs Dreyfus Investment Director 4/97 -Present
General Counsel, Advisors, Inc.++ Secretary 10/77 - 7/98
Vice President, and
Secretary The Dreyfus Trust Company+++ Director 3/96 - Present
The TruePenny Corporation++ President 10/98 - Present
Director 3/96 - Present
Lion Management, Inc.++ Director 1/88 - 10/96
Vice President 1/88 - 10/96
Secretary 1/88 - 10/96
The Dreyfus Consumer Credit Secretary 4/83 - 3/96
Corporation++
Dreyfus Service Director 3/97 - Present
Organization, Inc.++ Assistant Secretary 4/83 -3/96
Major Trading Corporation++ Assistant Secretary 5/81 - 8/96
William H. Maresca The Dreyfus Trust Company+++ Director 3/97 - Present
Controller
Dreyfus Service Corporation++ Chief Financial Officer 12/98 - Present
Dreyfus Consumer Credit Corp.++ Treasurer 10/98 - Present
Dreyfus Investment Treasurer 10/98 - Present
Advisors, Inc. ++
Dreyfus-Lincoln, Inc. Vice President 10/98 - Present
4500 New Linden Hill Road
Wilmington, DE 19808
The TruePenny Corporation++ Vice President 10/98 - Present
Dreyfus Precious Metals, Inc.+++ Treasurer 10/98 - 12/98
The Trotwood Corporation++ Vice President 10/98 - Present
Trotwood Hunters Corporation++ Vice President 10/98 - Present
Trotwood Hunters Site A Corp. ++ Vice President 10/98 - Present
Dreyfus Transfer, Inc. Chief Financial Officer 5/98 - Present
One American Express Plaza,
Providence, RI 02903
Dreyfus Service Assistant Treasurer 3/93 - Present
Organization, Inc.++
Dreyfus Insurance Agency of Assistant Treasurer 5/98 - Present
Massachusetts, Inc.++++
William T. Sandalls, Jr. Dreyfus Transfer, Inc. Chairman 2/97 - Present
Executive Vice President One American Express Plaza,
Providence, RI 02903
Dreyfus Service Corporation++ Director 1/96 - Present
Treasurer 1/96 - 2/97
Executive Vice President 2/97 - Present
Chief Financial Officer 2/97 - 12/98
Dreyfus Investment Director 1/96 - Present
Advisors, Inc.++ Treasurer 1/96 - 10/98
Dreyfus-Lincoln, Inc. Director 12/96 - Present
4500 New Linden Hill Road President 1/97 - Present
Wilmington, DE 19808
Dreyfus Acquisition Corporation++ Director VP and CFO 1/96 - 8/96
Vice President 1/96 - 8/96
Chief Financial Officer 1/96 - 8/96
Lion Management, Inc.++ Director 1/96 - 10/96
President 1/96 - 10/96
Seven Six Seven Agency, Inc.++ Director 1/96 - 10/98
Treasurer 10/96 - 10/98
The Dreyfus Consumer Director 1/96 - Present
Credit Corp.++ Vice President 1/96 - Present
Treasurer 1/97 - 10/98
Dreyfus Partnership President 1/97 - 6/97
Management, Inc.++ Director 1/96 - 6/97
Dreyfus Service Organization, Director 1/96 - 6/97
Inc.++ Executive Vice President 1/96 - 6/97
Treasurer 10/96 - Present
Dreyfus Insurance Agency of Director 5/97 - Present
Massachusetts, Inc.++++ Treasurer 5/97 - Present
Executive Vice President 5/97 - Present
Major Trading Corporation++ Director 1/96 - 8/96
Treasurer 1/96 - 8/96
The Dreyfus Trust Company+++ Director 1/96 - 4/97
Treasurer 1/96 - 4/97
Chief Financial Officer 1/96 - 4/97
Dreyfus Personal Director 1/96 - 4/97
Management, Inc.++ Treasurer 1/96 - 4/97
Patrice M. Kozlowski None
Vice President - Corporate
Communications
Mary Beth Leibig None
Vice President -
Human Resources
Andrew S. Wasser Mellon Bank Corporation+ Vice President 1/95 - Present
Vice President -
Information Systems
Theodore A. Schachar Dreyfus Service Corporation++ Vice President -Tax 10/96 - Present
Vice President - Tax
Dreyfus Investment Advisors, Inc.++ Vice President - Tax 10/96 - Present
Dreyfus Precious Metals, Inc. +++ Vice President - Tax 10/96 - 12/98
Dreyfus Service Organization, Inc.++ Vice President - Tax 10/96 - Present
Wendy Strutt None
Vice President
Richard Terres None
Vice President
James Bitetto The TruePenny Corporation++ Secretary 9/98 - Present
Assistant Secretary
Dreyfus Service Corporation++ Assistant Secretary 8/98 - Present
Dreyfus Investment Assistant Secretary 7/98 - Present
Advisors, Inc.++
Dreyfus Service Assistant Secretary 7/98 - Present
Organization, Inc.++
Steven F. Newman Dreyfus Transfer, Inc. Vice President 2/97 - Present
Assistant Secretary One American Express Plaza Director 2/97 - Present
Providence, RI 02903 Secretary 2/97 - Present
Dreyfus Service Secretary 7/98 - Present
Organization, Inc.++ Assistant Secretary 5/98 - 7/98
- -------------------------------
* The address of the business so indicated is One Boston Place, Boston, Massachusetts, 02108.
** The address of the business so indicated is One Bush Street, Suite 450, San Francisco, California 94104.
*** The address of the business so indicated is 595 Market Street, Suite 3000, San Francisco, California 94105.
+ The address of the business so indicated is One Mellon Bank Center, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania 15258.
++ The address of the business so indicated is 200 Park Avenue, New York, New York 10166.
+++ The address of the business so indicated is 144 Glenn Curtiss Boulevard, Uniondale, New York 11556-0144.
++++The address of the business so indicated is 53 State Street, Boston, Massachusetts 02109
</TABLE>
<PAGE>
Item 27. Principal Underwriters
- -------- ----------------------
(a) Other investment companies for which Registrant's principal
underwriter (exclusive distributor) acts as principal underwriter or exclusive
distributor:
1) Comstock Partners Funds, Inc.
2) Dreyfus A Bonds Plus, Inc.
3) Dreyfus Appreciation Fund, Inc.
4) Dreyfus Asset Allocation Fund, Inc.
5) Dreyfus Balanced Fund, Inc.
6) Dreyfus BASIC GNMA Fund
7) Dreyfus BASIC Money Market Fund, Inc.
8) Dreyfus BASIC Municipal Fund, Inc.
9) Dreyfus BASIC U.S. Government Money Market Fund
10) Dreyfus California Intermediate Municipal Bond Fund
11) Dreyfus California Tax Exempt Bond Fund, Inc.
12) Dreyfus California Tax Exempt Money Market Fund
13) Dreyfus Cash Management
14) Dreyfus Cash Management Plus, Inc.
15) Dreyfus Connecticut Intermediate Municipal Bond Fund
16) Dreyfus Connecticut Municipal Money Market Fund, Inc.
17) Dreyfus Florida Intermediate Municipal Bond Fund
18) Dreyfus Florida Municipal Money Market Fund
19) The Dreyfus Fund Incorporated
20) Dreyfus Global Bond Fund, Inc.
21) Dreyfus Global Growth Fund
22) Dreyfus GNMA Fund, Inc.
23) Dreyfus Government Cash Management Funds
24) Dreyfus Growth and Income Fund, Inc.
25) Dreyfus Growth and Value Funds, Inc.
26) Dreyfus Growth Opportunity Fund, Inc.
27) Dreyfus Debt and Equity Funds
28) Dreyfus Index Funds, Inc.
29) Dreyfus Institutional Money Market Fund
30) Dreyfus Institutional Preferred Money Market Fund
31) Dreyfus Institutional Short Term Treasury Fund
32) Dreyfus Insured Municipal Bond Fund, Inc.
33) Dreyfus Intermediate Municipal Bond Fund, Inc.
34) Dreyfus International Funds, Inc.
35) Dreyfus Investment Grade Bond Funds, Inc.
36) Dreyfus Investment Portfolios
37) The Dreyfus/Laurel Funds, Inc.
38) The Dreyfus/Laurel Funds Trust
39) The Dreyfus/Laurel Tax-Free Municipal Funds
40) Dreyfus LifeTime Portfolios, Inc.
41) Dreyfus Liquid Assets, Inc.
42) Dreyfus Massachusetts Intermediate Municipal Bond Fund
43) Dreyfus Massachusetts Municipal Money Market Fund
44) Dreyfus Massachusetts Tax Exempt Bond Fund
45) Dreyfus MidCap Index Fund
46) Dreyfus Money Market Instruments, Inc.
47) Dreyfus Municipal Bond Fund, Inc.
48) Dreyfus Municipal Cash Management Plus
49) Dreyfus Municipal Money Market Fund, Inc.
50) Dreyfus New Jersey Intermediate Municipal Bond Fund
51) Dreyfus New Jersey Municipal Bond Fund, Inc.
52) Dreyfus New Jersey Municipal Money Market Fund, Inc.
53) Dreyfus New Leaders Fund, Inc.
54) Dreyfus New York Insured Tax Exempt Bond Fund
55) Dreyfus New York Municipal Cash Management
56) Dreyfus New York Tax Exempt Bond Fund, Inc.
57) Dreyfus New York Tax Exempt Intermediate Bond Fund
58) Dreyfus New York Tax Exempt Money Market Fund
59) Dreyfus U.S. Treasury Intermediate Term Fund
60) Dreyfus U.S. Treasury Long Term Fund
61) Dreyfus 100% U.S. Treasury Money Market Fund
62) Dreyfus U.S. Treasury Short Term Fund
63) Dreyfus Pennsylvania Intermediate Municipal Bond Fund
64) Dreyfus Pennsylvania Municipal Money Market Fund
65) Dreyfus Premier California Municipal Bond Fund
66) Dreyfus Premier Equity Funds, Inc.
67) Dreyfus Premier International Funds, Inc.
68) Dreyfus Premier GNMA Fund
69) Dreyfus Premier Worldwide Growth Fund, Inc.
70) Dreyfus Premier Municipal Bond Fund
71) Dreyfus Premier New York Municipal Bond Fund
72) Dreyfus Premier State Municipal Bond Fund
73) Dreyfus Premier Value Fund
74) Dreyfus Short-Intermediate Government Fund
75) Dreyfus Short-Intermediate Municipal Bond Fund
76) The Dreyfus Socially Responsible Growth Fund, Inc.
77) Dreyfus Stock Index Fund, Inc.
78) Dreyfus Tax Exempt Cash Management
79) The Dreyfus Third Century Fund, Inc.
80) Dreyfus Treasury Cash Management
81) Dreyfus Treasury Prime Cash Management
82) Dreyfus Variable Investment Fund
83) Dreyfus Worldwide Dollar Money Market Fund, Inc.
84) Founders Funds, Inc.
85) General California Municipal Bond Fund, Inc.
86) General California Municipal Money Market Fund
87) General Government Securities Money Market Fund, Inc.
88) General Money Market Fund, Inc.
88) General Municipal Bond Fund, Inc.
90) General Municipal Money Market Funds, Inc.
91) General New York Municipal Bond Fund, Inc.
92) General New York Municipal Money Market Fund
(b)
Positions and
Name and principal Positions and offices with offices with
business address the Distributor Registrant
- ------------------ --------------------------- -------------
Marie E. Connolly+ Director, President, Chief President and
Executive Officer and Chief Treasurer
Compliance Officer
Joseph F. Tower, III+ Director, Senior Vice President, Vice President
Treasurer and Chief Financial and Assistant
Officer Treasurer
Mary A. Nelson+ Vice President Vice President
and Assistant
Treasurer
Jean M. O'Leary+ Assistant Vice President, None
Assistant Secretary and
Assistant Clerk
William J. Nutt+ Chairman of the Board None
Michael S. Petrucelli++ Senior Vice President Vice President,
Assistant
Treasurer, and
Assistant Secretary
Patrick W. McKeon+ Vice President None
Joseph A. Vignone+ Vice President None
- --------------------------------
+ Principal business address is 60 State Street, Boston, Massachusetts 02109.
++ Principal business address is 200 Park Avenue, New York, New York 10166.
<PAGE>
Item 28. Location of Accounts and Records
- ------- --------------------------------
1. First Data Investor Services Group, Inc.,
a subsidiary of First Data Corporation
P.O. Box 9671
Providence, Rhode Island 02940-9671
2. Mellon Bank, N.A.
One Mellon Bank Center
Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania 15258
3. Dreyfus Transfer, Inc.
P.O. Box 9671
Providence, Rhode Island 02940-9671
4. The Dreyfus Corporation
200 Park Avenue
New York, New York 10166
Item 29. Management Services
- ------- -------------------
Not Applicable
Item 30. Undertakings
- ------- ------------
None
SIGNATURES
Pursuant to the requirements of the Securities Act of 1933 and the
Investment Company Act of 1940, the Registrant has duly caused this Amendment to
the Registration Statement to be signed on its behalf by the undersigned,
thereunto duly authorized, in the City of New York, and State of New York on the
24th day of February, 1999.
DREYFUS BASIC GNMA FUND
--------------------------------------------
(Registrant)
BY: /s/Marie E. Connolly*
----------------------------
Marie E. Connolly, PRESIDENT
Pursuant to the requirements of the Securities Act of 1933, this Amendment
to the Registration Statement has been signed below by the following persons in
the capacities and on the date indicated.
Signature Title Date
- -------------------------- ------------------- ----------
/s/ Marie E. Connolly* President and Treasurer (Principal 2/24/99
- --------------------- Executive Officer)
Marie E. Connolly
/s/ Joseph F. Tower, III* Vice President and Assistant 2/24/99
- ------------------------ Treasurer (Principal Financial
Joseph F. Tower, III and Accounting Officer)
/s/ Joseph S. DiMartino* Chairman of the Board 2/24/99
- ------------------------
Joseph S. DiMartino
/s/ Gordon J. Davis* Board Member 2/24/99
- --------------------------
Gordon J. Davis
/s/ David P. Feldman* Board Member 2/24/99
- --------------------------
David P. Feldman
/s/ Lynn Martin* Board Member 2/24/99
- --------------------------
Lynn Martin
/s/ Daniel Rose* Board Member 2/24/99
- --------------------------
Daniel Rose
/s/ Philip L. Toia* Board Member 2/24/99
- --------------------------
Philip L. Toia
/s/ Sander Vanocur* Board Member 2/24/99
- --------------------------
Sander Vanocur
/s/ Anne Wexler* Board Member 2/24/99
- --------------------------
Anne Wexler
/s/ Rex Wilder* Board Member 2/24/99
- --------------------------
Rex Wilder
*BY: /s/ Michael S. Petrucelli
----------------------------------
Michael S. Petrucelli,
Attorney-in-Fact
