FIRSTMERIT EQUITY FUND
(A PORTFOLIO OF FIRSTMERIT FUNDS.)
SUPPLEMENT TO PROSPECTUS DATED JANUARY 31, 2000
Following is information that supplements your FirstMerit Equity Fund
prospectus. We are providing it to advise you of the increase of the maximum
front-end sales charge from 4.50% to 5.50%. The increase will take effect March
1, 2000. Keep in mind that the sales charge at purchase may still be reduced or
eliminated by:
o quantity of purchases of shares;
o combining concurrent purchases of shares by you, your spouse, and your
children
under age 21;
o accumulating purchases (in calculating the sales charge on additional
purchase, you may count the current value of previous share purchases
still invested in the Fund);
o signing a letter of intent to purchase at least $100,000 of Fund shares
within 13 months (call the Fund for an application and more
information); or
o reinvesting redemption proceeds within 60 days.
The following Example is intended to help you compare the cost of
investing in the Fund with the cost of investing in other mutual funds. The
Example assumes that you invest $10,000 in the Fund for the time periods
indicated and then redeem all of your shares at the end of those periods.
Expenses assuming no redemption are also shown. The Example also assumes that
your investment has 5% return each year and that the Fund operating expenses are
BEFORE WAIVERS. Although your actual costs my be higher or lower, based on these
assumptions your cost would be:
1 YEAR 3 5 10
YEARS YEARS YEARS
FIRSTMERIT EQUITY FUND $704 $1,027$1,373 $2,346
SALES CHARGE WHEN YOU PURCHASE FIRSTMERIT EQUITY FUND
Fund shares will be sold at net asset value (NAV) plus a sales charge as
follows:
Sales Charge as a Sales Charge as
Purchase Amount Percentage of a Percentage of
Public Offering NAV
Price
Less than $50,000 5.50% 5.82%
$50,000 but less than 4.50% 4.71%
$100,000
$100,000 but less than 3.75% 3.90%
$250,000
$250,000 but less than 2.50% 2.56%
$500,000
$500,000 but less than $1 2.00% 2.04%
million
$1 million or greater1 0.00% 0.00%
Cusip 337944102
25139
512586
