STACY H. WINICK
Direct Dial: 312 807-4218
February 28, 1996
Securities and Exchange Commission
450 Fifth Street, N.W.
Washington, D.C. 20549
Ladies and Gentlemen:
ARTISAN FUNDS, INC.
On behalf of Artisan Funds, Inc., and its series Artisan Small Cap Fund and
Artisan International Fund, Inc. and pursuant to rule 497(e) under the
Securities Act of 1933, we are filing electronically (i) a copy of a supplement
to Small Cap Fund's prospectus dated August 1, 1995 and (ii) a copy of a
supplement to International Fund's prospectus dated December 27, 1995.
Very truly yours,
/s/ Stacy H. Winick
Stacy H. Winick
Enclosures
Copy to: Mr. John M. Blaser
Mr. Christopher Wysocki
ARTISAN SMALL CAP FUND
Supplement dated February 28, 1996
to Prospectus dated August 1, 1995
CLOSING THE FUND
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ARTISAN SMALL CAP FUND (THE "FUND") IS NOW CLOSED TO NEW INVESTORS. The Fund
closed at approximately $300 million in net assets to preserve the management
team's ability to manage the Fund effectively.
IF YOU ARE ALREADY A SHAREHOLDER OF THE FUND, YOU MAY CONTINUE TO ADD TO YOUR
ACCOUNT. In addition, you may OPEN A NEW ACCOUNT if:
- - you are already a shareholder (in your own name or as a beneficial owner of
shares held in someone else's name);
- - you are transferring or doing a "Rollover" into a Fund IRA from an
employee benefit plan through which you held shares of the Fund (if your
plan doesn't qualify for rollovers you may still open a new account with
all or part of the proceeds of a distribution from the plan);
- - you are an employee benefit plan sponsored by an institution that also
sponsors (or is an affiliate of an institute that sponsors) another
employee benefit plan account that was a shareholder of the Fund as of
February 28, 1996;
- - you are a director or officer of Artisan Funds, Inc., or a partner or
employee of Artisan Partners Limited Partnership ("Artisan Partners"),
the Fund's investment advisor, or a member of the immediate family of any
of those people;
- - you are a client of Artisan Partners or you have an existing business
relationship with Artisan Partners and, in the judgment of Artisan
Partners, your investment in the Fund would not adversely affect Artisan
Partners' ability to manage the Fund effectively; or
- - you are a client of a financial advisor or planner who has at least $1
million of client assets invested with the Fund as of February 28, 1996.
The Artisan Funds board concluded that permitting the additional investments
described above would not adversely affect the ability of Artisan Partners to
manage the Fund effectively.
If you have questions about your eligibility to purchase shares of the Fund,
please call (800) 344-1770.
TELEPHONE EXCHANGE PLAN
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The Artisan Funds telephone exchange plan permits you to transfer investments
between your Fund account and your account in Artisan International Fund,
another series of Artisan Funds. You may use the exchange plan to open a new
Fund account only if you are eligible to do so, as described under "Closing the
Fund"
Each exchange between the accounts must be at least $1,000. Exchanges may be
made between the hours of 7:00 a.m. and 3:00 p.m., Central Time on days the NYSE
is open for trading. The price of shares exchanged between Artisan
International Fund and the Fund is determined at the end of that day's trading
session.
TELEPHONE EXCHANGE PLAN RESTRICTIONS:
- - Exchanges between funds must be between accounts registered in the same
name, address and taxpayer identification number, and you must have elected
the telephone transaction option.
- - You may use the telephone exchange plan to exchange into the Fund only if
you are eligible to purchase Fund shares. See "Closing the Fund". If
you are eligible to open a new Fund account, you may open a Fund account by
telephone by exchanging an investment from the Artisan International Fund.
- - Before exchanging into Artisan International Fund, you should carefully
read its prospectus which may be obtained by calling (800) 344-1770.
- - The exchange of shares may have tax consequences to you.
- - If your account is subject to backup withholding, you may not use the
telephone exchange plan.
- - Because excessive trading can hurt performance and shareholders, Artisan
Funds reserves the right to temporarily or permanently terminate the
telephone exchange plan of any investor who makes excessive use of the
plan. Artisan Funds may limit the number of transfers per calendar year.
- - Artisan Funds reserves the right to terminate or modify the telephone
exchange plan at any time, but will try to give you prior notice whenever
it is able to do so.
ARTISAN INTERNATIONAL FUND
Supplement dated February 28, 1996
to Prospectus dated December 27, 1995
TELEPHONE EXCHANGE PLAN
Artisan Small Cap Fund is now closed to new investors. Please refer to the
Artisan Small Cap Fund prospectus dated August 1, 1995, as supplemented on
February 28, 1996, or call 1-800-344-1770 for information on whether you are
eligible to use the telephone exchange plan to open a Small Cap Fund account.
