Looking to diversify your domestic portfolio?

What is an international fund?
An international equity fund seeks capital appreciation by investing in stocks of companies in foreign markets. Some funds may target specific regions or countries, while others may focus on developed or emerging markets.

Why include international investing in my portfolio?
Adding global exposure to an investment portfolio provides increased investment opportunity as well as return potential that may not be available through the U.S. market alone. In fact, in the last 10 calendar years, the U.S. has been among the top three market performers only once.¹

• Diversify your portfolio.
  By investing in a variety of international securities, you may be able to reduce the risks associated with investing in a single market, economy, country or currency. Since different countries can follow different economic cycles, positive performance in one might help offset underperformance in another.
  
  
• Give your portfolio greater opportunity.
  With today's global economy, opportunities aren't only found in the U.S. market. In fact, some of the strongest opportunities may at times be found in other countries. The Internet and other new technologies have made it easier to analyze and buy securities across international borders. As the financial markets of the world become ever more interconnected, no longer is a single country, region or continent the sole source for investment. In the past, a growth-oriented portfolio mainly focused on the United States for industry-lending companies. Today, such companies are spread throughout the globe, and investors maintaining a purely domestic-oriented portfolio may be limiting themselves on both diversification and growth potential.

What does this mean to me?
You should consider adding an international element to your portfolio for diversification. Economic and market conditions are continually changing. Sometimes they favor domestic stocks while at other times they favor foreign investments. By diversifying among different geographic locations, it's possible to reduce the impact of any one country's market performance on a portfolio's overall returns.

Instead of investing in only one market, you might consider holding both domestic and foreign equities in your portfolio. Over the long term, you'll potentially benefit from whichever is in favor without having to guess which one will win out next.

How can I add international stocks to my portfolio?
Do you have the time, resources or the inclination to actively manage a portfolio of international stocks? Even experienced investors may find identifying the right investment opportunities at the right time a challenge. Professional investment expertise is even more vital when dealing with international stocks to weigh such variables as the strength of foreign economies and the valuation levels of companies and markets.

A Dreyfus mutual fund's professional management team can consist of portfolio managers, economists, analysts, and traders who perform their own research, conduct in-depth company analysis, meet with corporate management and use a range of sophisticated techniques in making investment decisions. Their experience, knowledge and resources are critical to optimizing performance potential and managing risk.

What are the potential benefits and risks?
Equity funds are subject generally to market, market sector, market liquidity, issuer and investment style risks, among other factors, to varying degrees, all of which are more fully described in the fund's prospectus.

In today's global economy, opportunities aren't only found in the U.S. market. Keep in mind that investing internationally involves accepting the risks of changes in currency exchange rates, political, economic and social instability, a lack of comprehensive company information, differing auditing and legal standards, and potentially less market liquidity. These risks are generally greater with emerging market countries than with more economically and politically established foreign countries.

As a result, investors can expect more volatile returns with dramatic shifts in performance over short-term periods. Of course, an international investment should be considered a supplement to an overall investment program and is appropriate only for those investors willing to undertake the risks involved.

Questions? Contact us.

1. Source: Lipper, based on Morgan Stanley Capital International's national indices of developed markets. For the calendar year periods 2002-2009. The performance data quoted represents past performance, which is no guarantee of future results. This example is for illustrative purposes only. This comparison is intended to illustrate the changing country leadership in terms of stock market performance over time and the potential benefits of a diversified investment approach. It is not intended to promote the performance of any country index or actual investment, which may be less than these returns show.

Investors should consider the investment objectives, risks, charges, and expenses of a fund carefully before investing. Download a prospectus that contains this and other information about a fund, and read it carefully before investing.

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