N-CSR/A 1 ncsr0903.txt FIRST INVESTORS EQUITY FUNDS UNITED STATES SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION WASHINGTON, D.C. 20549 -------- FORM N-CSR -------- CERTIFIED SHAREHOLDER REPORT OF REGISTERED MANAGEMENT INVESTMENT COMPANIES INVESTMENT COMPANY ACT FILE NUMBERS 811-5690; 811-6618; 811-3169 FIRST INVESTORS SERIES FUND FIRST INVESTORS SERIES FUND II, INC. FIRST INVESTORS GLOBAL FUND, INC. (Exact name of registrant as specified in charter) -------- 95 Wall Street New York, NY 10005 (Address of principal executive offices) (Zip code) Joseph I. Benedek First Investors Management Company, Inc. 581 Main Street Woodbridge, NJ 07095 (Name and address of agent for service) REGISTRANT'S TELEPHONE NUMBER, INCLUDING AREA CODE: 1-212-858-8000 DATE OF FISCAL YEAR END: SEPTEMBER 30, 2003 DATE OF REPORTING PERIOD: SEPTEMBER 30, 2003 Item 1. Reports to Stockholders - Filed herewith Portfolio Managers' Letter FIRST INVESTORS TOTAL RETURN FUND Dear Investor: This is the annual report for the First Investors Total Return Fund for the fiscal year ended September 30, 2003. During the period, the Fund's return on a net asset value basis was 15.6% for Class A shares and 14.7% for Class B shares, including dividends of 21 cents per share on Class A shares and 13 cents per share on Class B shares. The primary drivers of the Fund's performance were the improving economy, the general rise of equities and the Fund's asset allocation decisions. Given the equity market's positive performance, the Fund benefited from its average equity allocation of 62.4% over the reporting period. In addition to the equity holdings, the average allocation over the reporting period was 33.7% bonds and 3.9% cash equivalents. In the equity portion of the portfolio, the Fund's performance was attributable to its investments in two key sectors, technology and financials. The top contributing sector was technology, as investors bid up prices in anticipation of a cyclical upturn. Smaller overall contributions came from the consumer discretionary, industrials, health care, materials and energy sectors. Investments in convertible preferred stocks and exchange traded funds also aided the Fund's performance. In addition, the Fund benefited by allocating part of its equity investments to mid- and small-cap stocks, as they outperformed their larger counterparts. During the reporting period, the fixed income portfolio had approximately 60% of its assets in investment grade corporate bonds, 30% in mortgage-backed bonds, and the balance in municipal securities. Corporate bonds were the best performing area of the fixed income sector, although the Fund's returns in this sector were diminished by holdings in the airline industry. The Fund's mortgage-backed holdings generally benefited from relatively low coupons, which reduced their exposure to record prepayments during much of the reporting period. Among the municipal bond holdings, returns were hurt by long durations, as well as one holding in the tobacco sector. Portfolio Managers' Letter (continued) FIRST INVESTORS TOTAL RETURN FUND Thank you for placing your trust in First Investors. As always, we appreciate the opportunity to serve your investment needs. Sincerely, /S/ EDWIN D. MISKA Edwin D. Miska Director of Equities and Co-Portfolio Manager /S/ CLARK D. WAGNER Clark D. Wagner Director of Fixed Income and Co-Portfolio Manager October 31, 2003 Cumulative Performance Information FIRST INVESTORS TOTAL RETURN FUND Comparison of change in value of $10,000 investment in the First Investors Total Return Fund (Class A shares), the Lehman Brothers U.S. Government Bond/Credit Index and the Standard & Poor's 500 Index. TOTAL RETURN GRAPH PLOTS As of September 30, 2003 TOTAL LEHMAN GOV. S&P RETURN BOND/CREDIT 500 DEC 93 $ 9,425 $10,000 $10,000 DEC 94 9,095 9,649 10,132 DEC 95 11,535 11,505 13,940 DEC 96 12,760 11,839 17,140 DEC 97 15,067 12,995 22,859 SEP 98 15,536 14,207 24,238 SEP 99 17,562 13,977 30,976 SEP 00 20,885 14,919 35,091 SEP 01 17,257 16,884 25,750 SEP 02 15,296 18,429 20,474 SEP 03 17,679 19,628 25,469 (INSET BOX IN CHART READS:) Average Annual Total Returns* Class A Shares N.A.V. Only S.E.C. Standardized One Year 15.58% 8.90% Five Years 2.29% 1.09% Ten Years 6.50% 5.87% Class B Shares One Year 14.71% 10.71% Five Years 1.57% 1.19% Since Inception (1/12/95) 7.00% 7.00% The graph compares a $10,000 investment in the First Investors Total Return Fund (Class A shares) beginning 12/31/93 with theoretical investments in the Lehman Brothers U.S. Government Bond/Credit Index and the Standard & Poor's 500 Index. The Lehman Brothers U.S. Government Bond/Credit Index combines the Lehman Brothers U.S. Government Bond Index with the Lehman Brothers U.S. Credit Index. The U.S. Government Bond Index is made up of the Treasury Bond Index (all public obligations of the U.S. Treasury) and the Agency Bond Index (all publicly issued debt of U.S. Government agencies and quasi-federal corporations, and corporate debt guaranteed by the U.S. Government). The U.S. Credit Index includes all publicly issued, fixed-rate, nonconvertible investment grade dollar-denominated, S.E.C.- registered corporate debt. All issues in each Index have at least one year to maturity and an outstanding par value of at least $150 million. The Standard & Poor's 500 Index is an unmanaged capitalization-weighted index of 500 stocks designed to measure performance of the broad domestic economy through changes in the aggregate market value of such stocks, which represent all major industries. It is not possible to invest directly in these Indices. In addition, the Indices do not take into account fees and expenses that an investor would incur in purchasing securities in these Indices. For purposes of the graph and the accompanying table, unless otherwise indicated, it has been assumed that the maximum sales charge was deducted from the initial $10,000 investment in the Fund and all dividends and distributions were reinvested. Class B shares performance may be greater than or less than that shown in the line graph above for Class A shares based on differences in sales loads and fees paid by shareholders investing in the different classes. * Average Annual Total Return figures (for the periods ended 9/30/03) include the reinvestment of all dividends and distributions. "N.A.V. Only" returns are calculated without sales charges. The Class A "S.E.C. Standardized" returns shown are based on the maximum sales charge of 5.75% (prior to 6/17/02, the maximum sales charge was 6.25%). The Class B "S.E.C. Standardized" returns are adjusted for the applicable deferred sales charge (maximum of 4% in the first year). During the periods shown, some of the expenses of the Fund were waived or assumed. If such expenses had been paid by the Fund, the Class A "S.E.C. Standardized" Average Annual Total Return for One Year, Five Years and Ten Years would have been 8.65%, .79% and 5.56%, respectively. The Class B "S.E.C. Standardized" Average Annual Total Return for One Year, Five Years and Since Inception would have been 10.46%, .88% and 6.72%, respectively. Results represent past performance and do not indicate future results. Investment return and principal value of an investment will fluctuate so that an investor's shares, when redeemed, may be worth more or less than the original cost. Lehman Brothers U.S. Government Bond/Credit Index figures are from Lehman Brothers, Inc., Standard & Poor's 500 Index figures are from Standard & Poor's and all other figures are from First Investors Management Company, Inc.
Portfolio of Investments FIRST INVESTORS TOTAL RETURN FUND September 30, 2003 ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Amount Invested For Each $10,000 of Shares Security Value Net Assets ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- COMMON STOCKS--60.9% Consumer Discretionary--9.8% 21,600 * Abercrombie & Fitch Company - Class "A" $598,536 $29 8,200 * Best Buy Company, Inc. 389,664 19 18,200 * Brinker International, Inc. 607,152 30 13,800 Clear Channel Communications, Inc. 528,540 26 41,100 * Comcast Corporation - Special Class "A" 1,214,094 59 22,100 Eastman Kodak Company 462,774 23 35,400 * Fox Entertainment Group, Inc. - Class "A" 990,846 48 47,400 * GameStop Corporation - Class "A" 753,660 37 13,800 Genuine Parts Company 441,324 22 19,000 GTECH Holdings Corporation 814,150 40 20,400 Harley-Davidson, Inc. 983,280 48 29,800 Hasbro, Inc. 556,664 27 47,600 * Hollywood Entertainment Corporation 809,200 39 17,700 Home Depot, Inc. 563,745 27 75,900 J.C. Penney Company, Inc. (Holding Company) 1,621,983 79 29,600 Landry's Restaurants, Inc. 609,760 30 19,000 * Lear Corporation 1,000,160 49 43,500 Leggett & Platt, Inc. 940,905 46 300 Lifetime Hoan Corporation 3,138 -- 24,800 Mattel, Inc. 470,208 23 81,200 McDonald's Corporation 1,911,448 93 19,000 Newell Rubbermaid, Inc. 411,730 20 34,600 * Office Depot, Inc. 486,130 24 57,100 Pier 1 Imports, Inc. 1,098,604 53 34,000 Polo Ralph Lauren Corporation - Class "A" 911,880 44 20,900 Reader's Digest Association, Inc. 292,391 14 18,200 * Scholastic Corporation 523,978 26 ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 19,995,944 975 ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Consumer Staples--5.4% 27,000 Altria Group, Inc. 1,182,600 58 22,100 Anheuser-Busch Companies, Inc. 1,090,414 53 20,300 Bunge, Ltd. 558,250 27 54,400 Coca-Cola Enterprises, Inc. 1,036,864 51 16,300 * Costco Wholesale Corporation 506,604 25 27,200 CVS Corporation 844,832 41 29,900 Hormel Foods Corporation 687,102 33 17,000 Kimberly-Clark Corporation 872,440 43 ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Amount Invested For Each $10,000 of Shares Security Value Net Assets ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Consumer Staples (continued) 27,700 Pepsi Bottling Group, Inc. $570,066 $28 13,700 PepsiCo, Inc. 627,871 31 17,900 Procter & Gamble Company 1,661,478 81 16,100 * Smithfield Foods, Inc. 309,120 15 20,000 Wal-Mart Stores, Inc. 1,117,000 54 ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 11,064,641 540 ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Energy--4.1% 23,800 Anadarko Petroleum Corporation 993,888 48 15,000 ConocoPhillips 821,250 40 264 Cross Timbers Royalty Trust 5,544 -- 16,000 Diamond Offshore Drilling, Inc. 305,600 15 25,300 EOG Resources, Inc. 1,056,022 52 51,600 ExxonMobil Corporation 1,888,560 92 22,300 * Noble Corporation 757,977 37 48,000 Suncor Energy, Inc. 890,400 43 42,100 * Transocean, Inc. 842,000 41 35,700 XTO Energy, Inc. 749,343 37 ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 8,310,584 405 ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Financials--12.1% 27,700 ACE, Ltd. 916,316 45 19,000 American Express Company 856,140 42 19,100 American International Group, Inc. 1,102,070 53 35,400 AmSouth Bancorporation 751,188 37 16,300 Bank of America Corporation 1,272,052 62 23,200 Bear Stearns Companies, Inc. 1,735,360 85 41,000 Citigroup, Inc. 1,865,910 91 16,800 Endurance Specialty Holdings, Ltd. 490,560 24 12,200 Equity Office Properties Trust 335,866 16 13,600 Fannie Mae 954,720 46 31,300 FleetBoston Financial Corporation 943,695 46 6,800 Lehman Brothers Holdings, Inc. 469,744 23 40,800 Lincoln National Corporation 1,443,504 70 20,400 Marsh & McLennan Companies, Inc. 971,244 47 46,500 MBNA Corporation 1,060,200 52 9,500 Merrill Lynch & Company, Inc. 508,535 25 8,400 Morgan Stanley 423,864 21 21,400 Old Republic International Corporation 708,126 35 ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Portfolio of Investments (continued) FIRST INVESTORS TOTAL RETURN FUND September 30, 2003 ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Amount Invested For Each $10,000 of Shares Security Value Net Assets ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Financials (continued) 5,000 PartnerRe, Ltd. $253,350 $12 24,700 Plum Creek Timber Company, Inc. (REIT) 628,368 31 19,000 Scottish Re Group, Ltd. 458,850 22 20,400 SouthTrust Corporation 599,556 29 18,700 St. Paul Companies, Inc. 692,461 34 54,700 U.S. Bancorp 1,312,253 64 38,700 Wachovia Corporation 1,594,053 78 38,500 Washington Mutual, Inc. 1,515,745 74 19,200 Wells Fargo & Company 988,800 48 ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 24,852,530 1,212 ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Health Care--7.9% 31,300 Abbott Laboratories 1,331,815 65 16,300 * Accredo Health, Inc. 456,237 22 19,000 AmerisourceBergen Corporation 1,026,950 50 12,700 * Amgen, Inc. 820,039 40 15,700 * Barr Laboratories, Inc. 1,070,897 52 15,000 * Boston Scientific Corporation 957,000 47 8,200 Eli Lilly & Company 487,080 24 11,000 * Enzon Pharmaceuticals, Inc. 128,040 6 2,700 * Genetech, Inc. 216,378 10 44,000 Health Management Associates, Inc. - Class "A" 959,640 47 6,900 * Henry Schein, Inc. 391,230 19 25,100 Johnson & Johnson 1,242,952 61 14,400 * Laboratory Corporation of America Holdings 413,280 20 25,400 McKesson Corporation 845,566 41 13,800 Medtronic, Inc. 647,496 32 16,500 Merck & Company, Inc. 835,230 41 92,480 Pfizer, Inc. 2,809,542 137 33,100 Wyeth 1,525,910 74 ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 16,165,282 788 ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Industrials--6.7% 16,800 3M Company 1,160,376 57 13,900 Alexander & Baldwin, Inc. 390,312 19 8,200 Caterpillar, Inc. 564,488 27 27,200 * Cendant Corporation 508,368 25 16,200 Chicago Bridge & Iron Company NV - NY Shares 439,992 21 6,900 Eaton Corporation 611,478 30 ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Amount Invested For Each $10,000 of Shares Security Value Net Assets ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Industrials (continued) 16,000 EDO Corporation $324,000 $16 16,250 Engineered Support Systems, Inc. 983,125 48 19,300 Harsco Corporation 742,471 36 24,500 Honeywell International, Inc. 645,575 31 16,600 Lockheed Martin Corporation 766,090 37 57,900 Masco Corporation 1,417,392 69 15,600 Northrop Grumman Corporation 1,345,032 66 27,000 Pall Corporation 605,880 30 30,800 Pitney Bowes, Inc. 1,180,256 58 24,500 Rockwell Automation, Inc. 643,125 31 9,400 Textron, Inc. 370,830 18 14,100 United Technologies Corporation 1,089,648 53 ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 13,788,438 672 ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Information Technology--10.3% 12,100 * AMIS Holdings, Inc. 223,366 11 4,100 * Analog Devices, Inc. 155,882 8 13,600 * Applied Materials, Inc. 246,704 12 34,000 Autodesk, Inc. 578,680 28 54,400 * Cisco Systems, Inc. 1,062,976 52 55,000 * Concord EFS, Inc. 751,850 37 23,100 * Electronics for Imaging, Inc. 538,692 26 105,600 * EMC Corporation 1,333,728 65 168,600 * Entrust, Inc. 827,826 40 24,500 First Data Corporation 979,020 48 62,600 Hewlett-Packard Company 1,211,936 59 55,300 Intel Corporation 1,521,303 74 21,800 * Intersil Corporation - Class "A" 518,840 25 27,600 * ManTech International Corporation - Class "A" 686,688 34 94,700 Microsoft Corporation 2,631,713 128 46,200 * Network Associates, Inc. 635,712 31 74,800 Nokia Corporation - Class "A" (ADR) 1,166,880 57 155,000 * Nortel Networks Corporation 635,500 31 32,600 QUALCOMM, Inc. 1,357,464 66 113,800 * Sun Microsystems, Inc. 376,678 18 43,604 Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co., Ltd. (ADR) 472,231 23 22,000 * Tech Data Corporation 678,700 33 13,600 Texas Instruments, Inc. 310,080 15 43,000 * Thermo Electron Corporation 933,100 46 27,200 * Titan Corporation 566,848 28 ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Portfolio of Investments (continued) FIRST INVESTORS TOTAL RETURN FUND September 30, 2003 ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Amount Invested Shares or For Each Principal $10,000 of Amount Security Value Net Assets ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Information Technology (continued) 33,800 * Western Digital Corporation $435,682 $21 9,500 * Xilinx, Inc. 270,845 13 ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 21,108,924 1,029 ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Materials--2.1% 18,000 Dow Chemical Company 585,720 29 37,200 Freeport-McMoRan Copper & Gold, Inc. - Class "B" 1,231,320 60 12,200 PPG Industries, Inc. 637,084 31 8,200 Praxair, Inc. 507,990 25 42,700 RPM International, Inc. 557,662 27 14,500 Weyerhaeuser Company 847,525 41 ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 4,367,301 213 ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Other--1.1% 24,500 * Nasdaq--100 Index Tracking Stock 794,290 39 15,100 SPDR Trust - Series "1" 1,508,792 73 ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 2,303,082 112 ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Telecommunication Services--.7% 38,300 SBC Communications, Inc. 852,175 41 20,600 Verizon Communications, Inc. 668,264 33 ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 1,520,439 74 ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Utilities--.7% 20,400 Consolidated Edison, Inc. 831,505 40 10,800 Dominion Resources, Inc. 668,520 33 ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 1,500,025 73 ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Total Value of Common Stocks (cost $107,450,107) 124,977,190 6,093 ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- CORPORATE BONDS--20.0% Aerospace/Defense--.7% $500M Boeing Capital Corp., 4.75%, 2008 520,323 25 350M Honeywell International, Inc., 7.5%, 2010 421,467 21 500M Precision Castparts Corp., 8.75%, 2005 535,158 26 ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 1,476,948 72 ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Amount Invested For Each Principal $10,000 of Amount Security Value Net Assets ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Automotive--.4% $700M DaimlerChrysler NA Holdings Corp., 8%, 2010 $816,797 $40 ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Energy--.3% 600M Texaco Capital, Inc., 8.25%, 2006 707,722 34 ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Financial--2.6% 750M CIT Group Holdings, Inc., 7.75%, 2012 891,580 43 750M First Union National Bank, 7.8%, 2010 918,210 45 350M General Electric Capital Corp., 8.5%, 2008 427,690 21 General Motors Acceptance Corp.: 500M 4.5%, 2006 510,976 25 650M 7.75%, 2010 716,227 35 Household Finance Corp.: 750M 6.5%, 2008 852,345 41 170M 7.75%, 2022 181,077 9 885M SLM Corp., 5%, 2015 900,725 44 ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 5,398,830 263 ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Financial Services--3.1% 500M Bank of America Corp., 6.5%, 2011 550,063 27 750M Bank One Corp., 7.6%, 2007 862,876 42 500M Bank United Corp., 8%, 2009 598,124 29 1,000M Lincoln National Corp., 6.5%, 2008 1,121,427 55 725M Manufacturers & Traders Trust Co., 8%, 2010 887,146 43 853M National City Bank of Kentucky, 6.3%, 2011 960,063 47 400M PNC Funding Corp., 6.125%, 2009 451,990 22 737M Washington Mutual, Inc., 8.25%, 2010 898,536 44 ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 6,330,225 309 ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Food/Beverage/Tobacco--.3% 530M Coca-Cola Enterprises, Inc., 7.125%, 2009 627,834 31 ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Food/Drug--1.4% 600M Delhaize America, Inc., 8.125%, 2011 663,000 32 1,000M Kroger Co., 7.8%, 2007 1,165,753 57 996M Safeway, Inc., 7%, 2007 1,126,803 55 ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 2,955,556 144 ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Portfolio of Investments (continued) FIRST INVESTORS TOTAL RETURN FUND September 30, 2003 ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Amount Invested For Each Principal $10,000 of Amount Security Value Net Assets ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Forest Products/Containers--.4% $750M International Paper Co., 6.75%, 2011 $847,407 $41 ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Gaming/Leisure--.4% 750M MGM Mirage, Inc., 8.5%, 2010 847,500 41 ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Health Care--.5% 800M Wyeth, 6.7%, 2011 915,537 45 ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Information Technology--.3% 500M International Business Machines Corp., 5.4%, 2009 546,797 27 ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Manufacturing--.4% 700M Newell Rubbermaid, Inc., 6.75%, 2012 794,707 39 ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Media - Broadcasting--.7% 705M Comcast Cable Communications, Inc., 8.375%, 2007 826,028 40 500M Cox Enterprises, Inc., 8%, 2007 + 576,700 28 ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 1,402,728 68 ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Media - Diversified--.9% 750M AOL Time Warner, Inc., 6.75%, 2011 839,015 41 705M Viacom, Inc., 8.625%, 2012 896,243 44 ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 1,735,258 85 ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Metals/Mining--.3% 500M Thiokol Corp., 6.625%, 2008 556,311 27 ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Real Estate--2.3% 910M AvalonBay Communities, Inc., 6.875%, 2007 (REIT) 1,032,754 50 750M Boston Properties, Inc., 5%, 2015 (REIT) 724,318 35 700M EOP Operating LP, 8.1%, 2010 (REIT) 841,515 41 700M Mack-Cali Realty LP, 7.75%, 2011 (REIT) 827,970 41 350M Simon Property Group, Inc., 7.875%, 2016 (REIT) + 423,514 21 800M Simon Property Group, LP, 7.375%, 2018 (REIT) 944,508 46 ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 4,794,579 234 ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Retail - General Merchandise--.7% 500M Federated Department Stores, Inc., 7.45%, 2017 603,319 29 600M Target Corp., 7.5%, 2010 726,572 36 ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 1,329,891 65 ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Amount Invested For Each Principal $10,000 of Amount Security Value Net Assets ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Services--.4% $750M ERAC USA Finance Enterprise Co., 7.35%, 2008 + $868,943 $42 ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Telecommunications--.3% 500M Ameritech Capital Funding, 6.45%, 2018 566,216 28 100M SBC Communications, Inc., 6.25%, 2011 111,910 5 ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 678,126 33 ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Transportation--1.4% Burlington Northern Santa Fe Corp.: 1,000M 7.875%, 2007 1,177,639 57 250M 6.75%, 2011 289,685 14 400M Canadian National Railway Co., 6.45%, 2006 441,117 22 Union Pacific Corp.: 200M 7.25%, 2008 232,869 11 600M 7.375%, 2009 708,245 35 ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 2,849,555 139 ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Utilities--2.2% 750M Consumers Energy Co., 6.375%, 2008 823,372 40 800M DPL, Inc., 6.875%, 2011 826,280 40 750M Duke Capital Corp., 8%, 2019 842,053 41 750M NiSource Finance Corp., 7.875%, 2010 895,397 44 900M PP&L Capital Funding, Inc., 8.375%, 2007 1,051,142 51 ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 4,438,244 216 ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Total Value of Corporate Bonds (cost $37,746,022) 40,919,495 1,995 ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- MORTGAGE-BACKED CERTIFICATES--10.7% Fannie Mae--4.1% 3,432M 5.5%, 5/1/2033 3,503,930 171 4,483M 7%, 3/1/2032-8/1/2032 4,789,829 234 ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 8,293,759 405 ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Freddie Mac--2.4% 3,717M 5.5%, 3/1/2033-7/1/2033 3,793,945 184 1,086M 6%, 9/1/2032 1,122,121 55 ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 4,916,066 239 ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Portfolio of Investments (continued) FIRST INVESTORS TOTAL RETURN FUND September 30, 2003 ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Amount Invested Principal For Each Amount $10,000 of or Shares Security Value Net Assets ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Government National Mortgage Association--4.2% $6,540M 5.5%, 3/15/2033-8/15/2033 $6,721,211 $327 656M 6.5%, 7/15/2028 689,915 34 1,192M 7%, 10/15/2031-8/15/2032 1,267,603 62 ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 8,678,729 423 ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Total Value of Mortgage-Backed Certificates (cost $21,573,778) 21,888,554 1,067 ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- MUNICIPAL BONDS--2.5% 2,000M Golden State Tobacco Securitization Corp., CA Rev. Bonds, 5.5%, 2043 1,930,000 94 2,000M Illinois State General Obligation Bonds, 5.1%, 2033 1,862,500 91 1,500M Tobacco Settlement Financing Corp., NJ Rev. Bonds, 6.75%, 2039 1,351,875 66 ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Total Value of Municipal Bonds (cost $5,345,789) 5,144,375 251 ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- CONVERTIBLE PREFERRED STOCKS--1.6% Financials--1.0% Chubb Corporation: 23,800 7%, 2005 - Series "A" 658,070 32 7,900 7%, 2006 - Series "B" 219,225 11 22,100 Hartford Financial Services Group, Inc., 6%, 2006 - Class "A" 1,195,831 58 ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 2,073,126 101 ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Telecommunication Services--.6% 24,500 ALLTEL Corporation, 7.75%, 2005 1,197,805 58 ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Total Value of Convertible Preferred Stocks (cost $2,973,216) 3,270,931 159 ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- PASS THROUGH CERTIFICATES--.5% Transportation $760M Continental Airlines, Inc., 8.388%, 2020 564,315 28 658M NWA Trust, 10.23%, 2012 523,085 25 ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Total Value of Pass Through Certificates (cost $1,467,746) 1,087,400 53 ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Amount Invested For Each Principal $10,000 of Amount Security Value Net Assets ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- SHORT-TERM CORPORATE NOTES--2.6% ChevronTexaco Corp.: $3,600M 1.02%, 10/6/03 $3,599,490 $175 1,000M 1.01%, 10/7/03 999,832 49 800M General Electric Capital Corp., 1.02%, 10/2/03 799,977 39 ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Total Value of Short-Term Corporate Notes (cost $5,399,299) 5,399,299 263 ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Total Value of Investments (cost $181,955,957) 98.8% 202,687,244 9,881 Other Assets, Less Liabilities 1.2 2,446,329 119 ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Net Assets 100.0% $205,133,573 $10,000 ====================================================================================================================== * Non-income producing + See Note 6 See notes to financial statements
Portfolio Manager's Letter FIRST INVESTORS VALUE FUND Dear Investor: This is the annual report for the First Investors Value Fund for the fiscal year ended September 30, 2003. During the period, the Fund's return on a net asset value basis was 19.0% for Class A shares and 18.3% for Class B shares, including dividends of 8 cents per share on Class A shares and 4 cents per share on Class B shares. The Fund's performance was driven by the improving economy, the rise in the equity market and sector allocation. The Regional Bell Operating Companies (RBOCs) were the leading performers in the Fund as they rebounded from extremely depressed levels. McDonald's, the Fund's largest holding, also aided performance. In addition, the Fund's holdings in financial companies that do business in the capital markets and investment management industry performed well. The Fund underperformed relative to the S&P 500 Index for three primary reasons. First, the Fund was overweight in utilities, as the result of its transition from a utilities fund to a value fund on December 31, 2002. Although the utilities sector posted solid results, it did not perform as well as the overall S&P 500. In addition, the transition to a value fund resulted in the sale of some utilities stocks when prices were depressed. Second, the Fund's strategy of investing in undervalued stocks caused it to be underweight the speculative and momentum-driven technology sector, which was the top performing segment of the S&P 500. Finally, the transition to a value fund resulted in an above normal cash position, which held back results. Thank you for placing your trust in First Investors. As always, we appreciate the opportunity to serve your investment needs. Sincerely, /S/ MATTHEW S. WRIGHT Matthew S. Wright Portfolio Manager October 31, 2003 Cumulative Performance Information FIRST INVESTORS VALUE FUND Comparison of change in value of $10,000 investment in the First Investors Value Fund (Class A shares), the Standard & Poor's 500 Index and the Standard & Poor's 500 Utilities Index.+ VALUE CLASS A GRAPH PLOTS As of September 30, 2003 VALUE S & P S & P 500 FUND 500 UTILITIES OCT 93 $ 9,425 $10,000 $10,000 OCT 94 8,375 10,387 8,306 OCT 95 10,163 13,134 10,783 OCT 96 11,428 16,298 11,877 OCT 97 12,898 21,532 13,055 SEP 98 14,967 24,292 16,841 SEP 99 16,761 31,045 16,631 SEP 00 19,708 35,169 24,046 SEP 01 14,747 25,807 18,071 SEP 02 10,890 20,519 15,736 SEP 03 12,964 25,526 19,302 (INSET BOX IN CHART READS:) Average Annual Total Returns* Class A Shares N.A.V. Only S.E.C. Standardized One Year 19.04% 12.20% Five Years (2.83%) (3.97%) Ten Years 3.28% 2.66% Class B Shares One Year 18.26% 14.26% Five Years (3.52%) (3.91%) Since Inception (1/12/95) 4.39% 4.39% The graph compares a $10,000 investment in the First Investors Value Fund (Class A shares) beginning 10/31/93 with theoretical investments in the Standard & Poor's 500 Index and the Standard & Poor's 500 Utilities Index (the "Indices"). The Standard & Poor's 500 Index is an unmanaged capitalization-weighted index of 500 stocks designed to measure performance of the broad domestic economy through changes in the aggregate market value of such stocks, which represent all major industries. The Standard & Poor's 500 Utilities Index is a capitalization-weighted index of 36 stocks designed to measure the performance of the utility sector of the Standard & Poor's 500 Index. It is not possible to invest directly in these Indices. In addition, the Indices do not take into account fees and expenses that an investor would incur in purchasing securities in these Indices. For purposes of the graph and the accompanying table, unless otherwise indicated, it has been assumed that the maximum sales charge was deducted from the initial $10,000 investment in the Fund and all dividends and distributions were reinvested. Class B shares performance may be greater than or less than that shown in the line graph above for Class A shares based on differences in sales loads and fees paid by shareholders investing in the different classes. * Average Annual Total Return figures (for the periods ended 9/30/03) include the reinvestment of all dividends and distributions. "N.A.V. Only" returns are calculated without sales charges. The Class A "S.E.C. Standardized" returns shown are based on the maximum sales charge of 5.75% (prior to 6/17/02 the maximum sales charge was 6.25%). The Class B "S.E.C. Standardized" returns are adjusted for the applicable deferred sales charge (maximum of 4% in the first year). During certain of the periods shown, some of the expenses of the Fund were waived or assumed. If such expenses had been paid by the Fund, the Class A "S.E.C. Standardized" Average Annual Total Return for Ten Years would have been 2.42%. The Class B "S.E.C. Standardized" Average Annual Total Return Since Inception would have been 4.22%. Results represent past performance and do not indicate future results. Investment return and principal value of an investment will fluctuate so that an investor's shares, when redeemed, may be worth more or less than the original cost. Standard & Poor's 500 Index and Standard & Poor's 500 Utilities Index figures are from Standard & Poor's and all other figures are from First Investors Management Company, Inc. + Prior to 12/31/02, the Fund invested primarily in securities issued by companies in the utilities industry. Accordingly after this fiscal year-end, we will not show a comparison to the Standard & Poor's 500 Utilities Index.
Portfolio of Investments FIRST INVESTORS VALUE FUND September 30, 2003 ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Amount Invested For Each $10,000 of Shares Security Value Net Assets ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- COMMON STOCKS--88.9% Consumer Discretionary--13.3% 45,800 Genuine Parts Company $1,464,684 $101 33,600 Home Depot, Inc. 1,070,160 74 82,300 J.C. Penney Company, Inc. (Holding Company) 1,758,751 122 11,800 Jones Apparel Group, Inc. 353,174 24 36,100 Lee Enterprises, Inc. 1,395,987 97 50,100 Leggett & Platt, Inc. 1,083,663 75 16,100 Liberty Corporation 675,395 47 96,600 Limited Brands 1,456,728 101 21,100 Magna International, Inc. - Class "A" 1,522,365 105 60,100 May Department Stores Company 1,480,263 102 100,600 McDonald's Corporation 2,368,124 164 82,100 Natuzzi SpA (ADR) 837,420 58 14,800 OshKosh B'Gosh, Inc. - Class "A" 380,656 26 143,400 Pearson PLC (ADR) 1,372,338 95 21,800 Tupperware Corporation 291,684 20 86,400 Walt Disney Company 1,742,688 120 ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 19,254,080 1,331 ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Consumer Staples--9.2% 18,600 Brown-Forman Corporation - Class "B" 1,471,632 102 30,600 Coca-Cola Company 1,314,576 91 65,800 ConAgra Foods, Inc. 1,397,592 96 15,541 * Del Monte Foods Company 135,362 9 40,700 Diageo PLC (ADR) 1,796,905 124 39,200 H.J. Heinz Company 1,343,776 93 32,100 Kimberly-Clark Corporation 1,647,372 114 36,400 Lance, Inc. 361,816 25 71,900 Ruddick Corporation 1,117,326 77 38,500 Sara Lee Corporation 706,860 49 58,200 Tasty Baking Company 578,508 40 41,400 UST, Inc. 1,456,452 101 ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 13,328,177 921 ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Energy--9.6% 16,300 Anadarko Petroleum Corporation 680,688 47 38,500 BP PLC (ADR) 1,620,850 112 18,200 ChevronTexaco Corporation 1,300,390 90 27,600 ConocoPhillips 1,511,100 104 69,400 Diamond Offshore Drilling, Inc. 1,325,540 92 ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Amount Invested For Each $10,000 of Shares Security Value Net Assets ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Energy (continued) 15,800 EOG Resources, Inc. $659,492 $45 16,100 Kerr-McGee Corporation 718,704 50 56,200 Marathon Oil Corporation 1,601,700 111 34,900 Royal Dutch Petroleum Company - NY Shares (ADR) 1,542,580 107 52,600 Tidewater, Inc. 1,488,580 103 46,900 Unocal Corporation 1,478,288 102 ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 13,927,912 963 ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Financials--20.7% 29,000 A.G. Edwards, Inc. 1,113,890 77 11,100 ACE, Ltd. 367,188 25 46,600 Allstate Corporation 1,702,298 118 62,400 AmSouth Bancorporation 1,324,128 92 18,300 Amvescap PLC (ADR) 277,977 19 52,400 Banknorth Group, Inc. 1,478,728 102 60,400 Brascan Corporation - Class "A" 1,522,684 105 35,100 Cincinnati Financial Corporation 1,402,596 97 23,000 Comerica, Inc. 1,071,800 74 34,200 Erie Indemnity Company - Class "A" 1,330,380 92 30,300 FBL Financial Group, Inc. - Class "A" 746,592 52 45,800 FleetBoston Financial Corporation 1,380,870 96 30,600 Jefferson-Pilot Corporation 1,358,028 94 51,400 KeyCorp 1,314,298 91 38,500 Koger Equity, Inc. 723,800 50 39,400 Lincoln National Corporation 1,393,972 96 31,900 Morgan Stanley 1,609,674 111 18,200 One Liberty Properties, Inc. 337,610 23 50,900 Plum Creek Timber Company, Inc. (REIT) 1,294,896 90 26,200 PNC Financial Services Group 1,246,596 86 40,300 Protective Life Corporation 1,202,955 83 60,300 Sky Financial Group, Inc. 1,357,353 94 21,200 SunTrust Banks, Inc. 1,279,844 88 42,900 T. Rowe Price Group, Inc. 1,770,054 122 25,400 Wells Fargo & Company 1,308,100 90 ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 29,916,311 2,067 ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Health Care--6.3% 31,200 Abbott Laboratories 1,327,560 92 17,600 Amersham PLC (ADR) 787,600 54 33,400 GlaxoSmithKline PLC (ADR) 1,416,160 98 ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Portfolio of Investments (continued) FIRST INVESTORS VALUE FUND September 30, 2003 ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Amount Invested For Each $10,000 of Shares Security Value Net Assets ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Health Care (continued) 29,700 Johnson & Johnson $1,470,744 $102 28,900 Merck & Company, Inc. 1,462,918 101 53,000 Pfizer, Inc. 1,610,140 111 68,100 Schering-Plough Corporation 1,037,844 72 ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 9,112,966 630 ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Industrials--9.2% 2,600 Alexander & Baldwin, Inc. 73,008 5 29,800 ALLETE, Inc. 815,924 56 29,800 Baldor Electric Company 629,078 43 24,200 CNF, Inc. 775,610 54 33,500 Dover Corporation 1,184,895 82 35,600 Federal Signal Corporation 530,440 37 20,300 General Dynamics Corporation 1,584,618 110 28,600 Harsco Corporation 1,100,242 76 52,400 Honeywell International, Inc. 1,380,740 95 63,200 Masco Corporation 1,547,135 107 71,800 Pall Corporation 1,611,192 111 36,300 Pitney Bowes, Inc. 1,391,016 96 14,500 Teleflex, Inc. 629,735 44 ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 13,253,633 916 ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Information Technology--4.3% 38,500 Automatic Data Processing, Inc. 1,380,225 95 63,900 AVX Corporation 874,791 60 16,900 Bel Fuse, Inc. - Class "B" 446,498 31 73,000 Hewlett-Packard Company 1,413,280 98 60,900 Methode Electronics, Inc. - Class "A" 719,229 50 57,700 Motorola, Inc. 690,669 48 20,400 Paychex, Inc. 692,172 48 ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 6,216,864 430 ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Materials--5.6% 35,600 Air Products & Chemicals, Inc. 1,605,560 111 58,800 Alcoa, Inc. 1,538,208 106 38,700 Du Pont (E.I.) de Nemours & Company 1,548,387 107 53,200 Glatfelter 626,696 43 35,600 Great Lakes Chemical Corporation 715,916 50 ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Amount Invested For Each $10,000 of Shares Security Value Net Assets ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Materials (continued) 62,900 Sonoco Products Company $1,380,655 $96 18,200 Vulcan Materials Company 726,362 50 ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 8,141,784 563 ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Other--1.6% 9,600 Regional Bank HOLDRs Trust 1,085,472 75 13,000 SPDR Trust - Series "1" 1,298,960 89 ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 2,384,432 164 ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Telecommunication Services--4.1% 53,000 BellSouth Corporation 1,255,040 87 28,500 CT Communications, Inc. 322,050 22 22,000 D&E Communications, Inc. 311,960 21 35,000 Nippon Telegraph and Telephone Corporation (ADR) 792,400 55 49,400 SBC Communications, Inc. 1,099,150 76 17,400 Telephone & Data Systems, Inc. 983,796 68 33,828 Verizon Communications, Inc. 1,097,380 76 ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 5,861,776 405 ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Utilities--5.0% 34,550 American States Water Company 814,344 56 16,600 Equitable Resources, Inc. 682,260 47 34,800 KeySpan Corporation 1,220,784 84 61,600 NiSource, Inc. 1,230,768 85 35,500 ONEOK, Inc. 716,035 49 12,100 South Jersey Industries, Inc. 457,985 32 45,200 Southwest Gas Corporation 1,026,040 71 32,700 Vectren Corporation 772,374 53 12,700 Wisconsin Energy Corporation 388,239 27 ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 7,308,829 504 ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Total Value of Common Stocks (cost $116,307,158) 128,706,764 8,894 ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- CONVERTIBLE PREFERRED STOCKS--2.3% Financials--1.0% 49,200 Chubb Corporation, 7%, 2005 - Series "A" 1,360,380 95 ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Health Care--.5% 8,100 Anthem, Inc., 6%, 2004 687,650 48 ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Portfolio of Investments (continued) FIRST INVESTORS VALUE FUND September 30, 2003 ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Amount Invested Shares or For Each Principal $10,000 of Amount Security Value Net Assets ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Industrials--.4% 6,300 Northrop Grumman Corporation, 7.25%, 2004 $616,140 $42 ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Telecommunication Services--.4% 12,400 ALLTEL Corporation, 7.75%, 2005 606,236 42 ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Total Value of Convertible Preferred Stocks (cost $3,026,417) 3,270,406 227 ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- CORPORATE BONDS--.7% Telecommunications--.3% $500M BellSouth Corp., 6.375%, 2004 517,885 35 ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Utilities--.4% 500M Union Electric Co., 6.75%, 2008 571,632 40 ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Total Value of Corporate Bonds (cost $998,772) 1,089,517 75 ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- PREFERRED STOCKS--.7% Telecommunication Services--.4% 20,300 Verizon South, Inc., 7%, 2041 - Series "F" 538,153 37 ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Utilities--.3% 18,300 Entergy Louisiana, Inc., 7.6%, 2032 485,865 34 ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Total Value of Preferred Stocks (cost $960,920) 1,024,018 71 ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- SHORT-TERM U.S. GOVERNMENT AGENCY OBLIGATIONS--6.4% $9,200M Federal Home Loan Bank, 1%, 10/10/03 (cost $9,197,699) 9,197,699 636 ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- SHORT-TERM CORPORATE NOTES--.7% 1,000M General Electric Capital Corp., 1.02%, 10/2/03 (cost $999,972) 999,972 69 ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Total Value of Investments (cost $131,490,938) 99.7% 144,288,376 9,972 Other Assets, Less Liabilities .3 405,876 28 ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Net Assets 100.0% $144,694,252 $10,000 ====================================================================================================================== * Non-income producing See notes to financial statements
Portfolio Manager's Letter FIRST INVESTORS BLUE CHIP FUND Dear Investor: This is the annual report for the First Investors Blue Chip Fund for the fiscal year ended September 30, 2003. During the period, the Fund's return on a net asset value basis was 17.7% for Class A shares and 16.9% for Class B shares. The Fund's performance was largely driven by improving economic conditions, solid performance of large-cap stocks and sector allocation decisions. While the equity markets continued to face difficult macroeconomic news during the first half of the period, the prices of stocks climbed on the belief that an economic rebound was imminent. The overall return in the S&P 500 was driven by many of the more speculative stocks in the index. The Fund's absolute performance was good, although relatively weaker than the return generated by the S&P 500. There were three reasons for relative underperformance. The first was a substantial overweight in two poorly performing health care facilities stocks, Tenet Healthcare and HCA, Inc. The second was the disappointing performance of some of the Fund's industrials sector holdings, such as Lockheed Martin and Northrop Grumman. Finally, the Fund was hurt by what it did not own-- high "beta," speculative technology stocks that generated outsized returns, despite little fundamental earnings support. The Fund was generally weighted in-line to slightly underweight in the financials sector. Our concerns about credit quality and accounting issues kept us in a more cautious stance in the first half of the period. However, the weighting was offset by solid performance in some selectively overweighted stocks. For the period, J.P. Morgan and Morgan Stanley, two stocks in which the Fund was slightly overweighted were up solidly. However, there were a number of stocks in the financials sector that did not perform as well and held back the Fund's overall performance. American International Group, the world's largest insurance company and a long-term, core holding in the Fund, was only up modestly for the period. The mortgage company Freddie Mac, also a long-term holding in the Fund, was down slightly for the period. Based on our concerns regarding an accounting restatement, Freddie Mac was sold out of the portfolio. The Fund's relative performance began to improve in the latter half of the reporting period as we began to shift to an overweight position in the technology sector. In light of valuations and the uncertainty that has existed in the equity markets over the past three years, we felt it was better to wait for more confirmation of an economic recovery before committing to a technology overweight relative to the S&P 500. Portfolio Manager's Letter (continued) FIRST INVESTORS BLUE CHIP FUND Thank you for placing your trust in First Investors. As always, we appreciate the opportunity to serve your investment needs. Sincerely, /S/ DENNIS T. FITZPATRICK Dennis T. Fitzpatrick Vice President and Portfolio Manager October 31, 2003 Cumulative Performance Information FIRST INVESTORS BLUE CHIP FUND Comparison of change in value of $10,000 investment in the First Investors Blue Chip Fund (Class A shares) and the Standard & Poor's 500 Index. BLUE CHIP GRAPH PLOTS As of September 30, 2003 BLUE CHIP S & P 500 DEC 93 $ 9,425 $10,000 DEC 94 9,140 10,132 DEC 95 12,249 13,940 DEC 96 14,767 17,140 DEC 97 18,614 22,859 SEP 98 18,326 24,238 SEP 99 22,886 30,976 SEP 00 27,804 35,091 SEP 01 19,218 25,750 SEP 02 14,619 20,474 SEP 03 17,210 25,469 (INSET BOX IN CHART READS:) Average Annual Total Returns* Class A Shares N.A.V. Only S.E.C. Standardized One Year 17.72% 10.94% Five Years (1.25%) (2.41%) Ten Years 6.31% 5.68% Class B Shares One Year 16.90% 12.90% Five Years (1.93%) (2.33%) Since Inception (1/12/95) 6.43% 6.43% The graph compares a $10,000 investment in the First Investors Blue Chip Fund (Class A shares) beginning 12/31/93 with a theoretical investment in the Standard & Poor's 500 Index (the "Index"). The Index is an unmanaged capitalization-weighted index of 500 stocks designed to measure performance of the broad domestic economy through changes in the aggregate market value of such stocks, which represent all major industries. It is not possible to invest directly in this Index. In addition, the Index does not take into account fees and expenses that an investor would incur in purchasing securities in the Index. For purposes of the graph and the accompanying table, unless otherwise indicated, it has been assumed that the maximum sales charge was deducted from the initial $10,000 investment in the Fund and all dividends and distributions were reinvested. Class B shares performance may be greater than or less than that shown in the line graph above for Class A shares based on differences in sales loads and fees paid by shareholders investing in the different classes. * Average Annual Total Return figures (for the periods ended 9/30/03) include the reinvestment of all dividends and distributions. "N.A.V. Only" returns are calculated without sales charges. The Class A "S.E.C. Standardized" returns shown are based on the maximum sales charge of 5.75% (prior to 6/17/02, the maximum sales charge was 6.25%). The Class B "S.E.C. Standardized" returns are adjusted for the applicable deferred sales charge (maximum of 4% in the first year). During the periods shown, some of the expenses of the Fund were waived or assumed. If such expenses had been paid by the Fund, the Class A "S.E.C. Standardized" Average Annual Total Return for One Year, Five Years and Ten Years would have been 10.82%, (2.52%) and 5.49%, respectively. The Class B "S.E.C. Standardized" Average Annual Total Return for One Year, Five Years and Since Inception would have been 12.78%, (2.44%) and 6.26%, respectively. Results represent past performance and do not indicate future results. Investment return and principal value of an investment will fluctuate so that an investor's shares, when redeemed, may be worth more or less than the original cost. Standard & Poor's 500 Index figures are from Standard & Poor's and all other figures are from First Investors Management Company, Inc.
Portfolio of Investments FIRST INVESTORS BLUE CHIP FUND September 30, 2003 ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Amount Invested For Each $10,000 of Shares Security Value Net Assets ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- COMMON STOCKS--98.0% Consumer Discretionary--13.7% 29,500 * American Axle & Manufacturing Holdings, Inc. $872,610 $20 193,100 * AOL Time Warner, Inc. 2,917,741 66 31,700 * Bed Bath & Beyond, Inc. 1,210,306 27 30,100 * Best Buy Company, Inc. 1,430,352 32 192,500 * Cendant Corporation 3,597,825 81 51,400 Clear Channel Communications, Inc. 1,968,620 44 32,300 Colgate-Palmolive Company 1,805,247 41 86,496 * Comcast Corporation - Class "A" 2,670,996 60 52,600 * Comcast Corporation - Special Class "A" 1,553,804 35 41,700 * Costco Wholesale Corporation 1,296,036 29 40,400 D.R. Horton, Inc. 1,321,080 30 25,700 Dollar General Corporation 514,000 12 22,700 E.W. Scripps Company - Class "A" 1,931,770 43 17,600 * eBay, Inc. 938,080 21 19,800 Gannett Company, Inc. 1,535,688 34 110,200 Gap, Inc. 1,886,624 42 51,300 Gillette Company 1,640,574 37 48,500 GTECH Holdings Corporation 2,078,225 47 29,400 Harley-Davidson, Inc. 1,417,080 32 136,300 Home Depot, Inc. 4,341,155 97 29,200 Honda Motor Company, Ltd. 588,672 13 20,600 * InterActiveCorp 680,830 15 18,400 * Kohl's Corporation 984,400 22 17,300 * Lear Corporation 910,672 20 127,900 * Liberty Media Corporation - Class "A" 1,275,163 29 45,400 Lowe's Companies, Inc. 2,356,260 53 46,100 Mattel, Inc. 874,056 20 79,500 McDonald's Corporation 1,871,430 42 21,300 Omnicom Group, Inc. 1,530,405 34 38,700 Reebok International, Ltd. 1,293,741 29 38,900 * Staples, Inc. 923,875 21 75,000 Target Corporation 2,822,250 63 52,500 TJX Companies, Inc. 1,019,550 23 110,600 * Viacom, Inc. - Class "B" 4,235,980 95 132,200 Walt Disney Company 2,666,474 60 ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 60,961,571 1,369 ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Amount Invested For Each $10,000 of Shares Security Value Net Assets ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Consumer Staples--9.1% 73,500 Altria Group, Inc. $3,219,300 $72 46,100 Anheuser-Busch Companies, Inc. 2,274,574 51 92,300 Coca-Cola Company 3,965,208 89 110,100 CVS Corporation 3,419,706 77 29,350 * Dean Foods Company 910,731 20 13,200 Hershey Foods Corporation 959,376 22 23,000 Kellogg Company 767,050 17 38,000 Kimberly-Clark Corporation 1,950,160 44 73,500 * Kroger Company 1,313,445 30 108,300 PepsiCo, Inc. 4,963,389 111 71,600 Procter & Gamble Company 6,645,912 149 71,900 Sara Lee Corporation 1,320,084 30 156,500 Wal-Mart Stores, Inc. 8,740,525 196 ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 40,449,460 908 ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Energy--5.7% 27,500 Apache Corporation 1,906,850 43 47,600 ChevronTexaco Corporation 3,401,020 76 50,877 ConocoPhillips 2,785,516 63 25,000 EOG Resources, Inc. 1,043,500 23 258,200 ExxonMobil Corporation 9,450,120 212 77,600 Halliburton Company 1,881,800 42 35,000 Occidental Petroleum Corporation 1,233,050 28 38,400 Schlumberger, Ltd. 1,858,560 42 98,500 * Transocean, Inc. 1,970,000 44 ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 25,530,416 573 ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Financials--19.6% 137,800 ACE, Ltd. 4,558,424 102 35,000 American Capital Strategies, Ltd. 870,100 20 88,800 American Express Company 4,001,328 90 116,700 American International Group, Inc. 6,733,590 151 82,900 Bank of America Corporation 6,469,516 145 44,400 Bank of New York Company, Inc. 1,292,484 29 65,600 Bank One Corporation 2,535,440 57 26,300 BB&T Corporation 944,433 21 750 * Berkshire Hathaway, Inc. - Class "B" 1,872,000 42 29,600 Capital One Financial Corporation 1,688,384 38 39,400 Chubb Corporation 2,556,272 58 272,400 Citigroup, Inc. 12,396,924 278 ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Portfolio of Investments (continued) FIRST INVESTORS BLUE CHIP FUND September 30, 2003 ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Amount Invested For Each $10,000 of Shares Security Value Net Assets ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Financials (continued) 79,700 Fannie Mae $5,594,940 $126 47,700 FleetBoston Financial Corporation 1,438,155 32 23,900 Goldman Sachs Group, Inc. 2,005,210 45 97,500 J.P. Morgan Chase & Company 3,347,175 75 40,400 Marsh & McLennan Companies, Inc. 1,923,444 43 84,200 MBNA Corporation 1,919,760 43 44,500 Mellon Financial Corporation 1,341,230 30 62,300 Merrill Lynch & Company, Inc. 3,334,919 75 52,300 Morgan Stanley 2,639,058 59 159,300 U.S. Bancorp 3,821,607 86 297,000 UnumProvident Corporation 4,386,690 99 54,700 Wachovia Corporation 2,253,093 51 68,300 Washington Mutual, Inc. 2,688,971 60 92,000 Wells Fargo & Company 4,738,000 106 ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 87,351,147 1,961 ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Health Care--14.8% 68,400 Abbott Laboratories 2,910,420 65 84,800 * Amgen, Inc. 5,475,536 123 26,500 AstraZeneca PLC (ADR) 1,150,100 26 47,900 * Barr Laboratories, Inc. 3,267,259 73 51,500 * Boston Scientific Corporation 3,285,700 74 40,300 Cardinal Health, Inc. 2,353,117 53 76,500 Eli Lilly & Company 4,544,100 102 20,400 * Forest Laboratories, Inc. 1,049,580 24 11,000 * Genetech, Inc. 881,540 20 6,400 Gilead Sciences, Inc. 357,952 8 140,300 Johnson & Johnson 6,947,656 156 55,100 McKesson Corporation 1,834,279 41 94,400 Medtronic, Inc. 4,429,248 100 73,500 Merck & Company, Inc. 3,720,570 84 413,160 Pfizer, Inc. 12,551,801 282 73,500 * Province Healthcare Company 951,825 21 22,800 Teva Pharmaceutical Industries, Ltd. (ADR) 1,303,020 29 86,200 UnitedHealth Group, Inc. 4,337,584 97 97,000 Wyeth 4,471,700 100 ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 65,822,987 1,478 ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Amount Invested For Each $10,000 of Shares Security Value Net Assets ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Industrials--9.5% 48,600 3M Company $3,356,802 $75 40,400 Boeing Company 1,386,932 31 34,900 Caterpillar, Inc. 2,402,516 54 37,300 Danaher Corporation 2,754,978 62 26,900 Emerson Electric Company 1,416,285 32 14,600 FedEx Corporation 940,678 21 389,400 General Electric Company 11,608,014 261 40,300 Honeywell International, Inc. 1,061,905 24 39,700 ITT Industries, Inc. 2,375,648 53 58,500 * Jabil Circuit, Inc. 1,523,925 34 89,600 Masco Corporation 2,193,408 49 13,400 Northrop Grumman Corporation 1,155,348 26 26,900 Southwest Airlines Company 476,130 11 85,500 Tyco International, Ltd. 1,746,765 39 31,900 Union Pacific Corporation 1,855,623 42 27,100 United Parcel Service, Inc. - Class "B" 1,728,980 39 42,200 United Technologies Corporation 3,261,216 73 40,100 Waste Management, Inc. 1,049,417 24 ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 42,294,570 950 ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Information Technology--18.9% 36,700 * Amdocs, Ltd. 689,960 15 33,900 * AMIS Holdings, Inc. 625,794 14 47,200 * Analog Devices, Inc. 1,794,544 40 129,400 * Applied Materials, Inc. 2,347,316 53 209,400 * Applied Micro Circuits Corporation 1,019,778 23 34,700 Automatic Data Processing, Inc. 1,243,995 28 420,600 * Cisco Systems, Inc. 8,218,524 185 67,300 * Comverse Technology, Inc. 1,006,808 23 141,100 * Dell, Inc. 4,711,329 106 128,500 * EMC Corporation 1,622,955 37 71,000 First Data Corporation 2,837,160 64 154,200 Hewlett-Packard Company 2,985,312 67 377,100 Intel Corporation 10,374,021 233 70,000 International Business Machines Corporation 6,183,100 139 18,400 * Intuit, Inc. 887,616 20 14,700 * Lexmark International Group, Inc. 926,247 21 41,900 Lockheed Martin Corporation 1,933,685 43 25,700 * Marvell Technology Group, Ltd. 970,175 22 15,200 Maxim Integrated Products, Inc. 600,400 13 ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Portfolio of Investments (continued) FIRST INVESTORS BLUE CHIP FUND September 30, 2003 ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Amount Invested For Each $10,000 of Shares Security Value Net Assets ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Information Technology (continued) 22,000 * Mercury Interactive Corporation $999,020 $22 554,800 Microsoft Corporation 15,417,892 346 73,300 Motorola, Inc. 877,401 20 18,400 Nam Tai Electronics, Inc. 499,192 11 175,600 Nokia Corporation - Class "A" (ADR) 2,739,360 62 202,100 * Nortel Networks Corporation 828,610 19 242,300 * Oracle Corporation 2,718,606 61 42,600 QUALCOMM, Inc. 1,773,864 40 22,000 * Symantec Corporation 1,386,440 31 112,552 * Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co., Ltd. (ADR) 1,218,938 27 100,200 Texas Instruments, Inc. 2,284,560 51 34,500 * Veritas Software Corporation 1,083,300 24 117,400 * Western Digital Corporation 1,513,286 34 ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 84,319,188 1,894 ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Materials--2.7% 56,600 Alcoa, Inc. 1,480,656 33 147,000 Coeur d'Alene Mines Corporation 457,170 10 33,000 Dow Chemical Company 1,073,820 24 48,300 Du Pont (E.I.) de Nemours & Company 1,932,483 44 36,700 International Flavors & Fragrances, Inc. 1,214,036 27 35,800 International Paper Company 1,396,916 32 66,100 Newmont Mining Corporation 2,583,849 58 8,600 PPG Industries, Inc. 449,092 10 20,300 Praxair, Inc. 1,257,585 28 ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 11,845,607 266 ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Telecommunication Services--2.4% 31,200 AT&T Corporation 672,360 15 63,900 BellSouth Corporation 1,513,152 34 80,800 * Nextel Communications, Inc. - Class "A" 1,590,952 36 110,600 SBC Communications, Inc. 2,460,850 55 101,400 Verizon Communications, Inc. 3,289,416 74 65,900 Vodafone Group PLC (ADR) 1,334,475 30 ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 10,861,205 244 ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Amount Invested Shares or For Each Principal $10,000 of Amount Security Value Net Assets ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Utilities--1.6% 25,700 Dominion Resources, Inc. $1,590,830 $36 29,000 Entergy Corporation 1,570,350 35 44,000 Exelon Corporation 2,794,000 63 50,300 ONEOK, Inc. 1,014,550 23 ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 6,969,730 157 ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Total Value of Common Stocks (cost $362,592,843) 436,405,881 9,800 ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- SHORT-TERM CORPORATE NOTES--1.3% ChevronTexaco Corp.: $2,600M 1.02%, 10/6/03 2,599,632 58 3,200M 1.01%, 10/7/03 3,199,461 72 ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Total Value of Short-Term Corporate Notes (cost $5,799,093) 5,799,093 130 ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Total Value of Investments (cost $368,391,936) 99.3% 442,204,974 9,930 Other Assets, Less Liabilities .7 3,138,557 70 ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Net Assets 100.0% $445,343,531 $10,000 ====================================================================================================================== * Non-income producing See notes to financial statements
Portfolio Manager's Letter FIRST INVESTORS GROWTH & INCOME FUND Dear Investor: This is the annual report for the First Investors Growth & Income Fund for the fiscal year ended September 30, 2003. During the period, the Fund's return on a net asset value basis was 21.5% for Class A shares and 20.6% for Class B shares, including dividends of 4 cents per share on Class A shares. The Fund's performance was driven largely by the improving economy, the rise in the equity market and sector allocation. Fund performance on an absolute basis was attributable to investments in two key sectors, technology and financials, as more than half of the Fund's overall performance came from these two areas. In addition, the Fund's multi-cap strategy aided performance, as mid- and small-cap stocks outperformed their larger counterparts. Solid stock selection in the technology and materials sectors, and an overweight position in the consumer discretionary sector also helped performance. The Fund remained relatively conservatively positioned during a period of renewed investor enthusiasm and increased tolerance for risk. This hurt performance relative to the S&P 500. In stock selection, the Fund eschewed the temptation to participate in the speculative-driven rally of lower quality stocks. Instead, the Fund continued to rely on a strategy of focusing on higher quality companies with strong earnings, solid growth and free cash flow. We also proactively took profits in areas of investor exuberance and redeployed monies into stable, solid growing companies with excess cash flow that can be used in a number of shareholder enhancing ways such as increased dividend flow, stock repurchases or accretive acquisitions. We remained valuation sensitive, refusing to overpay for faster growth. The Fund's best overall contributing sector was technology, which benefited from an improved economic outlook and better earnings news as investors bid up prices in anticipation of a cyclical upturn. Within the financials sector, key contributors were firms with capital markets exposure benefiting from a return to positive markets. In the consumer discretionary sector, shares of restaurants, leisure and retailing were strong performers. Key performers in the industrials segment were capital goods firms and specialty niche providers of goods and services. Stocks of medical device and pharmaceutical firms posted strong results within the health care sector. Thank you for placing your trust in First Investors. As always, we appreciate the opportunity to serve your investment needs. Sincerely, /S/ EDWIN D. MISKA Edwin D. Miska Director of Equities and Portfolio Manager October 31, 2003 Cumulative Performance Information FIRST INVESTORS GROWTH & INCOME FUND Comparison of change in value of $10,000 investment in the First Investors Growth & Income Fund (Class A shares) and the Standard & Poor's 500 Index. GROWTH & INCOME FUND - CLASS A GRAPH PLOTS As of September 30, 2003 GROWTH & INCOME FUND S & P 500 OCT 93 $ 9,425 $10,000 OCT 94 9,733 10,387 OCT 95 11,647 13,134 OCT 96 14,170 16,298 OCT 97 17,883 21,532 SEP 98 18,899 24,292 SEP 99 24,052 31,045 SEP 00 29,219 35,169 SEP 01 21,630 25,807 SEP 02 17,204 20,519 SEP 03 20,902 25,526 (INSET BOX IN CHART READS:) Average Annual Total Returns* Class A shares N.A.V. Only S.E.C. Standardized One Year 21.49% 14.49% Five Years 1.44% 0.24% Since Inception (10/4/93) 8.35% 7.71% Class B shares One Year 20.56% 16.56% Five Years 0.70% 0.31% Since Inception (1/12/95) 8.49% 8.49% The graph compares a $10,000 investment in the First Investors Growth & Income Fund (Class A shares) beginning 10/4/93 (inception date) with a theoretical investment in the Standard & Poor's 500 Index (the "Index"). The Index is an unmanaged capitalization-weighted index of 500 stocks designed to measure performance of the broad domestic economy through changes in the aggregate market value of such stocks, which represent all major industries. It is not possible to invest directly in this Index. In addition, the Index does not take into account fees and expenses that an investor would incur in purchasing securities in the Index. For purposes of the graph and the accompanying table, unless otherwise indicated, it has been assumed that the maximum sales charge was deducted from the initial $10,000 investment in the Fund and all dividends and distributions were reinvested. Class B shares performance may be greater than or less than that shown in the line graph above for Class A shares based on differences in sales loads and fees paid by shareholders investing in the different classes. * Average Annual Total Return figures (for the periods ended 9/30/03) include the reinvestment of all dividends and distributions. "N.A.V. Only" returns are calculated without sales charges. The Class A "S.E.C. Standardized" returns shown are based on the maximum sales charge of 5.75% (prior to 6/17/02 the maximum sales charge was 6.25%). The Class B "S.E.C. Standardized" returns are adjusted for the applicable deferred sales charge (maximum of 4% in the first year). During certain of the periods shown, some of the expenses of the Fund were waived or assumed. If such expenses had been paid by the Fund, the Class A "S.E.C. Standardized" Average Annual Total Return Since Inception would have been 7.45%. The Class B "S.E.C. Standardized" Average Annual Total Return Since Inception would have been 8.28%. Results represent past performance and do not indicate future results. Investment return and principal value of an investment will fluctuate so that an investor's shares, when redeemed, may be worth more or less than the original cost. Standard & Poor's 500 Index figures are from Standard & Poor's and all other figures are from First Investors Management Company, Inc.
Portfolio of Investments FIRST INVESTORS GROWTH & INCOME FUND September 30, 2003 ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Amount Invested For Each $10,000 of Shares Security Value Net Assets ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- COMMON STOCKS--96.5% Consumer Discretionary--15.4% 80,000 * Abercrombie & Fitch Company - Class "A" $2,216,800 $47 30,000 * Best Buy Company, Inc. 1,425,600 30 66,900 * Brinker International, Inc. 2,231,784 47 50,000 Clear Channel Communications, Inc. 1,915,000 40 150,000 * Comcast Corporation - Special Class "A" 4,431,000 93 80,000 Eastman Kodak Company 1,675,200 35 130,000 * Fox Entertainment Group, Inc. - Class "A" 3,638,700 76 174,600 * GameStop Corporation - Class "A" 2,776,140 58 50,000 Genuine Parts Company 1,599,000 34 70,000 GTECH Holdings Corporation 2,999,500 63 75,000 Harley-Davidson, Inc. 3,615,000 76 109,400 Hasbro, Inc. 2,043,592 43 175,000 * Hollywood Entertainment Corporation 2,975,000 62 65,000 Home Depot, Inc. 2,070,250 44 275,000 J.C. Penney Company, Inc. (Holding Company) 5,876,750 123 110,200 Landry's Restaurants, Inc. 2,270,120 48 70,000 * Lear Corporation 3,684,800 77 160,000 Leggett & Platt, Inc. 3,460,800 73 1,200 Lifetime Hoan Corporation 12,552 -- 90,000 Mattel, Inc. 1,706,400 36 300,000 McDonald's Corporation 7,062,000 148 70,000 Newell Rubbermaid, Inc. 1,516,900 32 125,000 * Office Depot, Inc. 1,756,250 37 210,000 Pier 1 Imports, Inc. 4,040,400 85 125,000 Polo Ralph Lauren Corporation - Class "A" 3,352,500 70 78,700 Reader's Digest Association, Inc. 1,101,013 23 67,300 * Scholastic Corporation 1,937,567 41 ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 73,390,618 1,541 ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Consumer Staples--8.5% 100,000 Altria Group, Inc. 4,380,000 92 82,000 Anheuser-Busch Companies, Inc. 4,045,880 85 74,200 Bunge, Ltd. 2,040,500 43 200,000 Coca-Cola Enterprises, Inc. 3,812,000 80 60,000 * Costco Wholesale Corporation 1,864,800 39 99,900 CVS Corporation 3,102,894 65 110,000 Hormel Foods Corporation 2,527,800 53 62,500 Kimberly-Clark Corporation 3,207,500 67 ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Portfolio of Investments (continued) FIRST INVESTORS GROWTH & INCOME FUND September 30, 2003 ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Amount Invested For Each $10,000 of Shares Security Value Net Assets ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Consumer Staples (continued) 100,000 Pepsi Bottling Group, Inc. $2,058,000 $43 50,000 PepsiCo, Inc. 2,291,500 48 65,000 Procter & Gamble Company 6,033,300 127 59,200 * Smithfield Foods, Inc. 1,136,640 24 75,000 Wal-Mart Stores, Inc. 4,188,750 88 ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 40,689,564 854 ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Energy--6.4% 87,500 Anadarko Petroleum Corporation 3,654,000 77 55,000 ConocoPhillips 3,011,250 63 972 Cross Timbers Royalty Trust 20,412 1 60,000 Diamond Offshore Drilling, Inc. 1,146,000 24 92,500 EOG Resources, Inc. 3,860,950 81 190,000 ExxonMobil Corporation 6,954,000 146 80,000 * Noble Corporation 2,719,200 57 175,000 Suncor Energy, Inc. 3,246,250 68 155,000 * Transocean, Inc. 3,100,000 65 131,500 XTO Energy, Inc. 2,760,185 58 ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 30,472,247 640 ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Financials--19.1% 100,000 ACE, Ltd. 3,308,000 69 70,000 American Express Company 3,154,200 66 70,000 American International Group, Inc. 4,039,000 85 130,000 AmSouth Bancorporation 2,758,600 58 60,000 Bank of America Corporation 4,682,400 98 85,000 Bear Stearns Companies, Inc. 6,358,000 133 150,000 Citigroup, Inc. 6,826,500 143 65,400 Endurance Specialty Holdings, Ltd. 1,909,680 40 45,000 Equity Office Properties Trust 1,238,850 26 50,000 Fannie Mae 3,510,000 74 115,000 FleetBoston Financial Corporation 3,467,250 73 25,000 Lehman Brothers Holdings, Inc. 1,727,000 36 150,000 Lincoln National Corporation 5,307,000 111 75,000 Marsh & McLennan Companies, Inc. 3,570,750 75 170,000 MBNA Corporation 3,876,000 81 35,000 Merrill Lynch & Company, Inc. 1,873,550 39 30,700 Morgan Stanley 1,549,122 33 78,800 Old Republic International Corporation 2,607,492 55 ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Amount Invested For Each $10,000 of Shares Security Value Net Assets ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Financials (continued) 20,000 PartnerRe, Ltd. $1,013,400 $21 90,000 Plum Creek Timber Company, Inc. (REIT) 2,289,600 48 70,200 Scottish Re Group, Ltd. 1,695,330 36 75,000 SouthTrust Corporation 2,204,250 46 70,000 St. Paul Companies, Inc. 2,592,100 54 200,000 U.S. Bancorp 4,798,000 101 140,000 Wachovia Corporation 5,766,600 121 140,000 Washington Mutual, Inc. 5,511,800 116 70,000 Wells Fargo & Company 3,605,000 76 ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 91,239,474 1,914 ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Health Care--12.4% 115,000 Abbott Laboratories 4,893,250 103 60,000 * Accredo Health, Inc. 1,679,400 35 70,000 AmerisourceBergen Corporation 3,783,500 79 46,700 * Amgen, Inc. 3,015,419 63 57,500 * Barr Laboratories, Inc. 3,922,075 82 55,000 * Boston Scientific Corporation 3,509,000 74 30,000 Eli Lilly & Company 1,782,000 37 40,000 * Enzon Pharmaceuticals, Inc. 465,600 10 10,000 * Genetech, Inc. 801,400 17 165,400 Health Management Associates, Inc. - Class "A" 3,607,374 76 25,000 * Henry Schein, Inc. 1,417,500 30 90,000 Johnson & Johnson 4,456,800 94 52,800 * Laboratory Corporation of America Holdings 1,515,360 32 95,000 McKesson Corporation 3,162,550 66 50,000 Medtronic, Inc. 2,346,000 49 60,000 Merck & Company, Inc. 3,037,200 64 340,000 Pfizer, Inc. 10,329,200 217 120,000 Wyeth 5,532,000 116 ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 59,255,628 1,244 ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Industrials--10.7% 62,000 3M Company 4,282,340 90 50,400 Alexander & Baldwin, Inc. 1,415,232 30 30,000 Caterpillar, Inc. 2,065,200 43 100,000 * Cendant Corporation 1,869,000 39 59,800 Chicago Bridge & Iron Company NV - NY Shares 1,624,168 34 ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Portfolio of Investments (continued) FIRST INVESTORS GROWTH & INCOME FUND September 30, 2003 ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Amount Invested For Each $10,000 of Shares Security Value Net Assets ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Industrials (continued) 25,000 Eaton Corporation $2,215,500 $46 60,000 EDO Corporation 1,215,000 25 60,000 Engineered Support Systems, Inc. 3,630,000 76 70,000 Harsco Corporation 2,692,900 57 90,000 Honeywell International, Inc. 2,371,500 50 60,000 Lockheed Martin Corporation 2,769,000 58 215,000 Masco Corporation 5,263,200 111 55,000 Northrop Grumman Corporation 4,742,100 100 103,100 Pall Corporation 2,313,564 49 115,000 Pitney Bowes, Inc. 4,406,800 93 90,000 Rockwell Automation, Inc. 2,362,500 50 35,200 Textron, Inc. 1,388,640 29 55,200 United Technologies Corporation 4,265,856 90 ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 50,892,500 1,070 ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Information Technology--16.4% 36,400 * AMIS Holdings, Inc. 671,944 14 15,000 * Analog Devices, Inc. 570,300 12 50,000 * Applied Materials, Inc. 907,000 19 125,000 Autodesk, Inc. 2,127,500 45 200,000 * Cisco Systems, Inc. 3,908,000 82 200,000 * Concord EFS, Inc. 2,734,000 57 85,000 * Electronics for Imaging, Inc. 1,982,200 42 400,000 * EMC Corporation 5,052,000 106 665,000 * Entrust, Inc. 3,265,150 69 90,000 First Data Corporation 3,596,400 76 230,000 Hewlett-Packard Company 4,452,800 93 205,000 Intel Corporation 5,639,550 118 80,000 * Intersil Corporation - Class "A" 1,904,000 40 100,600 * ManTech International Corporation - Class "A" 2,502,928 52 350,000 Microsoft Corporation 9,726,500 204 170,000 * Network Associates, Inc. 2,339,200 49 275,000 Nokia Corporation - Class "A" (ADR) 4,290,000 90 600,000 * Nortel Networks Corporation 2,460,000 52 120,700 QUALCOMM, Inc. 5,025,948 106 425,000 Sun Microsystems, Inc. 1,406,750 29 162,000 * Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co., Ltd. (ADR) 1,754,460 37 80,000 * Tech Data Corporation 2,468,000 52 50,000 Texas Instruments, Inc. 1,140,000 24 ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Amount Invested For Each $10,000 of Shares Security Value Net Assets ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Information Technology (continued) 160,000 * Thermo Electron Corporation $3,472,000 $73 100,000 * Titan Corporation 2,084,000 44 125,000 * Western Digital Corporation 1,611,250 34 35,000 * Xilinx, Inc. 997,850 21 ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 78,089,730 1,640 ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Materials--3.4% 65,000 Dow Chemical Company 2,115,100 44 140,000 Freeport-McMoRan Copper & Gold, Inc. - Class "B" 4,634,000 97 45,000 PPG Industries, Inc. 2,349,900 49 30,000 Praxair, Inc. 1,858,500 39 155,000 RPM International, Inc. 2,024,300 43 53,400 Weyerhaeuser Company 3,121,230 66 ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 16,103,030 338 ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Other--1.8% 90,000 * Nasdaq--100 Index Tracking Stock 2,917,800 61 55,000 SPDR Trust - Series "1" 5,495,600 116 ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 8,413,400 177 ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Telecommunication Services--1.2% 140,000 SBC Communications, Inc. 3,115,000 65 75,000 Verizon Communications, Inc. 2,433,000 51 ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 5,548,000 116 ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Utilities--1.2% 75,000 Consolidated Edison, Inc. 3,057,000 64 42,000 Dominion Resources, Inc. 2,599,800 55 ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 5,656,800 119 ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Total Value of Common Stocks (cost $390,497,455) 459,750,991 9,653 ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Portfolio of Investments (continued) FIRST INVESTORS GROWTH & INCOME FUND September 30, 2003 ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Amount Invested Shares or For Each Principal $10,000 of Amount Security Value Net Assets ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- CONVERTIBLE PREFERRED STOCKS--2.9% Financials--1.8% Chubb Corporation: 90,800 7%, 2005 - Series "A" $2,510,620 $53 28,900 7%, 2006 - Series "B" 801,975 17 97,000 Hartford Financial Services Group, Inc., 6%, 2006 - Class "A" 5,248,670 110 ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 8,561,265 180 ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Health Care--.2% 16,000 Baxter International, Inc., 7%, 2006 842,400 18 ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Telecommunication Services--.9% 90,000 ALLTEL Corporation, 7.75%, 2005 4,400,100 92 ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Total Value of Convertible Preferred Stocks (cost $12,562,045) 13,803,765 290 ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- SHORT-TERM CORPORATE NOTES--.3% $1,200M General Electric Capital Corp., 1.02%, 10/2/03 (cost $1,199,966) 1,199,966 25 ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Total Value of Investments (cost $404,259,466) 99.7% 474,754,722 9,968 Other Assets, Less Liabilities .3 1,504,370 32 ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Net Assets 100.0% $476,259,092 $10,000 ====================================================================================================================== * Non-income producing See notes to financial statements
Portfolio Manager's Letter FIRST INVESTORS ALL-CAP GROWTH FUND Dear Investor: This is the annual report for the First Investors All-Cap Growth Fund for the fiscal year ended September 30, 2003. During the period, the Fund's return on a net asset value basis was 26.6% for Class A shares and 25.7% for Class B shares. The Fund's strong performance over the reporting period was largely driven by improving economic conditions, solid performance of the overall stock market and stock selection. The Fund's performance was helped by strong stock selection in the financials and industrials sectors. Citigroup posted solid performance, based on its strong consumer business and strict cost controls. First Data Corporation, parent to money transfer powerhouse Western Union and one of the top credit card transaction processors in the U.S., also helped the Fund's performance as it experienced positive earnings growth. Positive stock selection in the information technology sector also aided returns. An underweight allocation to the consumer staples sector boosted performance for the period. The Fund's returns were hurt by an underweight position in one of the best performing sectors for the reporting period, the information technology sector. An overweight position in the materials sector coupled with some poor performing stocks in that segment also detracted from Fund performance. Holdings in the health care sector also hurt the Fund's performance. Thank you for placing your trust in First Investors. As always, we appreciate the opportunity to serve your investment needs. Sincerely, /S/ ANDREW J. SHILLING Andrew J. Shilling Portfolio Manager October 31, 2003 Cumulative Performance Information FIRST INVESTORS ALL-CAP GROWTH FUND Comparison of change in value of $10,000 investment in the First Investors All-Cap Growth Fund (Class A shares) and the Russell 3000 Growth Index. ALL-CAP GROWTH GRAPH PLOTS As of September 30, 2003 ALL-CAP RUSSELL 3000 GROWTH GROWTH OCT 00 $9,425 $10,000 SEP 01 6,155 5,972 SEP 02 5,024 4,606 SEP 03 6,362 5,784 (INSET BOX IN CHART READS:) Average Annual Total Returns* Class A Shares N.A.V. Only S.E.C. Standardized One Year 26.64% 19.26% Since Inception (10/25/00) (12.55%) (14.30%) Class B Shares One Year 25.67% 21.67% Since Inception (10/25/00) (13.17%) (14.07%) The graph compares a $10,000 investment in the First Investors All-Cap Growth Fund (Class A shares) beginning 10/25/00 (inception date) with a theoretical investment in the Russell 3000 Growth Index (the "Index"). The Index is an unmanaged index composed of the 3000 largest U.S. companies, as determined by market capitalization, and represents approximately 98% of the investable U.S. equity market. It is not possible to invest directly in this Index. In addition, the Index does not take into account fees and expenses that an investor would incur in purchasing securities in the Index. For purposes of the graph and the accompanying table, unless otherwise indicated, it has been assumed that the maximum sales charge was deducted from the initial $10,000 investment in the Fund. Class B shares performance may be greater than or less than that shown in the line graph above for Class A shares based on differences in the sales loads and fees paid by shareholders investing in the different classes. * Average Annual Total Return figures are for the periods ended 9/30/03. "N.A.V. Only" returns are calculated without sales charges. The Class A "S.E.C. Standardized" returns shown are based on the maximum sales charge of 5.75% (prior to 6/17/02, the maximum sales charge was 6.25%). The Class B "S.E.C. Standardized" returns are adjusted for the applicable deferred sales charge (maximum of 4% in the first year). During the periods shown, some of the expenses of the Fund were waived or assumed. If such expenses had been paid by the Fund, the Class A "S.E.C. Standardized" Total Return for One Year and Since Inception would have been 19.24% and (14.45%), respectively. The Class B "S.E.C. Standardized" Total Return for One Year and Since Inception would have been 21.65% and (14.21%), respectively. Results represent past performance and do not indicate future results. Investment return and principal value of an investment will fluctuate so that an investor's shares, when redeemed, may be worth more or less than the original cost. Russell 3000 Growth Index figures are from Frank Russell and Company and all other figures are from First Investors Management Company, Inc.
Portfolio of Investments FIRST INVESTORS ALL-CAP GROWTH FUND September 30, 2003 ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Amount Invested For Each $10,000 of Shares Security Value Net Assets ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- COMMON STOCKS--94.2% Consumer Discretionary--18.6% 9,000 * A.C. Moore Arts & Crafts, Inc. $200,520 $22 19,500 * Amazon.com, Inc. 943,020 104 6,500 * AutoZone, Inc. 581,945 64 48,100 Clear Channel Communications, Inc. 1,842,230 204 49,300 * Comcast Corporation - Special Class "A" 1,456,322 161 18,900 * Cox Communications, Inc. - Class "A" 597,618 66 12,220 * Cumulus Media, Inc. - Class "A" 208,351 23 41,500 * eBay, Inc. 2,211,950 244 40,900 * EchoStar Communications Corporation 1,565,243 173 4,100 Fred's, Inc. - Class "A" 135,136 15 32,010 * Hollywood Entertainment Corporation 544,170 60 22,300 * InterActiveCorp 737,015 81 3,630 * Jos. A. Bank Clothiers, Inc. 159,611 18 13,900 * Lamar Advertising Company - Class "A" 407,826 45 7,190 * Leapfrog Enterprises, Inc. - Class "A" 273,220 30 3,870 M.D.C. Holdings, Inc. 208,980 23 26,600 Mattel, Inc. 504,336 56 11,600 Michaels Stores, Inc. 472,816 52 42,300 Omnicom Group, Inc. 3,039,255 336 18,300 * Univision Communications, Inc. - Class "A" 584,319 65 10,300 * Wynn Resorts, Ltd. 187,254 21 ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 16,861,137 1,863 ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Consumer Staples--.2% 23,700 * Stake Technology, Ltd. 219,462 24 ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Energy--1.8% 6,580 Cabot Oil & Gas Corporation 171,080 19 29,940 Chesapeake Energy Corporation 322,753 36 14,100 EOG Resources, Inc. 588,534 65 25,500 XTO Energy, Inc. 535,245 59 ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 1,617,612 179 ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Financials--10.7% 2,660 * Affiliated Managers Group, Inc. 167,048 18 15,300 American International Group, Inc. 882,810 98 6,770 * Arch Capital Group, Ltd. 223,478 25 ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Portfolio of Investments (continued) FIRST INVESTORS ALL-CAP GROWTH FUND September 30, 2003 ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Amount Invested For Each $10,000 of Shares Security Value Net Assets ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Financials (continued) 68,700 Citigroup, Inc. $3,126,537 $345 46,700 Countrywide Financial Corporation 3,655,676 404 8,900 Fannie Mae 624,780 69 5,300 Legg Mason, Inc. 382,660 42 11,300 Moody's Corporation 621,161 69 ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 9,684,150 1,070 ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Health Care--19.6% 40,600 Abbott Laboratories 1,727,530 191 12,940 * Abgenix, Inc. 187,501 21 7,800 * Anthem, Inc. 556,374 61 64,400 AstraZeneca PLC (ADR) 2,794,960 309 59,250 * Beverly Enterprises, Inc. 350,760 39 6,200 * Cephalon, Inc. 284,704 31 4,240 * CV Therapeutics, Inc. 93,280 10 26,500 * Cytyc Corporation 398,560 44 46,300 Eli Lilly & Company 2,750,220 304 12,300 * Forest Laboratories, Inc. 632,835 70 81,400 Guidant Corporation 3,813,590 421 5,450 * INAMED Corporation 400,303 44 8,200 McKesson Corporation 272,978 30 8,600 * Medicines Company 223,600 25 10,360 * NPS Pharmaceuticals, Inc. 288,526 32 6,335 * Odyssey Healthcare, Inc. 188,910 21 5,150 * OSI Pharmaceuticals, Inc. 167,221 18 14,900 * Watson Pharmaceuticals, Inc. 621,181 69 23,800 * Wellpoint Health Networks, Inc. 1,834,504 203 4,440 * Wilson Greatbatch Technologies, Inc. 160,062 18 ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 17,747,599 1,961 ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Industrials--8.8% 48,040 * AMR Corporation 550,058 61 60,600 * Apollo Group, Inc. - Class "A" 4,001,418 442 22,000 * Aramark Corporation - Class "B" 550,660 61 9,400 * Ceradyne, Inc. 243,178 27 2,920 * Education Management Corporation 168,396 19 11,855 * JetBlue Airways Corporation 725,170 80 13,210 * Navigant Consulting, Inc. 162,615 18 5,390 * Old Dominion Freight Line, Inc. 156,795 17 ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Amount Invested For Each $10,000 of Shares Security Value Net Assets ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Industrials (continued) 4,400 PACCAR, Inc. $328,636 $36 12,200 Parker-Hannifin Corporation 545,340 60 18,290 * Yellow Corporation 546,505 60 ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 7,978,771 881 ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Information Technology--32.5% 62,700 * Analog Devices, Inc. 2,383,854 263 81,700 * Applied Materials, Inc. 1,482,038 164 35,660 * ASE Test, Ltd. 309,885 34 39,721 * ASML Holding NV - NY Shares 521,537 58 95,100 * Cisco Systems, Inc. 1,858,254 205 133,000 * Dell, Inc. 4,440,870 491 14,180 * Dot Hill Systems Corporation 192,423 21 7,980 * DSP Group, Inc. 198,782 22 10,400 * Fairchild Semiconductor International, Inc. 172,432 19 95,300 First Data Corporation 3,808,188 421 1,500 * Innovex, Inc. 14,925 2 54,950 * MEMC Electronic Materials, Inc. 599,505 66 114,900 Microsoft Corporation 3,193,071 353 4,600 Nam Tai Electronics, Inc. 124,798 14 26,000 * Network Appliance, Inc. 533,780 59 4,300 * Overland Storage, Inc. 63,425 7 32,700 * PeopleSoft, Inc. 594,813 66 17,670 * Pericom Semiconductor Corporation 176,700 20 20,460 * Polycom, Inc. 339,841 38 36,800 QUALCOMM, Inc. 1,532,352 169 52,450 * Red Hat, Inc. 529,745 59 7,340 * Rudolph Technologies, Inc. 141,735 16 23,900 Seagate Technology 650,080 72 29,800 * Siebel Systems, Inc. 289,655 32 24,400 * Symantec Corporation 1,537,688 170 38,100 * Telefonaktiebolaget L.M. Ericsson AB - Class "B" (ADR) 559,308 62 41,200 * VeriSign, Inc. 554,964 61 6,400 * Waters Corporation 175,552 19 66,900 * Yahoo!, Inc. 2,366,922 262 ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 29,347,122 3,245 ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Portfolio of Investments (continued) FIRST INVESTORS ALL-CAP GROWTH FUND September 30, 2003 ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Amount Invested Shares or For Each Principal $10,000 of Amount Security Value Net Assets ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Telecommunication Services--2.0% 52,210 * American Tower Corporation - Class "A" $529,932 $58 49,090 * Crown Castle International Corporation 461,937 51 33,400 * Nextel Communications, Inc. - Class "A" 657,645 73 2,300 * NII Holdings, Inc. - Class "B" 137,287 15 ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 1,786,801 197 ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Total Value of Common Stocks (cost $74,548,082) 85,242,654 9,420 ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- REPURCHASE AGREEMENT--5.3% $4,793M BNP Paribas, .97%, 10/1/03 (collateralized by U.S. Treasury Note, 3.25%, 12/31/03, valued at $4,858,155) (cost $4,793,000) 4,793,000 529 ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Total Value of Investments (cost $79,341,082) 99.5% 90,035,654 9,949 Other Assets, Less Liabilities .5 457,551 51 ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Net Assets 100.0% $90,493,205 $10,000 ====================================================================================================================== * Non-income producing See notes to financial statements
Portfolio Managers' Letter FIRST INVESTORS MID-CAP OPPORTUNITY FUND Dear Investor: This is the annual report for the First Investors Mid-Cap Opportunity Fund for the fiscal year ended September 30, 2003. During the period, the Fund's return on a net asset value basis was 21.6% for Class A shares and 20.7% for Class B shares. The Fund's performance was largely driven by the improving economic conditions, solid performance of the mid-cap stock sector, asset allocation decisions and stock selection. Performance on an absolute basis was attributable to investments in two key sectors: consumer discretionary and technology. Smaller contributions came from the financials, industrials, health care, materials and energy sectors. The Fund underperformed the S&P 400 Midcap Index due to conservative stock selection within the technology, health care, financials and industrials sectors. Performance of the index was driven by more speculative issues and higher "beta" names that the Fund did not own. Among positives to performance, the Fund's overweight positions in the consumer discretionary and consumer staples sectors, as well as good stock selection in those sectors, aided returns. Strong stock picking within the materials and energy sectors was also a positive. Within the top overall contributing sector, technology, strength came from the semiconductors, capital equipment, software, hardware and equipment segments. Among health care sector holdings, shares of Medicaid HMO firms, pharmacy benefit managers and biotechnology firms rose sharply. Shares of diversified firms were key contributors in the financials sector. Capital goods firms were solid performers in the industrials sector. Portfolio Managers' Letter (continued) FIRST INVESTORS MID-CAP OPPORTUNITY FUND Thank you for placing your trust in First Investors. As always, we appreciate the opportunity to serve your investment needs. Sincerely, /S/ EDWIN D. MISKA Edwin D. Miska Director of Equities and Co-Portfolio Manager /S/ ALLEN KLEE Allen Klee Co-Portfolio Manager October 31, 2003 Cumulative Performance Information FIRST INVESTORS MID-CAP OPPORTUNITY FUND Comparison of change in value of $10,000 investment in the First Investors Mid-Cap Opportunity Fund (Class A shares) and the Standard & Poor's 400 Midcap Index. MID-CAP OPPORTUNITY FUND - CLASS A GRAPH PLOTS As of September 30, 2003 MID-CAP S & P 400 OPPORTUNITY MIDCAP INDEX OCT 93 $ 9,425 $10,000 OCT 94 9,334 10,237 OCT 95 11,630 12,411 OCT 96 12,984 14,565 OCT 97 16,502 19,321 SEP 98 13,792 18,922 SEP 99 19,953 23,745 SEP 00 28,215 34,007 SEP 01 19,654 27,546 SEP 02 17,582 26,254 SEP 03 21,370 33,290 (INSET BOX IN CHART READS:) Average Annual Total Returns* Class A Shares N.A.V. Only S.E.C. Standardized One Year 21.55% 14.58% Five Years 9.15% 7.86% Ten Years 8.32% 7.68% Class B Shares One Year 20.71% 16.71% Five Years 8.39% 8.10% Since Inception (1/12/95) 8.57% 8.57% The graph compares a $10,000 investment in the First Investors Mid-Cap Opportunity Fund (Class A shares) beginning 10/31/93 with a theoretical investment in the Standard & Poor's 400 Midcap Index (the "Index"). The Index is an unmanaged capitalization-weighted index of 400 stocks designed to measure performance of the mid-range sector of the U.S. stock market where the median market capitalization is approximately $700 million. It is not possible to invest directly in this Index. In addition, the Index does not take into account fees and expenses that an investor would incur in purchasing securities in the Index. For purposes of the graph and the accompanying table, unless otherwise indicated, it has been assumed that the maximum sales charge was deducted from the initial $10,000 investment in the Fund and all dividends and distributions were reinvested. Class B shares performance may be greater than or less than that shown in the line graph above for Class A shares based on differences in sales loads and fees paid by shareholders investing in the different classes. * Average Annual Total Return figures (for the periods ended 9/30/03) include the reinvestment of all dividends and distributions. "N.A.V. Only" returns are calculated without sales charges. The Class A "S.E.C. Standardized" returns shown are based on the maximum sales charge of 5.75% (prior to 6/17/02, the maximum sales charge was 6.25%). The Class B "S.E.C. Standardized" returns are adjusted for the applicable deferred sales charge (maximum of 4% in the first year). During the periods shown, some of the expenses of the Fund were waived or assumed. If such expenses had been paid by the Fund, the Class A "S.E.C. Standardized" Average Annual Total Return for One Year, Five Years and Ten Years would have been 14.33%, 7.43% and 7.12%, respectively. The Class B "S.E.C. Standardized" Average Annual Total Return for One Year, Five Years and Since Inception would have been 16.46%, 7.70% and 8.05%, respectively. Results represent past performance and do not indicate future results. Investment return and principal value of an investment will fluctuate so that an investor's shares, when redeemed, may be worth more or less than the original cost. Standard & Poor's 400 Midcap Index figures are from Standard & Poor's and all other figures are from First Investors Management Company, Inc.
Portfolio of Investments FIRST INVESTORS MID-CAP OPPORTUNITY FUND September 30, 2003 ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Amount Invested For Each $10,000 of Shares Security Value Net Assets ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- COMMON STOCKS--98.7% Consumer Discretionary--20.6% 25,000 * Abercrombie & Fitch Company $692,750 $31 57,500 * American Axle & Manufacturing Holdings, Inc. 1,700,850 75 60,000 Applebee's International, Inc. 1,888,800 83 80,000 * Barnes & Noble, Inc. 2,032,800 90 20,000 Black & Decker Corporation 811,000 36 45,900 * Brinker International, Inc. 1,531,224 68 130,000 * Caremark Rx, Inc. 2,938,000 130 35,000 * Chico's FAS, Inc. 1,072,400 47 10,000 * Citadel Broadcasting Corporation 197,600 9 22,500 * Coach, Inc. 1,228,500 54 65,000 D.R. Horton, Inc. 2,125,500 94 220,000 * GameStop Corporation - Class "A" 3,498,000 154 30,000 GTECH Holdings Corporation 1,285,500 57 52,100 Hasbro, Inc. 973,228 43 86,000 Landry's Restaurants, Inc. 1,771,600 78 30,000 * Lear Corporation 1,579,200 70 80,000 Leggett & Platt, Inc. 1,730,400 76 45,000 Mattel, Inc. 853,200 38 17,500 Michaels Stores, Inc. 713,300 31 75,000 * Movie Gallery, Inc. 1,473,750 65 50,000 * Office Depot, Inc. 702,500 31 165,000 Pier 1 Imports, Inc. 3,174,600 140 57,500 Polo Ralph Lauren Corporation - Class "A" 1,542,150 68 25,400 Reader's Digest Association, Inc. 355,346 16 70,000 Regis Corporation 2,247,000 99 25,000 Ross Stores, Inc. 1,159,000 51 41,300 * Scholastic Corporation 1,189,027 53 75,000 * Scientific Games Corporation - Class "A" 855,750 38 27,500 Tiffany & Company 1,026,575 45 62,800 TJX Companies, Inc. 1,219,576 54 50,000 * Tuesday Morning Corporation 1,391,500 61 60,000 Tupperware Corporation 802,800 35 30,000 * Williams-Sonoma, Inc. 809,400 36 ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 46,572,826 2,056 ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Amount Invested For Each $10,000 of Shares Security Value Net Assets ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Consumer Staples--9.4% 25,000 Altria Group, Inc. $1,095,000 $48 200,000 * Chiquita Brands International, Inc. 3,540,000 156 100,000 Coca-Cola Enterprises, Inc. 1,906,000 84 52,500 * Dean Foods Company 1,629,075 72 123,500 * Duane Reade, Inc. 1,969,825 87 100,000 Freeport-McMoRan Copper & Gold, Inc. - Class "B" 3,310,000 146 50,000 Hormel Foods Corporation 1,149,000 51 90,000 * Kroger Company 1,608,300 71 85,000 Pepsi Bottling Group, Inc. 1,749,300 77 42,500 * Performance Food Group Company 1,730,175 77 39,100 * Smithfield Foods, Inc. 750,720 33 77,900 * Willbros Group, Inc. 799,254 35 ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 21,236,649 937 ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Energy--6.1% 40,000 Anadarko Petroleum Corporation 1,670,400 74 690 Cross Timbers Royalty Trust 14,490 1 50,000 EOG Resources, Inc. 2,087,000 92 20,000 * Patterson-UTI Energy, Inc. 541,400 24 95,200 Suncor Energy, Inc. 1,765,960 78 47,500 Talisman Energy, Inc. 2,253,400 99 6,000 * Tom Brown, Inc. 154,200 7 77,500 * Transocean, Inc. 1,550,000 68 50,000 * Weatherford International, Ltd. 1,889,000 83 93,333 XTO Energy, Inc. 1,959,060 87 ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 13,884,910 613 ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Financials--17.5% 45,000 ACE, Ltd. 1,488,600 66 40,000 Ambac Financial Group, Inc. 2,560,000 113 80,000 Banknorth Group, Inc. 2,257,600 100 42,500 Bear Stearns Companies, Inc. 3,179,000 140 60,000 Charter One Financial, Inc. 1,836,000 81 37,488 Citigroup, Inc. 1,706,079 75 36,000 City National Corporation 1,834,560 81 33,400 Compass Bancshares, Inc. 1,154,972 51 49 * Corrections Corporation of America 1,209 -- 37,500 Doral Financial Corporation 1,762,500 78 35,000 Greater Bay Bancorp 728,000 32 ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Portfolio of Investments (continued) FIRST INVESTORS MID-CAP OPPORTUNITY FUND September 30, 2003 ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Amount Invested For Each $10,000 of Shares Security Value Net Assets ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Financials (continued) 55,000 KeyCorp $1,406,350 $62 36,500 National Commerce Financial Corporation 908,120 40 50,000 North Fork Bancorporation, Inc. 1,737,500 77 64,400 Old Republic International Corporation 2,130,995 94 44,400 PartnerRe, Ltd. 2,249,748 99 51,400 Principal Financial Group, Inc. 1,592,886 70 65,000 Protective Life Corporation 1,940,250 86 30,000 Public Storage, Inc. (REIT) 1,176,900 52 35,000 Reinsurance Group of America, Inc. 1,426,250 63 35,000 Scottish Re Group, Ltd. 845,250 37 26,500 Sovereign Bancorp, Inc. 491,575 22 21,000 TCF Financial Corporation 1,006,950 44 81,500 Willis Group Holdings, Ltd. 2,506,125 110 33,000 Zions Bancorporation 1,843,050 81 ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 39,770,469 1,754 ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Health Care--12.7% 44,150 * Accredo Health, Inc. 1,235,759 55 40,000 AmerisourceBergen Corporation 2,162,000 95 70,000 * Andrx Corporation 1,295,700 57 20,000 * Barr Laboratories, Inc. 1,364,200 60 42,500 Beckman Coulter, Inc. 1,935,450 85 153,000 * Centene Corporation 4,649,670 205 52,500 * Charles River Laboratories International, Inc. 1,611,225 71 40,000 DENTSPLY International, Inc. 1,793,600 79 40,000 * Enzon Pharmaceuticals, Inc. 465,600 21 10,000 * Express Scripts, Inc. 611,500 27 25,000 * Gilead Sciences, Inc. 1,398,250 62 42,500 * Henry Schein, Inc. 2,409,750 106 50,000 * IMPAC Medical Systems, Inc. 894,500 40 35,000 * Laboratory Corporation of America Holdings 1,004,500 44 67,500 McKesson Corporation 2,247,075 99 5,000 * Molina Healthcare, Inc. 130,400 6 100,000 * Province Healthcare Company 1,295,000 57 72,500 * SICOR, Inc. 1,397,800 62 27,500 * Triad Hospitals, Inc. 832,700 37 ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 28,734,679 1,268 ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Amount Invested For Each $10,000 of Shares Security Value Net Assets ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Industrials--11.6% 29,300 Avery Dennison Corporation $1,480,235 $65 80,000 Chicago Bridge & Iron Company NV - NY Shares 2,172,800 96 23,333 * ChoicePoint, Inc. 781,656 35 25,000 Donaldson Company, Inc. 1,347,500 59 29,600 Expeditors International of Washington, Inc. 1,018,536 45 30,000 FedEx Corporation 1,932,900 85 20,000 * Jacobs Engineering Group, Inc. 902,000 40 44,500 * L-3 Communications Holdings, Inc. 1,924,625 85 35,000 Manpower, Inc. 1,298,500 57 91,400 Masco Corporation 2,237,472 99 86,200 * Mobile Mini, Inc. 1,662,798 73 37,500 Northrop Grumman Corporation 3,233,250 143 30,900 Rockwell Automation, Inc. 811,125 36 60,000 * Shaw Group, Inc. 630,600 28 20,000 Textron, Inc. 789,000 35 70,000 * Thermo Electron Corporation 1,519,000 67 57,600 * United Defense Industries, Inc. 1,635,264 72 25,000 * Waste Connections, Inc. 877,250 39 ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 26,254,511 1,159 ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Information Technology--13.7% 17,300 * AMIS Holdings, Inc. 319,358 14 35,100 * Amphenol Corporation - Class "A" 1,826,955 81 90,000 Autodesk, Inc. 1,531,800 67 75,000 * BearingPoint, Inc. 598,500 26 60,000 * BISYS Group, Inc. 789,000 35 50,000 * Comverse Technology, Inc. 748,000 33 45,000 * DST Systems, Inc. 1,692,000 75 42,500 * Electronics for Imaging, Inc. 991,100 44 117,500 * Intergraph Corporation 2,735,400 121 27,900 * International Rectifier Corporation 1,044,576 46 50,000 Intersil Corporation - Class "A" 1,190,000 53 46,100 * Lattice Semiconductor Corporation 327,771 14 20,000 * Logitech International SA (ADR) 620,000 27 50,000 * Manhattan Associates, Inc. 1,294,500 57 91,400 * ManTech International Corporation - Class "A" 2,274,032 100 12,100 * MEMC Electronic Materials, Inc. 132,011 6 80,000 * Network Associates, Inc. 1,100,800 49 41,300 * Novellus Systems, Inc. 1,393,875 61 30,000 * Rudolph Technologies, Inc. 579,300 26 ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Portfolio of Investments (continued) FIRST INVESTORS MID-CAP OPPORTUNITY FUND September 30, 2003 ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Amount Invested For Each $10,000 of Shares Security Value Net Assets ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Information Technology (continued) 35,000 * Semtech Corporation $646,100 $29 75,600 * SunGard Data Systems, Inc. 1,989,036 88 70,000 * Sybase, Inc. 1,190,700 52 25,000 * Take-Two Interactive Software, Inc. 854,250 38 100,000 * Tellabs, Inc. 679,000 30 50,000 * Titan Corporation 1,042,000 46 70,000 * Vishay Intertechnology, Inc. 1,226,400 54 50,000 * Waters Corporation 1,371,500 61 60,000 * Western Digital Corporation 773,400 34 ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 30,961,364 1,367 ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Materials--2.8% 75,000 Archer-Daniels-Midland Company 983,250 43 140,000 * Louisiana-Pacific Corporation 1,929,200 85 21,500 Lubrizol Corporation 697,675 31 25,000 Praxair, Inc. 1,548,750 68 90,000 Sappi, Ltd. (ADR) 1,215,000 54 ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 6,373,875 281 ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Other--1.2% 4,000 iShares S&P Midcap 400 Index 408,880 18 25,000 MidCap SPDR Trust - Series "1" 2,334,500 103 ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 2,743,380 121 ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Telecommunication Services--.3% 11,000 Telephone & Data Systems, Inc. 621,940 27 ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Utilities--2.8% 45,000 AGL Resources, Inc. 1,267,650 56 40,000 Equitable Resources, Inc. 1,644,000 73 25,400 NSTAR 1,206,500 53 35,000 SCANA Corporation 1,198,750 53 35,000 Wisconsin Energy Corporation 1,069,950 47 ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 6,386,850 282 ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Total Value of Common Stocks (cost $195,720,469) 223,541,453 9,865 ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Amount Invested For Each Principal $10,000 of Amount Security Value Net Assets ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- SHORT-TERM CORPORATE NOTES--1.3% $3,000M ChevronTexaco Corp., 1.02%, 10/6/03 (cost $2,999,575) $2,999,575 $132 ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Total Value of Investments (cost $198,720,044) 100.0% 226,541,028 9,997 Other Assets, Less Liabilities .0 78,569 3 ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Net Assets 100.0% $226,619,597 $10,000 ====================================================================================================================== * Non-income producing See notes to financial statements
Portfolio Manager's Letter FIRST INVESTORS SPECIAL SITUATIONS FUND Dear Investor: This is the annual report for the First Investors Special Situations Fund for the fiscal year ended September 30, 2003. During the period, the Fund's return on a net asset value basis was 23.5% for Class A shares and 22.6% for Class B shares. The primary factors driving the Fund's performance were the improving economy, the strong rebound of small-cap stocks and the Fund's sector allocation choices. As is frequently the case during the beginning of an economic recovery, small-cap stocks outperformed larger-cap stocks. The small-cap growth segment had been hit especially hard over the prior few years. Therefore, the segment had more opportunity to bounce back. Performance within the segment was led by the technology and health care sectors. On a relative basis, the Fund underperformed the Russell 2000 Index for the reporting period. The primary reason was its underweighting in the more speculative, higher "beta" companies that outperformed during the year. The Fund's beta (a measure of volatility) was less than that of its benchmark over the reporting period. The decision to underweight the technology sector was based on concerns about valuations and lack of evidence of improving fundamentals in the early part of the year. The decision to underweight the health care sector was due to concerns about investing in smaller biotechnology stocks. These stocks ended up being one of the strongest sectors this year. Stock selection in the industrials sector also hurt performance, as several holdings in this sector performed poorly. On the positive side, the financials sector was the biggest contributor to relative performance due to the Fund's overweight position and better stock selection. Our overweight decision was based on the view that earnings fundamentals in small banks would benefit from the low interest rate and positive yield curve interest rate environment. Also, we believed that property and casualty companies would benefit from improved pricing. Thank you for placing your trust in First Investors. As always, we appreciate the opportunity to serve your investment needs. Sincerely, /S/ ALLEN KLEE Allen Klee Portfolio Manager October 31, 2003 Cumulative Performance Information FIRST INVESTORS SPECIAL SITUATIONS FUND Comparison of change in value of $10,000 investment in the First Investors Special Situations Fund (Class A shares) and the Russell 2000 Index. SPECIAL SITUATIONS GRAPH PLOTS As of September 30, 2003 SPECIAL RUSSELL SITUATIONS 2000 DEC 93 $ 9,425 $10,000 DEC 94 9,079 9,682 DEC 95 11,251 12,219 DEC 96 12,552 14,241 DEC 97 14,578 17,408 SEP 98 11,719 14,614 SEP 99 15,380 17,412 SEP 00 22,004 21,523 SEP 01 12,572 16,983 SEP 02 10,499 15,407 SEP 03 12,962 21,036 (INSET BOX IN CHART READS:) Average Annual Total Returns* Class A Shares N.A.V. Only S.E.C. Standardized One Year 23.46% 16.38% Five Years 2.04% 0.83% Ten Years 3.48% 2.87% Class B Shares One Year 22.63% 18.63% Five Years 1.33% 0.95% Since Inception (1/12/95) 3.30% 3.30% The graph compares a $10,000 investment in the First Investors Special Situations Fund (Class A shares) beginning 12/31/93 with a theoretical investment in the Russell 2000 Index (the "Index"). The Index consists of the smallest 2,000 companies in the Russell 3000 Index (which represents approximately 98% of the investable U.S. equity market). The Index is an unmanaged index generally considered as the premier of small capitalization stocks. It is not possible to invest directly in this Index. In addition, the Index does not take into account fees and expenses that an investor would incur in purchasing securities in the index. For purposes of the graph and the accompanying table, unless otherwise indicated, it has been assumed that the maximum sales charge was deducted from the initial $10,000 investment in the Fund and all dividends and distributions were reinvested. Class B shares performance may be greater than or less than that shown in the line graph above for Class A shares based on differences in the sales loads and fees paid by shareholders investing in the different classes. * Average Annual Total Return figures (for the periods ended 9/30/03) include the reinvestment of all dividends and distributions. "N.A.V. Only" returns are calculated without sales charges. The Class A "S.E.C. Standardized" returns shown are based on the maximum sales charge of 5.75% (prior to 6/17/02, the maximum sales charge was 6.25%). The Class B "S.E.C. Standardized" returns are adjusted for the applicable deferred sales charge (maximum of 4% in the first year). During the periods shown, some of the expenses of the Fund were waived or assumed. If such expenses had been paid by the Fund, the Class A "S.E.C. Standardized" Average Annual Total Return for One Year, Five Years and Ten Years would have been 16.13%, .48% and 2.52%, respectively. The Class B "S.E.C. Standardized" Average Annual Total Return for One Year, Five Years and Since Inception would have been 18.38%, .57% and 2.94%, respectively. Results represent past performance and do not indicate future results. Investment return and principal value of an investment will fluctuate so that an investor's shares, when redeemed, may be worth more or less than the original cost. Russell 2000 Index figures are from Frank Russell and Company and all other figures are from First Investors Management Company, Inc.
Portfolio of Investments FIRST INVESTORS SPECIAL SITUATIONS FUND September 30, 2003 ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Amount Invested For Each $10,000 of Shares Security Value Net Assets ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- COMMON STOCKS--96.2% Consumer Discretionary--18.1% 69,400 * Aeropostale, Inc. $1,877,270 $99 193,500 * Champion Enterprises, Inc. 1,228,725 65 62,400 * Chico's FAS, Inc. 1,911,935 100 24,100 Claire's Stores, Inc. 806,386 43 142,300 * Concord Camera Corporation 1,515,495 80 28,000 Culp, Inc. 257,600 14 22,800 * Cumulus Media, Inc. - Class "A" 388,740 21 14,900 * Dick's Sporting Goods, Inc. 556,366 29 29,380 Fred's, Inc. - Class "A" 968,365 51 26,200 * FTD, Inc. - Class "A" 589,762 31 22,900 * Getty Images, Inc. 805,164 43 24,600 * Guitar Center, Inc. 791,136 42 76,700 * Jarden Corporation 2,895,425 152 28,100 * Leapfrog Enterprises, Inc. - Class "A" 1,067,800 56 13,100 Michaels Stores, Inc. 533,956 28 86,000 * Movie Gallery, Inc. 1,689,900 89 142,300 * MTR Gaming Group, Inc. 1,233,741 65 17,900 * Multimedia Games, Inc. 651,381 34 57,500 Navigant International, Inc. 805,575 43 2,669 * NVR, Inc. 1,245,089 66 30,800 * Penn National Gaming, Inc. 656,656 35 60,300 * Quicksilver, Inc. 961,785 51 216,400 * Regent Communications, Inc. 1,320,040 70 103,300 * Restoration Hardware, Inc. 600,173 32 83,700 * Scientific Games Corporation - Class "A" 955,017 50 28,400 * Select Comfort Corporation 752,600 40 29,900 * Shuffle Master, Inc. 812,682 43 22,600 * Sports Authority, Inc. 710,996 38 22,300 * Steven Madden, Ltd. 423,031 22 66,900 * Tractor Supply Company 2,194,989 116 65,400 Triarc Companies, Inc. - Class "A" 658,578 35 130,800 Triarc Companies, Inc. - Class "B" 1,360,320 72 10,600 * Tuesday Morning Corporation 294,998 16 29,600 * Urban Outfitters, Inc. 771,376 41 ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 34,293,052 1,812 ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Portfolio of Investments (continued) FIRST INVESTORS SPECIAL SITUATIONS FUND September 30, 2003 ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Amount Invested For Each $10,000 of Shares Security Value Net Assets ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Energy--3.9% 79,200 Chesapeake Energy Corporation $853,776 $45 435 Cross Timbers Royalty Trust 9,135 1 9,927 Devon Energy Corporation 478,382 25 4,500 * Houston Exploration Company 157,950 8 30,700 * National-Oilwell, Inc. 556,898 29 19,800 Noble Energy, Inc. 758,340 40 39,200 * Patterson-UTI Energy, Inc. 1,061,144 56 22,800 * Remington Oil & Gas Corporation 413,820 22 51,750 * TETRA Technologies, Inc. 1,067,085 56 27,000 World Fuel Services Corporation 757,890 41 58,833 XTO Energy, Inc. 1,234,905 65 ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 7,349,325 388 ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Financials--8.1% 1,700 Bank of the Ozarks, Inc. 75,667 4 9,400 Capital Automotive (REIT) 286,794 15 6,400 * CapitalSource, Inc. 112,000 6 25,200 Capitol Bancorp, Ltd. 674,100 36 36,250 Doral Financial Corporation 1,703,750 89 55,400 HCC Insurance Holdings, Inc. 1,611,032 85 32,400 Infinity Property & Casualty Corporation 910,764 48 71,900 * MI Developments, Inc. 1,632,130 86 43,400 * Montpelier Re Holdings, Ltd. 1,308,510 69 53,200 Odyssey Re Holdings Corporation 1,094,856 58 57,100 Provident Financial Services, Inc. 1,094,036 58 62,300 RAIT Investment Trust 1,430,408 76 44,600 Safety Insurance Group, Inc. 692,192 37 52,800 Thornburg Mortgage, Inc. 1,337,424 71 20,000 Westamerica Bancorporation 889,000 47 12,600 Westcorp, Inc. 440,370 23 ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 15,293,033 808 ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Health Care--20.6% 9,200 * American Healthways, Inc. 386,308 20 35,000 * AmSurg Corporation 1,154,650 61 6,300 * Angiotech Pharmaceuticals, Inc. 274,995 15 135,400 * Axcan Pharma, Inc. 1,849,564 98 80,100 * Bio-Reference Laboratories, Inc. 823,428 43 ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Amount Invested For Each $10,000 of Shares Security Value Net Assets ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Health Care (continued) 31,400 * Celgene Corporation $1,360,562 $72 71,000 * Centene Corporation 2,157,690 114 14,900 * Cephalon, Inc. 684,208 36 36,700 * Curative Health Services, Inc. 655,829 35 23,700 * CV Therapeutics, Inc. 521,400 28 25,700 * DaVita, Inc. 818,031 43 44,400 * Eon Labs, Inc. 1,702,740 90 57,800 * Exact Sciences Corporation 780,300 41 21,600 * Fisher Scientific International, Inc. 857,304 45 43,600 * Genesis Health Ventures, Inc. 1,057,300 56 45,000 * Hanger Orthopedic Group, Inc. 690,750 36 25,200 * Hollis-Eden Pharmaceuticals, Inc. 613,872 32 103,200 * KV Pharmaceutical Company - Class "A" 2,322,000 123 8,000 * Med-Design Corporation 34,800 2 94,500 * Med-Design Corporation ** + 370,440 20 16,100 Medicis Pharmaceutical Corporation - Class "A" 943,460 50 17,300 * MGI Pharma, Inc. 679,198 36 18,100 * Mid Atlantic Medical Services, Inc. 930,883 49 17,000 * Neurocrine Biosciences, Inc. 841,840 44 22,200 * NPS Pharmaceuticals, Inc. 618,270 33 79,675 * Odyssey Healthcare, Inc. 2,375,909 125 5,500 * Possis Medical, Inc. 85,800 5 79,500 * Repligen Corporation 428,505 23 32,000 * Select Medical Corporation 921,600 49 18,820 * SFBC International, Inc. 535,090 28 55,700 * Steris Corporation 1,282,214 68 88,900 * SuperGen, Inc. 667,639 35 37,400 Synovis Life Technologies, Inc. ** + 823,174 43 35,700 * Taro Pharmaceuticals Industries, Ltd. 2,012,052 106 47,900 * U.S. Physical Therapy, Inc. 585,865 31 115,600 * VCA Antech, Inc. 2,722,380 143 53,800 * VistaCare, Inc. - Class "A" 1,683,940 89 19,100 * Wilson Greatbatch Technologies, Inc. 688,555 36 36,100 * ZOLL Medical Corporation 1,157,005 61 ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 39,099,550 2,064 ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Industrials--9.5% 38,800 * Arbitron, Inc. 1,369,640 72 30,000 * Career Education Corporation 1,359,000 72 59,200 * DRS Technologies, Inc. 1,428,496 75 ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Portfolio of Investments (continued) FIRST INVESTORS SPECIAL SITUATIONS FUND September 30, 2003 ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Amount Invested For Each $10,000 of Shares Security Value Net Assets ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Industrials (continued) 27,300 * Education Management Corporation $1,574,390 $83 25,500 * ESCO Technologies, Inc. 1,154,385 61 46,550 * Genesee & Wyoming, Inc. - Class "A" 1,103,701 58 27,900 * Marten Transport, Ltd. 728,190 38 63,400 * Moore Wallace, Inc. 900,280 48 46,700 * MTC Technologies, Inc. 1,083,440 57 18,200 * Old Dominion Freight Line, Inc. 529,438 28 43,200 Oshkosh Truck Corporation 1,711,152 91 35,100 * United Defense Industries, Inc. 996,489 53 135,000 United Industrial Corporation 2,146,500 114 25,300 * Wabash National Corporation 403,535 21 24,000 * Waste Connections, Inc. 842,160 44 29,700 Werner Enterprises, Inc. 680,427 36 ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 18,011,223 951 ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Information Technology--29.9% 32,500 * Altiris, Inc. 854,100 45 24,300 * AMIS Holdings, Inc. 448,578 24 87,300 * Aspect Communications Corporation 727,209 38 233,200 * Atari, Inc. 953,788 50 19,500 * ATMI, Inc. 492,765 26 13,900 * Avid Technology, Inc. 734,476 39 54,700 * Cognizant Technology Solutions Corporation - Class "A" 1,994,909 106 172,200 * Conexant Systems, Inc. 974,652 51 78,400 * Cray, Inc. 860,832 45 50,000 * Credence Systems Corporation 575,000 30 13,800 * Cymer, Inc. 568,560 30 29,200 * Cypress Semiconductor Corporation 516,256 27 45,300 * Digital River, Inc. 1,238,955 65 600 * Digital Theater Systems, Inc. 17,089 1 33,500 * Documentum, Inc. 713,885 38 38,000 * DSP Group, Inc. 946,580 50 32,900 * DuPont Photomasks, Inc. 747,159 39 82,300 * Embarcadero Technologies, Inc. 826,292 44 12,000 * Excel Technology, Inc. 300,000 16 31,800 * FLIR Systems, Inc. 814,716 43 77,800 * Global Imaging Systems, Inc. 1,913,880 101 60,900 * GlobespanVirata, Inc. 439,698 23 32,000 * Hyperion Solutions Corporation 923,840 49 ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Amount Invested For Each $10,000 of Shares Security Value Net Assets ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Information Technology (continued) 27,400 * Integrated Circuit Systems, Inc. $823,096 $43 93,400 * Intergraph Corporation 2,174,352 115 24,100 * International Rectifier Corporation 902,304 48 34,700 Inter-Tel, Inc. 851,885 45 26,600 * InterVideo, Inc. 570,570 30 22,700 * Itron, Inc. 455,589 24 28,200 * J2 Global Communications, Inc. 1,066,806 56 88,600 * Kopin Corporation 613,998 32 23,600 * Kronos, Inc. 1,248,676 66 78,700 * Lexar Media, Inc. 1,341,048 71 54,500 * Magma Design Automation, Inc. 1,069,290 56 22,100 * Manhattan Associates, Inc. 572,169 30 16,800 * ManTech International Corporation - Class "A" 417,984 22 53,400 * MapInfo Corporation 512,106 27 92,800 * Maxtor Corporation 1,129,376 60 150,700 * MEMC Electronic Materials, Inc. 1,644,137 87 36,100 * Mentor Graphics Corporation 632,833 33 14,100 * Mercury Interactive Corporation 640,281 34 84,400 * Mindspeed Technologies, Inc. 454,916 24 258,000 * MPS Group, Inc. 2,322,000 124 48,500 * Neoware Systems, Inc. 827,895 44 15,600 * NetScreen Technologies, Inc. 346,788 18 45,100 * O2Micro International, Ltd. 651,695 34 20,900 * OmniVision Technologies, Inc. 882,816 47 121,600 * Pinnacle Systems, Inc. 1,025,088 54 106,300 * Pixelworks, Inc. 916,306 48 31,000 * Planar Systems, Inc. 664,950 35 39,700 * Progress Software Corporation 853,550 45 6,400 * SafeNet, Inc. 231,232 12 16,900 * ScanSource, Inc. 617,526 33 2,000 * Sigmatel, Inc. 41,220 2 29,900 * Skyworks Solutions, Inc. 272,090 14 26,600 StarTek, Inc. 851,200 45 39,800 * Sybase, Inc. 676,998 36 145,600 * Sycamore Networks, Inc. 713,440 38 58,100 * Synaptics, Inc. 625,156 33 60,600 * Titan Corporation 1,262,904 67 25,300 * Trimble Navigation, Ltd. 585,695 31 31,800 * TTM Technologies, Inc. 454,104 24 58,900 * United Online, Inc. 2,045,008 109 51,800 * UTStarcom, Inc. 1,647,758 87 ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Portfolio of Investments (continued) FIRST INVESTORS SPECIAL SITUATIONS FUND September 30, 2003 ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Amount Invested For Each Shares or $10,000 of Warrants Security Value Net Assets ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Information Technology (continued) 38,200 * Varian Semiconductor Equipment Associates, Inc. $1,430,590 $76 2,200 * Websense, Inc. 46,794 2 54,400 * Western Digital Corporation 701,216 37 14,200 * White Electronic Designs Corporation 152,650 8 ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 56,551,304 2,986 ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Materials--2.6% 10,800 Centex Construction Products, Inc. 482,436 25 122,700 * Headwaters, Inc. 1,975,470 105 23,500 International Flavors & Fragrances, Inc. 777,380 41 48,500 * Louisiana-Pacific Corporation 668,330 35 36,700 NN, Inc. 471,962 25 39,300 Penford Corporation 510,900 27 ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 4,886,478 258 ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Other--.6% 9,000 Biotech HOLDRs Trust 1,161,360 61 ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Telecommunication Services--2.0% 29,900 * Commonwealth Telephone Enterprises, Inc. 1,199,887 63 46,100 CT Communications, Inc. 520,930 28 21,100 * NII Holdings, Inc. - Class "A" 1,259,459 67 102,400 * PTEK Holdings, Inc. 834,560 44 ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 3,814,836 202 ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Utilities--.9% 42,300 Equitable Resources, Inc. 1,738,530 92 ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Total Value of Common Stocks (cost $137,866,811) 182,198,691 9,622 ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- WARRANTS--.0% Health Care 31,500 * Med-Design Corporation (expiring 7/29/08) (cost $3,938) ** + 3,938 -- ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Amount Invested For Each Principal $10,000 of Amount Security Value Net Assets ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- SHORT-TERM CORPORATE NOTES--4.8% ChevronTexaco Corp.: $2,400M 1.02%, 10/6/03 $2,399,660 $127 3,300M 1.01%, 10/7/03 3,299,444 174 3,400M Prudential Funding Corp., 1.03%, 10/1/03 3,400,000 180 ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Total Value of Short-Term Corporate Notes (cost $9,099,104) 9,099,104 481 ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Total Value of Investments (cost $146,969,853) 101.0% 191,301,733 10,103 Excess of Liabilities Over Other Assets (1.0) (1,941,149) (103) ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Net Assets 100.0% $189,360,584 $10,000 ====================================================================================================================== * Non-income producing ** Security valued at fair value (see Note 1A) + See Note 6 See notes to financial statements
Portfolio Manager's Letter FIRST INVESTORS FOCUSED EQUITY FUND Dear Investor: This is the annual report for the First Investors Focused Equity Fund for the fiscal year ended September 30, 2003. During the period, the Fund's return on a net asset value basis was 26.2% for Class A shares and 25.2% for Class B shares. October 9, 2002 marked the inception of the current bull market. Investors who had abandoned equities missed the sharp snap back we experienced during the reporting period. Over the year ended September 30, 2003, the S&P 500 was up over 24% and the tech-heavy Nasdaq gained even more. Increasing optimism that the economy is in the early stages of rebounding has fueled this surge in the broad market. Increases in consumer confidence and manufacturing output, resilience in consumer spending and improved productivity have been supported by low interest rates and reduced tax rates. The Fund benefited from the rising economy, the strong equity market and stock selection. In particular, certain health care and consumer discretionary stocks helped to move the Fund higher. Sector allocation also contributed positively to the Fund's results. Our overweight position in the information technology and consumer staples sectors benefited the Fund. Stock selection and an underweight position in the telecommunications sector offset some of the positive performance. During the reporting period, the Fund held between 40-45 securities, an increase from the 30-35 securities held in the previous period. Thank you for placing your trust in First Investors. As always, we appreciate the opportunity to serve your investment needs. Sincerely, /S/ MATTHEW E. MEGARGEL Matthew E. Megargel Portfolio Manager October 31, 2003 Cumulative Performance Information FIRST INVESTORS FOCUSED EQUITY FUND Comparison of change in value of $10,000 investment in the First Investors Focused Equity Fund (Class A shares) and the Standard & Poor's 500 Index. FOCUSED EQUITY GRAPH PLOTS As of September 30, 2003 FOCUSED S & P EQUITY 500 MAR 99 $ 9,425 $10,000 SEP 99 10,254 9,918 SEP 00 9,783 11,235 SEP 01 7,276 8,245 SEP 02 5,401 6,555 SEP 03 6,814 8,155 (INSET BOX IN CHART READS:) Average Annual Total Returns* Class A Shares N.A.V. Only S.E.C. Standardized One Year 26.18% 18.92% Since Inception (3/22/99) (6.91%) (8.12%) Class B Shares One Year 25.22% 21.22% Since Inception (3/22/99) (7.57%) (7.99%) The graph compares a $10,000 investment in the First Investors Focused Equity Fund (Class A shares) beginning 3/22/99 (inception date) with a theoretical investment in the Standard & Poor's 500 Index (the "Index"). The Index is an unmanaged capitalization-weighted index of 500 stocks designed to measure performance of the broad domestic economy through changes in the aggregate market value of such stocks, which represent all major industries. It is not possible to invest directly in this Index. In addition, the Index does not take into account fees and expenses that an investor would incur in purchasing securities in the Index. For purposes of the graph and the accompanying table, unless otherwise indicated, it has been assumed that the maximum sales charge was deducted from the initial $10,000 investment in the Fund. Class B shares performance may be greater than or less than that shown in the line graph above for Class A shares based on differences in sales loads and fees paid by shareholders investing in the different classes. * Average Annual Total Return figures are for the periods ended 9/30/03. "N.A.V. Only" returns are calculated without sales charges. The Class A "S.E.C. Standardized" returns shown are based on the maximum sales charge of 5.75% (prior to 6/17/02 the maximum sales charge was 6.25%). The Class B "S.E.C. Standardized" returns are adjusted for the applicable deferred sales charge (maximum of 4% in the first year). During certain of the periods shown, some of the expenses of the Fund were waived or assumed. If such expenses had been paid by the Fund, the Class A "S.E.C. Standardized" Average Annual Total Return Since Inception would have been (8.13%). The Class B "S.E.C. Standardized" Average Annual Total Return Since Inception would have been (8.00%). Results represent past performance and do not indicate future results. Investment return and principal value of an investment will fluctuate so that an investor's shares, when redeemed, may be worth more or less than the original cost. Standard & Poor's 500 Index figures are from Standard & Poor's and all other figures are from First Investors Management Company, Inc.
Portfolio of Investments FIRST INVESTORS FOCUSED EQUITY FUND September 30, 2003 ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Amount Invested For Each $10,000 of Shares Security Value Net Assets ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- COMMON STOCKS--98.7% Consumer Discretionary--9.1% 152,400 * AOL Time Warner, Inc. $2,302,764 $393 46,100 * Comcast Corporation - Special Class "A" 1,361,794 232 28,100 Gap, Inc. 481,072 82 23,200 Lowe's Companies, Inc. 1,204,080 205 ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 5,349,710 912 ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Consumer Staples--10.5% 14,700 Altria Group, Inc. 643,860 110 24,600 Coca-Cola Company 1,056,816 180 32,500 Gillette Company 1,039,350 177 23,900 PepsiCo, Inc. 1,095,337 186 9,800 Procter & Gamble Company 909,636 155 25,700 Wal-Mart Stores, Inc. 1,435,345 245 ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 6,180,344 1,053 ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Energy--6.3% 24,900 ChevronTexaco Corporation 1,779,105 303 39,800 Schlumberger, Ltd. 1,926,320 329 ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 3,705,425 632 ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Financials--21.6% 20,500 American Express Company 923,730 158 37,520 American International Group, Inc. 2,164,904 369 17,500 Bank of America Corporation 1,365,700 233 30,600 Bank One Corporation 1,182,690 202 64,000 Citigroup, Inc. 2,912,640 496 17,500 Marsh & McLennan Companies, Inc. 833,175 142 29,700 Merrill Lynch & Company, Inc. 1,589,841 271 45,700 Travelers Property Casualty Corporation - Class "B" 725,716 124 22,800 Wachovia Corporation 939,132 160 ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 12,637,528 2,155 ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Amount Invested For Each $10,000 of Shares Security Value Net Assets ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Health Care--14.7% 37,900 Abbott Laboratories $1,612,645 $275 18,600 Cardinal Health, Inc. 1,086,054 185 17,900 Eli Lilly & Company 1,063,260 181 12,500 * Genzyme Corporation 578,125 99 89,300 Pfizer, Inc. 2,712,934 462 34,100 Wyeth 1,572,010 268 ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 8,625,028 1,470 ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Industrials--11.4% 10,000 3M Company 690,700 118 14,600 FedEx Corporation 940,678 160 81,400 General Electric Company 2,426,534 413 19,800 Lockheed Martin Corporation 913,770 156 11,500 United Technologies Corporation 888,720 151 31,300 Waste Management, Inc. 819,121 140 ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 6,679,523 1,138 ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Information Technology--20.1% 48,700 * Accenture, Ltd. - Class "A" 1,087,958 185 38,900 * Applied Materials, Inc. 705,646 120 66,900 * Cisco Systems, Inc. 1,307,226 223 19,500 * Dell, Inc. 651,105 111 71,093 Hewlett-Packard Company 1,376,360 235 68,600 Intel Corporation 1,887,186 322 13,900 International Business Machines Corporation 1,227,787 209 126,700 Microsoft Corporation 3,520,993 600 ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 11,764,261 2,005 ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Materials--3.9% 47,900 Alcoa, Inc. 1,253,064 213 26,400 International Paper Company 1,030,128 176 ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 2,283,192 389 ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Utilities--1.1% 10,300 Exelon Corporation 654,050 111 ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Total Value of Common Stocks (cost $58,404,392) 57,879,061 9,865 ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Portfolio of Investments (continued) FIRST INVESTORS FOCUSED EQUITY FUND September 30, 2003 ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Amount Invested For Each Principal $10,000 of Amount Security Value Net Assets ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- REPURCHASE AGREEMENT--1.2% $714M BNP Paribas Corp., .97%, 10/1/03 (collateralized by U.S. Treasury Notes, 3.25%, 12/31/03, valued at $728,774) (cost $714,000) $714,000 $121 ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Total Value of Investments (cost $59,118,392) 99.9% 58,593,061 9,986 Other Assets, Less Liabilities .1 81,787 14 ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Net Assets 100.0% $58,674,848 $10,000 ====================================================================================================================== * Non-income producing See notes to financial statements
Portfolio Manager's Letter FIRST INVESTORS GLOBAL FUND, INC. Dear Investor: This is the annual report for the First Investors Global Fund, Inc. for the fiscal year ended September 30, 2003. During the period, the Fund's return on a net asset value basis was 21.7% for Class A shares and 21.0% for Class B shares. The Fund benefited from the rebound in the global equity markets as the economic recovery took hold and investors priced in expectations that it would continue into 2004. All regional markets strengthened considerably with Europe rising 28.2%, the Pacific Basin excluding Japan up 35.2%, the U.S. increasing 24.4%, and Japan up 18.5%. For the twelve months ended September 30, 2003, all of the 24 developed countries in the MSCI All Country World Free Index ("the Index") registered positive returns, as did all ten major industry composites. The Fund underperformed the Index with stock selection within materials and industrials being the largest detractor to relative performance. Stock selection within the U.S. and emerging markets also had a negative impact, as did underweight allocations to Canada and the Pacific Basin (excluding Japan). The Fund also did not experience the gains enjoyed by the more speculative, smaller capitalization stocks in the benchmark, since the Fund focuses primarily on higher quality, larger capitalization securities. Stock selection within the information technology, consumer discretionary and health care sectors, as well as stock selection within Canada and the UK helped relative performance. Overweights in Europe and the emerging markets and underweights in Japan, the U.S. and the UK were also positive. As of September 30, 2003, the Fund was broadly diversified across 25 countries with the bulk of the exposure in the U.S. (45%), Europe (30%), and Japan (11%). The U.S. remains an underweight position in the portfolio. Our European exposure has been consistently diversified across 12 countries and remains overweight relative to the Index in Europe. Japan has moved back to an overweight after being underweight much of the year. Thank you for placing your trust in First Investors. As always, we appreciate the opportunity to serve your investment needs. Sincerely, /S/ TROND SKRAMSTAD Trond Skramstad Portfolio Manager October 31, 2003 Cumulative Performance Information FIRST INVESTORS GLOBAL FUND, INC. Comparison of change in value of $10,000 investment in the First Investors Global Fund, Inc. (Class A shares) and the Morgan Stanley Capital International ("MSCI") All Country World Free Index. GLOBAL GRAPH PLOTS As of September 30, 2003 MORGAN STANLEY FIRST INVESTORS ALL COUNTRY GLOBAL WORLD INDEX FREE DEC 93 $ 9,425 $10,000 DEC 94 9,072 10,503 DEC 95 10,689 12,546 DEC 96 12,232 14,198 DEC 97 13,208 16,327 SEP 98 13,043 16,439 SEP 99 16,908 21,518 SEP 00 18,890 23,242 SEP 01 13,437 16,702 SEP 02 10,910 13,744 SEP 03 13,308 17,424 (INSET BOX IN CHART READS:) Average Annual Total Returns* Class A Shares N.A.V. Only S.E.C. Standardized One Year 21.70% 14.67% Five Years 0.40% (0.79%) Ten Years 4.32% 3.71% Class B Shares One Year 21.00% 17.00% Five Years (0.27%) (0.68%) Since Inception (1/12/95) 3.70% 3.70% The graph compares a $10,000 investment in the First Investors Global Fund, Inc. (Class A shares) beginning 12/31/93 with a theoretical investment in the MSCI All Country World Free Index (the "Index"). The Index represents both the developed and the emerging markets. The Index includes 49 markets of which emerging markets represent approximately 4.48%. It is not possible to invest directly in this Index. In addition, the Index does not take into account fees and expenses that an investor would incur in purchasing securities in the Index. For purposes of the graph and the accompanying table, unless otherwise indicated, it has been assumed that the maximum sales charge was deducted from the initial $10,000 investment in the Fund and all dividends and distributions were reinvested. Class B shares performance may be greater than or less than that shown in the line graph above for Class A shares based on differences in sales loads and fees paid by shareholders investing in the different classes. * Average Annual Total Return figures (for the periods ended 9/30/03) include the reinvestment of all dividends and distributions. "N.A.V. Only" returns are calculated without sales charges. The Class A "S.E.C. Standardized" returns shown are based on the maximum sales charge of 5.75% (prior to 6/17/02, the maximum sales charge was 6.25%). The Class B "S.E.C. Standardized" returns are adjusted for the applicable deferred sales charge (maximum of 4% in the first year). Results represent past performance and do not indicate future results. Investment return and principal value of an investment will fluctuate so that an investor's shares, when redeemed, may be worth more or less than the original cost. MSCI All Country World Free Index figures are from Morgan Stanley & Co., Inc. and all other figures are from First Investors Management Company, Inc.
Portfolio of Investments FIRST INVESTORS GLOBAL FUND, INC. September 30, 2003 ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Amount Invested For Each $10,000 of Shares Security Value Net Assets ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- COMMON STOCKS--96.6% United States--45.3% 13,800 3M Company $953,166 $46 52,000 Abbott Laboratories 2,212,600 107 67,600 Alcoa, Inc. 1,768,416 85 20,200 Altria Group, Inc. 884,760 43 28,300 American Express Company 1,275,198 61 52,553 American International Group, Inc. 3,032,308 146 19,000 * Analog Devices, Inc. 722,380 35 183,400 * AOL Time Warner, Inc. 2,771,174 134 54,100 * Applied Materials, Inc. 981,374 47 22,500 Bank of America Corporation 1,755,900 85 41,800 Bank One Corporation 1,615,570 78 28,400 * Brinker International, Inc. 947,424 46 25,800 Cardinal Health, Inc. 1,506,462 73 34,500 ChevronTexaco Corporation 2,465,025 119 17,300 * ChoicePoint, Inc. 579,550 28 101,900 * Cisco Systems, Inc. 1,991,126 96 88,249 Citigroup, Inc. 4,016,212 194 34,300 Coca-Cola Company 1,473,528 71 58,600 Coca-Cola Enterprises, Inc. 1,116,916 54 61,300 * Comcast Corporation - Class "A" 1,810,802 87 14,200 CVS Corporation 441,052 21 26,700 * Dell, Inc. 891,513 43 14,100 * EchoStar Communications Corporation 539,607 26 28,400 Eli Lilly & Company 1,686,960 81 19,100 EOG Resources, Inc. 797,234 39 14,800 Exelon Corporation 939,800 45 18,300 FedEx Corporation 1,179,069 57 7,100 Freeport-McMoRan Copper & Gold, Inc. - Class "B" 235,010 11 76,800 Gap, Inc. 1,314,815 63 11,300 General Dynamics Corporation 882,078 43 113,600 General Electric Company 3,386,416 163 5,200 * Genzyme Corporation 240,500 12 43,500 Gillette Company 1,391,130 67 11,800 Guidant Corporation 552,830 27 100,200 Hewlett-Packard Company 1,939,872 94 35,500 IMS Health, Inc. 749,050 36 94,560 Intel Corporation 2,601,346 126 11,300 * InterActiveCorp 373,465 18 19,900 International Business Machines Corporation 1,757,767 85 36,800 International Paper Company 1,435,936 69 ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Portfolio of Investments (continued) FIRST INVESTORS GLOBAL FUND, INC. September 30, 2003 ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Amount Invested For Each $10,000 of Shares Security Value Net Assets ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- United States (continued) 24,600 * International Rectifier Corporation $921,024 $44 7,800 * Intuit, Inc. 376,272 18 32,000 * Lamar Advertising Company - Class "A" 938,880 45 17,700 Legg Mason, Inc. 1,277,940 62 27,400 Lockheed Martin Corporation 1,264,510 61 32,100 Lowe's Companies, Inc. 1,665,990 80 23,700 Marsh & McLennan Companies, Inc. 1,128,357 54 34,900 Masco Corporation 854,352 41 22,800 * MEMC Electronic Materials, Inc. 248,748 12 42,800 Merrill Lynch & Company, Inc. 2,291,084 111 15,500 Michaels Stores, Inc. 631,780 30 178,000 Microsoft Corporation 4,946,620 239 12,300 Omnicom Group, Inc. 883,755 43 34,900 PepsiCo, Inc. 1,599,467 77 124,525 Pfizer, Inc. 3,783,070 182 14,900 Procter & Gamble Company 1,383,018 67 24,500 St. Paul Companies, Inc. 907,235 44 41,100 * SunGard Data Systems, Inc. 1,081,341 52 63,100 Travelers Property Casualty Corporation - Class "B" 1,002,028 48 14,800 United Technologies Corporation 1,143,744 55 33,600 Wachovia Corporation 1,383,984 67 35,400 Wal-Mart Stores, Inc. 1,977,090 95 83,500 Waste Management, Inc. 2,185,195 105 5,900 * WellPoint Health Networks, Inc. 454,772 22 50,300 Wyeth 2,318,830 112 ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 93,864,427 4,527 ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Japan--11.1% 140,000 Asahi Glass Company, Ltd. 963,702 46 95,000 Dai Nippon Printing Company, Ltd. 1,302,779 63 34,000 Fuji Photo Film Company, Ltd. 998,254 48 50,000 Fujisawa Pharmaceutical Company, Ltd. 1,136,820 55 30,400 Honda Motor Company, Ltd. 1,216,381 59 49,000 Kao Corporation 1,035,134 50 4,800 Keyence Corporation 1,019,165 49 11,600 Nintendo Company, Ltd. 971,902 47 298,000 Nippon Express Company, Ltd. 1,245,724 60 63,000 Nomura Holdings, Inc. 1,015,083 49 14,100 Nomura Research Institute, Ltd. 1,283,597 62 934 NTT DoCoMo, Inc. 2,282,433 110 ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Amount Invested For Each $10,000 of Shares Security Value Net Assets ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Japan (continued) 12,800 ORIX Corporation $1,000,260 $48 8,000 Rohm Company, Ltd. 1,038,357 50 26,000 Shin-Etsu Chemical Company, Ltd. 977,487 47 101,000 Shionogi & Company, Ltd. 1,753,927 85 954 * SKY Perfect Communications, Inc. 1,152,844 56 65,000 Sompo Japan Insurance, Inc. 470,125 23 15,500 Sony Corporation 541,109 26 29,400 Sony Corporation (ADR) 1,023,120 49 129 Sumitomo Mitsui Financial Group, Inc. 519,626 25 ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 22,947,829 1,107 ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- United Kingdom--10.2% 29,100 AstraZeneca PLC 1,228,974 59 485,000 BP PLC 3,327,867 160 816,700 * British Airways PLC 2,255,789 109 474,900 Compass Group PLC 2,737,826 132 3,530,200 * Corus Group PLC 1,187,678 57 361,400 Hilton Group PLC 1,079,273 52 249,127 National Grid Transco PLC 1,595,583 77 111,972 Reckitt Benckiser PLC 2,250,966 109 144,984 Royal Bank of Scotland Group PLC 3,685,409 178 949,412 Vodafone Group PLC 1,892,824 91 ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 21,242,189 1,024 ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- France--8.1% 79,404 Aventis SA 4,119,534 199 48,829 AXA 822,819 40 24,700 Carrefour SA 1,242,621 60 62,083 * France Telecom SA 1,427,900 69 59,375 Lafarge SA 3,847,927 186 37,700 Schneider Electric SA 1,953,707 94 22,844 Total SA 3,447,745 166 ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 16,862,253 814 ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Portfolio of Investments (continued) FIRST INVESTORS GLOBAL FUND, INC. September 30, 2003 ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Amount Invested For Each $10,000 of Shares Security Value Net Assets ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Germany--3.1% 42,700 Bayerische Motoren Werke (BMW) AG $1,613,618 $78 60,500 DaimlerChrysler AG 2,113,658 102 61,000 * Deutsche Telekom AG 877,314 42 38,900 E.ON AG 1,898,111 92 ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 6,502,701 314 ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- South Korea--2.8% 164,930 Kia Motors Corporation 1,147,190 55 42,410 Kookmin Bank 1,390,129 67 5,610 Samsung Electronics Company, Ltd. 1,912,029 92 8,010 SK Telecom Company, Ltd. 1,281,433 62 ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 5,730,781 276 ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Switzerland--2.6% 207,300 ABB, Ltd. 1,145,911 55 12,610 Nestle SA 2,907,576 140 855 Serono SA - Class "B" 559,382 27 12,360 UBS AG 693,530 34 ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 5,306,399 256 ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Netherlands--2.5% 104,500 Akzo Nobel NV 3,257,787 157 52,000 * ASML Holding NV 681,262 33 66,133 ING Groep NV 1,211,449 58 ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 5,150,498 248 ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Sweden--2.4% 132,000 ForeningsSparbanken AB 1,953,874 94 512,520 Nordea AB 2,921,909 141 ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 4,875,783 235 ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Canada--1.6% 10,600 Canadian National Railway Company 551,412 27 68,300 National Bank of Canada 1,842,321 89 19,100 Talisman Energy, Inc. 907,832 44 ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 3,301,565 160 ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Amount Invested For Each $10,000 of Shares Security Value Net Assets ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Netherlands Antilles--1.3% 53,900 Schlumberger, Ltd. $2,608,760 $126 ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Taiwan--1.1% 521,800 * United Microelectronics Corporation (ADR) 2,353,318 113 ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Malaysia--1.1% 646,000 Malayan Banking Berhad 1,632,000 79 1,048,750 Public Bank Berhad 717,566 34 ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 2,349,566 113 ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Hong Kong--.8% 96,000 Cheung Kong Holdings, Ltd. 759,317 37 103,000 Sun Hung Kai Properties, Ltd. 834,635 40 ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 1,593,952 77 ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Mexico--.8% 67,200 America Movil SA de CV (ADR) - Series "L" 1,552,992 75 ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Bermuda--.7% 68,200 * Accenture, Ltd. - Class "A" 1,523,588 73 ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Finland--.6% 84,913 Nokia OYJ 1,307,265 63 ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Italy--.5% 142,300 * Fiat SpA 1,125,208 54 ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Spain--.0% 4,229 Industria de Diseno Textil SA 90,618 4 ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Total Value of Common Stocks (cost $173,819,184) 200,289,692 9,659 ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- PREFERRED STOCKS--.0% Brazil 23,000 * Vale Do Rio Doce - Class "B" (cost $0) ** 143 -- ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Portfolio of Investments (continued) FIRST INVESTORS GLOBAL FUND, INC. September 30, 2003 ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Amount Invested For Each Principal $10,000 of Amount Security Value Net Assets ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- REPURCHASE AGREEMENT--3.2% $6,738M BNP Paribas Corp., .97%, 10/1/03 (collateralized by U.S. Treasury Notes, 3.25%, 12/31/03, valued at $6,872,166) (cost $6,738,000) $6,738,000 $325 ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Total Value of Investments (cost $180,557,184) 99.8% 207,027,835 9,984 Other Assets, Less Liabilities .2 328,807 16 ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Net Assets 100.0% $207,356,642 $10,000 ====================================================================================================================== * Non-income producing ** Security valued at fair value (see Note 1A) See notes to financial statements
Sector Diversification of the portfolio was as follows: ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Percentage Sector of Net Assets Value ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Banks 9.4% $19,418,288 Pharmaceuticals & Biotechnology 9.2 19,040,599 Energy 6.5 13,554,464 Diversified Financials 6.2 12,780,755 Materials 6.1 12,710,383 Capital Goods 6.1 12,547,586 Semiconductors & Semiconductor Equipment 5.5 11,459,837 Software & Services 4.9 10,183,319 Telecommunication Services 4.5 9,314,895 Technology Hardware & Equipment 4.3 8,906,708 Media 3.9 8,097,062 Food/Beverage/Tobacco 3.8 7,982,247 Insurance 3.5 7,362,872 Automobiles & Components 3.5 7,216,054 Household & Personal Products 2.9 6,060,249 Transportation 2.5 5,231,993 Hotels/Restaurants/Leisure 2.3 4,764,523 Utilities 2.1 4,433,494 Retailing 2.0 4,076,669 Commercial Services & Supplies 2.0 4,067,524 Food & Staples Retailing 1.8 3,660,763 Health Care Equipment & Services 1.6 3,263,114 Consumer Durables & Apparel 1.2 2,562,484 Real Estate .8 1,593,953 Repurchase Agreement 3.2 6,738,000 ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Total Value of Investments 99.8 207,027,835 Other Assets, Less Liabilities .2 328,807 ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Net Assets 100.0% $207,356,642 ======================================================================================================================
Statement of Assets and Liabilities FIRST INVESTORS September 30, 2003 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- TOTAL GROWTH & ALL-CAP RETURN VALUE BLUE CHIP INCOME GROWTH ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Assets Investments in securities: At identified cost $181,955,957 $131,490,938 $368,391,936 $404,259,466 $79,341,082 ============ ============ ============ ============ ============ At value (Note 1A) $202,687,244 $144,288,376 $442,204,974 $474,754,722 $90,035,654 Cash 306,683 640,095 1,382,913 247,957 738 Receivables: Investment securities sold 4,221,974 146,893 2,349,464 1,400,791 1,775,005 Shares sold 1,157,193 369,315 998,986 1,129,309 619,075 Dividends and interest 971,627 361,136 461,573 458,217 33,094 Other assets -- -- -- -- -- ------------ ------------ ------------ ------------ ------------ Total Assets 209,344,721 145,805,815 447,397,910 477,990,996 92,463,566 ------------ ------------ ------------ ------------ ------------ Liabilities Payables: Investment securities purchased 3,741,190 732,491 1,075,954 563,030 1,701,040 Shares redeemed 253,381 203,802 539,982 682,838 147,387 Dividend payable 10,781 12,213 -- 2,742 -- Forward currency contracts (Note 4) -- -- -- -- -- Accrued advisory fees 133,953 96,211 299,223 313,074 59,395 Accrued expenses 71,843 66,846 139,220 170,220 62,539 ------------ ------------ ------------ ------------ ------------ Total Liabilities 4,211,148 1,111,563 2,054,379 1,731,904 1,970,361 ------------ ------------ ------------ ------------ ------------ Net Assets $205,133,573 $144,694,252 $445,343,531 $476,259,092 $90,493,205 ============ ============ ============ ============ ============ Net Assets Consist of: Capital paid in $217,435,848 $195,683,401 $537,067,588 $526,160,800 $101,532,519 Undistributed net investment income (deficit) (312,490) 85,827 -- -- -- Accumulated net realized loss on investments and foreign currency transactions (32,721,072) (63,872,414) (165,537,095) (120,396,964) (21,733,886) Net unrealized appreciation in value of investments and foreign currency transactions 20,731,287 12,797,438 73,813,038 70,495,256 10,694,572 ------------ ------------ ------------ ------------ ------------ Total $205,133,573 $144,694,252 $445,343,531 $476,259,092 $90,493,205 ============ ============ ============ ============ ============ Net Assets: Class A $176,711,923 $125,953,851 $382,856,829 $399,958,022 $76,681,021 Class B $ 28,421,650 $ 18,740,401 $ 62,486,702 $ 76,301,070 $13,812,184 Shares outstanding (Note 5): Class A 14,704,814 25,259,253 22,333,675 37,464,108 11,362,048 Class B 2,396,011 3,810,540 3,842,440 7,433,990 2,088,394 Net asset value and redemption price per share - Class A $12.02 $4.99 $17.14 $10.68 $6.75 ====== ====== ====== ====== ====== Maximum offering price per share - Class A (Net asset value/.9425)* $12.75 $5.29 $18.19 $11.33 $7.16 ====== ====== ====== ====== ====== Net asset value and offering price per share - Class B (Note 5) $11.86 $4.92 $16.26 $10.26 $6.61 ====== ====== ====== ====== ====== * On purchases of $100,000 or more, the sales charge is reduced. See notes to financial statements --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- MID-CAP SPECIAL FOCUSED OPPORTUNITY SITUATIONS EQUITY GLOBAL --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Assets Investments in securities: At identified cost $198,720,044 $146,969,853 $59,118,392 $180,557,184 ============ ============ ============ ============ At value (Note 1A) $226,541,028 $191,301,733 $58,593,061 $207,027,835 Cash 97,574 190,051 1,652 8,624 Receivables: Investment securities sold 531,975 115,976 54,911 4,670,468 Shares sold 885,701 277,495 133,011 148,838 Dividends and interest 116,960 55,467 53,034 400,294 Other assets -- -- -- 20,335 ------------ ------------ ------------ ------------ Total Assets 228,173,238 191,940,722 58,835,669 212,276,394 ------------ ------------ ------------ ------------ Liabilities Payables: Investment securities purchased 1,029,924 2,097,206 -- 4,241,357 Shares redeemed 269,334 241,505 71,010 343,443 Dividend payable -- -- -- -- Forward currency contracts (Note 4) -- -- -- 15,060 Accrued advisory fees 150,964 128,186 39,368 186,702 Accrued expenses 103,419 113,241 50,443 133,190 ------------ ------------ ------------ ------------ Total Liabilities 1,553,641 2,580,138 160,821 4,919,752 ------------ ------------ ------------ ------------ Net Assets $226,619,597 $189,360,584 $58,674,848 $207,356,642 ============ ============ ============ ============ Net Assets Consist of: Capital paid in $231,511,487 $232,697,208 $87,944,902 $242,021,869 Undistributed net investment income (deficit) -- -- -- -- Accumulated net realized loss on investments and foreign currency transactions (32,712,874) (87,668,504) (28,744,723) (61,153,926) Net unrealized appreciation (depreciation) in value of investments and foreign currency transactions 27,820,984 44,331,880 (525,331) 26,488,699 ------------ ------------ ------------ ------------ Total $226,619,597 $189,360,584 $58,674,848 $207,356,642 ============ ============ ============ ============ Net Assets: Class A $192,030,879 $168,989,224 $47,960,666 $192,324,920 Class B $ 34,588,718 $ 20,371,360 $10,714,182 $ 15,031,722 Shares outstanding (Note 5): Class A 10,011,746 10,812,689 6,635,598 37,238,748 Class B 1,926,994 1,403,388 1,530,280 3,105,463 Net asset value and redemption price per share - Class A $19.18 $15.63 $7.23 $5.16 ====== ====== ====== ====== Maximum offering price per share - Class A (Net asset value/.9425)* $20.35 $16.58 $7.67 $5.47 ====== ====== ====== ====== Net asset value and offering price per share - Class B (Note 5) $17.95 $14.52 $7.00 $4.84 ====== ====== ====== ====== * On purchases of $100,000 or more, the sales charge is reduced.
See notes to financial statements
Statement of Operations FIRST INVESTORS Year Ended September 30, 2003 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- TOTAL GROWTH & ALL-CAP RETURN VALUE BLUE CHIP INCOME GROWTH ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Investment Income Dividends $ 2,110,334 $ 3,921,368 $ 6,281,422 $ 8,109,176 $ 493,917 Interest 3,276,638 275,384 195,527 153,525 43,542 ------------ ------------ ------------ ------------ ------------ Total income 5,386,972 4,196,752 6,476,949 8,262,701 537,459 ------------ ------------ ------------ ------------ ------------ Expenses (Notes 1 and 3): Advisory fees 1,727,397 938,678 3,620,830 3,129,474 511,933 Distribution plan expenses - Class A 445,444 324,025 1,068,844 1,056,640 171,843 Distribution plan expenses - Class B 243,412 171,487 598,291 699,359 109,767 Shareholder servicing costs 625,878 551,077 1,771,940 1,701,363 507,509 Professional fees 40,407 68,083 88,738 70,949 22,511 Custodian fees and expenses 39,464 24,181 58,591 50,042 8,492 Reports and notices to shareholders 28,898 60,266 80,313 74,600 27,293 Other expenses 75,305 69,320 121,824 113,774 46,662 ------------ ------------ ------------ ------------ ------------ Total expenses 3,226,205 2,207,117 7,409,371 6,896,201 1,406,010 Less: Expenses waived or assumed (431,228) -- (500,000) -- (10,686) Custodian fees paid indirectly (3,777) (4,936) (6,518) (4,712) (149) ------------ ------------ ------------ ------------ ------------ Net expenses 2,791,200 2,202,181 6,902,853 6,891,489 1,395,175 ------------ ------------ ------------ ------------ ------------ Net investment income (loss) 2,595,772 1,994,571 (425,904) 1,371,212 (857,716) ------------ ------------ ------------ ------------ ------------ Realized and Unrealized Gain (Loss) on Investments and Foreign Currency Transactions (Note 2): Net realized loss on investments and foreign currency transactions (4,976,396) (7,805,613) (27,055,645) (17,943,080) (1,931,995) Net unrealized appreciation of investments and foreign currency transactions 27,102,984 27,059,981 94,207,242 97,389,824 18,163,770 ------------ ------------ ------------ ------------ ------------ Net gain on investments and foreign currency transactions 22,126,588 19,254,368 67,151,597 79,446,744 16,231,775 ------------ ------------ ------------ ------------ ------------ Net Increase in Net Assets Resulting from Operations $ 24,722,360 $ 21,248,939 $ 66,725,693 $ 80,817,956 $ 15,374,059 ============ ============ ============ ============ ============ See notes to financial statements ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- MID-CAP SPECIAL FOCUSED OPPORTUNITY SITUATIONS EQUITY GLOBAL ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Investment Income Dividends $ 1,618,807 $ 771,872 $ 871,104 $ 3,437,137+ Interest 82,414 92,729 9,228 106,875 ------------ ------------ ------------ ------------ Total income 1,701,221 864,601 880,332 3,544,012 ------------ ------------ ------------ ------------ Expenses (Notes 1 and 3): Advisory fees 1,838,321 1,627,372 402,930 1,977,356 Distribution plan expenses - Class A 468,432 434,358 131,279 549,612 Distribution plan expenses - Class B 289,348 179,517 99,643 145,314 Shareholder servicing costs 1,043,119 1,007,098 403,246 898,096 Professional fees 39,680 51,693 29,768 61,037 Custodian fees and expenses 44,393 38,672 7,829 242,668 Reports and notices to shareholders 51,122 45,322 18,730 43,676 Other expenses 66,447 67,150 42,688 97,768 ------------ ------------ ------------ ------------ Total expenses 3,840,862 3,451,182 1,136,113 4,015,527 Less: Expenses waived or assumed (450,229) (406,839) -- -- Custodian fees paid indirectly (4,934) (4,999) (399) -- ------------ ------------ ------------ ------------ Net expenses 3,385,699 3,039,344 1,135,714 4,015,527 ------------ ------------ ------------ ------------ Net investment loss (1,684,478) (2,174,743) (255,382) (471,515) ------------ ------------ ------------ ------------ Realized and Unrealized Gain (Loss) on Investments and Foreign Currency Transactions (Note 2): Net realized loss on investments and foreign currency transactions (9,144,785) (8,547,634) (3,672,111) (3,393,379) Net unrealized appreciation of investments and foreign currency transactions 47,400,847 46,021,471 15,896,024 42,419,475 ------------ ------------ ------------ ------------ Net gain on investments and foreign currency transactions 38,256,062 37,473,837 12,223,913 39,026,096 ------------ ------------ ------------ ------------ Net Increase in Net Assets Resulting from Operations $ 36,571,584 $ 35,299,094 $ 11,968,531 $ 38,554,581 ============ ============ ============ ============ + Net of $225,124 foreign taxes withheld
See notes to financial statements
Statement of Changes in Net Assets FIRST INVESTORS ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- TOTAL RETURN VALUE --------------------------- --------------------------- Year Ended September 30 2003 2002 2003 2002 ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Increase (Decrease) in Net Assets From Operations Net investment income $ 2,595,772 $ 2,851,444 $ 1,994,571 $ 2,945,043 Net realized loss on investments (4,976,396) (20,243,131) (7,805,613) (32,034,106) Net unrealized appreciation (depreciation) of investments 27,102,984 (2,770,088) 27,059,981 (16,263,927) ------------ ------------ ------------ ------------ Net increase (decrease) in net assets resulting from operations 24,722,360 (20,161,775) 21,248,939 (45,352,990) ------------ ------------ ------------ ------------ Dividends to Shareholders Net investment income - Class A (2,745,536) (3,524,751) (1,748,084) (3,306,501) Net investment income - Class B (285,333) (384,662) (160,660) (358,798) ------------ ------------ ------------ ------------ Total dividends (3,030,869) (3,909,413) (1,908,744) (3,665,299) ------------ ------------ ------------ ------------ Share Transactions* Class A: Proceeds from shares sold 49,222,767 47,109,096 26,361,060 19,351,842 Reinvestment of dividends 2,709,146 3,479,555 1,695,885 3,201,638 Cost of shares redeemed (23,367,193) (21,600,042) (18,006,487) (30,143,386) ------------ ------------ ------------ ------------ 28,564,720 28,988,609 10,050,458 (7,589,906) ------------ ------------ ------------ ------------ Class B: Proceeds from shares sold 7,886,210 9,055,492 3,447,342 3,119,066 Reinvestment of dividends 283,519 381,823 159,358 355,692 Cost of shares redeemed (4,531,666) (3,453,983) (4,191,112) (5,642,600) ------------ ------------ ------------ ------------ 3,638,063 5,983,332 (584,412) (2,167,842) ------------ ------------ ------------ ------------ Net increase (decrease) from share transactions 32,202,783 34,971,941 9,466,046 (9,757,748) ------------ ------------ ------------ ------------ Net increase (decrease) in net assets 53,894,274 10,900,753 28,806,241 (58,776,037) Net Assets Beginning of year 151,239,299 140,338,546 115,888,011 174,664,048 ------------ ------------ ------------ ------------ End of year+ $205,133,573 $151,239,299 $144,694,252 $115,888,011 ============ ============ ============ ============ + Includes undistributed net investment income (deficit) of $ (312,490) $ (133,428) $ 85,827 $ -- ============ ============ ============ ============ *Shares Issued and Redeemed Class A: Sold 4,332,265 3,874,583 5,561,598 3,486,645 Issued for dividends reinvested 239,990 292,226 364,982 601,857 Redeemed (2,092,115) (1,802,398) (3,944,699) (5,859,107) ------------ ------------ ------------ ------------ Net increase (decrease) in Class A shares outstanding 2,480,140 2,364,411 1,981,881 (1,770,605) ============ ============ ============ ============ Class B: Sold 705,304 752,499 736,536 568,875 Issued for dividends reinvested 25,554 32,487 35,022 68,207 Redeemed (414,061) (294,160) (931,856) (1,128,854) ------------ ------------ ------------ ------------ Net increase (decrease) in Class B shares outstanding 316,797 490,826 (160,298) (491,772) ============ ============ ============ ============ See notes to financial statements ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- BLUE CHIP GROWTH & INCOME --------------------------- --------------------------- Year Ended September 30 2003 2002 2003 2002 ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Increase (Decrease) in Net Assets From Operations Net investment income (loss) $ (425,904) $ (1,405,872) $ 1,371,212 $ 992,282 Net realized loss on investments (27,055,645) (81,240,970) (17,943,080) (56,611,011) Net unrealized appreciation (depreciation) of investments 94,207,242 (45,093,716) 97,389,824 (46,180,827) ------------ ------------ ------------ ------------ Net increase (decrease) in net assets resulting from operations 66,725,693 (127,740,558) 80,817,956 (101,799,556) ------------ ------------ ------------ ------------ Dividends to Shareholders Net investment income - Class A -- -- (1,561,227) (1,687,661) Net investment income - Class B -- -- -- -- ------------ ------------ ------------ ------------ Total dividends -- -- (1,561,227) (1,687,661) ------------ ------------ ------------ ------------ Share Transactions* Class A: Proceeds from shares sold 53,450,998 73,492,383 69,467,305 79,715,266 Reinvestment of dividends -- -- 1,545,811 1,664,228 Cost of shares redeemed (60,801,572) (77,168,241) (55,627,119) (61,106,341) ------------ ------------ ------------ ------------ (7,350,574) (3,675,858) 15,385,997 20,273,153 ------------ ------------ ------------ ------------ Class B: Proceeds from shares sold 8,941,786 13,297,345 11,899,634 14,340,579 Reinvestment of dividends -- -- -- -- Cost of shares redeemed (12,841,105) (14,136,139) (14,006,947) (13,128,084) ------------ ------------ ------------ ------------ (3,899,319) (838,794) (2,107,313) 1,212,495 ------------ ------------ ------------ ------------ Net increase (decrease) from share transactions (11,249,893) (4,514,652) 13,278,684 21,485,648 ------------ ------------ ------------ ------------ Net increase (decrease) in net assets 55,475,800 (132,255,210) 92,535,413 (82,001,569) Net Assets Beginning of year 389,867,731 522,122,941 383,723,679 465,725,248 ------------ ------------ ------------ ------------ End of year+ $445,343,531 $389,867,731 $476,259,092 $383,723,679 ============ ============ ============ ============ + Includes undistributed net investment income of $ -- $ -- $ -- $ 185,829 ============ ============ ============ ============ *Shares Issued and Redeemed Class A: Sold 3,344,515 3,868,107 7,092,953 7,143,441 Issued for dividends reinvested -- -- 160,200 151,337 Redeemed (3,864,778) (4,236,481) (5,818,365) (5,614,209) ------------ ------------ ------------ ------------ Net increase (decrease) in Class A shares outstanding (520,263) (368,374) 1,434,788 1,680,569 ============ ============ ============ ============ Class B: Sold 588,924 726,898 1,263,648 1,326,517 Issued for dividends reinvested -- -- -- -- Redeemed (860,901) (825,805) (1,523,474) (1,273,522) ------------ ------------ ------------ ------------ Net increase (decrease) in Class B shares outstanding (271,977) (98,907) (259,826) 52,995 ============ ============ ============ ============ See notes to financial statements ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- ALL-CAP GROWTH MID-CAP OPPORTUNITY --------------------------- --------------------------- Year Ended September 30 2003 2002 2003 2002 ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Increase (Decrease) in Net Assets From Operations Net investment loss $ (857,716) $ (639,761) $ (1,684,478) $ (1,519,592) Net realized loss on investments (1,931,995) (11,337,921) (9,144,785) (9,885,390) Net unrealized appreciation (depreciation) of investments 18,163,770 (1,137,275) 47,400,847 (10,921,849) ------------ ------------ ------------ ------------ Net increase (decrease) in net assets resulting from operations 15,374,059 (13,114,957) 36,571,584 (22,326,831) ------------ ------------ ------------ ------------ Share Transactions* Class A: Proceeds from shares sold 27,790,360 25,004,666 51,795,794 59,312,255 Cost of shares redeemed (7,697,061) (5,728,146) (21,887,533) (18,410,031) ------------ ------------ ------------ ------------ 20,093,299 19,276,520 29,908,261 40,902,224 ------------ ------------ ------------ ------------ Class B: Proceeds from shares sold 4,175,360 4,295,754 7,921,873 10,541,423 Cost of shares redeemed (1,410,633) (964,150) (4,116,563) (3,671,709) ------------ ------------ ------------ ------------ 2,764,727 3,331,604 3,805,310 6,869,714 ------------ ------------ ------------ ------------ Net increase from share transactions 22,858,026 22,608,124 33,713,571 47,771,938 ------------ ------------ ------------ ------------ Net increase in net assets 38,232,085 9,493,167 70,285,155 25,445,107 Net Assets Beginning of year 52,261,120 42,767,953 156,334,442 130,889,335 ------------ ------------ ------------ ------------ End of year $ 90,493,205 $ 52,261,120 $226,619,597 $156,334,442 ============ ============ ============ ============ *Shares Issued and Redeemed Class A: Sold 4,464,318 3,669,658 3,001,097 3,121,193 Redeemed (1,288,511) (878,543) (1,294,434) (977,470) ------------ ------------ ------------ ------------ Net increase in Class A shares outstanding 3,175,807 2,791,115 1,706,663 2,143,723 ============ ============ ============ ============ Class B: Sold 685,202 634,111 487,764 582,542 Redeemed (241,915) (150,181) (261,744) (209,176) ------------ ------------ ------------ ------------ Net increase in Class B shares outstanding 443,287 483,930 226,020 373,366 ============ ============ ============ ============ See notes to financial statements ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- SPECIAL SITUATIONS FOCUSED EQUITY --------------------------- --------------------------- Year Ended September 30 2003 2002 2003 2002 ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Increase (Decrease) in Net Assets From Operations Net investment loss $ (2,174,743) $ (2,545,535) $ (255,382) $ (680,473) Net realized loss on investments (8,547,634) (34,159,441) (3,672,111) (10,627,918) Net unrealized appreciation (depreciation) of investments 46,021,471 5,148,967 15,896,024 (5,692,491) ------------ ------------ ------------ ------------ Net increase (decrease) in net assets resulting from operations 35,299,094 (31,556,009) 11,968,531 (17,000,882) ------------ ------------ ------------ ------------ Share Transactions* Class A: Proceeds from shares sold 21,524,779 25,895,900 7,578,453 9,353,360 Cost of shares redeemed (21,840,556) (24,129,486) (7,332,359) (8,989,170) ------------ ------------ ------------ ------------ (315,777) 1,766,414 246,094 364,190 ------------ ------------ ------------ ------------ Class B: Proceeds from shares sold 2,582,621 3,385,218 1,101,769 1,561,549 Cost of shares redeemed (3,464,531) (3,101,745) (1,629,642) (1,981,263) ------------ ------------ ------------ ------------ (881,910) 283,473 (527,873) (419,714) ------------ ------------ ------------ ------------ Net increase (decrease) from share transactions (1,197,687) 2,049,887 (281,779) (55,524) ------------ ------------ ------------ ------------ Net increase (decrease) in net assets 34,101,407 (29,506,122) 11,686,752 (17,056,406) Net Assets Beginning of year 155,259,177 184,765,299 46,988,096 64,044,502 ------------ ------------ ------------ ------------ End of year $189,360,584 $155,259,177 $ 58,674,848 $ 46,988,096 ============ ============ ============ ============ *Shares Issued and Redeemed Class A: Sold 1,599,285 1,642,904 1,128,365 1,179,890 Redeemed (1,660,681) (1,565,088) (1,112,790) (1,190,449) ------------ ------------ ------------ ------------ Net increase (decrease) in Class A shares outstanding (61,396) 77,816 15,575 (10,559) ============ ============ ============ ============ Class B: Sold 204,411 227,334 168,390 200,283 Redeemed (282,940) (218,797) (262,445) (275,666) ------------ ------------ ------------ ------------ Net increase (decrease) in Class B shares outstanding (78,529) 8,537 (94,055) (75,383) ============ ============ ============ ============ See notes to financial statements ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- GLOBAL --------------------------- Year Ended September 30 2003 2002 ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Increase (Decrease) in Net Assets From Operations Net investment loss $ (471,515) $ (1,004,862) Net realized loss on investments and foreign currency transactions (3,393,379) (35,674,655) Net unrealized appreciation (depreciation) of investments and foreign currency transactions 42,419,475 (5,935,660) ------------ ------------ Net increase (decrease) in net assets resulting from operations 38,554,581 (42,615,177) ------------ ------------ Share Transactions* Class A: Proceeds from shares sold 13,212,580 18,958,509 Cost of shares redeemed (30,106,459) (40,395,353) ------------ ------------ (16,893,879) (21,436,844) ------------ ------------ Class B: Proceeds from shares sold 1,392,241 2,070,558 Cost of shares redeemed (3,012,650) (3,187,216) ------------ ------------ (1,620,409) (1,116,658) ------------ ------------ Net decrease from share transactions (18,514,288) (22,553,502) ------------ ------------ Net increase (decrease) in net assets 20,040,293 (65,168,679) Net Assets Beginning of year 187,316,349 252,485,028 ------------ ------------ End of year $207,356,642 $187,316,349 ============ ============ *Shares Issued and Redeemed Class A: Sold 2,823,401 3,496,720 Redeemed (6,467,613) (7,558,621) ------------ ------------ Net decrease in Class A shares outstanding (3,644,212) (4,061,901) ============ ============ Class B: Sold 315,712 404,854 Redeemed (690,288) (639,081) ------------ ------------ Net decrease in Class B shares outstanding (374,576) (234,227) ============ ============
See notes to financial statements Notes to Financial Statements September 30, 2003 1. Significant Accounting Policies--First Investors Total Return Fund, First Investors Blue Chip Fund and First Investors Special Situations Fund, each a series of First Investors Series Fund ("Series Fund"), a Massachusetts business trust; First Investors Value Fund (formerly Utilities Income), First Investors Growth & Income Fund, First Investors All-Cap Growth Fund, First Investors Mid-Cap Opportunity Fund and First Investors Focused Equity Fund, each a series of First Investors Series Fund II, Inc. ("Series Fund II"), a Maryland corporation; and First Investors Global Fund, Inc. ("Global Fund"), a Maryland corporation, are registered under the Investment Company Act of 1940 (the "1940 Act") as diversified, open-end management investment companies, with the exception of First Investors Focused Equity Fund, which is registered as a non-diversified series of the investment company. Each Fund accounts separately for the assets, liabilities, and operations of the Fund. Series Fund offers two additional series which are not included in this report. The objective of each Fund is as follows: Total Return Fund seeks high, long-term total investment return consistent with moderate investment risk. Value Fund seeks total return. Blue Chip Fund seeks high total investment return consistent with the preservation of capital. Growth & Income Fund seeks long-term growth of capital and current income. All-Cap Growth Fund seeks long-term growth of capital. Mid-Cap Opportunity Fund seeks long-term capital growth. Special Situations Fund seeks long-term growth of capital. Focused Equity Fund seeks capital appreciation. Global Fund primarily seeks long-term capital growth and secondarily a reasonable level of current income. A. Security Valuation--Except as provided below, a security listed or traded on an exchange or the Nasdaq Stock Market is valued at its last sale price on the exchange or market where the security is principally traded, and lacking any sales, the security is valued at the mean between the closing bid and asked prices. Securities traded in the over-the-counter ("OTC") market (including securities listed on exchanges whose primary market is believed to be OTC) are valued at the mean between the last bid and asked prices based upon quotes furnished by a market maker for such securities. Securities may also be priced by a pricing service approved by the applicable Fund's Board of Directors/Trustees. The pricing service Notes to Financial Statements (continued) September 30, 2003 considers security type, rating, market condition and yield data as well as market quotations, prices provided by market makers and other available information in determining value. Short-term debt securities that mature in 60 days or less are valued at amortized cost. If market quotations or prices are not readily available or determined to be unreliable, the securities will be valued at fair value as determined in good faith pursuant to procedures adopted the Fund's Board of Directors/Trustees. At September 30, 2003, the Special Situations Fund held three securities that were fair valued by its Valuation Committee with an aggregate value of $1,197,552 representing .6% of the Fund's net assets and the Global Fund held one security that was fair valued by its Valuation Committee with an aggregate value of $143 representing 0% of the Fund's net assets. For valuation purposes, where applicable, quotations of foreign securities in foreign currency are translated to U.S. dollar equivalents using the foreign exchange quotation in effect. B. Federal Income Taxes--No provision has been made for federal income taxes on net income or capital gains since it is the policy of each Fund to continue to comply with the special provisions of the Internal Revenue Code applicable to investment companies and to make sufficient distributions of income and capital gains (in excess of any available capital loss carryovers) to relieve it from all, or substantially all, such taxes. At September 30, 2003, capital loss carryovers were as follows:
Year Capital Loss Carryovers Expire -------------------------------------------------------------------- Fund Total 2008 2009 2010 2011 ---- ------------ ------------ ------------ ------------ ------------ Total Return $ 29,077,042 $ -- $ 1,458,508 $ 8,515,512 $19,103,022 Value 59,815,391 -- 5,196,775 18,257,137 36,361,479 Blue Chip 139,836,318 -- 9,527,196 61,121,583 69,187,539 Growth & Income 110,774,808 -- 5,645,569 40,308,647 64,820,592 All-Cap Growth 19,636,203 -- -- 8,825,943 10,810,260 Mid-Cap Opportunity 24,445,332 -- 1,528,251 16,230,216 6,686,865 Special Situations 81,944,473 -- 1,713,617 54,184,676 26,046,180 Focused Equity 25,075,256 553,800 12,951,888 1,712,582 9,856,986 Global 59,783,882 -- 2,316,335 24,383,554 33,083,993
C. Distributions to Shareholders--Dividends from net investment income, if any, of Total Return Fund, Value Fund, Blue Chip Fund and Growth & Income Fund are declared and paid quarterly. Dividends from net investment income, if any, of All-Cap Growth Fund, Mid-Cap Opportunity Fund, Special Situations Fund, Focused Equity Fund and Global Fund are declared and paid annually. Distributions from net realized capital gains, if any, are normally declared and paid annually. Income dividends and capital gain distributions are determined in accordance with income tax regulations which may differ from accounting principles generally accepted in the United States of America. These differences are primarily due to differing treatments for capital loss carryforwards, deferral of wash sales losses, post-October capital losses, net operating losses and foreign currency transactions. D. Expense Allocation--Expenses directly charged or attributable to a Fund are paid from the assets of that Fund. General expenses of Series Fund and Series Fund II are allocated among and charged to the assets of each Fund in the Series on a fair and equitable basis, which may be based on the relative assets of each Fund or the nature of the services performed and relative applicability to each Fund. E. Repurchase Agreements--Securities pledged as collateral for repurchase agreements entered into by the All-Cap Growth Fund, Focused Equity Fund, and Global Fund are held by each Fund's custodian until maturity of the repurchase agreement. The agreements provide that the Funds will receive, as collateral, securities with a market value which will at all times be at least equal to 100% of the amount invested by the Funds. F. Use of Estimates--The preparation of the financial statements in conformity with accounting principles generally accepted in the United States of America requires management to make estimates and assumptions that affect the reported amounts of assets and liabilities at the date of the financial statements and the reported amounts of revenue and expense during the reporting period. Actual results could differ from those estimates. G. Foreign Currency Translations--The accounting records of Global Fund are maintained in U.S. dollars. Portfolio securities and other assets and liabilities denominated in foreign currencies are translated to U.S. dollars at the date of valuation. Purchases and sales of investment securities, dividend income and certain expenses are translated to U.S. dollars at the rates of exchange prevailing on the respective dates of such transactions. Global Fund does not isolate that portion of gains and losses on investments which is due to changes in foreign exchange rates from that which is due to changes in market prices of the investments. Such fluctuations are included with the net realized and unrealized gains and losses from investments. Net realized and unrealized gains and losses on foreign currency transactions includes gains and losses from the sales of foreign currency and gains and losses on accrued foreign dividends and related withholding taxes. Notes to Financial Statements (continued) September 30, 2003 H. Other--Security transactions are accounted for on the date the securities are purchased or sold. Cost is determined, and gains and losses are based, on the identified cost basis for both financial statement and federal income tax purposes. Dividend income is recorded on the ex-dividend date. Interest income and estimated expenses are accrued daily. Bond discounts and premiums are accreted or amortized using the interest method. For the year ended September 30, 2003, the Bank of New York, custodian for the Series Fund and Series Fund II, has provided total credits in the amount of $30,424 against custodian charges based on the uninvested cash balances of these Funds. 2. Security Transactions--For the year ended September 30, 2003, purchases and sales of securities and long-term U.S. Government obligations (excluding U.S. Treasury bills, repurchase agreements, short-term securities and foreign currencies) were as follows: Long-Term U.S. Securities Government Obligations --------------------------- --------------------------- Cost of Proceeds Cost of Proceeds Fund Purchases from Sales Purchases from Sales ---- ------------ ------------ ------------ ------------ Total Return $160,077,699 $115,867,085 $8,893,441 $16,870,581 Value 112,400,743 103,979,389 -- -- Blue Chip 454,845,760 441,220,475 -- -- Growth & Income 331,044,430 285,993,856 -- -- All-Cap Growth 102,275,661 81,912,816 -- -- Mid-Cap Opportunity 104,376,648 65,472,951 -- -- Special Situations 172,992,635 173,664,689 -- -- Focused Equity 25,962,289 26,747,456 -- -- Global 211,542,128 224,019,525 -- -- At September 30, 2003 aggregate cost and net unrealized appreciation (depreciation) of securities for federal income tax purposes were as follows: Net Gross Gross Unrealized Aggregate Unrealized Unrealized Appreciation Fund Cost Appreciation Depreciation (Depreciation) ---- ------------ ------------ ------------ ------------ Total Return $184,786,214 $20,749,215 $2,848,185 $17,901,030 Value 131,510,042 15,094,916 2,316,582 12,778,334 Blue Chip 379,543,919 68,497,323 5,836,268 62,661,055 Growth & Income 410,992,287 73,658,911 9,896,476 63,762,435 All-Cap Growth 79,901,270 11,169,840 1,035,456 10,134,384 Mid-Cap Opportunity 198,763,291 36,878,978 9,101,241 27,777,737 Special Situations 147,504,909 47,127,232 3,330,408 43,796,824 Focused Equity 59,505,544 4,461,642 5,374,125 (912,483) Global 181,556,296 29,510,642 4,039,103 25,471,539 3. Advisory Fee and Other Transactions With Affiliates--Certain officers and directors/trustees of the Funds are officers and directors of its investment adviser, First Investors Management Company, Inc. ("FIMCO"), its underwriter, First Investors Corporation ("FIC"), its transfer agent, Administrative Data Management Corp. ("ADM") and/or First Investors Federal Savings Bank, ("FIFSB"), custodian of the Funds' Individual Retirement Accounts. Directors/trustees of the Funds who are not "interested persons" of the Funds as defined in the 1940 Act are remunerated by the Funds. For the year ended September 30, 2003, total directors/trustees fees accrued by the Funds amounted to $87,750. The Investment Advisory Agreements provide as compensation to FIMCO, an annual fee, payable monthly, at the following rates: Total Return, Blue Chip, Mid-Cap Opportunity and Special Situations Funds-- 1% on the first $200 million of each Fund's average daily net assets, .75% on the next $300 million, declining by .03% on each $250 million thereafter, down to .66% on average daily net assets over $1 billion. FIMCO has waived 25% of the 1% annual fee on the first $200 million of each Fund's average daily net assets for the year ended September 30, 2003. Value, Growth & Income, All-Cap Growth and Focused Equity Funds-- .75% on the first $300 million of each Fund's average daily net assets, .72% on the next $200 million, .69% on the next $250 million and .66% on average daily net assets over $750 million. Notes to Financial Statements (continued) September 30, 2003 Global Fund--1% on the first $250 million of the Fund's average daily net assets, declining by .03% on each $250 million thereafter, down to .91% on average daily net assets over $750 million. For the year ended September 30, 2003, total advisory fees accrued to FIMCO by the Funds were $15,774,291 of which $1,788,296 was waived. In addition, FIMCO assumed $10,686 of the All-Cap Growth Fund's expenses. FIMCO, pursuant to an expense limitation agreement, has agreed to reimburse the All-Cap Growth Fund for organizational expenses and other expenses incurred during the period ended September 30, 2001, to the extent necessary to limit the All-Cap Growth Fund's total expenses to 1.75% of the average daily net assets on the Class A shares and 2.45% of the average daily net assets on the Class B shares. FIMCO and the All-Cap Growth Fund have agreed that any expenses of the All-Cap Growth Fund reimbursed by FIMCO pursuant to this agreement shall be repaid to FIMCO by the All-Cap Growth Fund in the first, second, or third (or all) fiscal years following the period ended September 30, 2001, if the total expenses of the All-Cap Growth Fund for such year or years do not exceed 1.75% of the average daily net assets on Class A shares and 2.45% on the average daily net assets of Class B shares or any lower expense limitations to which FIMCO may otherwise agree. At September 30, 2001, the total organizational expenses and other expenses incurred in excess of the above stated limitations was $163,722. This amount is subject to recapture by FIMCO from the All-Cap Growth Fund based on the parameters discussed above. For the year ended September 30, 2003, FIC, as underwriter, received $12,424,673 in commissions from the sale of shares of the Funds, after allowing $52,358 to other dealers. Shareholder servicing costs included $5,871,749 in transfer agent fees accrued to ADM and $2,034,417 in IRA custodian fees accrued to FIFSB. Pursuant to Distribution Plans adopted under Rule 12b-1 of the 1940 Act, each Fund is authorized to pay FIC a fee up to .30% of the average daily net assets of the Class A shares and 1% of the average daily net assets of the Class B shares on an annualized basis each fiscal year, payable monthly. The fee consists of a distribution fee and a service fee. The service fee is paid for the ongoing servicing of clients who are shareholders of that Fund. For the year ended September 30, 2003, total distribution plan fees accrued to FIC by the Funds amounted to $7,186,615. Wellington Management Company, LLP ("Wellington") serves as investment subadviser to All-Cap Growth Fund, Focused Equity Fund and Global Fund. The subadviser is paid by FIMCO and not by the Funds. 4. Forward Currency Contracts--A forward currency contract is an obligation to purchase or sell a specific currency for an agreed-upon price at a future date. When a Fund purchases or sells foreign securities it customarily enters into a forward currency contract to minimize foreign exchange risk between the trade date and the settlement date of such transactions. The Fund could be exposed to risk if counter parties to the contracts are unable to meet the terms of their contracts or if the value of the foreign currency changes unfavorably. Global Fund had the following forward currency contracts outstanding at September 30, 2003: Contracts to Buy Unrealized Foreign Currency In Exchange for Settlement Date Gain (Loss) ---------------------------- --------------- --------------- ---------- 447,405 British Pound US$ 742,424 10/1/03 US$ 895 539,375 Malaysia Ringgit 141,941 10/1/03 -- 1,667,682 Swiss Franc 1,240,493 10/1/03 22,328 428,995 Euro 499,883 10/3/03 (296) 22,022,799 Japanese Yen 199,397 10/3/03 (2,263) 623,300 Swiss Franc 471,390 10/3/03 593 --------------- ---------- $3,295,528 $21,257 =============== ---------- Contracts to Sell Unrealized Foreign Currency In Exchange for Settlement Date Loss ---------------------------- --------------- --------------- ---------- 1,785,752 Canadian Dollar US$1,319,164 10/1/03 US$(4,155) 1,439,463 Euro 1,649,150 10/1/03 (27,177) 44,424,266 Japanese Yen 394,210 10/1/03 (3,447) 287,420 Euro 333,178 10/2/03 (1,538) --------------- ---------- $3,695,702 ($36,317) =============== ---------- Net Unrealized Loss on Forward Currency Contracts ($15,060) ========== 5. Capital--Each Fund sells two classes of shares, Class A and B, each with a public offering price that reflects different sales charges and expense levels. Class A shares are sold with an initial sales charge of up to 5.75% of the amount invested and together with the Class B shares are subject to distribution plan fees as described in Note 3. Class B shares are sold without an initial sales charge, but are generally subject to a contingent deferred sales charge which declines in steps from 4% to 0% over a six-year period. Class B shares automatically convert into Class A shares after eight years. Realized and unrealized gains or losses, investment income and expenses (other than distribution plan fees and certain other class Notes to Financial Statements (continued) September 30, 2003 expenses) are allocated daily to each class of shares based upon the relative proportion of net assets of each class. The Series Fund has established an unlimited number of shares of beneficial interest for both Class A and Class B shares. Of the 100,000,000 shares originally designated to each Fund, Series Fund II has classified 50,000,000 shares as Class A and 50,000,000 shares as Class B for each Fund. Of the 100,000,000 Global Fund shares originally authorized, the Fund has designated 65,000,000 shares as Class A and 35,000,000 shares as Class B. 6. Restricted Securities-- Certain restricted securities are exempt from the registration requirements of the Securities Act of 1933 and may only be sold to qualified institutional investors. At September 30, 2003, Total Return Fund held three restricted securities with a value of $1,869,157 representing .9% of the Fund's net assets, and Special Situations Fund held three restricted securities with a value of $1,197,552 representing .6% of the Fund's net assets. These securities are valued as set forth in Note 1A. 7. Tax Components of Capital and Distributions to Shareholders--The tax character of distributions declared for the years ended September 30, 2003 and 2002 were as follows: Distributions Distributions Declared Declared in 2003 from: in 2002 from: -------------- -------------- Ordinary Ordinary Fund Income Income ---- -------------- -------------- Total Return $ 3,030,869 $ 3,909,413 Value 1,908,744 3,665,299 Blue Chip -- -- Growth & Income 1,561,227 1,687,661 All-Cap Growth -- -- Mid-Cap Opportunity -- -- Special Situations -- -- Focused Equity -- -- Global -- -- As of September 30, 2003, the components of distributable earnings (deficit) on a tax basis were: Total Undistributed Capital Unrealized Total Ordinary Loss Appreciation Accumulated Fund Income Carryover (Depreciation) Deficit ---- ------------ ------------ ------------ ------------ Total Return $12,475 $ (29,077,042) $16,762,292 $(12,302,275) Value 85,827 (59,815,391) 8,740,415 (50,989,149) Blue Chip -- (139,836,318) 48,112,261 (91,724,057) Growth & Income -- (110,774,808) 60,873,100 (49,901,708) All-Cap Growth -- (19,636,203) 8,596,889 (11,039,314) Mid-Cap Opportunity -- (24,445,332) 19,553,442 (4,891,890) Special Situations -- (81,944,473) 38,607,849 (43,336,624) Focused Equity -- (25,075,256) (4,194,798) (29,270,054) Global -- (59,783,882) 25,118,655 (34,665,227)
Financial Highlights FIRST INVESTORS The following table sets forth the per share operating performance data for a share outstanding, total return, ratios to average net assets and other supplemental data for each fiscal year ended September 30, except as otherwise indicated. ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- P E R S H A R E D A T A ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Less Distributions Investment Operations from ------------------------------------- ---------------------- Net Asset Net Realized Value, Net and Unrealized Total from Net Net Beginning Investment Gain (Loss) on Investment Investment Realized Total of Period Income Investments Operations Income Gain Distributions ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- TOTAL RETURN FUND ----------------- Class A ------- 1999 $14.27 $ .29 $ 1.26 $1.55 $ .30 $1.18 $1.48 2000 14.34 .31 2.29 2.60 .27 .40 .67 2001 16.27 .26 (2.86) (2.60) .32 1.07 1.39 2002++ 12.28 .22 (1.59) (1.37) .32 -- .32 2003 10.59 .20 1.44 1.64 .21 -- .21 Class B ------- 1999 14.13 .21 1.22 1.43 .21 1.18 1.39 2000 14.17 .21 2.24 2.45 .17 .40 .57 2001 16.05 .18 (2.84) (2.66) .21 1.07 1.28 2002++ 12.11 .15 (1.59) (1.44) .21 -- .21 2003 10.46 .09 1.44 1.53 .13 -- .13 ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- VALUE FUND+++ ----------------- Class A ------- 1999 $ 7.62 $ .13 $ .74 $ .87 $ .13 $ .37 $ .50 2000 7.99 .13 1.21 1.34 .13 .60 .73 2001 8.60 .10 (2.10) (2.00) .11 .56 .67 2002++ 5.93 .11 (1.65) (1.54) .13 -- .13 2003 4.26 .08 .73 .81 .08 -- .08 Class B ------- 1999 7.53 .08 .72 .80 .08 .37 .45 2000 7.88 .08 1.18 1.26 .07 .60 .67 2001 8.47 .06 (2.07) (2.01) .06 .56 .62 2002++ 5.84 .07 (1.63) (1.56) .08 -- .08 2003 4.20 .05 .71 .76 .04 -- .04 ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- R A T I O S / S U P P L E M E N T A L D A T A ------------------------ -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Ratio to Average Net Ratio to Average Net Assets Before Expenses Assets** Waived or Assumed -------------------- ---------------------- Net Asset Net Net Portfolio Value, Total Net Assets Investment Investment Turnover End of Return* End of Period Expenses Income Expenses Income Rate Period (%) (in millions) (%) (%) (%) (%) (%) ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- TOTAL RETURN FUND ----------------- Class A ------- 1999 $14.34 11.50 $ 92 1.40 2.08 1.63 1.85 127 2000 16.27 18.67 120 1.33 2.00 1.58 1.75 118 2001 12.28 (17.31) 121 1.37 2.02 1.62 1.77 130 2002++ 10.59 (11.44) 129 1.47 1.91 1.72 1.66 185 2003 12.02 15.58 177 1.52 1.72 1.77 1.47 80 Class B ------- 1999 14.17 10.72 9 2.10 1.38 2.33 1.15 127 2000 16.05 17.79 16 2.03 1.30 2.28 1.05 118 2001 12.11 (17.82) 19 2.07 1.32 2.32 1.07 130 2002++ 10.46 (12.09) 22 2.17 1.21 2.42 .96 185 2003 11.86 14.71 28 2.22 1.02 2.47 .77 80 ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- VALUE FUND+++ ----------------- Class A ------- 1999 $ 7.99 11.99 $145 1.37 1.69 N/A N/A 65 2000 8.60 17.58 187 1.31 1.57 N/A N/A 46 2001 5.93 (24.98) 149 1.37 1.47 N/A N/A 51 2002++ 4.26 (26.34) 99 1.51 1.93 N/A N/A 40 2003 4.99 19.04 126 1.67 1.69 N/A N/A 198 Class B ------- 1999 7.88 11.13 21 2.07 .99 N/A N/A 65 2000 8.47 16.77 32 2.01 .87 N/A N/A 46 2001 5.84 (25.46) 26 2.07 .77 N/A N/A 51 2002++ 4.20 (26.94) 17 2.21 1.23 N/A N/A 40 2003 4.92 18.26 19 2.37 .99 N/A N/A 198 -----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Financial Highlights (continued) FIRST INVESTORS ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- P E R S H A R E D A T A ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Less Distributions Investment Operations from ------------------------------------- ---------------------- Net Asset Net Net Realized Value, Investment and Unrealized Total from Net Net Beginning Income Gain (Loss) on Investment Investment Realized Total of Period (Loss) Investments Operations Income Gain Distributions ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- BLUE CHIP FUND -------------------- Class A ------- 1999 $22.46 $ -- $ 5.46 $ 5.46 $.02 $ .75 $ .77 2000 27.15 (.09) 5.68 5.59 -- 1.65 1.65 2001 31.09 -- (8.64) (8.64) .01 3.30 3.31 2002 19.14 (.03) (4.55) (4.58) -- -- -- 2003 14.56 -- 2.58 2.58 -- -- -- Class B ------- 1999 22.15 (.14) 5.35 5.21 -- .75 .75 2000 26.61 (.25) 5.50 5.25 -- 1.65 1.65 2001 30.21 (.16) (8.33) (8.49) -- 3.30 3.30 2002 18.42 (.16) (4.35) (4.51) -- -- -- 2003 13.91 (.11) 2.46 2.35 -- -- -- ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- GROWTH & INCOME FUND -------------------- Class A ------- 1999 $12.31 $ .04 $ 2.88 $ 2.92 $.05 $ -- $ .05 2000 15.18 .01 2.98 2.99 .01 1.55 1.56 2001 16.61 .06 (3.99) (3.93) .03 1.49 1.52 2002++ 11.16 .03 (2.31) (2.28) .05 -- .05 2003 8.83 .04 1.85 1.89 .04 -- .04 Class B ------- 1999 12.14 (.04) 2.80 2.76 -- -- -- 2000 14.90 (.08) 2.90 2.82 -- 1.55 1.55 2001 16.17 (.01) (3.88) (3.89) -- 1.49 1.49 2002++ 10.79 (.04) (2.24) (2.28) -- -- -- 2003 8.51 (.03) 1.78 1.75 -- -- -- ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- R A T I O S / S U P P L E M E N T A L D A T A ------------------------ -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Ratio to Average Net Ratio to Average Net Assets Before Expenses Assets** Waived or Assumed -------------------- ---------------------- Net Net Net Asset Investment Investment Portfolio Value, Total Net Assets Income Income Turnover End of Return* End of Period Expenses (Loss) Expenses (Loss) Rate Period (%) (in millions) (%) (%) (%) (%) (%) ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- BLUE CHIP FUND -------------------- Class A ------- 1999 $27.15 24.88 $471 1.32 .01 1.41 (.08) 97 2000 31.09 21.49 615 1.27 (.31) 1.34 (.38) 125 2001 19.14 (30.88) 445 1.35 (.02) 1.43 (.10) 117 2002 14.56 (23.93) 333 1.48 (.17) 1.58 (.27) 144 2003 17.14 17.72 383 1.56 -- 1.68 (.12) 111 Class B ------- 1999 26.61 24.07 70 2.02 (.69) 2.11 (.78) 97 2000 30.21 20.60 105 1.97 (1.01) 2.04 (1.08) 125 2001 18.42 (31.33) 78 2.05 (.72) 2.13 (.80) 117 2002 13.91 (24.48) 57 2.18 (.87) 2.28 (.97) 144 2003 16.26 16.90 62 2.26 (.70) 2.38 (.82) 111 ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- GROWTH & INCOME FUND -------------------- Class A ------- 1999 $15.18 23.75 $378 1.36 .29 N/A N/A 112 2000 16.61 21.31 494 1.28 .05 N/A N/A 142 2001 11.16 (25.91) 383 1.34 .47 N/A N/A 168 2002++ 8.83 (20.53) 318 1.46 .33 N/A N/A 169 2003 10.68 21.49 400 1.52 .44 N/A N/A 70 Class B ------- 1999 14.90 22.77 77 2.06 (.41) N/A N/A 112 2000 16.17 20.49 107 1.98 (.65) N/A N/A 142 2001 10.79 (26.38) 82 2.04 (.23) N/A N/A 168 2002++ 8.51 (21.13) 65 2.16 (.37) N/A N/A 169 2003 10.26 20.56 76 2.22 (.26) N/A N/A 70 -----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Financial Highlights (continued) FIRST INVESTORS ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- P E R S H A R E D A T A ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Less Distributions Investment Operations from ------------------------------------- ---------------------- Net Asset Net Realized Value, Net and Unrealized Total from Net Net Beginning Investment Gain (Loss) on Investment Investment Realized Total of Period Loss Investments Operations Income Gain Distributions ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- ALL-CAP GROWTH FUND ------------------- Class A ------- 2001(a) $10.00 $(.05) $(3.42) $(3.47) $ -- $ -- $ -- 2002 6.53 (.06) (1.14) (1.20) -- -- -- 2003 5.33 (.06) 1.48 1.42 -- -- -- Class B ------- 2001(a) 10.00 (.08) (3.43) (3.51) -- -- -- 2002 6.49 (.10) (1.13) (1.23) -- -- -- 2003 5.26 (.09) 1.44 1.35 -- -- -- ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- MID-CAP OPPORTUNITY FUND ------------------------ Class A ------- 1999 $14.53 $(.13) $ 6.62 $ 6.49 $ -- $ -- $ -- 2000 21.02 (.10) 8.02 7.92 -- 2.28 2.28 2001 26.66 (.05) (7.67) (7.72) -- 1.30 1.30 2002 17.64 (.13) (1.73) (1.86) -- -- -- 2003 15.78 (.12) 3.52 3.40 -- -- -- Class B ------- 1999 14.17 (.23) 6.41 6.18 -- -- -- 2000 20.35 (.20) 7.67 7.47 -- 2.28 2.28 2001 25.54 (.18) (7.32) (7.50) -- 1.30 1.30 2002 16.74 (.24) (1.63) (1.87) -- -- -- 2003 14.87 (.23) 3.31 3.08 -- -- -- ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- R A T I O S / S U P P L E M E N T A L D A T A ------------------------ -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Ratio to Average Net Ratio to Average Net Assets Before Expenses Assets** Waived or Assumed -------------------- ---------------------- Net Asset Net Net Portfolio Value, Total Net Assets Investment Investment Turnover End of Return* End of Period Expenses Loss Expenses Loss Rate Period (%) (in millions) (%) (%) (%) (%) (%) ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- ALL-CAP GROWTH FUND ------------------- Class A ------- 2001(a) $ 6.53 (34.70) $ 35 1.75+ (.90)+ 2.10+ (1.25)+ 84 2002 5.33 (18.38) 44 1.75 (1.03) 1.98 (1.26) 138 2003 6.75 26.64 77 1.94 (1.15) 1.96 (1.17) 126 Class B ------- 2001(a) 6.49 (35.10) 8 2.45+ (1.60)+ 2.80+ (1.95)+ 84 2002 5.26 (18.95) 9 2.45 (1.73) 2.68 (1.96) 138 2003 6.61 25.67 14 2.64 (1.85) 2.66 (1.87) 126 ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- MID-CAP OPPORTUNITY FUND ------------------------ Class A ------- 1999 $21.02 44.67 $ 50 1.50 (.69) 1.77 (.96) 171 2000 26.66 41.41 120 1.42 (.52) 1.67 (.77) 180 2001 17.64 (30.34) 109 1.51 (.27) 1.76 (.52) 123 2002 15.78 (10.55) 131 1.70 (.82) 1.95 (1.07) 112 2003 19.18 21.55 192 1.73 (.80) 1.97 (1.04) 37 Class B ------- 1999 20.35 43.61 7 2.20 (1.39) 2.47 (1.66) 171 2000 25.54 40.46 24 2.12 (1.22) 2.37 (1.47) 180 2001 16.74 (30.84) 22 2.21 (.97) 2.46 (1.22) 123 2002 14.87 (11.17) 25 2.40 (1.52) 2.65 (1.77) 112 2003 17.95 20.71 35 2.43 (1.50) 2.67 (1.74) 37 -----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Financial Highlights (continued) FIRST INVESTORS ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- P E R S H A R E D A T A ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Less Distributions Investment Operations from ------------------------------------- ---------------------- Net Asset Net Realized Value, Net and Unrealized Total from Net Net Beginning Investment Gain (Loss) on Investment Investment Realized Total of Period Loss Investments Operations Income Gain Distributions ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- SPECIAL SITUATIONS FUND -------------------------- Class A ------- 1999 $17.83 $(.22) $ 5.79 $ 5.57 $ -- $ -- $ -- 2000 23.40 (.18) 9.81 9.63 -- 1.21 1.21 2001 31.82 (.18) (11.59) (11.77) -- 4.89 4.89 2002 15.16 (.19) (2.31) (2.50) -- -- -- 2003 12.66 (.17) 3.14 2.97 -- -- -- Class B ------- 1999 17.34 (.36) 5.64 5.28 -- -- -- 2000 22.62 (.33) 9.38 9.05 -- 1.21 1.21 2001 30.46 (.29) (11.00) (11.29) -- 4.89 4.89 2002 14.28 (.29) (2.15) (2.44) -- -- -- 2003 11.84 (.25) 2.93 2.68 -- -- -- ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- FOCUSED EQUITY FUND ------------------- Class A ------- 1999(b) $10.00 $(.04) $ .92 $ .88 $ -- $ -- $ -- 2000 10.88 (.08) (.42) (.50) -- -- -- 2001 10.38 (.03) (2.63) (2.66) -- -- -- 2002 7.72 (.07) (1.92) (1.99) -- -- -- 2003 5.73 (.02) 1.52 1.50 -- -- -- Class B ------- 1999(b) 10.00 (.06) .90 .84 -- -- -- 2000 10.84 (.15) (.43) (.58) -- -- -- 2001 10.26 (.09) (2.59) (2.68) -- -- -- 2002 7.58 (.13) (1.86) (1.99) -- -- -- 2003 5.59 (.07) 1.48 1.41 -- -- -- ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- R A T I O S / S U P P L E M E N T A L D A T A ------------------------ -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Ratio to Average Net Ratio to Average Net Assets Before Expenses Assets** Waived or Assumed -------------------- ---------------------- Net Asset Net Net Portfolio Value, Total Net Assets Investment Investment Turnover End of Return* End of Period Expenses Loss Expenses Loss Rate Period (%) (in millions) (%) (%) (%) (%) (%) ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- SPECIAL SITUATIONS FUND -------------------------- Class A ------- 1999 $23.40 31.24 $186 1.53 (.97) 1.76 (1.20) 132 2000 31.82 43.07 276 1.41 (.68) 1.60 (.87) 161 2001 15.16 (42.86) 164 1.54 (.94) 1.75 (1.15) 183 2002 12.66 (16.49) 138 1.69 (1.24) 1.93 (1.48) 153 2003 15.63 23.46 169 1.80 (1.26) 2.05 (1.51) 111 Class B ------- 1999 22.62 30.45 20 2.23 (1.67) 2.46 (1.90) 132 2000 30.46 41.94 34 2.11 (1.38) 2.30 (1.57) 161 2001 14.28 (43.26) 21 2.24 (1.64) 2.45 (1.85) 183 2002 11.84 (17.09) 18 2.39 (1.94) 2.63 (2.18) 153 2003 14.52 22.63 20 2.50 (1.96) 2.75 (2.21) 111 ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- FOCUSED EQUITY FUND ------------------- Class A ------- 1999(b) $10.88 8.80 $ 59 1.75+ (.93)+ 1.90+ (1.08)+ 57 2000 10.38 (4.60) 75 1.62 (.76) 1.52 (.66) 178 2001 7.72 (25.63) 51 1.75 (.35) N/A N/A 240 2002 5.73 (25.78) 38 1.83 (.90) N/A N/A 150 2003 7.23 26.18 48 1.99 (.35) N/A N/A 49 Class B ------- 1999(b) 10.84 8.40 14 2.45+ (1.63)+ 2.60+ (1.78)+ 57 2000 10.26 (5.35) 18 2.32 (1.46) 2.22 (1.36) 178 2001 7.58 (26.12) 13 2.45 (1.05) N/A N/A 240 2002 5.59 (26.25) 9 2.53 (1.60) N/A N/A 150 2003 7.00 25.22 11 2.69 (1.05) N/A N/A 49 -----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Financial Highlights (continued) FIRST INVESTORS ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- P E R S H A R E D A T A ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Less Distributions Investment Operations from ------------------------------------- ---------------------- Net Asset Net Realized Value, Net and Unrealized Total from Net Net Beginning Investment Gain (Loss) on Investment Investment Realized Total of Period Loss Investments Operations Income Gain Distributions ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- GLOBAL FUND ----------- Class A ------- 1999 $ 6.33 $ -- $ 1.86 $ 1.86 $ -- $ .08 $ .08 2000 8.11 (.02) .91 .89 -- .89 .89 2001 8.11 (.01) (2.13) (2.14) -- .76 .76 2002 5.21 (.01) (.96) (.97) -- -- -- 2003 4.24 (.01) .93 .92 -- -- -- Class B ------- 1999 6.19 (.04) 1.81 1.77 -- .08 .08 2000 7.88 (.07) .88 .81 -- .89 .89 2001 7.80 (.06) (2.03) (2.09) -- .76 .76 2002 4.95 -- (.95) (.95) -- -- -- 2003 4.00 (.04) .88 .84 -- -- -- ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- R A T I O S / S U P P L E M E N T A L D A T A ------------------------ -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Ratio to Average Net Ratio to Average Net Assets Before Expenses Assets** Waived or Assumed -------------------- ---------------------- Net Asset Net Net Portfolio Value, Total Net Assets Investment Investment Turnover End of Return* End of Period Expenses Loss Expenses Loss Rate Period (%) (in millions) (%) (%) (%) (%) (%) ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- GLOBAL FUND ----------- Class A ------- 1999 $ 8.11 29.63 $316 1.72 (.03) N/A N/A 92 2000 8.11 11.73 350 1.65 (.26) N/A N/A 102 2001 5.21 (28.87) 234 1.77 (.21) N/A N/A 116 2002 4.24 (18.62) 173 1.87 (.35) N/A N/A 125 2003 5.16 21.70 192 1.98 (.19) N/A N/A 112 Class B ------- 1999 7.88 28.78 18 2.42 (.73) N/A N/A 92 2000 7.80 10.99 26 2.35 (.96) N/A N/A 102 2001 4.95 (29.42) 18 2.47 (.91) N/A N/A 116 2002 4.00 (19.19) 14 2.57 (1.05) N/A N/A 125 2003 4.84 21.00 15 2.68 (.89) N/A N/A 112 ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- * Calculated without sales charges. ** Net of expenses waived or assumed by the investment adviser (Note 3). + Annualized ++ Prior to October 1, 2001, the Total Return Fund, Growth & Income Fund, and Value Fund did not amortize premiums on debt securities. The per share data and ratios prior to 2001 have not been restated. The cumulative effect of this accounting change had no impact on total net assets of the Funds. +++ Prior to December 31, 2002, known as Utilities Income Fund. (a) For the period October 25, 2000 (commencement of operations) to September 30, 2001. (b) For the period March 22, 1999 (commencement of operations) to September 30, 1999. See notes to financial statements
Independent Auditors' Report To the Shareholders and Boards of Directors/Trustees of First Investors Series Fund First Investors Series Fund II, Inc. First Investors Global Fund, Inc. We have audited the accompanying statement of assets and liabilities, including the portfolios of investments of the Blue Chip Fund, Special Situations Fund and Total Return Fund (each a series of First Investors Series Fund), the All-Cap Growth Fund, Focused Equity Fund, Growth & Income Fund, Mid-Cap Opportunity Fund and Value Fund (formerly Utilities Income Fund) (each a series of First Investors Series Fund II, Inc.), and First Investors Global Fund, Inc. as of September 30, 2003, the related statement of operations for the year then ended, the statement of changes in net assets for each of the two years in the period then ended, and the financial highlights for each of the periods indicated thereon. These financial statements and financial highlights are the responsibility of the Funds' management. Our responsibility is to express an opinion on these financial statements and financial highlights based on our audits. We conducted our audits in accordance with auditing standards generally accepted in the United States of America. Those standards require that we plan and perform the audit to obtain reasonable assurance about whether the financial statements and financial highlights are free of material misstatement. An audit includes examining, on a test basis, evidence supporting the amounts and disclosures in the financial statements. Our procedures included confirmation of securities owned as of September 30, 2003, by correspondence with the custodian and brokers. Where brokers have not replied to our confirmation requests, we have carried out other appropriate auditing procedures. An audit also includes assessing the accounting principles used and significant estimates made by management, as well as evaluating the overall financial statement presentation. We believe that our audits provide a reasonable basis for our opinion. In our opinion, the financial statements and financial highlights referred to above present fairly, in all material respects, the financial position of the Blue Chip Fund, Special Situations Fund, Total Return Fund, All-Cap Growth Fund, Focused Equity Fund, Growth & Income Fund, Mid-Cap Opportunity Fund, Value Fund, and Global Fund as of September 30, 2003, and the results of their operations for the year then ended, changes in their net assets for each of the two years in the period then ended, and their financial highlights for the periods presented, in conformity with accounting principles generally accepted in the United States of America. Tait, Weller & Baker Philadelphia, Pennsylvania November 3, 2003 This page intentionally left blank.
FIRST INVESTORS EQUITY FUNDS Directors/Trustees and Officers* Position(s) Held with Principal Number of Other Funds and Occupation(s) Portfolios in Trusteeships Name, Date of Birth Length of During Past Fund Complex Directorships and Address Service 5 Years Overseen Held ------------------- ------------------ ------------------ ------------ ------------ DISINTERESTED DIRECTORS/TRUSTEES Robert M. Grohol 1/16/1932 Director/Trustee None/Retired 50 None c/o First Investors since 6/30/00 Management Company, Inc. 95 Wall Street New York, NY 10005 Rex R. Reed 3/19/1922 Director/Trustee None/Retired 50 None c/o First Investors since 3/31/84 Management Company, Inc. 95 Wall Street New York, NY 10005 Herbert Rubinstein 6/14/1921 Director/Trustee None/Retired 50 None c/o First Investors since 9/20/79 Management Company, Inc. 95 Wall Street New York, NY 10005 James M. Srygley 10/17/1932 Director/Trustee Owner 50 None c/o First Investors since 1/19/95 Hampton Management Company, Inc. Properties 95 Wall Street New York, NY 10005 Robert F. Wentworth 7/5/1929 Director/Trustee None/Retired 50 None 217 Upland Downs Road since 10/15/92 Management Company, Inc. 95 Wall Street New York, NY 10005 Position(s) Held with Principal Number of Other Funds and Occupation(s) Portfolios in Trusteeships Name, Date of Birth Length of During Past Fund Complex Directorships and Address Service 5 Years Overseen Held ------------------- ------------------ ------------------ ------------ ------------ INTERESTED DIRECTORS/TRUSTEES** Glenn O. Head 8/16/1925 Director/Trustee Chairman of 50 None c/o First Investors since 1968 First Investors Management Company, Inc. Corporation, 95 Wall Street Chairman of New York, NY 10005 First Investors Consolidated Corporation, Chairman of First Investors Management Company, Inc., Chairman of Administrative Data Management Corp., and officer of other affiliated companies*** Kathryn S. Head 12/31/1955 Director/Trustee Vice President 50 None c/o First Investors since 3/17/94 of First Investors Management Company, Inc. Corporation, 581 Main Street President President of Woodbridge, NJ 07095 since 11/15/01 First Investors Consolidated Corporation, President of First Investors Management Company, Inc., President of Administrative Data Management Corp., Chairman of First Investors Federal Savings Bank and officer of other affiliated companies*** FIRST INVESTORS EQUITY FUNDS Directors/Trustees and Officers* (continued) Position(s) Held with Principal Number of Other Funds and Occupation(s) Portfolios in Trusteeships Name, Date of Birth Length of During Past Fund Complex Directorships and Address Service 5 Years Overseen Held ------------------- ------------------ ------------------ ------------ ------------ INTERESTED DIRECTORS/TRUSTEES (continued) Larry R. Lavoie 9/12/1947 Director/Trustee General Counsel 50 None c/o First Investors since 9/17/98 First Investors Management Company, Inc. Corporation 95 Wall Street and other New York, NY 10005 affiliated companies*** John T. Sullivan 1/18/1932 Director/Trustee Of Counsel 50 None c/o First Investors since 9/20/79 Hawkins, Management Company, Inc. Delafield & 95 Wall Street Wood; Director New York, NY 10005 and Chairman of Executive Committee of First Investors Corporation * Each Director/Trustee serves for an indefinite term with the Funds, until his/her successor is elected. ** Mr. Head and Ms. Head are interested directors/trustees because (a) they are indirect owners of more than 5% of the voting stock of the adviser and principal underwriter of the Funds, (b) they are officers, directors and employees of the adviser and principal underwriter of the Funds, and (c) they are officers of the Funds. Ms. Head is the daughter of Mr. Head. Mr. Lavoie is an interested director/trustee of the Funds because he indirectly owns securities issued by and is an officer of the adviser and principal underwriter of the Funds. Mr. Sullivan is an interested director/trustee because he is a director and Chairman of the Executive Committee of First Investors Corporation and he indirectly owns securities issued by the adviser and principal underwriter of the Funds. *** Other affiliated companies consist of: First Investors Realty Company, Inc., First Investors Life Insurance Company, First Investors Leverage Corporation, Route 33 Realty Corporation, First Investors Credit Funding Corporation, N.A.K. Realty Corporation, Real Property Development Corporation, School Financial Management Services, Inc., First Investors Federal Savings Bank, First Investors Credit Corporation and First Investors Resources, Inc. Position(s) Held with Principal Number of Other Funds and Occupation(s) Portfolios in Trusteeships Name, Date of Birth Length of During Past Fund Complex Directorships and Address Service 5 Years Overseen Held ------------------- ------------------ ------------------ ------------ ------------ OFFICERS WHO ARE NOT DIRECTORS/TRUSTEES Joseph I. Benedek 8/2/1957 Treasurer Treasurer 50 None c/o First Investors since 1988 and Principal Management Company, Inc. Accounting Officer 581 Main Street Woodbridge, NJ 07095 Dennis T. Fitzpatrick 5/15/1958 Vice President Portfolio Manager 2 None c/o First Investors Series Funs, of First Investors Management Company, Inc. since 1998 Management 95 Wall Street Company, Inc. New York, NY 10005 George V. Ganter 5/29/1952 Vice President, Portfolio Manager 2 None c/o First Investors Series Fund, of First Investors Management Company, Inc. since 2000 Management 95 Wall Street Company, Inc. New York, NY 10005 Clark D. Wagner 2/25/1959 Vice President Director of 27 None c/o First Investors Series Fund, Fixed Income Management Company, Inc. since 1991 (previously Chief 95 Wall Street Investment Officer) New York, NY 10005 of First Investors Management Company, Inc.
FIRST INVESTORS EQUITY FUNDS Shareholder Information -------------------------------------------------- Investment Adviser First Investors Management Company, Inc. 95 Wall Street New York, NY 10005 Subadviser (All-Cap Growth Fund, Focused Equity Fund and Global Fund only) Wellington Management Company, LLP 75 State Street Boston, MA 02109 Underwriter First Investors Corporation 95 Wall Street New York, NY 10005 Custodian The Bank of New York One Wall Street New York, NY 10286 Custodian (Global Fund only) Brown Brothers Harriman & Co. 40 Water Street Boston, MA 02109 Transfer Agent Administrative Data Management Corp. 581 Main Street Woodbridge, NJ 07095-1198 Legal Counsel Kirkpatrick & Lockhart LLP 1800 Massachusetts Avenue, N.W. Washington, DC 20036 Auditors Tait, Weller & Baker 1818 Market Street Philadelphia, PA 19103 It is the Funds' practice to mail only one copy of their annual and semi-annual reports to any address at which more than one shareholder with the same last name has indicated that mail is to be delivered. Additional copies of the reports will be mailed if requested by any shareholder in writing or by calling 800-423-4026. The Funds will ensure that separate reports are sent to any shareholder who subsequently changes his or her mailing address. This report is authorized for distribution only to existing shareholders, and, if given to prospective shareholders, must be accompanied or preceded by the Funds' prospectus. Item 2. Code of Ethics - Filed herewith The Board of Directors/Trustees of First Investors Funds ("Board") has adopted a Code of Ethics that applies to the First Investors Funds' ("Funds") principal executive officer, principal financial officer, principal accounting officer or controller, or persons performing similar functions, regardless of whether these individuals are employed by the Funds or a third party. The Code of Ethics is attached to this report as Exhibit A. During the period of the report, there have been no amendments to the Code of Ethics or waivers, implicit or otherwise, from its provisions. Item 3. Audit Committee Financial Expert - Filed herewith The Independent Director currently serving as the Audit Committee Financial Expert is Robert F. Wentworth. The Board of Directors/Trustees of First Investors Funds ("Board") has unanimously determined that Mr. Wentworth satisfied the definition of an audit committee financial expert as set forth in the instructions to Form N-CSR under the Investment Company Act of 1940. Specifically, the Board determined that Mr. Wentworth has all of the following: (i) an understanding of generally accepted accounting principles and financial statements; (ii) the ability to assess the general application of such principles in connection with the accounting for estimates, accruals, and reserves; (iii) experience preparing, auditing, analyzing or evaluating financial statements that present the breadth and level of complexity of accounting issues that are generally comparable to the breadth and complexity of issues that can reasonably be expected to be raised by the Funds' financial statements, or experience actively supervising one or more persons engaged in such activities; (iv) an understanding of internal controls and procedures for financial reports; and (v) an understanding of audit committee functions. Furthermore, he had acquired these attributes through education and many years of relevant experience in various financial positions with American Telephone and Telegraph Company, including the positions of Director - Accounting, Director - Finance, Director - Financial Reporting and Analysis, Controller, and Director of Business Planning. Mr. Wentworth also has many years experience serving on the Audit Committees of First Investors Funds and other organizations. Finally, Mr. Wentworth is independent as defined in the instructions to the Form. Item 4. Principal Accountant Fees and Services - Not applicable to this filing. Applicable to Annual Reports for fiscal years ending on or after December 15, 2003. Item 5. Audit Committee of Listed Registrants - Not applicable Item 6. [Reserved] Item 7. Disclosure of Proxy Voting Policies & Procedures for Closed-End Management Investment Companies - Not applicable for this filing Item 8. [Reserved] Item 9. Controls and Procedures (a) The Registrant's Principal Executive Officer and Principal Financial Officer have concluded that the Registrant's disclosure controls and procedures (as defined in Rule 30a-3(c) under the Investment Company Act of 1940, as amended) are effective, based on their evaluation of these disclosure controls and procedures as of a date within 90 days of the filing date of this report. (b) There were no significant changes in the Registrant's internal controls or in other factors that could significantly affect these controls subsequent to the date of their evaluation, including any corrective actions with regard to significant deficiencies and material weaknesses. Item 10. Exhibits (a) Code of Ethics - Filed herewith (b) Certifications pursuant to Section 302 of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002 - Filed herewith (c) Certifications pursuant to Section 906 of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002 - Filed herewith SIGNATURES Pursuant to the requirements of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 and the Investment Company Act of 1940, the Registrant have duly caused this report to be signed on its behalf by the undersigned, thereunto duly authorized. First Investors Series Fund First Investors Series Fund II, Inc. First Investors Global Fund, Inc. (Registrant) By /S/ KATHRYN S. HEAD Kathryn S. Head President and Principal Executive Officer Date: December 1, 2003 Pursuant to the requirements of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 and the Investment Company Act of 1940, this report has been signed below by the following persons on behalf of the Registrant and in the capacities and on the dates indicated. First Investors Series Fund First Investors Series Fund II, Inc. First Investors Global Fund, Inc. (Registrant) By /S/ JOSEPH I. BENEDEK Joseph I. Benedek Treasurer and Principal Financial Officer Date: December 1, 2003