Dreyfus Massachusetts Fund |
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Summary Prospectus September 1, 2015 |
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Class Ticker A PSMAX C PCMAX Z PMAZX |
Before you invest, you may want to review the fund's prospectus, which contains more information about the fund and its risks. You can find the fund's prospectus and other information about the fund, including the statement of additional information and most recent reports to shareholders, online at www.dreyfus.com/funddocuments. You can also get this information at no cost by calling 1-800-DREYFUS (inside the U.S. only) or by sending an e-mail request to info@dreyfus.com. The fund's prospectus and statement of additional information, dated September 1, 2015 (each as revised or supplemented), are incorporated by reference into this summary prospectus.
The fund seeks to maximize current income exempt from federal income tax and from Massachusetts state income tax, without undue risk.
This table describes the fees and expenses that you may pay if you buy and hold shares of the fund. You may qualify for sales charge discounts if you and your family invest, or agree to invest in the future, at least $50,000 in certain funds in the Dreyfus Family of Funds. More information about these and other discounts is available from your financial professional and in the Shareholder Guide section beginning on page 21 of the prospectus and in the How to Buy Shares section and the Additional Information About How to Buy Shares section beginning on page II-1 and page III-1, respectively, of the fund's Statement of Additional Information.
Shareholder Fees (fees paid directly from your investment) |
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Class A |
Class C |
Class Z |
|
Maximum sales charge (load) imposed on purchases |
4.50 |
none |
none |
Maximum deferred
sales charge (load) |
none* |
1.00 |
none |
Annual Fund Operating Expenses (expenses that you pay each year as a percentage of the value of your investment) |
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Class A |
Class C |
Class Z |
|
Management fees |
.55 |
.55 |
.55 |
Distribution (12b-1) fees |
none |
.75 |
none |
Other expenses (including shareholder services fees) |
.40 |
.41 |
.17 |
Total annual fund operating expenses |
.95 |
1.71 |
.72 |
*Class A shares bought without an initial sales charge as part of an investment of $1 million or more may be charged a deferred sales charge of 1.00% if redeemed within one year.
Example
The Example is intended to help you compare the cost of investing in the fund with the cost of investing in other mutual funds. The Example assumes that you invest $10,000 in the fund for the time periods indicated and then redeem all of your shares at the end of those periods. The Example also assumes that your investment has a 5% return each year and that the fund's operating expenses remain the same. Although your actual costs may be higher or lower, based on these assumptions your costs would be:
|
1 Year |
3 Years |
5 Years |
10 Years |
|
Class A |
$543 |
$739 |
$952 |
$1,564 |
Class C |
$274 |
$539 |
$928 |
$2,019 |
Class Z |
$74 |
$230 |
$401 |
$894 |
You
would pay the following expenses if you did not redeem your shares:
|
1 Year |
3 Years |
5 Years |
10 Years |
Class A |
$543 |
$739 |
$952 |
$1,564 |
Class C |
$174 |
$539 |
$928 |
$2,019 |
Class Z |
$74 |
$230 |
$401 |
$894 |
Portfolio Turnover
The fund pays transaction costs, such as commissions, when it buys and sells securities (or "turns over" its portfolio). A higher portfolio turnover may indicate higher transaction costs and may result in higher taxes when fund shares are held in a taxable account. These costs, which are not reflected in annual fund operating expenses or in the Example, affect the fund's performance. During the most recent fiscal year, the fund's portfolio turnover rate was 8.90% of the average value of its portfolio.
To pursue its goal, the fund normally invests substantially all of its assets in municipal bonds that provide income exempt from federal and Massachusetts state income taxes. Municipal bonds are debt securities or other obligations issued by states, territories and possessions of the United States (such as Puerto Rico, the U.S. Virgin Islands, Guam and the Northern Mariana Islands) and the District of Columbia and their political subdivisions, agencies and instrumentalities, or multistate agencies and authorities, and certain other specified securities, the interest from which is, in the opinion of bond counsel to the issuer, exempt from federal and Massachusetts state income taxes. The fund invests at least 70% of its assets in municipal bonds rated, at the time of purchase, investment grade (Baa/BBB or higher) or the unrated equivalent as determined by The Dreyfus Corporation. For additional yield, the fund may invest up to 30% of its assets in municipal bonds rated below investment grade ("high yield" or "junk" bonds) or the unrated equivalent as determined by The Dreyfus Corporation. The dollar-weighted average maturity of the fund's portfolio normally exceeds ten years, but the fund may invest without regard to maturity. Dollar-weighted average maturity is an average of the stated maturities of the bonds held by the fund, based on their dollar-weighted proportions in the fund.
The portfolio managers focus on identifying undervalued sectors and securities and select municipal bonds by (i) using fundamental credit analysis to estimate the relative value and attractiveness of various sectors and securities and to exploit pricing inefficiencies in the municipal bond market, and (ii) actively trading among various sectors based on their apparent relative values.
Although the fund seeks to provide income exempt from federal and Massachusetts state income taxes, income from some of the fund's holdings may be subject to the federal alternative minimum tax. In addition, the fund temporarily may invest in taxable bonds and/or municipal bonds that pay income exempt only from federal income tax, including when the portfolio managers believe acceptable Massachusetts municipal bonds are not available for investment. During such periods, the fund may not achieve its investment objective.
The fund may buy securities that pay interest at rates that float inversely with changes in prevailing interest rates (inverse floaters) in an effort to increase returns, to manage interest rate risk or as part of a hedging strategy.
An investment in the fund is not a bank deposit. It is not insured or guaranteed by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) or any other government agency. It is not a complete investment program. The fund's share price fluctuates, sometimes dramatically, which means you could lose money.
· Municipal securities risk. The amount of public information available about municipal securities is generally less than that for corporate equities or bonds. Special factors, such as legislative changes, and state and local economic and business developments, may adversely affect the yield and/or value of the fund's investments in municipal securities. Other factors include the general conditions of the municipal securities market, the size of the particular offering, the maturity of the obligation and the rating of the issue. The municipal securities market can be susceptible to increases in volatility and decreases in liquidity. Liquidity can decline unpredictably in response to overall economic conditions or credit tightening. Increases in volatility and decreases in liquidity may be caused by a rise in interest rates (or the expectation of a rise in interest rates), which are at or near historic lows in the United States. An unexpected increase in fund redemption requests, including requests from
Dreyfus Massachusetts Fund Summary |
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shareholders who may own a significant percentage of the fund's shares, which may be triggered by market turmoil or an increase in interest rates, could cause the fund to sell its holdings at a loss or at undesirable prices and adversely affect the fund's share price and increase the fund's liquidity risk and fund expenses. Changes in economic, business or political conditions relating to a particular municipal project, municipality, or state, territory or possession of the United States in which the fund invests may have an impact on the fund's share price.
· Interest rate risk. Prices of bonds and other fixed-income securities tend to move inversely with changes in interest rates. Typically, a rise in rates will adversely affect fixed-income securities and, accordingly, will cause the value of the fund's investments in these securities to decline. During periods of very low interest rates, which occur from time to time due to market forces or actions of governments and/or their central banks, including the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System in the U.S., the fund may be subject to a greater risk of principal decline from rising interest rates. When interest rates fall, the values of already-issued fixed-income securities generally rise. However, when interest rates fall, the fund's investments in new securities may be at lower yields and may reduce the fund's income. The magnitude of these fluctuations in the market price of fixed-income securities is generally greater for securities with longer effective maturities and durations because such instruments do not mature, reset interest rates or become callable for longer periods of time. The change in the value of a fixed-income security or portfolio can be approximated by multiplying its duration by a change in interest rates. For example, the market price of a fixed-income security with a duration of three years would be expected to decline 3% if interest rates rose 1%. Conversely, the market price of the same security would be expected to increase 3% if interest rates fell 1%. Risks associated with rising interest rates are heightened given that interest rates in the United States and other countries are at or near historic lows. Unlike investment grade bonds, however, the prices of high yield bonds may fluctuate unpredictably and not necessarily inversely with changes in interest rates.
· Credit risk. Failure of an issuer of a security to make timely interest or principal payments, or a decline or perception of a decline in the credit quality of the security, can cause the security's price to fall, lowering the value of the fund's investment in such security. The lower a security's credit rating, the greater the chance that the issuer of the security will default or fail to meet its payment obligations.
· High yield securities risk. High yield ("junk") securities involve greater credit risk, including the risk of default, than investment grade securities, and are considered predominantly speculative with respect to the issuer's ability to make principal and interest payments. The prices of high yield securities can fall in response to bad news about the issuer or its industry, or the economy in general, to a greater extent than those of higher rated securities.
· Liquidity risk. When there is little or no active trading market for specific types of securities, it can become more difficult to sell the securities in a timely manner at or near their perceived value. In such a market, the value of such securities and the fund's share price may fall dramatically, even during periods of declining interest rates. The secondary market for certain municipal bonds tends to be less well developed or liquid than many other securities markets, which may adversely affect the fund's ability to sell such municipal bonds at attractive prices. Investments that are illiquid or that trade in lower volumes may be more difficult to value. The market for below investment grade securities may be less liquid and therefore these securities may be harder to value or sell at an acceptable price, especially during times of market volatility or decline.
· State-specific risk. The fund is subject to the risk that Massachusetts's economy, and the revenues underlying its municipal obligations, may decline. Investing primarily in a single state makes the fund more sensitive to risks specific to the state and may magnify other risks.
· Inverse floating rate securities risk. The interest payment received on inverse floating rate securities generally will decrease when short-term interest rates increase. Inverse floaters are derivatives that involve leverage and could magnify the fund's gains or losses.
· Non-diversification risk. The fund is non-diversified, which means that the fund may invest a relatively high percentage of its assets in a limited number of issuers. Therefore, the fund's performance may be more vulnerable to changes in the market value of a single issuer or group of issuers and more susceptible to risks associated with a single economic, political or regulatory occurrence than a diversified fund.
The following bar chart and table provide some indication of the risks of investing in the fund. The bar chart shows changes in the performance of the fund's Class A shares from year to year. The table compares the average annual total returns of the fund's shares to those of a broad measure of market performance. The fund's past performance (before and after taxes) is not necessarily an indication of how the fund will perform in the future. Sales charges, if any, are not reflected in the bar chart, and if those charges were included, returns would have been less than those shown. More recent performance information may be available at www.dreyfus.com.
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Year-by-Year Total Returns as of 12/31 each year (%) Class A |
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Best
Quarter Worst Quarter |
The year to date total return of the fund's Class A shares as of June 30, 2015 was -0.30%.
After-tax performance is shown only for Class A shares. After-tax performance of the fund's other share classes will vary. After-tax returns are calculated using the historical highest individual federal marginal income tax rates, and do not reflect the impact of state and local taxes. Actual after-tax returns depend on the investor's tax situation and may differ from those shown, and the after-tax returns shown are not relevant to investors who hold their shares through tax-deferred arrangements such as 401(k) plans or individual retirement accounts.
Average Annual Total Returns (as of 12/31/14) |
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Class |
1 Year |
5 Years |
10 Years |
Class A returns before taxes |
4.32% |
3.39% |
3.40% |
Class A returns after taxes on distributions |
4.32% |
3.35% |
3.36% |
Class A returns after taxes on distributions and sale of fund shares |
3.67% |
3.36% |
3.41% |
Class C returns before taxes |
7.40% |
3.55% |
3.10% |
Class Z returns before taxes |
9.47% |
4.56% |
4.10% |
Barclays Municipal Bond Index |
9.05% |
5.16% |
4.74% |
The fund's investment adviser is The Dreyfus Corporation (Dreyfus).
Thomas Casey and Daniel Rabasco are the fund's primary portfolio managers, positions they have held since May 2011 and October 2014, respectively. Mr. Casey is a senior portfolio manager for tax-sensitive strategies at Standish Mellon Asset Management Company LLC (Standish). Mr. Rabasco is the Chief Investment Officer for tax-sensitive fixed-income at Standish. Messrs. Casey and Rabasco also are employees of Dreyfus.
In general, for each share class, the fund's minimum initial investment is $1,000 and the minimum subsequent investment is $100. Class Z shares generally are not available for new accounts. You may sell (redeem) your shares on any business day by calling 1-800-DREYFUS (inside the U.S. only) or by visiting www.dreyfus.com. If you invested in the fund through a third party, such as a bank, broker-dealer or financial adviser, you may mail your request to sell shares to Dreyfus Institutional Department, P.O. Box 9882, Providence, Rhode Island 02940-8082. If you invested directly through the fund, you may mail your request to sell shares to Dreyfus Shareholder Services, P.O. Box 9879, Providence, Rhode Island 02940-8079. If you are an Institutional Direct accountholder, please contact your BNY Mellon relationship manager for instructions.
The fund anticipates that virtually all dividends paid by the fund will be exempt from federal and Massachusetts state income taxes. However, for federal tax purposes, certain distributions, such as distributions of short-term capital gains, are taxable as ordinary income, while long-term capital gains are taxable as capital gains.
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If you purchase shares through a broker-dealer or other financial intermediary (such as a bank), the fund and its related companies may pay the intermediary for the sale of fund shares and related services. These payments may create a conflict of interest by influencing the broker-dealer or other intermediary and your salesperson to recommend the fund over another investment. Ask your salesperson or visit your financial intermediary's website for more information.
This prospectus does not constitute an offer or solicitation in any state or jurisdiction in which, or to any person to whom, such offering or solicitation may not lawfully be made.
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