497 1 lp1_497cpro.htm SUPPLEMENT TO PROSPECTUS - 497C lp1_497cpro.htm - Generated by SEC Publisher for SEC Filing

Dreyfus State Municipal Bond Funds

       

 

Prospectus
September 1, 2017

 
           
 

Class A

Class C

Class I

Class Y

Class Z

Dreyfus Connecticut Fund

PSCTX

PMCCX

DTCIX

DPMYX

DPMZX

Dreyfus Massachusetts Fund

PSMAX

PCMAX

   

PMAZX

Dreyfus Pennsylvania Fund

PTPAX

PPACX

   

DPENX

   

As with all mutual funds, the Securities and Exchange Commission has not approved or disapproved
these securities or passed upon the adequacy of this prospectus. Any representation to the contrary is
a criminal offense.

 

Contents

Fund Summary
Fund Details
Shareholder Guide
For More Information

See back cover.

 

Fund Summary

Dreyfus State Municipal Bond Funds
Dreyfus Connecticut Fund

Investment Objective

The fund seeks to maximize current income exempt from federal income tax and from Connecticut state income tax, without undue risk.

Fees and Expenses

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 the fund or shares of other funds in the Dreyfus Family of Funds that are subject to a sales charge. More information about sales charges, including these and other discounts and waivers, 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)

 

Class A

Class C

Class I

Class Y

Class Z

Maximum sales charge (load) imposed on purchases
(as a percentage of offering price)

4.50

none

none

none

none

Maximum deferred sales charge (load)
(as a percentage of lower of purchase or sale price)

none*

1.00

none

none

none

           

Annual Fund Operating Expenses (expenses that you pay each year as a percentage of the value of your investment)

 

Class A

Class C

Class I

Class Y

Class Z

Management fees

.55

.55

.55

.55

.55

Distribution (12b-1) fees

none

.75

none

none

none

Other expenses (including shareholder services fees)

.38

.39

.14

.10

.16

Total annual fund operating expenses

.93

1.69

.69

.65

.71

*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

$541

$733

$942

$1,542

Class C

$272

$533

$918

$1,998

Class I

$70

$221

$384

$859

Class Y

$66

$208

$362

$810

Class Z

$73

$227

$395

$883

1

 

You would pay the following expenses if you did not redeem your shares:

         

 

1 Year

3 Years

5 Years

10 Years

Class A

$541

$733

$942

$1,542

Class C

$172

$533

$918

$1,998

Class I

$70

$221

$384

$859

Class Y

$66

$208

$362

$810

Class Z

$73

$227

$395

$883

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 9.93% of the average value of its portfolio.

Principal Investment Strategy

To pursue its goal, the fund normally invests at least 80% of its net assets, plus any borrowings for investment purposes, in municipal bonds that provide income exempt from federal and Connecticut state income taxes. Municipal bonds are debt securities or other obligations issued by states, territories and possessions of the United States and the District of Columbia and their political subdivisions, agencies and instrumentalities, or multistate agencies and authorities, and certain other specified securities.

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. A bond’s maturity is the length of time until the principal must be fully repaid with interest. 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. To select municipal bonds for the fund, the portfolio managers use fundamental credit analysis to estimate the relative value and attractiveness of various sectors and securities and actively trade among various sectors based on their apparent relative values.

Although the fund seeks to provide income exempt from federal and Connecticut state income taxes, income from some of the fund's holdings may be subject to the federal alternative minimum tax.

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.

Principal Risks

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. 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 rate 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 fund's investments in new securities may be at lower yields and

2

 

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 currently are at or near historic lows. Unlike investment grade bonds, however, the prices of high yield ("junk") 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 when due, or a decline or perception of a decline in the credit quality of the security, can cause the security's price to fall. 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. Liquidity risk also may refer to the risk that the fund will not be able to pay redemption proceeds within the allowable time period stated in this prospectus because of unusual market conditions, an unusually high volume of redemption requests, or other reasons. To meet redemption requests, the fund may be forced to sell securities at an unfavorable time and/or under unfavorable conditions, which may adversely affect the fund's share price.

· State-specific risk. The fund is subject to the risk that Connecticut's economy, and the revenues underlying its municipal obligations, may decline. Investing primarily in the municipal obligations of a single state makes the fund more sensitive to risks specific to that state and may entail more risk than investing in the municipal obligations of multiple states as a result of potentially less diversification.

· 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 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.

Performance

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. 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. 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. More recent performance information may be available at www.dreyfus.com.

3

 

   

Year-by-Year Total Returns as of 12/31 each year (%)
Class A

Best Quarter
Q3, 2009: 6.83%

Worst Quarter
Q4, 2010: -4.43%

The year-to-date total return of the fund's Class A shares as of June 30, 2017 was 3.02%.

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 U.S. tax-deferred arrangements such as 401(k) plans or individual retirement accounts. Returns after taxes on distributions and sale of fund shares may be higher than returns before taxes or returns after taxes on distributions due to an assumed tax benefit from losses on a sale of the fund's shares at the end of the period.

For the fund's Class I and Y shares, periods prior to the inception date reflect the performance of the fund's Class A shares, not reflecting any applicable sales charges for Class A shares. Such performance figures have not been adjusted to reflect applicable class fees and expenses. Each share class is invested in the same portfolio of securities, and the annual returns would have differed only to the extent that the classes do not have the same expenses.

               

Average Annual Total Returns (as of 12/31/16)

 

Class (Inception Date)

 

1 Year

5 Years

10 Years

Since Inception

Class A returns before taxes

 

-5.03%

1.37%

2.81%

-

Class A returns after taxes on distributions

 

-5.03%

1.36%

2.80%

-

Class A returns after taxes on distributions and sale of fund shares

 

-1.72%

1.74%

2.95%

-

Class C returns before taxes

 

-2.30%

1.52%

2.50%

-

Class I (12/15/08) returns before taxes

 

-0.25%

2.55%

3.50%

-

Class Y (9/3/13) returns before taxes

 

-0.21%

2.47%

3.37%

-

Class Z (5/30/07) returns before taxes

 

-0.28%

2.51%

-

3.57%

Bloomberg Barclays U.S. Municipal Bond Index
reflects no deductions for fees, expenses or taxes

 

0.25%

3.28%

4.25%

4.36%*

*Based on the life of Class Z. For comparative purposes, the value of the index on 5/31/07 is used as the beginning value on 5/30/07.

Portfolio Management

The fund's investment adviser is The Dreyfus Corporation (Dreyfus).

Daniel Barton and Jeffrey Burger are the fund's primary portfolio managers, positions they have held since May 2010 and February 2012, respectively. Mr. Barton is a portfolio manager and senior analyst for tax-sensitive strategies at Standish Mellon Asset Management Company LLC (Standish), an affiliate of Dreyfus. Mr. Burger is a portfolio manager for tax-sensitive strategies at Standish. Messrs. Barton and Burger also are employees of Dreyfus.

Purchase and Sale of Fund Shares

In general, for each share class, other than Class Y, the fund's minimum initial investment is $1,000 and the minimum subsequent investment is $100. For Class Y shares, the minimum initial investment generally is $1,000,000, with no minimum subsequent investment. 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

4

 

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.

Tax Information

The fund anticipates that dividends paid by the fund generally will be exempt from federal and Connecticut state income taxes. However, the fund may realize and distribute taxable income and capital gains from time to time as a result of the fund's normal investment activities.

Payments to Broker-Dealers and Other Financial Intermediaries

If you purchase shares (other than Class Y 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. To the extent that the intermediary may receive lesser or no payments in connection with the sale of other investments, the payments from the fund and its related companies may create a potential conflict of interest by influencing the broker-dealer or other intermediary and your financial representative to recommend the fund over the other investments. This potential conflict of interest may be addressed by policies, procedures or practices adopted by the financial intermediary. As there may be many different policies, procedures or practices adopted by different intermediaries to address the manner in which compensation is earned through the sale of investments or the provision of related services, the compensation rates and other payment arrangements that may apply to a financial intermediary and its representatives may vary by intermediary. Ask your financial representative or visit your financial intermediary's website for more information.

5

 

Fund Summary

Dreyfus State Municipal Bond Funds
Dreyfus Massachusetts Fund

Investment Objective

The fund seeks to maximize current income exempt from federal income tax and from Massachusetts state income tax, without undue risk.

Fees and Expenses

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 the fund or shares of other funds in the Dreyfus Family of Funds that are subject to a sales charge. More information about sales charges, including these and other discounts and waivers, 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)

 

Class A

Class C

   

Class Z

Maximum sales charge (load) imposed on purchases
(as a percentage of offering price)

4.50

none

   

none

Maximum deferred sales charge (load)
(as a percentage of lower of purchase or sale price)

none*

1.00

   

none

           

Annual Fund Operating Expenses (expenses that you pay each year as a percentage of the value of your investment)

 

Class A

Class C

   

Class Z

Management fees

.55

.55

   

.55

Distribution (12b-1) fees

none

.75

   

none

Other expenses (including shareholder services fees)

.41

.46

   

.18

Total annual fund operating expenses

.96

1.76

   

.73

*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

$544

$742

$957

$1,575

Class C

$279

$554

$954

$2,073

Class Z

$75

$233

$406

$906

6

 

You would pay the following expenses if you did not redeem your shares:

         

 

1 Year

3 Years

5 Years

10 Years

Class A

$544

$742

$957

$1,575

Class C

$179

$554

$954

$2,073

Class Z

$75

$233

$406

$906

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 11.70% of the average value of its portfolio.

Principal Investment Strategy

To pursue its goal, the fund normally invests at least 80% of its net assets, plus any borrowings for investment purposes, 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 and the District of Columbia and their political subdivisions, agencies and instrumentalities, or multistate agencies and authorities, and certain other specified securities.

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. A bond’s maturity is the length of time until the principal must be fully repaid with interest. 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. To select municipal bonds for the fund, the portfolio managers use fundamental credit analysis to estimate the relative value and attractiveness of various sectors and securities and actively trade 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.

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.

Principal Risks

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. 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 rate 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 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

7

 

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 currently are at or near historic lows. Unlike investment grade bonds, however, the prices of high yield ("junk") 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 when due, or a decline or perception of a decline in the credit quality of the security, can cause the security's price to fall. 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. Liquidity risk also may refer to the risk that the fund will not be able to pay redemption proceeds within the allowable time period stated in this prospectus because of unusual market conditions, an unusually high volume of redemption requests, or other reasons. To meet redemption requests, the fund may be forced to sell securities at an unfavorable time and/or under unfavorable conditions, which may adversely affect the fund's share price.

· State-specific risk. The fund is subject to the risk that Massachusetts' economy, and the revenues underlying its municipal obligations, may decline. Investing primarily in the municipal obligations of a single state makes the fund more sensitive to risks specific to that state and may entail more risk than investing in the municipal obligations of multiple states as a result of potentially less diversification.

· 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 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.

Performance

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. 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. 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. More recent performance information may be available at www.dreyfus.com.

8

 

   

Year-by-Year Total Returns as of 12/31 each year (%)
Class A

Best Quarter
Q3, 2009: 7.31%

Worst Quarter
Q4, 2010: -4.94%

The year-to-date total return of the fund's Class A shares as of June 30, 2017 was 3.26%.

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 U.S. tax-deferred arrangements such as 401(k) plans or individual retirement accounts. Returns after taxes on distributions and sale of fund shares may be higher than returns before taxes or returns after taxes on distributions due to an assumed tax benefit from losses on a sale of the fund's shares at the end of the period.

         

Average Annual Total Returns (as of 12/31/16)

Class

 

1 Year

5 Years

10 Years

Class A returns before taxes

 

-5.61%

1.40%

2.84%

Class A returns after taxes on distributions

 

-5.63%

1.39%

2.81%

Class A returns after taxes on distributions and sale of fund shares

 

-2.14%

1.73%

2.95%

Class C returns before taxes

 

-2.88%

1.55%

2.53%

Class Z returns before taxes

 

-0.91%

2.56%

3.53%

Bloomberg Barclays U.S. Municipal Bond Index
reflects no deductions for fees, expenses or taxes

 

0.25%

3.28%

4.25%

 
Portfolio Management

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), an affiliate of Dreyfus. Mr. Rabasco is the Chief Investment Officer for tax-sensitive fixed-income at Standish. Messrs. Casey and Rabasco also are employees of Dreyfus.

Purchase and Sale of Fund Shares

In general, for each share class, the fund's minimum initial investment is $1,000 and the minimum subsequent investment is $100. For Class Y shares, the minimum initial investment generally is $1,000,000, with no minimum subsequent investment. 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.

9

 

Tax Information

The fund anticipates that dividends paid by the fund generally will be exempt from federal and Massachusetts state income taxes. However, the fund may realize and distribute taxable income and capital gains from time to time as a result of the fund's normal investment activities.

Payments to Broker-Dealers and Other Financial Intermediaries

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. To the extent that the intermediary may receive lesser or no payments in connection with the sale of other investments, the payments from the fund and its related companies may create a potential conflict of interest by influencing the broker-dealer or other intermediary and your financial representative to recommend the fund over the other investments. This potential conflict of interest may be addressed by policies, procedures or practices adopted by the financial intermediary. As there may be many different policies, procedures or practices adopted by different intermediaries to address the manner in which compensation is earned through the sale of investments or the provision of related services, the compensation rates and other payment arrangements that may apply to a financial intermediary and its representatives may vary by intermediary. Ask your financial representative or visit your financial intermediary's website for more information.

10

 

Fund Summary

Dreyfus State Municipal Bond Funds
Dreyfus Pennsylvania Fund

Investment Objective

The fund seeks to maximize current income exempt from federal income tax and from Pennsylvania state income tax, without undue risk.

Fees and Expenses

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 the fund or shares of other funds in the Dreyfus Family of Funds that are subject to a sales charge. More information about sales charges, including these and other discounts and waivers, 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)

 

Class A

Class C

   

Class Z

Maximum sales charge (load) imposed on purchases
(as a percentage of offering price)

4.50

none

   

none

Maximum deferred sales charge (load)
(as a percentage of lower of purchase or sale price)

none*

1.00

   

none

           

Annual Fund Operating Expenses (expenses that you pay each year as a percentage of the value of your investment)

 

Class A

Class C

   

Class Z

Management fees

.55

.55

   

.55

Distribution (12b-1) fees

none

.75

   

none

Other expenses (including shareholder services fees)

.41

.43

   

.18

Total annual fund operating expenses

.96

1.73

   

.73

*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

$544

$742

$957

$1,575

Class C

$276

$545

$939

$2,041

Class Z

$75

$233

$406

$906

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You would pay the following expenses if you did not redeem your shares:

         

 

1 Year

3 Years

5 Years

10 Years

Class A

$544

$742

$957

$1,575

Class C

$176

$545

$939

$2,041

Class Z

$75

$233

$406

$906

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 20.97% of the average value of its portfolio.

Principal Investment Strategy

To pursue its goal, the fund normally invests at least 80% of its net assets, plus any borrowings for investment purposes, in municipal bonds that provide income exempt from federal and Pennsylvania state income taxes. Municipal bonds are debt securities or other obligations issued by states, territories and possessions of the United States and the District of Columbia and their political subdivisions, agencies and instrumentalities, or multistate agencies and authorities, and certain other specified securities.

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. A bond’s maturity is the length of time until the principal must be fully repaid with interest. 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. To select municipal bonds for the fund, the portfolio managers use fundamental credit analysis to estimate the relative value and attractiveness of various sectors and securities and actively trade among various sectors based on their apparent relative values.

Although the fund seeks to provide income exempt from federal and Pennsylvania state income taxes, income from some of the fund's holdings may be subject to the federal alternative minimum tax.

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.

Principal Risks

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. 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 rate 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 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

12

 

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 currently are at or near historic lows. Unlike investment grade bonds, however, the prices of high yield ("junk") 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 when due, or a decline or perception of a decline in the credit quality of the security, can cause the security's price to fall. 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. Liquidity risk also may refer to the risk that the fund will not be able to pay redemption proceeds within the allowable time period stated in this prospectus because of unusual market conditions, an unusually high volume of redemption requests, or other reasons. To meet redemption requests, the fund may be forced to sell securities at an unfavorable time and/or under unfavorable conditions, which may adversely affect the fund's share price.

· State-specific risk. The fund is subject to the risk that Pennsylvania's economy, and the revenues underlying its municipal obligations, may decline. Investing primarily in the municipal obligations of a single state makes the fund more sensitive to risks specific to that state and may entail more risk than investing in the municipal obligations of multiple states as a result of potentially less diversification.

· 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 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.

Performance

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. 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. 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. More recent performance information may be available at www.dreyfus.com.

13

 

   

Year-by-Year Total Returns as of 12/31 each year (%)
Class A

Best Quarter
Q3, 2009: 6.98%

Worst Quarter
Q4, 2010: -4.52%

The year-to-date total return of the fund's Class A shares as of June 30, 2017 was 3.25%.

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 U.S. tax-deferred arrangements such as 401(k) plans or individual retirement accounts. Returns after taxes on distributions and sale of fund shares may be higher than returns before taxes or returns after taxes on distributions due to an assumed tax benefit from losses on a sale of the fund's shares at the end of the period.

               

Average Annual Total Returns (as of 12/31/16)

 

Class (Inception Date)

 

1 Year

5 Years

10 Years

Since Inception

Class A returns before taxes

 

-3.90%

2.26%

3.25%

-

Class A returns after taxes on distributions

 

-4.05%

2.21%

3.23%

-

Class A returns after taxes on distributions and sale of fund shares

 

-0.87%

2.49%

3.33%

-

Class C returns before taxes

 

-1.05%

2.44%

2.95%

-

Class Z (11/29/07) returns before taxes

 

0.93%

3.43%

-

4.09%

Bloomberg Barclays U.S. Municipal Bond Index
reflects no deductions for fees, expenses or taxes

 

0.25%

3.28%

4.25%

4.34%*

* Based on the life of Class Z. For comparative purposes, the value of the index on 11/30/07 is used as the beginning value on 11/29/07.

 
Portfolio Management

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 October 2014 and February 2012, respectively. Mr. Casey is a senior portfolio manager for tax-sensitive strategies at Standish Mellon Asset Management Company LLC (Standish), an affiliate of Dreyfus. Mr. Rabasco is the Chief Investment Officer for tax-sensitive fixed-income at Standish. Messrs. Casey and Rabasco also are employees of Dreyfus.

Purchase and Sale of Fund Shares

In general, for each share class, the fund's minimum initial investment is $1,000 and the minimum subsequent investment is $100. For Class Y shares, the minimum initial investment generally is $1,000,000, with no minimum subsequent investment. 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.

14

 

Tax Information

The fund anticipates that dividends paid by the fund generally will be exempt from federal and Pennsylvania state income taxes. However, the fund may realize and distribute taxable income and capital gains from time to time as a result of the fund's normal investment activities.

Payments to Broker-Dealers and Other Financial Intermediaries

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. To the extent that the intermediary may receive lesser or no payments in connection with the sale of other investments, the payments from the fund and its related companies may create a potential conflict of interest by influencing the broker-dealer or other intermediary and your financial representative to recommend the fund over the other investments. This potential conflict of interest may be addressed by policies, procedures or practices adopted by the financial intermediary. As there may be many different policies, procedures or practices adopted by different intermediaries to address the manner in which compensation is earned through the sale of investments or the provision of related services, the compensation rates and other payment arrangements that may apply to a financial intermediary and its representatives may vary by intermediary. Ask your financial representative or visit your financial intermediary's website for more information.

15

 

Fund Details

Goal and Approach

Each fund seeks to maximize current income exempt from federal income tax and from the income tax of the state after which it is named, without undue risk. To pursue its goal, each fund normally invests at least 80% of its net assets, plus any borrowings for investment purposes, in municipal bonds that provide income exempt from federal income tax and from the income tax of the state after which it is named. Municipal bonds are debt securities or other obligations issued by states, territories and possessions of the United States and the District of Columbia and their political subdivisions, agencies and instrumentalities, or multistate agencies and authorities, and certain other specified securities.

Each 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 Dreyfus. For additional yield, each 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 Dreyfus. The dollar-weighted average maturity of each fund's portfolio normally exceeds ten years but the fund may invest without regard to maturity. A bond’s maturity is the length of time until the principal must be fully repaid with interest. 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 minimize the use of interest rate forecasting. The portfolio managers select municipal bonds for the fund's portfolio by:

· 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

· Actively trading among various sectors, such as pre-refunded, general obligation and revenue, based on their apparent relative values. The fund seeks to invest in several of these sectors.

A rigorous sell discipline is employed to continuously evaluate all fund holdings. Current holdings may become sell candidates if creditworthiness is deteriorating, if bonds with better risk and return characteristics become available, or if the holding no longer meets the portfolio managers' strategic or structural objectives.

Although each fund seeks to provide income exempt from federal and applicable state income taxes, income from some of the fund's holdings may be subject to the federal alternative minimum tax. Each fund also may invest temporarily in taxable bonds including when the portfolio managers believe acceptable municipal bonds of the state after which the fund is named are not available for investment. During such periods, the funds may not achieve their respective investment objectives. In addition, a portion of each fund’s assets may be invested in municipal bonds that do not pay income that is exempt from the income tax of the state after which it is named.

Although not a principal investment strategy, each fund may, but is not required to, use derivatives, such as options, futures and options on futures (including those relating to securities, indexes and interest rates), as a substitute for investing directly in an underlying asset, to increase returns, to manage credit or interest rate risk or as part of a hedging strategy. Derivatives may be entered into on established exchanges or through privately negotiated transactions referred to as over-the-counter derivatives. A derivatives contract will obligate or entitle the fund to deliver or receive an asset or cash payment based on the change in value of the underlying asset. When the fund enters into derivatives transactions, it may be required to segregate liquid assets or enter into offsetting positions or otherwise cover its obligations in accordance with applicable regulations, while the positions are open. Each 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. Inverse floaters are derivatives created by depositing municipal bonds in a trust which divides the bond's income stream into two parts: a short-term variable rate demand note and a residual interest bond (the inverse floater) which receives interest based on the remaining cash flow of the trust after payment of interest on the note and various trust expenses. Interest on the inverse floater usually moves in the opposite direction as the interest on the variable rate demand note. Each fund also may make forward commitments in which the fund agrees to buy or sell a security in the future at a price agreed upon today.

Each fund is non-diversified.

16

 

Investment Risks

An investment in the fund is not a bank deposit. It is not insured or guaranteed by the FDIC or any other government agency. It is not a complete investment program. The value of your investment in the fund will fluctuate, 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 currently are at or near historic lows in the United States. During periods of reduced market liquidity, the fund may not be able to readily sell municipal securities at prices at or near their perceived value. If the fund needed to sell large blocks of municipal securities to meet shareholder redemption requests or to raise cash, those sales could further reduce the prices of such securities. An unexpected increase in fund redemption requests, including requests from 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. A credit rating downgrade relating to default by, or insolvency or bankruptcy of, one or several municipal security issuers of a state, territory or possession of the United States in which the fund invests could affect the market values and marketability of many or all municipal securities of such state, territory or possession.

· Interest rate risk. Prices of bonds and other fixed rate 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 rate 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 currently are at or near historic lows. Unlike investment grade bonds, however, the prices of high yield ("junk") 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 when due, 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. Securities rated investment grade when purchased by the fund may subsequently be downgraded.

· 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. Other market developments can adversely affect fixed-income securities markets. Regulations and business practices, for example, have led some financial intermediaries to curtail their capacity to engage in trading (i.e., "market making") activities for certain fixed-income securities, which could have the potential to decrease liquidity and increase volatility in the fixed-income securities markets. The secondary market for certain municipal bonds tends to be less well

17

 

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. 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). Liquidity risk also may refer to the risk that the fund will not be able to pay redemption proceeds within the allowable time period stated in this prospectus because of unusual market conditions, an unusually high volume of redemption requests, or other reasons. To meet redemption requests, the fund may be forced to sell securities at an unfavorable time and/or under unfavorable conditions, which may adversely affect the fund's share price.

· State-specific risk. The fund is subject to the risk that the relevant state's economy, and the revenues underlying its municipal obligations, may decline. Investing primarily in the municipal obligations of a single state makes the fund more sensitive to risks specific to that state and may entail more risk than investing in the municipal obligations of multiple states as a result of potentially less diversification.

· 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.

In addition to the principal risks described above, each fund is subject to the following additional risks that are not anticipated to be principal risks of investing in the fund:

· Municipal securities sector risk. The fund may significantly overweight or underweight certain municipal securities that finance projects in specific municipal sectors, such as utilities, hospitals, higher education or transportation, and this may cause the fund's performance to be more or less sensitive to developments affecting those sectors.

· Tax risk. To be tax-exempt, municipal obligations generally must meet certain regulatory requirements. If any such municipal obligation fails to meet these regulatory requirements, the interest received by the fund from its investment in such obligations and distributed to fund shareholders will be taxable.

· Prepayment risk. Some securities give the issuer the option to prepay or call the securities before their maturity date, which may reduce the market value of the security and the anticipated yield-to-maturity. Issuers often exercise this right when interest rates fall. If an issuer "calls" its securities during a time of declining interest rates, the fund might have to reinvest the proceeds in an investment offering a lower yield, and therefore might not benefit from any increase in value as a result of declining interest rates. During periods of market illiquidity or rising interest rates, prices of "callable" issues are subject to increased price fluctuation.

· Derivatives risk. A small investment in derivatives could have a potentially large impact on the fund's performance. The use of derivatives involves risks different from, or possibly greater than, the risks associated with investing directly in the underlying assets, and the fund's use of derivatives may result in losses to the fund. Derivatives in which the fund may invest can be highly volatile, illiquid and difficult to value, and there is the risk that changes in the value of a derivative held by the fund will not correlate with the underlying assets or the fund's other investments in the manner intended. Certain derivatives have the potential for unlimited loss, regardless of the size of the initial investment. Certain types of derivatives, including over-the-counter transactions, involve greater risks than the underlying assets because, in addition to general market risks, they are subject to liquidity risk, credit and counterparty risk (failure of the counterparty to the derivatives transaction to honor its obligation) and pricing risk (risk that the derivative cannot or will not be accurately valued). Future rules and regulations of the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) may require the fund to alter, perhaps materially, its use of derivatives.

· Leverage risk. The use of leverage, such as lending portfolio securities, entering into futures contracts, investing in inverse floaters and engaging in forward commitment transactions, may cause taxable income and may magnify the fund's gains or losses. Because many derivatives have a leverage component, adverse changes in the value or level of the underlying asset or reference rate can result in a loss substantially greater than the amount invested in the derivative itself.

Other potential risks. The fund may lend its portfolio securities to brokers, dealers and other financial institutions. In connection with such loans, the fund will receive collateral from the borrower equal to at least 100% of the value of loaned securities. If the borrower of the securities fails financially, there could be delays in recovering the loaned securities or exercising rights to the collateral.

18

 

Under adverse market conditions, the fund could invest some or all of its assets in U.S. Treasury securities and money market securities. Although the fund would do this for temporary defensive purposes, it could reduce the benefit from any upswing in the market. During such periods, the fund’s investments may not be consistent with its principal investment strategies, and the fund may not achieve its investment objective.

Management

The investment adviser for the fund is The Dreyfus Corporation, 200 Park Avenue, New York, New York 10166. Founded in 1947, Dreyfus manages approximately $258 billion in 155 mutual fund portfolios. For the past fiscal year, Dreyfus Connecticut Fund, Dreyfus Massachusetts Fund and Dreyfus Pennsylvania Fund each paid Dreyfus a management fee at the annual rate of .55% of the respective fund's average daily net assets. A discussion regarding the basis for the board's approving each fund's management agreement with Dreyfus is available in each fund's semiannual report for the six-month period ended October 31, 2016. Dreyfus is the primary mutual fund business of The Bank of New York Mellon Corporation (BNY Mellon), a global financial services company focused on helping clients manage and service their financial assets, operating in 35 countries and serving more than 100 markets. BNY Mellon is a leading investment management and investment services company, uniquely focused to help clients manage and move their financial assets in the rapidly changing global marketplace. BNY Mellon has $31.1 trillion in assets under custody and administration and $1.8 trillion in assets under management. BNY Mellon is the corporate brand of The Bank of New York Mellon Corporation. BNY Mellon Investment Management is one of the world's leading investment management organizations, and one of the top U.S. wealth managers, encompassing BNY Mellon's affiliated investment management firms, wealth management services and global distribution companies. Additional information is available at www.bnymellon.com.

The Dreyfus asset management philosophy is based on the belief that discipline and consistency are important to investment success. For each fund, Dreyfus seeks to establish clear guidelines for portfolio management and to be systematic in making decisions. This approach is designed to provide each fund with a distinct, stable identity.

The Dreyfus Connecticut Fund's primary portfolio managers are Daniel Barton and Jeffrey Burger, positions they have held since May 2010 and February 2012, respectively. Messrs. Barton and Burger are jointly and primarily responsible for managing the fund's portfolio. Mr. Barton is a portfolio manager and senior analyst for tax-sensitive strategies at Standish, where he has been employed since 2005. Mr. Burger is a portfolio manager for tax-sensitive strategies at Standish, where he has been employed since July 2009. Messrs. Barton and Burger also have been employed by Dreyfus since December 2009, and manage the fund in their capacity as employees of Dreyfus.

The Dreyfus Massachusetts Fund's primary portfolio managers are Thomas Casey and Rabasco, positions they have held since May 2011 and October 2014, respectively. Messrs. Casey and Rabasco are jointly and primarily responsible for managing the fund's portfolio. Mr. Casey is a senior portfolio manager for tax-sensitive strategies at Standish, where he has been employed since 1993. Mr. Rabasco is the Chief Investment Officer for tax-sensitive fixed-income at Standish, where he has been employed since 1998. Messrs. Casey and Rabasco also have been employed by Dreyfus since April 2009 and February 2012, respectively, and manage the fund in their capacity as employees of Dreyfus.

The Dreyfus Pennsylvania Fund's primary portfolio managers are Thomas Casey and Daniel Rabasco, positions they have held since October 2014 and February 2012, respectively. Messrs. Casey and Rabasco are jointly and primarily responsible for managing the fund's portfolio. Mr. Casey is a senior portfolio manager for tax-sensitive strategies at Standish, where he has been employed since 1993. Mr. Rabasco is the Chief Investment Officer for tax-sensitive fixed-income at Standish, where he has been employed since 1998. Messrs. Casey and Rabasco also have been employed by Dreyfus since April 2009 and February 2012, respectively, and manage the fund in their capacity as employees of Dreyfus.

The fund's Statement of Additional Information (SAI) provides additional portfolio manager information, including compensation, other accounts managed and ownership of fund shares.

MBSC Securities Corporation (MBSC), a wholly-owned subsidiary of Dreyfus, serves as distributor of the fund and of the other funds in the Dreyfus Family of Funds. Any Rule 12b-1 fees and shareholder services fees, as applicable, are paid to MBSC for financing the sale and distribution of fund shares and for providing shareholder account service and maintenance, respectively. Dreyfus or MBSC may provide cash payments out of its own resources to financial intermediaries that sell shares of funds in the Dreyfus Family of Funds (except Class Y shares) or provide other services. Such payments are separate from any sales charges, 12b-1 fees and/or shareholder services fees or other expenses that may be paid by a fund to those financial intermediaries. Because those payments are not made by fund shareholders or the fund, the fund's total expense ratio will not be affected by any such payments. These payments may be made to financial intermediaries, including affiliates, that provide shareholder servicing, sub-administration, recordkeeping and/or sub-transfer agency services, marketing support and/or access to sales meetings, sales representatives and

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management representatives of the financial intermediary. Cash compensation also may be paid from Dreyfus' or MBSC's own resources to financial intermediaries for inclusion of a fund on a sales list, including a preferred or select sales list or in other sales programs. These payments sometimes are referred to as "revenue sharing." From time to time, Dreyfus or MBSC also may provide cash or non-cash compensation to financial intermediaries or their representatives in the form of occasional gifts; occasional meals, tickets or other entertainment; support for due diligence trips; educational conference sponsorships; support for recognition programs; technology or infrastructure support; and other forms of cash or non-cash compensation permissible under broker-dealer regulations. In some cases, these payments or compensation may create an incentive for a financial intermediary or its employees to recommend or sell shares of the fund to you. This potential conflict of interest may be addressed by policies, procedures or practices that are adopted by the financial intermediary. As there may be many different policies, procedures or practices adopted by different intermediaries to address the manner in which compensation is earned through the sale of investments or the provision of related services, the compensation rates and other payment arrangements that may apply to a financial intermediary and its representatives may vary by intermediary. Please contact your financial representative for details about any payments they or their firm may receive in connection with the sale of fund shares or the provision of services to the fund.

The fund, Dreyfus and MBSC have each adopted a code of ethics that permits its personnel, subject to such code, to invest in securities, including securities that may be purchased or held by the fund. Each code of ethics restricts the personal securities transactions of employees, and requires portfolio managers and other investment personnel to comply with the code's preclearance and disclosure procedures. The primary purpose of the respective codes is to ensure that personal trading by employees does not disadvantage any fund managed by Dreyfus or its affiliates.

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Shareholder Guide

Choosing a Share Class

The fund is designed primarily for people who are investing through third party intermediaries that have entered into selling agreements with the fund's distributor, such as banks, brokers, dealers or financial advisers (collectively, financial intermediaries). Financial intermediaries with whom you open a fund account may have different policies and procedures than those described in this prospectus or the SAI. Accordingly, the availability of certain share classes and/or shareholder privileges or services described in this prospectus or the SAI will depend on the policies, procedures and trading platforms of the financial intermediary. To be eligible for the share classes and/or shareholder privileges or services described in this prospectus or the SAI, you may need to open a fund account directly with the fund's distributor or a financial intermediary that offers such classes and/or privileges or services. The fund also may offer one or more other classes of shares, described in separate prospectuses. Financial intermediaries purchasing fund shares on behalf of their clients determine the class of shares available for their clients. Consult a representative of your financial intermediary for further information.

This prospectus offers Class A, C, I, Y and Z shares of the fund, as indicated.

Your financial intermediary may receive different compensation for selling one class of shares than for selling another class, and may impose its own account fees and methods for purchasing and selling fund shares, which may depend on, among other things, the type of investor account and the policies, procedures and practices adopted by your financial intermediary. You should review these arrangements with your financial representative before determining which class to invest in.

The different classes of fund shares represent investments in the same portfolio of securities, but the classes are subject to different expenses and will likely have different share prices. When choosing a class, you should consider your investment amount, anticipated holding period, the potential costs over your holding period and whether you qualify for any reduction or waiver of the sales charge. It is important to remember that any contingent deferred sales charge (CDSC) or Rule 12b-1 fees have the same purpose as the front-end sales charge: to compensate the distributor for concessions and expenses it pays to dealers and financial intermediaries in connection with the sale of fund shares. A CDSC is not charged on fund shares acquired through the reinvestment of fund dividends. Because the Rule 12b-1 fee is paid out of the fund's assets on an ongoing basis, over time it will increase the cost of your investment and may cost you more than paying other types of sales charges. Information regarding sales charges is not made available separately at www.dreyfus.com because such information is fully contained in this prospectus and in the SAI 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.

A complete description of these classes follows.

Class A Shares

When you invest in Class A shares, you pay the public offering price, which is the share price, or net asset value (NAV), plus the initial sales charge that may apply to your purchase. The amount of the initial sales charge is based on the size of your investment, as the following table shows. We also describe below how you may reduce or eliminate the initial sales charge (see "Sales Charge Reductions and Waivers"). Class A shares are subject to an annual shareholder services fee of .25% paid to the fund's distributor for shareholder account service and maintenance.

Since some of your investment goes to pay an up-front sales charge when you purchase Class A shares, you purchase fewer shares than you would with the same investment in Class C shares. Nevertheless, you are usually better off purchasing Class A shares, rather than Class C shares, and paying an up-front sales charge if you:

· plan to own the shares for an extended period of time, since the ongoing Rule 12b-1 fees on Class C shares may eventually exceed the cost of the up-front sales charge; and

· qualify for a reduced or waived sales charge

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If you invest $1 million or more (and are not eligible to purchase Class I, Y or Z shares), Class A shares will always be the most advantageous choice.

     
 

Total Sales Load -- Class A Shares

Amount of Transaction

As a % of Offering

Price per Share

As a % of

Net Asset Value per Share

Less than $50,000

4.50

4.71

$50,000 to less than $100,000

4.00

4.17

$100,000 to less than $250,000

3.00

3.09

$250,000 to less than $500,000

2.50

2.56

$500,000 to less than $1,000,000

2.00

2.04

$1,000,000 or more

-0-

-0-

No sales charge applies on investments of $1 million or more, but a CDSC of 1% may be imposed on certain redemptions of such shares within one year of the date of purchase.

Sales Charge Reductions and Waivers

The availability of certain sales charge reductions or waivers will depend on whether you purchase your shares directly from the fund's distributor for fund accounts maintained with the distributor or through a financial intermediary. To receive a reduction or waiver of your initial sales charge or CDSC, you must let your financial intermediary or the fund's distributor, as applicable, know at the time you purchase fund shares that you qualify for such a reduction or waiver. If you do not let your financial intermediary or the fund's distributor, as applicable, know that you are eligible for a reduction or waiver, you may not receive the reduction or waiver to which you are otherwise entitled. In order to receive a reduction or waiver, you may be required to provide your financial intermediary or the fund's distributor, as applicable, with evidence of your qualification for the reduction or waiver. You should consult a representative of your financial intermediary. For sales charge reductions or waivers not available through a particular financial intermediary, shareholders will have to purchase fund shares directly from the fund's distributor or through another financial intermediary to receive these reductions or waivers, to the extent available. Please see below for details.

You can reduce your initial sales charge in the following ways:

· Rights of accumulation. You can count toward the amount of your investment your total account value in all shares of the fund and other Dreyfus Funds that are subject to a sales charge. For example, if you have $1 million invested in shares that are subject to a sales charge of other Dreyfus Funds, you can invest in Class A shares of the fund without an initial sales charge. For purposes of determining "your total account value", shares held will be valued at their current market value. We may terminate or change this privilege at any time on written notice.

· Letter of intent. You can sign a letter of intent, in which you agree to invest a certain amount (your goal) over a 13-month period in shares of the fund and other Dreyfus Funds that are subject to a sales charge, and your initial sales charge will be based on your goal. A 90-day back-dated period can also be used to count previous purchases toward your goal. Your goal must be at least $50,000, and your initial investment must be at least $5,000. Each purchase will be made at the public offering price applicable to a single transaction of the dollar amount specified in the letter of intent. The sales charge will be adjusted if you do not meet your goal. By signing a letter of intent, you authorize the fund's transfer agent to hold in escrow 5% of the amount indicated in the letter of intent and redeem Class A shares in your account to pay the additional sales charge if the letter of intent goal is not met prior to the expiration of the 13-month period. See "Additional Information About Shareholder Services" in the SAI.

· Combine with family members and other related purchasers. You can also count toward the amount of your investment all investments in shares that are subject to a sales charge of other Dreyfus Funds, by your spouse and your minor children (family members), including their rights of accumulation and goals under a letter of intent. In addition, (i) a trustee or other fiduciary purchasing securities for a single trust estate or a single fiduciary account although more than one beneficiary is involved and (ii) a group of accounts established by or on behalf of the employees of an employer or affiliated employers pursuant to a Retirement Plan will each be permitted to combine their investments for purposes of reducing or eliminating sales charges. See "How to Buy Shares" in the SAI.

Class A shares may be purchased at NAV without payment of a sales charge by the following individuals and entities:

· full-time or part-time employees, and their spouses or domestic partners and minor children, of Dreyfus or any of its affiliates

· board members of Dreyfus and board members of the Dreyfus Family of Funds, and their spouses or domestic partners and minor children

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· full-time employees, and their spouses and minor children, of financial intermediaries

· "wrap" accounts for the benefit of clients of financial intermediaries

· qualified separate accounts maintained by an insurance company; any state, county or city or instrumentality thereof; and charitable organizations investing $50,000 or more in fund shares and charitable remainder trusts, provided that such Class A shares are purchased directly through the fund's distributor for fund accounts maintained with the distributor

· investors who purchase Class A shares directly through the fund's distributor for fund accounts maintained with the distributor, and either (i) have, or whose spouse or minor children have, beneficially owned shares and continuously maintained an open account with the distributor in a Dreyfus-managed fund since on or before February 28, 2006, or (ii) such purchase is for a self-directed investment account that may or may not be subject to a transaction fee

· shareholders who received Class A shares in exchange for old Class T shares of the fund on February 4, 2009, provided that such Class A shares are purchased directly through the fund's distributor for fund accounts maintained with the distributor

· investors who participate in a self-directed investment brokerage account program offered by a financial intermediary that may or may not charge their customers a transaction fee

Front-end sales charge reductions on Class A shares available through Merrill Lynch

Shareholders purchasing Class A shares of the fund through an omnibus account maintained with Merrill Lynch will be eligible only for the following sales charge reductions, which may differ from those disclosed elsewhere in this prospectus or the SAI. Such shareholders can reduce their initial sales charge in the following ways:

· Transaction size breakpoints, as described above in this prospectus.

· Rights of accumulation (ROA), which entitle shareholders to breakpoint discounts, as described above in this prospectus, will be automatically calculated based on the aggregated holdings of shares of funds in the Dreyfus Family of Funds held in accounts of the purchaser and the purchaser's household members at Merrill Lynch. Shares of funds in the Dreyfus Family of Funds not held in accounts of the purchaser's household members at Merrill Lynch may be included in the ROA calculation only if the shareholder notifies his or her financial advisor about such assets.

· Letter of intent, which allows for breakpoint discounts, as described above in this prospectus, based on anticipated purchases of shares of funds in the Dreyfus Family of Funds purchased through Merrill Lynch over a 13-month period.

Front-end sales charge waivers on Class A shares available through Merrill Lynch

Shareholders purchasing Class A shares of the fund through an omnibus account maintained with Merrill Lynch will be eligible only for the following sales charge waivers, which may differ from those disclosed elsewhere in this prospectus or the SAI. Such shareholders may purchase Class A shares at NAV without payment of a sales charge as follows:

· shares purchased by employer-sponsored retirement, deferred compensation and employee benefit plans (including health savings accounts) and trusts used to fund those plans, provided that the shares are not held in a commission-based brokerage account and the shares are held for the benefit of the plan

· shares purchased by or through a 529 plan

· shares purchased through a Merrill Lynch-affiliated investment advisory program

· shares purchased by third party investment advisors on behalf of their advisory clients through Merrill Lynch's platform

· shares purchased through the Merrill Edge Self-Directed platform

· shares of the fund purchased through reinvestment of dividends and capital gains distributions of the fund (but not any other fund in the Dreyfus Family of Funds)

· shares of the fund received through an exchange of Class C shares of the fund in the month of or month following the 10-year anniversary date of the purchase of the Class C shares

· shares purchased by employees and registered representatives of Merrill Lynch or its affiliates and their family members

· shares purchased by board members of the fund and employees of Dreyfus or any of its affiliates, as described in this prospectus

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· shares purchased from the proceeds of a redemption of shares of a fund in the Dreyfus Family of Funds, provided (1) the repurchase occurs within 90 days following the redemption, (2) the redemption and purchase occur in the same account, and (3) redeemed shares were subject to a front-end sales charge or CDSC (Right of Reinstatement)

Class C Shares

Since you pay no initial sales charge, an investment of less than $1 million in Class C shares buys more shares than the same investment would in Class A shares. However, Class C shares are subject to an annual Rule 12b-1 fee of .75% and an annual shareholder services fee of .25%. Because the Rule 12b-1 fees are paid out of the fund's assets attributable to Class C shares on an ongoing basis, over time these fees will increase the cost of your investment and may cost you more than paying other types of sales charges, such as the initial sales charge on Class A shares. Class C shares redeemed within one year of purchase are subject to a 1% CDSC.

Because Class A shares will always be a more favorable investment than Class C shares for investments of $1 million or more, the fund will generally not accept a purchase order for Class C shares in the amount of $1 million or more. While the fund will take reasonable steps to prevent investments of $1 million or more in Class C shares, it may not be able to identify such investments made through certain financial intermediaries or omnibus accounts.

Class I Shares

Since you pay no initial sales charge, an investment of less than $1 million in Class I shares buys more shares than the same investment would in a class of shares subject to an initial sales charge. There is also no CDSC imposed on redemptions of Class I shares, and you do not pay any ongoing service or distribution fees.

Class I shares may be purchased by:

· bank trust departments, trust companies and insurance companies that have entered into agreements with the fund's distributor to offer Class I shares to their clients

· law firms or attorneys acting as trustees or executors/administrators

· foundations and endowments that make an initial investment in the fund of at least $1 million and are not eligible to purchase Class Y shares

· advisory fee-based accounts offered through financial intermediaries who, depending on the structure of the selected advisory platform, make Class I shares available

· certain institutional clients of a BNY Mellon investment advisory subsidiary, provided that such clients are approved by Dreyfus and are not eligible to purchase Class Y shares

· U.S.-based employees of BNY Mellon, board members of Dreyfus and board members of funds in the Dreyfus Family of Funds, and the spouse, domestic partner or minor child of any of the foregoing, subject to certain conditions described in the SAI, and provided that such Class I shares are purchased directly through the fund's distributor

· unaffiliated investment companies approved by the fund's distributor

Institutions purchasing fund shares on behalf of their clients determine whether Class I shares will be available for their clients. Accordingly, the availability of Class I shares of the fund will depend on the policies, procedures and trading platforms of the institutional investor.

Class Y Shares

Class Y shares are not subject to an initial sales charge or any service or distribution fees. There also is no CDSC imposed on redemptions of Class Y shares. The fund, Dreyfus or the fund's distributor or their affiliates will not make any shareholder servicing, sub-transfer agency, administrative or recordkeeping payments, nor will Dreyfus or the fund's distributor or their affiliates provide any "revenue sharing" payments, with respect to Class Y shares.

24

 

Class Y shares of the fund may be purchased by:

· institutional investors, acting for themselves or on behalf of their clients, that have entered into an agreement with the fund's distributor and make an initial investment in Class Y shares of the fund of at least $1 million

· certain institutional clients of a BNY Mellon investment advisory subsidiary, provided that such clients are approved by Dreyfus and make an initial investment in Class Y shares of the fund of at least $1 million

· certain funds in the Dreyfus Family of Funds and series of BNY Mellon Funds Trust

Generally, each institutional investor will be required to open and maintain a single master account with the fund for all purposes. Certain holders of Class I shares of the fund who meet the eligibility requirements for the purchase of Class Y shares of the fund and who do not require the fund, Dreyfus or the fund's distributor or their affiliates to make any shareholder servicing, sub-transfer agency, administrative or recordkeeping payments may have all of their Class I shares of the fund converted into Class Y shares of the fund. Dreyfus, the fund's distributor or their affiliates will not provide any "revenue sharing" payments with respect to Class I shares converted into Class Y shares.

Institutions purchasing fund shares on behalf of their clients determine whether Class Y shares will be available for their clients. Accordingly, the availability of Class Y shares of the fund will depend on the policies, procedures and trading platforms of the institutional investor.

Class Z Shares

Class Z shares generally are not available for new accounts and are offered only to shareholders of the fund who received Class Z shares of Dreyfus Connecticut, Massachusetts or Pennsylvania Fund in exchange for their shares of a Dreyfus-managed fund as a result of the reorganization of such fund. To be eligible to purchase Class Z shares, such shareholders must purchase Class Z shares of such fund directly through the fund’s distributor and such purchase must be for fund accounts maintained with the distributor. See the SAI for more information regarding shareholders eligible to purchase Class Z shares.

Class Z shares are subject to an annual shareholder services fee of up to .25% to reimburse the fund's distributor for shareholder account service and maintenance expenses.

CDSC Waivers

The fund's CDSC on Class A and C shares may be waived in the following cases:

· exchanges of shares, except if shares acquired by exchange are then redeemed within the period during which a CDSC would apply to the initial shares purchased

· redemptions made within one year of death or disability of the shareholder

· redemptions made through Dreyfus' Automatic Withdrawal Plan, if such redemptions do not exceed 12% of the value of the account annually

CDSC waivers on Class A and C shares available through Merrill Lynch

Fund shares purchased through an omnibus account maintained with Merrill Lynch will be eligible only for the following CDSC waivers, which may differ from those disclosed elsewhere in this prospectus or the SAI:

· redemptions made within one year of death or disability of the shareholder

· redemptions made through Dreyfus Automatic Withdrawal Plan, if such redemptions do not exceed 12% of the value of the account annually

· redemptions made in connection with a return of excess contributions from an IRA account

· shares acquired through a Right of Reinstatement (as defined above)

· redemptions due to receiving applicable required minimum distributions from IRA accounts (other than Roth IRAs or Coverdell Education Savings Accounts) upon reaching age 70½

·  redemptions made to pay Merrill Lynch fees, but only if the redemption is initiated by Merrill Lynch

· redemptions of fund shares held in a retirement brokerage account that are exchanged for shares of a lower cost share class in connection with the transfer to certain fee based accounts or platforms

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Buying and Selling Shares

Dreyfus calculates fund NAVs as of the scheduled close of trading on the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) (usually 4:00 p.m. Eastern time) on days the NYSE is scheduled to be open for regular business. Your order will be priced at the next NAV calculated after your order is received in proper form by the fund's transfer agent or other authorized entity. "Proper form" refers to completion of an account application (if applicable), satisfaction of requirements in this section (subject to "Shareholder Guide—General Policies") and any applicable conditions in "Additional Information About How to Redeem Shares" in the SAI. Authorized entities other than the fund's transfer agent may apply different conditions for the satisfaction of "proper form" requirements. For more information, consult a representative of your financial intermediary. When calculating NAVs, Dreyfus generally values fixed-income investments based on values supplied by an independent pricing service approved by the fund's board. The pricing service's procedures are reviewed under the general supervision of the board. If market quotations or official closing prices or valuations from a pricing service are not readily available, or are determined not to reflect accurately fair value, the fund may value those investments at fair value as determined in accordance with procedures approved by the fund's board. Fair value of investments may be determined by the fund's board, its pricing committee or its valuation committee in good faith using such information as it deems appropriate under the circumstances. Using fair value to price investments may result in a value that is different from a security's most recent closing price and from the prices used by other mutual funds to calculate their net asset values. Over-the-counter derivative instruments generally will be valued based on values supplied by an independent pricing service approved by the fund's board. Futures contracts will be valued at the most recent settlement price. Funds that seek tax-exempt income are not recommended for purchase in IRAs or other qualified retirement plans.

Investments in certain types of thinly traded securities may provide short-term traders arbitrage opportunities with respect to the fund's shares. For example, arbitrage opportunities may exist when trading in a portfolio security or securities is halted and does not resume, or the market on which such securities are traded closes before the fund calculates its NAV. If short-term investors in the fund were able to take advantage of these arbitrage opportunities, they could dilute the NAV of fund shares held by long-term investors. Portfolio valuation policies can serve to reduce arbitrage opportunities available to short-term traders, but there is no assurance that such valuation policies will prevent dilution of the fund's NAV by short-term traders. While the fund has a policy regarding frequent trading, it too may not be completely effective to prevent short-term NAV arbitrage trading, particularly in regard to omnibus accounts. Please see "Shareholder Guide — General Policies" for further information about the fund's frequent trading policy.

Orders to buy and sell shares received by an authorized entity (such as a bank, broker-dealer or financial adviser that has entered into an agreement with the fund's distributor) by the time as of which the fund calculates its NAV and transmitted to the fund's distributor or its designee by the close of its business day (usually 5:15 p.m. Eastern time) will be based on the NAV determined that day.

How to Buy Shares

By Mail. To open a regular account, complete an application and mail it, together with a check payable to The Dreyfus Family of Funds, to the appropriate address below. To purchase additional shares in a regular account, mail a check payable to The Dreyfus Family of Funds (with your account number on your check), together with an investment slip, to the appropriate address below.

Mailing Address. If you are investing directly through the fund, mail to:

Dreyfus Shareholder Services
P.O. Box 9879
Providence, Rhode Island 02940-8079

If you are investing through a third party, such as a bank, broker-dealer or financial adviser, mail to:

Dreyfus Institutional Department
P.O. Box 9882
Providence, Rhode Island 02940-8082

If you are applying for an Institutional Direct account, please contact your BNY Mellon relationship manager for mailing instructions.

Electronic Check or Wire. To purchase shares in a regular account by wire or electronic check, please call 1-800-DREYFUS (inside the U.S. only) for more information.

Telephone or Online. To purchase additional shares by telephone or online, you can call 1-800-DREYFUS (inside the U.S. only) or visit www.dreyfus.com to request your transaction. In order to do so, you must have elected the Dreyfus

26

 

TeleTransfer Privilege on your account application or a Shareholder Services Form. See "Services for Fund Investors — Wire Redemption and Dreyfus TeleTransfer Privileges" for more information. Institutional Direct accounts are not eligible for online services.

Automatically. You may purchase additional shares in a regular account by selecting one of Dreyfus' automatic investment services made available to the fund on your account application or service application. See "Services for Fund Investors."

The minimum initial and subsequent investment (except as set forth below) is $1,000 and $100, respectively. For Class Y shares, the minimum initial investment generally is $1,000,000, with no minimum subsequent investment. Subsequent investments made through Dreyfus TeleTransfer are subject to a $100 minimum and a $150,000 maximum. All investments must be in U.S. dollars. Third-party checks, cash, travelers' checks or money orders will not be accepted. You may be charged a fee for any check that does not clear.

How to Sell Shares

You may sell (redeem) shares at any time. Your shares will be sold at the next NAV calculated after your order is received in proper form by the fund's transfer agent or other authorized entity. Any certificates representing fund shares being sold must be returned with your redemption request. Your order will be processed promptly.

If you request the fund to transmit your redemption proceeds to you by check, the fund expects that your redemption proceeds normally will be sent within two business days after your request is received in proper form. If you request the fund to transmit your redemption proceeds to you by wire via the Wire Redemption Privilege ($1,000 minimum) or electronic check via the Dreyfus TeleTransfer Privilege ($500 minimum), and the fund has your bank account information on file, the fund expects that your redemption proceeds normally will be wired within one business day or sent by electronic check within two business days, as applicable, to your bank account after your request is received in proper form. See "Services for Fund Investors — Wire Redemption and Dreyfus TeleTransfer Privileges" for more information. Payment of redemption proceeds may take longer than the number of days the fund typically expects and may take up to seven days after your order is received in proper form by the fund's transfer agent or other authorized entity, particularly during periods of stressed market conditions or very large redemptions or excessive trading.

The processing of redemptions may be suspended, and the delivery of redemption proceeds may be delayed beyond seven days, depending on the circumstances, for any period: (i) during which the NYSE is closed (other than on holidays or weekends), or during which trading on the NYSE is restricted; (ii) when an emergency exists that makes the disposal of securities owned by the fund or the determination of the fair value of the fund's net assets not reasonably practicable; or (iii) as permitted by order of the Securities and Exchange Commission for the protection of fund shareholders. For these purposes, the Securities and Exchange Commission determines the conditions under which trading shall be deemed to be restricted and an emergency shall be deemed to exist.

Before selling or writing a check against shares recently purchased by check, Dreyfus TeleTransfer or Automatic Asset Builder, please note that:

· if you send a written request to sell such shares, the fund may delay sending the proceeds for up to eight business days following the purchase of those shares or until the fund receives verification of clearance of the funds used to purchase such shares

· the fund will not honor redemption checks or process wire, telephone, online or Dreyfus TeleTransfer redemption requests for up to eight business days following the purchase of those shares or until the fund receives verification of clearance of the funds used to purchase such shares

Under normal circumstances, the fund expects to meet redemption requests by using cash it holds in its portfolio or selling portfolio securities to generate cash. In addition, the fund, and certain other funds in the Dreyfus Family of Funds, may draw upon an unsecured credit facility for temporary or emergency purposes to meet redemption requests.

The fund also reserves the right to pay redemption proceeds in securities rather than cash (i.e., "redeem in kind"), if the amount redeemed is large enough to affect fund operations (for example, if it exceeds 1% of the fund's assets) or the redemption request is during stressed market conditions. Any securities distributed in-kind will remain exposed to market risk until sold, and you may incur transaction costs and taxable gain when selling the securities.

To keep your CDSC as low as possible, each time you request to sell shares we will first sell shares that are not subject to a CDSC, and then those subject to the lowest charge. The CDSC is based on the lesser of the original purchase cost or the current market value of the shares being sold, and is not charged on fund shares you acquired by reinvesting your fund dividends. As described above in this prospectus, there are certain instances when you may qualify to have the CDSC waived. Consult your financial representative or refer to the SAI for additional details.

27

 

By Mail. To redeem shares in an account by mail, send a letter of instruction that includes your name, your account number, the name of the fund, the share class, the dollar amount to be redeemed and how and where to send the proceeds. Mail your request to the appropriate address below.

Mailing Address. If you invested directly through the fund, mail to:

Dreyfus Shareholder Services
P.O. Box 9879
Providence, Rhode Island 02940-8079

If you invested through a third party, such as a bank, broker-dealer or financial adviser, mail to:

Dreyfus Institutional Department
P.O. Box 9882
Providence, Rhode Island 02940-8082

If you are an Institutional Direct accountholder, please contact your BNY Mellon relationship manager for mailing instructions.

A medallion signature guarantee is required for some written sell orders. These include:

· amounts of $10,000 or more on accounts whose address has been changed within the last 30 days

· requests to send the proceeds to a different payee or address

· amounts of $100,000 or more

A medallion signature guarantee helps protect against fraud. You can obtain one from most banks or securities dealers, but not from a notary public. For joint accounts, each signature must be guaranteed. Please call to ensure that your medallion signature guarantee will be processed correctly.

Telephone or Online. To redeem shares by telephone or online, call 1-800-DREYFUS (inside the U.S. only) or visit www.dreyfus.com to request your transaction. Institutional Direct accounts are not eligible for online services.

By calling 1-800-DREYFUS (inside the U.S. only), you may speak to a Dreyfus representative and request that redemption proceeds be paid by check and mailed to your address of record (maximum $250,000 per day). For redemption requests made online through www.dreyfus.com or through Dreyfus Express® automated account access system, there is a $100,000 per day limit.

Automatically. You may sell shares in a regular account by completing a Dreyfus Automatic Withdrawal Form which you can obtain by calling 1-800-DREYFUS (inside the U.S. only), visiting www.dreyfus.com or contacting your financial representative. See "Services for Fund Investors — Automatic Services."

General Policies

The fund and the fund's transfer agent are authorized to act on telephone or online instructions from any person representing himself or herself to be you and reasonably believed by the fund or the transfer agent to be genuine. You may be responsible for any fraudulent telephone or online order as long as the fund or the fund's transfer agent (as applicable) takes reasonable measures to confirm that the instructions are genuine.

The fund reserves the right to reject any purchase or exchange request in whole or in part. All shareholder services and privileges offered to shareholders may be modified or terminated at any time, except as otherwise stated in the fund's SAI. Please see the fund's SAI for additional information on buying and selling shares, privileges and other shareholder services.

If you invest through a financial intermediary (rather than directly through the fund), the policies may be different than those described herein. For example, banks, brokers, financial advisers and financial supermarkets may charge transaction fees and may set different minimum investments or limitations on buying or selling shares. Please consult your financial representative.

The fund is designed for long-term investors. Frequent purchases, redemptions and exchanges may disrupt portfolio management strategies and harm fund performance by diluting the value of fund shares and increasing brokerage and administrative costs. As a result, Dreyfus and the fund's board have adopted a policy of discouraging excessive trading, short-term market timing and other abusive trading practices (frequent trading) that could adversely affect the fund or its operations. Dreyfus and the fund will not enter into arrangements with any person or group to permit frequent trading.

The fund also reserves the right to:

28

 

· refuse any purchase or exchange request, including those from any individual or group who, in Dreyfus' view, is likely to engage in frequent trading

· change or discontinue fund exchanges, or temporarily suspend exchanges during unusual market conditions

· change its minimum investment amount

More than four roundtrips within a rolling 12-month period generally is considered to be frequent trading. A roundtrip consists of an investment that is substantially liquidated within 60 days. Based on the facts and circumstances of the trades, the fund may also view as frequent trading a pattern of investments that are partially liquidated within 60 days.

Transactions made through Dreyfus Automatic Withdrawal Plan, Dreyfus Auto-Exchange Privileges, automatic investment plans (including Dreyfus Automatic Asset Builder®) and automatic non-discretionary rebalancing programs generally are not considered to be frequent trading.

Dreyfus monitors selected transactions to identify frequent trading. When its surveillance systems identify multiple roundtrips, Dreyfus evaluates trading activity in the account for evidence of frequent trading. Dreyfus considers the investor's trading history in other accounts under common ownership or control, in other Dreyfus Funds and BNY Mellon Funds and, if known, in non-affiliated mutual funds and accounts under common control. These evaluations involve judgments that are inherently subjective, and while Dreyfus seeks to apply the policy and procedures uniformly, it is possible that similar transactions may be treated differently. In all instances, Dreyfus seeks to make these judgments to the best of its abilities in a manner that it believes is consistent with shareholder interests. If Dreyfus concludes the account is likely to engage in frequent trading, Dreyfus may cancel or revoke the purchase or exchange on the following business day. Dreyfus may also temporarily or permanently bar such investor's future purchases into the fund in lieu of, or in addition to, canceling or revoking the trade. At its discretion, Dreyfus may apply these restrictions across all accounts under common ownership, control or perceived affiliation.

Fund shares often are held through omnibus accounts maintained by financial intermediaries, such as brokers, where the holdings of multiple shareholders, such as all the clients of a particular broker, are aggregated. Dreyfus' ability to monitor the trading activity of investors whose shares are held in omnibus accounts is limited. However, the agreements between the distributor and financial intermediaries include obligations to comply with the terms of this prospectus and to provide Dreyfus, upon request, with information concerning the trading activity of investors whose shares are held in omnibus accounts. If Dreyfus determines that any such investor has engaged in frequent trading of fund shares, Dreyfus may require the financial intermediary to restrict or prohibit future purchases or exchanges of fund shares by that investor.

Certain intermediaries that maintain omnibus accounts with the fund may have developed policies designed to control frequent trading that may differ from the fund's policy. At its sole discretion, the fund may permit such intermediaries to apply their own frequent trading policy. If you are investing in fund shares through a financial intermediary, please contact the financial intermediary for information on the frequent trading policies applicable to your account.

To the extent the fund significantly invests in thinly traded securities, certain investors may seek to trade fund shares in an effort to benefit from their understanding of the value of these securities (referred to as price arbitrage). Any such frequent trading strategies may interfere with efficient management of the fund's portfolio to a greater degree than funds that invest in highly liquid securities, in part because the fund may have difficulty selling these portfolio securities at advantageous times or prices to satisfy large and/or frequent redemption requests. Any successful price arbitrage may also cause dilution in the value of fund shares held by other shareholders.

Although the fund's frequent trading and fair valuation policies and procedures are designed to discourage market timing and excessive trading, none of these tools alone, nor all of them together, completely eliminates the potential for frequent trading.

Small Account Policies

To offset the relatively higher costs of servicing smaller accounts, the fund may charge regular accounts with balances below $2,000 an annual fee of $12. The fee generally will be imposed during the fourth quarter of each calendar year. No small account fee will be charged: any investor whose aggregate Dreyfus mutual fund investments total at least $25,000; accounts participating in automatic investment programs; and accounts opened through a financial institution.

If your account falls below $500, the fund may ask you to increase your balance. If it is still below $500 after 30 days, the fund may close your account and send you the proceeds.

Escheatment

If your account is deemed "abandoned" or "unclaimed" under state law, the fund may be required to "escheat" or transfer the assets in your account to the applicable state's unclaimed property administration. The state may sell

29

 

escheated shares and, if you subsequently seek to reclaim your proceeds of liquidation from the state, you may only be able to recover the amount received when the shares were sold. It is your responsibility to ensure that you maintain a correct address for your account, keep your account active by contacting the fund's transfer agent or distributor by mail or telephone or accessing your account through the fund's website at least once a year, and promptly cash all checks for dividends, capital gains and redemptions. The fund, the fund's transfer agent and Dreyfus and its affiliates will not be liable to shareholders or their representatives for good faith compliance with state escheatment laws.

Distributions and Taxes

Each share class will generate a different dividend because each has different expenses. The fund earns dividends, interest and other income from its investments, and distributes this income (less expenses) to shareholders as dividends. The fund also realizes capital gains from its investments, and distributes these gains (less any losses) to shareholders as capital gain distributions. The fund normally pays dividends monthly and capital gain distributions, if any, annually. Fund dividends and capital gain distributions will be reinvested in the fund unless you instruct the fund otherwise. There are no fees or sales charges on reinvestments.

The fund anticipates that dividends paid by the fund generally will be exempt from federal and applicable state income taxes. However, the fund may realize and distribute taxable income and capital gains from time to time as a result of the fund's normal investment activities.

For state income tax purposes, distributions derived from interest on municipal securities of state issuers and from interest on qualifying securities issued by U.S. territories and possessions are generally exempt from tax. Distributions that are federally taxable as ordinary income or capital gains are generally subject to state personal income taxes.

The tax status of any distribution generally is the same regardless of how long you have been in the fund and whether you reinvest your distributions or take them in cash.

If you buy shares of a fund when the fund has realized but not yet distributed income or capital gains, you will be "buying a dividend" by paying the full price for the shares and then receiving a portion back in the form of a taxable distribution.

Your sale of shares, including exchanges into other funds, may result in a capital gain or loss for tax purposes. A capital gain or loss on your investment in the fund generally is the difference between the cost of your shares and the amount you receive when you sell them.

The tax status of your distributions will be detailed in your annual tax statement from the fund. Because everyone's tax situation is unique, please consult your tax adviser before investing.

Annual year-end distribution estimates, if any, are expected to be available beginning in early October, and may be updated from time to time, at http://www.dreyfus.com/accounts-services/tax-center or by calling 1-800-DREYFUS (inside the U.S. only) or your financial representative.

30

 

Services for Fund Investors

The following services may be available to fund investors. If you purchase shares through a third party financial intermediary, the financial intermediary may impose different restrictions on these services and privileges, or may not make them available at all. Consult a representative of your financial intermediary for further information.

Automatic Services

Buying or selling shares automatically is easy with the services described below. With each service, you select a schedule and amount, subject to certain restrictions. These services are not available for Class Y shares. For information, call 1-800-DREYFUS (inside the U.S. only) or your financial representative.

Dreyfus Automatic Asset Builder® permits you to purchase fund shares (minimum of $100 and maximum of $150,000 per transaction) at regular intervals selected by you. Fund shares are purchased by transferring funds from the bank account designated by you.

Dreyfus Payroll Savings Plan permits you to purchase fund shares (minimum of $100 per transaction) automatically through a payroll deduction.

Dreyfus Government Direct Deposit permits you to purchase fund shares (minimum of $100 and maximum of $50,000 per transaction) automatically from your federal employment, Social Security or other regular federal government check.

Dreyfus Dividend Sweep permits you to automatically reinvest dividends and distributions from the fund in shares of the same class, or another class in which you are eligible to invest, of another fund in the Dreyfus Family of Funds. However, if you hold fund shares through financial intermediary brokerage platforms, you may invest automatically your dividends and distributions from the fund only in shares of the same class of another fund in the Dreyfus Family of Funds.

Dreyfus Auto-Exchange Privilege permits you to exchange at regular intervals your fund shares for shares of the same class, or another class in which you are eligible to invest, of another fund in the Dreyfus Family of Funds. However, if you hold fund shares through financial intermediary brokerage platforms, you may only exchange fund shares for shares of the same class of another fund in the Dreyfus Family of Funds.

Dreyfus Automatic Withdrawal Plan permits you to make withdrawals (minimum of $50) on a specific day each month, quarter or semiannual or annual period, provided your account balance is at least $5,000. Any CDSC will be waived, as long as the amount of any withdrawal does not exceed on an annual basis 12% of the greater of the account value at the time of the first withdrawal under the plan, or at the time of the subsequent withdrawal.

Fund Exchanges

Generally, you can exchange shares worth $500 or more into shares of the same class, or another class in which you are eligible to invest, of another fund in the Dreyfus Family of Funds. However, if you hold fund shares through financial intermediary brokerage platforms, you may only exchange fund shares for shares of the same class of another fund in the Dreyfus Family of Funds. You can request your exchange by calling 1-800-DREYFUS (inside the U.S. only) or your financial representative. If you are an Institutional Direct accountholder, please contact your BNY Mellon relationship manager for instructions. Be sure to read the current prospectus for any fund into which you are exchanging before investing. Any new account established through an exchange generally will have the same privileges as your original account (as long as they are available). There is currently no fee for exchanges, although you may be charged a sales load when exchanging into any fund that has one.

Your exchange request will be processed on the same business day it is received in proper form, provided that each fund is open at the time of the request (i.e., the request is received by the latest time each fund calculates its NAV for that business day). If the exchange is accepted at a time of day after one or both of the funds is closed (i.e., at a time after the NAV for the fund has been calculated for that business day), the exchange will be processed on the next business day. See the SAI for more information regarding exchanges.

You can also exchange Class Z shares into shares of certain other Dreyfus Funds. You can request your exchange by contacting your financial representative. Holders of Class Z shares also may request an exchange in writing, by phone or online.

Conversion Feature

Shares of one class of the fund may be converted into shares of another class of the fund, provided you meet the eligibility requirements for investing in the new share class.  Shares subject to a CDSC at the time of the requested conversion are not eligible for conversion.  The fund reserves the right to refuse any conversion request.

31

 

Wire Redemption and Dreyfus TeleTransfer Privileges

To redeem shares from your Dreyfus Fund account with a phone call or online, use the Wire Redemption Privilege or the Dreyfus TeleTransfer Privilege. To purchase additional shares of your Dreyfus Fund account with a phone call or online, use the Dreyfus TeleTransfer Privilege. You can set up the Wire Redemption Privilege and Dreyfus TeleTransfer Privilege on your account by providing bank account information and following the instructions on your application or, if your account has already been established, a Shareholder Services Form which you can obtain by calling 1-800-DREYFUS (inside the U.S. only), visiting www.dreyfus.com or by contacting your financial representative. Institutional Direct accounts are not eligible for the Wire Redemption or Dreyfus TeleTransfer Privileges initiated online.

Account Statements

Every Dreyfus Fund investor automatically receives regular account statements. You will also be sent a yearly statement detailing the tax characteristics of any dividends and distributions you have received.

Reinvestment Privilege

If you redeem Class A shares of the fund, you can reinvest in the same account of the fund up to the number of Class A shares you redeemed at the current share price without paying a sales charge. If you paid a CDSC, it will be credited back to your account. This privilege may be used only once and your reinvestment request must be received in writing by the fund within 45 days of the redemption.

Dreyfus Express® Voice-Activated Account Access

You can check your Dreyfus account balances, get fund price and performance information, order documents and much more, by calling 1-800-DREYFUS (inside the U.S. only) and using the Dreyfus Express® Voice-Activated System. You may also be able to purchase fund shares and/or transfer money between your Dreyfus Funds using Dreyfus Express®. Certain requests require the services of a representative.

Checkwriting Privilege

You may write redemption checks against your account for Class A or Class Z shares in amounts of $500 or more. These checks are free; however, a fee will be charged if you request a stop payment or if the transfer agent cannot honor a redemption check due to insufficient funds or another valid reason. Please do not postdate your checks or use them to close your account.

32

 

Financial Highlights

Dreyfus Connecticut Fund

These financial highlights describe the performance of the fund's shares for the fiscal periods indicated. "Total return" shows how much your investment in the fund would have increased (or decreased) during each period, assuming you had reinvested all dividends and distributions. These financial highlights have been derived from the fund's financial statements, which have been audited by Ernst & Young LLP, an independent registered public accounting firm, whose report, along with the fund's financial statements, is included in the annual report, which is available upon request.

 

           
 

Year Ended April 30,

Class A Shares

2017

2016

2015

2014

2013

Per Share Data ($):

         

Net asset value, beginning of period

12.10

11.88

11.67

12.39

12.23

Investment Operations:

         

Investment income--neta

.32

.34

.34

.37

.38

Net realized and unrealized gain (loss) on investments

(.42)

.21

.21

(.72)

.19

Total from Investment Operations

(.10)

.55

.55

(.35)

.57

Distributions:

         

Dividends from investment income--net

(.32)

(.33)

(.34)

(.37)

(.38)

Dividends from net realized gain on investments

-

-

-

(.00)b

(.03)

Total Distributions

(.32)

(.33)

(.34)

(.37)

(.41)

Net asset value, end of period

11.68

12.10

11.88

11.67

12.39

Total Return (%)c

(.87)

4.75

4.72

(2.72)

4.74

Ratios/Supplemental Data (%):

         

Ratio of total expenses to average net assets

.93

.91

.92

.90

.90

Ratio of net expenses to average net assets

.93

.91

.92

.90

.90

Ratio of net investment income to average net assets

2.66

2.82

2.83

3.21

3.10

Portfolio Turnover Rate

9.93

9.75

8.44

9.50

19.13

Net Assets, end of period ($ x 1,000)

145,523

167,984

173,909

188,117

239,626

aBased on average shares outstanding.

bAmount represents less than $.01 per share.

cExclusive of sales charge.

           
 

Year Ended April 30,

Class C Shares

2017

2016

2015

2014

2013

Per Share Data ($):

         

Net asset value, beginning of period

12.08

11.86

11.66

12.37

12.21

Investment Operations:

         

Investment income--neta

.23

.24

.25

.28

.29

Net realized and unrealized gain (loss) on investments

(.43)

.22

.20

(.71)

.19

Total from Investment Operations

(.20)

.46

.45

(.43)

.48

Distributions:

         

Dividends from investment income--net

(.22)

(.24)

(.25)

(.28)

(.29)

Dividends from net realized gain on investments

-

-

-

(.00)b

(.03)

Total Distributions

(.22)

(.24)

(.25)

(.28)

(.32)

Net asset value, end of period

11.66

12.08

11.86

11.66

12.37

Total Return (%)c

(1.63)

3.96

3.84

(3.39)

3.94

Ratios/Supplemental Data (%):

         

Ratio of total expenses to average net assets

1.69

1.68

1.68

1.67

1.66

Ratio of net expenses to average net assets

1.69

1.68

1.68

1.67

1.66

Ratio of net investment income to average net assets

1.89

2.06

2.07

2.43

2.34

Portfolio Turnover Rate

9.93

9.75

8.44

9.50

19.13

Net Assets, end of period ($ x 1,000)

10,653

11,919

11,361

10,920

16,502

aBased on average shares outstanding.

bAmount represents less than $.01 per share.

cExclusive of sales charge.

33

 

 
 
Financial Highlights (cont'd) 
                         
   
 

Year Ended April 30,

Class I Shares

2017

2016

2015

2014

2013

Per Share Data ($):

           

Net asset value, beginning of period

12.10

11.88

11.67

12.39

12.22

 

Investment Operations:

           

Investment income--neta

.34

.36

.36

.40

.41

 

Net realized and unrealized gain (loss) on investments

(.42)

.22

.22

(.72)

.21

 

Total from Investment Operations

(.08)

.58

.58

(.32)

.62

 

Distributions:

           

Dividends from investment income--net

(.34)

(.36)

(.37)

(.40)

(.42)

 

Dividends from net realized gain on investments

-

-

-

(.00)b

(.03)

 

Total Distributions

(.34)

(.36)

(.37)

(.40)

(.45)

 

Net asset value, end of period

11.68

12.10

11.88

11.67

12.39

 

Total Return (%)

(.64)

5.01

4.97

(2.48)

5.09

 

Ratios/Supplemental Data (%):

           

Ratio of total expenses to average net assets

.69

.67

.67

.65

.64

 

Ratio of net expenses to average net assets

.69

.67

.67

.65

.63

 

Ratio of net investment income to average net assets

2.90

3.06

3.08

3.45

3.34

 

Portfolio Turnover Rate

9.93

9.75

8.44

9.50

19.13

 

Net Assets, end of period ($ x 1,000)

12,555

9,794

7,408

8,004

12,092

 

aBased on average shares outstanding.

bAmount represents less than $.01 per share.

             
   

Year Ended April 30,

Class Y Shares

2017

2016

2015

2014a

Per Share Data ($):

   

Net asset value, beginning of period

12.10

11.88

11.68

11.15

Investment Operations:

       

Investment income--netb

.34

.37

.39

.26

Net realized and unrealized gain (loss) on investments

(.41)

.22

.18

.53

Total from Investment Operations

(.07)

.59

.57

.79

Distributions:

       

Dividends from investment income--net

(.35)

(.37)

(.37)

(.26)

Net asset value, end of period

11.68

12.10

11.88

11.68

Total Return (%)

(.60)

5.04

4.89

7.16c

Ratios/Supplemental Data (%):

       

Ratio of total expenses to average net assets

.65

.64

.65

.63d

Ratio of net expenses to average net assets

.65

.64

.65

.63d

Ratio of net investment income to average net assets

2.93

3.11

3.07

3.45d

Portfolio Turnover Rate

9.93

9.75

8.44

9.50

Net Assets, end of period ($ x 1,000)

813

1,614

2,506

1

aFrom September 3, 2013 (commencement of initial offering) to April 30, 2014.

bBased on average shares outstanding.

cNot annualized.

dAnnualized.

34

 

Financial Highlights (cont'd)
           
 

Year Ended April 30,

Class Z Shares

2017

2016

2015

2014

2013

Per Share Data ($):

         

Net asset value, beginning of period

12.10

11.87

11.67

12.39

12.22

Investment Operations:

         

Investment income--neta

.34

.36

.36

.40

.41

Net realized and unrealized gain (loss) on investments

(.42)

.23

.20

(.72)

.20

Total from Investment Operations

(.08)

.59

.56

(.32)

.61

Distributions:

         

Dividends from investment income--net

(.34)

(.36)

(.36)

(.40)

(.41)

Dividends from net realized gain on investments

-

-

-

(.00)b

(.03)

Total Distributions

(.34)

(.36)

(.36)

(.40)

(.44)

Net asset value, end of period

11.68

12.10

11.87

11.67

12.39

Total Return (%)

(.74)

5.05

4.85

(2.50)

5.04

Ratios/Supplemental Data (%):

         

Ratio of total expenses to average net assets

.71

.71

.70

.69

.69

Ratio of net expenses to average net assets

.71

.71

.70

.69

.69

Ratio of net investment income to average net assets

2.88

3.03

3.04

3.43

3.32

Portfolio Turnover Rate

9.93

9.75

8.44

9.50

19.13

Net Assets, end of period ($ x 1,000)

86,696

94,240

99,626

100,654

116,617

aBased on average shares outstanding.

bAmount represents less than $.01 per share.

35

 

Financial Highlights

Dreyfus Massachusetts Fund

These financial highlights describe the performance of the fund's shares for the fiscal periods indicated. "Total return" shows how much your investment in the fund would have increased (or decreased) during each period, assuming you had reinvested all dividends and distributions. These financial highlights have been derived from the fund's financial statements, which have been audited by Ernst & Young LLP, an independent registered public accounting firm, whose report, along with the fund's financial statements, is included in the annual report, which is available upon request.

           
 

Year Ended April 30,

Class A Shares

2017

2016

2015

2014

2013

Per Share Data ($):

         

Net asset value, beginning of period

11.94

11.69

11.49

12.11

11.94

Investment Operations:

         

Investment income--neta

.29

.31

.31

.35

.36

Net realized and unrealized gain (loss) on investments

(.46)

.25

.20

(.60)

.17

Total from Investment Operations

(.17)

.56

.51

(.25)

.53

Distributions:

         

Dividends from investment income--net

(.29)

(.31)

(.31)

(.35)

(.36)

Dividends from net realized gain on investments

(.00)b

-

-

(.02)

(.00)b

Total Distributions

(.29)

(.31)

(.31)

(.37)

(.36)

Net asset value, end of period

11.48

11.94

11.69

11.49

12.11

Total Return (%)c

(1.40)

4.84

4.50

(1.96)

4.51

Ratios/Supplemental Data (%):

         

Ratio of total expenses to average net assets

.96

.95

.95

.93

.93

Ratio of net expenses to average net assets

.96

.95

.95

.93

.93

Ratio of net investment income to average net assets

2.48

2.64

2.69

3.07

2.97

Portfolio Turnover Rate

11.70

12.60

8.90

9.72

14.28

Net Assets, end of period ($ x 1,000)

26,487

34,121

35,090

34,082

41,675

aBased on average shares outstanding.

bAmount represents less than $.01 per share.
cExclusive of sales charge.

           
 

Year Ended April 30,

Class C Shares

2017

2016

2015

2014

2013

Per Share Data ($):

         

Net asset value, beginning of period

11.95

11.70

11.50

12.12

11.95

Investment Operations:

         

Investment income--neta

.20

.22

.24

.26

.27

Net realized and unrealized gain (loss) on investments

(.46)

.24

.18

(.60)

.17

Total from Investment Operations

(.26)

.46

.42

(.34)

.44

Distributions:

         

Dividends from investment income--net

(.20)

(.21)

(.22)

(.26)

(.27)

Dividends from net realized gain on investments

(.00)b

-

-

(.02)

(.00)b

Total Distributions

(.20)

(.21)

(.22)

(.28)

(.27)

Net asset value, end of period

11.49

11.95

11.70

11.50

12.12

Total Return (%)c

(2.27)

4.01

3.70

(2.71)

3.72

Ratios/Supplemental Data (%):

         

Ratio of total expenses to average net assets

1.76

1.75

1.71

1.70

1.69

Ratio of net expenses to average net assets

1.76

1.75

1.71

1.70

1.69

Ratio of net investment income to average net assets

1.69

1.84

2.00

2.31

2.21

Portfolio Turnover Rate

11.70

12.60

8.90

9.72

14.28

Net Assets, end of period ($ x 1,000)

1,472

1,478

1,752

3,134

4,390

aBased on average shares outstanding.

bAmount represents less than $.01 per share.
cExclusive of sales charge.

36

 

Financial Highlights (cont'd)
           
 

Year Ended April 30,

Class Z Shares

2017

2016

2015

2014

2013

Per Share Data ($):

         

Net asset value, beginning of period

11.94

11.69

11.49

12.11

11.94

Investment Operations:

         

Investment income--neta

.32

.33

.34

.37

.38

Net realized and unrealized gain (loss) on investments

(.46)

.25

.20

(.60)

.17

Total from Investment Operations

(.14)

.58

.54

(.23)

.55

Distributions:

         

Dividends from investment income--net

(.32)

(.33)

(.34)

(.37)

(.38)

Dividends from net realized gain on investments

(.00)b

-

-

(.02)

(.00)b

Total Distributions

(.32)

(.33)

(.34)

(.39)

(.38)

Net asset value, end of period

11.48

11.94

11.69

11.49

12.11

Total Return (%)

(1.26)

5.07

4.74

(1.76)

4.73

Ratios/Supplemental Data (%):

         

Ratio of total expenses to average net assets

.73

.73

.72

.73

.72

Ratio of net expenses to average net assets

.72

.73

.72

.73

.72

Ratio of net investment income to average net assets

2.72

2.85

2.92

3.28

3.18

Portfolio Turnover Rate

11.70

12.60

8.90

9.72

14.28

Net Assets, end of period ($ x 1,000)

125,381

143,453

144,065

147,836

171,146

aBased on average shares outstanding.
bAmount represents less than $.01 per share.

37

 

Financial Highlights

Dreyfus Pennsylvania Fund

These financial highlights describe the performance of the fund's shares for the fiscal periods indicated. "Total return" shows how much your investment in the fund would have increased (or decreased) during each period, assuming you had reinvested all dividends and distributions. These financial highlights have been derived from the fund's financial statements, which have been audited by Ernst & Young LLP, an independent registered public accounting firm, whose report, along with the fund's financial statements, is included in the annual report, which is available upon request.

           
 

Year Ended April 30,

Class A Shares

2017

2016

2015

2014

2013

Per Share Data ($):

         

Net asset value, beginning of period

16.74

16.34

16.01

16.88

16.60

Investment Operations:

         

Investment income--neta

.47

.51

.51

.56

.57

Net realized and unrealized gain (loss) on investments

(.50)

.40

.32

(.85)

.34

Total from Investment Operations

(.03)

.91

.83

(.29)

.91

Distributions:

         

Dividends from investment income--net

(.46)

(.51)

(.50)

(.56)

(.57)

Dividends from net realized gain on investments

(.10)

-

-

(.02)

(.06)

Total Distributions

(.56)

(.51)

(.50)

(.58)

(.63)

Net asset value, end of period

16.15

16.74

16.34

16.01

16.88

Total Return (%)b

(.16)

5.66

5.26

(1.64)

5.53

Ratios/Supplemental Data (%):

         

Ratio of total expenses to average net assets

.96

.95

.96

.93

.94

Ratio of net expenses to average net assets

.96

.95

.96

.93

.94

Ratio of net investment income to average net assets

2.82

3.13

3.11

3.51

3.40

Portfolio Turnover Rate

20.97

12.49

29.84

9.57

15.27

Net Assets, end of period ($ x 1,000)

100,228

107,889

108,258

109,883

133,727

aBased on average shares outstanding.

bExclusive of sales charge.

           
 

Year Ended April 30,

Class C Shares

2017

2016

2015

2014

2013

Per Share Data ($):

         

Net asset value, beginning of period

16.75

16.34

16.02

16.89

16.61

Investment Operations:

         

Investment income--neta

.34

.39

.39

.43

.44

Net realized and unrealized gain (loss) on investments

(.51)

.40

.31

(.85)

.34

Total from Investment Operations

(.17)

.79

.70

(.42)

.78

Distributions:

         

Dividends from investment income--net

(.33)

(.38)

(.38)

(.43)

(.44)

Dividends from net realized gain on investments

(.10)

-

-

(.02)

(.06)

Total Distributions

(.43)

(.38)

(.38)

(.45)

(.50)

Net asset value, end of period

16.15

16.75

16.34

16.02

16.89

Total Return (%)b

(.98)

4.93

4.41

(2.40)

4.73

Ratios/Supplemental Data (%):

         

Ratio of total expenses to average net assets

1.73

1.72

1.71

1.71

1.70

Ratio of net expenses to average net assets

1.73

1.72

1.71

1.71

1.70

Ratio of net investment income to average net assets

2.05

2.36

2.36

2.73

2.64

Portfolio Turnover Rate

20.97

12.49

29.84

9.57

15.27

Net Assets, end of period ($ x 1,000)

4,445

4,913

4,660

4,414

5,393

aBased on average shares outstanding.

bExclusive of sales charge.

38

 

Financial Highlights (cont'd)
           
 

Year Ended April 30,

Class Z Shares

2017

2016

2015

2014

2013

Per Share Data ($):

         

Net asset value, beginning of period

16.74

16.33

16.01

16.88

16.60

Investment Operations:

         

Investment income--neta

.50

.55

.54

.59

.61

Net realized and unrealized gain (loss) on investments

(.49)

.40

.32

(.85)

.34

Total from Investment Operations

.01

.95

.86

(.26)

.95

Distributions:

         

Dividends from investment income--net

(.50)

(.54)

(.54)

(.59)

(.61)

Dividends from net realized gain on investments

(.10)

-

-

(.02)

(.06)

Total Distributions

(.60)

(.54)

(.54)

(.61)

(.67)

Net asset value, end of period

16.15

16.74

16.33

16.01

16.88

Total Return (%)

.01

5.95

5.43

(1.43)

5.75

Ratios/Supplemental Data (%):

         

Ratio of total expenses to average net assets

.73

.74

.73

.72

.73

Ratio of net expenses to average net assets

.73

.74

.73

.72

.73

Ratio of net investment income to average net assets

3.05

3.34

3.34

3.71

3.61

Portfolio Turnover Rate

20.97

12.49

29.84

9.57

15.27

Net Assets, end of period ($ x 1,000)

49,560

51,559

51,116

53,133

58,978

aBased on average shares outstanding.

39

 

NOTES

40

 

NOTES

41

 

For More Information

Dreyfus State Municipal Bond Funds

More information on this fund is available free upon request, including the following:

Annual/Semiannual Report

The fund's annual and semiannual reports describe the fund's performance, list portfolio holdings and contain a letter from the fund's manager discussing recent market conditions, economic trends and fund strategies that significantly affected the fund's performance during the period covered by the report. The fund's most recent annual and semiannual reports are available at www.dreyfus.com.

Statement of Additional Information (SAI)

The SAI provides more details about the fund and its policies. A current SAI is available at www.dreyfus.com and is on file with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The SAI is incorporated by reference (and is legally considered part of this prospectus).

Portfolio Holdings

Dreyfus funds generally disclose, at www.dreyfus.com under Products, (1) complete portfolio holdings as of each month-end with a one month lag and as of each calendar quarter end with a 15-day lag; (2) top 10 holdings as of each month-end with a 10-day lag; and (3) from time to time, certain security-specific performance attribution data as of a month-end, with a 10-day lag. From time to time a fund may make available certain portfolio characteristics, such as allocations, performance- and risk-related statistics, portfolio-level statistics and non-security specific attribution analyses, on request. Dreyfus money market funds generally disclose, also at www.dreyfus.com under Products, their complete schedule of holdings daily. A fund's portfolio holdings and any security-specific performance attribution data will remain on the website at least until the fund files its Form N-Q or Form N-CSR for the period that includes the dates of the posted holdings.

A complete description of the fund's policies and procedures with respect to the disclosure of the fund's portfolio securities is available in the fund's SAI and at www.dreyfus.com.

To Obtain Information

By telephone. Call 1-800-DREYFUS (inside the U.S. only)

By mail.
The Dreyfus Family of Funds
144 Glenn Curtiss Boulevard
Uniondale, NY 11556-0144

By E-mail. Send your request to info@dreyfus.com

On the Internet. Certain fund documents can be viewed online or downloaded from:

SEC: http://www.sec.gov

Dreyfus: http://www.dreyfus.com

You can also obtain copies, after paying a duplicating fee, by visiting the SEC's Public Reference Room in Washington, DC (for information, call 1-202-551-8090) or by E-mail request to publicinfo@sec.gov, or by writing to the SEC's Public Reference Section, Washington, DC 20549-1520.

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.

SEC file number: 811-04906

   

© 2017 MBSC Securities Corporation
PSTMB-P0917

 


Dreyfus State Municipal Bond Funds

       

 

Prospectus
September 1, 2017

 
   
 

Class T

Dreyfus Connecticut Fund

DCTTX

Dreyfus Massachusetts Fund

DMATX

Dreyfus Pennsylvania Fund

DPATX

   

As with all mutual funds, the Securities and Exchange Commission has not approved or disapproved
these securities or passed upon the adequacy of this prospectus. Any representation to the contrary is
a criminal offense.

 

Contents

Fund Summary
Fund Details
Shareholder Guide
For More Information

See back cover.

 

Fund Summary

Dreyfus State Municipal Bond Funds
Dreyfus Connecticut Fund

Investment Objective

The fund seeks to maximize current income exempt from federal income tax and from Connecticut state income tax, without undue risk.

Fees and Expenses

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 invest at least $250,000 in the fund. More information about sales charges, including such discounts, is available from your financial professional and in the Shareholder Guide section beginning on page 18 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)

 

Class T

     

Maximum sales charge (load) imposed on purchases
(as a percentage of offering price)

2.50

     

Maximum deferred sales charge (load)
(as a percentage of lower of purchase or sale price)

none

     

Annual Fund Operating Expenses (expenses that you pay each year as a percentage of the value of your investment)

 

Class T

     

Management fees

.55

     

Distribution/service (12b-1) fees

.25

     

Other expenses

.13

     

Total annual fund operating expenses

.93

     

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 hold or 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 T

$343

$539

$752

$1,364

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 9.93% of the average value of its portfolio.

1

 

Principal Investment Strategy

To pursue its goal, the fund normally invests at least 80% of its net assets, plus any borrowings for investment purposes, in municipal bonds that provide income exempt from federal and Connecticut state income taxes. Municipal bonds are debt securities or other obligations issued by states, territories and possessions of the United States and the District of Columbia and their political subdivisions, agencies and instrumentalities, or multistate agencies and authorities, and certain other specified securities.

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. A bond’s maturity is the length of time until the principal must be fully repaid with interest. 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. To select municipal bonds for the fund, the portfolio managers use fundamental credit analysis to estimate the relative value and attractiveness of various sectors and securities and actively trade among various sectors based on their apparent relative values.

Although the fund seeks to provide income exempt from federal and Connecticut state income taxes, income from some of the fund's holdings may be subject to the federal alternative minimum tax.

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.

Principal Risks

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. 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 rate 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 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 currently are at or near historic lows. Unlike investment grade bonds, however, the prices of high yield ("junk") 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 when due, or a decline or perception of a decline in the credit quality of the security, can cause the security's price to fall. 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.

2

 

· 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. Liquidity risk also may refer to the risk that the fund will not be able to pay redemption proceeds within the allowable time period stated in this prospectus because of unusual market conditions, an unusually high volume of redemption requests, or other reasons. To meet redemption requests, the fund may be forced to sell securities at an unfavorable time and/or under unfavorable conditions, which may adversely affect the fund's share price.

· State-specific risk. The fund is subject to the risk that Connecticut's economy, and the revenues underlying its municipal obligations, may decline. Investing primarily in the municipal obligations of a single state makes the fund more sensitive to risks specific to that state and may entail more risk than investing in the municipal obligations of multiple states as a result of potentially less diversification.

· 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 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.

Performance

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 T shares from year to year. Sales charges are not reflected in the bar chart, and, if those charges were included, returns would have been less than those shown. The table compares the average annual total returns of the fund's Class T 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. More recent performance information may be available at www.dreyfus.com.

The historical performance of the fund's Class A shares, which are not offered in this prospectus, is used to calculate the performance of the fund's Class T shares shown in the bar chart and table. Since the fund's Class T shares are new, past performance information is not available for Class T shares as of the date of this prospectus. Each share class is invested in the same portfolio of securities, and the annual returns would have differed only to the extent that the classes do not have the same charges and expenses. The performance figures in the table have been adjusted to reflect the sales load applicable to the fund's Class T shares. The performance figures have not been adjusted to reflect applicable class fees and expenses.

   

Year-by-Year Total Returns as of 12/31 each year (%)

Class T*

Best Quarter
Q3, 2009: 6.83%

Worst Quarter
Q4, 2010: -4.43%

The year-to-date total return of the fund's Class T shares as of June 30, 2017 was 3.02%.

* Reflects the performance of the fund's Class A shares, which are offered in a separate prospectus. Such performance figures have not been adjusted to reflect applicable class fees and expenses.
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 U.S. tax-

3

 

deferred arrangements such as 401(k) plans or individual retirement accounts. Returns after taxes on distributions and sale of fund shares may be higher than returns before taxes or returns after taxes on distributions due to an assumed tax benefit from losses on a sale of the fund's shares at the end of the period.

       

Average Annual Total Returns (as of 12/31/16)

 

1 Year

5 Years

10 Years

Class T* returns before taxes

-3.08%

1.78%

3.02%

Class T* returns after taxes on distributions

-3.08%

1.77%

3.01%

Class T* returns after taxes on distributions and sale of fund shares

-0.60%

2.06%

3.12%

Bloomberg Barclays U.S. Municipal Bond Index
reflects no deductions for fees, expenses or taxes

0.25%

3.28%

4.25%

* Reflects the performance of the fund's Class A shares, which are offered in a separate prospectus, adjusted to reflect applicable sales charges. Such performance figures have not been adjusted to reflect applicable class fees and expenses.

Portfolio Management

The fund's investment adviser is The Dreyfus Corporation (Dreyfus).

Daniel Barton and Jeffrey Burger are the fund's primary portfolio managers, positions they have held since May 2010 and February 2012, respectively. Mr. Barton is a portfolio manager and senior analyst for tax-sensitive strategies at Standish Mellon Asset Management Company LLC (Standish), an affiliate of Dreyfus. Mr. Burger is a portfolio manager for tax-sensitive strategies at Standish. Messrs. Barton and Burger also are employees of Dreyfus.

Purchase and Sale of Fund Shares

Class T shares are available only to investors who are investing through a third party financial intermediary, such as a bank or broker-dealer. Not all financial intermediaries make Class T shares available to their clients.

In general, the fund's minimum initial investment for Class T shares is $1,000 and the minimum subsequent investment is $100. You may sell (redeem) your shares on any business day by contacting your financial intermediary.

Certain financial intermediaries through whom you may invest in Class T shares may impose their own investment minimums, fees, policies and procedures for purchasing and selling fund shares, which are not described in this prospectus or the statement of additional information, and which will depend on the policies, procedures and trading platforms of the financial intermediary. Consult a representative of your financial intermediary about the availability of Class T shares of the fund and the intermediary's policies, procedures and other information.

Tax Information

The fund anticipates that dividends paid by the fund generally will be exempt from federal and Connecticut state income taxes. However, the fund may realize and distribute taxable income and capital gains from time to time as a result of the fund's normal investment activities.

Payments to Broker-Dealers and Other Financial Intermediaries

The fund and its related companies may pay your broker-dealer or other financial intermediary (such as a bank) for the sale of fund shares and related services. To the extent that the intermediary may receive lesser or no payments in connection with the sale of other investments, the payments from the fund and its related companies may create a potential conflict of interest by influencing the broker-dealer or other intermediary and your financial representative to recommend the fund over the other investments. This potential conflict of interest may be addressed by policies, procedures or practices adopted by the financial intermediary. As there may be many different policies, procedures or practices adopted by different intermediaries to address the manner in which compensation is earned through the sale of investments or the provision of related services, the compensation rates and other payment arrangements that may apply to a financial intermediary and its representatives may vary by intermediary. Ask your financial representative or visit your financial intermediary's website for more information.

4

 

Fund Summary

Dreyfus State Municipal Bond Funds
Dreyfus Massachusetts Fund

Investment Objective

The fund seeks to maximize current income exempt from federal income tax and from Massachusetts state income tax, without undue risk.

Fees and Expenses

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 invest at least $250,000 in the fund. More information about sales charges, including such discounts, is available from your financial professional and in the Shareholder Guide section beginning on page 18 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)

 

Class T

     

Maximum sales charge (load) imposed on purchases
(as a percentage of offering price)

2.50

     

Maximum deferred sales charge (load)
(as a percentage of lower of purchase or sale price)

none

     

Annual Fund Operating Expenses (expenses that you pay each year as a percentage of the value of your investment)

 

Class T

     

Management fees

.55

     

Distribution/service (12b-1) fees

.25

     

Other expenses

.16

     

Total annual fund operating expenses

.96

     

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 hold or 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 T

$345

$548

$768

$1,399

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 11.70% of the average value of its portfolio.

5

 

Principal Investment Strategy

To pursue its goal, the fund normally invests at least 80% of its net assets, plus any borrowings for investment purposes, 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 and the District of Columbia and their political subdivisions, agencies and instrumentalities, or multistate agencies and authorities, and certain other specified securities.

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. A bond’s maturity is the length of time until the principal must be fully repaid with interest. 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. To select municipal bonds for the fund, the portfolio managers use fundamental credit analysis to estimate the relative value and attractiveness of various sectors and securities and actively trade 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.

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.

Principal Risks

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. 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 rate 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 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 currently are at or near historic lows. Unlike investment grade bonds, however, the prices of high yield ("junk") 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 when due, or a decline or perception of a decline in the credit quality of the security, can cause the security's price to fall. 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.

6

 

· 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. Liquidity risk also may refer to the risk that the fund will not be able to pay redemption proceeds within the allowable time period stated in this prospectus because of unusual market conditions, an unusually high volume of redemption requests, or other reasons. To meet redemption requests, the fund may be forced to sell securities at an unfavorable time and/or under unfavorable conditions, which may adversely affect the fund's share price.

· State-specific risk. The fund is subject to the risk that Massachusetts' economy, and the revenues underlying its municipal obligations, may decline. Investing primarily in the municipal obligations of a single state makes the fund more sensitive to risks specific to that state and may entail more risk than investing in the municipal obligations of multiple states as a result of potentially less diversification.

· 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 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.

Performance

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 T shares from year to year. Sales charges are not reflected in the bar chart, and, if those charges were included, returns would have been less than those shown. The table compares the average annual total returns of the fund's Class T 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. More recent performance information may be available at www.dreyfus.com.

The historical performance of the fund's Class A shares, which are not offered in this prospectus, is used to calculate the performance of the fund's Class T shares shown in the bar chart and table. Since the fund's Class T shares are new, past performance information is not available for Class T shares as of the date of this prospectus. Each share class is invested in the same portfolio of securities, and the annual returns would have differed only to the extent that the classes do not have the same charges and expenses. The performance figures in the table have been adjusted to reflect the sales load applicable to the fund's Class T shares. The performance figures have not been adjusted to reflect applicable class fees and expenses.

   

Year-by-Year Total Returns as of 12/31 each year (%)

Class T*

Best Quarter
Q3, 2009: 7.31%

Worst Quarter
Q4, 2010: -4.94%

The year-to-date total return of the fund's Class T shares as of June 30, 2017 was 3.26%.

* Reflects the performance of the fund's Class A shares, which are offered in a separate prospectus. Such performance figures have not been adjusted to reflect applicable class fees and expenses.
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 U.S. tax-

7

 

deferred arrangements such as 401(k) plans or individual retirement accounts. Returns after taxes on distributions and sale of fund shares may be higher than returns before taxes or returns after taxes on distributions due to an assumed tax benefit from losses on a sale of the fund's shares at the end of the period.

       

Average Annual Total Returns (as of 12/31/16)

 

1 Year

5 Years

10 Years

Class T* returns before taxes

-3.58%

1.82%

3.05%

Class T* returns after taxes on distributions

-3.59%

1.81%

3.02%

Class T* returns after taxes on distributions and sale of fund shares

-0.96%

2.06%

3.13%

Bloomberg Barclays U.S. Municipal Bond Index
reflects no deductions for fees, expenses or taxes

0.25%

3.28%

4.25%

* Reflects the performance of the fund's Class A shares, which are offered in a separate prospectus, adjusted to reflect applicable sales charges. Such performance figures have not been adjusted to reflect applicable class fees and expenses.

Portfolio Management

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), an affiliate of Dreyfus. Mr. Rabasco is the Chief Investment Officer for tax-sensitive fixed-income at Standish. Messrs. Casey and Rabasco also are employees of Dreyfus.

Purchase and Sale of Fund Shares

Class T shares are available only to investors who are investing through a third party financial intermediary, such as a bank or broker-dealer. Not all financial intermediaries make Class T shares available to their clients.

In general, the fund's minimum initial investment for Class T shares is $1,000 and the minimum subsequent investment is $100. You may sell (redeem) your shares on any business day by contacting your financial intermediary.

Certain financial intermediaries through whom you may invest in Class T shares may impose their own investment minimums, fees, policies and procedures for purchasing and selling fund shares, which are not described in this prospectus or the statement of additional information, and which will depend on the policies, procedures and trading platforms of the financial intermediary. Consult a representative of your financial intermediary about the availability of Class T shares of the fund and the intermediary's policies, procedures and other information.

Tax Information

The fund anticipates that dividends paid by the fund generally will be exempt from federal and Massachusetts state income taxes. However, the fund may realize and distribute taxable income and capital gains from time to time as a result of the fund's normal investment activities.

Payments to Broker-Dealers and Other Financial Intermediaries

The fund and its related companies may pay your broker-dealer or other financial intermediary (such as a bank) for the sale of fund shares and related services. To the extent that the intermediary may receive lesser or no payments in connection with the sale of other investments, the payments from the fund and its related companies may create a potential conflict of interest by influencing the broker-dealer or other intermediary and your financial representative to recommend the fund over the other investments. This potential conflict of interest may be addressed by policies, procedures or practices adopted by the financial intermediary. As there may be many different policies, procedures or practices adopted by different intermediaries to address the manner in which compensation is earned through the sale of investments or the provision of related services, the compensation rates and other payment arrangements that may apply to a financial intermediary and its representatives may vary by intermediary. Ask your financial representative or visit your financial intermediary's website for more information.

8

 

Fund Summary

Dreyfus State Municipal Bond Funds
Dreyfus Pennsylvania Fund

Investment Objective

The fund seeks to maximize current income exempt from federal income tax and from Pennsylvania state income tax, without undue risk.

Fees and Expenses

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 invest at least $250,000 in the fund. More information about sales charges, including such discounts, is available from your financial professional and in the Shareholder Guide section beginning on page 18 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)

 

Class T

     

Maximum sales charge (load) imposed on purchases
(as a percentage of offering price)

2.50

     

Maximum deferred sales charge (load)
(as a percentage of lower of purchase or sale price)

none

     

Annual Fund Operating Expenses (expenses that you pay each year as a percentage of the value of your investment)

 

Class T

     

Management fees

.55

     

Distribution/service (12b-1) fees

.25

     

Other expenses

.16

     

Total annual fund operating expenses

.96

     

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 hold or 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 T

$345

$548

$768

$1,399

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 20.97% of the average value of its portfolio.

9

 

Principal Investment Strategy

To pursue its goal, the fund normally invests at least 80% of its net assets, plus any borrowings for investment purposes, in municipal bonds that provide income exempt from federal and Pennsylvania state income taxes. Municipal bonds are debt securities or other obligations issued by states, territories and possessions of the United States and the District of Columbia and their political subdivisions, agencies and instrumentalities, or multistate agencies and authorities, and certain other specified securities.

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. A bond’s maturity is the length of time until the principal must be fully repaid with interest. 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. To select municipal bonds for the fund, the portfolio managers use fundamental credit analysis to estimate the relative value and attractiveness of various sectors and securities and actively trade among various sectors based on their apparent relative values.

Although the fund seeks to provide income exempt from federal and Pennsylvania state income taxes, income from some of the fund's holdings may be subject to the federal alternative minimum tax.

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.

Principal Risks

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. 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 rate 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 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 currently are at or near historic lows. Unlike investment grade bonds, however, the prices of high yield ("junk") 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 when due, or a decline or perception of a decline in the credit quality of the security, can cause the security's price to fall. 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.

10

 

· 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. Liquidity risk also may refer to the risk that the fund will not be able to pay redemption proceeds within the allowable time period stated in this prospectus because of unusual market conditions, an unusually high volume of redemption requests, or other reasons. To meet redemption requests, the fund may be forced to sell securities at an unfavorable time and/or under unfavorable conditions, which may adversely affect the fund's share price.

· State-specific risk. The fund is subject to the risk that Pennsylvania's economy, and the revenues underlying its municipal obligations, may decline. Investing primarily in the municipal obligations of a single state makes the fund more sensitive to risks specific to that state and may entail more risk than investing in the municipal obligations of multiple states as a result of potentially less diversification.

· 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 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.

Performance

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 T shares from year to year. Sales charges are not reflected in the bar chart, and, if those charges were included, returns would have been less than those shown. The table compares the average annual total returns of the fund's Class T 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. More recent performance information may be available at www.dreyfus.com.

The historical performance of the fund's Class A shares, which are not offered in this prospectus, is used to calculate the performance of the fund's Class T shares shown in the bar chart and table. Since the fund's Class T shares are new, past performance information is not available for Class T shares as of the date of this prospectus. Each share class is invested in the same portfolio of securities, and the annual returns would have differed only to the extent that the classes do not have the same charges and expenses. The performance figures in the table have been adjusted to reflect the sales load applicable to the fund's Class T shares. The performance figures have not been adjusted to reflect applicable class fees and expenses.

   

Year-by-Year Total Returns as of 12/31 each year (%)

Class T*

Best Quarter
Q3, 2009: 6.98%

Worst Quarter
Q4, 2010: -4.52%

The year-to-date total return of the fund's Class T shares as of June 30, 2017 was 3.25%.

* Reflects the performance of the fund's Class A shares, which are offered in a separate prospectus. Such performance figures have not been adjusted to reflect applicable class fees and expenses.
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 U.S. tax-

11

 

deferred arrangements such as 401(k) plans or individual retirement accounts. Returns after taxes on distributions and sale of fund shares may be higher than returns before taxes or returns after taxes on distributions due to an assumed tax benefit from losses on a sale of the fund's shares at the end of the period.

       

Average Annual Total Returns (as of 12/31/16)

 

1 Year

5 Years


10 Years

Class T* returns before taxes

-1.86%

2.68%

3.46%

Class T* returns after taxes on distributions

-2.01%

2.64%

3.43%

Class T* returns after taxes on distributions and sale of fund shares

0.32%

2.83%

3.50%

Bloomberg Barclays U.S. Municipal Bond Index
reflects no deductions for fees, expenses or taxes

0.25%

3.28%

4.25%

* Reflects the performance of the fund's Class A shares, which are offered in a separate prospectus, adjusted to reflect applicable sales charges. Such performance figures have not been adjusted to reflect applicable class fees and expenses.

Portfolio Management

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 October 2014 and February 2012, respectively. Mr. Casey is a senior portfolio manager for tax-sensitive strategies at Standish Mellon Asset Management Company LLC (Standish), an affiliate of Dreyfus. Mr. Rabasco is the Chief Investment Officer for tax-sensitive fixed-income at Standish. Messrs. Casey and Rabasco also are employees of Dreyfus.

Purchase and Sale of Fund Shares

Class T shares are available only to investors who are investing through a third party financial intermediary, such as a bank or broker-dealer. Not all financial intermediaries make Class T shares available to their clients.

In general, the fund's minimum initial investment for Class T shares is $1,000 and the minimum subsequent investment is $100. You may sell (redeem) your shares on any business day by contacting your financial intermediary.

Certain financial intermediaries through whom you may invest in Class T shares may impose their own investment minimums, fees, policies and procedures for purchasing and selling fund shares, which are not described in this prospectus or the statement of additional information, and which will depend on the policies, procedures and trading platforms of the financial intermediary. Consult a representative of your financial intermediary about the availability of Class T shares of the fund and the intermediary's policies, procedures and other information.

Tax Information

The fund anticipates that dividends paid by the fund generally will be exempt from federal and Pennsylvania state income taxes. However, the fund may realize and distribute taxable income and capital gains from time to time as a result of the fund's normal investment activities.

Payments to Broker-Dealers and Other Financial Intermediaries

The fund and its related companies may pay your broker-dealer or other financial intermediary (such as a bank) for the sale of fund shares and related services. To the extent that the intermediary may receive lesser or no payments in connection with the sale of other investments, the payments from the fund and its related companies may create a potential conflict of interest by influencing the broker-dealer or other intermediary and your financial representative to recommend the fund over the other investments. This potential conflict of interest may be addressed by policies, procedures or practices adopted by the financial intermediary. As there may be many different policies, procedures or practices adopted by different intermediaries to address the manner in which compensation is earned through the sale of investments or the provision of related services, the compensation rates and other payment arrangements that may apply to a financial intermediary and its representatives may vary by intermediary. Ask your financial representative or visit your financial intermediary's website for more information.

12

 

Fund Details

Goal and Approach

Each fund seeks to maximize current income exempt from federal income tax and from the income tax of the state after which it is named, without undue risk. To pursue its goal, each fund normally invests at least 80% of its net assets, plus any borrowings for investment purposes, in municipal bonds that provide income exempt from federal income tax and from the income tax of the state after which it is named. Municipal bonds are debt securities or other obligations issued by states, territories and possessions of the United States and the District of Columbia and their political subdivisions, agencies and instrumentalities, or multistate agencies and authorities, and certain other specified securities.

Each 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 Dreyfus. For additional yield, each 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 Dreyfus. The dollar-weighted average maturity of each fund's portfolio normally exceeds ten years but the fund may invest without regard to maturity. A bond’s maturity is the length of time until the principal must be fully repaid with interest. 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 minimize the use of interest rate forecasting. The portfolio managers select municipal bonds for the fund's portfolio by:

· 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

· Actively trading among various sectors, such as pre-refunded, general obligation and revenue, based on their apparent relative values. The fund seeks to invest in several of these sectors.

A rigorous sell discipline is employed to continuously evaluate all fund holdings. Current holdings may become sell candidates if creditworthiness is deteriorating, if bonds with better risk and return characteristics become available, or if the holding no longer meets the portfolio managers' strategic or structural objectives.

Although each fund seeks to provide income exempt from federal and applicable state income taxes, income from some of the fund's holdings may be subject to the federal alternative minimum tax. Each fund also may invest temporarily in taxable bonds including when the portfolio managers believe acceptable municipal bonds of the state after which the fund is named are not available for investment. During such periods, the funds may not achieve their respective investment objectives. In addition, a portion of each fund’s assets may be invested in municipal bonds that do not pay income that is exempt from the income tax of the state after which it is named.

Although not a principal investment strategy, each fund may, but is not required to, use derivatives, such as options, futures and options on futures (including those relating to securities, indexes and interest rates), as a substitute for investing directly in an underlying asset, to increase returns, to manage credit or interest rate risk or as part of a hedging strategy. Derivatives may be entered into on established exchanges or through privately negotiated transactions referred to as over-the-counter derivatives. A derivatives contract will obligate or entitle the fund to deliver or receive an asset or cash payment based on the change in value of the underlying asset. When the fund enters into derivatives transactions, it may be required to segregate liquid assets or enter into offsetting positions or otherwise cover its obligations in accordance with applicable regulations, while the positions are open. Each 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. Inverse floaters are derivatives created by depositing municipal bonds in a trust which divides the bond's income stream into two parts: a short-term variable rate demand note and a residual interest bond (the inverse floater) which receives interest based on the remaining cash flow of the trust after payment of interest on the note and various trust expenses. Interest on the inverse floater usually moves in the opposite direction as the interest on the variable rate demand note. Each fund also may make forward commitments in which the fund agrees to buy or sell a security in the future at a price agreed upon today.

Each fund is non-diversified.

13

 

Investment Risks

An investment in the fund is not a bank deposit. It is not insured or guaranteed by the FDIC or any other government agency. It is not a complete investment program. The value of your investment in the fund will fluctuate, 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 currently are at or near historic lows in the United States. During periods of reduced market liquidity, the fund may not be able to readily sell municipal securities at prices at or near their perceived value. If the fund needed to sell large blocks of municipal securities to meet shareholder redemption requests or to raise cash, those sales could further reduce the prices of such securities. An unexpected increase in fund redemption requests, including requests from 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. A credit rating downgrade relating to default by, or insolvency or bankruptcy of, one or several municipal security issuers of a state, territory or possession of the United States in which the fund invests could affect the market values and marketability of many or all municipal securities of such state, territory or possession.

· Interest rate risk. Prices of bonds and other fixed rate 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 rate 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 currently are at or near historic lows. Unlike investment grade bonds, however, the prices of high yield ("junk") 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 when due, 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. Securities rated investment grade when purchased by the fund may subsequently be downgraded.

· 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. Other market developments can adversely affect fixed-income securities markets. Regulations and business practices, for example, have led some financial intermediaries to curtail their capacity to engage in trading (i.e., "market making") activities for certain fixed-income securities, which could have the potential to decrease liquidity and increase volatility in the fixed-income securities markets. The secondary market for certain municipal bonds tends to be less well

14

 

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. 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). Liquidity risk also may refer to the risk that the fund will not be able to pay redemption proceeds within the allowable time period stated in this prospectus because of unusual market conditions, an unusually high volume of redemption requests, or other reasons. To meet redemption requests, the fund may be forced to sell securities at an unfavorable time and/or under unfavorable conditions, which may adversely affect the fund's share price.

· State-specific risk. The fund is subject to the risk that the relevant state's economy, and the revenues underlying its municipal obligations, may decline. Investing primarily in the municipal obligations of a single state makes the fund more sensitive to risks specific to that state and may entail more risk than investing in the municipal obligations of multiple states as a result of potentially less diversification.

· 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.

In addition to the principal risks described above, each fund is subject to the following additional risks that are not anticipated to be principal risks of investing in the fund:

· Municipal securities sector risk. The fund may significantly overweight or underweight certain municipal securities that finance projects in specific municipal sectors, such as utilities, hospitals, higher education or transportation, and this may cause the fund's performance to be more or less sensitive to developments affecting those sectors.

· Tax risk. To be tax-exempt, municipal obligations generally must meet certain regulatory requirements. If any such municipal obligation fails to meet these regulatory requirements, the interest received by the fund from its investment in such obligations and distributed to fund shareholders will be taxable.

· Prepayment risk. Some securities give the issuer the option to prepay or call the securities before their maturity date, which may reduce the market value of the security and the anticipated yield-to-maturity. Issuers often exercise this right when interest rates fall. If an issuer "calls" its securities during a time of declining interest rates, the fund might have to reinvest the proceeds in an investment offering a lower yield, and therefore might not benefit from any increase in value as a result of declining interest rates. During periods of market illiquidity or rising interest rates, prices of "callable" issues are subject to increased price fluctuation.

· Derivatives risk. A small investment in derivatives could have a potentially large impact on the fund's performance. The use of derivatives involves risks different from, or possibly greater than, the risks associated with investing directly in the underlying assets, and the fund's use of derivatives may result in losses to the fund. Derivatives in which the fund may invest can be highly volatile, illiquid and difficult to value, and there is the risk that changes in the value of a derivative held by the fund will not correlate with the underlying assets or the fund's other investments in the manner intended. Certain derivatives have the potential for unlimited loss, regardless of the size of the initial investment. Certain types of derivatives, including over-the-counter transactions, involve greater risks than the underlying assets because, in addition to general market risks, they are subject to liquidity risk, credit and counterparty risk (failure of the counterparty to the derivatives transaction to honor its obligation) and pricing risk (risk that the derivative cannot or will not be accurately valued). Future rules and regulations of the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) may require the fund to alter, perhaps materially, its use of derivatives.

· Leverage risk. The use of leverage, such as lending portfolio securities, entering into futures contracts, investing in inverse floaters and engaging in forward commitment transactions, may cause taxable income and may magnify the fund's gains or losses. Because many derivatives have a leverage component, adverse changes in the value or level of the underlying asset or reference rate can result in a loss substantially greater than the amount invested in the derivative itself.

Other potential risks. The fund may lend its portfolio securities to brokers, dealers and other financial institutions. In connection with such loans, the fund will receive collateral from the borrower equal to at least 100% of the value of loaned securities. If the borrower of the securities fails financially, there could be delays in recovering the loaned securities or exercising rights to the collateral.

15

 

Under adverse market conditions, the fund could invest some or all of its assets in U.S. Treasury securities and money market securities. Although the fund would do this for temporary defensive purposes, it could reduce the benefit from any upswing in the market. During such periods, the fund’s investments may not be consistent with its principal investment strategies and the fund may not achieve its investment objective.

Management

The investment adviser for the fund is The Dreyfus Corporation, 200 Park Avenue, New York, New York 10166. Founded in 1947, Dreyfus manages approximately $258 billion in 155 mutual fund portfolios. For the past fiscal year, each fund paid Dreyfus a management fee at the annual rate of .55% of the respective fund's average daily net assets. Dreyfus has contractually agreed, until August 31, 2018, to waive receipt of its fees and/or assume the direct expenses of Class T shares of each fund so that the expenses of such Class T shares do not exceed .68%, .71%, and .71%, of the Dreyfus Connecticut Fund, Dreyfus Massachusetts Fund and Dreyfus Pennsylvania Fund, respectively, (excluding Rule 12b-1 fees, taxes, interest, brokerage commissions, commitment fees on borrowings and extraordinary expenses). On or after August 31, 2018, Dreyfus may terminate these expense limitations at any time. A discussion regarding the basis for the board's approving each fund's management agreement with Dreyfus is available in each fund's semiannual report for the six-month period ended October 31, 2016. Dreyfus is the primary mutual fund business of The Bank of New York Mellon Corporation (BNY Mellon), a global financial services company focused on helping clients manage and service their financial assets, operating in 35 countries and serving more than 100 markets. BNY Mellon is a leading investment management and investment services company, uniquely focused to help clients manage and move their financial assets in the rapidly changing global marketplace. BNY Mellon has $31.1 trillion in assets under custody and administration and $1.8 trillion in assets under management. BNY Mellon is the corporate brand of The Bank of New York Mellon Corporation. BNY Mellon Investment Management is one of the world's leading investment management organizations, and one of the top U.S. wealth managers, encompassing BNY Mellon's affiliated investment management firms, wealth management services and global distribution companies. Additional information is available at www.bnymellon.com.

The Dreyfus asset management philosophy is based on the belief that discipline and consistency are important to investment success. For each fund, Dreyfus seeks to establish clear guidelines for portfolio management and to be systematic in making decisions. This approach is designed to provide each fund with a distinct, stable identity.

The Dreyfus Connecticut Fund's primary portfolio managers are Daniel Barton and Jeffrey Burger, positions they have held since May 2010 and February 2012, respectively. Messrs. Barton and Burger are jointly and primarily responsible for managing the fund's portfolio. Mr. Barton is a portfolio manager and senior analyst for tax-sensitive strategies at Standish, where he has been employed since 2005. Mr. Burger is a portfolio manager for tax-sensitive strategies at Standish, where he has been employed since July 2009. Messrs. Barton and Burger also have been employed by Dreyfus since December 2009, and manage the fund in their capacity as employees of Dreyfus.

The Dreyfus Massachusetts Fund's primary portfolio managers are Thomas Casey and Rabasco, positions they have held since May 2011 and October 2014, respectively. Messrs. Casey and Rabasco are jointly and primarily responsible for managing the fund's portfolio. Mr. Casey is a senior portfolio manager for tax-sensitive strategies at Standish, where he has been employed since 1993. Mr. Rabasco is the Chief Investment Officer for tax-sensitive fixed-income at Standish, where he has been employed since 1998. Messrs. Casey and Rabasco also have been employed by Dreyfus since April 2009 and February 2012, respectively, and manage the fund in their capacity as employees of Dreyfus.

The Dreyfus Pennsylvania Fund's primary portfolio managers are Thomas Casey and Daniel Rabasco, positions they have held since October 2014 and February 2012, respectively. Messrs. Casey and Rabasco are jointly and primarily responsible for managing the fund's portfolio. Mr. Casey is a senior portfolio manager for tax-sensitive strategies at Standish, where he has been employed since 1993. Mr. Rabasco is the Chief Investment Officer for tax-sensitive fixed-income at Standish, where he has been employed since 1998. Messrs. Casey and Rabasco also have been employed by Dreyfus since April 2009 and February 2012, respectively, and manage the fund in their capacity as employees of Dreyfus.

The fund's Statement of Additional Information (SAI) provides additional portfolio manager information, including compensation, other accounts managed and ownership of fund shares.

MBSC Securities Corporation (MBSC), a wholly-owned subsidiary of Dreyfus, serves as distributor of the fund and of the other funds in the Dreyfus Family of Funds. Any Rule 12b-1 fees and shareholder services fees, as applicable, are paid to MBSC for financing the sale and distribution of fund shares and for providing shareholder account service and maintenance, respectively. Dreyfus or MBSC may provide cash payments out of its own resources to financial intermediaries that sell shares of funds in the Dreyfus Family of Funds or provide other services. Such payments are separate from any sales charges, 12b-1 fees and/or shareholder services fees or other expenses that may be paid by a

16

 

fund to those financial intermediaries. Because those payments are not made by fund shareholders or the fund, the fund's total expense ratio will not be affected by any such payments. These payments may be made to financial intermediaries, including affiliates, that provide shareholder servicing, sub-administration, recordkeeping and/or sub-transfer agency services, marketing support and/or access to sales meetings, sales representatives and management representatives of the financial intermediary. Cash compensation also may be paid from Dreyfus' or MBSC's own resources to financial intermediaries for inclusion of a fund on a sales list, including a preferred or select sales list or in other sales programs. These payments sometimes are referred to as "revenue sharing." From time to time, Dreyfus or MBSC also may provide cash or non-cash compensation to financial intermediaries or their representatives in the form of occasional gifts; occasional meals, tickets or other entertainment; support for due diligence trips; educational conference sponsorships; support for recognition programs; technology or infrastructure support; and other forms of cash or non-cash compensation permissible under broker-dealer regulations. In some cases, these payments or compensation may create an incentive for a financial intermediary or its employees to recommend or sell shares of the fund to you. This potential conflict of interest may be addressed by policies, procedures or practices that are adopted by the financial intermediary. As there may be many different policies, procedures or practices adopted by different intermediaries to address the manner in which compensation is earned through the sale of investments or the provision of related services, the compensation rates and other payment arrangements that may apply to a financial intermediary and its representatives may vary by intermediary. Please contact your financial representative for details about any payments they or their firm may receive in connection with the sale of fund shares or the provision of services to the fund.

The fund, Dreyfus and MBSC have each adopted a code of ethics that permits its personnel, subject to such code, to invest in securities, including securities that may be purchased or held by the fund. Each code of ethics restricts the personal securities transactions of employees, and requires portfolio managers and other investment personnel to comply with the code's preclearance and disclosure procedures. The primary purpose of the respective codes is to ensure that personal trading by employees does not disadvantage any fund managed by Dreyfus or its affiliates.

17

 

Shareholder Guide

Your Investment

Class T shares are available only to investors who are investing through a third party financial intermediary, such as a bank or broker-dealer. Not all financial intermediaries make Class T shares available to their clients. The fund offers other classes of shares, which are described in a separate prospectus. Third parties making fund shares available to their clients determine which share class(es) to make available. Your financial intermediary may receive different compensation for selling one class of shares than for selling another class, and may impose its own account fees and methods for purchasing and selling fund shares, which may depend on, among other things, the type of investor account and the policies, procedures and practices adopted by your financial intermediary. You should review these arrangements with your financial intermediary. Consult a representative of your financial intermediary about the availability of Class T shares of the fund and the intermediary's policies, procedures and other information.

When you invest in Class T shares, you pay the public offering price, which is the share price, or net asset value (NAV), plus the initial sales charge that may apply to your purchase. The amount of the initial sales charge is based on the size of your investment, as the following table shows. In addition, Class T shares are subject to an annual Rule 12b-1 fee of .25% paid to the fund's distributor for distribution, advertising and marketing, and servicing and/or maintaining accounts of holders of Class T shares. Because the Rule 12b-1 fee is paid out of the fund's assets on an ongoing basis, over time it will increase the cost of your investment and may cost you more than paying other types of sales charges. Information regarding sales charges is not made available separately at www.dreyfus.com because such information is fully contained in this prospectus and in the SAI 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.

     
 

Total Sales Load -- Class T Shares

Amount of Transaction

As a % of Offering
Price per Share

As a % of Net Asset

Value per Share

Less than $250,000

2.50

2.56

$250,000 to less than $500,000

2.00

2.04

$500,000 to less than $1,000,000

1.50

1.52

$1,000,000 or more

1.00

1.01

Buying and Selling Shares

You should contact your financial intermediary to purchase or sell (redeem) fund shares, through whom you may sell (redeem) or, subject to certain restrictions, purchase shares at any time.

Dreyfus calculates fund NAVs as of the scheduled close of trading on the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) (usually 4:00 p.m. Eastern time) on days the NYSE is scheduled to be open for regular business. Your order will be priced at the next NAV calculated after your order is received in proper form by the fund's transfer agent or other authorized entity (such as your financial intermediary). Authorized entities apply their own conditions for the satisfaction of "proper form" requirements. Consult a representative of your financial intermediary. Orders to buy and sell shares received by an authorized entity (such as a bank or broker-dealer that has entered into an agreement with the fund's distributor) by the time as of which the fund calculates its NAV and transmitted to the transfer agent or its designee by the close of its business day (usually 5:15 p.m. Eastern time) will be based on the NAV determined that day.

When calculating NAVs, Dreyfus generally values fixed-income investments based on values supplied by an independent pricing service approved by the fund's board. The pricing service's procedures are reviewed under the general supervision of the board. If market quotations or official closing prices or valuations from a pricing service are not readily available, or are determined not to reflect accurately fair value, the fund may value those investments at fair value as determined in accordance with procedures approved by the fund's board. Fair value of investments may be determined by the fund's board, its pricing committee or its valuation committee in good faith using such information as it deems appropriate under the circumstances. Using fair value to price investments may result in a value that is different from a security's most recent closing price and from the prices used by other mutual funds to calculate their net asset

18

 

values. Over-the-counter derivative instruments generally will be valued based on values supplied by an independent pricing service approved by the fund's board. Futures contracts will be valued at the most recent settlement price.

Investments in certain types of thinly traded securities may provide short-term traders arbitrage opportunities with respect to the fund's shares. For example, arbitrage opportunities may exist when trading in a portfolio security or securities is halted and does not resume, or the market on which such securities are traded closes before the fund calculates its NAV. If short-term investors in the fund were able to take advantage of these arbitrage opportunities, they could dilute the NAV of fund shares held by long-term investors. Portfolio valuation policies can serve to reduce arbitrage opportunities available to short-term traders, but there is no assurance that such valuation policies will prevent dilution of the fund's NAV by short-term traders. While the fund has a policy regarding frequent trading, it too may not be completely effective to prevent short-term NAV arbitrage trading, particularly in regard to omnibus accounts. Please see "Shareholder Guide — General Policies" for further information about the fund's frequent trading policy.

In general, the fund's minimum initial investment for Class T shares is $1,000 and the minimum subsequent investment is $100. However, certain financial intermediaries through whom you may invest in Class T shares may impose their own investment minimums, and which are not described in this prospectus or the SAI, which will depend on the policies, procedures and trading platforms of the financial intermediary. Consult a representative of your financial intermediary.

If your financial intermediary requests the fund to transmit your redemption proceeds by check, the fund expects that the redemption proceeds normally will be sent within two business days after the request is received in proper form. If your financial intermediary requests the fund to transmit the redemption proceeds by wire or electronic check, and the fund has the applicable bank account information on file, the fund expects that the redemption proceeds normally will be wired within one business day or sent by electronic check within two business days, as applicable, to the bank account after the request is received in proper form. Payment of redemption proceeds may take longer than the number of days the fund typically expects and may take up to seven days after the redemption order is received in proper form by the fund's transfer agent, particularly during periods of stressed market conditions or very large redemptions or excessive trading. The timing of payment of redemption proceeds to you by your financial intermediary may depend on the financial intermediary's policies, procedures and practices.

The processing of redemptions may be suspended, and the delivery of redemption proceeds may be delayed beyond seven days, depending on the circumstances, for any period: (i) during which the NYSE is closed (other than on holidays or weekends), or during which trading on the NYSE is restricted; (ii) when an emergency exists that makes the disposal of securities owned by the fund or the determination of the fair value of the fund's net assets not reasonably practicable; or (iii) as permitted by order of the Securities and Exchange Commission for the protection of fund shareholders. For these purposes, the Securities and Exchange Commission determines the conditions under which trading shall be deemed to be restricted and an emergency shall be deemed to exist.

Under normal circumstances, the fund expects to meet redemption requests by using cash it holds in its portfolio or selling portfolio securities to generate cash. In addition, the fund, and certain other funds in the Dreyfus Family of Funds, may draw upon an unsecured credit facility for temporary or emergency purposes to meet redemption requests. The fund also reserves the right to pay redemption proceeds in securities rather than cash (i.e., "redeem in kind"), if the amount redeemed is large enough to affect fund operations (for example, if it exceeds 1% of the fund's assets) or the redemption request is during stressed market conditions. Any securities distributed in-kind will remain exposed to market risk until sold, and you may incur transaction costs and taxable gain when selling the securities.

General Policies

The fund reserves the right to reject any purchase request in whole or in part.

The fund is designed for long-term investors. Frequent purchases and redemptions may disrupt portfolio management strategies and harm fund performance by diluting the value of fund shares and increasing brokerage and administrative costs. As a result, Dreyfus and the fund's board have adopted a policy of discouraging excessive trading, short-term market timing and other abusive trading practices (frequent trading) that could adversely affect the fund or its operations. Dreyfus and the fund will not enter into arrangements with any person or group to permit frequent trading.

The fund also reserves the right to:

· refuse any purchase request, including those from any individual or group who, in Dreyfus' view, is likely to engage in frequent trading

· change its minimum investment amount

Automatic non-discretionary rebalancing programs generally are not considered to be frequent trading.

19

 

Dreyfus monitors selected transactions to identify frequent trading. When its surveillance systems identify multiple roundtrips, Dreyfus evaluates trading activity in the account for evidence of frequent trading. Dreyfus considers the investor's trading history in other accounts under common ownership or control, in other Dreyfus Funds and BNY Mellon Funds and, if known, in non-affiliated mutual funds and accounts under common control. These evaluations involve judgments that are inherently subjective, and while Dreyfus seeks to apply the policy and procedures uniformly, it is possible that similar transactions may be treated differently. In all instances, Dreyfus seeks to make these judgments to the best of its abilities in a manner that it believes is consistent with shareholder interests. If Dreyfus concludes the account is likely to engage in frequent trading, Dreyfus may cancel or revoke the purchase on the following business day. Dreyfus may also temporarily or permanently bar such investor's future purchases into the fund in lieu of, or in addition to, canceling or revoking the trade. At its discretion, Dreyfus may apply these restrictions across all accounts under common ownership, control or perceived affiliation.

Fund shares often are held through omnibus accounts maintained by financial intermediaries, such as banks and brokers, where the holdings of multiple shareholders, such as all the clients of a particular broker, are aggregated. Dreyfus' ability to monitor the trading activity of investors whose shares are held in omnibus accounts is limited. However, the agreements between the distributor and financial intermediaries include obligations to comply with the terms of this prospectus and to provide Dreyfus, upon request, with information concerning the trading activity of investors whose shares are held in omnibus accounts. If Dreyfus determines that any such investor has engaged in frequent trading of fund shares, Dreyfus may require the financial intermediary to restrict or prohibit future purchases of fund shares by that investor.

Certain intermediaries that maintain omnibus accounts with the fund may have developed policies designed to control frequent trading that may differ from the fund's policy. At its sole discretion, the fund may permit such intermediaries to apply their own frequent trading policy. Please contact your financial intermediary for information on the frequent trading policies applicable to your account.

To the extent the fund significantly invests in thinly traded securities, certain investors may seek to trade fund shares in an effort to benefit from their understanding of the value of these securities (referred to as price arbitrage). Any such frequent trading strategies may interfere with efficient management of the fund's portfolio to a greater degree than funds that invest in highly liquid securities, in part because the fund may have difficulty selling these portfolio securities at advantageous times or prices to satisfy large and/or frequent redemption requests. Any successful price arbitrage may also cause dilution in the value of fund shares held by other shareholders.

Although the fund's frequent trading and fair valuation policies and procedures are designed to discourage market timing and excessive trading, none of these tools alone, nor all of them together, completely eliminates the potential for frequent trading.

Conversion Feature

Class T shares of the fund may be converted into shares of another class of the fund, provided you meet the eligibility requirements for investing in the new share class. The fund reserves the right to refuse any conversion request. Third party financial intermediaries may impose restrictions on conversions, or may not make conversions available at all. Consult a representative of your financial intermediary for further information.

Escheatment

If your account is deemed "abandoned" or "unclaimed" under state law, your shares may be "escheated" and the assets in your account transferred to the applicable state's unclaimed property administration. The state may sell escheated shares and, if you subsequently seek to reclaim your proceeds of liquidation from the state, you may only be able to recover the amount received when the shares were sold. It is your responsibility to ensure that you maintain a correct address for your account with your financial intermediary, keep your account active, and promptly cash all checks for dividends, capital gains and redemptions. The fund, the fund's transfer agent, Dreyfus and its affiliates and your financial intermediary will not be liable to shareholders or their representatives for good faith compliance with state escheatment laws.

Distributions and Taxes

The fund earns dividends, interest and other income from its investments, and distributes this income (less expenses) to shareholders as dividends. The fund also realizes capital gains from its investments, and distributes these gains (less any losses) to shareholders as capital gain distributions. The fund normally pays dividends monthly and capital gain distributions, if any, annually. Fund dividends and capital gain distributions will be reinvested in the fund unless your financial intermediary instructs otherwise. There are no fees or sales charges imposed by the fund on reinvestments.

20

 

The fund anticipates that dividends paid by the fund generally will be exempt from federal and applicable state income taxes. However, the fund may realize and distribute taxable income and capital gains from time to time as a result of the fund's normal investment activities.

For state income tax purposes, distributions derived from interest on municipal securities of state issuers and from interest on qualifying securities issued by U.S. territories and possessions are generally exempt from tax. Distributions that are federally taxable as ordinary income or capital gains are generally subject to state personal income taxes.

The tax status of any distribution generally is the same regardless of how long you have been in the fund and whether you reinvest your distributions or take them in cash.

If you buy shares of a fund when the fund has realized but not yet distributed income or capital gains, you will be "buying a dividend" by paying the full price for the shares and then receiving a portion back in the form of a taxable distribution.

Your sale of shares may result in a capital gain or loss for tax purposes. A capital gain or loss on your investment in the fund generally is the difference between the cost of your shares and the amount you receive when you sell them.

The tax status of your distributions will be detailed in your annual tax statement. Because everyone's tax situation is unique, please consult your tax adviser before investing.

Annual year-end distribution estimates, if any, are expected to be available beginning in early October, and may be updated from time to time, at www.dreyfus.com/accounts-services/tax-center or by contacting your financial representative.

21

 

Financial Highlights

Dreyfus Connecticut Fund

As Class T shares are a new class of the fund, financial highlights information is not available for Class T shares as of the date of this prospectus. These financial highlights describe the performance of the fund's Class A shares for the fiscal periods indicated. "Total return" shows how much your investment in the fund would have increased (or decreased) during each period, assuming you had reinvested all dividends and distributions. These financial highlights have been derived from the fund's financial statements, which have been audited by Ernst & Young LLP, an independent registered public accounting firm, whose report, along with the fund's financial statements, is included in the annual report, which is available upon request.

 

             
   

Year Ended April 30,

Class A Shares


2017

2016

2015

2014

2013

 

Per Share Data ($):

           

Net asset value, beginning of period

12.10

11.88

11.67

12.39

12.23

 

Investment Operations:

           

Investment income—neta

.32

.34

.34

.37

.38

 

Net realized and unrealized gain (loss) on investments

(.42)

.21

.21

(.72)

.19

 

Total from Investment Operations

.10

.55

.55

(.35)

.57

 

Distributions:

           

Dividends from investment income—net

(.32)

(.33)

(.34)

(.37)

(.38)

 

Dividends from net realized gain on investments

-

-

-

(.00)b

(.03)

 

Total Distributions

(.32)

(.33)

(.34)

(.37)

(.41)

 

Net asset value, end of period

11.68

12.10

11.88

11.67

12.39

 

Total Return (%)c

.87

4.75

4.72

(2.72)

4.74

 

Ratios/Supplemental Data (%):

           

Ratio of total expenses to average net assets

.93

.91

.92

.90

.90

 

Ratio of net expenses to average net assets

.93

.91

.92

.90

.90

 

Ratio of net investment income to average net assets

2.66

2.82

2.83

3.21

3.10

 

Portfolio Turnover Rate

9.93

9.75

8.44

9.50

19.13

 

Net Assets, end of period ($ x 1,000)

145,523

167,984

173,909

188,117

239,626

 

a Based on average shares outstanding.
b Amount represents less than $.01 per share.
c Exclusive of sales charge.

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Financial Highlights

Dreyfus Massachusetts Fund

As Class T shares are a new class of the fund, financial highlights information is not available for Class T shares as of the date of this prospectus. These financial highlights describe the performance of the fund's Class A shares for the fiscal periods indicated. "Total return" shows how much your investment in the fund would have increased (or decreased) during each period, assuming you had reinvested all dividends and distributions. These financial highlights have been derived from the fund's financial statements, which have been audited by Ernst & Young LLP, an independent registered public accounting firm, whose report, along with the fund's financial statements, is included in the annual report, which is available upon request.

             
   

Year Ended April 30,

Class A Shares


2017


2016


2015

2014

2013

 

Per Share Data ($):

           

Net asset value, beginning of period

11.94

11.69

11.49

12.11

11.94

 

Investment Operations:

           

Investment income—neta

.29

.31

.31

.35

.36

 

Net realized and unrealized gain (loss) on investments

(.46)

.25

.20

(.60)

.17

 

Total from Investment Operations

(.17)

.56

.51

(.25)

.53

 

Distributions:

           

Dividends from investment income—net

(.29)

(.31)

(.31)

(.35)

(.36)

 

Dividends from net realized gain on investments

(.00)b

-

-

(.02)

(.00)b

 

Total Distributions

(.29)

(.31)

(.31)

(.37)

(.36)

 

Net asset value, end of period

11.48

11.94

11.69

11.49

12.11

 

Total Return (%)c

(1.40)

4.84

4.50

(1.96)

4.51

 

Ratios/Supplemental Data (%):

           

Ratio of total expenses to average net assets

.96

.95

.95

.93

.93

 

Ratio of net expenses to average net assets

.96

.95

.95

.93

.93

 

Ratio of net investment income to average net assets

2.48

2.64

2.69

3.07

2.97

 

Portfolio Turnover Rate

11.70

12.60

8.90

9.72

14.28

 

Net Assets, end of period ($ x 1,000)

26,487

34,121

35,090

34,082

41,675

 

a Based on average shares outstanding.
b Amount represents less than $.01 per share.
c Exclusive of sales charge.

23

 

Financial Highlights

Dreyfus Pennsylvania Fund

As Class T shares are a new class of the fund, financial highlights information is not available for Class T shares as of the date of this prospectus. These financial highlights describe the performance of the fund's Class A shares for the fiscal periods indicated. "Total return" shows how much your investment in the fund would have increased (or decreased) during each period, assuming you had reinvested all dividends and distributions. These financial highlights have been derived from the fund's financial statements, which have been audited by Ernst & Young LLP, an independent registered public accounting firm, whose report, along with the fund's financial statements, is included in the annual report, which is available upon request.

             
   

Year Ended April 30,

Class A Shares


2017

2016

2015

2014

2013

 

Per Share Data ($):

           

Net asset value, beginning of period

16.74

16.34

16.01

16.88

16.60

 

Investment Operations:

           

Investment income—neta

.47

.51

.51

.56

.57

 

Net realized and unrealized gain (loss) on investments

(.50)

.40

.32

(.85)

.34

 

Total from Investment Operations

.03

.91

.83

(.29)

.91

 

Distributions:

           

Dividends from investment income—net

(.46)

(.51)

(.50)

(.56)

(.57)

 

Dividends from net realized gain on investments

(.10)

-

-

(.02)

(.06)

 

Total Distributions

(.56)

(.51)

(.50)

(.58)

(.63)

 

Net asset value, end of period

16.15

16.74

16.34

16.01

16.88

 

Total Return (%)b

(.16)

5.66

5.26

(1.64)

5.53

 

Ratios/Supplemental Data (%):

           

Ratio of total expenses to average net assets

.96

.95

.96

.93

.94

 

Ratio of net expenses to average net assets

.96

.95

.96

.93

.94

 

Ratio of net investment income to average net assets

2.82

3.13

3.11

3.51

3.40

 

Portfolio Turnover Rate

20.97

12.49

29.84

9.57

15.27

 

Net Assets, end of period ($ x 1,000)

100,228

107,889

108,258

109,883

133,727

 

aBased on average shares outstanding.

bExclusive of sales charge.

 
 

24

 

NOTES

25

 

For More Information

Dreyfus State Municipal Bond Funds

More information on this fund is available free upon request, including the following:

Annual/Semiannual Report

The fund's annual and semiannual reports describe the fund's performance, list portfolio holdings and contain a letter from the fund's manager discussing recent market conditions, economic trends and fund strategies that significantly affected the fund's performance during the period covered by the report. The fund's most recent annual and semiannual reports are available at www.dreyfus.com.

Statement of Additional Information (SAI)

The SAI provides more details about the fund and its policies. A current SAI is available at www.dreyfus.com and is on file with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The SAI is incorporated by reference (and is legally considered part of this prospectus).

Portfolio Holdings

Dreyfus funds generally disclose, at www.dreyfus.com under Products, (1) complete portfolio holdings as of each month-end with a one month lag and as of each calendar quarter end with a 15-day lag; (2) top 10 holdings as of each month-end with a 10-day lag; and (3) from time to time, certain security-specific performance attribution data as of a month end, with a 10-day lag.  From time to time a fund may make available certain portfolio characteristics, such as allocations, performance- and risk-related statistics, portfolio-level statistics and non-security specific attribution analyses, on request. Dreyfus money market funds generally disclose, also at www.dreyfus.com under Products, their complete schedule of holdings daily.  A fund's portfolio holdings and any security-specific performance attribution data will remain on the website at least until the fund files its Form N-Q or Form N-CSR for the period that includes the dates of the posted holdings.

A complete description of the fund's policies and procedures with respect to the disclosure of the fund's portfolio securities is available in the fund's SAI and at www.dreyfus.com.

To Obtain Information

The SAI and other information also are available from your financial intermediary, such as a bank or broker-dealer.

Certain fund documents can be viewed online or downloaded from http://www.sec.gov

You can also obtain copies, after paying a duplicating fee, by visiting the SEC's Public Reference Room in Washington, DC (for information, call 1-202-551-8090) or by E-mail request to publicinfo@sec.gov, or by writing to the SEC's Public Reference Section, Washington, DC 20549-1520.

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.

SEC file number: 811-04906

   

© 2017 MBSC Securities Corporation
PSTMBTP0917