0000935069-01-500631.txt : 20011119 0000935069-01-500631.hdr.sgml : 20011119 ACCESSION NUMBER: 0000935069-01-500631 CONFORMED SUBMISSION TYPE: N-30D PUBLIC DOCUMENT COUNT: 1 CONFORMED PERIOD OF REPORT: 20010831 FILED AS OF DATE: 20011106 FILER: COMPANY DATA: COMPANY CONFORMED NAME: RBB FUND INC CENTRAL INDEX KEY: 0000831114 STANDARD INDUSTRIAL CLASSIFICATION: [] FISCAL YEAR END: 0831 FILING VALUES: FORM TYPE: N-30D SEC ACT: 1940 Act SEC FILE NUMBER: 811-05518 FILM NUMBER: 1775593 BUSINESS ADDRESS: STREET 1: 400 BELLEVUE PKWY STE 100 CITY: WILMINGTON STATE: DE ZIP: 19809 BUSINESS PHONE: 3027911791 MAIL ADDRESS: STREET 1: 103 BELLEVUE PKWY STREET 2: SUITE 152 CITY: WILMINGTON STATE: DE ZIP: 19809 FORMER COMPANY: FORMER CONFORMED NAME: FUND INC /DE/ DATE OF NAME CHANGE: 19600201 N-30D 1 g01-1320.txt NUMERIC INVESTORS ANNUAL REPORT [GRAPHIC OMITTED] n/i numeric investors family of funds [GRAPHIC OMITTED] n/i numeric investors Micro Cap Fund [GRAPHIC OMITTED] n/i numeric investors Growth Fund [GRAPHIC OMITTED] n/i numeric investors Mid Cap Fund [GRAPHIC OMITTED] n/i numeric investors Small Cap Value Fund Annual Report August 31, 2001 [GRAPHIC OMITTED] n/i numeric investors family of funds MICRO CAP FUND GROWTH FUND MID CAP FUND SMALL CAP VALUE FUND ADVISER'S REPORT October 5, 2001 Dear Shareholder: MARKET COMMENTARY This annual report for the N/I NUMERIC INVESTORS FAMILY OF MUTUAL FUNDS is being written at the very end of September 2001, and with a heavy heart. This report discusses the performance of the N/I NUMERIC INVESTORS MUTUAL FUNDS through the fiscal year ended August 31st. Normally it would be appropriate to confine our remarks to the fiscal year ended August. But these are not normal times, given the horrifying events of September 11th. Events before that day now seem so long ago as to have little relevance. Nonetheless, this report focuses on the year ended August 31st because it is essential that we analyze and learn from the past year even as we contemplate the opportunity and challenges facing investors at present. We have absolute confidence in the ability of America to rise to the current challenge and to prevail, so we believe that the U.S. stock market remains a good long-term investment. In our opinion, forward-looking investors must agree that the market represents a better value today with the NASDAQ at 1500, than eighteen months ago when the NASDAQ was at 5100. We believe that successful investors invest for the future, not based on the returns of the recent past. Therefore this report will also consider whether the market remains an attractive investment given recent events. ECONOMIC BACKGROUND The American market and economy were already slumping prior to September 11th. This slide began as an unwinding of two massive bubbles in New Economy and megacap stocks. It appears to us that these bubbles created a false sense of infallibility for stock investors and company managements alike, causing both to make bad investment decisions. In our opinion, as a consequence of these bad decisions, the economy has begun to sputter. At its peak in early 2000, fully twenty-percent of U.S. market capitalization was in stocks selling at price-earnings ratios higher than 128 times earnings, if they had earnings at all! And sixty-percent of the U.S. market's total capitalization became concentrated in just fifty enormous stocks that it seems the institutions felt compelled to own lest they be different from one another and risk conspicuous underperformance. In the following chart we plot the rise and collapse of these New Economy and Megacap bubbles. The violet line shows how the price-earnings ratio of the priciest twenty-percent of the U.S. market began to soar in 1998 but has now dropped back to earth. Similarly, the price-earnings ratio premium (green line) for Megacap stocks above the rest of the market began to soar in 1998 but has since fallen back. 1 [GRAPHIC OMITTED] EDGAR REPRESENTATION OF DATA POINTS USED IN PRINTED GRAPHIC HIGHEST P/E QUINTILE AND MEGACAP 50 P/E PREMIUM OVER NEXT 150 LARGEST STOCKS Source: The Frank Russell Company (data through August 2001) Highest P/E Quintile Dec-78 12.6 Jan-79 12.3 Feb-79 12.1 Mar-79 12 Apr-79 11.8 May-79 11.7 Jun-79 11.8 Jul-79 11.8 Aug-79 12 Sep-79 12.3 Oct-79 12.2 Nov-79 12.3 Dec-79 12.5 Jan-80 11.8 Feb-80 11.3 Mar-80 10.8 Apr-80 10.9 May-80 11 Jun-80 11.3 Jul-80 12.1 Aug-80 13 Sep-80 14.1 Oct-80 14.5 Nov-80 14.9 Dec-80 15.6 Jan-81 15.3 Feb-81 15.2 Mar-81 15.3 Apr-81 14.9 May-81 14.7 Jun-81 14.6 Jul-81 13.6 Aug-81 12.8 Sep-81 12.1 Oct-81 12.2 Nov-81 12.5 Dec-81 12.9 Jan-82 12.1 Feb-82 11.5 Mar-82 11 Apr-82 11.1 May-82 11.3 Jun-82 11.6 Jul-82 12.1 Aug-82 12.7 Sep-82 13.4 Oct-82 14.6 Nov-82 15.9 Dec-82 17.4 Jan-83 17.9 Feb-83 18.6 Mar-83 19.5 Apr-83 21.5 May-83 23.6 Jun-83 26 Jul-83 25.2 Aug-83 24.8 Sep-83 24.5 Oct-83 24.3 Nov-83 24.3 Dec-83 24.6 Jan-84 22.7 Feb-84 21.1 Mar-84 19.6 Apr-84 18.2 May-84 17 Jun-84 15.9 Jul-84 15.8 Aug-84 15.9 Sep-84 16.1 Oct-84 16 Nov-84 16.1 Dec-84 16.3 Jan-85 16.3 Feb-85 16.4 Mar-85 16.7 Apr-85 17.1 May-85 17.7 Jun-85 18.5 Jul-85 18.1 Aug-85 17.9 Sep-85 17.9 Oct-85 19 Nov-85 20.4 Dec-85 21.9 Jan-86 23.3 Feb-86 24.9 Mar-86 26.8 Apr-86 27.5 May-86 28.4 Jun-86 29.6 Jul-86 27.5 Aug-86 25.7 Sep-86 24.1 Oct-86 24.3 Nov-86 24.7 Dec-86 25.3 Jan-87 28.4 Feb-87 29.3 Mar-87 30.1 Apr-87 29.6 May-87 30.5 Jun-87 31.4 Jul-87 31.1 Aug-87 31.6 Sep-87 31.1 Oct-87 21.6 Nov-87 19.3 Dec-87 22.4 Jan-88 20.2 Feb-88 21.6 Mar-88 20.8 Apr-88 20.4 May-88 19.1 Jun-88 20.4 Jul-88 19.2 Aug-88 17.1 Sep-88 17.7 Oct-88 17.5 Nov-88 16.6 Dec-88 17 Jan-89 17.9 Feb-89 17.6 Mar-89 18.3 Apr-89 19.3 May-89 20.3 Jun-89 20 Jul-89 21.6 Aug-89 21 Sep-89 22 Oct-89 21.4 Nov-89 21.8 Dec-89 21.5 Jan-90 19.9 Feb-90 20.7 Mar-90 21.2 Apr-90 21.1 May-90 23.5 Jun-90 23.9 Jul-90 23.6 Aug-90 21.3 Sep-90 19.9 Oct-90 19.2 Nov-90 20.8 Dec-90 21.1 Jan-91 21.2 Feb-91 23.5 Mar-91 24.8 Apr-91 23.7 May-91 25 Jun-91 24.2 Jul-91 25.6 Aug-91 26.6 Sep-91 26 Oct-91 28.6 Nov-91 29.8 Dec-91 34.4 Jan-92 41 Feb-92 41.5 Mar-92 40.9 Apr-92 37.3 May-92 37.5 Jun-92 39.7 Jul-92 40.7 Aug-92 37.9 Sep-92 38.6 Oct-92 33.7 Nov-92 35.7 Dec-92 35.2 Jan-93 32 Feb-93 32 Mar-93 33.4 Apr-93 30.7 May-93 31.6 Jun-93 32.5 Jul-93 32 Aug-93 33.4 Sep-93 35.5 Oct-93 34.9 Nov-93 36.6 Dec-93 36.7 Jan-94 39.9 Feb-94 32.2 Mar-94 30.8 Apr-94 29.9 May-94 30.2 Jun-94 30.8 Jul-94 29.4 Aug-94 30.7 Sep-94 30.9 Oct-94 27.6 Nov-94 26.5 Dec-94 26.4 Jan-95 24.9 Feb-95 22.9 Mar-95 23.5 Apr-95 23.2 May-95 22.9 Jun-95 24.6 Jul-95 26.3 Aug-95 25.3 Sep-95 25.5 Oct-95 24.9 Nov-95 26.1 Dec-95 26.4 Jan-96 31.5 Feb-96 33.5 Mar-96 34.3 Apr-96 33.4 May-96 35.8 Jun-96 38.2 Jul-96 33.4 Aug-96 33.7 Sep-96 37.7 Oct-96 35.7 Nov-96 37.1 Dec-96 36.7 Jan-97 34.8 Feb-97 31.5 Mar-97 30.7 Apr-97 30.9 May-97 33.5 Jun-97 38.2 Jul-97 42.7 Aug-97 39 Sep-97 42.3 Oct-97 41.3 Nov-97 41.8 Dec-97 40.4 Jan-98 40.9 Feb-98 42.4 Mar-98 48 Apr-98 52.4 May-98 48.6 Jun-98 59.4 Jul-98 51.3 Aug-98 41.5 Sep-98 47.6 Oct-98 47.4 Nov-98 54.5 Dec-98 68.3 Jan-99 63.9 Feb-99 56.2 Mar-99 70 Apr-99 56.9 May-99 57.2 Jun-99 64.9 Jul-99 55.7 Aug-99 60.1 Sep-99 60.6 Oct-99 58.4 Nov-99 71.9 Dec-99 99.3 Jan-00 93.5 Feb-00 121.4 Mar-00 111.6 Apr-00 95.6 May-00 80.7 Jun-00 106.6 Jul-00 98.6 Aug-00 116.5 Sep-00 107.1 Oct-00 85.3 Nov-00 68.2 Dec-00 70.8 Jan-01 76.5 Feb-01 60.3 Mar-01 45.7 Apr-01 49.2 May-01 52.6 Jun-01 56.2 Jul-01 50.1 Aug-01 43.2 MegaCap Premium over Next Largest 150 Stocks Dec-78 16.2 Jan-79 15.8 Feb-79 15.3 Mar-79 14.9 Apr-79 12.2 May-79 9.5 Jun-79 6.8 Jul-79 7.7 Aug-79 8.6 Sep-79 9.5 Oct-79 8.1 Nov-79 6.8 Dec-79 5.4 Jan-80 8.5 Feb-80 11.9 Mar-80 15.6 Apr-80 10.9 May-80 6.7 Jun-80 2.7 Jul-80 3.6 Aug-80 4.4 Sep-80 5.1 Oct-80 5.4 Nov-80 5.6 Dec-80 5.9 Jan-81 2 Feb-81 -2 Mar-81 -6.1 Apr-81 -3.7 May-81 -1.3 Jun-81 1.3 Jul-81 -1.4 Aug-81 -4.3 Sep-81 -7.5 Oct-81 -5.3 Nov-81 -3.3 Dec-81 -1.4 Jan-82 -1.9 Feb-82 -2.5 Mar-82 -3 Apr-82 -2 May-82 -1 Jun-82 0 Jul-82 -1.4 Aug-82 -2.7 Sep-82 -3.9 Oct-82 -4.8 Nov-82 -5.6 Dec-82 -6.3 Jan-83 -8.2 Feb-83 -10.1 Mar-83 -11.9 Apr-83 -9 May-83 -6.3 Jun-83 -3.7 Jul-83 -3.8 Aug-83 -3.9 Sep-83 -4 Oct-83 -7.6 Nov-83 -11.1 Dec-83 -14.4 Jan-84 -11.2 Feb-84 -7.5 Mar-84 -3.4 Apr-84 -3.5 May-84 -3.5 Jun-84 -3.6 Jul-84 -3.5 Aug-84 -3.5 Sep-84 -3.5 Oct-84 -4.6 Nov-84 -5.6 Dec-84 -6.6 Jan-85 -6.8 Feb-85 -7 Mar-85 -7.2 Apr-85 -8.2 May-85 -9.2 Jun-85 -10.1 Jul-85 -8.9 Aug-85 -7.5 Sep-85 -6.1 Oct-85 -6.4 Nov-85 -6.7 Dec-85 -7 Jan-86 -7.3 Feb-86 -7.6 Mar-86 -7.9 Apr-86 -6.2 May-86 -4.6 Jun-86 -3 Jul-86 -2.1 Aug-86 -1.1 Sep-86 0 Oct-86 -0.6 Nov-86 -1.1 Dec-86 -1.6 Jan-87 3.1 Feb-87 -0.7 Mar-87 5.1 Apr-87 9 May-87 3 Jun-87 2 Jul-87 1.4 Aug-87 2.7 Sep-87 2.8 Oct-87 7.2 Nov-87 1.9 Dec-87 2.7 Jan-88 5.6 Feb-88 4.5 Mar-88 2.8 Apr-88 4.7 May-88 -1.9 Jun-88 -1.8 Jul-88 0 Aug-88 -1 Sep-88 -1.9 Oct-88 -1.8 Nov-88 0 Dec-88 0.9 Jan-89 1.9 Feb-89 1 Mar-89 0 Apr-89 1.8 May-89 -0.9 Jun-89 -1.8 Jul-89 -2.5 Aug-89 -2.4 Sep-89 -0.8 Oct-89 0 Nov-89 -4.7 Dec-89 2.3 Jan-90 7.1 Feb-90 4.3 Mar-90 6.8 Apr-90 9.6 May-90 9.7 Jun-90 12.3 Jul-90 12.9 Aug-90 13.2 Sep-90 18 Oct-90 15.5 Nov-90 13.4 Dec-90 12.8 Jan-91 9.2 Feb-91 11.6 Mar-91 13.5 Apr-91 13.2 May-91 13.5 Jun-91 12.9 Jul-91 10.9 Aug-91 11.3 Sep-91 10.7 Oct-91 12.7 Nov-91 11.4 Dec-91 7.5 Jan-92 8.9 Feb-92 5.3 Mar-92 6.7 Apr-92 10.7 May-92 -1.3 Jun-92 9.5 Jul-92 7.7 Aug-92 10.1 Sep-92 9.9 Oct-92 7.6 Nov-92 7.2 Dec-92 6.4 Jan-93 6.9 Feb-93 5.4 Mar-93 5.9 Apr-93 8.1 May-93 4.6 Jun-93 6.6 Jul-93 3.5 Aug-93 4.7 Sep-93 3.4 Oct-93 4.6 Nov-93 5.4 Dec-93 5.3 Jan-94 2.7 Feb-94 3.5 Mar-94 4.5 Apr-94 6 May-94 4.4 Jun-94 2.2 Jul-94 2.3 Aug-94 -0.7 Sep-94 3.9 Oct-94 3.1 Nov-94 4 Dec-94 4.8 Jan-95 7.5 Feb-95 5.6 Mar-95 5.5 Apr-95 6.2 May-95 5.3 Jun-95 5.2 Jul-95 8.5 Aug-95 7.7 Sep-95 8.8 Oct-95 12.8 Nov-95 10.6 Dec-95 12.8 Jan-96 13.6 Feb-96 13.6 Mar-96 11.1 Apr-96 11.6 May-96 13.8 Jun-96 8.4 Jul-96 7.9 Aug-96 6.3 Sep-96 5.2 Oct-96 6.5 Nov-96 7.9 Dec-96 7.4 Jan-97 9.3 Feb-97 4.2 Mar-97 6.3 Apr-97 9 May-97 4 Jun-97 7.1 Jul-97 6.4 Aug-97 5.6 Sep-97 4.9 Oct-97 6 Nov-97 9 Dec-97 6.1 Jan-98 6.5 Feb-98 6.4 Mar-98 4.6 Apr-98 7.3 May-98 11.4 Jun-98 9.8 Jul-98 15.9 Aug-98 16.9 Sep-98 15.7 Oct-98 16.8 Nov-98 16 Dec-98 16 Jan-99 17.6 Feb-99 19.9 Mar-99 11.7 Apr-99 6.3 May-99 4.1 Jun-99 19 Jul-99 22.4 Aug-99 23.7 Sep-99 24.5 Oct-99 24.6 Nov-99 26.4 Dec-99 21.5 Jan-00 19.5 Feb-00 16.5 Mar-00 19.2 Apr-00 19.4 May-00 20.5 Jun-00 43.1 Jul-00 25.9 Aug-00 28 Sep-00 20.3 Oct-00 17.6 Nov-00 24.6 Dec-00 12.2 Jan-01 18 Feb-01 15.6 Mar-01 14.9 Apr-01 17.6 May-01 20.9 Jun-01 10.2 Jul-01 10.3 Aug-01 7.3 Even while the popular market indices were dropping with the poor performance of their largest constituents, the average stock was performing somewhat better. Over the twelve months ended August 31st, 2001, the average stock in the S&P 500 Index returned -13.1%, which is 12.3% higher than the -25.4% return of the top-heavy index itself. The chart below shows that more stocks were rising than falling on the New York Stock Exchange, as indicated by the steady climb of the Cumulative Advance-Decline Line. [GRAPHIC OMITTED] EDGAR REPRESENTATION OF DATA POINTS USED IN PRINTED GRAPHIC NYSE CUMULATIVE ADVANCE-DECLINE LINE Data through September 21, 2001 Source: Bloomberg L.P. (data through September 21, 2001) S&P 500 Index 10/7/94 455.1 10/14/94 469.1 10/21/94 464.89 10/28/94 473.77 11/4/94 462.28 11/11/94 462.35 11/18/94 461.47 11/25/94 452.29 12/2/94 453.3 12/9/94 446.97 12/16/94 458.8 12/23/94 459.83 12/30/94 459.27 1/6/95 460.68 1/13/95 465.97 1/20/95 464.78 1/27/95 470.39 2/3/95 478.65 2/10/95 481.46 2/17/95 481.97 2/24/95 488.26 3/3/95 485.42 3/10/95 489.57 3/17/95 495.52 3/24/95 500.97 3/31/95 500.71 4/7/95 506.42 4/14/95 509.23 4/21/95 508.49 4/28/95 514.71 5/5/95 520.12 5/12/95 525.55 5/19/95 519.19 5/26/95 523.65 6/2/95 532.51 6/9/95 527.94 6/16/95 539.83 6/23/95 549.71 6/30/95 544.75 7/7/95 556.37 7/14/95 559.89 7/21/95 553.62 7/28/95 562.93 8/4/95 558.94 8/11/95 555.11 8/18/95 559.21 8/25/95 560.1 9/1/95 563.84 9/8/95 572.68 9/15/95 583.35 9/22/95 581.73 9/29/95 584.41 10/6/95 582.49 10/13/95 584.5 10/20/95 587.46 10/27/95 579.7 11/3/95 590.57 11/10/95 592.72 11/17/95 600.07 11/24/95 599.97 12/1/95 606.98 12/8/95 617.48 12/15/95 616.34 12/22/95 611.96 12/29/95 615.93 1/5/96 616.71 1/12/96 601.81 1/19/96 611.83 1/26/96 621.62 2/2/96 635.85 2/9/96 656.37 2/16/96 647.98 2/23/96 659.08 3/1/96 644.37 3/8/96 633.5 3/15/96 641.43 3/22/96 650.62 3/29/96 645.5 4/5/96 655.86 4/12/96 636.71 4/19/96 645.07 4/26/96 653.46 5/3/96 641.63 5/10/96 652.09 5/17/96 668.91 5/24/96 678.51 5/31/96 669.12 6/7/96 673.31 6/14/96 665.85 6/21/96 666.84 6/28/96 670.63 7/5/96 657.44 7/12/96 646.19 7/19/96 638.73 7/26/96 635.9 8/2/96 662.49 8/9/96 662.1 8/16/96 665.21 8/23/96 667.03 8/30/96 651.99 9/6/96 655.68 9/13/96 680.54 9/20/96 687.02 9/27/96 686.19 10/4/96 701.46 10/11/96 700.66 10/18/96 710.82 10/25/96 700.92 11/1/96 703.77 11/8/96 730.82 11/15/96 737.62 11/22/96 748.73 11/29/96 757.02 12/6/96 739.6 12/13/96 728.64 12/20/96 748.87 12/27/96 756.79 1/3/97 748.03 1/10/97 759.5 1/17/97 776.17 1/24/97 770.52 1/31/97 786.16 2/7/97 789.56 2/14/97 808.48 2/21/97 801.77 2/28/97 790.82 3/7/97 804.97 3/14/97 793.17 3/21/97 784.1 3/28/97 773.88 4/4/97 757.9 4/11/97 737.65 4/18/97 766.34 4/25/97 765.37 5/2/97 812.97 5/9/97 824.78 5/16/97 829.75 5/23/97 847.03 5/30/97 848.28 6/6/97 858.01 6/13/97 893.27 6/20/97 898.7 6/27/97 887.3 7/4/97 916.92 7/11/97 916.68 7/18/97 915.3 7/25/97 938.79 8/1/97 947.14 8/8/97 933.54 8/15/97 900.81 8/22/97 923.54 8/29/97 899.47 9/5/97 929.05 9/12/97 923.91 9/19/97 950.51 9/26/97 945.22 10/3/97 965.03 10/10/97 966.98 10/17/97 944.16 10/24/97 941.64 10/31/97 914.62 11/7/97 927.51 11/14/97 928.35 11/21/97 963.09 11/28/97 955.4 12/5/97 983.79 12/12/97 953.39 12/19/97 946.78 12/26/97 936.46 1/2/98 975.04 1/9/98 927.69 1/16/98 961.51 1/23/98 957.59 1/30/98 980.28 2/6/98 1012.46 2/13/98 1020.09 2/20/98 1034.21 2/27/98 1049.34 3/6/98 1055.69 3/13/98 1068.61 3/20/98 1099.16 3/27/98 1095.44 4/3/98 1122.7 4/10/98 1110.67 4/17/98 1122.72 4/24/98 1107.9 5/1/98 1121 5/8/98 1108.14 5/15/98 1108.73 5/22/98 1110.47 5/29/98 1090.82 6/5/98 1113.86 6/12/98 1098.84 6/19/98 1100.65 6/26/98 1133.2 7/3/98 1146.42 7/10/98 1164.33 7/17/98 1186.75 7/24/98 1140.8 7/31/98 1120.67 8/7/98 1089.45 8/14/98 1062.75 8/21/98 1081.18 8/28/98 1027.14 9/4/98 973.89 9/11/98 1009.06 9/18/98 1020.09 9/25/98 1044.75 10/2/98 1002.6 10/9/98 984.39 10/16/98 1056.42 10/23/98 1070.67 10/30/98 1098.67 11/6/98 1141.01 11/13/98 1125.72 11/20/98 1163.55 11/27/98 1192.29 12/4/98 1176.74 12/11/98 1166.46 12/18/98 1188.03 12/25/98 1226.27 1/1/99 1229.23 1/8/99 1275.09 1/15/99 1243.26 1/22/99 1225.19 1/29/99 1279.64 2/5/99 1239.4 2/12/99 1230.13 2/19/99 1239.19 2/26/99 1238.33 3/5/99 1275.47 3/12/99 1294.59 3/19/99 1299.29 3/26/99 1282.8 4/2/99 1293.72 4/9/99 1348.35 4/16/99 1319 4/23/99 1356.85 4/30/99 1335.18 5/7/99 1345 5/14/99 1337.8 5/21/99 1330.29 5/28/99 1301.84 6/4/99 1327.75 6/11/99 1293.64 6/18/99 1342.84 6/25/99 1315.31 7/2/99 1391.22 7/9/99 1403.28 7/16/99 1418.78 7/23/99 1356.94 7/30/99 1328.72 8/6/99 1300.29 8/13/99 1327.68 8/20/99 1336.61 8/27/99 1348.27 9/3/99 1357.24 9/10/99 1351.66 9/17/99 1335.42 9/24/99 1277.36 10/1/99 1282.81 10/8/99 1336.02 10/15/99 1247.41 10/22/99 1301.65 10/29/99 1362.93 11/5/99 1370.23 11/12/99 1396.06 11/19/99 1422 11/26/99 1416.62 12/3/99 1433.3 12/10/99 1417.04 12/17/99 1421.05 12/24/99 1458.34 12/31/99 1469.25 1/7/00 1441.47 1/14/00 1465.15 1/21/00 1441.36 1/28/00 1360.16 2/4/00 1424.37 2/11/00 1387.12 2/18/00 1346.09 2/25/00 1333.36 3/3/00 1409.17 3/10/00 1395.07 3/17/00 1464.47 3/24/00 1527.46 3/31/00 1498.58 4/7/00 1516.35 4/14/00 1356.56 4/20/00 1434.54 4/28/00 1452.43 5/5/00 1432.63 5/12/00 1420.96 5/19/00 1406.95 5/26/00 1378.02 6/2/00 1477.26 6/9/00 1456.95 6/16/00 1464.46 6/23/00 1441.48 6/30/00 1454.6 7/7/00 1478.9 7/14/00 1509.98 7/21/00 1480.19 7/28/00 1419.89 8/4/00 1462.93 8/11/00 1471.84 8/18/00 1491.72 8/25/00 1506.46 9/1/00 1520.77 9/8/00 1494.5 9/15/00 1465.81 9/22/00 1448.72 9/29/00 1436.51 10/6/00 1408.99 10/13/00 1374.17 10/20/00 1396.93 10/27/00 1379.58 11/3/00 1426.69 11/10/00 1365.98 11/17/00 1367.72 11/24/00 1341.77 12/1/00 1315.23 12/8/00 1369.89 12/15/00 1312.15 12/22/00 1305.97 12/29/00 1320.28 1/5/01 1298.35 1/12/00 1318.32 1/19/00 1342.55 1/26/00 1354.95 2/2/01 1349.47 2/9/01 1314.76 2/16/01 1301.53 2/23/01 1245.86 3/2/01 1234.18 3/9/01 1233.42 3/16/01 1150.53 3/23/01 1139.83 3/30/01 1160.33 4/6/01 1128.43 4/13/01 1183.5 4/20/01 1242.98 4/27/01 1253.05 5/4/01 1266.61 5/11/01 1245.67 5/18/01 1291.96 5/25/01 1277.89 6/1/01 1260.67 6/8/01 1264.96 6/15/01 1214.36 6/22/01 1228.62 6/29/01 1224.42 7/6/01 1190.59 7/13/01 1215.68 7/20/01 1210.85 7/27/01 1205.82 8/3/01 1214.35 8/10/01 1190.16 8/17/01 1161.97 8/24/01 1184.93 8/31/01 1133.58 9/7/01 1085.78 9/14/01 1092.54 9/21/01 965.8 Cumulative Advance-Decline line 10/7/94 16633 10/14/94 18528 10/21/94 16901 10/28/94 16603 11/4/94 14405 11/11/94 12275 11/18/94 11053 11/25/94 9802 12/2/94 9855 12/9/94 7149 12/16/94 9271 12/23/94 9707 12/30/94 9870 1/6/95 10636 1/13/95 11778 1/20/95 11269 1/27/95 11693 2/3/95 13563 2/10/95 14770 2/17/95 14722 2/24/95 15670 3/3/95 14969 3/10/95 14200 3/17/95 14935 3/24/95 15517 3/31/95 16331 4/7/95 17157 4/14/95 17705 4/21/95 17774 4/28/95 18621 5/5/95 19607 5/12/95 21115 5/19/95 20116 5/26/95 20753 6/2/95 22708 6/9/95 22323 6/16/95 23630 6/23/95 24317 6/30/95 24240 7/7/95 26787 7/14/95 26979 7/21/95 25273 7/28/95 27133 8/4/95 27092 8/11/95 26358 8/18/95 27265 8/25/95 27525 9/1/95 28602 9/8/95 30423 9/15/95 31465 9/22/95 29745 9/29/95 29950 10/6/95 28918 10/13/95 29328 10/20/95 28767 10/27/95 26225 11/3/95 28053 11/10/95 28030 11/17/95 28695 11/24/95 29134 12/1/95 30801 12/8/95 31582 12/15/95 31371 12/22/95 31828 12/29/95 33283 1/5/96 33922 1/12/96 32544 1/19/96 33437 1/26/96 34062 2/2/96 36236 2/9/96 37374 2/16/96 37334 2/23/96 37536 3/1/96 36469 3/8/96 34877 3/15/96 36044 3/22/96 37654 3/29/96 36246 4/5/96 36708 4/12/96 34474 4/19/96 36084 4/26/96 37546 5/3/96 36079 5/10/96 36926 5/17/96 39032 5/24/96 39289 5/31/96 38025 6/7/96 37182 6/14/96 36172 6/21/96 35428 6/28/96 36360 7/5/96 34933 7/12/96 32466 7/19/96 31428 7/26/96 29670 8/2/96 33150 8/9/96 33634 8/16/96 34790 8/23/96 35353 8/30/96 34206 9/6/96 34376 9/13/96 36895 9/20/96 36848 9/27/96 37311 10/4/96 39634 10/11/96 39050 10/18/96 39626 10/25/96 38449 11/1/96 38409 11/8/96 40710 11/15/96 42089 11/22/96 43315 11/29/96 44420 12/6/96 42598 12/13/96 41408 12/20/96 42980 12/27/96 44454 1/3/97 44849 1/10/97 46272 1/17/97 48194 1/24/97 46997 1/31/97 47575 2/7/97 47745 2/14/97 49719 2/21/97 49524 2/28/97 48123 3/7/97 49918 3/14/97 48989 3/21/97 46272 3/28/97 45024 4/4/97 42063 4/11/97 41127 4/18/97 42855 4/25/97 41474 5/2/97 46015 5/9/97 47373 5/16/97 48355 5/23/97 50724 5/30/97 51907 6/6/97 54277 6/13/97 57439 6/20/97 57880 6/27/97 58178 7/4/97 61054 7/11/97 62447 7/18/97 62356 7/25/97 63135 8/1/97 64777 8/8/97 63865 8/15/97 62189 8/22/97 62488 8/29/97 62809 9/5/97 65504 9/12/97 66483 9/19/97 68749 9/26/97 69572 10/3/97 72496 10/10/97 71850 10/17/97 69156 10/24/97 68645 10/31/97 67062 11/7/97 67124 11/14/97 66179 11/21/97 68712 11/28/97 68612 12/5/97 71098 12/12/97 68287 12/19/97 67512 12/26/97 67765 1/2/98 71320 1/9/98 67258 1/16/98 69981 1/23/98 68816 1/30/98 70752 2/6/98 73730 2/13/98 74593 2/20/98 75151 2/27/98 76584 3/6/98 76823 3/13/98 78281 3/20/98 79892 3/27/98 80143 4/3/98 81701 4/10/98 80442 4/17/98 80563 4/24/98 77937 5/1/98 79286 5/8/98 77812 5/15/98 76088 5/22/98 74438 5/29/98 73103 6/5/98 73523 6/12/98 70279 6/19/98 69235 6/26/98 70508 7/3/98 72865 7/10/98 73155 7/17/98 73623 7/24/98 68694 7/31/98 65387 8/7/98 62988 8/14/98 60143 8/21/98 58633 8/28/98 52687 9/4/98 50513 9/11/98 50686 9/18/98 52310 9/25/98 53073 10/2/98 51650 10/9/98 47156 10/16/98 51365 10/23/98 53688 10/30/98 55976 11/6/98 59638 11/13/98 57353 11/20/98 58502 11/27/98 59364 12/4/98 58102 12/11/98 56085 12/18/98 55310 12/25/98 56211 1/1/99 58223 1/8/99 58991 1/15/99 55814 1/22/99 54344 1/29/99 53713 2/5/99 51440 2/12/99 48744 2/19/99 48301 2/26/99 47242 3/5/99 48280 3/12/99 48376 3/19/99 47423 3/26/99 45914 4/2/99 46014 4/9/99 46479 4/16/99 48935 4/23/99 50803 4/30/99 51607 5/7/99 52871 5/14/99 52411 5/21/99 52545 5/28/99 50685 6/4/99 51286 6/11/99 49652 6/18/99 51325 6/25/99 49596 7/2/99 52613 7/9/99 52373 7/16/99 52573 7/23/99 49349 7/30/99 46971 8/6/99 43008 8/13/99 42477 8/20/99 42684 8/27/99 41669 9/3/99 40855 9/10/99 40243 9/17/99 37119 9/24/99 32494 10/1/99 32623 10/8/99 32493 10/15/99 27463 10/22/99 27420 10/29/99 28818 11/5/99 29992 11/12/99 28909 11/19/99 27998 11/26/99 25152 12/3/99 24049 12/10/99 20728 12/17/99 18939 12/24/99 18879 12/31/99 20638 1/7/00 20821 1/14/00 20650 1/21/00 18872 1/28/00 16402 2/4/00 17619 2/11/00 14598 2/18/00 12164 2/25/00 9666 3/3/00 10248 3/10/00 7951 3/17/00 9135 3/24/00 10259 3/31/00 10932 4/7/00 10767 4/14/00 8039 4/20/00 8781 4/28/00 9541 5/5/00 9040 5/12/00 8127 5/19/00 6836 5/26/00 5752 6/2/00 9650 6/9/00 9824 6/16/00 10116 6/23/00 8090 6/30/00 9250 7/7/00 11528 7/14/00 12877 7/21/00 12042 7/28/00 10164 8/4/00 11603 8/11/00 13589 8/18/00 13825 8/25/00 13485 9/1/00 14150 9/8/00 14315 9/15/00 13643 9/22/00 10618 9/29/00 11095 10/6/00 8707 10/13/00 5633 10/20/00 4581 10/27/00 4386 11/3/00 6812 11/10/00 5068 11/17/00 5644 11/24/00 4810 12/1/00 4622 12/8/00 6701 12/15/00 5949 12/22/00 7446 12/29/00 10533 1/5/01 11464 1/12/00 13319 1/19/00 14120 1/26/00 15929 2/2/01 17762 2/9/01 17874 2/16/01 17976 2/23/01 15405 3/2/01 17031 3/9/01 17492 3/16/01 13001 3/23/01 11428 3/30/01 13331 4/6/01 11352 4/13/01 13169 4/20/01 14600 4/27/01 15971 5/4/01 17559 5/11/01 18032 5/18/01 21139 5/25/01 20938 6/1/01 20987 6/8/01 21842 6/15/01 19902 6/22/01 19765 6/29/01 21821 7/6/01 20839 7/13/01 21161 7/20/01 21242 7/27/01 21097 8/3/01 22902 8/10/01 22982 8/17/01 23567 8/24/01 24714 8/31/01 22753 9/7/01 19902 9/14/01 19080 9/21/01 10913 The twelve months ended August 31, 2001 produced some of the widest spreads in returns ever seen between value and growth stocks and between midcap and large cap stocks. The next chart plots the spread between the twelve-month returns of the Russell 3000 Growth and Value Indices (green line) and between the Russell Top 200 Index (the largest 200 stocks in the U.S. market) and the Russell Midcap Index (the next largest 800 stocks), plotted as the violet line. 2 [GRAPHIC OMITTED] EDGAR REPRESENTATION OF DATA POINTS USED IN PRINTED GRAPHIC MONTHLY DIFFERENCE IN TOTAL RETURNS Between Russell Top 200 and MicCap Indices (Cap Weighted) Data as of August 31, 2001 Source: The Frank Russell Company MONTHLY DIFFERENCE IN TOTAL RETURNS OF RUSSELL INDICES Russell Top Russell 3000 Growth 200 vs Midcap vs Value Jan-80 9.78 -10.85 Feb-80 12.47 -6.53 Mar-80 7.1 1.22 Apr-80 6.25 -0.37 May-80 5.42 -2.69 Jun-80 9.07 -4.6 Jul-80 14.64 -5.65 Aug-80 13.24 -5.44 Sep-80 17.97 -5.45 Oct-80 21.16 -8.31 Nov-80 23.97 -0.19 Dec-80 16.22 -0.7 Jan-81 4.43 -5.54 Feb-81 2.96 -10.36 Mar-81 5.66 -25.21 Apr-81 2.61 -25.36 May-81 5.34 -23.81 Jun-81 -1.52 -16.35 Jul-81 -3.38 -9.95 Aug-81 -6.39 -7.41 Sep-81 -11.21 -7.14 Oct-81 -10.41 -10.68 Nov-81 -15.33 -12.93 Dec-81 -13.58 -11.11 Jan-82 -8.19 -6.21 Feb-82 -9.73 -6.94 Mar-82 -10.66 -1.66 Apr-82 -6.69 0.52 May-82 -8.63 3.88 Jun-82 -5.39 3.12 Jul-82 -5.38 1.81 Aug-82 -6.23 2.16 Sep-82 -2.76 -0.57 Oct-82 -6.09 -1.45 Nov-82 -0.24 -4.88 Dec-82 -0.31 -4.03 Jan-83 -1.52 -6.89 Feb-83 4.86 -7.02 Mar-83 6.66 -7.6 Apr-83 1.75 -4.16 May-83 4.47 -15.3 Jun-83 10.08 -16.66 Jul-83 2.01 -17.22 Aug-83 0.25 -12.18 Sep-83 -1.74 -11.68 Oct-83 -7.61 -3.34 Nov-83 -13 -4.03 Dec-83 -12.95 -2.3 Jan-84 -18.58 0.26 Feb-84 -21.03 4.01 Mar-84 -18.84 3.67 Apr-84 -16.24 4.51 May-84 -15.26 9.95 Jun-84 -15.87 8.5 Jul-84 -13.34 10.54 Aug-84 -11.36 7.54 Sep-84 -14.64 8.51 Oct-84 -10.91 5.57 Nov-84 -12.33 7.24 Dec-84 -12.03 5.54 Jan-85 -3.04 1.34 Feb-85 -1.19 -1.92 Mar-85 -3.1 -0.59 Apr-85 -6.21 -3.28 May-85 -6.37 -3.84 Jun-85 -9.56 -3.63 Jul-85 -8.6 -7.58 Aug-85 -9.22 -4.96 Sep-85 -5.04 -1.65 Oct-85 -6.59 -2.36 Nov-85 -0.76 -1.38 Dec-85 1.22 0.35 Jan-86 -1.98 0.78 Feb-86 -1.39 0.33 Mar-86 2.14 -0.47 Apr-86 8.88 -2.19 May-86 9.6 -2.53 Jun-86 10.97 -0.79 Jul-86 6.42 2.38 Aug-86 2.33 2.52 Sep-86 -2.16 -3.08 Oct-86 -0.36 -1.81 Nov-86 -3.61 0.06 Dec-86 -4.52 -0.72 Jan-87 -1.4 2.66 Feb-87 3.74 0.4 Mar-87 1.12 2.07 Apr-87 -2.65 5.04 May-87 -2.63 5.23 Jun-87 -3.95 6.01 Jul-87 0.01 4.58 Aug-87 6.83 5.44 Sep-87 10.95 8 Oct-87 3.11 11.34 Nov-87 0.98 5.7 Dec-87 4.05 4.17 Jan-88 -4.41 2.86 Feb-88 -7.8 2.18 Mar-88 -7.93 -3.3 Apr-88 -8.54 -4.45 May-88 -10.74 -3.79 Jun-88 -10.03 -7.12 Jul-88 -11.56 -5.18 Aug-88 -12.96 -6.35 Sep-88 -11.66 -5.36 Oct-88 -10.94 -10.77 Nov-88 -10.06 -5.5 Dec-88 -11.63 -3.91 Jan-89 -4.34 -2.14 Feb-89 -6 -1.51 Mar-89 -4.61 4.52 Apr-89 -1.22 4.73 May-89 1.68 2.87 Jun-89 0.12 5.39 Jul-89 6.22 6.01 Aug-89 8.03 5 Sep-89 7.44 4.67 Oct-89 9.8 5.25 Nov-89 12.86 4.69 Dec-89 10.46 6.19 Jan-90 6.68 5.46 Feb-90 6 8.01 Mar-90 9.03 7.03 Apr-90 9.17 8.87 May-90 11.27 10.16 Jun-90 15.39 10.58 Jul-90 10.92 10.68 Aug-90 9.43 13.31 Sep-90 7.15 14.63 Oct-90 7.27 15.38 Nov-90 6.31 12.34 Dec-90 7.53 10.56 Jan-91 11.39 7.78 Feb-91 15.17 7.4 Mar-91 14.65 5.18 Apr-91 10.65 1.56 May-91 8.64 0.05 Jun-91 4.17 0.1 Jul-91 5.82 -3.46 Aug-91 9.72 -7.77 Sep-91 9.79 -14.11 Oct-91 7.76 -20.65 Nov-91 10.05 -13.33 Dec-91 16.25 -11.69 Jan-92 11.39 -13.43 Feb-92 6.52 -12.9 Mar-92 1.88 -9.3 Apr-92 -0.68 -6 May-92 -1.36 -4.85 Jun-92 -2.91 -5.18 Jul-92 -3.65 -4.99 Aug-92 -3.3 -3.87 Sep-92 -2.57 -4.16 Oct-92 -1.12 -6.03 Nov-92 -2.82 -9.18 Dec-92 -9.68 -10.36 Jan-93 -11.5 -7.51 Feb-93 -14.43 -4.46 Mar-93 -14.53 -6.79 Apr-93 -12.9 -9.04 May-93 -11.48 -9.91 Jun-93 -12.87 -11 Jul-93 -15.96 -11.88 Aug-93 -18.28 -14 Sep-93 -18.74 -13.62 Oct-93 -17.4 -8.72 Nov-93 -16.4 -4.79 Dec-93 -14.96 -6.09 Jan-94 -12.24 -3.72 Feb-94 -4.69 -7.02 Mar-94 -4.57 -5.37 Apr-94 -3.39 -4.78 May-94 -4.78 -2.19 Jun-94 -2.35 -0.96 Jul-94 0.68 0 Aug-94 2.93 0.12 Sep-94 5.64 1.32 Oct-94 4.17 1.14 Nov-94 3.7 0.93 Dec-94 4.15 3.73 Jan-95 4.52 4.05 Feb-95 3.59 4.74 Mar-95 6.22 4.63 Apr-95 6.74 5.73 May-95 5.91 4.7 Jun-95 10.23 3.13 Jul-95 11.27 1.62 Aug-95 6.05 1.08 Sep-95 5.09 4.37 Oct-95 4.57 5.51 Nov-95 2.54 3.29 Dec-95 -0.46 4.9 Jan-96 0.93 6.05 Feb-96 2.18 5.98 Mar-96 -0.88 5.4 Apr-96 3.7 0.72 May-96 7.48 1.35 Jun-96 3.39 5.55 Jul-96 -1.16 9.1 Aug-96 0.42 7.32 Sep-96 2.99 5.4 Oct-96 -2.14 4.77 Nov-96 -0.98 7.94 Dec-96 0.28 5.02 Jan-97 2.69 6.86 Feb-97 -2.07 9.53 Mar-97 -2.82 9.5 Apr-97 -3.57 16.7 May-97 -4.14 14.38 Jun-97 -4.15 13.47 Jul-97 1.1 11.98 Aug-97 -1.85 7.8 Sep-97 -7.23 6.09 Oct-97 -3.95 4.41 Nov-97 -4.46 5.48 Dec-97 -6.09 5.52 Jan-98 -3.24 6.17 Feb-98 1.24 4.39 Mar-98 1.86 5.96 Apr-98 -0.04 1.66 May-98 -4.59 4.77 Jun-98 1.64 7.23 Jul-98 1.23 12.6 Aug-98 2.32 18.21 Sep-98 5.3 19.05 Oct-98 7.8 21.66 Nov-98 12.06 21.08 Dec-98 21.52 23.88 Jan-99 23.41 25.89 Feb-99 16.4 24.59 Mar-99 21.83 24.81 Apr-99 12.28 20.03 May-99 11.83 15.71 Jun-99 11.19 14.59 Jul-99 9.54 8.1 Aug-99 19.23 10.12 Sep-99 17.03 10.06 Oct-99 18.63 11.23 Nov-99 22.02 8.25 Dec-99 27.17 3.56 Jan-00 18.29 -3.35 Feb-00 37.37 -15.79 Mar-00 28.96 -12.38 Apr-00 31.17 -4.6 May-00 26.3 -1.62 Jun-00 34.24 -4.36 Jul-00 28.51 -4.75 Aug-00 29.08 -11.11 Sep-00 14.52 -17.6 Oct-00 3.49 -18.63 Nov-00 -14.9 -16.32 Dec-00 -30.45 -20.39 Jan-01 -25.28 -18.4 Feb-01 -48.76 -11.45 Mar-01 -43.88 -13.79 Apr-01 -39.2 -17.84 May-01 -37.73 -20.09 Jun-01 -46.82 -20.36 Jul-01 -43.85 -17.84 Aug-01 -44.6 -16 For both lines, three distinct market epochs can be identified. For nineteen years prior to 1998, the spread between the twelve-month returns of growth versus value stocks or between large cap versus midcap stocks rarely widened more than 20% one way or the other. During this long initial period, one half of the market always had a tendency to catch up with the other. From 1998 through midyear 2000 however, the two halves of the market separated more widely and for prolonged periods. Growth stocks were favored over value by almost 40% a year and large cap stocks outperformed midcap by up to 26% per year. It was "different this time" according to New Economy enthusiasts, thus justifying huge differentials in valuations between stocks well positioned for the future and stocks less fortunate. And the more these New Economy stocks rose in price and capitalization, it appears to us that the more institutions bought such stocks to cause their portfolios to conform to the broad market indices. Thus, we believe, the largest stocks became larger still due to follow-on institutional buying, especially by index funds. Finally from early 2000 to date, the market produced a powerful reversal against the style biases that were so successful from 1998 through early 2000. Old Economy value stocks trounced New Economy growth stocks and neglected midcap stocks outperformed the well known large caps. The severity of these style reversals indicates to us a market shift of unprecedented ferocity. We believe that the sudden collapse of the New Economy bubble was caused by investors' abrupt realization that many of these companies would never produce earnings and that the easy money from venture capital and IPOs would no longer be available to keep these companies alive. With astronomical valuations, any disappointment could (and did) cause a severe correction in valuation multiples. The chart below plots the price-to-forecast earnings ratio of the Russell 3000 Growth Index over the last twenty-two years. At its peak in early 2000, the Russell 3000 Growth Index (representing more than half of the U.S. market's total capitalization) was selling at a record 52 times the next year's forecast earnings. As of August 31, 2001 however, this ratio had declined by almost half to just 28 times forecast earnings. 3 [GRAPHIC OMITTED] EDGAR REPRESENTATION OF DATA POINTS USED IN PRINTED GRAPHIC FORECAST P/E RATIOS OF THE RUSSELL 3000 INDEX Russell 3000 Growth Index through August 2001 Source: the Frank Russell Company (data through August 2001) Russell 3000 Growth Index Mar-79 9.3 Jun-79 9.1 Sep-79 9.3 Dec-79 9.4 Mar-80 8.2 Jun-80 8.7 Sep-80 10 Dec-80 11 Mar-81 10.4 Jun-81 10.2 Sep-81 8.2 Dec-81 9.1 Mar-82 7.9 Jun-82 8.3 Sep-81 9.2 Dec-81 11.7 Mar-83 12.5 Jun-83 14.3 Sep-83 12.8 Dec-83 12.6 Mar-84 10.8 Jun-84 10.8 Sep-84 10.7 Dec-84 11 Mar-85 11.7 Jun-85 12.8 Sep-85 11.7 Dec-85 14 Mar-86 15.2 Jun-86 16.4 Sep-86 13.8 Dec-86 14.8 Jan-87 15.7 Feb-87 16.8 Mar-87 17 Apr-87 16.4 May-87 15.8 Jun-87 18 Jul-87 17.6 Aug-87 18.1 Sep-87 17.6 Oct-87 13.2 Nov-87 12.2 Dec-87 13.6 Jan-88 12.8 Feb-88 13.5 Mar-88 12.9 Apr-88 12.9 May-88 12.2 Jun-88 13.3 Jul-88 12.3 Aug-88 11.7 Sep-88 12.2 Oct-88 12.4 Nov-88 12 Dec-88 12.4 Jan-89 12.6 Feb-89 12.2 Mar-89 12.4 Apr-89 13.1 May-89 13.7 Jun-89 13.8 Jul-89 14.7 Aug-89 14.8 Sep-89 14.9 Oct-89 14.7 Nov-89 14.8 Dec-89 15.3 Jan-90 13.6 Feb-90 13.7 Mar-90 14.2 Apr-90 14 May-90 15.2 Jun-90 16.2 Jul-90 15 Aug-90 13.5 Sep-90 12.8 Oct-90 12.9 Nov-90 13.8 Dec-90 14.4 Jan-91 14.4 Feb-91 15.6 Mar-91 16.3 Apr-91 16.3 May-91 17 Jun-91 16.4 Jul-91 16.3 Aug-91 16.9 Sep-91 16.7 Oct-91 17 Nov-91 16.6 Dec-91 18.9 Jan-92 17.5 Feb-92 17.7 Mar-92 17.2 Apr-92 17.2 May-92 16.2 Jun-92 17.2 Jul-92 16.8 Aug-92 16.6 Sep-92 16.7 Oct-92 17.1 Nov-92 17.9 Dec-92 18 Jan-93 17 Feb-93 16.4 Mar-93 17 Apr-93 16.6 May-93 17.2 Jun-93 17.5 Jul-93 16.3 Aug-93 17 Sep-93 16.9 Oct-93 17.5 Nov-93 17.3 Dec-93 17.6 Jan-94 17.1 Feb-94 16.8 Mar-94 15.9 Apr-94 16 May-94 16.1 Jun-94 15.9 Jul-94 15.5 Aug-94 16.3 Sep-94 16.1 Oct-94 16.3 Nov-94 15.7 Dec-94 15.9 Jan-95 15 Feb-95 15.7 Mar-95 16.1 Apr-95 16.4 May-95 16.7 Jun-95 17 Jul-95 17.1 Aug-95 16.9 Sep-95 17.7 Oct-95 17.6 Nov-95 18.3 Dec-95 18.4 Jan-96 18 Feb-96 18.3 Mar-96 18.6 Apr-96 19.2 May-96 19.6 Jun-96 21.1 Jul-96 18.4 Aug-96 19 Sep-96 20.5 Oct-96 20.5 Nov-96 21.6 Dec-96 21.4 Jan-97 21.1 Feb-97 20.7 Mar-97 19.6 Apr-97 20.7 May-97 22.1 Jun-97 23.4 Jul-97 23.2 Aug-97 22.2 Sep-97 23 Oct-97 22.6 Nov-97 23.4 Dec-97 23.9 Jan-98 22.9 Feb-98 24.8 Mar-98 26.5 Apr-98 27 May-98 26 Jun-98 29.2 Jul-98 26.9 Aug-98 22.7 Sep-98 24.8 Oct-98 26.9 Nov-98 28.9 Dec-98 31.3 Jan-99 31.2 Feb-99 29.3 Mar-99 30.7 Apr-99 31.1 May-99 30.4 Jun-99 35.9 Jul-99 33.2 Aug-99 33.4 Sep-99 32.8 Oct-99 35.1 Nov-99 37.1 Dec-99 40.6 Jan-00 37.5 Feb-00 39.4 Mar-00 40.7 Apr-00 39.4 May-00 36.9 Jun-00 51.9 Jul-00 41.8 Aug-00 47.9 Sep-00 43.7 Oct-00 41.6 Nov-00 35.3 Dec-00 35.2 Jan-01 36.6 Feb-01 31.5 Mar-01 29.5 Apr-01 35.4 May-01 35.9 Jun-01 32.7 Jul-01 30 Aug-01 28 Unfortunately, the impact to the economy of a burst bubble is not just that INVESTORS made bad investments and lost money. In addition, it appears many COMPANIES also made bad investment decisions, over-expanding and over-paying for their acquisitions with easy money. Recall the Internet advertisements during the 2000 Superbowl game, many from companies no longer in business today. We believe this over-investment led to many failed projects and frequent earnings disappointments, thus compounding the collapse in stock prices. In the next chart, we plot earnings revisions for the Technology sector and for the entire Numeric universe covering all sectors since 1987. Note the much greater incidence of lowered estimates among Technology stocks in recent months. Note too that revisions to earnings forecasts among Technology companies have been weaker than at any time since early 1987 (when our data begins). [GRAPHIC OMITTED] EDGAR REPRESENTATION OF DATA POINTS USED IN PRINTED GRAPHIC DIFFUSION INDICES Three-Month Average Source: The Frank Russell Company; Numeric Investors L.P.(R) (data through August 2001) Technology/Diffusion IBES/First Call Index Diffusion Index Mar-87 -2.97 -0.16 Apr-87 -1.57 0.04 May-87 -0.12 1.15 Jun-87 0.58 0.78 Jul-87 0.45 0.43 Aug-87 -1.04 0.74 Sep-87 -1.39 1.69 Oct-87 -1.16 2.09 Nov-87 -2.44 -0.36 Dec-87 -3.36 -1.99 Jan-88 -3.62 -2.62 Feb-88 -2.1 -0.72 Mar-88 0.24 0.95 Apr-88 -0.04 2.24 May-88 1.79 4.45 Jun-88 1.97 4.84 Jul-88 3.18 4.71 Aug-88 0.65 3.6 Sep-88 -2.48 3.33 Oct-88 -7.76 2.35 Nov-88 -11.78 2.22 Dec-88 -13.73 2.26 Jan-89 -11.42 2.77 Feb-89 -8.36 2.42 Mar-89 -6.46 2.24 Apr-89 -4.04 1.62 May-89 -4.53 0.42 Jun-89 -3.75 -0.24 Jul-89 -7.52 -1.06 Aug-89 -10.45 -1.85 Sep-89 -13.23 -2.28 Oct-89 -13.03 -2.65 Nov-89 -12.66 -3.03 Dec-89 -11.39 -3.43 Jan-90 -9.36 -3.33 Feb-90 -5.77 -4.21 Mar-90 -4.29 -5.42 Apr-90 -3.99 -5.92 May-90 -2.98 -5.73 Jun-90 -1.5 -4.46 Jul-90 -1.83 -4.34 Aug-90 -5.53 -3.95 Sep-90 -10.09 -6.01 Oct-90 -13.69 -7.95 Nov-90 -15.25 -10.07 Dec-90 -14.58 -9.93 Jan-91 -11.23 -8.27 Feb-91 -7.04 -7.83 Mar-91 -3.13 -6.78 Apr-91 -3.74 -7.78 May-91 -3.17 -6.55 Jun-91 -4.68 -6.2 Jul-91 -6.01 -5.08 Aug-91 -10.94 -4.84 Sep-91 -11.97 -4.61 Oct-91 -11.57 -4.46 Nov-91 -10.03 -3.99 Dec-91 -10.94 -4.64 Jan-92 -8.73 -4.62 Feb-92 -4.99 -4.59 Mar-92 -1.58 -3.13 Apr-92 -1.6 -1.73 May-92 -2.89 0.18 Jun-92 -3.81 0.32 Jul-92 -6.18 0.19 Aug-92 -6.66 -0.73 Sep-92 -7.26 -1.08 Oct-92 -4.03 -1.63 Nov-92 -3.26 -1.73 Dec-92 -2.6 -0.95 Jan-93 -2.18 -0.1 Feb-93 0.25 -0.18 Mar-93 0.39 -0.68 Apr-93 1.12 -0.88 May-93 1.63 0.31 Jun-93 2.72 0.81 Jul-93 1.6 0.86 Aug-93 1.22 0.31 Sep-93 -0.69 0.01 Oct-93 -0.3 -0.12 Nov-93 0.62 1.01 Dec-93 2.18 1.54 Jan-94 2.18 1.54 Feb-94 2.49 1.57 Mar-94 3.92 1.79 Apr-94 5.26 2.41 May-94 7.21 2.97 Jun-94 6.08 2.53 Jul-94 5.03 2.92 Aug-94 2.05 3.51 Sep-94 2.42 4.26 Oct-94 5.01 5.29 Nov-94 8.06 5.96 Dec-94 9.9 6.14 Jan-95 12.35 5.08 Feb-95 14.21 4.16 Mar-95 15.29 4.19 Apr-95 13.9 5.31 May-95 15.72 5.16 Jun-95 16.65 4.78 Jul-95 18.62 3.93 Aug-95 16.44 3.95 Sep-95 13.83 3.95 Oct-95 10.81 4.24 Nov-95 7.18 3.99 Dec-95 4.71 4 Jan-96 1.97 3.2 Feb-96 -2.47 2.03 Mar-96 -5.51 1.35 Apr-96 -6.62 1.71 May-96 -3.95 3.24 Jun-96 -3.36 3.54 Jul-96 -6.59 3.45 Aug-96 -10.51 2.79 Sep-96 -10.71 2.75 Oct-96 -9.18 3.57 Nov-96 -6.12 4.39 Dec-96 -3.34 5.72 Jan-97 1.49 5.32 Feb-97 3.37 4.98 Mar-97 2.89 3.92 Apr-97 1.67 3.95 May-97 1.08 3.7 Jun-97 1.08 3.47 Jul-97 2.21 3.45 Aug-97 4.2 4.65 Sep-97 4.8 4.98 Oct-97 2.33 5.5 Nov-97 0.24 4.57 Dec-97 -2.48 4.2 Jan-98 -5.54 2.31 Feb-98 -8.94 -0.2 Mar-98 -8.8 -1.34 Apr-98 -7.21 -1.39 May-98 -4.7 0.77 Jun-98 -5.5 0.49 Jul-98 -6.77 -0.22 Aug-98 -7.83 -2.48 Sep-98 -5.55 -3.02 Oct-98 -4.03 -4.7 Nov-98 -2.5 -5 Dec-98 -0.93 -3.85 Jan-99 4.83 -1.48 Feb-99 5.56 -0.44 Mar-99 4.66 -0.12 Apr-99 5.08 1.34 May-99 4.6 4.13 Jun-99 4.79 5.24 Jul-99 5.72 5.22 Aug-99 5.85 4.9 Sep-99 6.89 4.15 Oct-99 9.49 6.65 Nov-99 9.95 5.89 Dec-99 10.44 6.73 Jan-00 8.03 5.9 Feb-00 8.81 7.24 Mar-00 9.5 8.38 Apr-00 13.89 13.16 May-00 13.76 12.56 Jun-00 13.31 10.89 Jul-00 12.82 8.64 Aug-00 12.87 7.17 Sep-00 12.56 7.02 Oct-00 11.5 4.12 Nov-00 9.92 3.58 Dec-00 5.32 1.41 Jan-01 -5.12 -0.9 Feb-01 -9.81 -3.4 Mar-01 -16.81 -5.87 Apr-01 -24.31 -7.9 May-01 -23.92 -7.11 Jun-01 -19.77 -6.69 Jul-01 -18.71 -7.58 Aug-01 -18.71 -7.95 With earnings estimates falling in tandem with contracting valuation multiples, there has been a catastrophic decline in share prices. The result has been complete devastation to the value of many Technology stocks, including many that were among 4 the most glamorous in the world just two years ago. In the following chart we compare the total return of the Technology sector with other "Old Economy" sectors from pre-bubble January 1997 through post-bubble August 2001. Note the 300% return for the Technology sector in the three-year period through early 2000, followed by a complete reversal thereafter. Thus from their peak, the average Technology stock has declined 75% in just eighteen months. And those boring Old Economy stocks have now outperformed the New Economy over the past 41/2 years from the start of the bubble to its demise. [GRAPHIC OMITTED] EDGAR REPRESENTATION OF DATA POINTS USED IN PRINTED GRAPHIC NEW ECONOMY VS. OLD ECONOMY SECTOR PERFORMANCE Cumulative Performance January 1997 through August 2001 Source: the Frank Russell Company; Numeric Investors L.P.(R) (data through August 2001) Basic Industry Energy Industrial Technology Jan-97 0.41 2.52 2.56 5.87 Feb-97 3.47 -8.63 0.13 -4.55 Mar-97 -1.11 -5.13 -3.92 -13.56 Apr-97 1.39 -7.02 -2.32 -12.21 May-97 10.15 3.42 6.69 4.05 Jun-97 13.72 5.15 12.17 5.57 Jul-97 21.6 15.67 19.75 19.78 Aug-97 20.91 22.36 19.51 24.6 Sep-97 24.75 33.89 24.69 28.49 Oct-97 12.98 32.8 17.48 13.01 Nov-97 11.13 20.86 17.83 10.47 Dec-97 7.51 19.89 18.63 6.01 Jan-98 9.39 6.91 17.23 7.94 Feb-98 14.57 13.41 28.49 20.86 Mar-98 20.51 18.83 34.17 21.19 Apr-98 23.16 23.05 35.01 26.66 May-98 13.66 14.6 29.07 12.28 Jun-98 7.96 6.3 25.6 19.69 Jul-98 0.91 -11.22 17.7 9.78 Aug-98 -17.09 -33.92 -4.96 -17.76 Sep-98 -12.28 -20.45 -2.08 -6.32 Oct-98 -4.15 -14.42 6.91 2.92 Nov-98 -1.1 -26.78 11.96 16.44 Dec-98 -2.31 -27.27 15.67 32.22 Jan-99 -5.83 -32.97 13 50.11 Feb-99 -4.96 -35.25 8.48 33.74 Mar-99 -3.3 -18.26 7.21 42.35 Apr-99 21.51 -6.13 22.18 47.06 May-99 13.63 -8.16 23.55 50.47 Jun-99 19.66 -5.44 27.69 71.09 Jul-99 14.57 -2.02 23.82 68.15 Aug-99 9.2 1.72 16.9 73.16 Sep-99 5.98 -3.31 8.99 82.7 Oct-99 4.83 -6.23 4.14 105.26 Nov-99 4.23 -6.89 5.09 146.58 Dec-99 17.87 -4.07 9.33 211.16 Jan-00 3.94 -3.71 0.8 208.48 Feb-00 -8.09 0.81 -3.5 303.8 Mar-00 3.72 22.33 7.26 273.68 Apr-00 2.68 21.69 9.85 211.35 May-00 -1.94 35.56 5.47 171.43 Jun-00 -8.86 31.03 0.92 230.17 Jul-00 -8.36 20.1 3.55 196.69 Aug-00 -3.96 39.55 8.91 242.77 Sep-00 -12.14 40.57 3.79 194.06 Oct-00 -3.31 28.44 8.19 156.22 Nov-00 -2.37 18.61 3.06 76.71 Dec-00 11.74 48.49 8.29 76.24 Jan-01 8.47 40.71 12.92 109.31 Feb-01 8.9 41.51 11.48 44.7 Mar-01 2.43 35.28 4.38 18.54 Apr-01 9.45 50.91 14.66 49.05 May-01 12.67 48.72 20.76 43.36 Jun-01 7.82 23.85 16.16 44.77 Jul-01 5.09 11.7 12.86 20.55 Aug-01 6.49 4.25 11.23 3.48 With the abrupt destruction of so much paper wealth, it appears that economists are now concerned about the "Wealth Effect" in which the real economy contracts because consumers spend less after their investments have declined in value. Indeed the history of past financial mania suggests that a contraction in consumer spending and the real economy is likely following the collapse of a bubble. With the sell-off following the terrorist attacks on September 11th, and the resulting flight to Treasury bonds, the market has dropped to a level that appears undervalued, if one compares the S&P 500's forecast earnings yield to the yield on a 10-year Treasury note. In the chart below, note how tight has been the fit between the two yields since 1980. Note too how the Treasury yield has been higher than the forecast earnings yield for most of the past five years, indicating how expensive the market has been for much of the recent past. Lastly, as the numbers on the right of the chart show, note how the market's current forecast earnings yield is well above that of the Treasury yield, indicating to us apparent undervaluation of stocks at the moment. 5 [GRAPHIC OMITTED] EDGAR REPRESENTATION OF DATA POINTS USED IN PRINTED GRAPHIC S&P 500 BOTTOM-UP FORECAST EARNINGS YIELD VS. 10-YEAR TREASURY YIELD SOURCE: IBES/FIRST CALL Month-end data through September 2001 S&P 500 EARNINGS YIELD 10-YR TREASURY YIELD Jan-80 13.49 11.12 Feb-80 13.4 12.73 Mar-80 13.86 12.6 Apr-80 14.42 10.76 May-80 14.1 10.22 Jun-80 14.06 10.02 Jul-80 13.31 10.68 Aug-80 13.31 11.54 Sep-80 13.14 11.85 Oct-80 13.07 12.43 Nov-80 12.09 12.63 Dec-80 12.82 12.33 Jan-81 13.67 12.62 Feb-81 12.9 13.38 Mar-81 13.02 13.07 Apr-81 13.36 14.05 May-81 13.51 13.45 Jun-81 13.78 13.8 Jul-81 13.85 14.59 Aug-81 14.92 15.38 Sep-81 15.95 15.77 Oct-81 15.27 14.6 Nov-81 14.68 13.14 Dec-81 15.07 13.98 Jan-82 15.5 14.1 Feb-82 13.33 13.99 Mar-82 15.82 14.12 Apr-82 15.01 13.77 May-82 15.36 13.67 Jun-82 15.55 14.37 Jul-82 15.7 13.63 Aug-82 13.82 12.76 Sep-82 13.68 11.88 Oct-82 12.27 11 Nov-82 11.82 10.79 Dec-82 11.74 10.39 Jan-83 11.42 10.79 Feb-83 11.18 10.28 Mar-83 10.84 10.6 Apr-83 10.21 10.25 May-83 10.28 10.81 Jun-83 10.06 10.93 Jul-83 10.56 11.74 Aug-83 10.67 11.96 Sep-83 10.63 11.4 Oct-83 10.99 11.69 Nov-83 10.95 11.61 Dec-83 11.26 11.79 Jan-84 11.6 11.65 Feb-84 12.24 12.02 Mar-84 12.14 12.49 Apr-84 12.18 12.8 May-84 13.1 13.87 Jun-84 12.99 13.79 Jul-84 13.35 12.88 Aug-84 12.07 12.76 Sep-84 12.14 12.46 Oct-84 12.21 11.74 Nov-84 12.41 11.57 Dec-84 12.16 11.54 Jan-85 11.28 11.14 Feb-85 11.13 11.9 Mar-85 11.13 11.64 Apr-85 11.05 11.4 May-85 10.4 10.31 Jun-85 10.26 10.28 Jul-85 10.3 10.56 Aug-85 10.49 10.28 Sep-85 10.74 10.31 Oct-85 10.53 10.02 Nov-85 10.43 9.6 Dec-85 9.85 9.01 Jan-86 9.53 9.07 Feb-86 9.43 8.13 Mar-86 8.67 7.38 Apr-86 8.19 7.37 May-86 8.25 8.02 Jun-86 7.87 7.34 Jul-86 8.02 7.33 Aug-86 8.23 6.94 Sep-86 7.69 7.45 Oct-86 8.46 7.34 Nov-86 8.07 7.15 Dec-86 7.99 7.24 Jan-87 8.31 7.17 Feb-87 8.31 7.17 Mar-87 7.19 7.5 Apr-87 7.1 8.19 May-87 7.41 8.47 Jun-87 7.31 8.37 Jul-87 6.95 8.66 Aug-87 6.42 8.97 Sep-87 7.38 9.59 Oct-87 9.79 8.86 Nov-87 9.43 8.97 Dec-87 9.37 8.86 Jan-88 9.31 8.25 Feb-88 9.21 8.14 Mar-88 8.84 8.56 Apr-88 9.33 8.87 May-88 9.99 9.17 Jun-88 9.28 8.8 Jul-88 9.57 9.12 Aug-88 10.07 9.24 Sep-88 9.87 8.87 Oct-88 9.65 8.63 Nov-88 10.29 9.06 Dec-88 9.95 9.14 Jan-89 9.73 8.98 Feb-89 9.6 9.3 Mar-89 9.65 9.29 Apr-89 9.36 9.03 May-89 9.11 8.6 Jun-89 8.99 8.06 Jul-89 8.69 7.8 Aug-89 8.44 8.26 Sep-89 8.48 8.32 Oct-89 8.46 7.92 Nov-89 8.47 7.85 Dec-89 8.19 7.95 Jan-90 8.49 8.41 Feb-90 8.67 8.53 Mar-90 8.5 8.65 Apr-90 8.39 9.04 May-90 8.09 8.63 Jun-90 7.88 8.43 Jul-90 7.89 8.36 Aug-90 8.5 8.86 Sep-90 9.08 8.81 Oct-90 9.54 8.64 Nov-90 8.76 8.26 Dec-90 8.41 8.09 Jan-91 8.75 8.03 Feb-91 7.36 8.01 Mar-91 7.17 8.05 Apr-91 6.8 8.02 May-91 7.19 8.06 Jun-91 7.05 8.25 Jul-91 6.94 8.17 Aug-91 6.81 7.82 Sep-91 6.92 7.48 Oct-91 6.85 7.47 Nov-91 6.81 7.37 Dec-91 7.06 6.74 Jan-92 6.45 7.3 Feb-92 6.59 7.28 Mar-92 6.62 7.55 Apr-92 6.62 7.62 May-92 6.64 7.33 Jun-92 6.95 7.15 Jul-92 6.78 6.74 Aug-92 6.77 6.62 Sep-92 6.79 6.4 Oct-92 6.99 7.01 Nov-92 6.74 6.96 Dec-92 6.67 6.94 Jan-93 6.7 6.86 Feb-93 6.69 6.46 Mar-93 6.54 6.16 Apr-93 6.53 6.05 May-93 6.63 6.24 Jun-93 6.71 6.08 Jul-93 6.71 5.83 Aug-93 6.68 5.79 Sep-93 6.66 5.83 Oct-93 6.72 5.37 Nov-93 6.73 5.74 Dec-93 6.81 5.91 Jan-94 6.67 5.83 Feb-94 6.78 5.89 Mar-94 6.89 6.48 Apr-94 7.33 7.06 May-94 7.35 7.1 Jun-94 7.3 7.21 Jul-94 7.58 7.51 Aug-94 7.47 7.27 Sep-94 7.52 7.51 Oct-94 7.64 7.8 Nov-94 7.86 8.06 Dec-94 8.14 7.82 Jan-95 8.02 7.7 Feb-95 7.87 7.45 Mar-95 7.82 7.14 Apr-95 7.71 7.12 May-95 7.55 6.59 Jun-95 7.48 6.15 Jul-95 7.36 6.43 Aug-95 7.31 6.59 Sep-95 7.18 6.23 Oct-95 7.14 6.03 Nov-95 7.13 6.03 Dec-95 6.86 5.79 Jan-96 7.01 5.64 Feb-96 6.51 5.73 Mar-96 6.69 6.43 Apr-96 6.68 6.58 May-96 6.51 6.71 Jun-96 6.6 7.02 Jul-96 6.92 6.91 Aug-96 6.68 6.66 Sep-96 6.53 6.9 Oct-96 6.38 6.63 Nov-96 6.2 6.25 Dec-96 6.27 6.41 Jan-97 6.05 6.6 Feb-97 5.76 6.33 Mar-97 5.98 6.79 Apr-97 6.23 6.92 May-97 5.75 6.71 Jun-97 5.44 6.43 Jul-97 5.22 6.21 Aug-97 5.36 6.38 Sep-97 5.27 6.12 Oct-97 5.19 6.13 Nov-97 5.34 5.83 Dec-97 5.25 5.82 Jan-98 5.32 5.48 Feb-98 4.92 5.49 Mar-98 4.66 5.58 Apr-98 4.54 5.59 May-98 4.58 5.68 Jun-98 4.65 5.52 Jul-98 4.4 5.47 Aug-98 4.72 5.42 Sep-98 4.99 4.91 Oct-98 4.84 4.7 Nov-98 4.51 4.89 Dec-98 4.41 4.6 Jan-99 4.16 4.73 Feb-99 4.24 4.98 Mar-99 4.02 5.14 Apr-99 3.99 5.14 May-99 4.02 5.61 Jun-99 4.12 5.94 Jul-99 3.95 5.76 Aug-99 4.22 5.89 Sep-99 4.3 5.95 Oct-99 4.45 6.13 Nov-99 4.07 6.05 Dec-99 4.07 6.27 Jan-00 3.99 6.78 Feb-00 4.27 6.51 Mar-00 4.31 6.23 Apr-00 4.24 5.92 May-00 4.24 6.39 Jun-00 4.24 6.04 Jul-00 4.2 6.11 Aug-00 4.22 5.75 Sep-00 4.22 5.69 Oct-00 4.65 5.65 Nov-00 4.46 5.73 Dec-00 4.46 5.32 Jan-01 4.48 5.26 Feb-01 4.48 5.08 Mar-01 5 4.9 Apr-01 4.57 5.34 May-01 4.55 5.76 Jun-01 4.64 5.42 Jul-01 4.66 5.14 Aug-01 4.94 4.83 Sep-01 5.25 4.58 Whereas the last five years were primarily a period of strong earnings growth and accelerating productivity gains, we believe the immediate future is much more clouded. Further reductions in earnings expectations seem to us almost certain. It appears that the economic contraction underway before September 11th has been compounded by the after-effects of this tragic day. In the chart below, we plot the bottom-up forecast for the S&P 500 weekly since the start of 1996, for the then-current and next fiscal years. The violet line plots a twelve-month earnings forecast as a blend of the two fiscal years. For most of this 51/2-year period, the violet line climbed as the economy grew from year to year, even as each year's earnings forecasts tended to decline because of excessive analyst optimism. [GRAPHIC OMITTED] EDGAR REPRESENTATION OF DATA POINTS USED IN PRINTED GRAPHIC YEAR-AHEAD BOTTOM-UP S&P EARNINGS FORECASTS Source: IBES International Bottom-up consensus S&P 500 earnings estimates as of date shown, through September 28, 2001 FY1997 FY1998 FY1999 FY2000 FY2001 FY2002 48.23 48.06 47.84 47.87 47.76 47.59 47.52 47.36 47.48 47.32 47.27 47.23 47.16 47.22 47.11 47.13 47.19 47.17 47.13 47.22 47.15 47.08 47.12 47.04 47.02 46.93 46.88 46.79 46.72 46.63 46.56 46.56 46.47 46.44 46.44 46.33 46.45 46.29 46.2 46.3 46.26 46.3 52.54 46.26 52.51 46.22 52.36 46.24 52.41 46.25 52.47 46.25 52.56 46.21 52.63 46.28 52.83 46.31 52.84 46.34 53.08 46.35 53.22 46.32 53.06 46.3 53.13 46.38 53.09 46.39 53.15 46.33 53.08 46.27 52.77 46.28 52.71 46.26 52.73 46.26 52.73 46.06 52.63 46.03 52.55 45.93 52.5 45.91 52.49 45.9 52.46 45.85 52.4 45.93 52.5 45.94 52.49 46.01 52.44 45.97 52.43 45.93 52.42 45.94 52.47 45.8 52.33 45.76 52.37 45.69 52.32 45.64 52.27 45.6 52.23 45.6 52.24 45.59 52.26 45.52 52.2 45.71 52.4 45.55 52.2 45.55 52.24 45.52 52.25 45.52 52.15 45.45 52.19 45.44 52.16 45.39 52.08 45.29 51.96 45.22 51.91 45.21 51.9 45.15 51.85 45.17 51.81 45.17 51.78 45.07 51.71 44.97 51.65 45 51.65 44.91 51.51 44.85 51.46 44.82 51.38 44.75 51.29 44.75 51.19 44.62 51.01 44.72 51.1 57.2 44.74 51 57.34 44.86 50.98 57.35 45.05 50.82 57.14 50.76 57.98 50.46 57.55 50.25 57.25 50.17 57.49 50.1 57.38 49.98 57.4 49.68 57.25 49.34 56.99 49.3 56.99 48.83 56.58 48.88 56.72 48.77 56.72 48.61 56.54 48.4 56.39 48.38 56.38 48.58 56.59 48.49 56.55 48.41 56.49 48.32 56.39 48.17 56.27 48.02 56.15 48.05 56.07 47.74 55.97 47.59 55.89 47.56 55.8 47.57 55.86 47.48 55.75 47.34 55.55 47.16 55.43 46.99 55.29 46.88 55.22 46.65 55.19 46.45 55.04 46.35 55.09 46.16 54.89 45.84 54.31 45.67 53.83 45.48 53.88 45.42 53.68 45.37 53.4 45.23 53.31 45.07 52.97 45.08 52.95 45.06 52.6 44.77 52.46 44.62 52.25 44.49 51.81 44.39 51.83 59.15 44.36 51.75 59.25 44.32 51.42 58.59 44.28 51.37 59.08 44.41 51.37 59.39 44.29 51.24 59.45 51.35 59.33 51.25 59.37 51.17 59.38 51.14 59.36 51.07 59.42 50.98 59.46 50.76 59.15 50.76 59.24 50.65 59.16 50.81 59.35 50.88 59.4 51.14 59.64 51.19 59.64 51.33 59.76 51.24 59.72 51.23 59.73 51.26 59.65 51.27 59.66 51.22 59.64 51.24 59.66 51.02 59.54 51.1 59.63 50.99 59.49 51.05 59.5 51.42 59.94 51.49 59.99 51.24 59.62 51.29 59.7 51.24 59.72 51.25 59.63 51.21 59.55 51.14 59.49 51.06 59.43 50.99 59.36 50.89 59.22 50.88 59.23 50.89 59.27 50.99 59.31 50.88 58.99 50.85 58.88 50.78 58.7 50.78 58.68 50.77 58.68 50.73 58.74 50.63 58.25 50.57 58.07 65.85 50.62 58.11 66.44 50.62 58.11 66.45 50.65 57.85 66.81 50.6 57.76 66.96 50.8 58.09 67.12 50.95 58.51 67.55 58.39 67.57 58.61 67.97 58.53 67.87 58.41 67.65 58.82 67.51 58.84 67.5 58.58 67.19 58.52 67.27 58.22 67.13 58.1 66.83 58.07 66.69 58.32 66.84 58.57 66.92 58.58 67.02 58.68 67.07 58.47 66.99 58.38 66.72 58.4 66.7 58.53 66.88 58.36 66.68 58.59 67.04 58.5 66.94 58.2 66.22 58.06 65.92 58.3 66.34 58.15 66.04 57.95 65.55 57.94 65.45 58.1 65.66 57.96 65.53 57.96 65.53 57.87 65.52 57.8 65.13 57.74 65.11 57.72 65.03 57.63 64.87 57.43 64.45 57.46 64.25 57.61 63.82 57.43 64.43 57.36 63.53 57.23 62.93 57.19 62.44 57.12 62.45 56.88 61.43 56.81 61.17 56.46 60.32 56.26 60.29 69.36 56.22 60.22 68.99 56.2 59.92 69.07 56.1 59.51 68.46 56.1 58.86 68.3 58.51 68.27 58.47 68.28 58.29 68.19 58.02 67.67 57.41 67.11 57.09 67.11 56.49 66.38 55.96 65.9 55.34 65.26 54.94 64.9 54.54 64.6 54.01 64.07 53.58 63.57 53.42 63.25 53.38 63.23 53.25 63.17 53.1 62.91 52.75 62.73 52.65 62.63 52.37 62.52 51.76 61.73 51.58 61.63 51.39 61.38 50.9 60.83 50.59 60.54 49.97 60.2 49.67 59.93 49.6 59.76 49.38 59.66 49.18 59.31 49.04 59.14 49.04 59.05 48.84 58.71 48.64 58.36 47.76 56.66 47 55.51 Since late 2000 however, the violet line has been in a steep decline because of the drastic decline in estimates for fiscal years 2001 and 2002. For the nine months ended September 30th, the forecast for fiscal year 2002 S&P 500 earnings has declined by $12.70, from $69.36 to $56.66. Extrapolating this rate of decline another fifteen months to the end of 2002, we believe earnings for next year could decline another $21 and thus be only about half of the earnings expected at the start of this year. Given the events of September 11th, the rate of decline in earnings, in our opinion, would seem certain to accelerate further. 6 Thus, we believe the apparent cheapness of the market based on current earnings expectations may be illusory if next year's earnings are much less than the current (and already stale) consensus estimate of about $57. We can readily understand how earnings uncertainty and the new challenges of making war on terrorism make the level of the market less certain today than it was a few months ago. However if you believe in "stocks for the long term", today must be a better time to buy the market when the NASDAQ is at 1500, versus eighteen months ago, when the NASDAQ was at 5100. From a long-term perspective, we believe that the market is an attractive place to invest today. SUCCESS OF OUR FUNDS Numeric measures success by how well our strategies have beaten their benchmarks. We believe that investors always have the option of index funds, so active managers like Numeric must add value above the return of their benchmarks to remain in business over the long term. Even while we focus on our added value, we recognize that our investors also care if our funds are appreciating, because we believe it is the value of the fund that will ultimately fund our investors' ambitions, such as paying for college or retirement. The following table presents returns for our funds for the six and twelve months ended August 31, 2001. Several important observations can be made. Reading the rightmost column first, we note that three out of our four funds declined last year in a falling market. The one exception, the N/I NUMERIC INVESTORS SMALL CAP VALUE FUND, gained almost 38% because the market rewarded the smaller, Old Economy stocks that were so out of favor just eighteen months ago and because our stock selection process was highly successful among such stocks. The rightmost column reveals that two of our four funds added substantial value relative to their benchmarks last year. Both the MicroCap and Small Cap Value Funds trounced their Russell 2000 Growth and Value Index benchmarks. Our Growth Fund essentially tied its Russell 2500 Growth Index benchmark, while our Midcap Fund lagged its benchmarks. Clearly our strategies were more successful in adding value among smaller than midcap stocks last year.
PERFORMANCE 1ST HALF 2ND HALF FULL FISCAL YEAR 8/31/00 TO 2/28/01 2/28/01 TO 8/31/01 A/O 8/31/01 ------------------ ------------------ ---------------- N/I MICRO CAP FUND -22.04% +2.41% -20.16% Russell 2000 Growth Index -29.26% -8.03% -34.94% RELATIVE +7.22% +10.44% +14.78% N/I GROWTH FUND -33.48% -4.47% -36.45% Russell 2500 Growth Index -32.07% -6.75% -36.66% RELATIVE -1.41% +2.28% +0.21% N/I MID CAP FUND -13.47% -4.64% -17.42% S&P MidCap 400 Index -7.95% -0.19% -8.09% Russell Midcap Index -9.31% -4.04% -12.97% RELATIVE TO S&P MIDCAP 400 INDEX -5.52% -4.45% -9.33% RELATIVE TO RUSSELL MIDCAP INDEX -4.16% -0.60% -4.45% N/I SMALL CAP VALUE FUND +19.24% +15.70% +37.97% Russell 2000 Value Index +10.31% +7.01% +18.04% RELATIVE +8.93% +8.69% +19.93%
Comparing the leftmost and center columns, we note that the first half of the fiscal year was a more difficult period for our Funds (except for the Small Cap Value Fund) than the second half, in both absolute and relative terms. The benchmarks 7 declined less and our Funds were able to add more value during the most recent six months than the prior. Some of the improvement in relative returns over the past six months can be attributed to the success of our new Quality of Earnings / Cashflow Yield models, which are reviewed briefly below. PERFORMANCE ANALYSIS As already discussed, expectations for the U.S. economy have crumpled over the last year. A year ago, Fiscal Year 2001 earnings estimates for the S&P 500 were $65; today they are below $48 and falling at a rate averaging 30 cents per week. With the terrorist attacks of September 11th, this negative trend has accelerated. In addition, the Technology sector, which previously enjoyed the best earnings growth expectations, has experienced the most drastic cuts in expectations. It is precisely this powerful and abrupt inflection in earnings expectations that has confounded our Estrend(TM) model and impaired our ability to add value in two of our four funds. Earnings expectations have slumped from euphoric to catastrophic in just a few quarters; and the violence of this shift has left our trend-following Estrend(TM) model behind the curve. Inflection points confound the Estrend(TM) model whether the shift is negative (such as the invasion of Kuwait in 1990) or positive (such as action by the Fed to lower interest rates earlier this year). Conversely shocks that reinforce the prevailing trend do not impair the power of Estrend(TM). The shock of the September 11th terrorist attacks reinforced the already negative trend in the economy and has not impaired Estrend(TM). Larger stocks are more exposed to economic shifts because their greater size gives them greater exposure to the broad economy. In contrast, earnings forecasts for smaller stocks tend to be determined more by their own business success. We have long observed that the Estrend(TM) model will underperform more severely among larger stocks when economic inflections occur. We note that our two funds with exposure to midcap stocks have had more difficulty adding value over the past year than our two funds investing in small cap stocks. Estrend(TM) has also been weak just because our Fair Value model has been so strong. During the inflation of the New Economy and Megacap bubbles, the Fair Value model was confounded by the superior returns of phenomenally expensive stocks that became even more expensive as the bubbles expanded. At the peak of the bubbles, the market had an extremely wide spread in valuations, between the in-favor New Economy heroes and forgotten Old Economy stocks. However as the bubbles deflated, Fair Value produced above-average returns. Estrend(TM) and Fair Value are designed to complement each other. They provide signals that sometimes conflict because they say, for instance, that a stock has strong earnings revisions but appears overvalued. It appears to us that with the collapse of the bubbles, the dominant force in the market has been the correction of past valuation excesses, thus leaving EstrendTM swamped by a surge in returns to value investing. Over the past year, we have been developing a family of new models that examine a company's financial statements in more detail. Many of these techniques have been familiar to fundamental investors for decades, but have not been exploited with the broad and disciplined process of quantitative investing. Our Quality of Earnings and Cashflow Yield models exploit this new information and have enhanced our funds' investment returns since their recent implementation. As the economy passes through a period of economic weakness, we are optimistic that the market may become even more conscious of a company's true financial strength and thus favor our "Quality" analysis and improve our ability to add value. WHAT MIGHT INVESTORS EXPECT GOING FORWARD? The market today is at levels that were last seen in October 1998. We cannot forecast that there will be no further terrorist actions and we expect that earnings expectation will decline in the near term, so it appears to us that investments in the stock market contain substantial risk. Nonetheless, we think that very pessimistic outcomes are already "in the price" of the market. Thus, we are optimistic that any improvement in outcomes may spark a significant rally. 8 We do not expect a return to the New Economy mania of the past few years because we believe bubbles do not recur within the career span of current investors. However, we also expect the extreme weakness of growth stocks versus value stocks to come to an end. In the chart below, note how the p/e premium of the Russell 3000 Growth Index over the Russell 3000 Value Index has now almost returned to its historic or "normal" level of about 1.5, from a peak of almost 3.3 eighteen months ago. It appears that most of the hot air is out of the New Economy bubble. Similarly, we do not expect the market to provide a continuing advantage to midcap stocks versus large cap, because it seems to us that the premium valuation of the largest stocks has been largely eliminated and because midcap stocks have outperformed large cap by such a wide margin in recent quarters. We believe that a reversal of this trend is due. [GRAPHIC OMITTED] EDGAR REPRESENTATION OF DATA POINTS USED IN PRINTED GRAPHIC RATIO OF THE RUSSELL 3000 GROWTH P/E VS VALUE P/E Russell 3000 Grwoth vs Value Indices through August 2001 Source: The Frank Russell Company (data through August 2001) RATIO OF THE CAP-WTD AVERAGE P/E RATIOS Russell 3000 Growth vs Value Mar-79 1.45 Jun-79 1.52 Sep-79 1.48 Dec-79 1.54 Mar-80 1.49 Jun-80 1.4 Sep-80 1.52 Dec-80 1.62 Mar-81 1.6 Jun-81 1.57 Sep-81 1.52 Dec-81 1.52 Mar-82 1.44 Jun-82 1.43 Sep-81 1.44 Dec-81 1.52 Mar-83 1.58 Jun-83 1.59 Sep-83 1.52 Dec-83 1.52 Mar-84 1.44 Jun-84 1.52 Sep-84 1.45 Dec-84 1.41 Mar-85 1.44 Jun-85 1.42 Sep-85 1.41 Dec-85 1.44 Mar-86 1.42 Jun-86 1.43 Sep-86 1.29 Dec-86 1.33 Jan-87 1.37 Feb-87 1.42 Mar-87 1.39 Apr-87 1.37 May-87 1.34 Jun-87 1.48 Jul-87 1.45 Aug-87 1.44 Sep-87 1.43 Oct-87 1.36 Nov-87 1.33 Dec-87 1.43 Jan-88 1.35 Feb-88 1.38 Mar-88 1.34 Apr-88 1.33 May-88 1.28 Jun-88 1.37 Jul-88 1.32 Aug-88 1.3 Sep-88 1.33 Oct-88 1.32 Nov-88 1.32 Dec-88 1.35 Jan-89 1.37 Feb-89 1.34 Mar-89 1.35 Apr-89 1.36 May-89 1.37 Jun-89 1.41 Jul-89 1.46 Aug-89 1.42 Sep-89 1.43 Oct-89 1.41 Nov-89 1.38 Dec-89 1.39 Jan-90 1.4 Feb-90 1.36 Mar-90 1.37 Apr-90 1.39 May-90 1.37 Jun-90 1.53 Jul-90 1.49 Aug-90 1.45 Sep-90 1.42 Oct-90 1.42 Nov-90 1.38 Dec-90 1.37 Jan-91 1.36 Feb-91 1.32 Mar-91 1.33 Apr-91 1.28 May-91 1.28 Jun-91 1.26 Jul-91 1.31 Aug-91 1.32 Sep-91 1.29 Oct-91 1.28 Nov-91 1.29 Dec-91 1.35 Jan-92 1.35 Feb-92 1.3 Mar-92 1.28 Apr-92 1.24 May-92 1.17 Jun-92 1.26 Jul-92 1.29 Aug-92 1.3 Sep-92 1.28 Oct-92 1.3 Nov-92 1.28 Dec-92 1.24 Jan-93 1.26 Feb-93 1.15 Mar-93 1.16 Apr-93 1.14 May-93 1.2 Jun-93 1.23 Jul-93 1.2 Aug-93 1.21 Sep-93 1.19 Oct-93 1.23 Nov-93 1.25 Dec-93 1.26 Jan-94 1.28 Feb-94 1.29 Mar-94 1.27 Apr-94 1.27 May-94 1.27 Jun-94 1.3 Jul-94 1.32 Aug-94 1.37 Sep-94 1.39 Oct-94 1.41 Nov-94 1.44 Dec-94 1.43 Jan-95 1.42 Feb-95 1.44 Mar-95 1.45 Apr-95 1.45 May-95 1.45 Jun-95 1.44 Jul-95 1.49 Aug-95 1.44 Sep-95 1.46 Oct-95 1.48 Nov-95 1.46 Dec-95 1.44 Jan-96 1.43 Feb-96 1.44 Mar-96 1.43 Apr-96 1.45 May-96 1.48 Jun-96 1.6 Jul-96 1.52 Aug-96 1.53 Sep-96 1.59 Oct-96 1.54 Nov-96 1.52 Dec-96 1.53 Jan-97 1.51 Feb-97 1.48 Mar-97 1.43 Apr-97 1.46 May-97 1.51 Jun-97 1.52 Jul-97 1.46 Aug-97 1.45 Sep-97 1.43 Oct-97 1.44 Nov-97 1.44 Dec-97 1.42 Jan-98 1.47 Feb-98 1.46 Mar-98 1.47 Apr-98 1.48 May-98 1.44 Jun-98 1.63 Jul-98 1.59 Aug-98 1.58 Sep-98 1.6 Oct-98 1.58 Nov-98 1.6 Dec-98 1.67 Jan-99 1.75 Feb-99 1.66 Mar-99 1.71 Apr-99 1.6 May-99 1.63 Jun-99 1.83 Jul-99 1.88 Aug-99 1.99 Sep-99 2.01 Oct-99 2.04 Nov-99 2.17 Dec-99 2.36 Jan-00 2.42 Feb-00 2.7 Mar-00 2.53 Apr-00 2.53 May-00 2.34 Jun-00 3.33 Jul-00 2.77 Aug-00 3.05 Sep-00 2.7 Oct-00 2.48 Nov-00 2.17 Dec-00 2.01 Jan-01 2.14 Feb-01 1.86 Mar-01 1.79 Apr-01 2 May-01 1.97 Jun-01 1.81 Jul-01 1.75 Aug-01 1.68 Rather we think that the probability of growth stocks beating value or large cap beating midcap is around 50%, or neutral. In the absence of any extreme style biases and with a cautious economic environment, we expect the market to focus on earnings and the quality of earnings. We are optimistic that this focus might allow our models to be at least normally effective, and perhaps more so. Thus we believe that our strategies may be entering a period in which they can add substantial value. Thank you for your continued support and confidence. Sincerely, /s/ LANGDON B. WHEELER Langdon B. Wheeler, CFA President Numeric Investors L.P.(R) 9 [GRAPHIC OMITTED] n/i numeric investors family of funds MICRO CAP FUND Comparison of Change in Value of $10,000 Investment in N/I NUMERIC INVESTORS Micro Cap Fund(1)(2) vs. Russell 2000 Growth Index [GRAPHIC OMITTED] EDGAR REPRESENTATION OF DATA POINTS USED IN PRINTED GRAPHIC DOLLARS Past performance is not predictive of future performance. Micro Cap Fund Russell 2000 Growth Index 6/3/96 $10,000.00 $10,000.00 8/31/96 9,725.00 8,815.78 11/30/96 11,392.00 9,116.86 2/28/97 11,426.00 8,951.58 5/31/97 12,194.00 9,459.02 8/31/97 15,405.00 10,588.80 11/30/97 15,547.00 10,490.90 2/28/98 16,354.00 11,272.10 5/31/98 16,188.60 10,958.10 8/31/98 12,209.80 7,803.93 11/30/98 16,225.30 9,745.00 2/28/99 16,109.00 10,089.00 5/31/99 17,588.80 11,372.80 8/31/99 19,058.10 11,167.80 11/30/99 20,974.70 12,908.80 2/29/00 27,971.00 18,544.10 5/31/00 24,620.10 13,612.10 8/31/00 29,429.10 15,531.90 11/30/00 22,517.80 11,099.70 2/28/01 22,942.30 10,987.00 5/31/01 24,381.90 11,470.50 8/31/01 23,496.00 10,105.00 Micro Cap Fund $23,496 Russell 2000 Growth Index $10,105 Total Returns AVERAGE ANNUAL ------------------------------- ONE YEAR ENDED FIVE YEARS ENDED SINCE AUGUST 31, 2001 AUGUST 31, 2001 INCEPTION(3) --------------- ---------------- ------------ Micro Cap Fund (20.16)% 19.29% 17.67% Russell 2000 Growth Index (34.94)% 2.77% 0.20% ---------- (1) The chart assumes a hypothetical $10,000 initial investment in the Fund and reflects Fund expenses.Investors should note that the Fund is an aggressively managed mutual fund while the index is unmanaged, does not incur expenses and is not available for investment. (2) Numeric Investors L.P.(R) waived a portion of its advisory fee and agreed to reimburse a portion of the Fund'S operating expenses, as necessary, to maintain the expense limitation as set forth in the notes to the financial statements.Total returns shown include fee waivers and expense reimbursements, if any; total returns would have been lower had there been no assumption of fees and expenses in excess of expense limitations. (3) For the period June 3, 1996 (commencement of operations) through August 31, 2001. 10 [GRAPHIC OMITTED] n/i numeric investors family of funds GROWTH FUND Comparison of Change in Value of $10,000 Investment in N/I NUMERIC INVESTORS Growth Fund(1)(2) vs. Russell 2500 Growth Index [GRAPHIC OMITTED] EDGAR REPRESENTATION OF DATA POINTS USED IN PRINTED GRAPHIC DOLLARS Past performance is not predictive of future performance. Growth Fund Russell 2500 Growth Index 6/3/96 $10,000.00 $10,000.00 8/31/96 9,867.00 9,144.23 11/30/96 10,925.00 9,672.72 2/28/97 10,575.00 9,572.28 5/31/97 11,384.00 10,059.70 8/31/97 13,585.00 11,326.70 11/30/97 13,402.00 11,195.70 2/28/98 13,754.00 11,953.80 5/31/98 13,111.50 11,707.00 8/31/98 9,640.78 8,434.27 11/30/98 11,931.00 10,490.00 2/28/99 12,040.00 10,872.50 5/31/99 13,385.20 12,413.50 8/31/99 14,731.00 12,738.50 11/30/99 16,998.70 15,044.10 2/29/00 23,591.20 22,342.20 5/31/00 20,132.70 16,929.20 8/31/00 24,027.40 19,890.30 11/30/00 16,929.40 14,128.40 2/28/01 15,982.40 13,511.00 5/31/01 16,579.80 14,248.80 8/31/01 15,269.00 12,599.30 Growth Fund $15,269 Russell 2500 Growth Index$12,599 Total Returns AVERAGE ANNUAL ------------------------------- ONE YEAR ENDED FIVE YEARS ENDED SINCE AUGUST 31, 2001 AUGUST 31, 2001 INCEPTION(3) --------------- ---------------- ------------ Growth Fund (36.45)% 9.13% 8.40% Russell 2500 Growth Index (36.66)% 6.62% 4.50% ---------- (1) The chart assumes a hypothetical $10,000 initial investment in the Fund and reflects Fund expenses.Investors should note that the Fund is an aggressively managed mutual fund while the index is unmanaged, does not incur expenses and is not available for investment. (2) Numeric Investors L.P.(R) waived a portion of its advisory fee and agreed to reimburse a portion of the Fund'S operating expenses, as necessary, to maintain the expense limitation as set forth in the notes to the financial statements.Total returns shown include fee waivers and expense reimbursements, if any; total returns would have been lower had there been no assumption of fees and expenses in excess of expense limitations. (3) For the period June 3, 1996 (commencement of operations) through August 31, 2001. 11 [GRAPHIC OMITTED] n/i numeric investors family of funds MID CAP FUND Comparison of Change in Value of $10,000 Investment in N/I NUMERIC INVESTORS Mid Cap Fund(1)(2) vs. S&P MidCap 400 Index [GRAPHIC OMITTED] EDGAR REPRESENTATION OF DATA POINTS USED IN PRINTED GRAPHIC DOLLARS Past performance is not predictive of future performance. Mid Cap Fund S&P MidCap 400 Index 6/3/96 $10,000.00 $10,000.00 8/31/96 9,633.00 9,713.02 11/30/96 11,158.00 10,738.20 2/28/97 11,334.00 11,061.90 5/31/97 12,397.00 11,814.80 8/31/97 14,364.00 13,333.30 11/30/97 14,732.00 13,687.60 2/28/98 16,232.00 15,103.50 5/31/98 16,684.70 15,350.20 8/31/98 13,076.40 12,084.40 11/30/98 15,492.00 15,108.60 2/28/99 16,127.80 15,421.30 5/31/99 18,002.70 17,177.30 8/31/99 18,518.00 17,105.10 11/30/99 19,355.20 18,336.10 2/29/00 20,491.50 20,198.70 5/31/00 21,665.30 20,862.10 8/31/00 24,000.40 23,903.20 11/30/00 20,722.90 21,204.10 2/28/01 20,783.10 22,011.40 5/31/01 21,521.10 23,149.80 8/31/01 19,819.30 21,970.10 Mid Cap Fund $19,819 S&P MidCap 400 Index $21,970 Total Returns AVERAGE ANNUAL -------------------------------- ONE YEAR ENDED FIVE YEARS ENDED SINCE AUGUST 31, 2001 AUGUST 31, 2001 INCEPTION(3) --------------- ---------------- ------------ Mid Cap Fund (17.42)% 15.52% 13.92% S&P MidCap 400 Index (8.09)% 17.72% 16.19% ---------- (1) The chart assumes a hypothetical $10,000 initial investment in the Fund and reflects Fund expenses.Investors should note that the Fund is an aggressively managed mutual fund while the index is unmanaged, does not incur expenses and is not available for investment. (2) Numeric Investors L.P.(R) waived a portion of its advisory fee and agreed to reimburse a portion of the Fund'S operating expenses, as necessary, to maintain the expense limitation as set forth in the notes to the financial statements.Total returns shown include fee waivers and expense reimbursements, if any; total returns would have been lower had there been no assumption of fees and expenses in excess of expense limitations. (3) For the period June 3, 1996 (commencement of operations) through August 31, 2001. 12 [GRAPHIC OMITTED] n/i numeric investors family of funds SMALL CAP VALUE FUND Comparison of Change in Value of $10,000 Investment in N/I NUMERIC INVESTORS Small Cap Value Fund(1)(2) vs. Russell 2000 Value Index [GRAPHIC OMITTED] EDGAR REPRESENTATION OF DATA POINTS USED IN PRINTED GRAPHIC DOLLARS Past performance is not predictive of future performance. Small Cap Value Fund Russell 2000 Value Index 11/30/98 $10,000.00 $10,000.00 2/28/99 9,383.33 9,391.36 5/31/99 10,866.70 10,555.00 8/31/99 10,716.70 10,287.40 11/30/99 10,044.40 9,931.40 2/29/00 9,353.96 10,577.20 5/31/00 10,772.70 10,526.00 8/31/00 12,210.30 11,694.50 11/30/00 12,503.30 11,351.10 2/28/01 14,560.00 12,899.90 5/31/01 15,975.90 13,622.00 8/31/01 16,846.40 13,804.30 Small Cap Value Fund $16,846 Russell 2000 Value Index $13,804 Total Returns ONE YEAR ENDED AVERAGE AUGUST 31, 2001 ANNUAL(3) --------------- --------- Small Cap Value Fund 37.97% 20.83% Russell 2000 Value Index 18.04% 6.34% (1) The chart assumes a hypothetical $10,000 initial investment in the Fund and reflects Fund expenses.Investors should note that the Fund is an aggressively managed mutual fund while the index is unmanaged, does not incur expenses and is not available for investment. (2) Numeric Investors L.P.(R) waived a portion of its advisory fee and agreed to reimburse a portion of the Fund's operating expenses, as necessary, to maintain the expense limitation as set forth in the notes to the financial statements.Total returns shown include fee waivers and expense reimbursements, if any; total returns would have been lower had there been no assumption of fees and expenses in excess of expense limitations. (3) For the period November 30, 1998 (commencement of operations) through August 31, 2001. 13 [GRAPHIC OMITTED] n/i numeric investors family of funds MICRO CAP FUND PORTFOLIO OF INVESTMENTS AUGUST 31, 2001 VALUE SHARES (NOTE 1) ---------------------------------------------------------------------- COMMON STOCKS--95.8% AEROSPACE & DEFENSE--0.7% 33,400 DRS Technologies, Inc.* ..................... $ 846,690 1,900 Moog Inc., Class A* ......................... 68,020 ------------ 914,710 ------------ AIRLINES--1.0% 49,200 Atlantic Coast Airlines Holdings, Inc.* ..... 1,244,760 9,300 Mesa Air Group, Inc.* ....................... 136,896 ------------ 1,381,656 ------------ AUTOMOBILE PARTS & EQUIPMENT--1.1% 9,300 Aftermarket Technology Corp.* ............... 134,478 52,900 ArvinMeritor, Inc. .......................... 936,330 28,600 Dura Automotive Systems, Inc.* .............. 400,400 ------------ 1,471,208 ------------ BANKS--1.8% 37,200 First BanCorp ............................... 1,036,020 42,400 Irwin Financial Corp. ....................... 911,600 35,400 R&G Financial Corp., Class B ................ 612,066 ------------ 2,559,686 ------------ BEVERAGES--1.0% 32,200 Constellation Brands, Inc., Class A* ........ 1,363,670 ------------ BIOTECH--4.9% 10,600 Adolor Corp.* ............................... 193,238 5,600 Alexion Pharmaceuticals, Inc.* .............. 105,560 6,100 Arena Pharmaceuticals, Inc.* ................ 86,620 7,500 Avigen, Inc.* ............................... 110,775 45,900 Charles River Laboratories International, Inc.* ....................................... 1,638,630 13,000 Corixa Corp.* ............................... 151,450 5,500 CV Therapeutics, Inc.* ...................... 273,735 4,000 Digene Corp.* ............................... 118,040 8,100 Diversa Corp.* .............................. 98,415 9,190 Enzo Biochem, Inc. .......................... 238,848 10,400 Exelixis, Inc.* ............................. 174,512 10,800 Gene Logic Inc.* ............................ 188,460 8,700 Genome Therapeutics Corp.* .................. 66,555 7,500 Guilford Pharmaceuticals Inc.* .............. 90,375 23,000 Incyte Genomics, Inc.* ...................... 406,640 4,000 InterMune Inc.* ............................. 157,960 13,200 Ligand Pharmaceuticals Inc., Class B* ....... 135,300 5,800 Martek Biosciences Corp.* ................... 113,680 10,800 Maxygen Inc.* ............................... 161,892 3,500 Neose Technologies, Inc.* ................... 149,275 7,200 Neurocrine Biosciences, Inc.* ............... 283,176 7,300 Pharmacopeia, Inc.* ......................... 126,655 VALUE SHARES (NOTE 1) ---------------------------------------------------------------------- BIOTECH--(CONTINUED) 7,000 Pharmacyclics, Inc.* ........................ $ 140,770 10,500 Regeneron Pharmaceuticals, Inc.* ............ 316,260 18,000 Scios Inc.* ................................. 317,700 5,700 Tanox, Inc.* ................................ 94,335 21,100 Texas Biotechnology Corp.* .................. 158,250 6,600 Titan Pharmaceuticals, Inc.* ................ 64,350 5,100 Transkaryotic Therapies, Inc.* .............. 155,805 5,200 Trimeris, Inc.* ............................. 248,560 4,960 Vertex Pharmaceuticals Inc.* ................ 182,974 5,600 ViroPharma Inc.* ............................ 173,880 ------------ 6,922,675 ------------ BROKERAGE--0.4% 18,100 Jefferies Group, Inc. ....................... 602,730 ------------ BUILDING SUPPLIES--1.8% 47,100 Building Materials Holding Corp.* ........... 671,175 44,600 Hughes Supply, Inc. ......................... 1,219,810 57,700 Lennox International Inc. ................... 579,308 ------------ 2,470,293 ------------ CHEMICALS - BASIC--0.6% 48,200 NL Industries, Inc. ......................... 778,430 ------------ CHEMICALS - SPECIALTY--1.3% 38,600 Octel Corp.* ................................ 721,820 48,700 TETRA Technologies, Inc.* ................... 1,110,847 ------------ 1,832,667 ------------ COMPUTER COMPONENTS--1.4% 56,600 Hutchinson Technology Inc.* ................. 1,068,608 66,400 MTS Systems Corp. ........................... 863,200 ------------ 1,931,808 ------------ COMPUTER NETWORKING PRODUCTS--0.6% 18,600 Black Box Corp.* ............................ 870,666 ------------ COMPUTER PERIPHERALS--1.1% 28,700 Electronics for Imaging, Inc.* .............. 587,202 33,400 MICROS Systems, Inc.* ....................... 948,560 ------------ 1,535,762 ------------ COMPUTER SERVICES--0.8% 27,700 CACI International Inc., Class A* ........... 1,099,413 ------------ COMPUTER SOFTWARE--6.3% 39,200 Activision, Inc.* ........................... 1,452,360 21,600 Advent Software, Inc.* ...................... 1,147,176 11,900 JDA Software Group, Inc.* ................... 222,054 39,700 McAfee.com Corp.* ........................... 575,650 The accompanying notes are an integral part of the financial statements. 14 [GRAPHIC OMITTED] n/i numeric investors family of funds MICRO CAP FUND PORTFOLIO OF INVESTMENTS (CONTINUED) AUGUST 31, 2001 VALUE SHARES (NOTE 1) ---------------------------------------------------------------------- COMPUTER SOFTWARE--(CONTINUED) 52,500 MSC.Software Corp.* ......................... $ 984,375 19,400 PLATO Learning, Inc.* ....................... 514,100 104,900 Systems & Computer Technology Corp.* .................................... 1,398,317 30,900 TALX Corp. .................................. 954,810 24,200 THQ Inc.* ................................... 1,286,230 29,200 Ulticom, Inc.* .............................. 350,400 ------------ 8,885,472 ------------ DATA PROCESSING--4.5% 41,200 Actrade Financial Technologies, Ltd.* ....... 943,892 12,100 Cerner Corp.* ............................... 586,729 18,850 Fair, Isaac and Company, Inc. ............... 1,149,850 23,600 Global Payments Inc. ........................ 838,980 25,200 Kronos Inc.* ................................ 1,229,760 35,300 MedQuist Inc.* .............................. 908,975 9,400 National Data Corp. ......................... 362,934 7,200 National Processing, Inc.* .................. 237,240 ------------ 6,258,360 ------------ ELECTRICAL EQUIPMENT--0.4% 42,800 Encore Wire Corp.* .......................... 591,496 ------------ ELECTRONIC COMPONENTS & ACCESSORIES--4.3% 46,800 BEI Technologies, Inc. ...................... 1,082,484 40,596 Intermagnetics General Corp.* ............... 1,225,593 5,500 Merix Corp.* ................................ 105,930 48,100 Pioneer-Standard Electronics, Inc. .......... 577,681 52,000 Pixelworks, Inc.* ........................... 775,840 11,400 Powell Industries, Inc.* .................... 306,546 58,100 Universal Electronics Inc.* ................. 851,746 41,900 Wilson Greatbatch Technologies, Inc.* ....... 1,085,210 ------------ 6,011,030 ------------ ELECTRONIC MEASUREMENTS - INSTRUMENTS--1.0% 49,500 FLIR Systems, Inc.* ......................... 1,395,900 3,900 OpticNet*/** ................................ -- ------------ 1,395,900 ------------ ENERGY--0.2% 23,600 Headwaters Inc.* ............................ 233,404 ------------ ENGINEERING--0.0% 2,300 Michael Baker Corp.* ........................ 29,210 ------------ FINANCIAL SERVICES--1.5% 2,985 Advanta Corp., Class A ...................... 40,656 11,800 AmeriCredit Corp.* .......................... 544,688 VALUE SHARES (NOTE 1) ---------------------------------------------------------------------- FINANCIAL SERVICES--(CONTINUED) 40,900 Clark/Bardes, Inc.* ......................... $ 1,005,731 12,700 IndyMac Bancorp, Inc.* ...................... 334,899 4,800 Metris Companies Inc. ....................... 130,560 ------------ 2,056,534 ------------ FOOD & AGRICULTURE--0.8% 53,400 Fresh Del Monte Produce Inc.* ............... 792,990 10,800 Green Mountain Coffee, Inc.* ................ 318,168 ------------ 1,111,158 ------------ HAZARDOUS WASTE MANAGEMENT--0.3% 10,100 Stericycle, Inc.* ........................... 486,517 ------------ HEALTH CARE--2.0% 16,400 Caremark Rx, Inc.* .......................... 286,508 30,800 Mid Atlantic Medical Services, Inc.* ........ 646,800 11,800 Rightchoice Managed Care, Inc.* ............. 545,042 127,900 Sierra Health Services, Inc.* ............... 1,279,000 ------------ 2,757,350 ------------ HOSPITALS--3.0% 10,900 Apria Healthcare Group Inc.* ................ 296,044 55,700 DaVita, Inc.* ............................... 1,150,205 21,500 LifePoint Hospitals, Inc.* .................. 919,985 63,600 Select Medical Corp.* ....................... 1,119,360 31,600 United Surgical Partners International, Inc.* ..................................... 785,260 ------------ 4,270,854 ------------ HOTELS & MOTELS--0.4% 29,300 Choice Hotels International, Inc.* .......... 586,000 ------------ INSURANCE - PROPERTY & CASUALTY--0.8% 3,200 Brown & Brown ............................... 141,536 85,800 Vesta Insurance Group, Inc. ................. 1,001,286 ------------ 1,142,822 ------------ INTERNET CONTENT--1.5% 79,000 Register.com, Inc.* ......................... 665,970 83,500 XCare.net, Inc.* ............................ 1,370,235 ------------ 2,036,205 ------------ INTERNET SOFTWARE--1.1% 27,100 AsiaInfo Holdings, Inc.* .................... 386,175 61,300 Websense, Inc.* ............................. 1,096,657 ------------ 1,482,832 ------------ The accompanying notes are an integral part of the financial statements. 15 [GRAPHIC OMITTED] n/i numeric investors family of funds MICRO CAP FUND PORTFOLIO OF INVESTMENTS (CONTINUED) AUGUST 31, 2001 VALUE SHARES (NOTE 1) ---------------------------------------------------------------------- LEISURE & ENTERTAINMENT--5.3% 45,000 Action Performance Companies, Inc.* ......... $ 1,244,250 18,800 Alliance Gaming Corp.* ...................... 370,548 38,900 Argosy Gaming Co.* .......................... 1,156,497 11,500 Aztar Corp.* ................................ 185,610 57,300 Boyd Gaming Co.* ............................ 343,800 48,300 Direct Focus, Inc.* ......................... 1,352,400 24,400 Hotel Reservations Network, Inc., Class A* .................................. 1,015,040 56,500 Pegasus Solutions Inc.* ..................... 734,500 72,000 Racing Champions Corp.* ..................... 450,000 54,600 Topps Co., Inc. (The)* ...................... 627,900 ------------ 7,480,545 ------------ MACHINERY--0.3% 33,900 Global Power Equipment Group Inc.* .......... 484,092 ------------ MANUFACTURING--0.6% 32,100 Actuant Corp., Class A* ..................... 680,841 10,700 Walter Industries, Inc. ..................... 121,980 ------------ 802,821 ------------ MEDICAL INSTRUMENTS & SUPPLIES--8.2% 62,900 American Medical Systems Holdings, Inc.* ........................... 1,254,855 11,100 Cooper Companies, Inc. (The) ................ 566,211 17,200 Diagnostic Products Corp. ................... 675,100 15,700 DIANON Systems, Inc.* ....................... 768,515 35,500 Edwards Lifesciences Corp.* ................. 933,295 10,400 Haemonetics Corp.* .......................... 372,944 18,600 Henry Schein, Inc.* ......................... 675,552 15,800 Laboratory Corp. of America Holdings* ................................. 1,230,820 9,600 Landauer, Inc. .............................. 292,800 41,800 Mentor Corp. ................................ 1,254,000 44,500 Merit Medical Systems, Inc.* ................ 702,210 10,700 OraSure Technologies, Inc.* ................. 139,207 19,700 PSS World Medical, Inc.* .................... 138,491 14,800 Serologicals Corp.* ......................... 281,937 12,300 Specialty Laboratories, Inc.* ............... 388,680 32,700 STERIS Corp.* ............................... 707,628 81,900 Theragenics Corp.* .......................... 818,181 4,800 Varian Medical Systems, Inc.* ............... 316,800 ------------ 11,517,226 ------------ METALS--0.3% 43,900 Titanium Metals Corp.* ...................... 456,121 ------------ VALUE SHARES (NOTE 1) ---------------------------------------------------------------------- OFFICE EQUIPMENT--0.7% 63,600 Global Imaging Systems, Inc.* ............... $ 1,017,600 ------------ OIL & GAS EQUIPMENT & SERVICES--3.1% 37,400 Hydril Company* ............................. 730,422 48,100 Input/Output, Inc.* ......................... 471,380 89,400 Key Energy Services, Inc.* .................. 829,632 15,900 Lufkin Industries, Inc. ..................... 432,639 13,400 McDermott International, Inc.* .............. 142,710 50,900 Oceaneering International, Inc.* ............ 992,550 29,500 Universal Compression Holdings, Inc.* ....... 790,600 ------------ 4,389,933 ------------ OIL & GAS FIELD EXPLORATION--0.5% 54,200 Encore Acquisition Co.* ..................... 769,640 ------------ PAPER & ALLIED PRODUCTS--0.6% 34,700 Schweitzer-Mauduit International, Inc. ...... 810,245 ------------ PHARMACEUTICALS--3.3% 32,600 Albany Molecular Research, Inc.* ............ 848,252 37,200 First Horizon Pharmaceutical Corp.* ......... 1,342,548 7,100 Medicis Pharmaceutical Corp., Class A* ...... 348,681 40,700 Perrigo Co.* ................................ 656,898 7,700 Pharmaceutical Product Development, Inc.* ..................................... 232,232 19,200 POZEN Inc.* ................................. 126,144 45,800 SICOR Inc.* ................................. 1,080,880 ------------ 4,635,635 ------------ RESIDENTIAL CONSTRUCTION--2.2% 25,300 Crossmann Communities, Inc. ................. 977,845 14,500 M/I Schottenstein Homes, Inc. ............... 583,335 7,800 NVR, Inc.* .................................. 1,255,800 15,200 Schuler Homes, Inc., Class A* ............... 212,040 ------------ 3,029,020 ------------ RESTAURANTS--1.4% 4,500 Applebee's International, Inc. .............. 145,350 69,600 Lone Star Steakhouse & Saloon, Inc. ......... 866,520 23,800 Panera Bread Co., Class A* .................. 894,880 ------------ 1,906,750 ------------ RETAIL - AUTOMOBILES--1.6% 5 Circuit City Stores, Inc. - CarMax Group* ............................... 75 39,100 Group 1 Automotive, Inc.* ................... 1,153,450 63,400 Sonic Automotive, Inc.* ..................... 1,115,840 ------------ 2,269,365 ------------ The accompanying notes are an integral part of the financial statements. 16 [GRAPHIC OMITTED] n/i numeric investors family of funds MICRO CAP FUND PORTFOLIO OF INVESTMENTS (CONCLUDED) AUGUST 31, 2001 VALUE SHARES (NOTE 1) ---------------------------------------------------------------------- RETAIL - DISCOUNT--0.4% 18,900 99 Cents Only Stores* ....................... $ 578,151 ------------ RETAIL - SPECIALTY--2.2% 45,600 Gart Sports Company* ........................ 711,360 103,200 Hollywood Entertainment Corp.* .............. 1,238,400 9,500 PETsMART, Inc.* ............................. 75,335 35,100 School Specialty, Inc.* ..................... 1,068,760 ------------ 3,093,855 ------------ RETAIL - SPECIALTY APPAREL--1.7% 16,300 Chico's FAS, Inc.* .......................... 616,140 93,700 Finish Line, Inc. (The), Class A* ........... 913,575 10,600 Too Inc.* ................................... 291,712 26,000 Wet Seal, Inc. (The), Class A* .............. 519,740 ------------ 2,341,167 ------------ SAVINGS & LOAN ASSOCIATIONS--1.4% 140,400 BankAtlantic Bancorp, Inc., Class A ......... 1,294,488 11,400 Dime Community Bancshares ................... 310,422 6,800 Downey Financial Corp. ...................... 324,700 ------------ 1,929,610 ------------ SCHOOLS--1.1% 11,000 Education Management Corp.* ................. 418,770 32,000 ITT Educational Services, Inc.* ............. 1,066,880 ------------ 1,485,650 ------------ SEMICONDUCTORS--4.0% 33,200 Elantec Semiconductor, Inc.* ................ 1,261,600 25,900 EMCOR Group, Inc.* .......................... 1,009,841 66,100 Kulicke and Soffa Industries, Inc.* ......... 952,501 28,200 Microsemi Corp.* ............................ 803,700 64,600 Multilink Technology Corp.* ................. 610,470 29,300 Photronics, Inc.* ........................... 699,098 30,500 TranSwitch Corp.* ........................... 250,100 ------------ 5,587,310 ------------ SERVICES - EMPLOYMENT AGENCIES--0.5% 29,700 Resources Connection, Inc.* ................. 653,400 ------------ SERVICES - MANAGEMENT CONSULTING--2.4% 33,800 Corporate Executive Board Co. (The)* ........ 1,174,550 53,600 FTI Consulting, Inc.* ....................... 1,342,680 38,700 Watson Wyatt & Company Holdings* ............ 913,320 ------------ 3,430,550 ------------ VALUE SHARES (NOTE 1) ---------------------------------------------------------------------- TELECOMMUNICATIONS EQUIPMENT & SERVICES--3.5% 47,100 Catapult Communications Corp.* .............. $ 854,865 23,300 Ditech Communications Corp.* ................ 149,353 39,100 Dycom Industries, Inc.* ..................... 566,559 45,000 Illuminet Holdings, Inc.* ................... 1,494,000 55,600 Somera Communications, Inc.* ................ 333,600 86,100 SpectraLink Corp.* .......................... 1,451,646 17,900 WJ Communications, Inc.* .................... 59,070 ------------ 4,909,093 ------------ TOBACCO--1.0% 73,800 Standard Commercial Corp. ................... 1,372,680 ------------ TRANSPORTATION--1.2% 36,900 Kirby Corp.* ................................ 900,360 28,100 Overseas Shipholding Group, Inc. ............ 766,006 ------------ 1,666,366 ------------ UTILITIES--0.3% 33,800 Southwestern Energy Co.* .................... 422,500 ------------ VITAMIN & NUTRITION PRODUCTS--1.0% 81,600 NBTY, Inc.* ................................. 1,408,416 ------------ WHOLESALE - DISTRIBUTION--0.4% 34,400 Handleman Co.* .............................. 531,824 ------------ Total Common Stocks (Cost $124,629,617) ....................... 134,050,083 ------------ PRINCIPAL AMOUNT (000'S) ---------------------------------------------------------------------- REPURCHASE AGREEMENT--2.5% $ 3,555 Bear, Stearns & Co. Inc. (Agreement dated 08/31/01 to be repurchased at $3,556,818) 3.65%, 09/04/01 (Cost $3,555,376) (Note 6) ................ 3,555,376 ------------ Total Investments -- 98.3% (Cost $128,184,993) 137,605,459 ------------ Other Assets in Excess of Liabilities -- 1.7% ....................... 2,321,090 ------------ Net Assets -- 100.0% ........................ $139,926,549 ============ ---------- * Non-income producing. ** Security was delisted on March 13, 2001 and held at no value. The accompanying notes are an integral part of the financial statements. 17 [GRAPHIC OMITTED] n/i numeric investors family of funds GROWTH FUND PORTFOLIO OF INVESTMENTS AUGUST 31, 2001 VALUE SHARES (NOTE 1) ---------------------------------------------------------------------- COMMON STOCKS--98.1% AEROSPACE & DEFENSE--0.4% 6,600 DRS Technologies, Inc.* ..................... $ 167,310 ----------- AIRLINES--0.8% 12,600 Atlantic Coast Airlines Holdings, Inc.* 318,780 900 Mesa Air Group, Inc.* ....................... 13,248 ----------- 332,028 ----------- APPAREL--0.3% 9,900 Tommy Hilfiger Corp.* ....................... 127,710 ----------- AUTOMOBILE PARTS & EQUIPMENT--0.8% 17,500 ArvinMeritor, Inc. .......................... 309,750 ----------- BANKS--0.2% 2,100 Doral Financial Corp. ....................... 69,216 ----------- BEVERAGES--1.7% 9,700 Constellation Brands, Inc., Class A* ........ 410,795 6,000 Pepsi Bottling Group, Inc. (The) ............ 264,900 ----------- 675,695 ----------- BIOTECH--7.6% 5,300 Abgenix, Inc.* .............................. 158,841 1,100 Affymetrix, Inc.* ........................... 23,870 3,800 Alkermes, Inc.* ............................. 97,280 1,600 Aviron* ..................................... 35,824 4,500 Celgene Corp.* .............................. 125,145 2,500 Cephalon, Inc.* ............................. 148,050 12,500 Charles River Laboratories International, Inc.* ..................................... 446,250 3,600 COR Therapeutics, Inc.* ..................... 98,820 2,000 Corixa Corp.* ............................... 23,300 2,500 CuraGen Corp.* .............................. 50,975 800 CV Therapeutics, Inc.* ...................... 39,816 2,000 Diversa Corp.* .............................. 24,300 1,155 Enzo Biochem, Inc. .......................... 30,019 2,200 Enzon, Inc.* ................................ 140,448 3,300 Exelixis, Inc.* ............................. 55,374 2,600 ICOS Corp.* ................................. 151,580 3,600 ImClone Systems Inc.* ....................... 185,040 4,000 Incyte Genomics, Inc.* ...................... 70,720 1,100 InterMune Inc.* ............................. 43,439 3,200 Invitrogen Corp.* ........................... 217,696 5,000 Medarex, Inc.* .............................. 95,100 1,400 Myriad Genetics, Inc.* ...................... 61,040 1,200 Neurocrine Biosciences, Inc.* ............... 47,196 2,300 OSI Pharmaceuticals, Inc.* .................. 97,520 2,900 Protein Design Labs, Inc.* .................. 170,491 VALUE SHARES (NOTE 1) ---------------------------------------------------------------------- BIOTECH--(CONTINUED) 1,700 Regeneron Pharmaceuticals, Inc.* ............ $ 51,204 2,900 Scios Inc.* ................................. 51,185 1,600 Transkaryotic Therapies, Inc.* .............. 48,880 1,200 Trimeris, Inc.* ............................. 57,360 4,806 Vertex Pharmaceuticals Inc.* ................ 177,293 ----------- 3,024,056 ----------- BROKERAGE--0.2% 2,900 Jefferies Group, Inc. ....................... 96,570 ----------- BUILDING SUPPLIES--0.8% 11,500 Hughes Supply, Inc. ......................... 314,525 ----------- CHEMICALS - SPECIALTY--0.7% 12,200 TETRA Technologies, Inc.* ................... 278,282 ----------- COMMERCIAL SERVICES--0.0% 1,000 Cendant Corp.* .............................. 19,070 ----------- COMPUTER GRAPHICS--0.5% 4,400 Pixar, Inc.* ................................ 183,480 ----------- COMPUTER NETWORKING PRODUCTS--1.7% 5,300 Black Box Corp.* ............................ 248,093 19,300 Storage Technology Corp.* ................... 275,990 16,600 Tellium, Inc.* .............................. 161,850 ----------- 685,933 ----------- COMPUTER PERIPHERALS--0.8% 16,500 Electronics for Imaging, Inc.* .............. 337,590 ----------- COMPUTER SERVICES--0.8% 7,700 CACI International, Inc., Class A* .......... 305,613 ----------- COMPUTER SOFTWARE--4.9% 12,000 Activision, Inc.* ........................... 444,600 8,100 Advent Software, Inc.* ...................... 430,191 3,500 JDA Software Group, Inc.* ................... 65,310 9,100 McAfee.com Corp.* ........................... 131,950 14,400 MSC.Software Corp.* ......................... 270,000 4,100 TALX Corp. .................................. 126,690 6,600 THQ Inc.* ................................... 350,790 10,000 Ulticom, Inc.* .............................. 120,000 ----------- 1,939,531 ----------- DATA PROCESSING--4.1% 11,000 Actrade Financial Technologies, Ltd.* ....... 252,010 4,100 Cerner Corp.* ............................... 198,809 4,900 CSG Systems International, Inc.* ............ 224,910 5,600 Fair, Isaac and Company, Inc. ............... 341,600 The accompanying notes are an integral part of the financial statements. 18 [GRAPHIC OMITTED] n/i numeric investors family of funds GROWTH FUND PORTFOLIO OF INVESTMENTS (CONTINUED) AUGUST 31, 2001 VALUE SHARES (NOTE 1) ---------------------------------------------------------------------- DATA PROCESSING--(CONTINUED) 5,200 Global Payments Inc. ........................ $ 184,860 4,400 Kronos Inc.* ................................ 214,720 6,900 MedQuist Inc.* .............................. 177,675 1,300 National Data Corp. ......................... 50,193 ----------- 1,644,777 ----------- ELECTRONIC COMPONENTS & ACCESSORIES--3.1% 3,000 Arrow Electronics, Inc.* .................... 80,370 10,100 BEI Technologies, Inc. ...................... 233,613 11,220 Intermagnetics General Corp.* ............... 338,732 3,300 Merix Corp.* ................................ 63,558 16,500 Pixelworks, Inc.* ........................... 246,180 10,800 Wilson Greatbatch Technologies, Inc.* ....... 279,720 ----------- 1,242,173 ----------- ELECTRONIC MEASUREMENTS - INSTRUMENTS--0.4% 5,500 FLIR Systems, Inc.* ......................... 155,100 ----------- ENERGY--0.3% 10,600 Headwaters Inc.* ............................ 104,834 ----------- ENGINEERING--0.8% 5,500 Jacobs Engineering Group Inc.* .............. 322,410 ----------- FINANCIAL SERVICES--1.9% 6,800 AmeriCredit Corp.* .......................... 313,888 5,100 Clark/Bardes, Inc.* ......................... 125,409 2,600 H&R Block, Inc. ............................. 101,166 3,700 IndyMac Bancorp, Inc.* ...................... 97,569 3,800 Metris Companies Inc. ....................... 103,360 ----------- 741,392 ----------- FOOD & AGRICULTURE--2.7% 16,900 Dole Food Company, Inc. ..................... 405,431 3,000 Fresh Del Monte Produce Inc.* ............... 44,550 9,400 Smithfield Foods, Inc.* ..................... 415,950 3,900 Suiza Foods Corp.* .......................... 226,122 ----------- 1,092,053 ----------- HAZARDOUS WASTE MANAGEMENT--0.1% 900 Stericycle, Inc.* ........................... 43,353 ----------- HEALTH CARE--1.7% 19,500 Oxford Health Plans, Inc.* .................. 584,610 7,600 Sierra Health Services, Inc.* ............... 76,000 ----------- 660,610 ----------- VALUE SHARES (NOTE 1) ---------------------------------------------------------------------- HOSPITALS--3.0% 1,900 Apria Healthcare Group Inc.* ................ $ 51,604 18,400 DaVita, Inc.* ............................... 379,960 3,700 LifePoint Hospitals, Inc.* .................. 158,323 13,000 Select Medical Corp.* ....................... 228,800 4,100 Tenet Healthcare Corp.* ..................... 227,222 6,500 United Surgical Partners International, Inc.* ..................................... 161,525 ----------- 1,207,434 ----------- INSURANCE - PROPERTY & CASUALTY--2.3% 2,300 Brown & Brown ............................... 101,729 7,700 Commerce Group, Inc. (The) .................. 287,980 14,850 Fidelity National Financial, Inc. ........... 359,964 1,300 LandAmerica Financial Group, Inc. ........... 40,924 11,400 Vesta Insurance Group, Inc. ................. 133,038 ----------- 923,635 ----------- INTERNET CONTENT--0.5% 11,400 HomeStore.com, Inc.* ........................ 188,898 ----------- INTERNET SOFTWARE--2.3% 14,400 Retek Inc.* ................................. 402,912 6,300 VeriSign, Inc.* ............................. 258,615 14,700 Websense, Inc.* ............................. 262,983 ----------- 924,510 ----------- INVESTMENT MANAGEMENT--0.5% 2,900 John Nuveen Co. (The), Class A .............. 189,689 ----------- LEISURE & ENTERTAINMENT--3.7% 8,700 Action Performance Companies, Inc.* ......... 240,555 5,400 Alliance Gaming Corp.* ...................... 106,434 11,400 Argosy Gaming Co.* .......................... 338,922 14,100 Direct Focus, Inc.* ......................... 394,800 6,900 Hotel Reservations Network, Inc., Class A* .................................. 287,040 10,500 Topps Co., Inc. (The)* ...................... 120,750 ----------- 1,488,501 ----------- MACHINERY--0.4% 9,948 Global Power Equipment Group Inc.* .......... 142,058 ----------- MANUFACTURING--0.5% 1,300 Ameron International Corp. .................. 94,445 6,200 Dal-Tile International Inc.* ................ 107,260 ----------- 201,705 ----------- The accompanying notes are an integral part of the financial statements. 19 [GRAPHIC OMITTED] n/i numeric investors family of funds GROWTH FUND PORTFOLIO OF INVESTMENTS (CONTINUED) AUGUST 31, 2001 VALUE SHARES (NOTE 1) ---------------------------------------------------------------------- MEDICAL INSTRUMENTS & SUPPLIES--7.2% 1,000 American Medical Systems Holdings, Inc.* ..................................... $ 19,950 2,300 Cooper Companies, Inc. (The) ................ 117,323 21,100 Cytyc Corp.* ................................ 511,253 4,400 Diagnostic Products Corp. ................... 172,700 3,500 DIANON Systems, Inc.* ....................... 171,325 11,700 Edwards Lifesciences Corp.* ................. 307,593 2,400 Haemonetics Corp.* .......................... 86,064 9,300 Henry Schein, Inc.* ......................... 337,776 5,500 Laboratory Corp. of America Holdings* ....... 428,450 2,300 Mentor Corp. ................................ 69,000 5,800 PSS World Medical, Inc.* .................... 40,774 6,500 Quest Diagnostics Inc.* ..................... 407,225 2,800 Specialty Laboratories, Inc.* ............... 88,480 4,800 STERIS Corp.* ............................... 103,872 ----------- 2,861,785 ----------- METALS--0.4% 5,600 Titanium Metals Corp.* ...................... 58,184 16,300 USEC Inc. ................................... 118,990 ----------- 177,174 ----------- MISCELLANEOUS TECHNOLOGY--0.8% 7,800 Macrovision Corp.* .......................... 340,158 ----------- OIL & GAS EQUIPMENT & SERVICES--3.9% 6,900 BJ Services Co.* ............................ 154,767 9,600 Hydril Company* ............................. 187,488 15,700 Input/Output, Inc.* ......................... 153,860 34,200 Key Energy Services, Inc.* .................. 317,376 7,800 McDermott International, Inc.* .............. 83,070 16,200 Oceaneering International, Inc.* ............ 315,900 3,100 Offshore Logistics, Inc.* ................... 58,590 10,100 Universal Compression Holdings, Inc.* ....... 270,680 ----------- 1,541,731 ----------- OIL & GAS FIELD EXPLORATION--0.5% 10,400 Ocean Energy Inc. ........................... 196,040 ----------- PACKAGING & CONTAINERS--0.5% 11,500 Packaging Corp. of America* ................. 211,370 ----------- PHARMACEUTICALS--4.7% 9,900 Albany Molecular Research, Inc.* ............ 257,598 5,400 First Horizon Pharmaceutical Corp.* ......... 194,886 12,249 King Pharmaceuticals, Inc.* ................. 529,769 21,500 Perrigo Co.* ................................ 347,010 VALUE SHARES (NOTE 1) ---------------------------------------------------------------------- PHARMACEUTICALS--(CONTINUED) 2,900 Pharmaceutical Product Development, Inc.* ..................................... $ 87,464 19,200 SICOR Inc.* ................................. 453,120 ----------- 1,869,847 ----------- RESIDENTIAL CONSTRUCTION--2.9% 8,200 Lennar Corp. ................................ 365,310 1,300 M/I Schottenstein Homes, Inc. ............... 52,299 2,600 NVR, Inc.* .................................. 418,600 6,300 Ryland Group, Inc. (The) .................... 338,940 ----------- 1,175,149 ----------- RESTAURANTS--0.4% 4,400 Panera Bread Co., Class A* .................. 165,440 ----------- RETAIL - AUTOMOBILES--2.0% 7,900 AutoZone, Inc.* ............................. 364,980 10,500 Group 1 Automotive, Inc.* ................... 309,750 7,200 Sonic Automotive, Inc.* ..................... 126,720 ----------- 801,450 ----------- RETAIL - DISCOUNT--0.2% 2,200 99 Cents Only Stores* ....................... 67,298 ----------- RETAIL - SPECIALTY--3.0% 18,000 Blockbuster Inc., Class A ................... 386,280 14,500 Hollywood Entertainment Corp.* .............. 174,000 7,900 School Specialty, Inc.* ..................... 240,547 21,700 Venator Group, Inc.* ........................ 389,515 ----------- 1,190,342 ----------- RETAIL - SPECIALTY APPAREL--0.7% 3,500 Chico's FAS, Inc.* .......................... 132,300 1,500 Too Inc.* ................................... 41,280 5,700 Wet Seal, Inc. (The), Class A* .............. 113,943 ----------- 287,523 ----------- SAVINGS & LOAN ASSOCIATIONS--1.5% 10,500 Flagstar Bancorp, Inc. ...................... 230,790 8,600 GreenPoint Financial Corp. .................. 339,700 1,800 Trustmark Corp. ............................. 40,320 ----------- 610,810 ----------- SCHOOLS--2.0% 11,720 Apollo Group, Inc., Class A* ................ 461,416 3,800 ITT Educational Services, Inc.* ............. 126,692 7,050 University of Phoenix Online* ............... 197,400 ----------- 785,508 ----------- The accompanying notes are an integral part of the financial statements. 20 [GRAPHIC OMITTED] n/i numeric investors family of funds GROWTH FUND PORTFOLIO OF INVESTMENTS (CONCLUDED) AUGUST 31, 2001 VALUE SHARES (NOTE 1) ---------------------------------------------------------------------- SEMICONDUCTORS--7.3% 1,500 Cymer, Inc.* ................................ $ 37,740 8,500 Elantec Semiconductor, Inc.* ................ 323,000 9,100 EMCOR Group, Inc.* .......................... 354,809 5,200 KLA-Tencor Corp.* ........................... 255,528 19,400 Kulicke and Soffa Industries, Inc.* ......... 279,554 16,300 Lam Research Corp.* ......................... 461,453 7,300 Microsemi Corp.* ............................ 208,050 16,900 Multilink Technology Corp.* ................. 159,705 5,000 NVIDIA Corp.* ............................... 423,550 13,700 Photronics, Inc.* ........................... 326,882 9,000 TranSwitch Corp.* ........................... 73,800 ----------- 2,904,071 ----------- SERVICES - EMPLOYMENT AGENCIES--0.4% 8,200 Resources Connection, Inc.* ................. 180,400 ----------- SERVICES - MANAGEMENT CONSULTING--1.5% 10,600 Corporate Executive Board Co. (The)* ........ 368,350 5,900 FTI Consulting, Inc.* ....................... 147,795 4,400 Watson Wyatt & Company Holdings* ............ 103,840 ----------- 619,985 ----------- TELECOMMUNICATIONS EQUIPMENT & SERVICES--3.6% 1,600 Advanced Fibre Communications, Inc.* ........ 38,800 8,300 Catapult Communications Corp.* .............. 150,645 14,000 Dycom Industries, Inc.* ..................... 202,860 11,800 Illuminet Holdings, Inc.* ................... 391,760 25,200 SpectraLink Corp.* .......................... 424,872 12,600 UTStarcom, Inc.* ............................ 211,050 2,800 WJ Communications, Inc.* .................... 9,240 ----------- 1,429,227 ----------- VALUE SHARES (NOTE 1) ---------------------------------------------------------------------- TOBACCO--0.4% 7,700 Standard Commercial Corp. ................... $ 143,220 ----------- TRANSPORTATION--2.5% 9,600 Airborne, Inc. .............................. 130,176 7,300 C.H. Robinson Worldwide, Inc. ............... 226,957 7,400 Overseas Shipholding Group, Inc. ............ 201,724 17,400 Ryder System, Inc. .......................... 393,066 1,500 Yellow Corp.* ............................... 39,915 ----------- 991,838 ----------- UTILITIES--0.3% 1,400 Public Service Company of New Mexico ........ 39,760 5,800 Southwestern Energy Co.* .................... 72,500 ----------- 112,260 ----------- VITAMIN & NUTRITION PRODUCTS--0.9% 20,500 NBTY, Inc.* ................................. 353,830 ----------- WHOLESALE - DISTRIBUTION--0.0% 1,100 Handleman Co.* .............................. 17,006 ----------- Total Investments -- 98.1% (Cost $38,402,085) ........................ 39,172,953 ----------- Other Assets in Excess of Liabilities -- 1.9% ....................... 757,214 ----------- Net Assets -- 100.0% ........................ $39,930,167 ---------- * Non-income producing. The accompanying notes are an integral part of the financial statements. 21 [GRAPHIC OMITTED] n/i numeric investors family of funds MID CAP FUND PORTFOLIO OF INVESTMENTS AUGUST 31, 2001 VALUE SHARES (NOTE 1) ---------------------------------------------------------------------- COMMON STOCKS--97.2% AEROSPACE & DEFENSE--3.1% 1,200 Boeing Co. (The) ............................ $ 61,440 3,300 Goodrich Corp. .............................. 105,765 12,300 Precision Castparts Corp. ................... 422,382 3,700 Rockwell Collins ............................ 75,184 4,300 United Technologies Corp. ................... 294,120 ----------- 958,891 ----------- AGRICULTURAL SERVICES--0.8% 6,900 Monsanto Co. ................................ 235,359 ----------- APPAREL--0.5% 11,000 Tommy Hilfiger Corp.* ....................... 141,900 ----------- AUTOMOBILE--1.4% 20,300 AutoNation, Inc. ............................ 218,428 3,800 General Motors Corp. ........................ 208,050 ----------- 426,478 ----------- AUTOMOBILE PARTS & EQUIPMENT--2.9% 16,800 ArvinMeritor, Inc. .......................... 297,360 11,100 Lear Corp.* ................................. 402,264 11,800 Visteon Corp. ............................... 201,780 ----------- 901,404 ----------- BANKS--4.2% 16,100 Compass Bancshares, Inc. .................... 429,065 1,400 Countrywide Credit Industries, Inc. ......... 58,100 1,500 National City Corp. ......................... 46,305 1,800 SunTrust Banks, Inc. ........................ 122,940 3,900 U.S. Bancorp ................................ 94,536 7,200 Wachovia Corp. .............................. 247,824 8,500 Washington Mutual, Inc. ..................... 318,240 ----------- 1,317,010 ----------- BEVERAGES--1.8% 7,500 Constellation Brands, Inc., Class A* ........ 317,625 5,400 Pepsi Bottling Group, Inc. (The) ............ 238,410 ----------- 556,035 ----------- BROKERAGE--0.5% 1,600 Bear Stearns Companies Inc. (The) ........... 83,504 1,200 Lehman Brothers Holdings Inc. ............... 78,780 ----------- 162,284 ----------- VALUE SHARES (NOTE 1) ---------------------------------------------------------------------- BUSINESS SERVICES--0.7% 16,300 Exult Inc.* ................................. $ 228,200 ----------- CHEMICALS - BASIC--0.4% 2,400 Praxair, Inc. ............................... 112,968 ----------- CHEMICALS - SPECIALTY--1.9% 7,900 Ashland Inc. ................................ 334,960 11,300 Sherwin-Williams Co. (The) .................. 255,945 ----------- 590,905 ----------- COMMERCIAL SERVICES--0.6% 10,000 Cendant Corp.* .............................. 190,700 ----------- COMMUNICATIONS & MEDIA--0.3% 8,600 Entravision Communications Corp., Class A* .................................. 104,318 ----------- COMPUTER NETWORKING PRODUCTS--2.0% 2,900 ONI Systems Corp.* .......................... 40,310 17,300 Sonus Networks, Inc.* ....................... 255,521 14,800 Storage Technology Corp.* ................... 211,640 12,300 Tellium, Inc.* .............................. 119,925 ----------- 627,396 ----------- COMPUTER PERIPHERALS--1.0% 10,600 Electronics for Imaging, Inc.* .............. 216,876 2,100 Lexmark International, Inc.* ................ 109,305 ----------- 326,181 ----------- COMPUTER SOFTWARE--4.8% 5,800 Advent Software, Inc.* ...................... 308,038 3,900 BEA Systems, Inc.* .......................... 63,063 10,300 Citrix Systems, Inc.* ....................... 339,385 8,800 Computer Associates International, Inc. ..... 273,240 26,300 Network Associates, Inc.* ................... 416,855 7,700 Sybase, Inc.* ............................... 106,029 ----------- 1,506,610 ----------- CONSUMER PRODUCTS--1.0% 4,600 Whirlpool Corp. ............................. 303,692 ----------- DATA PROCESSING--0.6% 3,200 Electronic Data Systems Corp. ............... 188,736 ----------- ELECTRONIC COMPONENTS & ACCESSORIES--0.1% 1,200 RF Micro Devices, Inc.* ..................... 30,552 ----------- The accompanying notes are an integral part of the financial statements. 22 [GRAPHIC OMITTED] n/i numeric investors family of funds MID CAP FUND PORTFOLIO OF INVESTMENTS (CONTINUED) AUGUST 31, 2001 VALUE SHARES (NOTE 1) ---------------------------------------------------------------------- FINANCIAL SERVICES--1.3% 4,300 AmeriCredit Corp.* .......................... $ 198,488 8,400 IndyMac Bancorp, Inc.* ...................... 221,508 ----------- 419,996 ----------- FOOD & AGRICULTURE--2.6% 12,100 ConAgra Foods, Inc. ......................... 277,695 1,400 Sara Lee Corp. .............................. 30,800 8,000 Smithfield Foods, Inc.* ..................... 354,000 15,100 Tyson Foods, Inc., Class A .................. 159,305 ----------- 821,800 ----------- HEALTH CARE--2.1% 10,600 Health Net Inc.* ............................ 200,022 14,700 Oxford Health Plans, Inc.* .................. 440,706 ----------- 640,728 ----------- HOSPITALS--3.2% 16,700 DaVita, Inc.* ............................... 344,855 8,100 LifePoint Hospitals, Inc.* .................. 346,599 5,500 Tenet Healthcare Corp.* ..................... 304,810 ----------- 996,264 ----------- INSURANCE - PROPERTY & CASUALTY--3.8% 8,500 CNA Financial Corp.* ........................ 236,045 1,870 CNA Financial Corp., Rights (expiring 09/14/01)* ...................... 5,199 12,470 Fidelity National Financial, Inc. ........... 302,273 4,600 Loews Corp. ................................. 224,572 16,000 Old Republic International Corp. ............ 429,600 ----------- 1,197,689 ----------- INTERNET SOFTWARE--1.2% 5,800 Retek Inc.* ................................. 162,284 5,100 VeriSign, Inc.* ............................. 209,355 ----------- 371,639 ----------- LEISURE & ENTERTAINMENT--2.4% 2,000 Callaway Golf Co. ........................... 36,240 3,000 Expedia, Inc., Class A* ..................... 112,080 6,900 Hotel Reservations Network, Inc., Class A* .................................. 287,040 13,200 Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. ................ 308,088 ----------- 743,448 ----------- VALUE SHARES (NOTE 1) ---------------------------------------------------------------------- MANUFACTURING--1.3% 10,400 Pentair, Inc. ............................... $ 390,000 ----------- MEDICAL INSTRUMENTS & SUPPLIES--5.2% 3,000 DENTSPLY International Inc. ................. 133,860 10,200 Edwards Lifesciences Corp.* ................. 268,158 7,200 Hillenbrand Industries, Inc. ................ 390,960 2,200 Laboratory Corp. of America Holdings* ....... 171,380 8,500 Quest Diagnostics Inc.* ..................... 532,525 2,200 Stryker Corp. ............................... 120,626 ----------- 1,617,509 ----------- MULTIMEDIA/PUBLISHING--0.9% 4,900 McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. (The) ........... 290,325 ----------- OFFICE EQUIPMENT--0.3% 2,200 Pitney Bowes Inc. ........................... 95,678 ----------- OFFICE FURNITURE--1.1% 24,000 Office Depot, Inc.* ......................... 333,600 ----------- OIL & GAS EQUIPMENT & SERVICES--3.6% 2,300 Helmerich & Payne, Inc. ..................... 70,288 2,800 Nabors Industries, Inc.* .................... 68,656 5,500 Patterson-UTI Energy, Inc.* ................. 77,275 7,400 Questar Corp. ............................... 167,536 14,400 Tidewater Inc. .............................. 447,984 9,000 Williams Companies, Inc. (The) .............. 292,950 ----------- 1,124,689 ----------- OIL & GAS FIELD EXPLORATION--3.1% 4,100 Amerada Hess Corp. .......................... 318,611 1,000 Devon Energy Corp. .......................... 46,270 1,500 El Paso Corp. ............................... 72,885 5,700 Unocal Corp. ................................ 201,210 10,700 USX-Marathon Group .......................... 337,157 ----------- 976,133 ----------- OIL REFINING--1.8% 9,100 Sunoco, Inc. ................................ 344,253 5,000 Valero Energy Corp. ......................... 207,500 ----------- 551,753 ----------- The accompanying notes are an integral part of the financial statements. 23 [GRAPHIC OMITTED] n/i numeric investors family of funds MID CAP FUND PORTFOLIO OF INVESTMENTS (CONTINUED) AUGUST 31, 2001 VALUE SHARES (NOTE 1) ---------------------------------------------------------------------- PAPER & ALLIED PRODUCTS--1.9% 1,400 Bowater Inc. ................................ $ 66,416 8,600 Georgia-Pacific Group ....................... 314,244 5,100 Mead Corp. (The) ............................ 169,524 1,700 Westvaco Corp. .............................. 51,765 ----------- 601,949 ----------- PHARMACEUTICALS--1.0% 1,600 ICN Pharmaceuticals, Inc. ................... 47,120 5,966 King Pharmaceuticals, Inc.* ................. 258,029 ----------- 305,149 ----------- RESIDENTIAL CONSTRUCTION--1.4% 1,900 Lennar Corp. ................................ 84,645 8,900 Pulte Homes, Inc. ........................... 336,865 ----------- 421,510 ----------- RETAIL - DEPARTMENT STORES--1.3% 6,500 Dillard's, Inc., Class A .................... 116,350 7,100 Sears, Roebuck and Co. ...................... 303,525 ----------- 419,875 ----------- RETAIL - SPECIALTY--1.7% 14,500 Blockbuster Inc., Class A ................... 311,170 13,000 Venator Group, Inc.* ........................ 233,350 ----------- 544,520 ----------- SAVINGS & LOAN ASSOCIATIONS--9.3% 6,800 Astoria Financial Corp. ..................... 401,200 16,100 Banknorth Group, Inc. ....................... 354,200 10,900 Charter One Financial, Inc. ................. 318,280 14,600 Golden State Bancorp Inc. ................... 438,292 5,200 Golden West Financial Corp. ................. 300,924 11,400 GreenPoint Financial Corp. .................. 450,300 23,000 Hibernia Corp., Class A ..................... 397,670 7,100 Webster Financial Corp. ..................... 230,892 ----------- 2,891,758 ----------- SCHOOLS--0.7% 5,750 Apollo Group, Inc., Class A* ................ 226,378 ----------- SEMICONDUCTORS--3.7% 6,700 KLA-Tencor Corp.* ........................... 329,238 9,100 Lam Research Corp.* ......................... 257,621 5,900 NVIDIA Corp.* ............................... 499,789 1,400 Semtech Corp.* .............................. 52,262 ----------- 1,138,910 ----------- VALUE SHARES (NOTE 1) ---------------------------------------------------------------------- SERVICES - MANAGEMENT CONSULTING--1.1% 7,200 Corporate Executive Board Co. (The)* ........ $ 250,200 6,400 KPMG Consulting Inc.* ....................... 94,272 ----------- 344,472 ----------- TELECOMMUNICATIONS EQUIPMENT & INFRASTRUCTURE--2.0% 9,500 Corning, Inc. ............................... 114,095 11,300 EchoStar Communications Corp., Class A* ..... 318,208 4,500 Lucent Technologies Inc. .................... 30,690 9,700 UTStarcom, Inc.* ............................ 162,475 ----------- 625,468 ----------- TRANSPORTATION--1.3% 10,800 Norfolk Southern Corp. ...................... 201,096 8,400 Ryder System, Inc. .......................... 189,756 ----------- 390,852 ----------- UTILITIES--8.3% 7,700 Allegheny Energy, Inc. ...................... 339,416 1,700 Aquila, Inc.* ............................... 44,285 7,500 CMS Energy Corp. ............................ 175,950 13,800 Energy East Corp. ........................... 290,628 9,200 FirstEnergy Corp. ........................... 302,588 9,300 KeySpan Corp. ............................... 300,390 13,750 MDU Resources Group, Inc. ................... 391,600 1,100 Mirant Corp.* ............................... 31,515 3,500 ONEOK, Inc. ................................. 56,700 3,900 Progress Energy, Inc. ....................... 162,591 9,900 Public Service Co. of New Mexico ............ 281,160 200 Sempra Energy ............................... 5,418 3,100 Vectren Corp. ............................... 63,550 6,600 Wisconsin Energy Corp. ...................... 159,060 ----------- 2,604,851 ----------- WHOLESALE - GROCERIES & GENERAL LINE--1.0% 15,200 SUPERVALU INC ............................... 318,896 ----------- Total Common Stocks (Cost $30,295,133) ........................ 30,315,458 ----------- The accompanying notes are an integral part of the financial statements. 24 [GRAPHIC OMITTED] n/i numeric investors family of funds MID CAP FUND PORTFOLIO OF INVESTMENTS (CONCLUDED) AUGUST 31, 2001 PRINCIPAL VALUE AMOUNT (000's) (NOTE 1) ---------------------------------------------------------------------- REPURCHASE AGREEMENT--2.6% $ 831 Bear, Stearns & Co. Inc. (Agreement dated 08/31/01 to be repurchased at $831,180) 3.65%, 09/04/01 (Cost $830,843) (Note 6) .................. $ 830,843 ----------- Total Investments -- 99.8% (Cost $31,125,976) ........................ 31,146,301 ----------- Other Assets in Excess of Liabilities -- 0.2% ....................... 51,900 ----------- Net Assets -- 100.0% ........................ $31,198,201 ---------- * Non-income producing. The accompanying notes are an integral part of the financial statements. 25 [GRAPHIC OMITTED] n/i numeric investors family of funds SMALL CAP VALUE FUND PORTFOLIO OF INVESTMENTS AUGUST 31, 2001 VALUE SHARES (NOTE 1) ---------------------------------------------------------------------- COMMON STOCKS--97.2% AEROSPACE & DEFENSE--1.7% 4,600 Moog Inc., Class A* ......................... $ 164,680 12,000 Precision Castparts Corp. ................... 412,080 600 Triumph Group, Inc.* ........................ 28,380 ----------- 605,140 ----------- AIRLINES--0.4% 14,500 America West Holdings Corp., Class B* ....... 137,895 ----------- APPAREL--0.6% 17,800 Tommy Hilfiger Corp.* ....................... 229,620 ----------- AUTOMOBILE PARTS & EQUIPMENT--4.0% 10,200 American Axle & Manufacturing Holdings, Inc.* ........................... 192,270 28,600 ArvinMeritor, Inc. .......................... 506,220 3,300 BorgWarner, Inc. ............................ 168,630 6,500 Dura Automotive Systems, Inc.* .............. 91,000 11,400 Tower Automotive, Inc.* ..................... 146,148 31,100 Wabash National Corp. ....................... 301,670 ----------- 1,405,938 ----------- BANKS--2.9% 11,200 First BanCorp ............................... 311,920 3,000 Hudson United Bancorp. ...................... 80,850 14,000 Irwin Financial Corp. ....................... 301,000 12,800 R&G Financial Corp., Class B ................ 221,312 8,500 W Holding Co., Inc. ......................... 128,435 ----------- 1,043,517 ----------- BEVERAGES--0.6% 5,200 Constellation Brands, Inc., Class A* ........ 220,220 ----------- BROKERAGE--0.1% 600 Jefferies Group, Inc. ....................... 19,980 ----------- BUILDING SUPPLIES--2.1% 11,100 Building Materials Holding Corp.* ........... 158,175 17,900 Hughes Supply, Inc. ......................... 489,565 6,600 Lennox International Inc. ................... 66,264 1,500 Watsco, Inc. ................................ 21,210 ----------- 735,214 ----------- CHEMICALS - BASIC--0.6% 12,700 NL Industries, Inc. ......................... 205,105 ----------- VALUE SHARES (NOTE 1) ---------------------------------------------------------------------- CHEMICALS - SPECIALTY--1.0% 10,600 RPM, Inc. ................................... $ 116,812 9,100 TETRA Technologies, Inc.* ................... 207,571 3,300 Wellman, Inc. ............................... 49,500 ----------- 373,883 ----------- COMPUTER COMPONENTS--0.8% 6,700 Hutchinson Technology Inc.* ................. 126,496 11,500 MTS Systems Corp. ........................... 149,500 ----------- 275,996 ----------- COMPUTER NETWORKING PRODUCTS--1.1% 9,200 Adaptec, Inc.* .............................. 96,140 2,100 Black Box Corp.* ............................ 98,301 13,400 Storage Technology Corp.* ................... 191,620 ----------- 386,061 ----------- COMPUTER PERIPHERALS--0.8% 13,600 Electronics for Imaging, Inc.* .............. 278,256 ----------- COMPUTER SOFTWARE--0.7% 13,300 Midway Games Inc.* .......................... 194,845 3,400 MSC.Software Corp.* ......................... 63,750 ----------- 258,595 ----------- CONSUMER PRODUCTS--2.3% 16,300 American Greetings Corp., Class A ........... 215,486 5,600 Libbey Inc. ................................. 213,360 8,400 Toro Co. (The) .............................. 382,620 ----------- 811,466 ----------- DATA PROCESSING--0.1% 1,900 Actrade Financial Technologies, Ltd.* ....... 43,529 ----------- ELECTRICAL EQUIPMENT--0.5% 4,100 A.O. Smith Corp. ............................ 69,085 8,000 General Cable Corp. ......................... 121,120 ----------- 190,205 ----------- ELECTRONIC COMPONENTS & ACCESSORIES--2.0% 5,700 BEI Technologies, Inc. ...................... 131,841 4,700 Pioneer-Standard Electronics, Inc. .......... 56,447 2,600 Planar Systems Inc.* ........................ 68,900 8,500 Powell Industries, Inc.* .................... 228,565 8,400 Wilson Greatbatch Technologies, Inc.* ....... 217,560 ----------- 703,313 ----------- The accompanying notes are an integral part of the financial statements. 26 [GRAPHIC OMITTED] n/i numeric investors family of funds SMALL CAP VALUE FUND PORTFOLIO OF INVESTMENTS (CONTINUED) AUGUST 31, 2001 VALUE SHARES (NOTE 1) ---------------------------------------------------------------------- ELECTRONIC MEASUREMENTS - INSTRUMENTS--0.3% 4,000 FLIR Systems, Inc.* ......................... $ 112,800 ----------- FINANCIAL SERVICES--2.2% 13,200 Advanta Corp., Class A ...................... 179,784 17,000 IndyMac Bancorp, Inc.* ...................... 448,290 5,300 Metris Companies Inc. ....................... 144,160 ----------- 772,234 ----------- FOOD & AGRICULTURE--4.0% 700 Corn Products International, Inc. ........... 23,100 22,000 Dole Food Co., Inc. ......................... 527,780 17,500 Fresh Del Monte Produce Inc.* ............... 259,875 2,700 Interstate Bakeries Corp. ................... 66,690 13,500 Sensient Technologies Corp. ................. 296,865 4,000 Spartan Stores, Inc.* ....................... 46,920 3,700 Suiza Foods Corp.* .......................... 214,526 ----------- 1,435,756 ----------- FOOTWEAR--0.6% 11,300 Wolverine World Wide, Inc. .................. 210,293 ----------- FUNERAL SERVICES--0.1% 4,000 Stewart Enterprises, Inc., Class A* ......... 30,080 ----------- HEALTH CARE--0.2% 1,900 Health Net Inc.* ............................ 35,853 1,600 Mid Atlantic Medical Services, Inc.* ........ 33,600 ----------- 69,453 ----------- HOME FURNISHINGS/HOUSEWARES--0.3% 2,500 American Woodmark Corp. ..................... 120,500 ----------- HOSPITALS--0.2% 3,500 DaVita, Inc.* ............................... 72,275 ----------- INSURANCE - HEALTH & LIFE--0.8% 2,900 American National Insurance Co. ............. 228,839 1,000 AmerUs Group Co. ............................ 30,980 800 StanCorp Financial Group, Inc. .............. 36,800 ----------- 296,619 ----------- INSURANCE - PROPERTY & CASUALTY--5.5% 13,000 Commerce Group, Inc. (The) .................. 486,200 15,260 Fidelity National Financial, Inc. ........... 369,902 13,600 LandAmerica Financial Group, Inc. ........... 428,128 6,000 Ohio Casualty Corp. ......................... 82,860 6,400 Stewart Information Services Corp.* ......... 112,000 41,300 Vesta Insurance Group, Inc. ................. 481,971 ----------- 1,961,061 ----------- VALUE SHARES (NOTE 1) ---------------------------------------------------------------------- INVESTMENT MANAGEMENT--1.3% 6,400 John Nuveen Co. (The), Class A .............. $ 418,624 1,200 Raymond James Financial, Inc. ............... 33,984 ----------- 452,608 ----------- LEISURE & ENTERTAINMENT--2.7% 5,700 Ameristar Casinos, Inc.* .................... 87,894 7,900 Argosy Gaming Co.* .......................... 234,867 16,700 Aztar Corp.* ................................ 269,538 7,400 Polaris Industries Inc. ..................... 372,590 ----------- 964,889 ----------- MACHINERY--1.2% 36,000 AGCO Corp. .................................. 423,000 ----------- MAINTENANCE SERVICES--0.4% 17,300 Integrated Electrical Services, Inc.* ....... 141,860 ----------- MANUFACTURING--6.0% 15,000 Actuant Corp., Class A* ..................... 318,150 6,400 Ameron International Corp. .................. 464,960 1,000 Donaldson Co., Inc. ......................... 29,850 19,000 Griffon Corp.* .............................. 208,050 8,200 Harsco Corp. ................................ 290,280 10,600 Pentair, Inc. ............................... 397,500 6,000 RTI International Metals, Inc.* ............. 66,900 2,300 Tecumseh Products Co., Class A .............. 112,654 4,700 Teleflex Inc. ............................... 231,240 ----------- 2,119,584 ----------- MEDICAL INSTRUMENTS & SUPPLIES--2.8% 6,000 Edwards Lifesciences Corp.* ................. 157,740 5,600 Henry Schein, Inc.* ......................... 203,392 8,800 Landauer, Inc. .............................. 268,400 11,900 Mentor Corp. ................................ 357,000 ----------- 986,532 ----------- METALS--2.3% 11,200 Century Aluminum Co. ........................ 187,936 5,500 Quanex Corp. ................................ 145,145 65,000 USEC Inc. ................................... 474,500 ----------- 807,581 ----------- OFFICE & BUSINESS EQUIPMENT--1.3% 55,000 IKON Office Solutions, Inc. ................. 412,500 1,600 United Stationers Inc.* ..................... 50,416 ----------- 462,916 ----------- The accompanying notes are an integral part of the financial statements. 27 [GRAPHIC OMITTED] n/i numeric investors family of funds SMALL CAP VALUE FUND PORTFOLIO OF INVESTMENTS (CONTINUED) AUGUST 31, 2001 VALUE SHARES (NOTE 1) ---------------------------------------------------------------------- OIL & GAS EQUIPMENT & SERVICES--1.3% 14,100 Key Energy Services, Inc.* .................. $ 130,848 5,100 Lufkin Industries, Inc. ..................... 138,771 5,300 McDermott International, Inc.* .............. 56,445 3,100 Offshore Logistics, Inc.* ................... 58,590 1,400 SEACOR SMIT Inc.* ........................... 65,086 ----------- 449,740 ----------- OIL & GAS FIELD EXPLORATION--1.3% 5,000 Louis Dreyfus Natural Gas Corp.* ............ 166,250 5,900 Newfield Exploration Co.* ................... 194,464 2,400 Pogo Producing Co. .......................... 57,336 2,000 XTO Energy, Inc. ............................ 28,200 ----------- 446,250 ----------- PACKAGING--0.4% 6,500 Silgan Holdings Inc.* ....................... 141,765 ----------- PAPER & ALLIED PRODUCTS--2.1% 26,600 P.H. Glatfelter Co. ......................... 424,004 13,500 Schweitzer-Mauduit International, Inc. ...... 315,225 ----------- 739,229 ----------- PRINTING--0.5% 1,400 Banta Corp. ................................. 41,986 5,800 John H. Harland Co. ......................... 134,850 ----------- 176,836 ----------- PUBLISHING--0.3% 2,400 Scholastic Corp.* ........................... 93,432 ----------- RESIDENTIAL CONSTRUCTION--3.0% 6,200 Crossmann Communities, Inc. ................. 239,630 8,800 M/I Schottenstein Homes, Inc. ............... 354,024 9,000 Ryland Group, Inc. (The) .................... 484,200 ----------- 1,077,854 ----------- RESTAURANTS--2.3% 3,450 Applebee's International, Inc. .............. 111,435 1,800 Bob Evans Farms, Inc. ....................... 40,212 1,200 Landry's Restaurants, Inc. .................. 20,760 36,361 Lone Star Steakhouse & Saloon, Inc. ......... 452,695 11,800 Ryan's Family Steak Houses, Inc.* ........... 205,438 ----------- 830,540 ----------- RETAIL - AUTOMOBILES--0.3% 2,900 Group 1 Automotive, Inc.* ................... 85,550 1,700 Sonic Automotive, Inc.* ..................... 29,920 ----------- 115,470 ----------- VALUE SHARES (NOTE 1) ---------------------------------------------------------------------- RETAIL - DEPARTMENT STORES--0.6% 11,900 Dillard's, Inc., Class A .................... $ 213,010 ----------- RETAIL - SPECIALTY--2.4% 10,700 Blockbuster Inc., Class A ................... 229,622 14,500 Brown Shoe Co., Inc. ........................ 218,950 2,900 Gart Sports Company* ........................ 45,240 20,600 Hollywood Entertainment Corp.* .............. 247,200 4,300 Longs Drug Stores Corp. ..................... 111,284 ----------- 852,296 ----------- RETAIL - SPECIALTY APPAREL--0.7% 21,000 Finish Line, Inc. (The), Class A* ........... 204,750 2,000 Wet Seal, Inc. (The), Class A* .............. 39,980 ----------- 244,730 ----------- SAVINGS & LOAN ASSOCIATIONS--12.0% 2,600 American Capital Strategies, Ltd. ........... 73,372 2,600 Astoria Financial Corp. ..................... 153,400 47,700 BankAtlantic Bancorp, Inc., Class A ......... 439,794 8,600 Community First Bankshares, Inc. ............ 209,410 17,000 Dime Bancorp, Inc. .......................... 462,910 4,100 Dime Bancorp, Inc., Litigation Tracking Warrants* ................................. 1,025 10,000 Downey Financial Corp. ...................... 477,500 10,000 First Essex Bancorp, Inc. ................... 255,000 19,950 Flagstar Bancorp, Inc. ...................... 438,501 11,500 GBC Bancorp ................................. 360,640 13,500 MAF Bancorp, Inc. ........................... 417,960 14,300 Sovereign Bancorp, Inc. ..................... 158,444 17,100 Trustmark Corp. ............................. 383,040 13,900 Webster Financial Corp. ..................... 452,028 ----------- 4,283,024 ----------- SEMICONDUCTORS--0.8% 6,200 EMCOR Group, Inc.* .......................... 241,738 1,000 Zoran Corp.* ................................ 34,350 ----------- 276,088 ----------- STEEL--0.5% 1,000 Carpenter Technology Corp. .................. 28,980 10,500 Ryerson Tull, Inc. .......................... 133,665 ----------- 162,645 ----------- TELECOMMUNICATIONS--0.1% 2,900 General Communication, Inc., Class A* ....... 31,349 ----------- The accompanying notes are an integral part of the financial statements. 28 [GRAPHIC OMITTED] n/i numeric investors family of funds SMALL CAP VALUE FUND PORTFOLIO OF INVESTMENTS (CONCLUDED) AUGUST 31, 2001 VALUE SHARES (NOTE 1) ---------------------------------------------------------------------- TELECOMMUNICATIONS EQUIPMENT & SERVICES--0.4% 4,400 Dycom Industries, Inc.* ..................... $ 63,756 3,300 Harris Corp. ................................ 96,789 ----------- 160,545 ----------- TOBACCO--2.7% 23,600 Standard Commercial Corp. ................... 438,960 12,400 Universal Corp. ............................. 526,132 ----------- 965,092 ----------- TRANSPORTATION--3.5% 1,000 Kirby Corp.* ................................ 24,400 17,700 Overseas Shipholding Group, Inc. ............ 482,502 25,200 Ryder System, Inc. .......................... 569,268 6,900 Yellow Corp.* ............................... 183,609 ----------- 1,259,779 ----------- UTILITIES--7.0% 2,400 El Paso Electric Co.* ....................... 35,760 11,100 Energen Corp. ............................... 281,940 11,500 MDU Resources Group, Inc. ................... 327,520 500 National Fuel Gas Co. ....................... 23,905 7,100 NorthWestern Corp. .......................... 157,265 1,500 NUI Corp. ................................... 33,720 7,900 Peoples Energy Corp. ........................ 310,470 18,200 Public Service Co. of New Mexico ............ 516,880 8,100 Sierra Pacific Resources .................... 137,295 31,800 Southwestern Energy Co.* .................... 397,500 6,500 UGI Corp. ................................... 182,000 4,100 Vectren Corp. ............................... 84,050 ----------- 2,488,305 ----------- WHOLESALE - DISTRIBUTION--0.5% 11,500 Handleman Co.* .............................. 177,790 ----------- Total Common Stocks (Cost $31,964,250) ........................ 34,549,743 ----------- PRINCIPAL VALUE AMOUNT (000's) (NOTE 1) ---------------------------------------------------------------------- REPURCHASE AGREEMENT--2.3% $ 826 Bear, Stearns & Co. Inc. (Agreement dated 08/31/01 to be repurchased at $826,592) 3.65%, 09/04/01 (Cost $826,257) (Note 6) .................. $ 826,257 ----------- Total Investments -- 99.5% (Cost $32,790,507) ........................ 35,376,000 ----------- Other Assets in Excess of Liabilities -- 0.5% ....................... 187,629 ----------- Net Assets -- 100.0% ........................ $35,563,629 ---------- * Non-income producing. The accompanying notes are an integral part of the financial statements. 29 [GRAPHIC OMITTED] n/i numeric investors family of funds STATEMENTS OF ASSETS AND LIABILITIES AUGUST 31, 2001
MICRO CAP GROWTH MID CAP SMALL CAP VALUE FUND FUND FUND FUND ------------ ------------ ----------- --------------- ASSETS Investments, at value (Cost - $128,184,993, $38,402,085, $31,125,976, $32,790,507, respectively) .......................................... $137,605,459 $ 39,172,953 $31,146,301 $35,376,000 Receivable for investments sold ........................... 4,316,564 1,523,995 914,275 1,123,574 Repurchase agreements in connection with securities lending (Note 5) ....................................... 1,424,131 345,444 109,394 209,254 Dividends and interest receivable ......................... 44,864 17,518 47,439 56,738 Receivable for Fund shares sold ........................... 11,957 -- 2,400 143,434 Prepaid expenses .......................................... 4,511 -- 9,705 4,364 ------------ ------------ ----------- ----------- Total assets ........................................... 143,407,486 41,059,910 32,229,514 36,913,364 ------------ ------------ ----------- ----------- LIABILITIES Payable for investments purchased ......................... 1,692,784 294,553 872,261 1,061,783 Payable upon return of securities loaned (Note 5) ......... 1,424,131 345,444 109,394 209,254 Due to custodian .......................................... -- 434,933 -- -- Payable for Fund shares redeemed .......................... 216,173 -- 10,189 25,851 Investment advisory fee payable ........................... 91,110 12,392 5,523 34,797 Accrued expenses and other liabilities .................... 56,739 42,421 33,946 18,050 ------------ ------------ ----------- ----------- Total liabilities ...................................... 3,480,937 1,129,743 1,031,313 1,349,735 ------------ ------------ ----------- ----------- NET ASSETS Capital stock, $0.001 par value ........................... 10,996 3,811 2,370 2,020 Additional paid-in capital ................................ 141,585,808 51,544,387 35,771,479 27,262,701 Undistributed net investment income ....................... -- -- 144,990 38,630 Accumulated net realized gain/(loss) from investments ............................................ (11,090,721) (12,388,899) (4,740,963) 5,674,785 Net unrealized appreciation on investments ................ 9,420,466 770,868 20,325 2,585,493 ------------ ------------ ----------- ----------- Net assets applicable to shares outstanding ............... $139,926,549 $ 39,930,167 $31,198,201 $35,563,629 ============ ============ =========== =========== Shares outstanding ........................................... 10,995,639 3,811,226 2,369,927 2,019,699 ------------ ------------ ----------- ----------- Net asset value, offering and redemption price per share ................................................. $12.73 $10.48 $13.16 $17.61 ====== ====== ====== ======
The accompanying notes are an integral part of the financial statements 30 [GRAPHIC OMITTED] n/i numeric investors family of funds STATEMENTS OF OPERATIONS FOR THE FISCAL YEAR ENDED AUGUST 31, 2001
MICRO CAP GROWTH MID CAP SMALL CAP VALUE FUND FUND FUND FUND ------------ ------------ ----------- --------------- INVESTMENT INCOME Dividends* ......................................... $ 210,149 $ 104,033 $ 417,540 $ 372,287 Interest ........................................... 197,539 64,986 53,452 43,416 Securities lending ................................. 73,632 32,073 11,751 6,768 ------------ ------------ ----------- ---------- Total investment income ......................... 481,320 201,092 482,743 422,471 ------------ ------------ ----------- ---------- EXPENSES Advisory fees ...................................... 911,680 380,387 185,863 281,472 Co-Administration fees ............................. 212,745 104,217 93,637 86,501 Administrative services fees ....................... 182,336 78,875 55,916 34,506 Transfer agent fees and expenses ................... 53,947 51,442 66,081 40,257 Printing ........................................... 47,125 24,468 36,377 6,447 Federal and state registration fees ................ 19,279 14,663 38,795 15,777 Audit and legal fees ............................... 32,418 24,668 15,111 4,751 Custodian fees and expenses ........................ 40,967 17,611 11,183 7,588 Directors' fees and expenses ....................... 8,552 7,237 3,694 1,654 Other .............................................. 9,248 9,490 9,936 13,196 ------------ ------------ ----------- ---------- Total expenses before waivers and reimbursements ............................... 1,518,297 713,058 516,593 492,149 Less: waivers and reimbursements ................ (219,768) (147,563) (178,942) (108,367) ------------ ------------ ----------- ---------- Net expenses after waivers and reimbursements ............................... 1,298,529 565,495 337,651 383,782 ------------ ------------ ----------- ---------- Net Investment Income/(Loss) ....................... (817,209) (364,403) 145,092 38,689 ------------ ------------ ----------- ---------- NET REALIZED AND UNREALIZED GAIN/(LOSS) ON INVESTMENTS: Net realized gain/(loss) from investments .......... (10,311,793) (12,141,975) (4,234,284) 5,978,356 Net change in unrealized appreciation/(depreciation) on investments .................................. (14,123,542) (15,122,359) (3,240,263) 1,215,166 ------------ ------------ ----------- ---------- Net realized and unrealized gain/(loss) on investments ..................................... (24,435,335) (27,264,334) (7,474,547) 7,193,522 ------------ ------------ ----------- ---------- NET INCREASE/(DECREASE) IN NET ASSETS RESULTING FROM OPERATIONS .................................... $(25,252,544) $(27,628,737) $(7,329,455) $7,232,211 ============ ============ =========== ========== ---------- * Net of foreign withholding taxes of $2,191, $526 and $482 for the Micro Cap Fund, Growth Fund and Small Cap Value Fund, respectively.
The accompanying notes are an integral part of the financial statements. 31 [GRAPHIC OMITTED] n/i numeric investors family of funds STATEMENTS OF CHANGES IN NET ASSETS
MICRO CAP GROWTH FUND FUND ----------------------------- ---------------------------- FOR THE FISCAL YEARS FOR THE FISCAL YEARS ENDED AUGUST 31, ENDED AUGUST 31, ----------------------------- ---------------------------- 2001 2000 2001 2000 ------------ ------------ ------------ ------------ INCREASE/(DECREASE) IN NET ASSETS RESULTING FROM OPERATIONS: Net investment income/(loss) ....................... $ (817,209) $ (629,445) $ (364,403) $ (419,767) Net realized gain/(loss) from investments and futures transactions, if any .................... (10,311,793) 29,688,869 (12,141,975) 22,719,797 Net change in unrealized appreciation/(depreciation) on investments .................................. (14,123,542) 20,300,544 (15,122,359) 11,738,071 ------------ ------------ ------------ ------------ Net increase/(decrease) in net assets resulting from operations ................................. (25,252,544) 49,359,968 (27,628,737) 34,038,101 ------------ ------------ ------------ ------------ DIVIDENDS AND DISTRIBUTIONS TO SHAREHOLDERS FROM: Net investment income .............................. -- -- -- -- Net realized capital gains ......................... (29,436,632) (18,272,210) (21,857,830) (1,484,633) ------------ ------------ ------------ ------------ Total dividends and distributions to shareholders .. (29,436,632) (18,272,210) (21,857,830) (1,484,633) ------------ ------------ ------------ ------------ INCREASE/(DECREASE) IN NET ASSETS DERIVED FROM CAPITAL SHARE TRANSACTIONS (NOTE 4) ................ 60,082,666 27,096,476 9,896,402 (15,408,959) ------------ ------------ ------------ ------------ Total increase/(decrease) in net assets ............ 5,393,490 58,184,234 (39,590,165) 17,144,509 NET ASSETS Beginning of year .................................. 134,533,059 76,348,825 79,520,332 62,375,823 ------------ ------------ ------------ ------------ End of year* ....................................... $139,926,549 $134,533,059 $ 39,930,167 $ 79,520,332 ============ ============ ============ ============
MID CAP SMALL CAP VALUE FUND FUND ---------------------------- --------------------------- FOR THE FISCAL YEARS FOR THE FISCAL YEARS ENDED AUGUST 31, ENDED AUGUST 31, ---------------------------- --------------------------- 2001 2000 2001 2000 ------------ ------------ ----------- ----------- INCREASE/(DECREASE) IN NET ASSETS RESULTING FROM OPERATIONS: Net investment income/(loss) ....................... $ 145,092 $ 174,985 $ 38,689 $ 149,898 Net realized gain/(loss) from investments and futures transactions, if any .................... (4,234,284) 7,569,030 5,978,356 (194,892) Net change in unrealized appreciation/(depreciation) on investments .................................. (3,240,263) 3,549,311 1,215,166 1,637,027 ------------ ------------ ----------- ----------- Net increase/(decrease) in net assets resulting from operations ................................. (7,329,455) 11,293,326 7,232,211 1,592,033 ------------ ------------ ----------- ----------- DIVIDENDS AND DISTRIBUTIONS TO SHAREHOLDERS FROM: Net investment income .............................. (175,009) (82,617) (149,957) (87,010) Net realized capital gains ......................... (7,016,619) (5,452,700) -- (1,169,811) ------------ ------------ ----------- ----------- Total dividends and distributions to shareholders .. (7,191,628) (5,535,317) (149,957) (1,256,821) ------------ ------------ ----------- ----------- INCREASE/(DECREASE) IN NET ASSETS DERIVED FROM CAPITAL SHARE TRANSACTIONS (NOTE 4) ................ 1,289,121 (10,483,627) 15,000,608 1,647,265 ------------ ------------ ----------- ----------- Total increase/(decrease) in net assets ............ (13,231,962) (4,725,618) 22,082,862 1,982,477 NET ASSETS Beginning of year .................................. 44,430,163 49,155,781 13,480,767 11,498,290 ------------ ------------ ----------- ----------- End of year* ....................................... $ 31,198,201 $ 44,430,163 $35,563,629 $13,480,767 ============ ============ =========== =========== ----------- * Includes undistributed net investment income as follows: FOR THE FISCAL YEARS ENDED AUGUST 31, -------------------------- 2001 2000 -------- -------- Mid Cap Fund .................................. $145,045 $174,907 Small Cap Value Fund .......................... 38,630 149,898
The accompanying notes are an integral part of the financial statements. 32 and 33 [GRAPHIC OMITTED] n/i numeric investors family of funds FINANCIAL HIGHLIGHTS -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Contained below is per share operating performance data for each share outstanding, total investment return, ratios to average net assets and other supplemental data for the respective years. This information has been derived from information provided in the financial statements. --------------------------------------------------------------------------------
MICRO CAP FUND ---------------------------------------------------------------------- FOR THE FISCAL YEARS ENDED AUGUST 31, ---------------------------------------------------------------------- 2001 2000 1999 1998 1997 -------- -------- ------- ------- -------- PER SHARE OPERATING PERFORMANCE Net asset value, beginning of year .............. $ 20.99 $ 18.03 $ 12.52 $ 18.47 $ 11.67 -------- -------- ------- ------- -------- Net investment loss ............................. (0.07) (0.10) (0.18) (0.07) (0.01) Net realized and unrealized gain/(loss) on investments and futures transactions, if any . (3.58) 7.39 6.72 (3.23) 6.82 -------- -------- ------- ------- -------- Net increase/(decrease) in net assets resulting from operations .............................. (3.65) 7.29 6.54 (3.30) 6.81 -------- -------- ------- ------- -------- Dividends and distributions to shareholders from: Net investment income ........................... -- -- -- -- (0.01) Net realized capital gains ...................... (4.61) (4.33) (1.03) (2.65) -- -------- -------- ------- ------- -------- Total dividends and distributions to shareholders (4.61) (4.33) (1.03) (2.65) (0.01) -------- -------- ------- ------- -------- Net asset value, end of year .................... $ 12.73 $ 20.99 $ 18.03 $ 12.52 $ 18.47 ======== ======== ======= ======= ======== Total investment return(1) ...................... (20.16)% 54.42% 56.09% (20.74)% 58.41% ======== ======== ======= ======= ======== RATIOS/SUPPLEMENTAL DATA Net assets, end of year (000's omitted) ......... $139,927 $134,533 $76,349 $99,266 $142,119 Ratio of expenses to average net assets(2) ...... 1.07% 1.00% 1.00% 1.00% 1.00% Ratio of expenses to average net assets without waivers and expense reimbursements, if any ... 1.25% 1.28% 1.26% 1.23% 1.45% Ratio of net investment loss to average net assets(2) ................................ (0.67)% (0.55)% (0.46)% (0.41)% (0.06)% Portfolio turnover rate ......................... 280.00% 297.08% 316.02% 408.70% 233.49%
GROWTH FUND -------------------------------------------------------------------- FOR THE FISCAL YEARS ENDED AUGUST 31, -------------------------------------------------------------------- 2001 2000 1999 1998 1997 ------- ------- ------- ------- -------- PER SHARE OPERATING PERFORMANCE Net asset value, beginning of year .............. $ 23.69 $ 14.89 $ 9.75 $ 16.29 $ 11.84 ------- ------- ------- ------- -------- Net investment loss ............................. (0.10) (0.12) (0.18) (0.07) (0.04) Net realized and unrealized gain/(loss) on investments and futures transactions, if any . (6.59) 9.29 5.33 (3.98) 4.50 ------- ------- ------- ------- -------- Net increase/(decrease) in net assets resulting from operations .............................. (6.69) 9.17 5.15 (4.05) 4.46 ------- ------- ------- ------- -------- Dividends and distributions to shareholders from: Net investment income ........................... -- -- -- -- (0.01) Net realized capital gains ...................... (6.52) (0.37) (0.01) (2.49) -- ------- ------- ------- ------- -------- Total dividends and distributions to shareholders (6.52) (0.37) (0.01) (2.49) (0.01) ------- ------- ------- ------- -------- Net asset value, end of year .................... $ 10.48 $ 23.69 $ 14.89 $ 9.75 $ 16.29 ======= ======= ======= ======= ======== Total investment return(1) ...................... (36.45)% 63.11% 52.80% (29.03)% 37.69% ======= ======= ======= ======= ======== RATIOS/SUPPLEMENTAL DATA Net assets, end of year (000's omitted) ......... $39,930 $79,520 $62,376 $77,840 $117,724 Ratio of expenses to average net assets(2) ...... 1.08% 1.00% 1.00% 1.00% 1.00% Ratio of expenses to average net assets without waivers and expense reimbursements, if any ... 1.36% 1.32% 1.30% 1.24% 1.40% Ratio of net investment loss to average net assets(2) ................................ (0.70)% (0.59)% (0.45)% (0.50)% (0.38)% Portfolio turnover rate ......................... 271.29% 228.69% 309.60% 338.40% 266.25% ----------- (1) Total investment return is calculated assuming a purchase of shares on the first day and a sale of shares on the last day of each period reported and includes reinvestment of dividends and distributions, if any. Total investment returns are not annualized. (2) Reflects waivers and expense reimbursements, if any.
The accompanying notes are an integral part of the financial statements. 34 and 35 [GRAPHIC OMITTED] n/i numeric investors family of funds FINANCIAL HIGHLIGHTS (CONCLUDED) -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Contained below is per share operating performance data for each share outstanding, total investment return, ratios to average net assets and other supplemental data for the respective periods. This information has been derived from information provided in the financial statements. --------------------------------------------------------------------------------
MID CAP FUND -------------------------------------------------------------------- FOR THE FISCAL YEARS ENDED AUGUST 31, -------------------------------------------------------------------- 2001 2000 1999 1998 1997 ------- ------- ------- -------- ------- PER SHARE OPERATING PERFORMANCE Net asset value, beginning of period ............ $ 19.22 $ 16.89 $ 13.30 $ 17.16 $ 11.56 ------- ------- ------- -------- ------- Net investment income ........................... 0.06 0.08 0.05 0.05 0.08 Net realized and unrealized gain/(loss) on investments and futures transactions, if any . (2.98) 4.25 4.97 (1.24) 5.58 ------- ------- ------- -------- ------- Net increase/(decrease) in net assets resulting from operations .............................. (2.92) 4.33 5.02 (1.19) 5.66 ------- ------- ------- -------- ------- Dividends and distributions to shareholders from: Net investment income ........................... (0.08) (0.03) (0.06) (0.06) (0.06) Net realized capital gains ...................... (3.06) (1.97) (1.37) (2.61) -- ------- ------- ------- -------- ------- Total dividends and distributions to shareholders (3.14) (2.00) (1.43) (2.67) (0.06) ------- ------- ------- -------- ------- Redemption Fees (Note 4) ........................ -- -- -- -- -- ------- ------- ------- -------- ------- Net asset value, end of period .................. $ 13.16 $ 19.22 $ 16.89 $ 13.30 $ 17.16 ======= ======= ======= ======== ======= Total investment return(1) ...................... (17.42)% 29.61% 41.61% (8.97)% 49.11% ======= ======= ======= ======== ======= RATIOS/SUPPLEMENTAL DATA Net assets, end of period (000's omitted) ....... $31,198 $44,430 $49,156 $110,176 $52,491 Ratio of expenses to average net assets(2) ...... 0.91% 1.00% 1.00% 1.00% 1.00% Ratio of expenses to average net assets without waivers and expense reimbursements, if any ... 1.39% 1.61% 1.33% 1.26% 1.81% Ratio of net investment income to average net assets(2) ................................ 0.39% 0.40% 0.31% 0.36% 0.79% Portfolio turnover rate ......................... 318.28% 378.17% 384.71% 341.73% 263.83%
SMALL CAP VALUE FUND ------------------------------------------- FOR THE FISCAL FOR THE PERIOD YEARS ENDED AUGUST 31, NOVEMBER 30, 1998* ---------------------- THROUGH 2001 2000 AUGUST 31, 1999 ------- ------- ------------------ PER SHARE OPERATING PERFORMANCE Net asset value, beginning of period ............ $ 12.91 $ 12.86 $ 12.00 ------- ------- ------- Net investment income ........................... 0.02 0.15 0.10 Net realized and unrealized gain/(loss) on investments and futures transactions, if any . 4.79 1.32 0.76 ------- ------- ------- Net increase/(decrease) in net assets resulting from operations .............................. 4.81 1.47 0.86 ------- ------- ------- Dividends and distributions to shareholders from: Net investment income ........................... (0.14) (0.10) -- Net realized capital gains ...................... -- (1.32) -- ------- ------- ------- Total dividends and distributions to shareholders (0.14) (1.42) -- ------- ------- ------- Redemption Fees (Note 4) ........................ 0.03 -- -- ------- ------- ------- Net asset value, end of period .................. $ 17.61 $ 12.91 $ 12.86 ======= ======= ======= Total investment return(1) ...................... 37.97% 13.94% 7.17% ======= ======= ======= RATIOS/SUPPLEMENTAL DATA Net assets, end of period (000's omitted) ....... $35,564 $13,481 $11,498 Ratio of expenses to average net assets(2) ...... 1.67% 1.00% 1.00%(3) Ratio of expenses to average net assets without waivers and expense reimbursements, if any ... 2.14% 2.34% 2.59%(3) Ratio of net investment income to average net assets(2) ................................ 0.17% 1.35% 1.15%(3) Portfolio turnover rate ......................... 277.28% 256.28% 212.55% ---------- * Commencement of operations. (1) Total investment return is calculated assuming a purchase of shares on the first day and a sale of shares on the last day of each period reported and includes reinvestment of dividends and distributions, if any. Total investment returns are not annualized. (2) Reflects waivers and expense reimbursements, if any. (3) Annualized.
The accompanying notes are an integral part of the financial statements. 36 and 37 [GRAPHIC OMITTED] n/i numeric investors family of funds MICRO CAP FUND GROWTH FUND MID CAP FUND SMALL CAP VALUE FUND NOTES TO FINANCIAL STATEMENTS 1. ORGANIZATION AND SIGNIFICANT ACCOUNTING POLICIES The RBB Fund, Inc. ("RBB") was incorporated under the laws of the State of Maryland on February 29, 1988, and is registered under the Investment Company Act of 1940, as amended, (the "Investment Company Act") as an open-end management investment company. RBB is a "series fund," which is a mutual fund divided into separate portfolios. Each portfolio is treated as a separate entity for certain matters under the Investment Company Act, and for other purposes, and a shareholder of one portfolio is not deemed to be a shareholder of any other portfolio. Currently RBB has fourteen investment portfolios, including the N/I NUMERIC INVESTORS FAMILY OF FUNDS ("n/i numeric investors Family") which consists of four diversified portfolios: N/I NUMERIC INVESTORS Micro Cap Fund ("Micro Cap Fund"), N/I NUMERIC INVESTORS Growth Fund ("Growth Fund"), N/I NUMERIC INVESTORS Mid Cap Fund ("Mid Cap Fund") and N/I NUMERIC INVESTORS Small Cap Value Fund ("Small Cap Value Fund") (each a "Fund," collectively the "Funds"). RBB has authorized capital of thirty billion shares of common stock of which 20.97 billion are currently classified into ninety-four classes. Each class represents an interest in one of fourteen investment portfolios of RBB. The classes have been grouped into fourteen separate "families," eight of which have begun investment operations. USE OF ESTIMATES -- The preparation of financial statements in conformity with accounting principles generally accepted in the United States of America, requires management to make estimates and assumptions that affect the reported amounts of assets and liabilities and disclosure of contingent assets and liabilities at the date of the financial statements and the reported amounts of revenues and expenses during the period. Actual results could differ from those estimates. PORTFOLIO VALUATION -- The net asset value of each Fund is calculated as of the close of regular trading on the NYSE on each business day. Each Fund's securities are valued at the last reported sales price on the national securities exchange or national securities market on which such shares are primarily traded. If no sales are reported, and in the case of some securities traded over-the-counter, portfolio securities are valued at the mean between the last reported bid and asked prices. Securities for which market quotations are not readily available are valued at fair market value as determined in good faith by or under the direction of RBB's Board of Directors. With the approval of RBB's Board of Directors, each Fund may use a pricing service, bank or broker-dealer experienced in such matters to value its securities. Short-term obligations with maturities of 60 days or less are valued at amortized cost, which approximates market value. Expenses and fees, including investment advisory and administration fees are accrued daily and taken into account for the purpose of determining the net asset value of the Funds. REPURCHASE AGREEMENTS -- Each Fund has agreed to purchase securities from financial institutions subject to the seller's agreement to repurchase them at an agreed-upon time and price ("repurchase agreements"). The financial institutions with whom each Fund enters into repurchase agreements are banks and broker/dealers, which Numeric Investors L.P(R) (the Funds' "Adviser" or "Numeric") considers creditworthy. The seller under a repurchase agreement will be required to maintain the value of the securities as collateral, subject to the agreement at not less than the repurchase price plus accrued interest. Numeric marks to market daily the value of the collateral, and, if necessary, requires the seller to maintain additional securities, so that the value of the collateral is not less than the repurchase price. Default by or bankruptcy of the seller 38 [GRAPHIC OMITTED] n/i numeric investors family of funds MICRO CAP FUND GROWTH FUND MID CAP FUND SMALL CAP VALUE FUND NOTES TO FINANCIAL STATEMENTS (CONTINUED) would, however, expose each Fund to possible loss because of adverse market action or delays in connection with the disposition of the underlying securities. INVESTMENT TRANSACTIONS AND INVESTMENT INCOME -- Transactions are accounted for on the trade date. The cost of investments sold is determined by use of the specific identification method for both financial reporting and income tax purposes in determining realized gains and losses on investments. Interest income is recorded on the accrual basis. Dividend income is recorded on the ex-dividend date. Expenses incurred on behalf of a specific fund or fund family are charged directly to the fund or fund family (in proportion to net assets). Expenses incurred for all of the RBB families (such as trustee or professional fees) are charged to all funds in proportion to their net assets of the RBB Funds. FINANCIAL FUTURES TRANSACTIONS -- Each Fund may invest in financial futures contracts for hedging purposes, including conversion of cash to equity. When entering into a futures contract, each Fund makes a deposit of an initial margin with its custodian in a segregated account in the name of the futures' broker. Subsequent payments to or from the broker, called variation margin, are made on a daily basis as the price of the underlying security or index fluctuates, making the long and short positions in the futures contracts more or less valuable. When the contracts are closed, a gain or loss is realized equal to the difference between the proceeds from (or cost of) the closing transaction and the Fund's basis in the contracts. The risks related to the use of futures contracts include: (i) the correlation between movements in the market price of a Fund's investments (held or intended for purchase) being hedged and in the price of the futures contract may be imperfect; (ii) possible lack of a liquid secondary market for closing out futures positions; (iii) the need for additional portfolio management skills and techniques; (iv) losses due to unanticipated market movements. Successful use of futures by the Funds is subject to Numeric's ability to predict correctly movements in the direction of the market. The risk of loss in trading futures contracts in some strategies can be substantial, due both to the low margin deposits required, and the extremely high degree of leverage involved in futures pricing. As a result, a relatively small price movement in a futures contract may result in immediate and substantial loss or gain to the investor. Thus, a purchase or sale of a futures contract may result in losses or gains in excess of the amount invested in the contract. None of the Funds had open futures contracts at August 31, 2001. DIVIDENDS AND DISTRIBUTIONS -- Dividends from net investment income and distributions from net realized capital gains, if any, will be declared and recorded on the ex-dividend date and paid at least annually to shareholders. Income and capital gain distributions are determined in accordance with U.S. federal income tax regulations, which may differ from accounting principles generally accepted in the United States of America. These differences can include the treatment of non-taxable dividends, expiring capital loss carryforwards, foreign currency gain/loss, and losses deferred due to wash sales and excise tax regulations. Permanent book and tax basis differences relating to shareholder distributions will result in reclassifications within the composition of net assets. At August 31, 2001, Micro Cap Fund and Growth Fund reclassified within the composition of net assets, distributions in excess of net realized gains of $627 and $192, respectively, to paid-in capital. 39 [GRAPHIC OMITTED] n/i numeric investors family of funds MICRO CAP FUND GROWTH FUND MID CAP FUND SMALL CAP VALUE FUND NOTES TO FINANCIAL STATEMENTS (CONTINUED) U.S. FEDERAL TAX STATUS -- No provision is made for U.S. federal income taxes as it is each Fund's intention to continue to qualify for and elect the tax treatment applicable to regulated investment companies under Subchapter M of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986, as amended, and make the requisite distributions to its shareholders which will be sufficient to relieve it from U.S. federal income and all excise taxes. At August 31, 2001, the Micro Cap Fund, Growth Fund and Mid Cap Fund had capital loss carryforwards of $2,130,088, $1,057,047 and $506,551 available as a reduction to the extent provided in regulations of any future net capital gains realized before the end of fiscal year 2009. To the extent that the capital loss carryforwards are used to offset future capital gains, it is probable that the gains offset will not be distributed to shareholders. For U.S. federal income tax purposes, realized capital losses incurred after October 31, 2000, within the fiscal year ("post-October losses"), are deemed to arise on the first day of the following fiscal year (September 1, 2001). The Micro Cap Fund, Growth Fund and Mid Cap Fund, incurred and elected to defer such losses of $8,354,465, $11,151,618 and $4,043,827, respectively. 2. TRANSACTIONS WITH AFFILIATES AND RELATED PARTIES Numeric serves as each Fund's investment adviser. Effective January 1, 2001, Numeric is entitled to a performance-based fee for its advisory services for the Growth, Mid Cap and Small Cap Value Funds calculated at the end of each month using a basic fee of 0.85% of average daily net assets and a performance fee adjustment based on each Fund's performance during the last rolling 12-month period. Each Fund's net performance is compared with the performance of its benchmark index during that same rolling 12-month period. When a Fund's performance is at least 5.00% better than its benchmark, it would pay Numeric more than the basic fee. If a Fund did not perform at least 4.00% better than its benchmark, Numeric would be paid less than the basic fee. Each 1.00% of the difference in performance between a Fund and its benchmark plus 4.00% during the performance period would result in a 0.10% adjustment to the basic fee. The maximum annualized performance adjustment rate would be + or - 0.50% of average daily net assets which would be added to or deducted from the basic fee. Prior to January 1, 2001, Numeric was entitled to receive 0.75% of average daily net assets for the each of the Growth, Mid Cap and Small Cap Value Funds. For the fiscal year ended August 31, 2001, Numeric is entitled to receive 0.75% of the Micro Cap Fund's average daily net assets, computed daily and payable monthly for its advisory services. Effective January 1, 2001, Numeric has agreed to waive its advisory fee and/or reimburse expenses (other than brokerage commissions, extraordinary items, interest and taxes) in an aggregate amount equal to the amount by which the Growth, Mid Cap and/or Small Cap Value Funds' total operating expenses (other than investment advisory fees, brokerage commissions, extraordinary items, interest and taxes) exceeds a total operating expense ratio (other than investment advisory fees, brokerage commissions, extraordinary items, interest and taxes) of 0.50% of such Fund's average daily net assets. Also on such date, Numeric has agreed to limit the Micro Cap Fund's total expenses to the extent that such expenses exceed 1.25% of average daily net assets. Prior to January 1, 2001, Numeric agreed to limit each Fund's total expenses to the extent that such expenses exceeded 1.00% of each Fund's average daily net assets. 40 [GRAPHIC OMITTED] n/i numeric investors family of funds MICRO CAP FUND GROWTH FUND MID CAP FUND SMALL CAP VALUE FUND NOTES TO FINANCIAL STATEMENTS (CONTINUED) As necessary, these limitations were effected in waivers of advisory fees and reimbursements of expenses exceeding the advisory fee. For the fiscal year ended August 31, 2001, investment advisory fees, waivers and reimbursements of expenses were as follows:
TOTAL NET EXPENSE FUND ADVISORY FEES WAIVERS ADVISORY FEES REIMBURSEMENT ---- ------------- --------- ------------- ------------- Micro Cap Fund ........................... $911,680 $ (55,222) $856,458 -- Growth Fund .............................. 380,387 (80,325) 300,062 -- Mid Cap Fund ............................. 185,863 (123,208) 62,655 $11,001 Small Cap Value Fund ..................... 281,472 (66,265) 215,207 622
The Funds will not pay Numeric at a later time for any amounts it may waive or any amounts, which Numeric has assumed. PFPC Inc. ("PFPC"), a wholly-owned subsidiary of PFPC Worldwide, Inc. and an indirect majority-owned subsidiary of The PNC Financial Services Group, and Bear Stearns Funds Management Inc. ("BSFM"), a wholly-owned subsidiary of The Bear Stearns Companies Inc., serve as co-administrators for each Fund. For providing administrative services PFPC is entitled to receive a monthly fee equal to an annual rate of 0.125% of each Fund's average daily net assets subject to a minimum monthly fee of $6,250 per Fund. BSFM is entitled to receive a monthly fee equal to an annual rate of 0.05% on the first $150 million and 0.02% of each Fund's average daily net assets thereafter. For the fiscal year ended August 31, 2001, PFPC, at its discretion, voluntarily agreed to waive a portion of its co-administration fees. During such period, PFPC's co-administration fees and related waivers were as follows:
TOTAL PFPC PFPC NET PFPC FUND CO-ADMINISTRATION FEES WAIVERS CO-ADMINISTRATION FEES ---- ---------------------- -------- ---------------------- Micro Cap Fund ............... $151,967 $(9,693) $142,274 Growth Fund .................. 78,032 (1,732) 76,300 Mid Cap Fund ................. 74,999 -- 74,999 Small Cap Value Fund ......... 74,999 (9,375) 65,624
In addition, PFPC serves as each Fund's transfer and dividend disbursing agent. PFPC, at its discretion, voluntarily agreed to waive a portion of its transfer agency fees for the Small Cap Value Fund. For the fiscal year ended August 31, 2001, transfer agency fees and waivers were as follows:
TOTAL NET TRANSFER AGENCY TRANSFER AGENCY FUND FEES WAIVERS FEES ---- --------------- ------- --------------- Micro Cap Fund ........................ $53,947 -- $53,947 Growth Fund ........................... 51,442 -- 51,442 Mid Cap Fund .......................... 66,081 -- 66,081 Small Cap Value Fund .................. 40,257 $(4,500) 35,757
41 [GRAPHIC OMITTED] n/i numeric investors family of funds MICRO CAP FUND GROWTH FUND MID CAP FUND SMALL CAP VALUE FUND NOTES TO FINANCIAL STATEMENTS (CONTINUED) Effective January 2, 2001, PFPC Distributors, Inc. ("PFPC Distributors"), a wholly-owned subsidiary of PFPC Worldwide, Inc. and an indirect majority-owned subsidiary of the PNC Financial Services Group, Inc., provides certain administrative services to each Fund. As compensation for such administrative services, PFPC Distributors received a monthly fee equal to an annual rate of 0.15% of each Fund's average daily net assets. For the eight-month period ended August 31, 2001, PFPC Distributors, at its discretion, voluntarily agreed to waive a portion of its administrative services fees for each Fund. During this period, administrative services fees were as follows:
TOTAL ADMINISTRATIVE NET ADMINISTRATIVE FUND SERVICES FEES WAIVERS SERVICES FEES ---- -------------- --------- ------------------ Micro Cap Fund ............... $124,012 $(104,410) $19,602 Growth Fund .................. 45,682 (36,739) 8,943 Mid Cap Fund ................. 35,120 (28,096) 7,024 Small Cap Value Fund ......... 27,181 (21,745) 5,436
For the period September 1, 2000 through January 1, 2001, Provident Distributors, Inc. ("PDI") provided certain administrative services to each Fund. As compensation for such administrative services, PDI received a monthly fee equal to an annual rate of 0.15% of each Fund's average daily net assets. For the four-month period ended January 1, 2001, PDI, at its discretion, voluntarily agreed to waive a portion of its administrative services fees for each Fund. During this period, administrative services fees were as follows:
TOTAL PDI ADMINISTRATIVE PDI NET PDI ADMINISTRATIVE FUND SERVICES FEES WAIVERS SERVICES FEES ---- -------------- -------- ---------------------- Micro Cap Fund .............. $58,324 $(50,443) $7,881 Growth Fund ................. 33,193 (28,767) 4,426 Mid Cap Fund ................ 20,796 (16,637) 4,159 Small Cap Value Fund ........ 7,325 (5,860) 1,465
These fees were accrued daily and paid monthly. 42 [GRAPHIC OMITTED] n/i numeric investors family of funds MICRO CAP FUND GROWTH FUND MID CAP FUND SMALL CAP VALUE FUND NOTES TO FINANCIAL STATEMENTS (CONTINUED) 3. INVESTMENT IN SECURITIES For U.S. federal income tax purposes, the costs of securities owned at August 31, 2001 were $128,791,161, $38,582,319, $31,316,561, and $32,915,587 for the Micro Cap Fund, Growth Fund, Mid Cap Fund and Small Cap Value Fund, respectively. Accordingly, the net unrealized appreciation/(depreciation) on investments are as follows:
GROSS GROSS NET APPRECIATION/ FUND APPRECIATION DEPRECIATION (DEPRECIATION) ---- ------------ ------------ ---------------- Micro Cap Fund ............... $16,151,329 $7,337,031 $8,814,298 Growth Fund .................. 3,939,517 3,348,883 590,634 Mid Cap Fund ................. 1,816,493 1,986,753 (170,260) Small Cap Value Fund ......... 3,201,855 741,442 2,460,413
For the fiscal year ended August 31, 2001, aggregate purchases and sales of investment securities (excluding short-term investments) were as follows: FUND PURCHASES SALES ---- ------------ ------------ Micro Cap Fund ...................... $360,154,547 $335,093,859 Growth Fund ......................... 141,160,117 152,511,781 Mid Cap Fund ........................ 116,459,213 122,340,843 Small Cap Value Fund ................ 76,446,916 61,897,531 4. CAPITAL SHARE TRANSACTIONS As of August 31, 2001, each Fund has 50,000,000 shares of $0.001 par value capital stock authorized. Transactions in capital shares for the respective periods were as follows:
MICRO CAP FUND ----------------------------------------------------------------------- FOR THE FOR THE FISCAL YEAR ENDED FISCAL YEAR ENDED AUGUST 31, 2001 AUGUST 31, 2000 ------------------------------- ------------------------------- SHARES AMOUNT SHARES AMOUNT ---------- ------------ ---------- ------------ Sales ................... 3,534,734 $ 43,635,108 2,541,464 $ 38,709,186 Repurchases ............. (940,688) (12,605,335) (1,712,324) (29,456,421) Reinvestments ........... 1,992,654 29,052,893 1,344,665 17,843,711 --------- ------------ ---------- ------------ Net increase ............ 4,586,700 $ 60,082,666 2,173,805 $ 27,096,476 ========= ============ ========== ============
43 [GRAPHIC OMITTED] n/i numeric investors family of funds MICRO CAP FUND GROWTH FUND MID CAP FUND SMALL CAP VALUE FUND NOTES TO FINANCIAL STATEMENTS (CONTINUED)
GROWTH FUND ----------------------------------------------------------------------- FOR THE FOR THE FISCAL YEAR ENDED FISCAL YEAR ENDED AUGUST 31, 2001 AUGUST 31, 2000 ------------------------------- ------------------------------- SHARES AMOUNT SHARES AMOUNT ---------- ------------ ---------- ------------ Sales ................. 129,828 $ 2,168,596 720,389 $ 12,798,921 Repurchases ........... (1,119,565) (13,852,583) (1,655,639) (29,678,147) Reinvestments ......... 1,444,470 21,580,389 101,679 1,470,267 ---------- ------------ ---------- ------------ Net increase/(decrease) 454,733 $ 9,896,402 (833,571) $(15,408,959) ========== ============ ========== ============
MID CAP FUND ----------------------------------------------------------------------- FOR THE FOR THE FISCAL YEAR ENDED FISCAL YEAR ENDED AUGUST 31, 2001 AUGUST 31, 2000 ------------------------------- ------------------------------- SHARES AMOUNT SHARES AMOUNT ---------- ------------ ---------- ------------ Sales ................. 178,361 $ 2,663,341 640,434 $ 10,359,270 Repurchases ........... (580,438) (8,377,001) (1,613,711) (26,213,267) Reinvestments ......... 460,709 7,002,781 373,721 5,370,370 ---------- ------------ ---------- ------------ Net increase/(decrease) 58,632 $ 1,289,121 (599,556) $(10,483,627) ========== ============ ========== ============
SMALL CAP VALUE FUND ----------------------------------------------------------------------- FOR THE FOR THE FISCAL YEAR ENDED FISCAL YEAR ENDED AUGUST 31, 2001 AUGUST 31, 2000 ------------------------------- ------------------------------- SHARES AMOUNT SHARES AMOUNT ---------- ------------ ---------- ------------ Sales ................. 1,257,323 $ 19,745,562 132,220 $ 1,506,811 Repurchases ........... (294,237) (4,894,868) (101,298) (1,110,995) Reinvestments ......... 12,031 149,914 119,413 1,251,449 ---------- ------------ ---------- ------------ Net increase .......... 975,117 $ 15,000,608 150,335 $ 1,647,265 ========== ============ ========== ============
There is a 1.00% redemption fee on shares redeemed which have been held for less than six months on each of the Funds. For the fiscal year ended August 31, 2001, these fees amounted to $3,806, $12,904, $1,273 and $43,939 for the Micro Cap Fund, Growth Fund, Mid Cap Fund and Small Cap Value Fund, respectively. The redemption fees are collected and retained by each Fund for the benefit of the remaining shareholders and recorded as additional paid-in capital. 44 [GRAPHIC OMITTED] n/i numeric investors family of funds MICRO CAP FUND GROWTH FUND MID CAP FUND SMALL CAP VALUE FUND NOTES TO FINANCIAL STATEMENTS (CONTINUED) 5. SECURITIES LENDING Loans of securities are required at all times to be secured by collateral equal to at least 100% of the market value of the securities on loan. However, in the event of default or bankruptcy by the other party to the agreement, realization and/or retention of the collateral may be subject to legal proceedings. In the event that the borrower fails to return securities, and collateral being maintained by the lender is insufficient to cover the value of loaned securities, the borrower is obligated to pay the amount of the shortfall (and interest thereon) to the Funds. However, there can be no assurance the Funds can recover this amount. The value of securities on loan to brokers and the related collateral received at August 31, 2001, were as follows:
VALUE OF FUND SECURITIES ON LOAN VALUE OF COLLATERAL ---- ------------------ ------------------- Micro Cap Fund ..................... $26,324,539 $26,823,714 Growth Fund ........................ 5,835,650 5,946,402 Mid Cap Fund ....................... 1,888,979 1,924,749 Small Cap Value Fund ............... 4,324,705 4,407,494
Collateral received from securities out on loan to broker/dealers is in the form of U.S. Treasury securities with any cash collateral received reinvested into repurchase agreements with Bear, Stearns & Co. Inc., which in turn are collateralized by various U.S. Treasury securities. Repurchase agreements in connection with securities lending at August 31, 2001 are listed below:
MICRO CAP FUND --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- PRINCIPAL AMOUNT ACCRUED TOTAL (000'S) INTEREST RATE MATURITY MARKET VALUE INTEREST PROCEEDS MARKET VALUE --------- ------------- -------- ------------ -------- ----------- ------------ Repurchase Agreement ..... $1,424 3.65% 09/4/01 $1,424,131 $ 578 $1,424,709 -- Related Collateral: United States Treasury Note ..... 1,420 6.25% 10/31/01 1,426,205 29,830 -- $1,456,035
GROWTH FUND --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- PRINCIPAL AMOUNT INTEREST ACCRUED TOTAL (000'S) RATE/YIELD MATURITY MARKET VALUE INTEREST PROCEEDS MARKET VALUE --------- ------------- -------- ------------ -------- ----------- ------------ Repurchase Agreement ..... $ 345 3.65% 09/4/01 $345,444 $140 $345,584 -- Related Collateral: United States Treasury STRIPS, Interest Only ..... 1,425 5.67% 08/15/26 353,158 -- -- $353,158
MID CAP FUND --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- PRINCIPAL AMOUNT INTEREST ACCRUED TOTAL (000'S) RATE/YIELD MATURITY MARKET VALUE INTEREST PROCEEDS MARKET VALUE --------- ---------- -------- ------------ -------- ----------- ------------ Repurchase Agreement ..... $109 3.65% 09/4/01 $ 109,394 $44 $109,438 -- Related Collateral: United States Treasury STRIPS, Interest Only ..... 455 5.67% 08/15/26 112,763 -- -- $112,763
45 [GRAPHIC OMITTED] n/i numeric investors family of funds MICRO CAP FUND GROWTH FUND MID CAP FUND SMALL CAP VALUE FUND NOTES TO FINANCIAL STATEMENTS (CONCLUDED)
SMALL CAP VALUE FUND --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- PRINCIPAL AMOUNT INTEREST ACCRUED TOTAL (000'S) RATE/YIELD MATURITY MARKET VALUE INTEREST PROCEEDS MARKET VALUE --------- ---------- -------- ------------ -------- ----------- ------------ Repurchase Agreement ..... $209 3.65% 09/4/01 $209,254 $85 $209,339 -- Related Collateral: United States Treasury STRIPS, Interest Only ..... 865 5.67% 08/15/26 214,373 -- -- $214,373
6. COLLATERAL FOR REPURCHASE AGREEMENTS Listed below is the collateral associated with the repurchase agreements with Bear, Stearns & Co. Inc., outstanding at August 31, 2001:
MICRO CAP FUND --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- PRINCIPAL AMOUNT ACCRUED TOTAL ISSUER (000'S) INTEREST RATE MATURITY MARKET VALUE INTEREST MARKET VALUE ------ --------- ------------- -------- ------------ -------- ------------ United States Treasury Note .......... $3,540 6.25% 10/31/01 $3,555,470 $74,364 $3,629,834 ========== ======= ==========
MID CAP FUND ------------------------------------------------------ PRINCIPAL AMOUNT ISSUER (000'S) YIELD MATURITY MARKET VALUE ------ --------- ----- -------- ------------ United States Treasury STRIPS, Interest Only .......... $3,420 5.67% 08/15/26 $847,578 ========
SMALL CAP VALUE FUND ------------------------------------------------------ PRINCIPAL AMOUNT ISSUER (000'S) YIELD MATURITY MARKET VALUE ------ --------- ----- -------- ------------ United States Treasury STRIPS, Interest Only .......... $3,405 5.67% 08/15/26 $843,861 ========
7. RECLASSIFICATION OF CAPITAL ACCOUNTS In accordance with accounting pronouncements, the Funds have recorded reclassifications in the capital accounts. These reclassifications have no impact on the net asset value of the Funds and are designed generally to present undistributed income and net realized gains on a tax basis which is considered to be more informative to the shareholder. As of August 31, 2001, the following Funds recorded reclassifications that increase/(decrease) the accounts listed below: NET INVESTMENT ADDITIONAL PAID-IN FUND LOSS CAPITAL ---- -------------- ------------------ Micro Cap Fund .............. $817,209 $(817,209) Growth Fund ................. 364,403 (364,403) 46 [GRAPHIC OMITTED] n/i numeric investors family of funds MICRO CAP FUND GROWTH FUND MID CAP FUND SMALL CAP VALUE FUND REPORT OF INDEPENDENT ACCOUNTANTS TO THE SHAREHOLDERS AND BOARD OF DIRECTORS OF THE RBB FUND, INC.: In our opinion, the accompanying statements of assets and liabilities, including the portfolios of investments, and the related statements of operations and of changes in net assets and the financial highlights present fairly, in all material respects, the financial position of n/i numeric investors Micro Cap Fund, n/i numeric investors Growth Fund, n/i numeric investors Mid Cap Fund and n/i numeric investors Small Cap Value Fund, separately managed portfolios of The RBB Fund, Inc. (the "Fund"), for each of the two years in the period then ended at August 31, 2001, the results of each of their operations for the year then ended, the changes in each of their net assets and the financial highlights for each of the periods indicated, in conformity with accounting principles generally accepted in the United States of America. These financial statements and financial highlights (hereafter referred to as "financial statements") are the responsibility of the Fund's management; our responsibility is to express an opinion on these financial statements based on our audits. We conducted our audits of these financial statements in accordance with auditing standards generally accepted in the United States of America, which require that we plan and perform the audit to obtain reasonable assurance about whether the financial statements are free of material misstatement. An audit includes examining, on a test basis, evidence supporting the amounts and disclosures in the financial statements, assessing the accounting principles used and significant estimates made by management, and evaluating the overall financial statement presentation. We believe that our audits, which included confirmation of securities at August 31, 2001 by correspondence with the custodian and brokers, provide a reasonable basis for our opinion. PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP Philadelphia, Pennsylvania October 15, 2001 47 [GRAPHIC OMITTED] n/i numeric investors family of funds MICRO CAP FUND GROWTH FUND MID CAP FUND SMALL CAP VALUE FUND SHAREHOLDER TAX INFORMATION -- (UNAUDITED) Each Fund is required by Subchapter M of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986, as amended, to advise its shareholders within 60 days of each Fund's fiscal year (August 31, 2001) as to the U.S. federal tax status of distributions received by each Fund's shareholders in respect of such fiscal year. During the fiscal year ended August 31, 2001, the following dividends and distributions per share were paid by each of the Funds: ORDINARY INCOME (39.6%) ------------------------------ NET INVESTMENT SHORT-TERM LONG-TERM FUND INCOME GAINS GAINS (20%) ---- -------------- ---------- ----------- Micro Cap Fund ............. -- $4.4044 $0.2093 Growth Fund ................ -- 6.0988 0.4220 Mid Cap Fund ............... $0.0762 3.0558 -- Small Cap Value Fund ....... 0.1428 -- -- The percentage of total ordinary income dividends from the Micro Cap, Growth, Mid Cap and Small Cap Value Funds qualifying for the corporate dividends received deduction is 0.65%, 0.46%, 5.52% and 100%, respectively. These amounts were reported to shareholders as income in 2000. Because each Fund's fiscal year is not the calendar year, another notification will be sent with respect to calendar year 2001. The second notification, which will reflect the amount, if any, to be used by calendar year taxpayers on their U.S. federal income tax returns, will be made in conjunction with Form 1099-DIV and will be mailed in January 2002. Foreign shareholders will generally be subject to U.S. withholding tax on the amount of their dividend. They will generally not be entitled to a foreign tax credit or deduction for the withholding taxes paid by the Funds, if any. In general, dividends received by tax-exempt recipients (e.g. IRA's and Keoghs) need not be reported as taxable income for U.S. federal income tax purposes. However, some retirement trusts (e.g. corporate, Keogh and 403(b)(7) plans) may need this information for their annual information reporting. Shareholders are advised to consult their own tax advisers with respect to the tax consequences of their investment in the Funds. 48 [GRAPHIC OMITTED] n/i numeric investors family of funds MICRO CAP FUND GROWTH FUND MID CAP FUND SMALL CAP VALUE FUND PRIVACY NOTICE -- (UNAUDITED) The N/I NUMERIC INVESTORS FAMILY OF FUNDS of The RBB Fund, Inc. (the "Fund") is committed to protecting the confidentiality and security of your private investment records and personal information. Our policies and procedures are designed to safeguard your information and to permit only appropriate and authorized access to and use of this information. In order to carry out the functions necessary to service your investment account, our service providers collect certain nonpublic personal information from you from the following sources: o Information we receive from you over the telephone, on applications, e-mails or other forms (e.g., your name, social security number and address); and o Information about your transactions with the Fund We restrict access to your personal and account information to those service providers and their employees who need to know that information to service your account. The Fund may also share all of the information (as described above) that we collect with companies that perform marketing services on our behalf or with other financial institutions with whom we have joint marketing agreements who may suggest additional Fund services or other investment products which may be of interest to you. We maintain physical, electronic, and procedural safeguards that comply with federal standards to guard your nonpublic personal information. You can be assured that the Fund considers your data to be private and confidential, and we will not disclose any nonpublic personal information about you to any unaffiliated third parties, except as permitted by law. If you decide to close your account(s) or become an inactive customer, we will adhere to the privacy policies and practices as described in this notice. If you have any questions or comments about our privacy practices, please call us at (800) 348-5031. April 2001 49 [THIS PAGE INTENTIONALLY LEFT BLANK.] [GRAPHIC OMITTED] n/i numeric investors family of funds One Memorial Drive Cambridge, MA 02142 1-800-numeric [686-3742] http://www.numeric.com INVESTMENT ADVISER Numeric Investors L.P.(R) One Memorial Drive Cambridge, MA 02142 CO-ADMINISTRATORS Bear Stearns Funds Management Inc. 575 Lexington Avenue New York, NY 10022 PFPC Inc. Bellevue Corporate Center 400 Bellevue Parkway Wilmington, DE 19809 DISTRIBUTOR PFPC Distributors, Inc. 3200 Horizon Drive King of Prussia, PA 19406 CUSTODIAN Custodial Trust Company 101 Carnegie Center Princeton, NJ 05840 TRANSFER AGENT PFPC Inc. Bellevue Corporate Center 400 Bellevue Parkway Wilmington, DE 19809 INDEPENDENT ACCOUNTANTS PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP Two Commerce Square Philadelphia, PA 19103 COUNSEL Drinker Biddle & Reath LLP One Logan Square 18th and Cherry Streets Philadelphia, PA 19103 This report is submitted for the general information of the shareholders of each Fund.It is not authorized for the distribution to prospective investors in each Fund unless it is preceded or accompanied by a current prospectus which includes details regarding each Fund's objectives, policies and other information. Total investment return is based on historical results and is not intended to indicate future performance. The total investment return and principal value of an investment in each Fund will fluctuate, so that an investor's shares, when redeemed, may be worth more or less than original cost. [GRAPHIC OMITTED] n/i numeric investors family of funds One Memorial Drive Cambridge, MA 02142 1-800-numeric [686-3742] http://www.numeric.com