497 1 saisticker.htm SAI STICKER saisticker
SEPTEMBER 19, 2005
DREYFUS EQUITY AND TAXABLE FIXED INCOME FUNDS 
and
MELLON FUNDS TRUST

Supplement to Funds’ Current Statement of Additional Information

The following information supplements and supersedes any contrary information contained in the section of the Funds’ Statement of Additional Information entitled “Portfolio Transactions.”

     General. The Manager assumes general supervision over the placement of securities purchase and sale orders on behalf of the funds it manages. In cases where the Manager or fund employs a sub-adviser, the sub-adviser, under the supervision of the Manager, places orders on behalf of the applicable fund(s) for the purchase and sale of portfolio securities.

     Certain funds are managed by dual employees of the Manager and an affiliated entity in the Mellon organization. Funds managed by dual employees use the research and trading facilities, and are subject to the internal policies and procedures, of the affiliated entity. In this regard, the Manager places orders on behalf of those funds for the purchase and sale of securities through the trading desk of the affiliated entity, applying the written trade allocation procedures of such affiliate.

     The Manager (and where applicable, a sub-adviser or Dreyfus affiliate) generally has the authority to select brokers (for equity securities) or dealers (for fixed income securities) and the commission rates or spreads to be paid. Allocation of brokerage transactions, including their frequency, is made in the best judgment of the Manager (and where applicable, a sub-adviser or Dreyfus affiliate) and in a manner deemed fair and reasonable to shareholders. The primary consideration in placing portfolio transactions is prompt execution of orders at the most favorable net price. In choosing brokers or dealers, the Manager (and where applicable, a sub-adviser or Dreyfus affiliate) evaluates the ability of the broker or dealer to execute the particular transaction (taking into account the market for the security and the size of the order) at the best combination of price and quality of execution.

     In general, brokers or dealers involved in the execution of portfolio transactions on behalf of a fund are selected on the basis of their professional capability and the value and quality of their services. The Manager (and where applicable, a sub-adviser or Dreyfus affiliate) attempts to obtain best execution for the funds by choosing brokers or dealers to execute transactions based on a variety of factors, which may include, but are not limited to, the following: (i) price; (ii) the availability of natural liquidity; (iii) the nature and character of the relevant market for the security to be purchased or sold; (iv)


the measured quality and efficiency of the broker’s or dealer’s execution; (v) the broker’s or dealer’s willingness to commit capital; (vi) the reliability of the broker or dealer in trade settlement and clearance; (vii) the level of counter-party risk (i.e., the broker’s or dealer’s financial condition); (viii) the commission rate or the spread; (ix) the value of research provided; (x) the availability of electronic trade entry and reporting links; and (xi) the size and type of order (e.g., foreign or domestic security, large block, illiquid security). In selecting brokers or dealers no factor is necessarily determinative; however, at various times and for various reasons, certain factors will be more important than others in determining which broker or dealer to use. Seeking to obtain best execution for all trades takes precedence over all other considerations.

     With respect to the receipt of research, the brokers or dealers selected may include those that supplement the Manager's (and where applicable, a sub-adviser’s or Dreyfus affiliate’s) research facilities with statistical data, investment information, economic facts and opinions. Such information may be useful to the Manager (and where applicable, a sub-adviser or Dreyfus affiliate) in serving funds or accounts that it advises and, conversely, supplemental information obtained by the placement of business of other clients may be useful to the Manager (and where applicable, a sub-adviser or Dreyfus affiliate) in carrying out its obligations to the funds. Information so received is in addition to, and not in lieu of, services required to be performed by the Manager (and where applicable, a sub-adviser or Dreyfus affiliate), and the Manager's (and where applicable, a sub-adviser’s or Dreyfus affiliate’s) fees are not reduced as a consequence of the receipt of such supplemental information. Although the receipt of such research services does not reduce the Manager’s (and where applicable, a sub-adviser’s or Dreyfus affiliate’s) normal independent research activities, it enables it to avoid the additional expenses that might otherwise be incurred if it were to attempt to develop comparable information through its own staff.

     Under the Manager’s (and where applicable, a sub-adviser’s or Dreyfus affiliate’s) procedures, portfolio managers and their corresponding trading desks may seek to aggregate (or "bunch") orders that are placed or received concurrently for more than one fund or account. In some cases, this policy may adversely affect the price paid or received by a fund or an account, or the size of the position obtained or liquidated. As noted above, certain brokers or dealers may be selected because of their ability to handle special executions such as those involving large block trades or broad distributions, provided that the primary consideration of best execution is met. Generally, when trades are aggregated, each fund or account within the block will receive the same price and commission. However, random allocations of aggregate transactions may be made to minimize custodial transaction costs. In addition, at the close of the trading day, when reasonable and practicable, the completed securities of partially filled orders will generally be allocated to each participating fund and account in the proportion that each order bears to the total of all orders (subject to rounding to "round lot" amounts).

     Portfolio turnover may vary from year to year as well as within a year. In periods in which extraordinary market conditions prevail, the Manager (and where applicable, a sub-adviser or Dreyfus affiliate) will not be deterred from changing a Fund's investment strategy as rapidly as needed, in which case higher turnover rates can be anticipated


which would result in greater brokerage expenses. The overall reasonableness of brokerage commissions paid is evaluated by the Manager (and where applicable, a sub-adviser or Dreyfus affiliate) based upon its knowledge of available information as to the general level of commissions paid by other institutional investors for comparable services. Higher portfolio turnover rates usually generate additional brokerage commissions and transaction costs and any short-term gains realized from these transactions are taxable to shareholders as ordinary income.

     To the extent that a fund invests in foreign securities, certain of such fund's transactions in those securities may not benefit from the negotiated commission rates available to funds for transactions in securities of domestic issuers. For funds that permit foreign exchange transactions, such transactions are made with banks or institutions in the interbank market at prices reflecting a mark-up or mark-down and/or commission.

     The Manager (and where applicable, a sub-adviser or Dreyfus affiliate) may deem it appropriate for one fund or account it manages to sell a security while another fund or account it manages is purchasing the same security. Under such circumstances, the Manager (and where applicable, a sub-adviser or Dreyfus affiliate) may arrange to have the purchase and sale transactions effected directly between the funds and/or accounts ("cross transactions"). Cross transactions will be effected in accordance with procedures adopted pursuant to Rule 17a-7 under the 1940 Act.

  IPO Allocations

     Certain funds advised by the Manager (and where applicable, a sub-adviser or Dreyfus affiliate) may participate in IPOs. In deciding whether to purchase an IPO, the Manager (and where applicable, a sub-adviser or Dreyfus affiliate) generally considers the capitalization characteristics of the security, as well as other characteristics of the security, and identifies funds and accounts with investment objectives and strategies consistent with such a purchase. Generally, as more IPOs involve small- and mid-cap companies, the funds and accounts with a small- and mid-cap focus may participate in more IPOs than funds and accounts with a large-cap focus. The Manager (and where applicable, a sub-adviser or Dreyfus affiliate), when consistent with the fund’s and/or account’s investment guidelines, generally will allocate shares of an IPO on a pro rata basis. In the case of “hot” IPOs, where the Manager (and if applicable, a sub-adviser or Dreyfus affiliate) only receives a partial allocation of the total amount requested, those shares will be distributed fairly and equitably among participating funds or accounts managed by the Manager (or where applicable, a sub-adviser or Dreyfus affiliate). “Hot” IPOs raise special allocation concerns because opportunities to invest in such issues are limited as they are often oversubscribed. The distribution of the partial allocation among funds and/or accounts will be based on relevant net asset values. Shares will be allocated on a pro rata basis to all appropriate funds and accounts, subject to a minimum allocation based on trading, custody, and other associated costs. International hot IPOs may not be allocated on a pro rata basis due transaction costs, market liquidity and other factors unique to international markets.