by Spain, Italy and Portugal. Throw in budgetary wran-gling in the U.S. and you have all the ingredients for FUD—fear, uncertainty and doubt.

The biggest difference be-tween now and then is that the past year’s results you’ll see on the following pages are so much better than the one-year returns you read about in the September 2010 issue. Have investors lost their minds? Maybe, but the now two-year-old-plus bull market has a solid founda-tion: surprisingly robust corporate earnings gains (a product of intense cost-cutting and strong overseas sales) and nearly invisible interest rates, which are forcing investors to take risks to earn decent returns.

On the pages that follow,

Greece’s debt woes.Fast forward a year, and

the situation is shockingly similar. The jobless rate re-mains above 9%. Americans still fret about a double-dip (although it’s probably time to stop calling it that, given that the Great Recession ended more than two years ago). And investors continue to obsess over Greek debt, not to mention bonds issued

to quote that immortal stock-market observer Yogi Berra, “It’s like déjà vu all over again.” A year ago at this time, we wrote that despite 12 months of solid performance for stocks and stock funds, investors weren’t feeling especially chipper. The explanations for our malaise: high unem-ployment, worries about a double-dip recession and

And the Winners Are...

we present the top perform-ers over the past one, three, five, ten and 20 years in 11 fund categories—ten stock-fund groups and one group for alternative investments—along with our suggestions about which funds you should consider buying. The lists include only funds that require modest amounts to get started and that are available to all classes of customers. The lists exclude leveraged index funds—those that seek to return a multiple of a benchmark’s results. Had we not done that, leveraged funds would have dominated the one-year returns in several categories. Besides, we believe most people are better off passing on these turbocharged funds. MANUEL SCHIFFRES

Stock funds overcame widespread angst to score impressive gains. We list which funds did best and which are worth owning now.

Returns are annualized through June 30, 2011. **Closed to new investors. #Closed to new investors; other share classes may be open. §Annualized data based on another share class with a longer history. SouRCe: © 2011 Morningstar Inc.

Large-company stock funds Growth funds dominate the list of one-year leaders

WIth the eConoMy expAndIng At A snail’s pace, it’s not surprising that funds specializing in fast-growing companies domi-nate the short-term winners list. over longer periods, a few value-conscious managers, such as donald yacktman, stand out. With his son Stephen, yacktman runs two epony-mous top performers. Many top funds, including yacktman’s, hold relatively few stocks or make big sector bets. of course, a focused strategy can backfire, as it has in 2011 for Fairholme Fund, which is heavily invested in financial stocks. Fidelity Contra-

fund, a growth-oriented fund run deftly by Will danoff since 1990, is a member of the Kiplinger 25. Amana growth and Amana In-

come adhere to Islamic principles and so don’t invest in companies that lend money. that helped big-time during the financial crisis.

1. Legg Mason ClearBridge Aggressive Gro A 49.0%2. Columbia Select Large Cap Growth A 49.03. Transamerica Morgan Stanley Cap Gro A 48.84. Wells Fargo Advantage Growth Inv 48.15. Rydex S&P 500 Pure Growth H 46.06. Morgan Stanley Focus Growth A 45.87. First Investors Select Gro A 45.28. Eaton Vance Atlanta Cap Focused Gro A 44.99. Morgan Stanley Multi Cap Gro A 44.3

10. Saratoga Large Cap Gro Instl 44.1CAtegoRy AveRAge 30.6%

1. Reynolds Blue Chip Growth 22.0%2. Yacktman Focused 19.33. Yacktman Fund 18.44. Monetta Young Investor 17.05. Pin Oak Equity 15.46. Marsico Flexible Capital 13.97. Pimco Fundamental IndexPlus TR A 13.28. Munder Growth Opportunities A 12.89. Wells Fargo Advantage Omega Growth A 12.8

10. Wells Fargo Advantage Growth Inv 12.7CAtegoRy AveRAge 2.7%

1. Yacktman Focused 13.1%2. Yacktman Fund 12.13. ICON Materials S 11.24. CGM Focus 11.15. Fairholme Fund 10.26. Gamco Westwood Income AAA 8.17. Amana Trust Income 8.18. Amana Trust Growth 7.79. Columbia Strategic Inv A§ 7.4

10. Wasatch Large Cap Value 7.2CAtegoRy AveRAge 2.7%

1 year

5 years 10 years

3 years

20 years

(#70041) Excerpted and adapted with permission from the September 2011 issue of Kiplinger’s Personal Finance. © 2011 The Kiplinger Washington Editors Inc.

For more information about reprints from Kiplinger’s Personal Finance, contact PARS International Corp. at 212-221-9595.

1. Reynolds Blue Chip Growth 14.1%2. Yacktman Focused 11.73. Alger Spectra A 11.34. Yacktman Fund 10.75. Wells Fargo Advantage Growth Inv 10.76. Fidelity OTC 10.47. Nuveen Tradewinds Value Opps A 9.88. Wells Fargo Advantage Omega Growth A 9.89. Pin Oak Equity 9.5

10. Parnassus Workplace 9.5CAtegoRy AveRAge 2.8%

1. Calamos Growth A 13.7%2. Alger Spectra A 12.33. Vanguard Primecap Investor** 12.34. Mairs & Power Growth 12.35. Fidelity Contrafund 12.06. Sequoia Fund 11.87. Weitz Partners Value 11.78. Legg Mason ClearBridge Aggressive Gro A 11.59. Longleaf Partners 11.5

10. Gabelli Asset AAA 11.3CAtegoRy AveRAge 8.5%

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Fred Alger & Company, Incorporated •  111 Fifth Avenue, New York, NY 10003  •  800.992.3863  •  www.alger.com8.10.11 KIP-0911

This abridged Kiplinger’s reprint, originally published by Kiplinger in September 2011, is considered sales literature for the Alger fund mentioned only and not for any other products shown. For the period ending June 30, 2011, the Alger Spectra Fund Class A returned the following:

Average Annual Total Returns as of 6/30/11Spectra – Class A 2Q† YTD† 1 yr 3 yr 5 yr 10 yr

Without Maximum Sales Charge 0.23% 7.31% 36.72% 8.54% 11.28% 5.81%

With Maximum Sales Charge -5.01% 1.71% 29.53% 6.60% 10.10% 5.24%

Total Fund Operating Expenses Per Prospectus Dated 3/1/11 1.74%

† Not Annualized

The performance data quoted represents past performance, which is not an indication or a guarantee of future results. Investment and principal value of an investment will fluctuate so that an investor’s shares, when redeemed, may be worth more or less than their original cost. Current performance may be lower or higher than the performance quoted. For performance data current to the most recent month-end, visit us at www.alger.com, or call (800) 992-3863. Performance figures assume all distributions are reinvested. Returns with a maximum sales charge reflect a front-end sales charge on Class A shares of 5.25%. The Fund may charge a redemption fee of 2% on shares purchased and redeemed (including by exchange) within 30 days of purchase that, if applied, would reduce the performance shown. The cost of borrowing money to leverage could exceed the returns for securities purchased or the securities purchased may actually go down in value; thus, the Fund’s net asset value could decrease more quickly than if it had not borrowed.

On 9/24/08, the Fund’s name was changed from Spectra Fund to Alger Spectra Fund, and the Fund’s Class N shares were redesignated as Class A shares. The Fund operated as a closed end fund from 8/23/1978 to 2/12/1996. The calculation of total return during that time assumes dividends were reinvested at market value. Had dividends not been reinvested, performance would have been lower. Historical performance shown is that of the Fund’s Class N shares, which were redesignated as Class A shares on 9/24/08. Alger Spectra Fund A bears the risk that the market price of a security increases after the Fund borrows the security in order to sell it short, and the Fund suffers a loss when it replaces the borrowed security at the higher price. The use of short sales could increase Alger Spectra’s exposure to the market, magnifying losses and increasing volatility.

Risk Disclosures: Investing in the stock market involves gains and losses and may not be suitable for all investors. Growth stocks tend to be more volatile than other stocks, as the prices of growth stocks tend to be higher in relation to their companies’ earnings and may be more sensitive to market, political, and economic developments. Foreign investing involves special risks including currency risk and risks related to political, social, or economic conditions. Small- and mid-capitalization stocks are subject to greater risk than larger stocks owing to such factors as limited liquidity, inexperienced manage-ment and limited financial resources. The Fund can leverage (borrow) to achieve its investment objectives. The cost of borrowing money to leverage could exceed the returns for securities purchased or the securities purchased may go down in value; leverage may, however, cause the Fund’s net asset value to decrease more quickly than if the fund had not borrowed. In order to engage in a short sale, the Fund arranges with a broker to borrow the security being sold short. In order to close out its short position, the Fund will replace the security by purchasing the security at the price prevailing at the time of replacement. The Fund will incur a loss if the price of the security sold short has increased since the time of the short sale and may experience a gain if the price has decreased since the short sale. There are additional risks when investing in an active investment strategy, such as increased short term trading, additional transaction costs and potentially increased taxes that a shareholder may pay, which can lower the actual return on an investment.

Before investing, carefully consider the Funds’ investment objective, risks, charges, and expenses. For a prospectus or summary prospectus containing this and other information, or for the Funds’ most recent month-end performance data, visit www.alger.com or call (800) 992-3863. Please read the Prospectus carefully before you invest.

Distributor: Fred Alger & Company, Incorporated. Member NYSE Euronext, SIPC.NOT FDIC INSURED. NOT BANK GUARANTEED. MAY LOSE VALUE.

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