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

The fund pays transaction costs, such as commissions, when it buys and sells securities (or "turns over" its portfolio). A higher portfolio turnover may indicate higher transaction costs and may result in higher taxes when fund shares are held in a taxable account. These costs, which are not reflected in annual fund operating expenses or in the Example, affect the fund's performance. During the most recent fiscal year, the fund's portfolio turnover rate was 31.62% of the average value of its portfolio.

The fund's investments are selected through a collaborative process between the fund's portfolio managers and the global research analysts at the fund's sub-adviser, with each analyst responsible for generating investment ideas across their domain expertise. These analysts utilize a fundamental, bottom-up research process to identify investments for the fund. At the same time, ideas can emanate from the portfolio managers who then leverage the expertise of the domain experts. The fund invests in those companies in which the portfolio managers have identified a strong near-term catalyst for earnings growth or share price appreciation.

trading markets, lack of comprehensive company information, political and economic instability and differing auditing and legal standards.

The year-to-date total return of the fund's Class Z shares as of March 31, 2022 was -8.63%.

The fund's investment adviser is BNY Mellon Investment Adviser, Inc. (BNYM Investment Adviser). BNYM Investment Adviser has engaged its affiliate, Newton Investment Management North America, LLC (NIMNA), to serve as the fund's sub-adviser.

manager at NIMNA. Mr. Porter has been a primary portfolio manager of the fund since October 2021 and is Chief Investment Officer and Head of Equity at NIMNA.

In general, for each share class, other than Class Y, the fund's minimum initial investment is $1,000 and the minimum subsequent investment is $100. For Class Y shares, the minimum initial investment generally is $1,000,000, with no minimum subsequent investment. You may sell (redeem) your shares on any business day by calling 1-800-373-9387 (inside the U.S. only) or by visiting www.im.bnymellon.com. If you invested in the fund through a third party, such as a bank, broker-dealer or financial adviser, or through a Retirement Plan (as defined below), you may mail your request to sell shares to BNY Mellon Institutional Department, P.O. Box 9882, Providence, Rhode Island 02940-8082. If you invested directly through the fund, you may mail your request to sell shares to BNY Mellon Shareholder Services, P.O. Box 9879, Providence, Rhode Island 02940-8079. If you are an Institutional Direct accountholder, please contact your BNY Mellon relationship manager for instructions.

Retirement Plans include qualified or non-qualified employee benefit plans, such as 401(k), 403(b)(7), Keogh, pension, profit-sharing and other deferred compensation plans, whether established by corporations, partnerships, sole proprietorships, non-profit entities, trade or labor unions, or state and local governments, but do not include IRAs (including, without limitation, traditional IRAs, Roth IRAs, Coverdell Education Savings Accounts, IRA "Rollover Accounts" or IRAs set up under Simplified Employee Pension Plans (SEP-IRAs), Salary Reduction Simplified Employee Pension Plans (SARSEPs) or Savings Incentive Match Plans for Employees (SIMPLE IRAs)).

The fund's distributions are taxable as ordinary income or capital gains, except when your investment is through an IRA, Retirement Plan or other U.S. tax-advantaged investment plan (in which case you may be taxed upon withdrawal of your investment from such account).

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

The fund seeks long-term capital growth consistent with the preservation of capital. Current income is a secondary goal. To pursue its goals, the fund normally invests at least 80% of its net assets, plus any borrowings for investment purposes, in common stocks. The fund's investment policy with respect to the investment of at least 80% of its net assets may be changed by the fund's board, upon 60 days' prior notice to shareholders. The fund may invest up to 25% of its assets in foreign securities (i.e., securities issued by companies organized under the laws of countries other than the U.S.).

The fund typically sells a security when the research analyst responsible for the investment believes there has been a negative change in the fundamental factors surrounding the company, the company has become fully valued, or a more attractive opportunity has been identified.

Although not a principal investment strategy, the fund's stock investments also may include preferred stocks and convertible securities, including, to a limited degree, those purchased in initial public offerings (IPOs). The fund also may invest in exchange-traded funds (ETFs) in order to provide exposure to certain equity markets.

Although not a principal investment strategy, the fund may, but is not required to, use derivative instruments as a substitute for investing directly in an underlying asset, to increase returns, or as part of a hedging strategy. The derivative instruments in which the fund may invest include typically options, futures and options on futures (including those relating to stocks, indices and foreign currencies) and forward contracts. To the extent such derivative instruments have similar economic characteristics to common stock as described in the fund's policy with respect to the investment of at least 80% of its net assets, the market value of such instruments will be included in the 80% policy. Derivatives may be entered into on established exchanges or through privately negotiated transactions referred to as over-the-counter derivatives. A derivatives contract will obligate or entitle the fund to deliver or receive an asset or cash payment based on the change in value of the underlying asset. The fund also may engage in short-selling, typically for hedging purposes, such as to limit exposure to a possible market decline in the value of its portfolio securities.

Although not a principal investment strategy, the fund may lend its portfolio securities to brokers, dealers and other financial institutions needing to borrow securities to complete certain transactions. Loans of portfolio securities may not exceed 33-1/3% of the value of the fund's total assets.

An investment in the fund is not a bank deposit. It is not insured or guaranteed by the FDIC or any other government agency. It is not a complete investment program. The value of your investment in the fund will fluctuate, sometimes dramatically, which means you could lose money.

● Risks of stock investing. Stocks generally fluctuate more in value than bonds and may decline significantly over short time periods. There is the chance that stock prices overall will decline because stock markets tend to move in cycles, with periods of rising prices and falling prices. The market value of a stock may decline due to general market conditions that are not related to the particular company, such as real or perceived adverse economic conditions, changes in the general outlook for corporate earnings, changes in interest or currency rates or adverse investor sentiment generally. A security's market value also may decline because of factors that affect the particular company, such as management performance, financial leverage and reduced demand for the company's products or services, or

factors that affect the company's industry, such as labor shortages or increased production costs and competitive conditions within an industry.

● Market risk. The value of the securities in which the fund invests may be affected by political, regulatory, economic and social developments, and developments that impact specific economic sectors, industries or segments of the market. In addition, turbulence in financial markets and reduced liquidity in equity, credit and/or fixed-income markets may negatively affect many issuers, which could adversely affect the fund. Global economies and financial markets are becoming increasingly interconnected, and conditions and events in one country, region or financial market may adversely impact issuers in a different country, region or financial market. These risks may be magnified if certain events or developments adversely interrupt the global supply chain; in these and other circumstances, such risks might affect companies world-wide. Recent examples include pandemic risks related to COVID-19 and aggressive measures taken world-wide in response by governments, including closing borders, restricting international and domestic travel, and the imposition of prolonged quarantines of large populations, and by businesses, including changes to operations and reducing staff. The effects of COVID-19 have contributed to increased volatility in global markets and will likely affect certain countries, companies, industries and market sectors more dramatically than others. The COVID-19 pandemic has had, and any other outbreak of an infectious disease or other serious public health concern could have, a significant negative impact on economic and market conditions and could trigger a prolonged period of global economic slowdown. To the extent the fund may overweight its investments in certain countries, companies, industries or market sectors, such positions will increase the fund's exposure to risk of loss from adverse developments affecting those countries, companies, industries or sectors.

● Growth stock risk. Investors often expect growth companies to increase their earnings at a certain rate. If these expectations are not met, investors can punish the stocks inordinately, even if earnings do increase. In addition, growth stocks may lack the dividend yield that may cushion stock prices in market downturns.

● Foreign investment risk. To the extent the fund invests in foreign securities, the fund's performance will be influenced by political, social and economic factors affecting investments in foreign issuers. Special risks associated with investments in foreign issuers include exposure to currency fluctuations, less liquidity, less developed or less efficient trading markets, lack of comprehensive company information, political and economic instability and differing auditing and legal standards. Investments denominated in foreign currencies are subject to the risk that such currencies will decline in value relative to the U.S. dollar and affect the value of these investments held by the fund.

● Management risk. The investment process and techniques used by the fund's portfolio managers could fail to achieve the fund's investment goals, may cause your fund investment to lose value or may cause the fund to underperform other funds with similar investment goals.

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

● Derivatives risk. A small investment in derivatives could have a potentially large impact on the fund's performance. The use of derivatives involves risks different from, or possibly greater than, the risks associated with investing directly in the underlying assets, and the fund's use of derivatives may result in losses to the fund. Derivatives in which the fund may invest can be highly volatile, illiquid and difficult to value, and there is the risk that changes in the value of a derivative held by the fund will not correlate with the underlying assets or the fund's other investments in the manner intended. Certain derivatives have the potential for unlimited loss, regardless of the size of the initial investment, and involve greater risks than the underlying assets because, in addition to general market risks, they are subject to liquidity risk, credit and counterparty risk (failure of the counterparty to the derivatives transaction to honor its obligation) and pricing risk (risk that the derivative cannot or will not be accurately valued). The Securities and Exchange Commission recently adopted Rule 18f-4 under the Investment Company Act of 1940, as amended (1940 Act), which will regulate the use of derivatives for certain funds registered under the 1940 Act and may require the fund to alter, perhaps materially, its use of derivatives.

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

● ETF and other investment company risk. To the extent the fund invests in pooled investment vehicles, such as ETFs and other investment companies, the fund will be affected by the investment policies, practices and performance of such entities in direct proportion to the amount of assets the fund has invested therein. The risks of investing in other investment companies, including ETFs, typically reflect the risks associated with the types of instruments in which the investment companies invest. When the fund invests in an ETF or other investment company, shareholders of the fund will bear indirectly their proportionate share of the expenses of the ETF or other investment company (including management fees) in addition to the expenses of the fund. ETFs are exchange-traded investment companies that are,

in many cases, designed to provide investment results corresponding to an index. The value of the underlying securities can fluctuate in response to activities of individual companies or in response to general market and/or economic conditions. Additional risks of investments in ETFs include: (i) the market price of an ETF's shares may trade at a discount to its net asset value; (ii) an active trading market for an ETF's shares may not develop or be maintained; or (iii) trading may be halted if the listing exchanges' officials deem such action appropriate, the shares are delisted from the exchange, or the activation of market-wide "circuit breakers" (which are tied to large decreases in stock prices) halts trading generally. The fund will incur brokerage costs when purchasing and selling shares of ETFs.

● Short sale risk. The fund may make short sales, which involves selling a security it does not own in anticipation that the security's price will decline. Short sales expose the fund to the risk that it will be required to buy the security sold short (also known as "covering" the short position) at a time when the security has appreciated in value, thus resulting in a loss to the fund. Short positions in stocks involve more risk than long positions in stocks because the maximum sustainable loss on a stock purchased is limited to the amount paid for the stock plus the transaction costs, whereas there is no maximum attainable price on the shorted stock. As such, theoretically, stocks sold short have unlimited risk. The fund may not always be able to close out a short position at a particular time or at an acceptable price. The fund may not always be able to borrow a security the fund seeks to sell short at a particular time or at an acceptable price. Moreover, if the lender of a borrowed security requires the fund to return the security to it on short notice, and the fund is unable to borrow the security from another lender, the fund may have to buy the borrowed security at an unfavorable price, resulting in a loss. Thus, there is a risk that the fund may be unable to engage in short selling due to a lack of available stocks or for some other reason. It is possible that the market value of the securities the fund holds in long positions will decline at the same time that the market value of the securities the fund has sold short increases, thereby increasing the fund's potential volatility.

● IPO risk. The prices of securities purchased in IPOs can be very volatile. The effect of IPOs on the fund's performance depends on a variety of factors, including the number of IPOs the fund invests in relative to the size of the fund and whether and to what extent a security purchased in an IPO appreciates or depreciates in value. As a fund's asset base increases, IPOs often have a diminished effect on such fund's performance.

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

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

The investment adviser for the fund is BNY Mellon Investment Adviser, Inc., 240 Greenwich Street, New York, New York 10286. BNYM Investment Adviser manages approximately $308 billion in 117 mutual fund portfolios. For the past fiscal year, the fund paid BNYM Investment Adviser a management fee at the annual rate of .75% of the value of the fund's average daily net assets. A discussion regarding the basis for the board's approving the fund's management agreement with BNYM Investment Adviser is available in the fund's semiannual report for the six-month period ended August 31, 2021. BNYM Investment Adviser is the primary mutual fund business of The Bank of New York Mellon Corporation (BNY Mellon), a global investments company dedicated to helping its clients manage and service their financial assets throughout the investment lifecycle. Whether providing financial services for institutions, corporations or individual investors, BNY Mellon delivers informed investment management and investment services in 35 countries. BNY Mellon is a leading investment management and investment services company, uniquely focused to help clients manage and move their financial assets in the rapidly changing global marketplace. BNY Mellon has $45.5 trillion in assets under custody and administration and $2.3 trillion in assets under management. BNY Mellon is the corporate brand of The Bank of New York Mellon Corporation. BNY Mellon Investment Management is one of the world's leading investment management organizations, and one of the top U.S. wealth managers, encompassing BNY Mellon's affiliated investment management firms, wealth management services and global distribution companies. Additional information is available at www.bnymellon.com.

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

BNYM Investment Adviser has engaged its affiliate, Newton Investment Management North America, LLC, to serve as the fund's sub-adviser. NIMNA is an indirect wholly-owned subsidiary of BNY Mellon registered in the United States with the Securities and Exchange Commission as an investment adviser. NIMNA's principal office is located at BNY Mellon Center, 201 Washington Street, Boston, Massachusetts 02108. As of March 31, 2022, NIMNA had approximately $71.1 billion in assets under management. NIMNA, subject to BNYM Investment Adviser's supervision and approval, provides day-to-day management of the fund's assets. A discussion regarding the basis for the board's approving the sub-investment advisory agreement between BNYM Investment Adviser and NIMNA is available in the fund's semiannual report for the six-month period ended August 31, 2021.

Investment decisions for the fund are made by members of the equity research team at NIMNA. The team members primarily responsible for managing the fund are Monty A. Kori, Matthew T. Jenkin, Karen Behr and John R. Porter III. Messrs. Kori and Jenkin have been primary portfolio managers of the fund since July 2019, Ms. Behr has been a primary portfolio manager of the fund since September 2021 and Mr. Porter has been a primary portfolio manager of the fund since October 2021. Mr. Kori is a research analyst at NIMNA. He has been employed by NIMNA or a predecessor company of NIMNA since 2017. Mr. Jenkin is a research analyst at NIMNA. He has been employed by NIMNA or a predecessor company of NIMNA since 2015. Ms. Behr is a portfolio manager at NIMNA. She has been employed by NIMNA or a predecessor company of NIMNA since 2008. Mr. Porter is Chief Investment Officer and Head of Equity at NIMNA. He has been employed by NIMNA or a predecessor company of NIMNA since August 2016.

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

BNY Mellon Securities Corporation (BNYMSC), a wholly-owned subsidiary of BNYM Investment Adviser, serves as distributor of the fund and of the other funds in the BNY Mellon Family of Funds. Any Rule 12b-1 fees and shareholder services fees, as applicable, are paid to BNYMSC for financing the sale and distribution of fund shares and for providing shareholder account service and maintenance, respectively. BNYM Investment Adviser or BNYMSC may provide cash payments out of its own resources to financial intermediaries that sell shares of funds in the BNY Mellon Family of Funds or provide other services. Such payments are separate from any sales charges, 12b-1 fees and/or shareholder services fees or other expenses that may be paid by a fund to those financial intermediaries. Because those payments are not made by fund shareholders or the fund, the fund's total expense ratio will not be affected by any such payments. These payments may be made to financial intermediaries, including affiliates, that provide shareholder servicing, sub-administration, recordkeeping and/or sub-transfer agency services, marketing support and/or access to sales meetings, sales representatives and management representatives of the financial intermediary. Cash compensation also may be paid from BNYM Investment Adviser's or BNYMSC's own resources to financial intermediaries for inclusion of a fund on a sales list, including a preferred or select sales list or in other sales programs. These payments sometimes are referred to as "revenue sharing." From time to time, BNYM Investment Adviser or BNYMSC also may provide cash or non-cash compensation to financial intermediaries or their representatives in the form of occasional gifts; occasional meals, tickets or other entertainment; support for due diligence trips; educational conference sponsorships; support for recognition programs; technology or infrastructure support; and other forms of cash or non-cash compensation permissible under broker-dealer regulations. In some cases, these payments or compensation may create an incentive for a financial intermediary or its employees to recommend or sell shares of the fund to you. This potential conflict of interest may be addressed by policies, procedures or practices that are adopted by the financial intermediary. As there may be many different policies, procedures or practices adopted by different intermediaries to address the manner in which compensation is earned through the sale of investments or the provision of related services, the compensation rates and other payment arrangements that may apply to a financial intermediary and its representatives may vary by intermediary. Please contact your financial representative for details about any payments they or their firm may receive in connection with the sale of fund shares or the provision of services to the fund.

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

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

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

The different classes of fund shares represent investments in the same portfolio of securities, but the classes are subject to different expenses and will likely have different share prices. When choosing a class, you should consider your investment amount, anticipated holding period, the potential costs over your holding period and whether you qualify for any reduction or waiver of the sales charge. It is important to remember that any contingent deferred sales charge (CDSC) or Rule 12b-1 fees have the same purpose as the front-end sales charge: to compensate the distributor for concessions and expenses it pays to dealers and financial intermediaries in connection with the sale of fund shares. No front-end sales charge or CDSC is charged on fund shares acquired through the reinvestment of fund dividends or capital gains distributions. Because the Rule 12b-1 fee is paid out of the fund's assets on an ongoing basis, over time it will increase the cost of your investment and may cost you more than paying other types of sales charges. Information regarding sales charges is not made available separately at www.im.bnymellon.com because such information is fully contained in this prospectus and in the SAI in the How to Buy Shares section and the Additional Information About How to Buy Shares section beginning on page II-1 and page III-1, respectively.

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

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

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

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

*No front-end sales load applies on investments of $1 million or more, but a CDSC of 1.00% may be imposed on certain redemptions of such shares within one year of the date of purchase. See "Additional Information About CDSCs" below.

To receive a reduction or waiver of your initial sales charge or CDSC, you must let your financial intermediary or the fund, as applicable, know at the time you purchase fund shares that you qualify for such a reduction or waiver. If you do not let your financial intermediary or the fund, as applicable, know that you are eligible for a reduction or waiver, you may not receive the reduction or waiver to which you are otherwise entitled. In order to receive a reduction or waiver, you may be required to provide your financial intermediary or the fund, as applicable, with evidence of your qualification for the reduction or waiver. You should consult a representative of your financial intermediary. Certain sales charge reductions and waivers are available only if you purchase your shares directly from the fund for accounts maintained with the fund; these sales charge reductions and waivers are described below. In addition, shareholders purchasing Class A shares of the fund through certain financial intermediaries are eligible only for sales charge reductions and waivers made available by such financial intermediaries; these sales charge reductions and waivers are described in the Appendix to this prospectus.

If you purchase Class A shares directly from the fund or through a financial intermediary, other than those financial intermediaries as described in the Appendix to this prospectus, you can reduce your initial sales charge in the following ways:

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

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

● Combine with family members and other related purchasers. You can also count toward the amount of your investment all investments in shares that are subject to a sales charge of other funds in the BNY Mellon Family of Funds, by your spouse and your minor children (family members), including their rights of accumulation and goals under a letter of intent. In addition, (1) a trustee or other fiduciary purchasing securities for a single trust estate or a single fiduciary account although more than one beneficiary is involved and (2) a group of accounts established by or on behalf of the employees of an employer or affiliated employers pursuant to a Retirement Plan will each be permitted to combine their investments for purposes of reducing or eliminating sales charges. See "How to Buy Shares" in the SAI.

Class A shares may be purchased at NAV without payment of a sales charge by the following individuals and entities, if such shares are purchased directly from the fund or through a financial intermediary, other than those financial intermediaries as described in the Appendix to this prospectus:

● full-time or part-time employees, and their spouses or domestic partners and minor children, of BNYM Investment Adviser or any of its affiliates

● board members of BNYM Investment Adviser and board members of the BNY Mellon Family of Funds, and their spouses or domestic partners and minor children

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

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

● Retirement Plans, provided that, if such Class A shares are purchased through a financial intermediary, the financial intermediary performs recordkeeping or other administrative services for the Retirement Plan

● shareholders in IRA rollover accounts sponsored by BNYM Investment Adviser or its affiliates funded with the distribution proceeds from Retirement Plans. Upon establishing the IRA rollover account sponsored by BNYM Investment Adviser or its affiliates in the fund, the shareholder becomes eligible to make subsequent purchases of Class A shares of the fund at NAV in such account

In addition, shareholders of the fund will receive Class A shares of the fund at NAV without payment of a sales charge upon the conversion of such shareholders' Class C shares of the fund in the month of or month following the eight-year anniversary date of the purchase of the Class C shares.

Class A shares may be purchased at NAV without payment of a sales charge by the following individuals and entities, if such shares are purchased directly from the fund for accounts maintained with the fund:

● investors who either (1) have, or whose spouse or minor children have, beneficially owned shares and continuously maintained an open account directly with a fund managed by BNYM Investment Adviser since on or before February 28, 2006, or (2) such purchase is for a self-directed investment account that may or may not be subject to a transaction fee

● qualified separate accounts maintained by an insurance company; any state, county or city or instrumentality thereof; and charitable organizations investing $50,000 or more in fund shares and charitable remainder trusts

Since you pay no initial sales charge, an investment of less than $1 million in Class C shares buys more shares than the same investment would in Class A shares. However, Class C shares are subject to an annual Rule 12b-1 fee of .75% paid to the fund's distributor in connection with the sale of Class C shares and an annual shareholder services fee of .25% paid to the fund's distributor for shareholder account service and maintenance. Because the Rule 12b-1 fees are paid out of the fund's assets attributable to Class C shares on an ongoing basis, over time these fees will increase the cost of your investment and may cost you more than paying other types of sales charges, such as the initial sales charge on Class A shares. Class C shares redeemed within one year of purchase are subject to a 1% CDSC. See "Additional Information About CDSCs" below. Class C shares purchased directly from the fund or through a financial intermediary, except as otherwise disclosed in this prospectus, automatically convert to Class A shares in the month of or month following the eight-year anniversary date of the purchase of the Class C shares, based on the relative NAV of each such class without the imposition of any sales charge, fee or other charge.

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

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

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

● institutional investors acting in a fiduciary, advisory, agency, custodial or similar capacity for Retirement Plans and SEP-IRAs that have entered into agreements with the fund's distributor to offer Class I shares to such plans and are not eligible to purchase Class Y shares

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

● sponsors of college savings plans that qualify for tax-exempt treatment under Section 529 of the Internal Revenue Code, that maintain an omnibus account with the fund and do not require shareholder tax reporting or 529 account support responsibilities from the fund's distributor

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

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

● U.S.-based employees of BNY Mellon, board members of BNYM Investment Adviser and board members of funds in the BNY Mellon Family of Funds, and the spouse, domestic partner or minor child of any of the foregoing, subject to certain conditions described in the SAI, and provided that such Class I shares are purchased directly from the fund

● clients of financial intermediaries that effect transactions in Class I shares through their brokerage platforms solely as a broker in an agency capacity for their clients and that have entered into an agreement with the fund's distributor. An investor purchasing Class I shares through the brokerage platform of such a financial intermediary will be required to pay a commission and/or other forms of compensation to the financial intermediary

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

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

● institutional investors, acting for themselves or on behalf of their clients, that make an initial investment in Class Y shares of the fund of at least $1 million

● Retirement Plans, or certain recordkeepers of Retirement Plan platforms that maintain plan level or super-omnibus accounts with the fund

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

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

Generally, each institutional investor will be required to open and maintain a single master account with the fund for all purposes. With respect to recordkeepers of Retirement Plan platforms, the fund considers a super-omnibus account to be one single master account maintained by the Retirement Plan recordkeeper on behalf of multiple Retirement Plans. Certain holders of Class I shares of the fund who meet the eligibility requirements for the purchase of Class Y shares of the fund and who do not require the fund, BNYM Investment Adviser or the fund's distributor or their affiliates to make any shareholder servicing, sub-transfer agency, administrative or recordkeeping payments may have all of their Class I shares of the fund converted into Class Y shares of the fund. Investors holding Class Y shares who, in the opinion of BNYM Investment Adviser, do not meet the eligibility requirements for the purchase of Class Y shares will be asked to verify their eligibility or instruct the fund to convert their Class Y shares to a class of fund shares for which they are eligible to purchase. If after 30 days such an investor has not verified eligibility or provided instructions to convert their shares to another class of fund shares, their Class Y shares will be converted to Class A shares of the fund, based on the relative net asset value of each such class without the imposition of any sales charge, fee or other charge. BNYM Investment Adviser, the fund's distributor or their affiliates will not provide any "revenue sharing" payments with respect to Class I shares converted into Class Y shares. Notwithstanding the foregoing, the fund's distributor may make payments to financial intermediaries for services rendered in connection with technology and programming set-up, dealer platform development and maintenance or similar services.

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

Class Z shares generally are offered only to shareholders of the fund who have accounts that existed since the date the fund's shares were classified as Class Z shares (September 30, 2008) and who purchase such shares directly from the fund for accounts maintained with the fund. Class Z shares are subject to an annual shareholder services fee of up to .25% to reimburse the fund's distributor for shareholder account service and maintenance expenses.

The fund's CDSC is based on the lesser of the NAV of the shares at the time of redemption or the original offering price (which is the original NAV). In addition:

● No CDSC is charged on fund shares you acquired by reinvesting your fund dividends or capital gains distributions.

● No CDSC is charged on the per share appreciation of your fund account over the initial purchase price of the shares.

● To keep your CDSC as low as possible, each time you place a request to sell shares, the fund will first sell any shares in your account that do not carry a CDSC and then the shares in your account that have been held the longest.

The fund's CDSC on Class A and C shares may be waived for shares purchased directly from the fund or through a financial intermediary, other than those financial intermediaries as described in the Appendix to this prospectus, in the following cases:

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

● redemptions made as part of a required minimum distribution for IRA and retirement accounts pursuant to the Internal Revenue Code

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

● redemptions by Retirement Plans, provided that, if such shares were purchased through a financial intermediary, the financial intermediary performs recordkeeping or other administrative services for the Retirement Plan

BNYM Investment Adviser calculates fund NAVs as of the scheduled close of trading on the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) (usually 4:00 p.m. Eastern time) on days the NYSE is scheduled to be open for regular business. The NYSE is closed on certain holidays listed in "Determination of NAV" in the SAI. You may buy, exchange or redeem shares at their NAV next calculated after your order is received in proper form by the fund's transfer agent or other authorized entity, adjusted for any applicable sales charge. "Proper form" refers to completion of an account application (if applicable), satisfaction of requirements in this section (subject to "Shareholder Guide—General Policies") and any applicable conditions in "Additional Information About How to Redeem Shares" in the SAI. Authorized entities other than the fund's transfer agent may apply different conditions for the satisfaction of "proper form" requirements. For more information, consult a representative of your financial intermediary. When calculating NAVs, BNYM Investment Adviser values equity investments on the basis of market quotations or official closing prices. BNYM Investment Adviser generally values fixed-income investments based on values supplied by an independent pricing service approved by the fund's board. The pricing service's procedures are reviewed under the general supervision of the board. If market quotations or official closing prices or valuations from a pricing service are not readily available, or are determined not to reflect accurately fair value, the fund may value those investments at fair value as determined in accordance with procedures approved by the fund's board. Fair value of investments may be determined by the fund's board, its pricing committee or its valuation committee in good faith using such information as it deems appropriate under the circumstances. Under certain circumstances, the fair value of foreign equity securities will be provided by an independent pricing service. Using fair value to price investments may result in a value that is different from a security's most recent closing price and from the prices used by other mutual funds to calculate their NAVs. Over-the-counter derivative instruments generally will be valued based on values supplied by an independent pricing service approved by the fund's board. Futures contracts will be valued at the most recent settlement price. Forward currency contracts will be valued using the forward rate obtained from an independent pricing service approved by the fund's board. ETFs will be valued at their market price. Foreign securities held by the fund may trade on days when the fund does not calculate

its NAV and thus may affect the fund's NAV on days when investors will not be able to purchase or sell (redeem) fund shares.

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

Orders to buy and sell shares received by an authorized entity (such as a bank, broker-dealer or financial adviser, or Retirement Plan that has entered into an agreement with the fund's distributor) by the time as of which the fund calculates its NAV (usually 4:00 p.m. Eastern time) will be based on the NAV determined that day.

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

IRA Accounts. To open an IRA account or make additional investments in an IRA account, be sure to specify the fund name and the year for which the contribution is being made. When opening a new account include a completed IRA application applicable to the type of IRA for which the investment is made, and when making additional investments include an investment slip. Make checks payable to The BNY Mellon Family of Funds, and mail to the appropriate address below.

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

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

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

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

Electronic Check or Wire. To purchase shares by wire or electronic check, please call 1-800-373-9387 (inside the U.S. only) for more information.

Telephone or Online. To purchase additional shares by telephone or online, you can call 1-800-373-9387 (inside the U.S. only) or visit www.im.bnymellon.com to request your transaction. In order to do so, you must have elected the TeleTransfer Privilege on your account application or a Shareholder Services Form. See "Services for Fund Investors — Wire Redemption and TeleTransfer Privileges" for more information. Institutional Direct accounts are not eligible for online services.

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

The minimum initial and subsequent investment (except as set forth below) is $1,000 and $100, respectively. For Class Y shares, the minimum initial investment generally is $1,000,000, with no minimum subsequent investment. The minimum initial investment for Retirement Plans or IRAs (other than Coverdell Education Savings Accounts) sponsored by BNYM Investment Adviser or its affiliates is $750, with no minimum subsequent investment. The minimum initial investment for Coverdell Education Savings Accounts sponsored by BNYM Investment Adviser or its affiliates is $500, with no minimum subsequent investment. Subsequent investments made through TeleTransfer are subject to a $100

minimum and a $150,000 maximum. All investments must be in U.S. dollars. Third-party checks, cash, travelers' checks or money orders will not be accepted. You may be charged a fee for any check that does not clear.

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

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

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

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

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

● the fund will not process wire, telephone, online or TeleTransfer redemption requests for up to eight business days following the purchase of those shares or until the fund receives verification of clearance of the funds used to purchase such shares, whichever is earlier

Under normal circumstances, the fund expects to meet redemption requests by using cash it holds in its portfolio or selling portfolio securities to generate cash. In addition, the fund, and certain other funds in the BNY Mellon Family of Funds, may draw upon an unsecured credit facility for temporary or emergency purposes to meet redemption requests. The fund also reserves the right to pay redemption proceeds in securities rather than cash (i.e., "redeem in-kind"), to the extent the composition of the fund's investment portfolio enables it to do so. Generally, a redemption in-kind may be made under the following circumstances: (1) BNYM Investment Adviser determines that a redemption in-kind (i) is more advantageous to the fund (e.g., due to advantageous tax consequences or lower transaction costs) than selling/purchasing portfolio securities, (ii) will not favor the redeeming shareholder to the detriment of any other shareholder or the fund and (iii) is in the best interests of the fund; (2) to manage liquidity risk (i.e., the risk that the fund could not meet redemption requests without significant dilution of remaining investors' interests in the fund); (3) in stressed market conditions; or (4) subject to the approval of the fund's board in other circumstances identified by BNYM Investment Adviser. Securities distributed in connection with any such redemption in-kind are expected to generally represent your pro rata portion of assets held by the fund immediately prior to the redemption, with adjustments as may be necessary in connection with, for example, certain derivatives, restricted securities, odd lots or fractional shares. Any securities distributed in-kind will remain exposed to market risk until sold, and you may incur transaction costs and taxable gain when selling the securities.

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

IRA Accounts. To redeem shares in an IRA account by mail, send a letter of instruction that includes all of the same information for regular accounts and indicate whether the distribution is qualified or premature and whether the 10% TEFRA should be withheld. Mail your request to the appropriate address below.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Telephone or Online. To redeem shares by telephone or online, call 1-800-373-9387 (inside the U.S. only) or, for regular accounts, visit www.im.bnymellon.com to request your transaction. Institutional Direct accounts are not eligible for online services.

By calling 1-800-373-9387 (inside the U.S. only), you may speak to a BNY Mellon representative and request that redemption proceeds be paid by check and mailed to your address of record (maximum $250,000 per day). For redemption requests made online through www.im.bnymellon.com or through the Express voice-activated account access system, there is a $100,000 per day limit.

Automatically. You may sell shares in a regular account by completing an Automatic Withdrawal Form which you can obtain by calling 1-800-373-9387 (inside the U.S. only), visiting www.im.bnymellon.com or contacting your financial representative. For instructions on how to establish automatic withdrawals to sell shares in an IRA account, please call 1-800-373-9387 (inside the U.S. only) or contact your financial representative. See "Services for Fund Investors — Automatic Services."

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

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

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

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

● refuse any purchase or exchange request, including those from any individual or group who, in BNYM Investment Adviser's view, is likely to engage in frequent trading

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

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

Transactions made through the Automatic Withdrawal Plan, Auto-Exchange Privileges, automatic investment plans (including Automatic Asset Builder),automatic non-discretionary rebalancing programs and minimum required retirement distributions generally are not considered to be frequent trading. For Retirement Plans, generally only participant-initiated exchange transactions are subject to the roundtrip limit.

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

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

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

To the extent the fund significantly invests in foreign securities traded on markets that close before the fund calculates its NAV, events that influence the value of these foreign securities may occur after the close of the foreign markets and before the fund calculates its NAV. As a result, certain investors may seek to trade fund shares in an effort to benefit from their understanding of the value of these foreign securities at the time the fund calculates its NAV (referred to as price arbitrage). This type of frequent trading may dilute the value of fund shares held by other shareholders. The fund has adopted procedures designed to adjust closing market prices of foreign equity securities under certain circumstances to reflect what it believes to be their fair value.

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

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

If your account falls below $500, the fund may ask you to increase your balance. If it is still below $500 after 45 days, the fund may close your account and send you the proceeds.

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

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

Distributions paid by the fund are subject to federal income tax, and also may be subject to state or local taxes (unless you are investing through an IRA, Retirement Plan or other U.S. tax-advantaged investment plan). For federal tax purposes, in general, certain fund distributions, including distributions of short-term capital gains, are taxable as ordinary income. Other fund distributions, including dividends from certain U.S. companies and certain foreign companies and distributions of long-term capital gains, generally are taxable as qualified dividends and capital gains, respectively.

High portfolio turnover and more volatile markets can result in significant taxable distributions to shareholders, regardless of whether their shares have increased in value. The fund's share price may, at any time, reflect undistributed capital gains or income and unrealized appreciation, which may result in future taxable distributions. For example, if the fund has unrealized capital gains, these gains could become taxable to shareholders if the fund sells some appreciated positions during the year. Such distributions can occur even in a year when the fund has a negative return. The tax status of any distribution generally is the same regardless of how long you have been in the fund and whether you reinvest your distributions or take them in cash.

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

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

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

Annual year-end distribution estimates, if any, are expected to be available beginning in early October, and may be updated from time to time, at http://im.bnymellon.com/taxcenter or by calling 1-800-373-9387 (inside the U.S. only) or your financial representative.

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

Buying or selling shares automatically is easy with the services described below. With each service, you select a schedule and amount, subject to certain restrictions. These services are not available for Class Y shares. For information, call 1-800-373-9387 (inside the U.S. only) or your financial representative.

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

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

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

Dividend Sweep permits you to automatically reinvest dividends and distributions from the fund in shares of the same class, or another class in which you are eligible to invest, of another fund in the BNY Mellon Family of Funds. However, if you hold fund shares through financial intermediary brokerage platforms, you may invest automatically your dividends and distributions from the fund only in shares of the same class of another fund in the BNY Mellon Family of Funds. Shares held through a Coverdell Education Savings Account sponsored by BNYM Investment Adviser or its affiliates are not eligible for this privilege.

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

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

Generally, you can exchange shares worth $500 or more (no minimum for Retirement Plans and IRAs sponsored by BNYM Investment Adviser or its affiliates) into shares of the same class, or another class in which you are eligible to invest, of another fund in the BNY Mellon Family of Funds. However, if you hold fund shares through financial intermediary brokerage platforms, you may only exchange fund shares for shares of the same class of another fund in the BNY Mellon Family of Funds. You can request your exchange by calling 1-800-373-9387 (inside the U.S. only) or your financial representative. If you are an Institutional Direct accountholder, please contact your BNY Mellon relationship manager for instructions. Be sure to read the current prospectus for any fund into which you are exchanging before investing. Any new account established through an exchange generally will have the same privileges as your original account (as long as they are available). There is currently no fee for exchanges, although you may be charged a sales load when exchanging into any fund that has one.

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

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

Shares of one class of the fund may be converted into shares of another class of the fund, provided you meet the eligibility requirements for investing in the new share class. Except as otherwise disclosed in this prospectus, shares subject to a CDSC at the time of the requested conversion are not eligible for conversion. The fund reserves the right to refuse any conversion request. Class C shares purchased directly from the fund or through a financial intermediary, except as otherwise disclosed in this prospectus, automatically convert to Class A shares in the month of or month following the eight-year anniversary date of the purchase of the Class C shares, based on the relative NAV of each such class without the imposition of any sales charge, fee or other charge.

To redeem shares from your fund account with a phone call (for regular or IRA accounts) or online (for regular accounts only), use the Wire Redemption Privilege or the TeleTransfer Privilege. To purchase additional shares in your fund account with a phone call (for regular or IRA accounts) or online (for regular accounts only), use the TeleTransfer Privilege. You can set up the Wire Redemption Privilege and TeleTransfer Privilege on your account by providing bank account information and following the instructions on your application or, if your account has already been established, a Shareholder Services Form which you can obtain by calling 1-800-373-9387 (inside the U.S. only), visiting www.im.bnymellon.com or contacting your financial representative. Shares held in a Coverdell Education Savings Account may not be redeemed through the Wire Redemption or TeleTransfer Privileges. Institutional Direct accounts are not eligible for the Wire Redemption or TeleTransfer Privileges initiated online.

Every investor in a fund in the BNY Mellon Family of Funds automatically receives regular account statements. You will also be sent a yearly statement detailing the tax characteristics of any dividends and distributions you have received.

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

You can check your account balances, get fund price and performance information, order documents and much more, by calling 1-800-373-9387 (inside the U.S. only) and using the Expressvoice-activated account access system. You may also be able to purchase fund shares and/or transfer money between your funds in the BNY Mellon Family of Funds using the Expressvoice-activated account access system. Certain requests require the services of a representative.

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

Sales Charge Reductions and Waivers Available from Certain Financial Intermediaries

The availability of certain sales charge reductions and waivers will depend on whether you purchase fund shares directly from the fund or through a financial intermediary. Financial intermediaries may have different policies and procedures regarding the availability of front-end sales load reductions or waivers or CDSC waivers, which are described below. In all instances, it is the investor's responsibility to notify the fund or the investor's financial intermediary at the time of purchase of any relationship or other facts qualifying the investor for sales charge reductions or waivers. For reductions or waivers not available through a particular financial intermediary, investors will have to purchase fund shares directly from the fund or through another financial intermediary to receive these reductions or waivers.

Front-end sales charge waivers on Class A shares purchased through Ameriprise Financial

Shareholders purchasing Class A shares of the fund through an Ameriprise Financial platform or account are eligible only for the following sales charge waivers, which may differ from those disclosed elsewhere in this prospectus or the SAI. Such shareholders may purchase Class A shares at NAV without payment of a sales charge as follows:

● shares purchased by employer-sponsored retirement plans (e.g., 401(k) plans, 457 plans, employer-sponsored 403(b) plans, profit sharing and money purchase pension plans and defined benefit plans). For purposes of this provision, employer-sponsored retirement plans do not include SEP IRAs, Simple IRAs or SAR-SEPs

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

● shares exchanged from Class C shares of the same fund in the month of or following the seven-year anniversary of the purchase date. To the extent that this prospectus elsewhere provides for a waiver with respect to such shares following a shorter holding period, that waiver will apply to exchanges following such shorter period. To the extent that this prospectus elsewhere provides for a waiver with respect to exchanges of Class C shares for load waived shares, that waiver will also apply to such exchanges

● shares purchased by employees and registered representatives of Ameriprise Financial or its affiliates and their immediate family members

● shares purchased by or through qualified accounts (including IRAs, Coverdell Education Savings Accounts, 401(k)s, 403(b) TSCAs subject to ERISA and defined benefit plans) that are held by a covered family member, defined as an Ameriprise Financial advisor and/or the advisor's spouse, advisor's lineal ascendant (mother, father, grandmother, grandfather, great grandmother, great grandfather), advisor's lineal descendant (son, step-son, daughter, step-daughter, grandson, granddaughter, great grandson, great granddaughter) or any spouse of a covered family member who is a lineal descendant

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

Clients of Edward D. Jones & Co., L.P. (Edward Jones) purchasing fund shares on the Edward Jones commission and fee-based platforms are eligible only for the following sales charge reductions and waivers, which can differ from the sales charge reductions and waivers described elsewhere in this prospectus or the SAI or through another financial intermediary. In all instances, it is the shareholder's responsibility to inform Edward Jones at the time of purchase of any relationship, holdings of BNY Mellon Family of Funds, or other facts qualifying the purchaser for sales charge reductions or waivers. Edward Jones can ask for documentation of such circumstance. Shareholders should contact Edward Jones if they have questions regarding their eligibility for these discounts and waivers.

Front-end sales charge reductions on Class A shares purchased on the Edward Jones commission and fee-based platforms

Shareholders purchasing Class A shares of the fund on the Edward Jones commission and fee-based platforms can reduce their initial sales charge in the following ways:

● Rights of accumulation (ROA), which entitle shareholders to breakpoint discounts as described in this prospectus, will be calculated based on the aggregated holdings of shares of funds in the BNY Mellon Family of Funds (except certain money market funds and any assets held in group retirement plans) held by the purchaser or in an account grouped by Edward Jones with other accounts for the purpose of providing certain pricing considerations ("pricing groups") and, if grouping assets as a shareholder, includes all share classes of such funds held on the Edward Jones platform and/or held on another platform. Shares of funds in the BNY Mellon Family of Funds may be included in the ROA calculation only if the shareholder notifies Edward Jones about such shares. Money market funds are included only if such shares were sold with a sales charge at the time of purchase or acquired in exchange for shares purchased with a sales charge. The employer maintaining a SEP IRA plan and/or SIMPLE IRA plan may elect to establish or change ROA for the IRA accounts associated with the plan to a plan-level grouping as opposed to including all share classes at a shareholder or pricing group level. For purposes of determining the value of a shareholder's aggregated holdings, eligible shares held will be valued at the higher of their cost minus redemptions or current market value.

● Letter of intent (LOI), which allows for breakpoint discounts as described in this prospectus, based on anticipated purchases of shares of funds in the BNY Mellon Family of Funds purchased over a 13-month period from the date Edward Jones receives the LOI. Eligible shares purchased pursuant to a LOI will be valued at the higher of their cost or current market value for purposes of determining the front-end sales charge and any breakpoint discounts with respect to such share purchases. Each purchase a shareholder makes pursuant to a LOI during the 13-month period will receive the front-end sales charge and breakpoint discount that applies to the total amount indicated in the LOI. Shares of funds in the BNY Mellon Family of Funds may be included in the LOI calculation only if the shareholder notifies Edward Jones about such shares at the time of calculation. Shares purchased before the LOI is received by Edward Jones are not adjusted under the LOI and will not reduce the sales charge previously paid by the shareholder. The sales charge will be adjusted if the shareholder does not meet the goal indicated in the LOI. If the employer maintaining a SEP IRA plan and/or SIMPLE IRA plan has elected to establish or change ROA for the IRA accounts associated with the plan to a plan-level grouping, LOIs will also be at the plan-level and may only be established by the employer.

Front-end sales charge waivers on Class A shares purchased on the Edward Jones commission and fee-based platforms

Shareholders purchasing Class A shares of the fund on the Edward Jones commission and fee-based platforms may purchase Class A shares at NAV without payment of a sales charge as follows:

● shares purchased by associates of Edward Jones or its affiliates and their family members who are in the same pricing group (as determined by Edward Jones under its policies and procedures) as the associate. This waiver will continue for the remainder of the associate's life if the associate retires from Edward Jones in good standing and remains in good standing pursuant to Edward Jones' policies and procedures

● shares purchased through reinvestment of dividends and capital gains distributions of the fund

● shares purchased from the proceeds of redemptions of shares of a fund in the BNY Mellon Family of Funds, provided (1) the repurchase occurs within 60 days following the redemption, and (2) the redemption and purchase are made in the same share class and the same account or the purchase is made in an individual retirement account with proceeds from liquidations in a non-retirement account (i.e., Right of Reinstatement)

● shares exchanged into Class A shares from another share class so long as the exchange is into the same fund and was initiated at the discretion of Edward Jones. Edward Jones is responsible for any CDSC due, if applicable. Any future purchases are subject to the applicable sales charge as disclosed in this prospectus

● exchanges from Class C shares to Class A shares of the same fund, generally, in the 84^th month following the anniversary of the purchase date or earlier at the discretion of Edward Jones

CDSC waivers on Class A and C shares purchased on the Edward Jones commission and fee-based platforms

The fund's CDSC on Class A and C shares may be waived for shares purchased on the Edward Jones commission and fee-based platforms in the following cases:

● redemptions made through a systematic withdrawal plan, if such redemptions do not exceed 10% of the value of the account annually

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

● redemptions made as part of a required minimum distribution for IRA and retirement accounts if the redemption is taken in or after the year the shareholder reaches qualified age based on applicable IRS regulations

● redemptions made to pay Edward Jones fees or costs, but only if the redemption is initiated by Edward Jones

● shares redeemed at the discretion of Edward Jones for accounts not meeting Edward Jones' minimum balance requirements described below

Other important information for clients of Edward Jones who purchase fund shares on the Edward Jones commission and fee-based platforms

● Edward Jones has the right to redeem at its discretion fund holdings with a balance of $250 or less. The following are examples of accounts that are not included in this policy:

● At any time it deems necessary, Edward Jones has the authority to exchange at NAV a shareholder's holdings in a fund to Class A shares of the same fund. Edward Jones is responsible for any CDSC due, if applicable. Any future purchases are subject to the applicable sales charge as disclosed in this prospectus.

Shareholders purchasing fund shares through a Janney Montgomery Scott LLC (Janney) brokerage account are eligible only for the following sales charge reductions and waivers, which can differ from the sales charge reductions and waivers described elsewhere in this prospectus or the SAI or through another financial intermediary. In all instances, it is the shareholder's responsibility to inform Janney at the time of purchase of any relationship, holdings of BNY Mellon Family of Funds or other facts qualifying the purchaser for sales charge reductions or waivers.

Front-end sales charge reductions on Class A shares purchased through a Janney brokerage account

Shareholders purchasing Class A shares of the fund through a Janney brokerage account can reduce their initial sales charge in the following ways:

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

● Letter of intent, which allows for breakpoint discounts as described in this prospectus, based on anticipated purchases of shares of funds in the BNY Mellon Family of Funds purchased over a 13-month period. Shares of funds in the BNY Mellon Family of Funds not held in Janney accounts of the purchaser or the purchaser's household members may be included in the letter of intent calculation only if the shareholder notifies his or her financial advisor about such shares.

Front-end sales charge waivers on Class A shares purchased through a Janney brokerage account

Shareholders purchasing Class A shares of the fund through a Janney brokerage account may purchase Class A shares at NAV without payment of a sales charge as follows:

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

● shares purchased by employees and registered representatives of Janney or its affiliates and their family members as designated by Janney

● shares purchased by employer-sponsored retirement plans (e.g., 401(k) plans, 457 plans, 403(b) plans, profit-sharing and money purchase pension plans and deferred benefit plans). For purposes of this provision, employer-sponsored retirement plans do not include SEP-IRAs, SARSEPs, SIMPLE IRAs or Keogh plans

● Class C shares that are no longer subject to a CDSC and are converted to Class A shares of the same fund pursuant to Janney's policies and procedures

CDSC waivers on Class A and C shares purchased through a Janney brokerage account

The fund's CDSC on Class A and C shares may be waived for shares purchased through a Janney brokerage account in the following cases:

● redemptions made through the Automatic Withdrawal Plan as described in this prospectus

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

● redemptions made as part of a required minimum distribution for IRA and retirement accounts pursuant to the Internal Revenue Code

● redemptions made to pay Janney fees, but only if the redemption is initiated by Janney

● exchanges of shares for shares of the same class of a different fund, except if shares acquired by exchange are then redeemed within the period during which a CDSC would apply to the initial shares purchased

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

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

● Rights of accumulation (ROA), which entitle shareholders to breakpoint discounts as described in this prospectus, will be automatically calculated based on the aggregated holdings (including 529 plan holdings) of shares of funds in the BNY Mellon Family of Funds held in accounts of the purchaser and the purchaser's household members at Merrill Lynch. Shares of funds in the BNY Mellon Family of Funds not held in accounts of the purchaser's household members at Merrill Lynch may be included in the ROA calculation only if the shareholder notifies his or her financial advisor about such shares.

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

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

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

● shares purchased by or through a 529 plan (not including 529 Plan units or 529-specific share classes or equivalents)

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

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

● shares of the fund purchased through reinvestment of dividends and capital gains distributions of the fund when purchasing shares of the same fund (but not any other fund in the BNY Mellon Family of Funds)

● shares acquired through an exchange (i.e., conversion) of Class C shares of the fund that are no longer subject to a CDSC pursuant to Merrill Lynch's policies relating to sales load discounts and waivers

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

● shares purchased by board members of the fund and employees of BNYM Investment Adviser or any of its affiliates, as described in this prospectus

● shares purchased from the proceeds of a redemption of shares of a fund in the BNY Mellon Family of Funds, provided (1) the repurchase occurs within 90 days following the redemption, (2) the redemption and purchase occur in the same account, and (3) redeemed shares were subject to a front-end sales charge or CDSC (i.e., Right of Reinstatement). Automated transactions (i.e., systematic purchases and withdrawals) and purchases made after shares are automatically sold to pay Merrill Lynch's account maintenance fees are not eligible for reinstatement

● shares acquired through an exchange (i.e., conversion) from another share class of the fund as a result of the shareholder's holdings moving from a Merrill Lynch affiliated investment advisory program to a Merrill Lynch brokerage (non-advisory) account pursuant to Merrill Lynch's policies relating to sales load discounts and waivers. Merrill Lynch has agreed to be responsible for any CDSC due, if applicable. Any future purchases of Class A are subject to the applicable sales charge as disclosed in this prospectus

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

● shares sold as part of a systematic withdrawal plan as described in this prospectus

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

● redemptions made as part of a required minimum distribution for IRA and retirement accounts pursuant to the Internal Revenue Code

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

● redemptions of fund shares held in a retirement brokerage account that are exchanged for shares of a lower cost share class in connection with the transfer to certain fee based accounts or platforms (applicable to Class A and C shares only)

● shares acquired through an exchange as a result of the shareholder's holdings moving from a Merrill Lynch affiliated investment advisory program to a Merrill Lynch brokerage (non-advisory) account pursuant to Merrill Lynch's policies relating to sales load discounts and waivers. Merrill Lynch is responsible for any CDSC due, if applicable

Front-end sales charge waivers on Class A shares purchased through Morgan Stanley Wealth Management

Shareholders purchasing Class A shares of the fund through a Morgan Stanley Wealth Management transactional brokerage account are eligible only for the following sales charge waivers, which may differ from those disclosed elsewhere in this prospectus or the SAI. Such shareholders may purchase Class A shares at NAV without payment of a sales charge as follows:

● shares purchased by Morgan Stanley employee and employee-related accounts according to Morgan Stanley's account linking rules

● shares of the fund purchased through reinvestment of dividends and capital gains distributions of the fund

● Class C shares that are no longer subject to a CDSC and are converted to Class A shares of the same fund pursuant to Morgan Stanley Wealth Management's share class conversion program

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

Front-end sales charge reductions on Class A shares purchased through an OPCO platform or account

Shareholders purchasing Class A shares of the fund through an OPCO platform or account can reduce their initial sales charge in the following ways:

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

Front-end sales charge waivers on Class A shares purchased through an OPCO platform or account

Shareholders purchasing Class A shares of the fund through an OPCO platform or account may purchase Class A shares at NAV without payment of a sales charge as follows:

● shares purchased through reinvestment of dividends and capital gains distributions when purchasing shares of the fund (but not of any other fund in the BNY Mellon Family of Funds)

● a shareholder in the fund's Class C shares will have their shares converted at NAV to Class A shares (or the appropriate share class) of the fund if the shares are no longer subject to a CDSC and the conversion is in line with the policies and procedures of OPCO

● shares purchased by employees and registered representatives of OPCO or its affiliates and their family members

● board members of the fund, and employees of the fund's investment adviser or any of its affiliates, as described in this prospectus

CDSC waivers on Class A and C shares purchased through an OPCO platform or account

The fund's CDSC on Class A and C shares may be waived for shares purchased through an OPCO platform or account in the following cases:

● redemptions made through the Automatic Withdrawal Plan as described in this prospectus

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

● redemptions made as part of a required minimum distribution for IRA and retirement accounts pursuant to the Internal Revenue Code

● redemptions made to pay OPCO fees, but only if the redemption is initiated by OPCO

Raymond James & Associates, Inc., Raymond James Financial Services or Raymond James affiliates (Raymond James)

Front-end sales charge reductions on Class A shares purchased through Raymond James

Shareholders purchasing Class A shares of the fund through a Raymond James platform or account, or through an introducing broker-dealer or independent registered investment adviser for which Raymond James provides trade execution, clearance and/or custody services, are eligible only for the following sales charge reductions, which may differ from those disclosed elsewhere in this prospectus or the SAI. Such shareholders can reduce their initial sales charge in the following ways:

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

● Letter of intent, which allows for breakpoint discounts based on anticipated purchases within the BNY Mellon Family of Funds over a 13-month time period. Shares of funds in the BNY Mellon Family of Funds not held at Raymond James may be included in the calculation of letters of intent only if the shareholder notifies his or her financial advisor about such shares.

Front-end sales charge waivers on Class A shares purchased through Raymond James

Shareholders purchasing Class A shares of the fund through a Raymond James platform or account, or through an introducing broker-dealer or independent registered investment adviser for which Raymond James provides trade execution, clearance and/or custody services, are eligible only for the following sales charge waivers, which may differ from those disclosed elsewhere in this prospectus or the SAI. Such shareholders may purchase Class A shares at NAV without payment of a sales charge as follows:

● shares purchased within the BNY Mellon Family of Funds, including shares of the fund, through a systematic reinvestment of dividends and capital gains distributions of the fund

● shares purchased by employees and registered representatives of Raymond James and their family members as designated by Raymond James

● Class C shares that are no longer subject to a CDSC and are converted to Class A shares of the same fund pursuant to Raymond James' share class conversion policies and procedures

Fund shares purchased through a Raymond James platform or account, or through an introducing broker-dealer or independent registered investment adviser for which Raymond James provides trade execution, clearance and/or custody services, are eligible only for the following CDSC waivers, which may differ from those disclosed elsewhere in this prospectus or the SAI:

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

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

● redemptions made as part of a required minimum distribution for IRA and retirement accounts pursuant to the Internal Revenue Code

● redemptions made to pay Raymond James fees, but only if the redemption is initiated by Raymond James

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

Front-end sales charge reductions on Class A shares purchased through a Baird platform or account

Shareholders purchasing Class A shares of the fund through a Baird platform or account can reduce their initial sales charge in the following ways:

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

Front-end sales charge waivers on Class A shares purchased through a Baird platform or account

Shareholders purchasing Class A shares of the fund through a Baird platform or account may purchase Class A shares at NAV without payment of a sales charge as follows:

● shares purchased through reinvestment of dividends and capital gains distributions when purchasing shares of the fund (but not of any other fund in the BNY Mellon Family of Funds)

● shares purchased by employees and registered representatives of Baird or its affiliates and their family members as designated by Baird

● shares purchased by employer-sponsored retirement plans or charitable accounts in a transactional brokerage account at Baird, including 401(k) plans, 457 plans, employer-sponsored 403(b) plans, profit sharing and money purchase pension plans and defined benefit plans. For purposes of this provision, employer-sponsored retirement plans do not include SEP IRAs, Simple IRAs or SAR-SEPs

● Class C shares that are no longer subject to a CDSC and are converted to Class A shares of the same fund pursuant to Baird's policies and procedures

The fund's CDSC on Class A shares may be waived for shares purchased through a Baird platform or account in the following cases:

● redemptions made through the Automatic Withdrawal Plan as described in this prospectus

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

● redemptions made as part of a required minimum distribution for IRA and retirement accounts pursuant to the Internal Revenue Code

● redemptions made to pay Baird fees, but only if the redemption is initiated by Baird

Shareholders purchasing Class A shares of the fund through a Stifel platform or account may purchase Class A shares at NAV without payment of a sales charge as follows:

● Class C shares that are no longer subject to a CDSC and are converted to Class A shares of the same fund pursuant to Stifel's policies and procedures.

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

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

The SAI provides more details about the fund and its policies. A current SAI is available at www.im.bnymellon.com and is on file with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The SAI, as amended or supplemented from time to time, is incorporated by reference (and is legally considered part of this prospectus).

The fund generally discloses, at www.im.bnymellon.com, (1) complete portfolio holdings as of each calendar quarter end with a 15-day lag and as of each month-end with a one-month lag; (2) top 10 holdings as of each month-end with a 10-day lag; and (3) from time to time, certain security-specific performance attribution data as of a month-end, with a 10-day lag. From time to time, the fund may make available certain portfolio characteristics, such as allocations, performance- and risk-related statistics, portfolio-level statistics and non-security specific attribution analyses, on request. The fund's portfolio holdings will remain on the website for a period of six months and any security-specific performance attribution data will remain on the website for varying periods up to six months, provided that portfolio holdings will remain until the fund files its Form N-PORT or Form N-CSR for the period that includes the dates of the posted holdings.

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

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

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

This prospectus does not constitute an offer or solicitation in any state or jurisdiction in which, or to any person to whom, such offering or solicitation may not lawfully be made.


Class	Ticker
A	DWOAX
C	DWOCX
I	DWOIX
Y	DRYQX
Z	DREQX


Annual Fund Operating Expenses (expenses that you pay each year as a percentage of the value of your investment)
	Class A	Class C	Class I	Class Y	Class Z
Management fees	.75	.75	.75	.75	.75
Distribution (12b-1) fees	none	.75	none	none	none
Other expenses:
Shareholder services fees	.25	.25	none	none	.05
Miscellaneous other expenses	.10	.11	.07	.03	.04
Total other expenses	.35	.36	.07	.03	.09
Total annual fund operating expenses	1.10	1.86	.82	.78	.84
Fee waiver and/or expense reimbursement^**	(.07)	(.08)	(.04)	-	(.01)
Total annual fund operating expenses (after fee waiver and/or expense reimbursement)	1.03	1.78	.78	.78	.83
^Class A shares bought without an initial sales charge as part of an investment of $1 million or more may be charged a deferred sales charge of 1.00% if redeemed within one year. ^*The fund's investment adviser, BNY Mellon Investment Adviser, Inc., has contractually agreed, until June 30, 2023, to waive receipt of its fees and/or assume the direct expenses of the fund so that the direct expenses of none of the fund's classes (excluding Rule 12b-1 fees, shareholder services fees, taxes, interest, brokerage commissions, commitment fees on borrowings and extraordinary expenses) exceed .78%. On or after June 30, 2023, BNY Mellon Investment Adviser, Inc. may terminate this expense limitation agreement at any time.


	1 Year	3 Years	5 Years	10 Years
Class A (with or without redemption at end of period)	$674	$898	$1,140	$1,832
Class C (with redemption at end of period)	$281	$577	$998	$2,173
Class C (without redemption at end of period)	$181	$577	$998	$2,173
Class I (with or without redemption at end of period)	$80	$258	$451	$1,010
Class Y (with or without redemption at end of period)	$80	$249	$433	$966
Class Z (with or without redemption at end of period)	$85	$267	$465	$1,036


Average Annual Total Returns (as of 12/31/21)
Class (Inception Date)	1 Year	5 Years	10 Years
Class Z returns before taxes	19.00%	22.95%	18.12%
Class Z returns after taxes on distributions	15.10%	19.66%	15.98%
Class Z returns after taxes on distributions and sale of fund shares	13.50%	17.84%	14.73%
Class A returns before taxes	11.86%	21.27%	17.19%
Class C returns before taxes	16.85%	21.81%	17.01%
Class I returns before taxes	19.04%	23.02%	18.19%
Class Y (7/1/13) returns before taxes	19.04%	23.02%	18.08%
Russell 1000^{^®} Growth Index reflects no deductions for fees, expenses or taxes	27.60%	25.32%	19.79%


	Total Sales Load -- Class A Shares
Amount of Transaction	As a % of Offering Price per Share	As a % of Net Asset Value per Share
Less than $50,000	5.75	6.10
$50,000 to less than $100,000	4.50	4.71
$100,000 to less than $250,000	3.50	3.63
$250,000 to less than $500,000	2.50	2.56
$500,000 to less than $1,000,000	2.00	2.04
$1,000,000 or more*	-0-	-0-


Choosing a Share Class	9
Buying and Selling Shares	13
General Policies	16
Distributions and Taxes	18
Services for Fund Investors	19
Financial Highlights	21
Appendix		A-1


Shareholder Fees (fees paid directly from your investment)
	Class A	Class C	Class I	Class Y	Class Z
Maximum sales charge (load) imposed on purchases (as a percentage of offering price)	5.75	none	none	none	none
Maximum deferred sales charge (load) (as a percentage of lower of purchase or sale price)	none^*	1.00	none	none	none


	Year Ended February 28/29,
Class A Shares	2022	2021	2020	2019	2018
Per Share Data ($):
Net asset value, beginning of period	20.76	14.68	14.81	15.87	14.53
Investment Operations:
Net investment income (loss)^a	(.12)	(.07)	.01	.02	.02
Net realized and unrealized gain on investments	.90	7.76	1.34	1.37	2.76
Total from Investment Operations	.78	7.69	1.35	1.39	2.78
Distributions:
Dividends from net investment income	-	-	(.00)^b	(.00)^b	-
Dividends from net realized gain on investments	(3.06)	(1.61)	(1.48)	(2.45)	(1.44)
Total Distributions	(3.06)	(1.61)	(1.48)	(2.45)	(1.44)
Net asset value, end of period	18.48	20.76	14.68	14.81	15.87
Total Return (%)^c	2.36	53.57	9.04	10.24	19.73
Ratios/Supplemental Data (%):
Ratio of total expenses to average net assets	1.10	1.11	1.13	1.12	1.14
Ratio of net expenses to average net assets	1.03	1.03	1.03	1.03	1.04
Ratio of net investment income (loss) to average net assets	(.57)	(.36)	.06	.15	.14
Portfolio Turnover Rate	31.62	43.02	55.27	42.75	51.59
Net Assets, end of period ($ x 1,000)	745,223	784,451	551,332	557,597	566,182
^aBased on average shares outstanding. ^bAmount represents less than $.01 per share.
^cExclusive of sales charge.


	Year Ended February 28/29,
Class C Shares	2022	2021	2020	2019	2018
Per Share Data ($):
Net asset value, beginning of period	18.00	12.98	13.34	14.64	13.59
Investment Operations:
Net investment (loss)^a	(.24)	(.17)	(.09)	(.09)	(.08)
Net realized and unrealized gain on investments	.82	6.80	1.21	1.24	2.57
Total from Investment Operations	.58	6.63	1.12	1.15	2.49
Distributions:
Dividends from net realized gain on investments	(3.06)	(1.61)	(1.48)	(2.45)	(1.44)
Net asset value, end of period	15.52	18.00	12.98	13.34	14.64
Total Return (%)^b	1.56	52.39	8.27	9.40	18.95
Ratios/Supplemental Data (%):
Ratio of total expenses to average net assets	1.86	1.87	1.87	1.84	1.88
Ratio of net expenses to average net assets	1.78	1.78	1.78	1.78	1.79
Ratio of net investment (loss) to average net assets	(1.32)	(1.10)	(.69)	(.61)	(.58)
Portfolio Turnover Rate	31.62	43.02	55.27	42.75	51.59
Net Assets, end of period ($ x 1,000)	10,002	15,830	25,957	34,570	43,106
^aBased on average shares outstanding.
^bExclusive of sales charge.


	Year Ended February 28/29,
Class I Shares	2022	2021	2020	2019	2018
Per Share Data ($):
Net asset value, beginning of period	20.85	14.73	14.86	15.91	14.56
Investment Operations:
Net investment income (loss)^a	(.07)	(.02)	.05	.06	.06
Net realized and unrealized gain on investments	.90	7.79	1.34	1.38	2.77
Total from Investment Operations	.83	7.77	1.39	1.44	2.83
Distributions:
Dividends from net investment income	-	(.04)	(.04)	(.04)	(.04)
Dividends from net realized gain on investments	(3.06)	(1.61)	(1.48)	(2.45)	(1.44)
Total Distributions	(3.06)	(1.65)	(1.52)	(2.49)	(1.48)
Net asset value, end of period	18.62	20.85	14.73	14.86	15.91
Total Return (%)	2.66	53.92	9.25	10.54	20.07
Ratios/Supplemental Data (%):
Ratio of total expenses to average net assets	.82	.84	.85	.85	.86
Ratio of net expenses to average net assets	.78	.78	.78	.78	.79
Ratio of net investment income (loss) to average net assets	(.32)	(.11)	.31	.39	.40
Portfolio Turnover Rate	31.62	43.02	55.27	42.75	51.59
Net Assets, end of period ($ x 1,000)	253,415	284,607	205,676	287,626	314,303
^aBased on average shares outstanding.


		Year Ended February 28/29,
Class Y Shares	2022		2021	2020	2019	2018
Per Share Data ($):
Net asset value, beginning of period	20.79		14.70	14.82	15.88	14.55
Investment Operations:
Net investment income (loss)^a	(.07)		(.02)	.05	.06	.06
Net realized and unrealized gain on investments	.90		7.76	1.35	1.37	2.76
Total from Investment Operations	.83		7.74	1.40	1.43	2.82
Distributions:
Dividends from net investment income	-		(.04)	(.04)	(.04)	(.05)
Dividends from net realized gain on investments	(3.06)		(1.61)	(1.48)	(2.45)	(1.44)
Total Distributions	(3.06)		(1.65)	(1.52)	(2.49)	(1.49)
Net asset value, end of period	18.56		20.79	14.70	14.82	15.88
Total Return (%)	2.61		53.90	9.34	10.49	20.05
Ratios/Supplemental Data (%):
Ratio of total expenses to average net assets	.78		.80	.79	.78	.79
Ratio of net expenses to average net assets	.78		.78	.78	.78	.78
Ratio of net investment income (loss) to average net assets	(.33)		(.10)	.31	.39	.38
Portfolio Turnover Rate	31.62		43.02	55.27	42.75	51.59
Net Assets, end of period ($ x 1,000)	285,559		371,053	325,886	306,588	348,911
^aBased on average shares outstanding.


	Year Ended February 28/29,
Class Z Shares	2022	2021	2020	2019	2018
Per Share Data ($):
Net asset value, beginning of period	21.32	15.04	15.14	16.17	14.77
Investment Operations:
Net investment income (loss)^a	(.08)	(.03)	.04	.05	.06
Net realized and unrealized gain on investments	.92	7.95	1.37	1.40	2.81
Total from Investment Operations	.84	7.92	1.41	1.45	2.87
Distributions:
Dividends from net investment income	-	(.03)	(.03)	(.03)	(.03)
Dividends from net realized gain on investments	(3.06)	(1.61)	(1.48)	(2.45)	(1.44)
Total Distributions	(3.06)	(1.64)	(1.51)	(2.48)	(1.47)
Net asset value, end of period	19.10	21.32	15.04	15.14	16.17
Total Return (%)	2.59	53.88	9.20	10.46	20.02
Ratios/Supplemental Data (%):
Ratio of total expenses to average net assets	.84	.87	.88	.88	.86
Ratio of net expenses to average net assets	.83	.83	.84	.85	.83
Ratio of net investment income (loss) to average net assets	(.37)	(.16)	.25	.32	.36
Portfolio Turnover Rate	31.62	43.02	55.27	42.75	51.59
Net Assets, end of period ($ x 1,000)	656,046	688,588	481,227	482,764	475,713
^aBased on average shares outstanding.