UNITED STATES
SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION
WASHINGTON, D.C. 20549
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FORM N-CSR
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CERTIFIED SHAREHOLDER REPORT OF REGISTERED MANAGEMENT
INVESTMENT COMPANIES
INVESTMENT COMPANY ACT FILE NUMBERS 811-5690; 811-6618;
811-3169
FIRST INVESTORS SERIES FUND
FIRST INVESTORS SERIES FUND II, INC.
FIRST INVESTORS GLOBAL FUND, INC.
(Exact name of registrant as specified in charter)
- --------
95 Wall Street
New York, NY 10005
(Address of principal executive offices) (Zip code)
Joseph I. Benedek
First Investors Management Company, Inc.
581 Main Street
Woodbridge, NJ 07095
(Name and address of agent for service)
REGISTRANT'S TELEPHONE NUMBER, INCLUDING AREA CODE:
1-212-858-8000
DATE OF FISCAL YEAR END: SEPTEMBER 30, 2003
DATE OF REPORTING PERIOD: SEPTEMBER 30, 2003
Item 1. Reports to Stockholders - Filed herewith
Portfolio Managers' Letter
FIRST INVESTORS TOTAL RETURN FUND
Dear Investor:
This is the annual report for the First Investors Total Return Fund for the
fiscal year ended September 30, 2003. During the period, the Fund's return
on a net asset value basis was 15.6% for Class A shares and 14.7% for Class
B shares, including dividends of 21 cents per share on Class A shares and
13 cents per share on Class B shares.
The primary drivers of the Fund's performance were the improving economy,
the general rise of equities and the Fund's asset allocation decisions.
Given the equity market's positive performance, the Fund benefited from its
average equity allocation of 62.4% over the reporting period. In addition
to the equity holdings, the average allocation over the reporting period
was 33.7% bonds and 3.9% cash equivalents.
In the equity portion of the portfolio, the Fund's performance was
attributable to its investments in two key sectors, technology and
financials. The top contributing sector was technology, as investors bid up
prices in anticipation of a cyclical upturn. Smaller overall contributions
came from the consumer discretionary, industrials, health care, materials
and energy sectors. Investments in convertible preferred stocks and
exchange traded funds also aided the Fund's performance. In addition, the
Fund benefited by allocating part of its equity investments to mid- and
small-cap stocks, as they outperformed their larger counterparts.
During the reporting period, the fixed income portfolio had approximately
60% of its assets in investment grade corporate bonds, 30% in
mortgage-backed bonds, and the balance in municipal securities. Corporate
bonds were the best performing area of the fixed income sector, although
the Fund's returns in this sector were diminished by holdings in the
airline industry. The Fund's mortgage-backed holdings generally benefited
from relatively low coupons, which reduced their exposure to record
prepayments during much of the reporting period. Among the municipal bond
holdings, returns were hurt by long durations, as well as one holding in
the tobacco sector.
Portfolio Managers' Letter (continued)
FIRST INVESTORS TOTAL RETURN FUND
Thank you for placing your trust in First Investors. As always, we
appreciate the opportunity to serve your investment needs.
Sincerely,
/S/ EDWIN D. MISKA
Edwin D. Miska
Director of Equities
and Co-Portfolio Manager
/S/ CLARK D. WAGNER
Clark D. Wagner
Director of Fixed Income
and Co-Portfolio Manager
October 31, 2003
Cumulative Performance Information
FIRST INVESTORS TOTAL RETURN FUND
Comparison of change in value of $10,000 investment in the First Investors
Total Return Fund (Class A shares), the Lehman Brothers U.S. Government
Bond/Credit Index and the Standard & Poor's 500 Index.
TOTAL RETURN
GRAPH PLOTS
As of September 30, 2003
TOTAL LEHMAN GOV. S&P
RETURN BOND/CREDIT 500
DEC 93 $ 9,425 $10,000 $10,000
DEC 94 9,095 9,649 10,132
DEC 95 11,535 11,505 13,940
DEC 96 12,760 11,839 17,140
DEC 97 15,067 12,995 22,859
SEP 98 15,536 14,207 24,238
SEP 99 17,562 13,977 30,976
SEP 00 20,885 14,919 35,091
SEP 01 17,257 16,884 25,750
SEP 02 15,296 18,429 20,474
SEP 03 17,679 19,628 25,469
(INSET BOX IN CHART READS:)
Average Annual Total Returns*
Class A Shares N.A.V. Only S.E.C. Standardized
One Year 15.58% 8.90%
Five Years 2.29% 1.09%
Ten Years 6.50% 5.87%
Class B Shares
One Year 14.71% 10.71%
Five Years 1.57% 1.19%
Since Inception
(1/12/95) 7.00% 7.00%
The graph compares a $10,000 investment in the First Investors Total
Return Fund (Class A shares) beginning 12/31/93 with theoretical
investments in the Lehman Brothers U.S. Government Bond/Credit Index and
the Standard & Poor's 500 Index. The Lehman Brothers U.S. Government
Bond/Credit Index combines the Lehman Brothers U.S. Government Bond Index
with the Lehman Brothers U.S. Credit Index. The U.S. Government Bond
Index is made up of the Treasury Bond Index (all public obligations of
the U.S. Treasury) and the Agency Bond Index (all publicly issued debt of
U.S. Government agencies and quasi-federal corporations, and corporate
debt guaranteed by the U.S. Government). The U.S. Credit Index includes
all publicly issued, fixed-rate, nonconvertible investment grade
dollar-denominated, S.E.C.- registered corporate debt. All issues in each
Index have at least one year to maturity and an outstanding par value of
at least $150 million. The Standard & Poor's 500 Index is an unmanaged
capitalization-weighted index of 500 stocks designed to measure
performance of the broad domestic economy through changes in the
aggregate market value of such stocks, which represent all major
industries. It is not possible to invest directly in these Indices. In
addition, the Indices do not take into account fees and expenses that an
investor would incur in purchasing securities in these Indices. For
purposes of the graph and the accompanying table, unless otherwise
indicated, it has been assumed that the maximum sales charge was deducted
from the initial $10,000 investment in the Fund and all dividends and
distributions were reinvested. Class B shares performance may be greater
than or less than that shown in the line graph above for Class A shares
based on differences in sales loads and fees paid by shareholders
investing in the different classes.
* Average Annual Total Return figures (for the periods ended 9/30/03)
include the reinvestment of all dividends and distributions. "N.A.V. Only"
returns are calculated without sales charges. The Class A "S.E.C.
Standardized" returns shown are based on the maximum sales charge of 5.75%
(prior to 6/17/02, the maximum sales charge was 6.25%). The Class B "S.E.C.
Standardized" returns are adjusted for the applicable deferred sales charge
(maximum of 4% in the first year). During the periods shown, some of the
expenses of the Fund were waived or assumed. If such expenses had been paid
by the Fund, the Class A "S.E.C. Standardized" Average Annual Total Return
for One Year, Five Years and Ten Years would have been 8.65%, .79% and
5.56%, respectively. The Class B "S.E.C. Standardized" Average Annual Total
Return for One Year, Five Years and Since Inception would have been 10.46%,
.88% and 6.72%, respectively. Results represent past performance and do not
indicate future results. Investment return and principal value of an
investment will fluctuate so that an investor's shares, when redeemed, may
be worth more or less than the original cost. Lehman Brothers U.S.
Government Bond/Credit Index figures are from Lehman Brothers, Inc.,
Standard & Poor's 500 Index figures are from Standard & Poor's and all
other figures are from First Investors Management Company, Inc.
Portfolio of Investments
FIRST INVESTORS TOTAL RETURN FUND
September 30, 2003
- ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Amount
Invested
For Each
$10,000 of
Shares Security Value Net Assets
- ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
COMMON STOCKS--60.9%
Consumer Discretionary--9.8%
21,600 * Abercrombie & Fitch Company - Class "A" $598,536 $29
8,200 * Best Buy Company, Inc. 389,664 19
18,200 * Brinker International, Inc. 607,152 30
13,800 Clear Channel Communications, Inc. 528,540 26
41,100 * Comcast Corporation - Special Class "A" 1,214,094 59
22,100 Eastman Kodak Company 462,774 23
35,400 * Fox Entertainment Group, Inc. - Class "A" 990,846 48
47,400 * GameStop Corporation - Class "A" 753,660 37
13,800 Genuine Parts Company 441,324 22
19,000 GTECH Holdings Corporation 814,150 40
20,400 Harley-Davidson, Inc. 983,280 48
29,800 Hasbro, Inc. 556,664 27
47,600 * Hollywood Entertainment Corporation 809,200 39
17,700 Home Depot, Inc. 563,745 27
75,900 J.C. Penney Company, Inc. (Holding Company) 1,621,983 79
29,600 Landry's Restaurants, Inc. 609,760 30
19,000 * Lear Corporation 1,000,160 49
43,500 Leggett & Platt, Inc. 940,905 46
300 Lifetime Hoan Corporation 3,138 --
24,800 Mattel, Inc. 470,208 23
81,200 McDonald's Corporation 1,911,448 93
19,000 Newell Rubbermaid, Inc. 411,730 20
34,600 * Office Depot, Inc. 486,130 24
57,100 Pier 1 Imports, Inc. 1,098,604 53
34,000 Polo Ralph Lauren Corporation - Class "A" 911,880 44
20,900 Reader's Digest Association, Inc. 292,391 14
18,200 * Scholastic Corporation 523,978 26
- ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
19,995,944 975
- ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Consumer Staples--5.4%
27,000 Altria Group, Inc. 1,182,600 58
22,100 Anheuser-Busch Companies, Inc. 1,090,414 53
20,300 Bunge, Ltd. 558,250 27
54,400 Coca-Cola Enterprises, Inc. 1,036,864 51
16,300 * Costco Wholesale Corporation 506,604 25
27,200 CVS Corporation 844,832 41
29,900 Hormel Foods Corporation 687,102 33
17,000 Kimberly-Clark Corporation 872,440 43
- ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
- ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Amount
Invested
For Each
$10,000 of
Shares Security Value Net Assets
- ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Consumer Staples (continued)
27,700 Pepsi Bottling Group, Inc. $570,066 $28
13,700 PepsiCo, Inc. 627,871 31
17,900 Procter & Gamble Company 1,661,478 81
16,100 * Smithfield Foods, Inc. 309,120 15
20,000 Wal-Mart Stores, Inc. 1,117,000 54
- ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
11,064,641 540
- ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Energy--4.1%
23,800 Anadarko Petroleum Corporation 993,888 48
15,000 ConocoPhillips 821,250 40
264 Cross Timbers Royalty Trust 5,544 --
16,000 Diamond Offshore Drilling, Inc. 305,600 15
25,300 EOG Resources, Inc. 1,056,022 52
51,600 ExxonMobil Corporation 1,888,560 92
22,300 * Noble Corporation 757,977 37
48,000 Suncor Energy, Inc. 890,400 43
42,100 * Transocean, Inc. 842,000 41
35,700 XTO Energy, Inc. 749,343 37
- ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
8,310,584 405
- ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Financials--12.1%
27,700 ACE, Ltd. 916,316 45
19,000 American Express Company 856,140 42
19,100 American International Group, Inc. 1,102,070 53
35,400 AmSouth Bancorporation 751,188 37
16,300 Bank of America Corporation 1,272,052 62
23,200 Bear Stearns Companies, Inc. 1,735,360 85
41,000 Citigroup, Inc. 1,865,910 91
16,800 Endurance Specialty Holdings, Ltd. 490,560 24
12,200 Equity Office Properties Trust 335,866 16
13,600 Fannie Mae 954,720 46
31,300 FleetBoston Financial Corporation 943,695 46
6,800 Lehman Brothers Holdings, Inc. 469,744 23
40,800 Lincoln National Corporation 1,443,504 70
20,400 Marsh & McLennan Companies, Inc. 971,244 47
46,500 MBNA Corporation 1,060,200 52
9,500 Merrill Lynch & Company, Inc. 508,535 25
8,400 Morgan Stanley 423,864 21
21,400 Old Republic International Corporation 708,126 35
- ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Portfolio of Investments (continued)
FIRST INVESTORS TOTAL RETURN FUND
September 30, 2003
- ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Amount
Invested
For Each
$10,000 of
Shares Security Value Net Assets
- ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Financials (continued)
5,000 PartnerRe, Ltd. $253,350 $12
24,700 Plum Creek Timber Company, Inc. (REIT) 628,368 31
19,000 Scottish Re Group, Ltd. 458,850 22
20,400 SouthTrust Corporation 599,556 29
18,700 St. Paul Companies, Inc. 692,461 34
54,700 U.S. Bancorp 1,312,253 64
38,700 Wachovia Corporation 1,594,053 78
38,500 Washington Mutual, Inc. 1,515,745 74
19,200 Wells Fargo & Company 988,800 48
- ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
24,852,530 1,212
- ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Health Care--7.9%
31,300 Abbott Laboratories 1,331,815 65
16,300 * Accredo Health, Inc. 456,237 22
19,000 AmerisourceBergen Corporation 1,026,950 50
12,700 * Amgen, Inc. 820,039 40
15,700 * Barr Laboratories, Inc. 1,070,897 52
15,000 * Boston Scientific Corporation 957,000 47
8,200 Eli Lilly & Company 487,080 24
11,000 * Enzon Pharmaceuticals, Inc. 128,040 6
2,700 * Genetech, Inc. 216,378 10
44,000 Health Management Associates, Inc. - Class "A" 959,640 47
6,900 * Henry Schein, Inc. 391,230 19
25,100 Johnson & Johnson 1,242,952 61
14,400 * Laboratory Corporation of America Holdings 413,280 20
25,400 McKesson Corporation 845,566 41
13,800 Medtronic, Inc. 647,496 32
16,500 Merck & Company, Inc. 835,230 41
92,480 Pfizer, Inc. 2,809,542 137
33,100 Wyeth 1,525,910 74
- ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
16,165,282 788
- ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Industrials--6.7%
16,800 3M Company 1,160,376 57
13,900 Alexander & Baldwin, Inc. 390,312 19
8,200 Caterpillar, Inc. 564,488 27
27,200 * Cendant Corporation 508,368 25
16,200 Chicago Bridge & Iron Company NV - NY Shares 439,992 21
6,900 Eaton Corporation 611,478 30
- ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
- ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Amount
Invested
For Each
$10,000 of
Shares Security Value Net Assets
- ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Industrials (continued)
16,000 EDO Corporation $324,000 $16
16,250 Engineered Support Systems, Inc. 983,125 48
19,300 Harsco Corporation 742,471 36
24,500 Honeywell International, Inc. 645,575 31
16,600 Lockheed Martin Corporation 766,090 37
57,900 Masco Corporation 1,417,392 69
15,600 Northrop Grumman Corporation 1,345,032 66
27,000 Pall Corporation 605,880 30
30,800 Pitney Bowes, Inc. 1,180,256 58
24,500 Rockwell Automation, Inc. 643,125 31
9,400 Textron, Inc. 370,830 18
14,100 United Technologies Corporation 1,089,648 53
- ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
13,788,438 672
- ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Information Technology--10.3%
12,100 * AMIS Holdings, Inc. 223,366 11
4,100 * Analog Devices, Inc. 155,882 8
13,600 * Applied Materials, Inc. 246,704 12
34,000 Autodesk, Inc. 578,680 28
54,400 * Cisco Systems, Inc. 1,062,976 52
55,000 * Concord EFS, Inc. 751,850 37
23,100 * Electronics for Imaging, Inc. 538,692 26
105,600 * EMC Corporation 1,333,728 65
168,600 * Entrust, Inc. 827,826 40
24,500 First Data Corporation 979,020 48
62,600 Hewlett-Packard Company 1,211,936 59
55,300 Intel Corporation 1,521,303 74
21,800 * Intersil Corporation - Class "A" 518,840 25
27,600 * ManTech International Corporation - Class "A" 686,688 34
94,700 Microsoft Corporation 2,631,713 128
46,200 * Network Associates, Inc. 635,712 31
74,800 Nokia Corporation - Class "A" (ADR) 1,166,880 57
155,000 * Nortel Networks Corporation 635,500 31
32,600 QUALCOMM, Inc. 1,357,464 66
113,800 * Sun Microsystems, Inc. 376,678 18
43,604 Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co., Ltd. (ADR) 472,231 23
22,000 * Tech Data Corporation 678,700 33
13,600 Texas Instruments, Inc. 310,080 15
43,000 * Thermo Electron Corporation 933,100 46
27,200 * Titan Corporation 566,848 28
- ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Portfolio of Investments (continued)
FIRST INVESTORS TOTAL RETURN FUND
September 30, 2003
- ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Amount
Invested
Shares or For Each
Principal $10,000 of
Amount Security Value Net Assets
- ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Information Technology (continued)
33,800 * Western Digital Corporation $435,682 $21
9,500 * Xilinx, Inc. 270,845 13
- ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
21,108,924 1,029
- ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Materials--2.1%
18,000 Dow Chemical Company 585,720 29
37,200 Freeport-McMoRan Copper & Gold, Inc. - Class "B" 1,231,320 60
12,200 PPG Industries, Inc. 637,084 31
8,200 Praxair, Inc. 507,990 25
42,700 RPM International, Inc. 557,662 27
14,500 Weyerhaeuser Company 847,525 41
- ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
4,367,301 213
- ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Other--1.1%
24,500 * Nasdaq--100 Index Tracking Stock 794,290 39
15,100 SPDR Trust - Series "1" 1,508,792 73
- ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
2,303,082 112
- ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Telecommunication Services--.7%
38,300 SBC Communications, Inc. 852,175 41
20,600 Verizon Communications, Inc. 668,264 33
- ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
1,520,439 74
- ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Utilities--.7%
20,400 Consolidated Edison, Inc. 831,505 40
10,800 Dominion Resources, Inc. 668,520 33
- ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
1,500,025 73
- ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Total Value of Common Stocks (cost $107,450,107) 124,977,190 6,093
- ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
CORPORATE BONDS--20.0%
Aerospace/Defense--.7%
$500M Boeing Capital Corp., 4.75%, 2008 520,323 25
350M Honeywell International, Inc., 7.5%, 2010 421,467 21
500M Precision Castparts Corp., 8.75%, 2005 535,158 26
- ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
1,476,948 72
- ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
- ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Amount
Invested
For Each
Principal $10,000 of
Amount Security Value Net Assets
- ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Automotive--.4%
$700M DaimlerChrysler NA Holdings Corp., 8%, 2010 $816,797 $40
- ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Energy--.3%
600M Texaco Capital, Inc., 8.25%, 2006 707,722 34
- ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Financial--2.6%
750M CIT Group Holdings, Inc., 7.75%, 2012 891,580 43
750M First Union National Bank, 7.8%, 2010 918,210 45
350M General Electric Capital Corp., 8.5%, 2008 427,690 21
General Motors Acceptance Corp.:
500M 4.5%, 2006 510,976 25
650M 7.75%, 2010 716,227 35
Household Finance Corp.:
750M 6.5%, 2008 852,345 41
170M 7.75%, 2022 181,077 9
885M SLM Corp., 5%, 2015 900,725 44
- ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
5,398,830 263
- ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Financial Services--3.1%
500M Bank of America Corp., 6.5%, 2011 550,063 27
750M Bank One Corp., 7.6%, 2007 862,876 42
500M Bank United Corp., 8%, 2009 598,124 29
1,000M Lincoln National Corp., 6.5%, 2008 1,121,427 55
725M Manufacturers & Traders Trust Co., 8%, 2010 887,146 43
853M National City Bank of Kentucky, 6.3%, 2011 960,063 47
400M PNC Funding Corp., 6.125%, 2009 451,990 22
737M Washington Mutual, Inc., 8.25%, 2010 898,536 44
- ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
6,330,225 309
- ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Food/Beverage/Tobacco--.3%
530M Coca-Cola Enterprises, Inc., 7.125%, 2009 627,834 31
- ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Food/Drug--1.4%
600M Delhaize America, Inc., 8.125%, 2011 663,000 32
1,000M Kroger Co., 7.8%, 2007 1,165,753 57
996M Safeway, Inc., 7%, 2007 1,126,803 55
- ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
2,955,556 144
- ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Portfolio of Investments (continued)
FIRST INVESTORS TOTAL RETURN FUND
September 30, 2003
- ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Amount
Invested
For Each
Principal $10,000 of
Amount Security Value Net Assets
- ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Forest Products/Containers--.4%
$750M International Paper Co., 6.75%, 2011 $847,407 $41
- ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Gaming/Leisure--.4%
750M MGM Mirage, Inc., 8.5%, 2010 847,500 41
- ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Health Care--.5%
800M Wyeth, 6.7%, 2011 915,537 45
- ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Information Technology--.3%
500M International Business Machines Corp., 5.4%, 2009 546,797 27
- ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Manufacturing--.4%
700M Newell Rubbermaid, Inc., 6.75%, 2012 794,707 39
- ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Media - Broadcasting--.7%
705M Comcast Cable Communications, Inc., 8.375%, 2007 826,028 40
500M Cox Enterprises, Inc., 8%, 2007 + 576,700 28
- ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
1,402,728 68
- ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Media - Diversified--.9%
750M AOL Time Warner, Inc., 6.75%, 2011 839,015 41
705M Viacom, Inc., 8.625%, 2012 896,243 44
- ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
1,735,258 85
- ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Metals/Mining--.3%
500M Thiokol Corp., 6.625%, 2008 556,311 27
- ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Real Estate--2.3%
910M AvalonBay Communities, Inc., 6.875%, 2007 (REIT) 1,032,754 50
750M Boston Properties, Inc., 5%, 2015 (REIT) 724,318 35
700M EOP Operating LP, 8.1%, 2010 (REIT) 841,515 41
700M Mack-Cali Realty LP, 7.75%, 2011 (REIT) 827,970 41
350M Simon Property Group, Inc., 7.875%, 2016 (REIT) + 423,514 21
800M Simon Property Group, LP, 7.375%, 2018 (REIT) 944,508 46
- ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
4,794,579 234
- ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Retail - General Merchandise--.7%
500M Federated Department Stores, Inc., 7.45%, 2017 603,319 29
600M Target Corp., 7.5%, 2010 726,572 36
- ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
1,329,891 65
- ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
- ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Amount
Invested
For Each
Principal $10,000 of
Amount Security Value Net Assets
- ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Services--.4%
$750M ERAC USA Finance Enterprise Co., 7.35%, 2008 + $868,943 $42
- ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Telecommunications--.3%
500M Ameritech Capital Funding, 6.45%, 2018 566,216 28
100M SBC Communications, Inc., 6.25%, 2011 111,910 5
- ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
678,126 33
- ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Transportation--1.4%
Burlington Northern Santa Fe Corp.:
1,000M 7.875%, 2007 1,177,639 57
250M 6.75%, 2011 289,685 14
400M Canadian National Railway Co., 6.45%, 2006 441,117 22
Union Pacific Corp.:
200M 7.25%, 2008 232,869 11
600M 7.375%, 2009 708,245 35
- ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
2,849,555 139
- ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Utilities--2.2%
750M Consumers Energy Co., 6.375%, 2008 823,372 40
800M DPL, Inc., 6.875%, 2011 826,280 40
750M Duke Capital Corp., 8%, 2019 842,053 41
750M NiSource Finance Corp., 7.875%, 2010 895,397 44
900M PP&L Capital Funding, Inc., 8.375%, 2007 1,051,142 51
- ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
4,438,244 216
- ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Total Value of Corporate Bonds (cost $37,746,022) 40,919,495 1,995
- ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
MORTGAGE-BACKED CERTIFICATES--10.7%
Fannie Mae--4.1%
3,432M 5.5%, 5/1/2033 3,503,930 171
4,483M 7%, 3/1/2032-8/1/2032 4,789,829 234
- ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
8,293,759 405
- ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Freddie Mac--2.4%
3,717M 5.5%, 3/1/2033-7/1/2033 3,793,945 184
1,086M 6%, 9/1/2032 1,122,121 55
- ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
4,916,066 239
- ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Portfolio of Investments (continued)
FIRST INVESTORS TOTAL RETURN FUND
September 30, 2003
- ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Amount
Invested
Principal For Each
Amount $10,000 of
or Shares Security Value Net Assets
- ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Government National Mortgage Association--4.2%
$6,540M 5.5%, 3/15/2033-8/15/2033 $6,721,211 $327
656M 6.5%, 7/15/2028 689,915 34
1,192M 7%, 10/15/2031-8/15/2032 1,267,603 62
- ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
8,678,729 423
- ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Total Value of Mortgage-Backed Certificates (cost $21,573,778) 21,888,554 1,067
- ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
MUNICIPAL BONDS--2.5%
2,000M Golden State Tobacco Securitization Corp.,
CA Rev. Bonds, 5.5%, 2043 1,930,000 94
2,000M Illinois State General Obligation Bonds, 5.1%, 2033 1,862,500 91
1,500M Tobacco Settlement Financing Corp.,
NJ Rev. Bonds, 6.75%, 2039 1,351,875 66
- ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Total Value of Municipal Bonds (cost $5,345,789) 5,144,375 251
- ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
CONVERTIBLE PREFERRED STOCKS--1.6%
Financials--1.0%
Chubb Corporation:
23,800 7%, 2005 - Series "A" 658,070 32
7,900 7%, 2006 - Series "B" 219,225 11
22,100 Hartford Financial Services Group, Inc.,
6%, 2006 - Class "A" 1,195,831 58
- ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
2,073,126 101
- ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Telecommunication Services--.6%
24,500 ALLTEL Corporation, 7.75%, 2005 1,197,805 58
- ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Total Value of Convertible Preferred Stocks (cost $2,973,216) 3,270,931 159
- ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
PASS THROUGH CERTIFICATES--.5%
Transportation
$760M Continental Airlines, Inc., 8.388%, 2020 564,315 28
658M NWA Trust, 10.23%, 2012 523,085 25
- ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Total Value of Pass Through Certificates (cost $1,467,746) 1,087,400 53
- ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
- ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Amount
Invested
For Each
Principal $10,000 of
Amount Security Value Net Assets
- ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
SHORT-TERM CORPORATE NOTES--2.6%
ChevronTexaco Corp.:
$3,600M 1.02%, 10/6/03 $3,599,490 $175
1,000M 1.01%, 10/7/03 999,832 49
800M General Electric Capital Corp., 1.02%, 10/2/03 799,977 39
- ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Total Value of Short-Term Corporate Notes (cost $5,399,299) 5,399,299 263
- ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Total Value of Investments (cost $181,955,957) 98.8% 202,687,244 9,881
Other Assets, Less Liabilities 1.2 2,446,329 119
- ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Net Assets 100.0% $205,133,573 $10,000
======================================================================================================================
* Non-income producing
+ See Note 6
See notes to financial statements
Portfolio Manager's Letter
FIRST INVESTORS VALUE FUND
Dear Investor:
This is the annual report for the First Investors Value Fund for the fiscal
year ended September 30, 2003. During the period, the Fund's return on a
net asset value basis was 19.0% for Class A shares and 18.3% for Class B
shares, including dividends of 8 cents per share on Class A shares and 4
cents per share on Class B shares.
The Fund's performance was driven by the improving economy, the rise in the
equity market and sector allocation. The Regional Bell Operating Companies
(RBOCs) were the leading performers in the Fund as they rebounded from
extremely depressed levels. McDonald's, the Fund's largest holding, also
aided performance. In addition, the Fund's holdings in financial companies
that do business in the capital markets and investment management industry
performed well.
The Fund underperformed relative to the S&P 500 Index for three primary
reasons. First, the Fund was overweight in utilities, as the result of its
transition from a utilities fund to a value fund on December 31, 2002.
Although the utilities sector posted solid results, it did not perform as
well as the overall S&P 500. In addition, the transition to a value fund
resulted in the sale of some utilities stocks when prices were depressed.
Second, the Fund's strategy of investing in undervalued stocks caused it to
be underweight the speculative and momentum-driven technology sector, which
was the top performing segment of the S&P 500. Finally, the transition to a
value fund resulted in an above normal cash position, which held back
results.
Thank you for placing your trust in First Investors. As always, we
appreciate the opportunity to serve your investment needs.
Sincerely,
/S/ MATTHEW S. WRIGHT
Matthew S. Wright
Portfolio Manager
October 31, 2003
Cumulative Performance Information
FIRST INVESTORS VALUE FUND
Comparison of change in value of $10,000 investment in the First Investors
Value Fund (Class A shares), the Standard & Poor's 500 Index and the
Standard & Poor's 500 Utilities Index.+
VALUE CLASS A
GRAPH PLOTS
As of September 30, 2003
VALUE S & P S & P 500
FUND 500 UTILITIES
OCT 93 $ 9,425 $10,000 $10,000
OCT 94 8,375 10,387 8,306
OCT 95 10,163 13,134 10,783
OCT 96 11,428 16,298 11,877
OCT 97 12,898 21,532 13,055
SEP 98 14,967 24,292 16,841
SEP 99 16,761 31,045 16,631
SEP 00 19,708 35,169 24,046
SEP 01 14,747 25,807 18,071
SEP 02 10,890 20,519 15,736
SEP 03 12,964 25,526 19,302
(INSET BOX IN CHART READS:)
Average Annual Total Returns*
Class A Shares N.A.V. Only S.E.C. Standardized
One Year 19.04% 12.20%
Five Years (2.83%) (3.97%)
Ten Years 3.28% 2.66%
Class B Shares
One Year 18.26% 14.26%
Five Years (3.52%) (3.91%)
Since Inception
(1/12/95) 4.39% 4.39%
The graph compares a $10,000 investment in the First Investors Value Fund
(Class A shares) beginning 10/31/93 with theoretical investments in the
Standard & Poor's 500 Index and the Standard & Poor's 500 Utilities Index
(the "Indices"). The Standard & Poor's 500 Index is an unmanaged
capitalization-weighted index of 500 stocks designed to measure performance
of the broad domestic economy through changes in the aggregate market value
of such stocks, which represent all major industries. The Standard & Poor's
500 Utilities Index is a capitalization-weighted index of 36 stocks
designed to measure the performance of the utility sector of the Standard &
Poor's 500 Index. It is not possible to invest directly in these Indices.
In addition, the Indices do not take into account fees and expenses that an
investor would incur in purchasing securities in these Indices. For
purposes of the graph and the accompanying table, unless otherwise
indicated, it has been assumed that the maximum sales charge was deducted
from the initial $10,000 investment in the Fund and all dividends and
distributions were reinvested. Class B shares performance may be greater
than or less than that shown in the line graph above for Class A shares
based on differences in sales loads and fees paid by shareholders investing
in the different classes.
* Average Annual Total Return figures (for the periods ended 9/30/03)
include the reinvestment of all dividends and distributions. "N.A.V. Only"
returns are calculated without sales charges. The Class A "S.E.C.
Standardized" returns shown are based on the maximum sales charge of 5.75%
(prior to 6/17/02 the maximum sales charge was 6.25%). The Class B "S.E.C.
Standardized" returns are adjusted for the applicable deferred sales charge
(maximum of 4% in the first year). During certain of the periods shown,
some of the expenses of the Fund were waived or assumed. If such expenses
had been paid by the Fund, the Class A "S.E.C. Standardized" Average Annual
Total Return for Ten Years would have been 2.42%. The Class B "S.E.C.
Standardized" Average Annual Total Return Since Inception would have been
4.22%. Results represent past performance and do not indicate future
results. Investment return and principal value of an investment will
fluctuate so that an investor's shares, when redeemed, may be worth more or
less than the original cost. Standard & Poor's 500 Index and Standard &
Poor's 500 Utilities Index figures are from Standard & Poor's and all other
figures are from First Investors Management Company, Inc.
+ Prior to 12/31/02, the Fund invested primarily in securities issued by
companies in the utilities industry. Accordingly after this fiscal
year-end, we will not show a comparison to the Standard & Poor's 500
Utilities Index.
Portfolio of Investments
FIRST INVESTORS VALUE FUND
September 30, 2003
- ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Amount
Invested
For Each
$10,000 of
Shares Security Value Net Assets
- ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
COMMON STOCKS--88.9%
Consumer Discretionary--13.3%
45,800 Genuine Parts Company $1,464,684 $101
33,600 Home Depot, Inc. 1,070,160 74
82,300 J.C. Penney Company, Inc. (Holding Company) 1,758,751 122
11,800 Jones Apparel Group, Inc. 353,174 24
36,100 Lee Enterprises, Inc. 1,395,987 97
50,100 Leggett & Platt, Inc. 1,083,663 75
16,100 Liberty Corporation 675,395 47
96,600 Limited Brands 1,456,728 101
21,100 Magna International, Inc. - Class "A" 1,522,365 105
60,100 May Department Stores Company 1,480,263 102
100,600 McDonald's Corporation 2,368,124 164
82,100 Natuzzi SpA (ADR) 837,420 58
14,800 OshKosh B'Gosh, Inc. - Class "A" 380,656 26
143,400 Pearson PLC (ADR) 1,372,338 95
21,800 Tupperware Corporation 291,684 20
86,400 Walt Disney Company 1,742,688 120
- ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
19,254,080 1,331
- ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Consumer Staples--9.2%
18,600 Brown-Forman Corporation - Class "B" 1,471,632 102
30,600 Coca-Cola Company 1,314,576 91
65,800 ConAgra Foods, Inc. 1,397,592 96
15,541 * Del Monte Foods Company 135,362 9
40,700 Diageo PLC (ADR) 1,796,905 124
39,200 H.J. Heinz Company 1,343,776 93
32,100 Kimberly-Clark Corporation 1,647,372 114
36,400 Lance, Inc. 361,816 25
71,900 Ruddick Corporation 1,117,326 77
38,500 Sara Lee Corporation 706,860 49
58,200 Tasty Baking Company 578,508 40
41,400 UST, Inc. 1,456,452 101
- ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
13,328,177 921
- ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Energy--9.6%
16,300 Anadarko Petroleum Corporation 680,688 47
38,500 BP PLC (ADR) 1,620,850 112
18,200 ChevronTexaco Corporation 1,300,390 90
27,600 ConocoPhillips 1,511,100 104
69,400 Diamond Offshore Drilling, Inc. 1,325,540 92
- ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
- -----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Amount
Invested
For Each
$10,000 of
Shares Security Value Net Assets
- -----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Energy (continued)
15,800 EOG Resources, Inc. $659,492 $45
16,100 Kerr-McGee Corporation 718,704 50
56,200 Marathon Oil Corporation 1,601,700 111
34,900 Royal Dutch Petroleum Company - NY Shares (ADR) 1,542,580 107
52,600 Tidewater, Inc. 1,488,580 103
46,900 Unocal Corporation 1,478,288 102
- ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
13,927,912 963
- ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Financials--20.7%
29,000 A.G. Edwards, Inc. 1,113,890 77
11,100 ACE, Ltd. 367,188 25
46,600 Allstate Corporation 1,702,298 118
62,400 AmSouth Bancorporation 1,324,128 92
18,300 Amvescap PLC (ADR) 277,977 19
52,400 Banknorth Group, Inc. 1,478,728 102
60,400 Brascan Corporation - Class "A" 1,522,684 105
35,100 Cincinnati Financial Corporation 1,402,596 97
23,000 Comerica, Inc. 1,071,800 74
34,200 Erie Indemnity Company - Class "A" 1,330,380 92
30,300 FBL Financial Group, Inc. - Class "A" 746,592 52
45,800 FleetBoston Financial Corporation 1,380,870 96
30,600 Jefferson-Pilot Corporation 1,358,028 94
51,400 KeyCorp 1,314,298 91
38,500 Koger Equity, Inc. 723,800 50
39,400 Lincoln National Corporation 1,393,972 96
31,900 Morgan Stanley 1,609,674 111
18,200 One Liberty Properties, Inc. 337,610 23
50,900 Plum Creek Timber Company, Inc. (REIT) 1,294,896 90
26,200 PNC Financial Services Group 1,246,596 86
40,300 Protective Life Corporation 1,202,955 83
60,300 Sky Financial Group, Inc. 1,357,353 94
21,200 SunTrust Banks, Inc. 1,279,844 88
42,900 T. Rowe Price Group, Inc. 1,770,054 122
25,400 Wells Fargo & Company 1,308,100 90
- ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
29,916,311 2,067
- ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Health Care--6.3%
31,200 Abbott Laboratories 1,327,560 92
17,600 Amersham PLC (ADR) 787,600 54
33,400 GlaxoSmithKline PLC (ADR) 1,416,160 98
- ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Portfolio of Investments (continued)
FIRST INVESTORS VALUE FUND
September 30, 2003
- -----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Amount
Invested
For Each
$10,000 of
Shares Security Value Net Assets
- -----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Health Care (continued)
29,700 Johnson & Johnson $1,470,744 $102
28,900 Merck & Company, Inc. 1,462,918 101
53,000 Pfizer, Inc. 1,610,140 111
68,100 Schering-Plough Corporation 1,037,844 72
- ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
9,112,966 630
- ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Industrials--9.2%
2,600 Alexander & Baldwin, Inc. 73,008 5
29,800 ALLETE, Inc. 815,924 56
29,800 Baldor Electric Company 629,078 43
24,200 CNF, Inc. 775,610 54
33,500 Dover Corporation 1,184,895 82
35,600 Federal Signal Corporation 530,440 37
20,300 General Dynamics Corporation 1,584,618 110
28,600 Harsco Corporation 1,100,242 76
52,400 Honeywell International, Inc. 1,380,740 95
63,200 Masco Corporation 1,547,135 107
71,800 Pall Corporation 1,611,192 111
36,300 Pitney Bowes, Inc. 1,391,016 96
14,500 Teleflex, Inc. 629,735 44
- ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
13,253,633 916
- ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Information Technology--4.3%
38,500 Automatic Data Processing, Inc. 1,380,225 95
63,900 AVX Corporation 874,791 60
16,900 Bel Fuse, Inc. - Class "B" 446,498 31
73,000 Hewlett-Packard Company 1,413,280 98
60,900 Methode Electronics, Inc. - Class "A" 719,229 50
57,700 Motorola, Inc. 690,669 48
20,400 Paychex, Inc. 692,172 48
- ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
6,216,864 430
- ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Materials--5.6%
35,600 Air Products & Chemicals, Inc. 1,605,560 111
58,800 Alcoa, Inc. 1,538,208 106
38,700 Du Pont (E.I.) de Nemours & Company 1,548,387 107
53,200 Glatfelter 626,696 43
35,600 Great Lakes Chemical Corporation 715,916 50
- ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
- -----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Amount
Invested
For Each
$10,000 of
Shares Security Value Net Assets
- -----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Materials (continued)
62,900 Sonoco Products Company $1,380,655 $96
18,200 Vulcan Materials Company 726,362 50
- ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
8,141,784 563
- ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Other--1.6%
9,600 Regional Bank HOLDRs Trust 1,085,472 75
13,000 SPDR Trust - Series "1" 1,298,960 89
- ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
2,384,432 164
- ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Telecommunication Services--4.1%
53,000 BellSouth Corporation 1,255,040 87
28,500 CT Communications, Inc. 322,050 22
22,000 D&E Communications, Inc. 311,960 21
35,000 Nippon Telegraph and Telephone Corporation (ADR) 792,400 55
49,400 SBC Communications, Inc. 1,099,150 76
17,400 Telephone & Data Systems, Inc. 983,796 68
33,828 Verizon Communications, Inc. 1,097,380 76
- ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
5,861,776 405
- ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Utilities--5.0%
34,550 American States Water Company 814,344 56
16,600 Equitable Resources, Inc. 682,260 47
34,800 KeySpan Corporation 1,220,784 84
61,600 NiSource, Inc. 1,230,768 85
35,500 ONEOK, Inc. 716,035 49
12,100 South Jersey Industries, Inc. 457,985 32
45,200 Southwest Gas Corporation 1,026,040 71
32,700 Vectren Corporation 772,374 53
12,700 Wisconsin Energy Corporation 388,239 27
- ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
7,308,829 504
- ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Total Value of Common Stocks (cost $116,307,158) 128,706,764 8,894
- ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
CONVERTIBLE PREFERRED STOCKS--2.3%
Financials--1.0%
49,200 Chubb Corporation, 7%, 2005 - Series "A" 1,360,380 95
- ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Health Care--.5%
8,100 Anthem, Inc., 6%, 2004 687,650 48
- ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Portfolio of Investments (continued)
FIRST INVESTORS VALUE FUND
September 30, 2003
- -----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Amount
Invested
Shares or For Each
Principal $10,000 of
Amount Security Value Net Assets
- -----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Industrials--.4%
6,300 Northrop Grumman Corporation, 7.25%, 2004 $616,140 $42
- ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Telecommunication Services--.4%
12,400 ALLTEL Corporation, 7.75%, 2005 606,236 42
- ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Total Value of Convertible Preferred Stocks (cost $3,026,417) 3,270,406 227
- ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
CORPORATE BONDS--.7%
Telecommunications--.3%
$500M BellSouth Corp., 6.375%, 2004 517,885 35
- ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Utilities--.4%
500M Union Electric Co., 6.75%, 2008 571,632 40
- ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Total Value of Corporate Bonds (cost $998,772) 1,089,517 75
- ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
PREFERRED STOCKS--.7%
Telecommunication Services--.4%
20,300 Verizon South, Inc., 7%, 2041 - Series "F" 538,153 37
- ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Utilities--.3%
18,300 Entergy Louisiana, Inc., 7.6%, 2032 485,865 34
- ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Total Value of Preferred Stocks (cost $960,920) 1,024,018 71
- ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
SHORT-TERM U.S. GOVERNMENT AGENCY
OBLIGATIONS--6.4%
$9,200M Federal Home Loan Bank, 1%, 10/10/03
(cost $9,197,699) 9,197,699 636
- ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
SHORT-TERM CORPORATE NOTES--.7%
1,000M General Electric Capital Corp., 1.02%, 10/2/03
(cost $999,972) 999,972 69
- ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Total Value of Investments (cost $131,490,938) 99.7% 144,288,376 9,972
Other Assets, Less Liabilities .3 405,876 28
- ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Net Assets 100.0% $144,694,252 $10,000
======================================================================================================================
* Non-income producing
See notes to financial statements
Portfolio Manager's Letter
FIRST INVESTORS BLUE CHIP FUND
Dear Investor:
This is the annual report for the First Investors Blue Chip Fund for the
fiscal year ended September 30, 2003. During the period, the Fund's return
on a net asset value basis was 17.7% for Class A shares and 16.9% for Class
B shares.
The Fund's performance was largely driven by improving economic conditions,
solid performance of large-cap stocks and sector allocation decisions.
While the equity markets continued to face difficult macroeconomic news
during the first half of the period, the prices of stocks climbed on the
belief that an economic rebound was imminent. The overall return in the S&P
500 was driven by many of the more speculative stocks in the index.
The Fund's absolute performance was good, although relatively weaker than
the return generated by the S&P 500. There were three reasons for relative
underperformance. The first was a substantial overweight in two poorly
performing health care facilities stocks, Tenet Healthcare and HCA, Inc.
The second was the disappointing performance of some of the Fund's
industrials sector holdings, such as Lockheed Martin and Northrop Grumman.
Finally, the Fund was hurt by what it did not own-- high "beta,"
speculative technology stocks that generated outsized returns, despite
little fundamental earnings support.
The Fund was generally weighted in-line to slightly underweight in the
financials sector. Our concerns about credit quality and accounting issues
kept us in a more cautious stance in the first half of the period. However,
the weighting was offset by solid performance in some selectively
overweighted stocks. For the period, J.P. Morgan and Morgan Stanley, two
stocks in which the Fund was slightly overweighted were up solidly.
However, there were a number of stocks in the financials sector that did
not perform as well and held back the Fund's overall performance. American
International Group, the world's largest insurance company and a long-term,
core holding in the Fund, was only up modestly for the period. The mortgage
company Freddie Mac, also a long-term holding in the Fund, was down
slightly for the period. Based on our concerns regarding an accounting
restatement, Freddie Mac was sold out of the portfolio.
The Fund's relative performance began to improve in the latter half of the
reporting period as we began to shift to an overweight position in the
technology sector. In light of valuations and the uncertainty that has
existed in the equity markets over the past three years, we felt it was
better to wait for more confirmation of an economic recovery before
committing to a technology overweight relative to the S&P 500.
Portfolio Manager's Letter (continued)
FIRST INVESTORS BLUE CHIP FUND
Thank you for placing your trust in First Investors. As always, we
appreciate the opportunity to serve your investment needs.
Sincerely,
/S/ DENNIS T. FITZPATRICK
Dennis T. Fitzpatrick
Vice President
and Portfolio Manager
October 31, 2003
Cumulative Performance Information
FIRST INVESTORS BLUE CHIP FUND
Comparison of change in value of $10,000 investment in the First Investors
Blue Chip Fund (Class A shares) and the Standard & Poor's 500 Index.
BLUE CHIP
GRAPH PLOTS
As of September 30, 2003
BLUE CHIP S & P 500
DEC 93 $ 9,425 $10,000
DEC 94 9,140 10,132
DEC 95 12,249 13,940
DEC 96 14,767 17,140
DEC 97 18,614 22,859
SEP 98 18,326 24,238
SEP 99 22,886 30,976
SEP 00 27,804 35,091
SEP 01 19,218 25,750
SEP 02 14,619 20,474
SEP 03 17,210 25,469
(INSET BOX IN CHART READS:)
Average Annual Total Returns*
Class A Shares N.A.V. Only S.E.C. Standardized
One Year 17.72% 10.94%
Five Years (1.25%) (2.41%)
Ten Years 6.31% 5.68%
Class B Shares
One Year 16.90% 12.90%
Five Years (1.93%) (2.33%)
Since Inception
(1/12/95) 6.43% 6.43%
The graph compares a $10,000 investment in the First Investors Blue Chip
Fund (Class A shares) beginning 12/31/93 with a theoretical investment in
the Standard & Poor's 500 Index (the "Index"). The Index is an unmanaged
capitalization-weighted index of 500 stocks designed to measure performance
of the broad domestic economy through changes in the aggregate market value
of such stocks, which represent all major industries. It is not possible to
invest directly in this Index. In addition, the Index does not take into
account fees and expenses that an investor would incur in purchasing
securities in the Index. For purposes of the graph and the accompanying
table, unless otherwise indicated, it has been assumed that the maximum
sales charge was deducted from the initial $10,000 investment in the Fund
and all dividends and distributions were reinvested. Class B shares
performance may be greater than or less than that shown in the line graph
above for Class A shares based on differences in sales loads and fees paid
by shareholders investing in the different classes.
* Average Annual Total Return figures (for the periods ended 9/30/03)
include the reinvestment of all dividends and distributions. "N.A.V. Only"
returns are calculated without sales charges. The Class A "S.E.C.
Standardized" returns shown are based on the maximum sales charge of 5.75%
(prior to 6/17/02, the maximum sales charge was 6.25%). The Class B "S.E.C.
Standardized" returns are adjusted for the applicable deferred sales charge
(maximum of 4% in the first year). During the periods shown, some of the
expenses of the Fund were waived or assumed. If such expenses had been paid
by the Fund, the Class A "S.E.C. Standardized" Average Annual Total Return
for One Year, Five Years and Ten Years would have been 10.82%, (2.52%) and
5.49%, respectively. The Class B "S.E.C. Standardized" Average Annual Total
Return for One Year, Five Years and Since Inception would have been 12.78%,
(2.44%) and 6.26%, respectively. Results represent past performance and do
not indicate future results. Investment return and principal value of an
investment will fluctuate so that an investor's shares, when redeemed, may
be worth more or less than the original cost. Standard & Poor's 500 Index
figures are from Standard & Poor's and all other figures are from First
Investors Management Company, Inc.
Portfolio of Investments
FIRST INVESTORS BLUE CHIP FUND
September 30, 2003
- ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Amount
Invested
For Each
$10,000 of
Shares Security Value Net Assets
- ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
COMMON STOCKS--98.0%
Consumer Discretionary--13.7%
29,500 * American Axle & Manufacturing Holdings, Inc. $872,610 $20
193,100 * AOL Time Warner, Inc. 2,917,741 66
31,700 * Bed Bath & Beyond, Inc. 1,210,306 27
30,100 * Best Buy Company, Inc. 1,430,352 32
192,500 * Cendant Corporation 3,597,825 81
51,400 Clear Channel Communications, Inc. 1,968,620 44
32,300 Colgate-Palmolive Company 1,805,247 41
86,496 * Comcast Corporation - Class "A" 2,670,996 60
52,600 * Comcast Corporation - Special Class "A" 1,553,804 35
41,700 * Costco Wholesale Corporation 1,296,036 29
40,400 D.R. Horton, Inc. 1,321,080 30
25,700 Dollar General Corporation 514,000 12
22,700 E.W. Scripps Company - Class "A" 1,931,770 43
17,600 * eBay, Inc. 938,080 21
19,800 Gannett Company, Inc. 1,535,688 34
110,200 Gap, Inc. 1,886,624 42
51,300 Gillette Company 1,640,574 37
48,500 GTECH Holdings Corporation 2,078,225 47
29,400 Harley-Davidson, Inc. 1,417,080 32
136,300 Home Depot, Inc. 4,341,155 97
29,200 Honda Motor Company, Ltd. 588,672 13
20,600 * InterActiveCorp 680,830 15
18,400 * Kohl's Corporation 984,400 22
17,300 * Lear Corporation 910,672 20
127,900 * Liberty Media Corporation - Class "A" 1,275,163 29
45,400 Lowe's Companies, Inc. 2,356,260 53
46,100 Mattel, Inc. 874,056 20
79,500 McDonald's Corporation 1,871,430 42
21,300 Omnicom Group, Inc. 1,530,405 34
38,700 Reebok International, Ltd. 1,293,741 29
38,900 * Staples, Inc. 923,875 21
75,000 Target Corporation 2,822,250 63
52,500 TJX Companies, Inc. 1,019,550 23
110,600 * Viacom, Inc. - Class "B" 4,235,980 95
132,200 Walt Disney Company 2,666,474 60
- ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
60,961,571 1,369
- ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
- ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Amount
Invested
For Each
$10,000 of
Shares Security Value Net Assets
- ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Consumer Staples--9.1%
73,500 Altria Group, Inc. $3,219,300 $72
46,100 Anheuser-Busch Companies, Inc. 2,274,574 51
92,300 Coca-Cola Company 3,965,208 89
110,100 CVS Corporation 3,419,706 77
29,350 * Dean Foods Company 910,731 20
13,200 Hershey Foods Corporation 959,376 22
23,000 Kellogg Company 767,050 17
38,000 Kimberly-Clark Corporation 1,950,160 44
73,500 * Kroger Company 1,313,445 30
108,300 PepsiCo, Inc. 4,963,389 111
71,600 Procter & Gamble Company 6,645,912 149
71,900 Sara Lee Corporation 1,320,084 30
156,500 Wal-Mart Stores, Inc. 8,740,525 196
- ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
40,449,460 908
- ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Energy--5.7%
27,500 Apache Corporation 1,906,850 43
47,600 ChevronTexaco Corporation 3,401,020 76
50,877 ConocoPhillips 2,785,516 63
25,000 EOG Resources, Inc. 1,043,500 23
258,200 ExxonMobil Corporation 9,450,120 212
77,600 Halliburton Company 1,881,800 42
35,000 Occidental Petroleum Corporation 1,233,050 28
38,400 Schlumberger, Ltd. 1,858,560 42
98,500 * Transocean, Inc. 1,970,000 44
- ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
25,530,416 573
- ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Financials--19.6%
137,800 ACE, Ltd. 4,558,424 102
35,000 American Capital Strategies, Ltd. 870,100 20
88,800 American Express Company 4,001,328 90
116,700 American International Group, Inc. 6,733,590 151
82,900 Bank of America Corporation 6,469,516 145
44,400 Bank of New York Company, Inc. 1,292,484 29
65,600 Bank One Corporation 2,535,440 57
26,300 BB&T Corporation 944,433 21
750 * Berkshire Hathaway, Inc. - Class "B" 1,872,000 42
29,600 Capital One Financial Corporation 1,688,384 38
39,400 Chubb Corporation 2,556,272 58
272,400 Citigroup, Inc. 12,396,924 278
- ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Portfolio of Investments (continued)
FIRST INVESTORS BLUE CHIP FUND
September 30, 2003
- ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Amount
Invested
For Each
$10,000 of
Shares Security Value Net Assets
- ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Financials (continued)
79,700 Fannie Mae $5,594,940 $126
47,700 FleetBoston Financial Corporation 1,438,155 32
23,900 Goldman Sachs Group, Inc. 2,005,210 45
97,500 J.P. Morgan Chase & Company 3,347,175 75
40,400 Marsh & McLennan Companies, Inc. 1,923,444 43
84,200 MBNA Corporation 1,919,760 43
44,500 Mellon Financial Corporation 1,341,230 30
62,300 Merrill Lynch & Company, Inc. 3,334,919 75
52,300 Morgan Stanley 2,639,058 59
159,300 U.S. Bancorp 3,821,607 86
297,000 UnumProvident Corporation 4,386,690 99
54,700 Wachovia Corporation 2,253,093 51
68,300 Washington Mutual, Inc. 2,688,971 60
92,000 Wells Fargo & Company 4,738,000 106
- ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
87,351,147 1,961
- ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Health Care--14.8%
68,400 Abbott Laboratories 2,910,420 65
84,800 * Amgen, Inc. 5,475,536 123
26,500 AstraZeneca PLC (ADR) 1,150,100 26
47,900 * Barr Laboratories, Inc. 3,267,259 73
51,500 * Boston Scientific Corporation 3,285,700 74
40,300 Cardinal Health, Inc. 2,353,117 53
76,500 Eli Lilly & Company 4,544,100 102
20,400 * Forest Laboratories, Inc. 1,049,580 24
11,000 * Genetech, Inc. 881,540 20
6,400 Gilead Sciences, Inc. 357,952 8
140,300 Johnson & Johnson 6,947,656 156
55,100 McKesson Corporation 1,834,279 41
94,400 Medtronic, Inc. 4,429,248 100
73,500 Merck & Company, Inc. 3,720,570 84
413,160 Pfizer, Inc. 12,551,801 282
73,500 * Province Healthcare Company 951,825 21
22,800 Teva Pharmaceutical Industries, Ltd. (ADR) 1,303,020 29
86,200 UnitedHealth Group, Inc. 4,337,584 97
97,000 Wyeth 4,471,700 100
- ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
65,822,987 1,478
- ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
- ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Amount
Invested
For Each
$10,000 of
Shares Security Value Net Assets
- ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Industrials--9.5%
48,600 3M Company $3,356,802 $75
40,400 Boeing Company 1,386,932 31
34,900 Caterpillar, Inc. 2,402,516 54
37,300 Danaher Corporation 2,754,978 62
26,900 Emerson Electric Company 1,416,285 32
14,600 FedEx Corporation 940,678 21
389,400 General Electric Company 11,608,014 261
40,300 Honeywell International, Inc. 1,061,905 24
39,700 ITT Industries, Inc. 2,375,648 53
58,500 * Jabil Circuit, Inc. 1,523,925 34
89,600 Masco Corporation 2,193,408 49
13,400 Northrop Grumman Corporation 1,155,348 26
26,900 Southwest Airlines Company 476,130 11
85,500 Tyco International, Ltd. 1,746,765 39
31,900 Union Pacific Corporation 1,855,623 42
27,100 United Parcel Service, Inc. - Class "B" 1,728,980 39
42,200 United Technologies Corporation 3,261,216 73
40,100 Waste Management, Inc. 1,049,417 24
- ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
42,294,570 950
- ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Information Technology--18.9%
36,700 * Amdocs, Ltd. 689,960 15
33,900 * AMIS Holdings, Inc. 625,794 14
47,200 * Analog Devices, Inc. 1,794,544 40
129,400 * Applied Materials, Inc. 2,347,316 53
209,400 * Applied Micro Circuits Corporation 1,019,778 23
34,700 Automatic Data Processing, Inc. 1,243,995 28
420,600 * Cisco Systems, Inc. 8,218,524 185
67,300 * Comverse Technology, Inc. 1,006,808 23
141,100 * Dell, Inc. 4,711,329 106
128,500 * EMC Corporation 1,622,955 37
71,000 First Data Corporation 2,837,160 64
154,200 Hewlett-Packard Company 2,985,312 67
377,100 Intel Corporation 10,374,021 233
70,000 International Business Machines Corporation 6,183,100 139
18,400 * Intuit, Inc. 887,616 20
14,700 * Lexmark International Group, Inc. 926,247 21
41,900 Lockheed Martin Corporation 1,933,685 43
25,700 * Marvell Technology Group, Ltd. 970,175 22
15,200 Maxim Integrated Products, Inc. 600,400 13
- ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Portfolio of Investments (continued)
FIRST INVESTORS BLUE CHIP FUND
September 30, 2003
- ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Amount
Invested
For Each
$10,000 of
Shares Security Value Net Assets
- ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Information Technology (continued)
22,000 * Mercury Interactive Corporation $999,020 $22
554,800 Microsoft Corporation 15,417,892 346
73,300 Motorola, Inc. 877,401 20
18,400 Nam Tai Electronics, Inc. 499,192 11
175,600 Nokia Corporation - Class "A" (ADR) 2,739,360 62
202,100 * Nortel Networks Corporation 828,610 19
242,300 * Oracle Corporation 2,718,606 61
42,600 QUALCOMM, Inc. 1,773,864 40
22,000 * Symantec Corporation 1,386,440 31
112,552 * Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co., Ltd. (ADR) 1,218,938 27
100,200 Texas Instruments, Inc. 2,284,560 51
34,500 * Veritas Software Corporation 1,083,300 24
117,400 * Western Digital Corporation 1,513,286 34
- ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
84,319,188 1,894
- ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Materials--2.7%
56,600 Alcoa, Inc. 1,480,656 33
147,000 Coeur d'Alene Mines Corporation 457,170 10
33,000 Dow Chemical Company 1,073,820 24
48,300 Du Pont (E.I.) de Nemours & Company 1,932,483 44
36,700 International Flavors & Fragrances, Inc. 1,214,036 27
35,800 International Paper Company 1,396,916 32
66,100 Newmont Mining Corporation 2,583,849 58
8,600 PPG Industries, Inc. 449,092 10
20,300 Praxair, Inc. 1,257,585 28
- ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
11,845,607 266
- ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Telecommunication Services--2.4%
31,200 AT&T Corporation 672,360 15
63,900 BellSouth Corporation 1,513,152 34
80,800 * Nextel Communications, Inc. - Class "A" 1,590,952 36
110,600 SBC Communications, Inc. 2,460,850 55
101,400 Verizon Communications, Inc. 3,289,416 74
65,900 Vodafone Group PLC (ADR) 1,334,475 30
- ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
10,861,205 244
- ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
- ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Amount
Invested
Shares or For Each
Principal $10,000 of
Amount Security Value Net Assets
- ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Utilities--1.6%
25,700 Dominion Resources, Inc. $1,590,830 $36
29,000 Entergy Corporation 1,570,350 35
44,000 Exelon Corporation 2,794,000 63
50,300 ONEOK, Inc. 1,014,550 23
- ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
6,969,730 157
- ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Total Value of Common Stocks (cost $362,592,843) 436,405,881 9,800
- ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
SHORT-TERM CORPORATE NOTES--1.3%
ChevronTexaco Corp.:
$2,600M 1.02%, 10/6/03 2,599,632 58
3,200M 1.01%, 10/7/03 3,199,461 72
- ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Total Value of Short-Term Corporate Notes (cost $5,799,093) 5,799,093 130
- ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Total Value of Investments (cost $368,391,936) 99.3% 442,204,974 9,930
Other Assets, Less Liabilities .7 3,138,557 70
- ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Net Assets 100.0% $445,343,531 $10,000
======================================================================================================================
* Non-income producing
See notes to financial statements
Portfolio Manager's Letter
FIRST INVESTORS GROWTH & INCOME FUND
Dear Investor:
This is the annual report for the First Investors Growth & Income Fund for
the fiscal year ended September 30, 2003. During the period, the Fund's
return on a net asset value basis was 21.5% for Class A shares and 20.6%
for Class B shares, including dividends of 4 cents per share on Class A
shares.
The Fund's performance was driven largely by the improving economy, the
rise in the equity market and sector allocation. Fund performance on an
absolute basis was attributable to investments in two key sectors,
technology and financials, as more than half of the Fund's overall
performance came from these two areas. In addition, the Fund's multi-cap
strategy aided performance, as mid- and small-cap stocks outperformed their
larger counterparts. Solid stock selection in the technology and materials
sectors, and an overweight position in the consumer discretionary sector
also helped performance.
The Fund remained relatively conservatively positioned during a period of
renewed investor enthusiasm and increased tolerance for risk. This hurt
performance relative to the S&P 500. In stock selection, the Fund eschewed
the temptation to participate in the speculative-driven rally of lower
quality stocks. Instead, the Fund continued to rely on a strategy of
focusing on higher quality companies with strong earnings, solid growth and
free cash flow. We also proactively took profits in areas of investor
exuberance and redeployed monies into stable, solid growing companies with
excess cash flow that can be used in a number of shareholder enhancing ways
such as increased dividend flow, stock repurchases or accretive
acquisitions. We remained valuation sensitive, refusing to overpay for
faster growth.
The Fund's best overall contributing sector was technology, which benefited
from an improved economic outlook and better earnings news as investors bid
up prices in anticipation of a cyclical upturn. Within the financials
sector, key contributors were firms with capital markets exposure
benefiting from a return to positive markets. In the consumer discretionary
sector, shares of restaurants, leisure and retailing were strong
performers. Key performers in the industrials segment were capital goods
firms and specialty niche providers of goods and services. Stocks of
medical device and pharmaceutical firms posted strong results within the
health care sector.
Thank you for placing your trust in First Investors. As always, we
appreciate the opportunity to serve your investment needs.
Sincerely,
/S/ EDWIN D. MISKA
Edwin D. Miska
Director of Equities
and Portfolio Manager
October 31, 2003
Cumulative Performance Information
FIRST INVESTORS GROWTH & INCOME FUND
Comparison of change in value of $10,000 investment in the First Investors
Growth & Income Fund (Class A shares) and the Standard & Poor's 500 Index.
GROWTH & INCOME FUND - CLASS A
GRAPH PLOTS
As of September 30, 2003
GROWTH &
INCOME FUND S & P 500
OCT 93 $ 9,425 $10,000
OCT 94 9,733 10,387
OCT 95 11,647 13,134
OCT 96 14,170 16,298
OCT 97 17,883 21,532
SEP 98 18,899 24,292
SEP 99 24,052 31,045
SEP 00 29,219 35,169
SEP 01 21,630 25,807
SEP 02 17,204 20,519
SEP 03 20,902 25,526
(INSET BOX IN CHART READS:)
Average Annual Total Returns*
Class A shares N.A.V. Only S.E.C. Standardized
One Year 21.49% 14.49%
Five Years 1.44% 0.24%
Since Inception
(10/4/93) 8.35% 7.71%
Class B shares
One Year 20.56% 16.56%
Five Years 0.70% 0.31%
Since Inception
(1/12/95) 8.49% 8.49%
The graph compares a $10,000 investment in the First Investors Growth &
Income Fund (Class A shares) beginning 10/4/93 (inception date) with a
theoretical investment in the Standard & Poor's 500 Index (the "Index").
The Index is an unmanaged capitalization-weighted index of 500 stocks
designed to measure performance of the broad domestic economy through
changes in the aggregate market value of such stocks, which represent all
major industries. It is not possible to invest directly in this Index. In
addition, the Index does not take into account fees and expenses that an
investor would incur in purchasing securities in the Index. For purposes of
the graph and the accompanying table, unless otherwise indicated, it has
been assumed that the maximum sales charge was deducted from the initial
$10,000 investment in the Fund and all dividends and distributions were
reinvested. Class B shares performance may be greater than or less than
that shown in the line graph above for Class A shares based on differences
in sales loads and fees paid by shareholders investing in the different
classes.
* Average Annual Total Return figures (for the periods ended 9/30/03)
include the reinvestment of all dividends and distributions. "N.A.V. Only"
returns are calculated without sales charges. The Class A "S.E.C.
Standardized" returns shown are based on the maximum sales charge of 5.75%
(prior to 6/17/02 the maximum sales charge was 6.25%). The Class B "S.E.C.
Standardized" returns are adjusted for the applicable deferred sales charge
(maximum of 4% in the first year). During certain of the periods shown,
some of the expenses of the Fund were waived or assumed. If such expenses
had been paid by the Fund, the Class A "S.E.C. Standardized" Average Annual
Total Return Since Inception would have been 7.45%. The Class B "S.E.C.
Standardized" Average Annual Total Return Since Inception would have been
8.28%. Results represent past performance and do not indicate future
results. Investment return and principal value of an investment will
fluctuate so that an investor's shares, when redeemed, may be worth more or
less than the original cost. Standard & Poor's 500 Index figures are from
Standard & Poor's and all other figures are from First Investors Management
Company, Inc.
Portfolio of Investments
FIRST INVESTORS GROWTH & INCOME FUND
September 30, 2003
- ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Amount
Invested
For Each
$10,000 of
Shares Security Value Net Assets
- ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
COMMON STOCKS--96.5%
Consumer Discretionary--15.4%
80,000 * Abercrombie & Fitch Company - Class "A" $2,216,800 $47
30,000 * Best Buy Company, Inc. 1,425,600 30
66,900 * Brinker International, Inc. 2,231,784 47
50,000 Clear Channel Communications, Inc. 1,915,000 40
150,000 * Comcast Corporation - Special Class "A" 4,431,000 93
80,000 Eastman Kodak Company 1,675,200 35
130,000 * Fox Entertainment Group, Inc. - Class "A" 3,638,700 76
174,600 * GameStop Corporation - Class "A" 2,776,140 58
50,000 Genuine Parts Company 1,599,000 34
70,000 GTECH Holdings Corporation 2,999,500 63
75,000 Harley-Davidson, Inc. 3,615,000 76
109,400 Hasbro, Inc. 2,043,592 43
175,000 * Hollywood Entertainment Corporation 2,975,000 62
65,000 Home Depot, Inc. 2,070,250 44
275,000 J.C. Penney Company, Inc. (Holding Company) 5,876,750 123
110,200 Landry's Restaurants, Inc. 2,270,120 48
70,000 * Lear Corporation 3,684,800 77
160,000 Leggett & Platt, Inc. 3,460,800 73
1,200 Lifetime Hoan Corporation 12,552 --
90,000 Mattel, Inc. 1,706,400 36
300,000 McDonald's Corporation 7,062,000 148
70,000 Newell Rubbermaid, Inc. 1,516,900 32
125,000 * Office Depot, Inc. 1,756,250 37
210,000 Pier 1 Imports, Inc. 4,040,400 85
125,000 Polo Ralph Lauren Corporation - Class "A" 3,352,500 70
78,700 Reader's Digest Association, Inc. 1,101,013 23
67,300 * Scholastic Corporation 1,937,567 41
- ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
73,390,618 1,541
- ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Consumer Staples--8.5%
100,000 Altria Group, Inc. 4,380,000 92
82,000 Anheuser-Busch Companies, Inc. 4,045,880 85
74,200 Bunge, Ltd. 2,040,500 43
200,000 Coca-Cola Enterprises, Inc. 3,812,000 80
60,000 * Costco Wholesale Corporation 1,864,800 39
99,900 CVS Corporation 3,102,894 65
110,000 Hormel Foods Corporation 2,527,800 53
62,500 Kimberly-Clark Corporation 3,207,500 67
- ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Portfolio of Investments (continued)
FIRST INVESTORS GROWTH & INCOME FUND
September 30, 2003
- ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Amount
Invested
For Each
$10,000 of
Shares Security Value Net Assets
- ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Consumer Staples (continued)
100,000 Pepsi Bottling Group, Inc. $2,058,000 $43
50,000 PepsiCo, Inc. 2,291,500 48
65,000 Procter & Gamble Company 6,033,300 127
59,200 * Smithfield Foods, Inc. 1,136,640 24
75,000 Wal-Mart Stores, Inc. 4,188,750 88
- ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
40,689,564 854
- ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Energy--6.4%
87,500 Anadarko Petroleum Corporation 3,654,000 77
55,000 ConocoPhillips 3,011,250 63
972 Cross Timbers Royalty Trust 20,412 1
60,000 Diamond Offshore Drilling, Inc. 1,146,000 24
92,500 EOG Resources, Inc. 3,860,950 81
190,000 ExxonMobil Corporation 6,954,000 146
80,000 * Noble Corporation 2,719,200 57
175,000 Suncor Energy, Inc. 3,246,250 68
155,000 * Transocean, Inc. 3,100,000 65
131,500 XTO Energy, Inc. 2,760,185 58
- ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
30,472,247 640
- ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Financials--19.1%
100,000 ACE, Ltd. 3,308,000 69
70,000 American Express Company 3,154,200 66
70,000 American International Group, Inc. 4,039,000 85
130,000 AmSouth Bancorporation 2,758,600 58
60,000 Bank of America Corporation 4,682,400 98
85,000 Bear Stearns Companies, Inc. 6,358,000 133
150,000 Citigroup, Inc. 6,826,500 143
65,400 Endurance Specialty Holdings, Ltd. 1,909,680 40
45,000 Equity Office Properties Trust 1,238,850 26
50,000 Fannie Mae 3,510,000 74
115,000 FleetBoston Financial Corporation 3,467,250 73
25,000 Lehman Brothers Holdings, Inc. 1,727,000 36
150,000 Lincoln National Corporation 5,307,000 111
75,000 Marsh & McLennan Companies, Inc. 3,570,750 75
170,000 MBNA Corporation 3,876,000 81
35,000 Merrill Lynch & Company, Inc. 1,873,550 39
30,700 Morgan Stanley 1,549,122 33
78,800 Old Republic International Corporation 2,607,492 55
- ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
- ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Amount
Invested
For Each
$10,000 of
Shares Security Value Net Assets
- ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Financials (continued)
20,000 PartnerRe, Ltd. $1,013,400 $21
90,000 Plum Creek Timber Company, Inc. (REIT) 2,289,600 48
70,200 Scottish Re Group, Ltd. 1,695,330 36
75,000 SouthTrust Corporation 2,204,250 46
70,000 St. Paul Companies, Inc. 2,592,100 54
200,000 U.S. Bancorp 4,798,000 101
140,000 Wachovia Corporation 5,766,600 121
140,000 Washington Mutual, Inc. 5,511,800 116
70,000 Wells Fargo & Company 3,605,000 76
- ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
91,239,474 1,914
- ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Health Care--12.4%
115,000 Abbott Laboratories 4,893,250 103
60,000 * Accredo Health, Inc. 1,679,400 35
70,000 AmerisourceBergen Corporation 3,783,500 79
46,700 * Amgen, Inc. 3,015,419 63
57,500 * Barr Laboratories, Inc. 3,922,075 82
55,000 * Boston Scientific Corporation 3,509,000 74
30,000 Eli Lilly & Company 1,782,000 37
40,000 * Enzon Pharmaceuticals, Inc. 465,600 10
10,000 * Genetech, Inc. 801,400 17
165,400 Health Management Associates, Inc. - Class "A" 3,607,374 76
25,000 * Henry Schein, Inc. 1,417,500 30
90,000 Johnson & Johnson 4,456,800 94
52,800 * Laboratory Corporation of America Holdings 1,515,360 32
95,000 McKesson Corporation 3,162,550 66
50,000 Medtronic, Inc. 2,346,000 49
60,000 Merck & Company, Inc. 3,037,200 64
340,000 Pfizer, Inc. 10,329,200 217
120,000 Wyeth 5,532,000 116
- ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
59,255,628 1,244
- ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Industrials--10.7%
62,000 3M Company 4,282,340 90
50,400 Alexander & Baldwin, Inc. 1,415,232 30
30,000 Caterpillar, Inc. 2,065,200 43
100,000 * Cendant Corporation 1,869,000 39
59,800 Chicago Bridge & Iron Company NV - NY Shares 1,624,168 34
- ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Portfolio of Investments (continued)
FIRST INVESTORS GROWTH & INCOME FUND
September 30, 2003
- ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Amount
Invested
For Each
$10,000 of
Shares Security Value Net Assets
- ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Industrials (continued)
25,000 Eaton Corporation $2,215,500 $46
60,000 EDO Corporation 1,215,000 25
60,000 Engineered Support Systems, Inc. 3,630,000 76
70,000 Harsco Corporation 2,692,900 57
90,000 Honeywell International, Inc. 2,371,500 50
60,000 Lockheed Martin Corporation 2,769,000 58
215,000 Masco Corporation 5,263,200 111
55,000 Northrop Grumman Corporation 4,742,100 100
103,100 Pall Corporation 2,313,564 49
115,000 Pitney Bowes, Inc. 4,406,800 93
90,000 Rockwell Automation, Inc. 2,362,500 50
35,200 Textron, Inc. 1,388,640 29
55,200 United Technologies Corporation 4,265,856 90
- ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
50,892,500 1,070
- ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Information Technology--16.4%
36,400 * AMIS Holdings, Inc. 671,944 14
15,000 * Analog Devices, Inc. 570,300 12
50,000 * Applied Materials, Inc. 907,000 19
125,000 Autodesk, Inc. 2,127,500 45
200,000 * Cisco Systems, Inc. 3,908,000 82
200,000 * Concord EFS, Inc. 2,734,000 57
85,000 * Electronics for Imaging, Inc. 1,982,200 42
400,000 * EMC Corporation 5,052,000 106
665,000 * Entrust, Inc. 3,265,150 69
90,000 First Data Corporation 3,596,400 76
230,000 Hewlett-Packard Company 4,452,800 93
205,000 Intel Corporation 5,639,550 118
80,000 * Intersil Corporation - Class "A" 1,904,000 40
100,600 * ManTech International Corporation - Class "A" 2,502,928 52
350,000 Microsoft Corporation 9,726,500 204
170,000 * Network Associates, Inc. 2,339,200 49
275,000 Nokia Corporation - Class "A" (ADR) 4,290,000 90
600,000 * Nortel Networks Corporation 2,460,000 52
120,700 QUALCOMM, Inc. 5,025,948 106
425,000 Sun Microsystems, Inc. 1,406,750 29
162,000 * Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing
Co., Ltd. (ADR) 1,754,460 37
80,000 * Tech Data Corporation 2,468,000 52
50,000 Texas Instruments, Inc. 1,140,000 24
- ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
- ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Amount
Invested
For Each
$10,000 of
Shares Security Value Net Assets
- ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Information Technology (continued)
160,000 * Thermo Electron Corporation $3,472,000 $73
100,000 * Titan Corporation 2,084,000 44
125,000 * Western Digital Corporation 1,611,250 34
35,000 * Xilinx, Inc. 997,850 21
- ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
78,089,730 1,640
- ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Materials--3.4%
65,000 Dow Chemical Company 2,115,100 44
140,000 Freeport-McMoRan Copper & Gold, Inc. - Class "B" 4,634,000 97
45,000 PPG Industries, Inc. 2,349,900 49
30,000 Praxair, Inc. 1,858,500 39
155,000 RPM International, Inc. 2,024,300 43
53,400 Weyerhaeuser Company 3,121,230 66
- ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
16,103,030 338
- ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Other--1.8%
90,000 * Nasdaq--100 Index Tracking Stock 2,917,800 61
55,000 SPDR Trust - Series "1" 5,495,600 116
- ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
8,413,400 177
- ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Telecommunication Services--1.2%
140,000 SBC Communications, Inc. 3,115,000 65
75,000 Verizon Communications, Inc. 2,433,000 51
- ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
5,548,000 116
- ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Utilities--1.2%
75,000 Consolidated Edison, Inc. 3,057,000 64
42,000 Dominion Resources, Inc. 2,599,800 55
- ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
5,656,800 119
- ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Total Value of Common Stocks (cost $390,497,455) 459,750,991 9,653
- ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Portfolio of Investments (continued)
FIRST INVESTORS GROWTH & INCOME FUND
September 30, 2003
- ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Amount
Invested
Shares or For Each
Principal $10,000 of
Amount Security Value Net Assets
- ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
CONVERTIBLE PREFERRED STOCKS--2.9%
Financials--1.8%
Chubb Corporation:
90,800 7%, 2005 - Series "A" $2,510,620 $53
28,900 7%, 2006 - Series "B" 801,975 17
97,000 Hartford Financial Services Group, Inc.,
6%, 2006 - Class "A" 5,248,670 110
- ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
8,561,265 180
- ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Health Care--.2%
16,000 Baxter International, Inc., 7%, 2006 842,400 18
- ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Telecommunication Services--.9%
90,000 ALLTEL Corporation, 7.75%, 2005 4,400,100 92
- ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Total Value of Convertible Preferred Stocks (cost $12,562,045) 13,803,765 290
- ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
SHORT-TERM CORPORATE NOTES--.3%
$1,200M General Electric Capital Corp., 1.02%, 10/2/03
(cost $1,199,966) 1,199,966 25
- ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Total Value of Investments (cost $404,259,466) 99.7% 474,754,722 9,968
Other Assets, Less Liabilities .3 1,504,370 32
- ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Net Assets 100.0% $476,259,092 $10,000
======================================================================================================================
* Non-income producing
See notes to financial statements
Portfolio Manager's Letter
FIRST INVESTORS ALL-CAP GROWTH FUND
Dear Investor:
This is the annual report for the First Investors All-Cap Growth Fund for
the fiscal year ended September 30, 2003. During the period, the Fund's
return on a net asset value basis was 26.6% for Class A shares and 25.7%
for Class B shares.
The Fund's strong performance over the reporting period was largely driven
by improving economic conditions, solid performance of the overall stock
market and stock selection.
The Fund's performance was helped by strong stock selection in the
financials and industrials sectors. Citigroup posted solid performance,
based on its strong consumer business and strict cost controls. First Data
Corporation, parent to money transfer powerhouse Western Union and one of
the top credit card transaction processors in the U.S., also helped the
Fund's performance as it experienced positive earnings growth. Positive
stock selection in the information technology sector also aided returns. An
underweight allocation to the consumer staples sector boosted performance
for the period.
The Fund's returns were hurt by an underweight position in one of the best
performing sectors for the reporting period, the information technology
sector. An overweight position in the materials sector coupled with some
poor performing stocks in that segment also detracted from Fund
performance. Holdings in the health care sector also hurt the Fund's
performance.
Thank you for placing your trust in First Investors. As always, we
appreciate the opportunity to serve your investment needs.
Sincerely,
/S/ ANDREW J. SHILLING
Andrew J. Shilling
Portfolio Manager
October 31, 2003
Cumulative Performance Information
FIRST INVESTORS ALL-CAP GROWTH FUND
Comparison of change in value of $10,000 investment in the First Investors
All-Cap Growth Fund (Class A shares) and the Russell 3000 Growth Index.
ALL-CAP GROWTH
GRAPH PLOTS
As of September 30, 2003
ALL-CAP RUSSELL 3000
GROWTH GROWTH
OCT 00 $9,425 $10,000
SEP 01 6,155 5,972
SEP 02 5,024 4,606
SEP 03 6,362 5,784
(INSET BOX IN CHART READS:)
Average Annual Total Returns*
Class A Shares N.A.V. Only S.E.C. Standardized
One Year 26.64% 19.26%
Since Inception
(10/25/00) (12.55%) (14.30%)
Class B Shares
One Year 25.67% 21.67%
Since Inception
(10/25/00) (13.17%) (14.07%)
The graph compares a $10,000 investment in the First Investors All-Cap
Growth Fund (Class A shares) beginning 10/25/00 (inception date) with a
theoretical investment in the Russell 3000 Growth Index (the "Index"). The
Index is an unmanaged index composed of the 3000 largest U.S. companies, as
determined by market capitalization, and represents approximately 98% of
the investable U.S. equity market. It is not possible to invest directly in
this Index. In addition, the Index does not take into account fees and
expenses that an investor would incur in purchasing securities in the
Index. For purposes of the graph and the accompanying table, unless
otherwise indicated, it has been assumed that the maximum sales charge was
deducted from the initial $10,000 investment in the Fund. Class B shares
performance may be greater than or less than that shown in the line graph
above for Class A shares based on differences in the sales loads and fees
paid by shareholders investing in the different classes.
* Average Annual Total Return figures are for the periods ended 9/30/03.
"N.A.V. Only" returns are calculated without sales charges. The Class A
"S.E.C. Standardized" returns shown are based on the maximum sales charge
of 5.75% (prior to 6/17/02, the maximum sales charge was 6.25%). The Class
B "S.E.C. Standardized" returns are adjusted for the applicable deferred
sales charge (maximum of 4% in the first year). During the periods shown,
some of the expenses of the Fund were waived or assumed. If such expenses
had been paid by the Fund, the Class A "S.E.C. Standardized" Total Return
for One Year and Since Inception would have been 19.24% and (14.45%),
respectively. The Class B "S.E.C. Standardized" Total Return for One Year
and Since Inception would have been 21.65% and (14.21%), respectively.
Results represent past performance and do not indicate future results.
Investment return and principal value of an investment will fluctuate so
that an investor's shares, when redeemed, may be worth more or less than
the original cost. Russell 3000 Growth Index figures are from Frank Russell
and Company and all other figures are from First Investors Management
Company, Inc.
Portfolio of Investments
FIRST INVESTORS ALL-CAP GROWTH FUND
September 30, 2003
- ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Amount
Invested
For Each
$10,000 of
Shares Security Value Net Assets
- ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
COMMON STOCKS--94.2%
Consumer Discretionary--18.6%
9,000 * A.C. Moore Arts & Crafts, Inc. $200,520 $22
19,500 * Amazon.com, Inc. 943,020 104
6,500 * AutoZone, Inc. 581,945 64
48,100 Clear Channel Communications, Inc. 1,842,230 204
49,300 * Comcast Corporation - Special Class "A" 1,456,322 161
18,900 * Cox Communications, Inc. - Class "A" 597,618 66
12,220 * Cumulus Media, Inc. - Class "A" 208,351 23
41,500 * eBay, Inc. 2,211,950 244
40,900 * EchoStar Communications Corporation 1,565,243 173
4,100 Fred's, Inc. - Class "A" 135,136 15
32,010 * Hollywood Entertainment Corporation 544,170 60
22,300 * InterActiveCorp 737,015 81
3,630 * Jos. A. Bank Clothiers, Inc. 159,611 18
13,900 * Lamar Advertising Company - Class "A" 407,826 45
7,190 * Leapfrog Enterprises, Inc. - Class "A" 273,220 30
3,870 M.D.C. Holdings, Inc. 208,980 23
26,600 Mattel, Inc. 504,336 56
11,600 Michaels Stores, Inc. 472,816 52
42,300 Omnicom Group, Inc. 3,039,255 336
18,300 * Univision Communications, Inc. - Class "A" 584,319 65
10,300 * Wynn Resorts, Ltd. 187,254 21
- ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
16,861,137 1,863
- ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Consumer Staples--.2%
23,700 * Stake Technology, Ltd. 219,462 24
- ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Energy--1.8%
6,580 Cabot Oil & Gas Corporation 171,080 19
29,940 Chesapeake Energy Corporation 322,753 36
14,100 EOG Resources, Inc. 588,534 65
25,500 XTO Energy, Inc. 535,245 59
- ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
1,617,612 179
- ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Financials--10.7%
2,660 * Affiliated Managers Group, Inc. 167,048 18
15,300 American International Group, Inc. 882,810 98
6,770 * Arch Capital Group, Ltd. 223,478 25
- ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Portfolio of Investments (continued)
FIRST INVESTORS ALL-CAP GROWTH FUND
September 30, 2003
- ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Amount
Invested
For Each
$10,000 of
Shares Security Value Net Assets
- ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Financials (continued)
68,700 Citigroup, Inc. $3,126,537 $345
46,700 Countrywide Financial Corporation 3,655,676 404
8,900 Fannie Mae 624,780 69
5,300 Legg Mason, Inc. 382,660 42
11,300 Moody's Corporation 621,161 69
- ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
9,684,150 1,070
- ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Health Care--19.6%
40,600 Abbott Laboratories 1,727,530 191
12,940 * Abgenix, Inc. 187,501 21
7,800 * Anthem, Inc. 556,374 61
64,400 AstraZeneca PLC (ADR) 2,794,960 309
59,250 * Beverly Enterprises, Inc. 350,760 39
6,200 * Cephalon, Inc. 284,704 31
4,240 * CV Therapeutics, Inc. 93,280 10
26,500 * Cytyc Corporation 398,560 44
46,300 Eli Lilly & Company 2,750,220 304
12,300 * Forest Laboratories, Inc. 632,835 70
81,400 Guidant Corporation 3,813,590 421
5,450 * INAMED Corporation 400,303 44
8,200 McKesson Corporation 272,978 30
8,600 * Medicines Company 223,600 25
10,360 * NPS Pharmaceuticals, Inc. 288,526 32
6,335 * Odyssey Healthcare, Inc. 188,910 21
5,150 * OSI Pharmaceuticals, Inc. 167,221 18
14,900 * Watson Pharmaceuticals, Inc. 621,181 69
23,800 * Wellpoint Health Networks, Inc. 1,834,504 203
4,440 * Wilson Greatbatch Technologies, Inc. 160,062 18
- ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
17,747,599 1,961
- ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Industrials--8.8%
48,040 * AMR Corporation 550,058 61
60,600 * Apollo Group, Inc. - Class "A" 4,001,418 442
22,000 * Aramark Corporation - Class "B" 550,660 61
9,400 * Ceradyne, Inc. 243,178 27
2,920 * Education Management Corporation 168,396 19
11,855 * JetBlue Airways Corporation 725,170 80
13,210 * Navigant Consulting, Inc. 162,615 18
5,390 * Old Dominion Freight Line, Inc. 156,795 17
- ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
- ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Amount
Invested
For Each
$10,000 of
Shares Security Value Net Assets
- ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Industrials (continued)
4,400 PACCAR, Inc. $328,636 $36
12,200 Parker-Hannifin Corporation 545,340 60
18,290 * Yellow Corporation 546,505 60
- ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
7,978,771 881
- ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Information Technology--32.5%
62,700 * Analog Devices, Inc. 2,383,854 263
81,700 * Applied Materials, Inc. 1,482,038 164
35,660 * ASE Test, Ltd. 309,885 34
39,721 * ASML Holding NV - NY Shares 521,537 58
95,100 * Cisco Systems, Inc. 1,858,254 205
133,000 * Dell, Inc. 4,440,870 491
14,180 * Dot Hill Systems Corporation 192,423 21
7,980 * DSP Group, Inc. 198,782 22
10,400 * Fairchild Semiconductor International, Inc. 172,432 19
95,300 First Data Corporation 3,808,188 421
1,500 * Innovex, Inc. 14,925 2
54,950 * MEMC Electronic Materials, Inc. 599,505 66
114,900 Microsoft Corporation 3,193,071 353
4,600 Nam Tai Electronics, Inc. 124,798 14
26,000 * Network Appliance, Inc. 533,780 59
4,300 * Overland Storage, Inc. 63,425 7
32,700 * PeopleSoft, Inc. 594,813 66
17,670 * Pericom Semiconductor Corporation 176,700 20
20,460 * Polycom, Inc. 339,841 38
36,800 QUALCOMM, Inc. 1,532,352 169
52,450 * Red Hat, Inc. 529,745 59
7,340 * Rudolph Technologies, Inc. 141,735 16
23,900 Seagate Technology 650,080 72
29,800 * Siebel Systems, Inc. 289,655 32
24,400 * Symantec Corporation 1,537,688 170
38,100 * Telefonaktiebolaget L.M. Ericsson
AB - Class "B" (ADR) 559,308 62
41,200 * VeriSign, Inc. 554,964 61
6,400 * Waters Corporation 175,552 19
66,900 * Yahoo!, Inc. 2,366,922 262
- ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
29,347,122 3,245
- ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Portfolio of Investments (continued)
FIRST INVESTORS ALL-CAP GROWTH FUND
September 30, 2003
- ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Amount
Invested
Shares or For Each
Principal $10,000 of
Amount Security Value Net Assets
- ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Telecommunication Services--2.0%
52,210 * American Tower Corporation - Class "A" $529,932 $58
49,090 * Crown Castle International Corporation 461,937 51
33,400 * Nextel Communications, Inc. - Class "A" 657,645 73
2,300 * NII Holdings, Inc. - Class "B" 137,287 15
- ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
1,786,801 197
- ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Total Value of Common Stocks (cost $74,548,082) 85,242,654 9,420
- ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
REPURCHASE AGREEMENT--5.3%
$4,793M BNP Paribas, .97%, 10/1/03 (collateralized by
U.S. Treasury Note, 3.25%, 12/31/03,
valued at $4,858,155) (cost $4,793,000) 4,793,000 529
- ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Total Value of Investments (cost $79,341,082) 99.5% 90,035,654 9,949
Other Assets, Less Liabilities .5 457,551 51
- ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Net Assets 100.0% $90,493,205 $10,000
======================================================================================================================
* Non-income producing
See notes to financial statements
Portfolio Managers' Letter
FIRST INVESTORS MID-CAP OPPORTUNITY FUND
Dear Investor:
This is the annual report for the First Investors Mid-Cap Opportunity Fund
for the fiscal year ended September 30, 2003. During the period, the
Fund's return on a net asset value basis was 21.6% for Class A shares and
20.7% for Class B shares.
The Fund's performance was largely driven by the improving economic
conditions, solid performance of the mid-cap stock sector, asset allocation
decisions and stock selection. Performance on an absolute basis was
attributable to investments in two key sectors: consumer discretionary and
technology. Smaller contributions came from the financials, industrials,
health care, materials and energy sectors.
The Fund underperformed the S&P 400 Midcap Index due to conservative stock
selection within the technology, health care, financials and industrials
sectors. Performance of the index was driven by more speculative issues and
higher "beta" names that the Fund did not own.
Among positives to performance, the Fund's overweight positions in the
consumer discretionary and consumer staples sectors, as well as good stock
selection in those sectors, aided returns. Strong stock picking within the
materials and energy sectors was also a positive. Within the top overall
contributing sector, technology, strength came from the semiconductors,
capital equipment, software, hardware and equipment segments. Among health
care sector holdings, shares of Medicaid HMO firms, pharmacy benefit
managers and biotechnology firms rose sharply. Shares of diversified firms
were key contributors in the financials sector. Capital goods firms were
solid performers in the industrials sector.
Portfolio Managers' Letter (continued)
FIRST INVESTORS MID-CAP OPPORTUNITY FUND
Thank you for placing your trust in First Investors. As always, we
appreciate the opportunity to serve your investment needs.
Sincerely,
/S/ EDWIN D. MISKA
Edwin D. Miska
Director of Equities
and Co-Portfolio Manager
/S/ ALLEN KLEE
Allen Klee
Co-Portfolio Manager
October 31, 2003
Cumulative Performance Information
FIRST INVESTORS MID-CAP OPPORTUNITY FUND
Comparison of change in value of $10,000 investment in the First Investors
Mid-Cap Opportunity Fund (Class A shares) and the Standard & Poor's 400
Midcap Index.
MID-CAP OPPORTUNITY FUND - CLASS A
GRAPH PLOTS
As of September 30, 2003
MID-CAP S & P 400
OPPORTUNITY MIDCAP INDEX
OCT 93 $ 9,425 $10,000
OCT 94 9,334 10,237
OCT 95 11,630 12,411
OCT 96 12,984 14,565
OCT 97 16,502 19,321
SEP 98 13,792 18,922
SEP 99 19,953 23,745
SEP 00 28,215 34,007
SEP 01 19,654 27,546
SEP 02 17,582 26,254
SEP 03 21,370 33,290
(INSET BOX IN CHART READS:)
Average Annual Total Returns*
Class A Shares N.A.V. Only S.E.C. Standardized
One Year 21.55% 14.58%
Five Years 9.15% 7.86%
Ten Years 8.32% 7.68%
Class B Shares
One Year 20.71% 16.71%
Five Years 8.39% 8.10%
Since Inception
(1/12/95) 8.57% 8.57%
The graph compares a $10,000 investment in the First Investors Mid-Cap
Opportunity Fund (Class A shares) beginning 10/31/93 with a theoretical
investment in the Standard & Poor's 400 Midcap Index (the "Index"). The
Index is an unmanaged capitalization-weighted index of 400 stocks designed
to measure performance of the mid-range sector of the U.S. stock market
where the median market capitalization is approximately $700 million. It is
not possible to invest directly in this Index. In addition, the Index does
not take into account fees and expenses that an investor would incur in
purchasing securities in the Index. For purposes of the graph and the
accompanying table, unless otherwise indicated, it has been assumed that
the maximum sales charge was deducted from the initial $10,000 investment
in the Fund and all dividends and distributions were reinvested. Class B
shares performance may be greater than or less than that shown in the line
graph above for Class A shares based on differences in sales loads and fees
paid by shareholders investing in the different classes.
* Average Annual Total Return figures (for the periods ended 9/30/03)
include the reinvestment of all dividends and distributions. "N.A.V. Only"
returns are calculated without sales charges. The Class A "S.E.C.
Standardized" returns shown are based on the maximum sales charge of 5.75%
(prior to 6/17/02, the maximum sales charge was 6.25%). The Class B "S.E.C.
Standardized" returns are adjusted for the applicable deferred sales charge
(maximum of 4% in the first year). During the periods shown, some of the
expenses of the Fund were waived or assumed. If such expenses had been paid
by the Fund, the Class A "S.E.C. Standardized" Average Annual Total Return
for One Year, Five Years and Ten Years would have been 14.33%, 7.43% and
7.12%, respectively. The Class B "S.E.C. Standardized" Average Annual Total
Return for One Year, Five Years and Since Inception would have been 16.46%,
7.70% and 8.05%, respectively. Results represent past performance and do
not indicate future results. Investment return and principal value of an
investment will fluctuate so that an investor's shares, when redeemed, may
be worth more or less than the original cost. Standard & Poor's 400 Midcap
Index figures are from Standard & Poor's and all other figures are from
First Investors Management Company, Inc.
Portfolio of Investments
FIRST INVESTORS MID-CAP OPPORTUNITY FUND
September 30, 2003
- ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Amount
Invested
For Each
$10,000 of
Shares Security Value Net Assets
- ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
COMMON STOCKS--98.7%
Consumer Discretionary--20.6%
25,000 * Abercrombie & Fitch Company $692,750 $31
57,500 * American Axle & Manufacturing Holdings, Inc. 1,700,850 75
60,000 Applebee's International, Inc. 1,888,800 83
80,000 * Barnes & Noble, Inc. 2,032,800 90
20,000 Black & Decker Corporation 811,000 36
45,900 * Brinker International, Inc. 1,531,224 68
130,000 * Caremark Rx, Inc. 2,938,000 130
35,000 * Chico's FAS, Inc. 1,072,400 47
10,000 * Citadel Broadcasting Corporation 197,600 9
22,500 * Coach, Inc. 1,228,500 54
65,000 D.R. Horton, Inc. 2,125,500 94
220,000 * GameStop Corporation - Class "A" 3,498,000 154
30,000 GTECH Holdings Corporation 1,285,500 57
52,100 Hasbro, Inc. 973,228 43
86,000 Landry's Restaurants, Inc. 1,771,600 78
30,000 * Lear Corporation 1,579,200 70
80,000 Leggett & Platt, Inc. 1,730,400 76
45,000 Mattel, Inc. 853,200 38
17,500 Michaels Stores, Inc. 713,300 31
75,000 * Movie Gallery, Inc. 1,473,750 65
50,000 * Office Depot, Inc. 702,500 31
165,000 Pier 1 Imports, Inc. 3,174,600 140
57,500 Polo Ralph Lauren Corporation - Class "A" 1,542,150 68
25,400 Reader's Digest Association, Inc. 355,346 16
70,000 Regis Corporation 2,247,000 99
25,000 Ross Stores, Inc. 1,159,000 51
41,300 * Scholastic Corporation 1,189,027 53
75,000 * Scientific Games Corporation - Class "A" 855,750 38
27,500 Tiffany & Company 1,026,575 45
62,800 TJX Companies, Inc. 1,219,576 54
50,000 * Tuesday Morning Corporation 1,391,500 61
60,000 Tupperware Corporation 802,800 35
30,000 * Williams-Sonoma, Inc. 809,400 36
- ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
46,572,826 2,056
- ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
- ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Amount
Invested
For Each
$10,000 of
Shares Security Value Net Assets
- ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Consumer Staples--9.4%
25,000 Altria Group, Inc. $1,095,000 $48
200,000 * Chiquita Brands International, Inc. 3,540,000 156
100,000 Coca-Cola Enterprises, Inc. 1,906,000 84
52,500 * Dean Foods Company 1,629,075 72
123,500 * Duane Reade, Inc. 1,969,825 87
100,000 Freeport-McMoRan Copper & Gold, Inc. - Class "B" 3,310,000 146
50,000 Hormel Foods Corporation 1,149,000 51
90,000 * Kroger Company 1,608,300 71
85,000 Pepsi Bottling Group, Inc. 1,749,300 77
42,500 * Performance Food Group Company 1,730,175 77
39,100 * Smithfield Foods, Inc. 750,720 33
77,900 * Willbros Group, Inc. 799,254 35
- ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
21,236,649 937
- ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Energy--6.1%
40,000 Anadarko Petroleum Corporation 1,670,400 74
690 Cross Timbers Royalty Trust 14,490 1
50,000 EOG Resources, Inc. 2,087,000 92
20,000 * Patterson-UTI Energy, Inc. 541,400 24
95,200 Suncor Energy, Inc. 1,765,960 78
47,500 Talisman Energy, Inc. 2,253,400 99
6,000 * Tom Brown, Inc. 154,200 7
77,500 * Transocean, Inc. 1,550,000 68
50,000 * Weatherford International, Ltd. 1,889,000 83
93,333 XTO Energy, Inc. 1,959,060 87
- ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
13,884,910 613
- ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Financials--17.5%
45,000 ACE, Ltd. 1,488,600 66
40,000 Ambac Financial Group, Inc. 2,560,000 113
80,000 Banknorth Group, Inc. 2,257,600 100
42,500 Bear Stearns Companies, Inc. 3,179,000 140
60,000 Charter One Financial, Inc. 1,836,000 81
37,488 Citigroup, Inc. 1,706,079 75
36,000 City National Corporation 1,834,560 81
33,400 Compass Bancshares, Inc. 1,154,972 51
49 * Corrections Corporation of America 1,209 --
37,500 Doral Financial Corporation 1,762,500 78
35,000 Greater Bay Bancorp 728,000 32
- ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Portfolio of Investments (continued)
FIRST INVESTORS MID-CAP OPPORTUNITY FUND
September 30, 2003
- ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Amount
Invested
For Each
$10,000 of
Shares Security Value Net Assets
- ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Financials (continued)
55,000 KeyCorp $1,406,350 $62
36,500 National Commerce Financial Corporation 908,120 40
50,000 North Fork Bancorporation, Inc. 1,737,500 77
64,400 Old Republic International Corporation 2,130,995 94
44,400 PartnerRe, Ltd. 2,249,748 99
51,400 Principal Financial Group, Inc. 1,592,886 70
65,000 Protective Life Corporation 1,940,250 86
30,000 Public Storage, Inc. (REIT) 1,176,900 52
35,000 Reinsurance Group of America, Inc. 1,426,250 63
35,000 Scottish Re Group, Ltd. 845,250 37
26,500 Sovereign Bancorp, Inc. 491,575 22
21,000 TCF Financial Corporation 1,006,950 44
81,500 Willis Group Holdings, Ltd. 2,506,125 110
33,000 Zions Bancorporation 1,843,050 81
- ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
39,770,469 1,754
- ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Health Care--12.7%
44,150 * Accredo Health, Inc. 1,235,759 55
40,000 AmerisourceBergen Corporation 2,162,000 95
70,000 * Andrx Corporation 1,295,700 57
20,000 * Barr Laboratories, Inc. 1,364,200 60
42,500 Beckman Coulter, Inc. 1,935,450 85
153,000 * Centene Corporation 4,649,670 205
52,500 * Charles River Laboratories International, Inc. 1,611,225 71
40,000 DENTSPLY International, Inc. 1,793,600 79
40,000 * Enzon Pharmaceuticals, Inc. 465,600 21
10,000 * Express Scripts, Inc. 611,500 27
25,000 * Gilead Sciences, Inc. 1,398,250 62
42,500 * Henry Schein, Inc. 2,409,750 106
50,000 * IMPAC Medical Systems, Inc. 894,500 40
35,000 * Laboratory Corporation of America Holdings 1,004,500 44
67,500 McKesson Corporation 2,247,075 99
5,000 * Molina Healthcare, Inc. 130,400 6
100,000 * Province Healthcare Company 1,295,000 57
72,500 * SICOR, Inc. 1,397,800 62
27,500 * Triad Hospitals, Inc. 832,700 37
- ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
28,734,679 1,268
- ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
- ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Amount
Invested
For Each
$10,000 of
Shares Security Value Net Assets
- ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Industrials--11.6%
29,300 Avery Dennison Corporation $1,480,235 $65
80,000 Chicago Bridge & Iron Company NV - NY Shares 2,172,800 96
23,333 * ChoicePoint, Inc. 781,656 35
25,000 Donaldson Company, Inc. 1,347,500 59
29,600 Expeditors International of Washington, Inc. 1,018,536 45
30,000 FedEx Corporation 1,932,900 85
20,000 * Jacobs Engineering Group, Inc. 902,000 40
44,500 * L-3 Communications Holdings, Inc. 1,924,625 85
35,000 Manpower, Inc. 1,298,500 57
91,400 Masco Corporation 2,237,472 99
86,200 * Mobile Mini, Inc. 1,662,798 73
37,500 Northrop Grumman Corporation 3,233,250 143
30,900 Rockwell Automation, Inc. 811,125 36
60,000 * Shaw Group, Inc. 630,600 28
20,000 Textron, Inc. 789,000 35
70,000 * Thermo Electron Corporation 1,519,000 67
57,600 * United Defense Industries, Inc. 1,635,264 72
25,000 * Waste Connections, Inc. 877,250 39
- ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
26,254,511 1,159
- ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Information Technology--13.7%
17,300 * AMIS Holdings, Inc. 319,358 14
35,100 * Amphenol Corporation - Class "A" 1,826,955 81
90,000 Autodesk, Inc. 1,531,800 67
75,000 * BearingPoint, Inc. 598,500 26
60,000 * BISYS Group, Inc. 789,000 35
50,000 * Comverse Technology, Inc. 748,000 33
45,000 * DST Systems, Inc. 1,692,000 75
42,500 * Electronics for Imaging, Inc. 991,100 44
117,500 * Intergraph Corporation 2,735,400 121
27,900 * International Rectifier Corporation 1,044,576 46
50,000 Intersil Corporation - Class "A" 1,190,000 53
46,100 * Lattice Semiconductor Corporation 327,771 14
20,000 * Logitech International SA (ADR) 620,000 27
50,000 * Manhattan Associates, Inc. 1,294,500 57
91,400 * ManTech International Corporation - Class "A" 2,274,032 100
12,100 * MEMC Electronic Materials, Inc. 132,011 6
80,000 * Network Associates, Inc. 1,100,800 49
41,300 * Novellus Systems, Inc. 1,393,875 61
30,000 * Rudolph Technologies, Inc. 579,300 26
- ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Portfolio of Investments (continued)
FIRST INVESTORS MID-CAP OPPORTUNITY FUND
September 30, 2003
- ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Amount
Invested
For Each
$10,000 of
Shares Security Value Net Assets
- ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Information Technology (continued)
35,000 * Semtech Corporation $646,100 $29
75,600 * SunGard Data Systems, Inc. 1,989,036 88
70,000 * Sybase, Inc. 1,190,700 52
25,000 * Take-Two Interactive Software, Inc. 854,250 38
100,000 * Tellabs, Inc. 679,000 30
50,000 * Titan Corporation 1,042,000 46
70,000 * Vishay Intertechnology, Inc. 1,226,400 54
50,000 * Waters Corporation 1,371,500 61
60,000 * Western Digital Corporation 773,400 34
- ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
30,961,364 1,367
- ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Materials--2.8%
75,000 Archer-Daniels-Midland Company 983,250 43
140,000 * Louisiana-Pacific Corporation 1,929,200 85
21,500 Lubrizol Corporation 697,675 31
25,000 Praxair, Inc. 1,548,750 68
90,000 Sappi, Ltd. (ADR) 1,215,000 54
- ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
6,373,875 281
- ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Other--1.2%
4,000 iShares S&P Midcap 400 Index 408,880 18
25,000 MidCap SPDR Trust - Series "1" 2,334,500 103
- ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
2,743,380 121
- ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Telecommunication Services--.3%
11,000 Telephone & Data Systems, Inc. 621,940 27
- ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Utilities--2.8%
45,000 AGL Resources, Inc. 1,267,650 56
40,000 Equitable Resources, Inc. 1,644,000 73
25,400 NSTAR 1,206,500 53
35,000 SCANA Corporation 1,198,750 53
35,000 Wisconsin Energy Corporation 1,069,950 47
- ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
6,386,850 282
- ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Total Value of Common Stocks (cost $195,720,469) 223,541,453 9,865
- ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
- ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Amount
Invested
For Each
Principal $10,000 of
Amount Security Value Net Assets
- ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
SHORT-TERM CORPORATE NOTES--1.3%
$3,000M ChevronTexaco Corp., 1.02%, 10/6/03
(cost $2,999,575) $2,999,575 $132
- ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Total Value of Investments (cost $198,720,044) 100.0% 226,541,028 9,997
Other Assets, Less Liabilities .0 78,569 3
- ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Net Assets 100.0% $226,619,597 $10,000
======================================================================================================================
* Non-income producing
See notes to financial statements
Portfolio Manager's Letter
FIRST INVESTORS SPECIAL SITUATIONS FUND
Dear Investor:
This is the annual report for the First Investors Special Situations Fund
for the fiscal year ended September 30, 2003. During the period, the Fund's
return on a net asset value basis was 23.5% for Class A shares and 22.6%
for Class B shares.
The primary factors driving the Fund's performance were the improving
economy, the strong rebound of small-cap stocks and the Fund's sector
allocation choices.
As is frequently the case during the beginning of an economic recovery,
small-cap stocks outperformed larger-cap stocks. The small-cap growth
segment had been hit especially hard over the prior few years. Therefore,
the segment had more opportunity to bounce back. Performance within the
segment was led by the technology and health care sectors.
On a relative basis, the Fund underperformed the Russell 2000 Index for the
reporting period. The primary reason was its underweighting in the more
speculative, higher "beta" companies that outperformed during the year. The
Fund's beta (a measure of volatility) was less than that of its benchmark
over the reporting period.
The decision to underweight the technology sector was based on concerns
about valuations and lack of evidence of improving fundamentals in the
early part of the year. The decision to underweight the health care sector
was due to concerns about investing in smaller biotechnology stocks. These
stocks ended up being one of the strongest sectors this year. Stock
selection in the industrials sector also hurt performance, as several
holdings in this sector performed poorly.
On the positive side, the financials sector was the biggest contributor to
relative performance due to the Fund's overweight position and better stock
selection. Our overweight decision was based on the view that earnings
fundamentals in small banks would benefit from the low interest rate and
positive yield curve interest rate environment. Also, we believed that
property and casualty companies would benefit from improved pricing.
Thank you for placing your trust in First Investors. As always, we
appreciate the opportunity to serve your investment needs.
Sincerely,
/S/ ALLEN KLEE
Allen Klee
Portfolio Manager
October 31, 2003
Cumulative Performance Information
FIRST INVESTORS SPECIAL SITUATIONS FUND
Comparison of change in value of $10,000 investment in the First Investors
Special Situations Fund (Class A shares) and the Russell 2000 Index.
SPECIAL SITUATIONS
GRAPH PLOTS
As of September 30, 2003
SPECIAL RUSSELL
SITUATIONS 2000
DEC 93 $ 9,425 $10,000
DEC 94 9,079 9,682
DEC 95 11,251 12,219
DEC 96 12,552 14,241
DEC 97 14,578 17,408
SEP 98 11,719 14,614
SEP 99 15,380 17,412
SEP 00 22,004 21,523
SEP 01 12,572 16,983
SEP 02 10,499 15,407
SEP 03 12,962 21,036
(INSET BOX IN CHART READS:)
Average Annual Total Returns*
Class A Shares N.A.V. Only S.E.C. Standardized
One Year 23.46% 16.38%
Five Years 2.04% 0.83%
Ten Years 3.48% 2.87%
Class B Shares
One Year 22.63% 18.63%
Five Years 1.33% 0.95%
Since Inception
(1/12/95) 3.30% 3.30%
The graph compares a $10,000 investment in the First Investors Special
Situations Fund (Class A shares) beginning 12/31/93 with a theoretical
investment in the Russell 2000 Index (the "Index"). The Index consists of
the smallest 2,000 companies in the Russell 3000 Index (which represents
approximately 98% of the investable U.S. equity market). The Index is an
unmanaged index generally considered as the premier of small capitalization
stocks. It is not possible to invest directly in this Index. In addition,
the Index does not take into account fees and expenses that an investor
would incur in purchasing securities in the index. For purposes of the
graph and the accompanying table, unless otherwise indicated, it has been
assumed that the maximum sales charge was deducted from the initial $10,000
investment in the Fund and all dividends and distributions were reinvested.
Class B shares performance may be greater than or less than that shown in
the line graph above for Class A shares based on differences in the sales
loads and fees paid by shareholders investing in the different classes.
* Average Annual Total Return figures (for the periods ended 9/30/03)
include the reinvestment of all dividends and distributions. "N.A.V. Only"
returns are calculated without sales charges. The Class A "S.E.C.
Standardized" returns shown are based on the maximum sales charge of 5.75%
(prior to 6/17/02, the maximum sales charge was 6.25%). The Class B "S.E.C.
Standardized" returns are adjusted for the applicable deferred sales charge
(maximum of 4% in the first year). During the periods shown, some of the
expenses of the Fund were waived or assumed. If such expenses had been paid
by the Fund, the Class A "S.E.C. Standardized" Average Annual Total Return
for One Year, Five Years and Ten Years would have been 16.13%, .48% and
2.52%, respectively. The Class B "S.E.C. Standardized" Average Annual Total
Return for One Year, Five Years and Since Inception would have been 18.38%,
.57% and 2.94%, respectively. Results represent past performance and do not
indicate future results. Investment return and principal value of an
investment will fluctuate so that an investor's shares, when redeemed, may
be worth more or less than the original cost. Russell 2000 Index figures
are from Frank Russell and Company and all other figures are from First
Investors Management Company, Inc.
Portfolio of Investments
FIRST INVESTORS SPECIAL SITUATIONS FUND
September 30, 2003
- ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Amount
Invested
For Each
$10,000 of
Shares Security Value Net Assets
- ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
COMMON STOCKS--96.2%
Consumer Discretionary--18.1%
69,400 * Aeropostale, Inc. $1,877,270 $99
193,500 * Champion Enterprises, Inc. 1,228,725 65
62,400 * Chico's FAS, Inc. 1,911,935 100
24,100 Claire's Stores, Inc. 806,386 43
142,300 * Concord Camera Corporation 1,515,495 80
28,000 Culp, Inc. 257,600 14
22,800 * Cumulus Media, Inc. - Class "A" 388,740 21
14,900 * Dick's Sporting Goods, Inc. 556,366 29
29,380 Fred's, Inc. - Class "A" 968,365 51
26,200 * FTD, Inc. - Class "A" 589,762 31
22,900 * Getty Images, Inc. 805,164 43
24,600 * Guitar Center, Inc. 791,136 42
76,700 * Jarden Corporation 2,895,425 152
28,100 * Leapfrog Enterprises, Inc. - Class "A" 1,067,800 56
13,100 Michaels Stores, Inc. 533,956 28
86,000 * Movie Gallery, Inc. 1,689,900 89
142,300 * MTR Gaming Group, Inc. 1,233,741 65
17,900 * Multimedia Games, Inc. 651,381 34
57,500 Navigant International, Inc. 805,575 43
2,669 * NVR, Inc. 1,245,089 66
30,800 * Penn National Gaming, Inc. 656,656 35
60,300 * Quicksilver, Inc. 961,785 51
216,400 * Regent Communications, Inc. 1,320,040 70
103,300 * Restoration Hardware, Inc. 600,173 32
83,700 * Scientific Games Corporation - Class "A" 955,017 50
28,400 * Select Comfort Corporation 752,600 40
29,900 * Shuffle Master, Inc. 812,682 43
22,600 * Sports Authority, Inc. 710,996 38
22,300 * Steven Madden, Ltd. 423,031 22
66,900 * Tractor Supply Company 2,194,989 116
65,400 Triarc Companies, Inc. - Class "A" 658,578 35
130,800 Triarc Companies, Inc. - Class "B" 1,360,320 72
10,600 * Tuesday Morning Corporation 294,998 16
29,600 * Urban Outfitters, Inc. 771,376 41
- ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
34,293,052 1,812
- ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Portfolio of Investments (continued)
FIRST INVESTORS SPECIAL SITUATIONS FUND
September 30, 2003
- ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Amount
Invested
For Each
$10,000 of
Shares Security Value Net Assets
- ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Energy--3.9%
79,200 Chesapeake Energy Corporation $853,776 $45
435 Cross Timbers Royalty Trust 9,135 1
9,927 Devon Energy Corporation 478,382 25
4,500 * Houston Exploration Company 157,950 8
30,700 * National-Oilwell, Inc. 556,898 29
19,800 Noble Energy, Inc. 758,340 40
39,200 * Patterson-UTI Energy, Inc. 1,061,144 56
22,800 * Remington Oil & Gas Corporation 413,820 22
51,750 * TETRA Technologies, Inc. 1,067,085 56
27,000 World Fuel Services Corporation 757,890 41
58,833 XTO Energy, Inc. 1,234,905 65
- ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
7,349,325 388
- ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Financials--8.1%
1,700 Bank of the Ozarks, Inc. 75,667 4
9,400 Capital Automotive (REIT) 286,794 15
6,400 * CapitalSource, Inc. 112,000 6
25,200 Capitol Bancorp, Ltd. 674,100 36
36,250 Doral Financial Corporation 1,703,750 89
55,400 HCC Insurance Holdings, Inc. 1,611,032 85
32,400 Infinity Property & Casualty Corporation 910,764 48
71,900 * MI Developments, Inc. 1,632,130 86
43,400 * Montpelier Re Holdings, Ltd. 1,308,510 69
53,200 Odyssey Re Holdings Corporation 1,094,856 58
57,100 Provident Financial Services, Inc. 1,094,036 58
62,300 RAIT Investment Trust 1,430,408 76
44,600 Safety Insurance Group, Inc. 692,192 37
52,800 Thornburg Mortgage, Inc. 1,337,424 71
20,000 Westamerica Bancorporation 889,000 47
12,600 Westcorp, Inc. 440,370 23
- ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
15,293,033 808
- ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Health Care--20.6%
9,200 * American Healthways, Inc. 386,308 20
35,000 * AmSurg Corporation 1,154,650 61
6,300 * Angiotech Pharmaceuticals, Inc. 274,995 15
135,400 * Axcan Pharma, Inc. 1,849,564 98
80,100 * Bio-Reference Laboratories, Inc. 823,428 43
- ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
- ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Amount
Invested
For Each
$10,000 of
Shares Security Value Net Assets
- ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Health Care (continued)
31,400 * Celgene Corporation $1,360,562 $72
71,000 * Centene Corporation 2,157,690 114
14,900 * Cephalon, Inc. 684,208 36
36,700 * Curative Health Services, Inc. 655,829 35
23,700 * CV Therapeutics, Inc. 521,400 28
25,700 * DaVita, Inc. 818,031 43
44,400 * Eon Labs, Inc. 1,702,740 90
57,800 * Exact Sciences Corporation 780,300 41
21,600 * Fisher Scientific International, Inc. 857,304 45
43,600 * Genesis Health Ventures, Inc. 1,057,300 56
45,000 * Hanger Orthopedic Group, Inc. 690,750 36
25,200 * Hollis-Eden Pharmaceuticals, Inc. 613,872 32
103,200 * KV Pharmaceutical Company - Class "A" 2,322,000 123
8,000 * Med-Design Corporation 34,800 2
94,500 * Med-Design Corporation ** + 370,440 20
16,100 Medicis Pharmaceutical Corporation - Class "A" 943,460 50
17,300 * MGI Pharma, Inc. 679,198 36
18,100 * Mid Atlantic Medical Services, Inc. 930,883 49
17,000 * Neurocrine Biosciences, Inc. 841,840 44
22,200 * NPS Pharmaceuticals, Inc. 618,270 33
79,675 * Odyssey Healthcare, Inc. 2,375,909 125
5,500 * Possis Medical, Inc. 85,800 5
79,500 * Repligen Corporation 428,505 23
32,000 * Select Medical Corporation 921,600 49
18,820 * SFBC International, Inc. 535,090 28
55,700 * Steris Corporation 1,282,214 68
88,900 * SuperGen, Inc. 667,639 35
37,400 Synovis Life Technologies, Inc. ** + 823,174 43
35,700 * Taro Pharmaceuticals Industries, Ltd. 2,012,052 106
47,900 * U.S. Physical Therapy, Inc. 585,865 31
115,600 * VCA Antech, Inc. 2,722,380 143
53,800 * VistaCare, Inc. - Class "A" 1,683,940 89
19,100 * Wilson Greatbatch Technologies, Inc. 688,555 36
36,100 * ZOLL Medical Corporation 1,157,005 61
- ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
39,099,550 2,064
- ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Industrials--9.5%
38,800 * Arbitron, Inc. 1,369,640 72
30,000 * Career Education Corporation 1,359,000 72
59,200 * DRS Technologies, Inc. 1,428,496 75
- ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Portfolio of Investments (continued)
FIRST INVESTORS SPECIAL SITUATIONS FUND
September 30, 2003
- ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Amount
Invested
For Each
$10,000 of
Shares Security Value Net Assets
- ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Industrials (continued)
27,300 * Education Management Corporation $1,574,390 $83
25,500 * ESCO Technologies, Inc. 1,154,385 61
46,550 * Genesee & Wyoming, Inc. - Class "A" 1,103,701 58
27,900 * Marten Transport, Ltd. 728,190 38
63,400 * Moore Wallace, Inc. 900,280 48
46,700 * MTC Technologies, Inc. 1,083,440 57
18,200 * Old Dominion Freight Line, Inc. 529,438 28
43,200 Oshkosh Truck Corporation 1,711,152 91
35,100 * United Defense Industries, Inc. 996,489 53
135,000 United Industrial Corporation 2,146,500 114
25,300 * Wabash National Corporation 403,535 21
24,000 * Waste Connections, Inc. 842,160 44
29,700 Werner Enterprises, Inc. 680,427 36
- ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
18,011,223 951
- ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Information Technology--29.9%
32,500 * Altiris, Inc. 854,100 45
24,300 * AMIS Holdings, Inc. 448,578 24
87,300 * Aspect Communications Corporation 727,209 38
233,200 * Atari, Inc. 953,788 50
19,500 * ATMI, Inc. 492,765 26
13,900 * Avid Technology, Inc. 734,476 39
54,700 * Cognizant Technology Solutions
Corporation - Class "A" 1,994,909 106
172,200 * Conexant Systems, Inc. 974,652 51
78,400 * Cray, Inc. 860,832 45
50,000 * Credence Systems Corporation 575,000 30
13,800 * Cymer, Inc. 568,560 30
29,200 * Cypress Semiconductor Corporation 516,256 27
45,300 * Digital River, Inc. 1,238,955 65
600 * Digital Theater Systems, Inc. 17,089 1
33,500 * Documentum, Inc. 713,885 38
38,000 * DSP Group, Inc. 946,580 50
32,900 * DuPont Photomasks, Inc. 747,159 39
82,300 * Embarcadero Technologies, Inc. 826,292 44
12,000 * Excel Technology, Inc. 300,000 16
31,800 * FLIR Systems, Inc. 814,716 43
77,800 * Global Imaging Systems, Inc. 1,913,880 101
60,900 * GlobespanVirata, Inc. 439,698 23
32,000 * Hyperion Solutions Corporation 923,840 49
- ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
- ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Amount
Invested
For Each
$10,000 of
Shares Security Value Net Assets
- ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Information Technology (continued)
27,400 * Integrated Circuit Systems, Inc. $823,096 $43
93,400 * Intergraph Corporation 2,174,352 115
24,100 * International Rectifier Corporation 902,304 48
34,700 Inter-Tel, Inc. 851,885 45
26,600 * InterVideo, Inc. 570,570 30
22,700 * Itron, Inc. 455,589 24
28,200 * J2 Global Communications, Inc. 1,066,806 56
88,600 * Kopin Corporation 613,998 32
23,600 * Kronos, Inc. 1,248,676 66
78,700 * Lexar Media, Inc. 1,341,048 71
54,500 * Magma Design Automation, Inc. 1,069,290 56
22,100 * Manhattan Associates, Inc. 572,169 30
16,800 * ManTech International Corporation - Class "A" 417,984 22
53,400 * MapInfo Corporation 512,106 27
92,800 * Maxtor Corporation 1,129,376 60
150,700 * MEMC Electronic Materials, Inc. 1,644,137 87
36,100 * Mentor Graphics Corporation 632,833 33
14,100 * Mercury Interactive Corporation 640,281 34
84,400 * Mindspeed Technologies, Inc. 454,916 24
258,000 * MPS Group, Inc. 2,322,000 124
48,500 * Neoware Systems, Inc. 827,895 44
15,600 * NetScreen Technologies, Inc. 346,788 18
45,100 * O2Micro International, Ltd. 651,695 34
20,900 * OmniVision Technologies, Inc. 882,816 47
121,600 * Pinnacle Systems, Inc. 1,025,088 54
106,300 * Pixelworks, Inc. 916,306 48
31,000 * Planar Systems, Inc. 664,950 35
39,700 * Progress Software Corporation 853,550 45
6,400 * SafeNet, Inc. 231,232 12
16,900 * ScanSource, Inc. 617,526 33
2,000 * Sigmatel, Inc. 41,220 2
29,900 * Skyworks Solutions, Inc. 272,090 14
26,600 StarTek, Inc. 851,200 45
39,800 * Sybase, Inc. 676,998 36
145,600 * Sycamore Networks, Inc. 713,440 38
58,100 * Synaptics, Inc. 625,156 33
60,600 * Titan Corporation 1,262,904 67
25,300 * Trimble Navigation, Ltd. 585,695 31
31,800 * TTM Technologies, Inc. 454,104 24
58,900 * United Online, Inc. 2,045,008 109
51,800 * UTStarcom, Inc. 1,647,758 87
- ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Portfolio of Investments (continued)
FIRST INVESTORS SPECIAL SITUATIONS FUND
September 30, 2003
- ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Amount
Invested
For Each
Shares or $10,000 of
Warrants Security Value Net Assets
- ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Information Technology (continued)
38,200 * Varian Semiconductor Equipment Associates, Inc. $1,430,590 $76
2,200 * Websense, Inc. 46,794 2
54,400 * Western Digital Corporation 701,216 37
14,200 * White Electronic Designs Corporation 152,650 8
- ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
56,551,304 2,986
- ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Materials--2.6%
10,800 Centex Construction Products, Inc. 482,436 25
122,700 * Headwaters, Inc. 1,975,470 105
23,500 International Flavors & Fragrances, Inc. 777,380 41
48,500 * Louisiana-Pacific Corporation 668,330 35
36,700 NN, Inc. 471,962 25
39,300 Penford Corporation 510,900 27
- ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
4,886,478 258
- ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Other--.6%
9,000 Biotech HOLDRs Trust 1,161,360 61
- ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Telecommunication Services--2.0%
29,900 * Commonwealth Telephone Enterprises, Inc. 1,199,887 63
46,100 CT Communications, Inc. 520,930 28
21,100 * NII Holdings, Inc. - Class "A" 1,259,459 67
102,400 * PTEK Holdings, Inc. 834,560 44
- ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
3,814,836 202
- ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Utilities--.9%
42,300 Equitable Resources, Inc. 1,738,530 92
- ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Total Value of Common Stocks (cost $137,866,811) 182,198,691 9,622
- ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
WARRANTS--.0%
Health Care
31,500 * Med-Design Corporation (expiring 7/29/08)
(cost $3,938) ** + 3,938 --
- ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
- ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Amount
Invested
For Each
Principal $10,000 of
Amount Security Value Net Assets
- ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
SHORT-TERM CORPORATE NOTES--4.8%
ChevronTexaco Corp.:
$2,400M 1.02%, 10/6/03 $2,399,660 $127
3,300M 1.01%, 10/7/03 3,299,444 174
3,400M Prudential Funding Corp., 1.03%, 10/1/03 3,400,000 180
- ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Total Value of Short-Term Corporate Notes (cost $9,099,104) 9,099,104 481
- ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Total Value of Investments (cost $146,969,853) 101.0% 191,301,733 10,103
Excess of Liabilities Over Other Assets (1.0) (1,941,149) (103)
- ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Net Assets 100.0% $189,360,584 $10,000
======================================================================================================================
* Non-income producing
** Security valued at fair value (see Note 1A)
+ See Note 6
See notes to financial statements
Portfolio Manager's Letter
FIRST INVESTORS FOCUSED EQUITY FUND
Dear Investor:
This is the annual report for the First Investors Focused Equity Fund for
the fiscal year ended September 30, 2003. During the period, the Fund's
return on a net asset value basis was 26.2% for Class A shares and 25.2%
for Class B shares.
October 9, 2002 marked the inception of the current bull market. Investors
who had abandoned equities missed the sharp snap back we experienced during
the reporting period. Over the year ended September 30, 2003, the S&P 500
was up over 24% and the tech-heavy Nasdaq gained even more. Increasing
optimism that the economy is in the early stages of rebounding has fueled
this surge in the broad market. Increases in consumer confidence and
manufacturing output, resilience in consumer spending and improved
productivity have been supported by low interest rates and reduced tax
rates.
The Fund benefited from the rising economy, the strong equity market and
stock selection. In particular, certain health care and consumer
discretionary stocks helped to move the Fund higher. Sector allocation also
contributed positively to the Fund's results. Our overweight position in
the information technology and consumer staples sectors benefited the Fund.
Stock selection and an underweight position in the telecommunications
sector offset some of the positive performance. During the reporting
period, the Fund held between 40-45 securities, an increase from the 30-35
securities held in the previous period.
Thank you for placing your trust in First Investors. As always, we
appreciate the opportunity to serve your investment needs.
Sincerely,
/S/ MATTHEW E. MEGARGEL
Matthew E. Megargel
Portfolio Manager
October 31, 2003
Cumulative Performance Information
FIRST INVESTORS FOCUSED EQUITY FUND
Comparison of change in value of $10,000 investment in the First Investors
Focused Equity Fund (Class A shares) and the Standard & Poor's 500 Index.
FOCUSED EQUITY
GRAPH PLOTS
As of September 30, 2003
FOCUSED S & P
EQUITY 500
MAR 99 $ 9,425 $10,000
SEP 99 10,254 9,918
SEP 00 9,783 11,235
SEP 01 7,276 8,245
SEP 02 5,401 6,555
SEP 03 6,814 8,155
(INSET BOX IN CHART READS:)
Average Annual Total Returns*
Class A Shares N.A.V. Only S.E.C. Standardized
One Year 26.18% 18.92%
Since Inception
(3/22/99) (6.91%) (8.12%)
Class B Shares
One Year 25.22% 21.22%
Since Inception
(3/22/99) (7.57%) (7.99%)
The graph compares a $10,000 investment in the First Investors Focused
Equity Fund (Class A shares) beginning 3/22/99 (inception date) with a
theoretical investment in the Standard & Poor's 500 Index (the "Index").
The Index is an unmanaged capitalization-weighted index of 500 stocks
designed to measure performance of the broad domestic economy through
changes in the aggregate market value of such stocks, which represent all
major industries. It is not possible to invest directly in this Index. In
addition, the Index does not take into account fees and expenses that an
investor would incur in purchasing securities in the Index. For purposes of
the graph and the accompanying table, unless otherwise indicated, it has
been assumed that the maximum sales charge was deducted from the initial
$10,000 investment in the Fund. Class B shares performance may be greater
than or less than that shown in the line graph above for Class A shares
based on differences in sales loads and fees paid by shareholders investing
in the different classes.
* Average Annual Total Return figures are for the periods ended 9/30/03.
"N.A.V. Only" returns are calculated without sales charges. The Class A
"S.E.C. Standardized" returns shown are based on the maximum sales charge
of 5.75% (prior to 6/17/02 the maximum sales charge was 6.25%). The Class B
"S.E.C. Standardized" returns are adjusted for the applicable deferred
sales charge (maximum of 4% in the first year). During certain of the
periods shown, some of the expenses of the Fund were waived or assumed. If
such expenses had been paid by the Fund, the Class A "S.E.C. Standardized"
Average Annual Total Return Since Inception would have been (8.13%). The
Class B "S.E.C. Standardized" Average Annual Total Return Since Inception
would have been (8.00%). Results represent past performance and do not
indicate future results. Investment return and principal value of an
investment will fluctuate so that an investor's shares, when redeemed, may
be worth more or less than the original cost. Standard & Poor's 500 Index
figures are from Standard & Poor's and all other figures are from First
Investors Management Company, Inc.
Portfolio of Investments
FIRST INVESTORS FOCUSED EQUITY FUND
September 30, 2003
- ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Amount
Invested
For Each
$10,000 of
Shares Security Value Net Assets
- ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
COMMON STOCKS--98.7%
Consumer Discretionary--9.1%
152,400 * AOL Time Warner, Inc. $2,302,764 $393
46,100 * Comcast Corporation - Special Class "A" 1,361,794 232
28,100 Gap, Inc. 481,072 82
23,200 Lowe's Companies, Inc. 1,204,080 205
- ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
5,349,710 912
- ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Consumer Staples--10.5%
14,700 Altria Group, Inc. 643,860 110
24,600 Coca-Cola Company 1,056,816 180
32,500 Gillette Company 1,039,350 177
23,900 PepsiCo, Inc. 1,095,337 186
9,800 Procter & Gamble Company 909,636 155
25,700 Wal-Mart Stores, Inc. 1,435,345 245
- ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
6,180,344 1,053
- ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Energy--6.3%
24,900 ChevronTexaco Corporation 1,779,105 303
39,800 Schlumberger, Ltd. 1,926,320 329
- ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
3,705,425 632
- ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Financials--21.6%
20,500 American Express Company 923,730 158
37,520 American International Group, Inc. 2,164,904 369
17,500 Bank of America Corporation 1,365,700 233
30,600 Bank One Corporation 1,182,690 202
64,000 Citigroup, Inc. 2,912,640 496
17,500 Marsh & McLennan Companies, Inc. 833,175 142
29,700 Merrill Lynch & Company, Inc. 1,589,841 271
45,700 Travelers Property Casualty Corporation - Class "B" 725,716 124
22,800 Wachovia Corporation 939,132 160
- ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
12,637,528 2,155
- ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
- ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Amount
Invested
For Each
$10,000 of
Shares Security Value Net Assets
- ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Health Care--14.7%
37,900 Abbott Laboratories $1,612,645 $275
18,600 Cardinal Health, Inc. 1,086,054 185
17,900 Eli Lilly & Company 1,063,260 181
12,500 * Genzyme Corporation 578,125 99
89,300 Pfizer, Inc. 2,712,934 462
34,100 Wyeth 1,572,010 268
- ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
8,625,028 1,470
- ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Industrials--11.4%
10,000 3M Company 690,700 118
14,600 FedEx Corporation 940,678 160
81,400 General Electric Company 2,426,534 413
19,800 Lockheed Martin Corporation 913,770 156
11,500 United Technologies Corporation 888,720 151
31,300 Waste Management, Inc. 819,121 140
- ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
6,679,523 1,138
- ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Information Technology--20.1%
48,700 * Accenture, Ltd. - Class "A" 1,087,958 185
38,900 * Applied Materials, Inc. 705,646 120
66,900 * Cisco Systems, Inc. 1,307,226 223
19,500 * Dell, Inc. 651,105 111
71,093 Hewlett-Packard Company 1,376,360 235
68,600 Intel Corporation 1,887,186 322
13,900 International Business Machines Corporation 1,227,787 209
126,700 Microsoft Corporation 3,520,993 600
- ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
11,764,261 2,005
- ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Materials--3.9%
47,900 Alcoa, Inc. 1,253,064 213
26,400 International Paper Company 1,030,128 176
- ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
2,283,192 389
- ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Utilities--1.1%
10,300 Exelon Corporation 654,050 111
- ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Total Value of Common Stocks (cost $58,404,392) 57,879,061 9,865
- ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Portfolio of Investments (continued)
FIRST INVESTORS FOCUSED EQUITY FUND
September 30, 2003
- ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Amount
Invested
For Each
Principal $10,000 of
Amount Security Value Net Assets
- ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
REPURCHASE AGREEMENT--1.2%
$714M BNP Paribas Corp., .97%, 10/1/03 (collateralized by
U.S. Treasury Notes, 3.25%, 12/31/03,
valued at $728,774) (cost $714,000) $714,000 $121
- ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Total Value of Investments (cost $59,118,392) 99.9% 58,593,061 9,986
Other Assets, Less Liabilities .1 81,787 14
- ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Net Assets 100.0% $58,674,848 $10,000
======================================================================================================================
* Non-income producing
See notes to financial statements
Portfolio Manager's Letter
FIRST INVESTORS GLOBAL FUND, INC.
Dear Investor:
This is the annual report for the First Investors Global Fund, Inc. for the
fiscal year ended September 30, 2003. During the period, the Fund's return
on a net asset value basis was 21.7% for Class A shares and 21.0% for Class
B shares.
The Fund benefited from the rebound in the global equity markets as the
economic recovery took hold and investors priced in expectations that it
would continue into 2004. All regional markets strengthened considerably
with Europe rising 28.2%, the Pacific Basin excluding Japan up 35.2%, the
U.S. increasing 24.4%, and Japan up 18.5%. For the twelve months ended
September 30, 2003, all of the 24 developed countries in the MSCI All
Country World Free Index ("the Index") registered positive returns, as did
all ten major industry composites.
The Fund underperformed the Index with stock selection within materials and
industrials being the largest detractor to relative performance. Stock
selection within the U.S. and emerging markets also had a negative impact,
as did underweight allocations to Canada and the Pacific Basin (excluding
Japan). The Fund also did not experience the gains enjoyed by the more
speculative, smaller capitalization stocks in the benchmark, since the
Fund focuses primarily on higher quality, larger capitalization securities.
Stock selection within the information technology, consumer discretionary
and health care sectors, as well as stock selection within Canada and the
UK helped relative performance. Overweights in Europe and the emerging
markets and underweights in Japan, the U.S. and the UK were also positive.
As of September 30, 2003, the Fund was broadly diversified across 25
countries with the bulk of the exposure in the U.S. (45%), Europe (30%),
and Japan (11%). The U.S. remains an underweight position in the portfolio.
Our European exposure has been consistently diversified across 12 countries
and remains overweight relative to the Index in Europe. Japan has moved
back to an overweight after being underweight much of the year.
Thank you for placing your trust in First Investors. As always, we
appreciate the opportunity to serve your investment needs.
Sincerely,
/S/ TROND SKRAMSTAD
Trond Skramstad
Portfolio Manager
October 31, 2003
Cumulative Performance Information
FIRST INVESTORS GLOBAL FUND, INC.
Comparison of change in value of $10,000 investment in the First Investors
Global Fund, Inc. (Class A shares) and the Morgan Stanley Capital
International ("MSCI") All Country World Free Index.
GLOBAL
GRAPH PLOTS
As of September 30, 2003
MORGAN STANLEY
FIRST INVESTORS ALL COUNTRY
GLOBAL WORLD INDEX FREE
DEC 93 $ 9,425 $10,000
DEC 94 9,072 10,503
DEC 95 10,689 12,546
DEC 96 12,232 14,198
DEC 97 13,208 16,327
SEP 98 13,043 16,439
SEP 99 16,908 21,518
SEP 00 18,890 23,242
SEP 01 13,437 16,702
SEP 02 10,910 13,744
SEP 03 13,308 17,424
(INSET BOX IN CHART READS:)
Average Annual Total Returns*
Class A Shares N.A.V. Only S.E.C. Standardized
One Year 21.70% 14.67%
Five Years 0.40% (0.79%)
Ten Years 4.32% 3.71%
Class B Shares
One Year 21.00% 17.00%
Five Years (0.27%) (0.68%)
Since Inception
(1/12/95) 3.70% 3.70%
The graph compares a $10,000 investment in the First Investors Global Fund,
Inc. (Class A shares) beginning 12/31/93 with a theoretical investment in
the MSCI All Country World Free Index (the "Index"). The Index represents
both the developed and the emerging markets. The Index includes 49 markets
of which emerging markets represent approximately 4.48%. It is not possible
to invest directly in this Index. In addition, the Index does not take into
account fees and expenses that an investor would incur in purchasing
securities in the Index. For purposes of the graph and the accompanying
table, unless otherwise indicated, it has been assumed that the maximum
sales charge was deducted from the initial $10,000 investment in the Fund
and all dividends and distributions were reinvested. Class B shares
performance may be greater than or less than that shown in the line graph
above for Class A shares based on differences in sales loads and fees paid
by shareholders investing in the different classes.
* Average Annual Total Return figures (for the periods ended 9/30/03)
include the reinvestment of all dividends and distributions. "N.A.V. Only"
returns are calculated without sales charges. The Class A "S.E.C.
Standardized" returns shown are based on the maximum sales charge of 5.75%
(prior to 6/17/02, the maximum sales charge was 6.25%). The Class B "S.E.C.
Standardized" returns are adjusted for the applicable deferred sales charge
(maximum of 4% in the first year). Results represent past performance and
do not indicate future results. Investment return and principal value of an
investment will fluctuate so that an investor's shares, when redeemed, may
be worth more or less than the original cost. MSCI All Country World Free
Index figures are from Morgan Stanley & Co., Inc. and all other figures are
from First Investors Management Company, Inc.
Portfolio of Investments
FIRST INVESTORS GLOBAL FUND, INC.
September 30, 2003
- ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Amount
Invested
For Each
$10,000 of
Shares Security Value Net Assets
- ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
COMMON STOCKS--96.6%
United States--45.3%
13,800 3M Company $953,166 $46
52,000 Abbott Laboratories 2,212,600 107
67,600 Alcoa, Inc. 1,768,416 85
20,200 Altria Group, Inc. 884,760 43
28,300 American Express Company 1,275,198 61
52,553 American International Group, Inc. 3,032,308 146
19,000 * Analog Devices, Inc. 722,380 35
183,400 * AOL Time Warner, Inc. 2,771,174 134
54,100 * Applied Materials, Inc. 981,374 47
22,500 Bank of America Corporation 1,755,900 85
41,800 Bank One Corporation 1,615,570 78
28,400 * Brinker International, Inc. 947,424 46
25,800 Cardinal Health, Inc. 1,506,462 73
34,500 ChevronTexaco Corporation 2,465,025 119
17,300 * ChoicePoint, Inc. 579,550 28
101,900 * Cisco Systems, Inc. 1,991,126 96
88,249 Citigroup, Inc. 4,016,212 194
34,300 Coca-Cola Company 1,473,528 71
58,600 Coca-Cola Enterprises, Inc. 1,116,916 54
61,300 * Comcast Corporation - Class "A" 1,810,802 87
14,200 CVS Corporation 441,052 21
26,700 * Dell, Inc. 891,513 43
14,100 * EchoStar Communications Corporation 539,607 26
28,400 Eli Lilly & Company 1,686,960 81
19,100 EOG Resources, Inc. 797,234 39
14,800 Exelon Corporation 939,800 45
18,300 FedEx Corporation 1,179,069 57
7,100 Freeport-McMoRan Copper & Gold, Inc. - Class "B" 235,010 11
76,800 Gap, Inc. 1,314,815 63
11,300 General Dynamics Corporation 882,078 43
113,600 General Electric Company 3,386,416 163
5,200 * Genzyme Corporation 240,500 12
43,500 Gillette Company 1,391,130 67
11,800 Guidant Corporation 552,830 27
100,200 Hewlett-Packard Company 1,939,872 94
35,500 IMS Health, Inc. 749,050 36
94,560 Intel Corporation 2,601,346 126
11,300 * InterActiveCorp 373,465 18
19,900 International Business Machines Corporation 1,757,767 85
36,800 International Paper Company 1,435,936 69
- ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Portfolio of Investments (continued)
FIRST INVESTORS GLOBAL FUND, INC.
September 30, 2003
- ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Amount
Invested
For Each
$10,000 of
Shares Security Value Net Assets
- ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
United States (continued)
24,600 * International Rectifier Corporation $921,024 $44
7,800 * Intuit, Inc. 376,272 18
32,000 * Lamar Advertising Company - Class "A" 938,880 45
17,700 Legg Mason, Inc. 1,277,940 62
27,400 Lockheed Martin Corporation 1,264,510 61
32,100 Lowe's Companies, Inc. 1,665,990 80
23,700 Marsh & McLennan Companies, Inc. 1,128,357 54
34,900 Masco Corporation 854,352 41
22,800 * MEMC Electronic Materials, Inc. 248,748 12
42,800 Merrill Lynch & Company, Inc. 2,291,084 111
15,500 Michaels Stores, Inc. 631,780 30
178,000 Microsoft Corporation 4,946,620 239
12,300 Omnicom Group, Inc. 883,755 43
34,900 PepsiCo, Inc. 1,599,467 77
124,525 Pfizer, Inc. 3,783,070 182
14,900 Procter & Gamble Company 1,383,018 67
24,500 St. Paul Companies, Inc. 907,235 44
41,100 * SunGard Data Systems, Inc. 1,081,341 52
63,100 Travelers Property Casualty Corporation - Class "B" 1,002,028 48
14,800 United Technologies Corporation 1,143,744 55
33,600 Wachovia Corporation 1,383,984 67
35,400 Wal-Mart Stores, Inc. 1,977,090 95
83,500 Waste Management, Inc. 2,185,195 105
5,900 * WellPoint Health Networks, Inc. 454,772 22
50,300 Wyeth 2,318,830 112
- ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
93,864,427 4,527
- ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Japan--11.1%
140,000 Asahi Glass Company, Ltd. 963,702 46
95,000 Dai Nippon Printing Company, Ltd. 1,302,779 63
34,000 Fuji Photo Film Company, Ltd. 998,254 48
50,000 Fujisawa Pharmaceutical Company, Ltd. 1,136,820 55
30,400 Honda Motor Company, Ltd. 1,216,381 59
49,000 Kao Corporation 1,035,134 50
4,800 Keyence Corporation 1,019,165 49
11,600 Nintendo Company, Ltd. 971,902 47
298,000 Nippon Express Company, Ltd. 1,245,724 60
63,000 Nomura Holdings, Inc. 1,015,083 49
14,100 Nomura Research Institute, Ltd. 1,283,597 62
934 NTT DoCoMo, Inc. 2,282,433 110
- ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
- ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Amount
Invested
For Each
$10,000 of
Shares Security Value Net Assets
- ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Japan (continued)
12,800 ORIX Corporation $1,000,260 $48
8,000 Rohm Company, Ltd. 1,038,357 50
26,000 Shin-Etsu Chemical Company, Ltd. 977,487 47
101,000 Shionogi & Company, Ltd. 1,753,927 85
954 * SKY Perfect Communications, Inc. 1,152,844 56
65,000 Sompo Japan Insurance, Inc. 470,125 23
15,500 Sony Corporation 541,109 26
29,400 Sony Corporation (ADR) 1,023,120 49
129 Sumitomo Mitsui Financial Group, Inc. 519,626 25
- ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
22,947,829 1,107
- ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
United Kingdom--10.2%
29,100 AstraZeneca PLC 1,228,974 59
485,000 BP PLC 3,327,867 160
816,700 * British Airways PLC 2,255,789 109
474,900 Compass Group PLC 2,737,826 132
3,530,200 * Corus Group PLC 1,187,678 57
361,400 Hilton Group PLC 1,079,273 52
249,127 National Grid Transco PLC 1,595,583 77
111,972 Reckitt Benckiser PLC 2,250,966 109
144,984 Royal Bank of Scotland Group PLC 3,685,409 178
949,412 Vodafone Group PLC 1,892,824 91
- ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
21,242,189 1,024
- ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
France--8.1%
79,404 Aventis SA 4,119,534 199
48,829 AXA 822,819 40
24,700 Carrefour SA 1,242,621 60
62,083 * France Telecom SA 1,427,900 69
59,375 Lafarge SA 3,847,927 186
37,700 Schneider Electric SA 1,953,707 94
22,844 Total SA 3,447,745 166
- ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
16,862,253 814
- ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Portfolio of Investments (continued)
FIRST INVESTORS GLOBAL FUND, INC.
September 30, 2003
- ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Amount
Invested
For Each
$10,000 of
Shares Security Value Net Assets
- ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Germany--3.1%
42,700 Bayerische Motoren Werke (BMW) AG $1,613,618 $78
60,500 DaimlerChrysler AG 2,113,658 102
61,000 * Deutsche Telekom AG 877,314 42
38,900 E.ON AG 1,898,111 92
- ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
6,502,701 314
- ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
South Korea--2.8%
164,930 Kia Motors Corporation 1,147,190 55
42,410 Kookmin Bank 1,390,129 67
5,610 Samsung Electronics Company, Ltd. 1,912,029 92
8,010 SK Telecom Company, Ltd. 1,281,433 62
- ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
5,730,781 276
- ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Switzerland--2.6%
207,300 ABB, Ltd. 1,145,911 55
12,610 Nestle SA 2,907,576 140
855 Serono SA - Class "B" 559,382 27
12,360 UBS AG 693,530 34
- ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
5,306,399 256
- ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Netherlands--2.5%
104,500 Akzo Nobel NV 3,257,787 157
52,000 * ASML Holding NV 681,262 33
66,133 ING Groep NV 1,211,449 58
- ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
5,150,498 248
- ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Sweden--2.4%
132,000 ForeningsSparbanken AB 1,953,874 94
512,520 Nordea AB 2,921,909 141
- ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
4,875,783 235
- ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Canada--1.6%
10,600 Canadian National Railway Company 551,412 27
68,300 National Bank of Canada 1,842,321 89
19,100 Talisman Energy, Inc. 907,832 44
- ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
3,301,565 160
- ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
- ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Amount
Invested
For Each
$10,000 of
Shares Security Value Net Assets
- ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Netherlands Antilles--1.3%
53,900 Schlumberger, Ltd. $2,608,760 $126
- ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Taiwan--1.1%
521,800 * United Microelectronics Corporation (ADR) 2,353,318 113
- ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Malaysia--1.1%
646,000 Malayan Banking Berhad 1,632,000 79
1,048,750 Public Bank Berhad 717,566 34
- ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
2,349,566 113
- ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Hong Kong--.8%
96,000 Cheung Kong Holdings, Ltd. 759,317 37
103,000 Sun Hung Kai Properties, Ltd. 834,635 40
- ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
1,593,952 77
- ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Mexico--.8%
67,200 America Movil SA de CV (ADR) - Series "L" 1,552,992 75
- ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Bermuda--.7%
68,200 * Accenture, Ltd. - Class "A" 1,523,588 73
- ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Finland--.6%
84,913 Nokia OYJ 1,307,265 63
- ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Italy--.5%
142,300 * Fiat SpA 1,125,208 54
- ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Spain--.0%
4,229 Industria de Diseno Textil SA 90,618 4
- ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Total Value of Common Stocks (cost $173,819,184) 200,289,692 9,659
- ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
PREFERRED STOCKS--.0%
Brazil
23,000 * Vale Do Rio Doce - Class "B" (cost $0) ** 143 --
- ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Portfolio of Investments (continued)
FIRST INVESTORS GLOBAL FUND, INC.
September 30, 2003
- ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Amount
Invested
For Each
Principal $10,000 of
Amount Security Value Net Assets
- ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
REPURCHASE AGREEMENT--3.2%
$6,738M BNP Paribas Corp., .97%, 10/1/03 (collateralized by
U.S. Treasury Notes, 3.25%, 12/31/03, valued at
$6,872,166) (cost $6,738,000) $6,738,000 $325
- ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Total Value of Investments (cost $180,557,184) 99.8% 207,027,835 9,984
Other Assets, Less Liabilities .2 328,807 16
- ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Net Assets 100.0% $207,356,642 $10,000
======================================================================================================================
* Non-income producing
** Security valued at fair value (see Note 1A)
See notes to financial statements
Sector Diversification of the portfolio was as follows:
- ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Percentage
Sector of Net Assets Value
- ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Banks 9.4% $19,418,288
Pharmaceuticals & Biotechnology 9.2 19,040,599
Energy 6.5 13,554,464
Diversified Financials 6.2 12,780,755
Materials 6.1 12,710,383
Capital Goods 6.1 12,547,586
Semiconductors & Semiconductor Equipment 5.5 11,459,837
Software & Services 4.9 10,183,319
Telecommunication Services 4.5 9,314,895
Technology Hardware & Equipment 4.3 8,906,708
Media 3.9 8,097,062
Food/Beverage/Tobacco 3.8 7,982,247
Insurance 3.5 7,362,872
Automobiles & Components 3.5 7,216,054
Household & Personal Products 2.9 6,060,249
Transportation 2.5 5,231,993
Hotels/Restaurants/Leisure 2.3 4,764,523
Utilities 2.1 4,433,494
Retailing 2.0 4,076,669
Commercial Services & Supplies 2.0 4,067,524
Food & Staples Retailing 1.8 3,660,763
Health Care Equipment & Services 1.6 3,263,114
Consumer Durables & Apparel 1.2 2,562,484
Real Estate .8 1,593,953
Repurchase Agreement 3.2 6,738,000
- ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Total Value of Investments 99.8 207,027,835
Other Assets, Less Liabilities .2 328,807
- ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Net Assets 100.0% $207,356,642
======================================================================================================================
Statement of Assets and Liabilities
FIRST INVESTORS
September 30, 2003
- -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
TOTAL GROWTH & ALL-CAP
RETURN VALUE BLUE CHIP INCOME GROWTH
- -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Assets
Investments in securities:
At identified cost $181,955,957 $131,490,938 $368,391,936 $404,259,466 $79,341,082
============ ============ ============ ============ ============
At value (Note 1A) $202,687,244 $144,288,376 $442,204,974 $474,754,722 $90,035,654
Cash 306,683 640,095 1,382,913 247,957 738
Receivables:
Investment securities sold 4,221,974 146,893 2,349,464 1,400,791 1,775,005
Shares sold 1,157,193 369,315 998,986 1,129,309 619,075
Dividends and interest 971,627 361,136 461,573 458,217 33,094
Other assets -- -- -- -- --
------------ ------------ ------------ ------------ ------------
Total Assets 209,344,721 145,805,815 447,397,910 477,990,996 92,463,566
------------ ------------ ------------ ------------ ------------
Liabilities
Payables:
Investment securities purchased 3,741,190 732,491 1,075,954 563,030 1,701,040
Shares redeemed 253,381 203,802 539,982 682,838 147,387
Dividend payable 10,781 12,213 -- 2,742 --
Forward currency contracts (Note 4) -- -- -- -- --
Accrued advisory fees 133,953 96,211 299,223 313,074 59,395
Accrued expenses 71,843 66,846 139,220 170,220 62,539
------------ ------------ ------------ ------------ ------------
Total Liabilities 4,211,148 1,111,563 2,054,379 1,731,904 1,970,361
------------ ------------ ------------ ------------ ------------
Net Assets $205,133,573 $144,694,252 $445,343,531 $476,259,092 $90,493,205
============ ============ ============ ============ ============
Net Assets Consist of:
Capital paid in $217,435,848 $195,683,401 $537,067,588 $526,160,800 $101,532,519
Undistributed net investment income (deficit) (312,490) 85,827 -- -- --
Accumulated net realized loss on investments
and foreign currency transactions (32,721,072) (63,872,414) (165,537,095) (120,396,964) (21,733,886)
Net unrealized appreciation in
value of investments and foreign
currency transactions 20,731,287 12,797,438 73,813,038 70,495,256 10,694,572
------------ ------------ ------------ ------------ ------------
Total $205,133,573 $144,694,252 $445,343,531 $476,259,092 $90,493,205
============ ============ ============ ============ ============
Net Assets:
Class A $176,711,923 $125,953,851 $382,856,829 $399,958,022 $76,681,021
Class B $ 28,421,650 $ 18,740,401 $ 62,486,702 $ 76,301,070 $13,812,184
Shares outstanding (Note 5):
Class A 14,704,814 25,259,253 22,333,675 37,464,108 11,362,048
Class B 2,396,011 3,810,540 3,842,440 7,433,990 2,088,394
Net asset value and redemption price
per share - Class A $12.02 $4.99 $17.14 $10.68 $6.75
====== ====== ====== ====== ======
Maximum offering price per share - Class A
(Net asset value/.9425)* $12.75 $5.29 $18.19 $11.33 $7.16
====== ====== ====== ====== ======
Net asset value and offering price per share -
Class B (Note 5) $11.86 $4.92 $16.26 $10.26 $6.61
====== ====== ====== ====== ======
* On purchases of $100,000 or more, the sales charge is reduced.
See notes to financial statements
- ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
MID-CAP SPECIAL FOCUSED
OPPORTUNITY SITUATIONS EQUITY GLOBAL
- ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Assets
Investments in securities:
At identified cost $198,720,044 $146,969,853 $59,118,392 $180,557,184
============ ============ ============ ============
At value (Note 1A) $226,541,028 $191,301,733 $58,593,061 $207,027,835
Cash 97,574 190,051 1,652 8,624
Receivables:
Investment securities sold 531,975 115,976 54,911 4,670,468
Shares sold 885,701 277,495 133,011 148,838
Dividends and interest 116,960 55,467 53,034 400,294
Other assets -- -- -- 20,335
------------ ------------ ------------ ------------
Total Assets 228,173,238 191,940,722 58,835,669 212,276,394
------------ ------------ ------------ ------------
Liabilities
Payables:
Investment securities purchased 1,029,924 2,097,206 -- 4,241,357
Shares redeemed 269,334 241,505 71,010 343,443
Dividend payable -- -- -- --
Forward currency contracts (Note 4) -- -- -- 15,060
Accrued advisory fees 150,964 128,186 39,368 186,702
Accrued expenses 103,419 113,241 50,443 133,190
------------ ------------ ------------ ------------
Total Liabilities 1,553,641 2,580,138 160,821 4,919,752
------------ ------------ ------------ ------------
Net Assets $226,619,597 $189,360,584 $58,674,848 $207,356,642
============ ============ ============ ============
Net Assets Consist of:
Capital paid in $231,511,487 $232,697,208 $87,944,902 $242,021,869
Undistributed net investment income (deficit) -- -- -- --
Accumulated net realized loss on investments
and foreign currency transactions (32,712,874) (87,668,504) (28,744,723) (61,153,926)
Net unrealized appreciation (depreciation) in
value of investments and foreign
currency transactions 27,820,984 44,331,880 (525,331) 26,488,699
------------ ------------ ------------ ------------
Total $226,619,597 $189,360,584 $58,674,848 $207,356,642
============ ============ ============ ============
Net Assets:
Class A $192,030,879 $168,989,224 $47,960,666 $192,324,920
Class B $ 34,588,718 $ 20,371,360 $10,714,182 $ 15,031,722
Shares outstanding (Note 5):
Class A 10,011,746 10,812,689 6,635,598 37,238,748
Class B 1,926,994 1,403,388 1,530,280 3,105,463
Net asset value and redemption price
per share - Class A $19.18 $15.63 $7.23 $5.16
====== ====== ====== ======
Maximum offering price per share - Class A
(Net asset value/.9425)* $20.35 $16.58 $7.67 $5.47
====== ====== ====== ======
Net asset value and offering price per share -
Class B (Note 5) $17.95 $14.52 $7.00 $4.84
====== ====== ====== ======
* On purchases of $100,000 or more, the sales charge is reduced.
See notes to financial statements
Statement of Operations
FIRST INVESTORS
Year Ended September 30, 2003
- -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
TOTAL GROWTH & ALL-CAP
RETURN VALUE BLUE CHIP INCOME GROWTH
- -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Investment Income
Dividends $ 2,110,334 $ 3,921,368 $ 6,281,422 $ 8,109,176 $ 493,917
Interest 3,276,638 275,384 195,527 153,525 43,542
------------ ------------ ------------ ------------ ------------
Total income 5,386,972 4,196,752 6,476,949 8,262,701 537,459
------------ ------------ ------------ ------------ ------------
Expenses (Notes 1 and 3):
Advisory fees 1,727,397 938,678 3,620,830 3,129,474 511,933
Distribution plan expenses - Class A 445,444 324,025 1,068,844 1,056,640 171,843
Distribution plan expenses - Class B 243,412 171,487 598,291 699,359 109,767
Shareholder servicing costs 625,878 551,077 1,771,940 1,701,363 507,509
Professional fees 40,407 68,083 88,738 70,949 22,511
Custodian fees and expenses 39,464 24,181 58,591 50,042 8,492
Reports and notices to shareholders 28,898 60,266 80,313 74,600 27,293
Other expenses 75,305 69,320 121,824 113,774 46,662
------------ ------------ ------------ ------------ ------------
Total expenses 3,226,205 2,207,117 7,409,371 6,896,201 1,406,010
Less: Expenses waived or assumed (431,228) -- (500,000) -- (10,686)
Custodian fees paid indirectly (3,777) (4,936) (6,518) (4,712) (149)
------------ ------------ ------------ ------------ ------------
Net expenses 2,791,200 2,202,181 6,902,853 6,891,489 1,395,175
------------ ------------ ------------ ------------ ------------
Net investment income (loss) 2,595,772 1,994,571 (425,904) 1,371,212 (857,716)
------------ ------------ ------------ ------------ ------------
Realized and Unrealized Gain (Loss) on
Investments and Foreign Currency
Transactions (Note 2):
Net realized loss on investments
and foreign currency transactions (4,976,396) (7,805,613) (27,055,645) (17,943,080) (1,931,995)
Net unrealized appreciation of investments
and foreign currency transactions 27,102,984 27,059,981 94,207,242 97,389,824 18,163,770
------------ ------------ ------------ ------------ ------------
Net gain on investments and foreign
currency transactions 22,126,588 19,254,368 67,151,597 79,446,744 16,231,775
------------ ------------ ------------ ------------ ------------
Net Increase in Net Assets Resulting
from Operations $ 24,722,360 $ 21,248,939 $ 66,725,693 $ 80,817,956 $ 15,374,059
============ ============ ============ ============ ============
See notes to financial statements
- ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
MID-CAP SPECIAL FOCUSED
OPPORTUNITY SITUATIONS EQUITY GLOBAL
- ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Investment Income
Dividends $ 1,618,807 $ 771,872 $ 871,104 $ 3,437,137+
Interest 82,414 92,729 9,228 106,875
------------ ------------ ------------ ------------
Total income 1,701,221 864,601 880,332 3,544,012
------------ ------------ ------------ ------------
Expenses (Notes 1 and 3):
Advisory fees 1,838,321 1,627,372 402,930 1,977,356
Distribution plan expenses - Class A 468,432 434,358 131,279 549,612
Distribution plan expenses - Class B 289,348 179,517 99,643 145,314
Shareholder servicing costs 1,043,119 1,007,098 403,246 898,096
Professional fees 39,680 51,693 29,768 61,037
Custodian fees and expenses 44,393 38,672 7,829 242,668
Reports and notices to shareholders 51,122 45,322 18,730 43,676
Other expenses 66,447 67,150 42,688 97,768
------------ ------------ ------------ ------------
Total expenses 3,840,862 3,451,182 1,136,113 4,015,527
Less: Expenses waived or assumed (450,229) (406,839) -- --
Custodian fees paid indirectly (4,934) (4,999) (399) --
------------ ------------ ------------ ------------
Net expenses 3,385,699 3,039,344 1,135,714 4,015,527
------------ ------------ ------------ ------------
Net investment loss (1,684,478) (2,174,743) (255,382) (471,515)
------------ ------------ ------------ ------------
Realized and Unrealized Gain (Loss) on
Investments and Foreign Currency
Transactions (Note 2):
Net realized loss on investments
and foreign currency transactions (9,144,785) (8,547,634) (3,672,111) (3,393,379)
Net unrealized appreciation of investments
and foreign currency transactions 47,400,847 46,021,471 15,896,024 42,419,475
------------ ------------ ------------ ------------
Net gain on investments and foreign
currency transactions 38,256,062 37,473,837 12,223,913 39,026,096
------------ ------------ ------------ ------------
Net Increase in Net Assets Resulting
from Operations $ 36,571,584 $ 35,299,094 $ 11,968,531 $ 38,554,581
============ ============ ============ ============
+ Net of $225,124 foreign taxes withheld
See notes to financial statements
Statement of Changes in Net Assets
FIRST INVESTORS
- -----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
TOTAL RETURN VALUE
--------------------------- ---------------------------
Year Ended September 30 2003 2002 2003 2002
- -----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Increase (Decrease) in Net Assets From Operations
Net investment income $ 2,595,772 $ 2,851,444 $ 1,994,571 $ 2,945,043
Net realized loss on investments (4,976,396) (20,243,131) (7,805,613) (32,034,106)
Net unrealized appreciation (depreciation) of investments 27,102,984 (2,770,088) 27,059,981 (16,263,927)
------------ ------------ ------------ ------------
Net increase (decrease) in net assets resulting
from operations 24,722,360 (20,161,775) 21,248,939 (45,352,990)
------------ ------------ ------------ ------------
Dividends to Shareholders
Net investment income - Class A (2,745,536) (3,524,751) (1,748,084) (3,306,501)
Net investment income - Class B (285,333) (384,662) (160,660) (358,798)
------------ ------------ ------------ ------------
Total dividends (3,030,869) (3,909,413) (1,908,744) (3,665,299)
------------ ------------ ------------ ------------
Share Transactions*
Class A:
Proceeds from shares sold 49,222,767 47,109,096 26,361,060 19,351,842
Reinvestment of dividends 2,709,146 3,479,555 1,695,885 3,201,638
Cost of shares redeemed (23,367,193) (21,600,042) (18,006,487) (30,143,386)
------------ ------------ ------------ ------------
28,564,720 28,988,609 10,050,458 (7,589,906)
------------ ------------ ------------ ------------
Class B:
Proceeds from shares sold 7,886,210 9,055,492 3,447,342 3,119,066
Reinvestment of dividends 283,519 381,823 159,358 355,692
Cost of shares redeemed (4,531,666) (3,453,983) (4,191,112) (5,642,600)
------------ ------------ ------------ ------------
3,638,063 5,983,332 (584,412) (2,167,842)
------------ ------------ ------------ ------------
Net increase (decrease) from share transactions 32,202,783 34,971,941 9,466,046 (9,757,748)
------------ ------------ ------------ ------------
Net increase (decrease) in net assets 53,894,274 10,900,753 28,806,241 (58,776,037)
Net Assets
Beginning of year 151,239,299 140,338,546 115,888,011 174,664,048
------------ ------------ ------------ ------------
End of year+ $205,133,573 $151,239,299 $144,694,252 $115,888,011
============ ============ ============ ============
+ Includes undistributed net investment income (deficit) of $ (312,490) $ (133,428) $ 85,827 $ --
============ ============ ============ ============
*Shares Issued and Redeemed
Class A:
Sold 4,332,265 3,874,583 5,561,598 3,486,645
Issued for dividends reinvested 239,990 292,226 364,982 601,857
Redeemed (2,092,115) (1,802,398) (3,944,699) (5,859,107)
------------ ------------ ------------ ------------
Net increase (decrease) in Class A shares outstanding 2,480,140 2,364,411 1,981,881 (1,770,605)
============ ============ ============ ============
Class B:
Sold 705,304 752,499 736,536 568,875
Issued for dividends reinvested 25,554 32,487 35,022 68,207
Redeemed (414,061) (294,160) (931,856) (1,128,854)
------------ ------------ ------------ ------------
Net increase (decrease) in Class B shares outstanding 316,797 490,826 (160,298) (491,772)
============ ============ ============ ============
See notes to financial statements
- -----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
BLUE CHIP GROWTH & INCOME
--------------------------- ---------------------------
Year Ended September 30 2003 2002 2003 2002
- -----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Increase (Decrease) in Net Assets From Operations
Net investment income (loss) $ (425,904) $ (1,405,872) $ 1,371,212 $ 992,282
Net realized loss on investments (27,055,645) (81,240,970) (17,943,080) (56,611,011)
Net unrealized appreciation (depreciation) of investments 94,207,242 (45,093,716) 97,389,824 (46,180,827)
------------ ------------ ------------ ------------
Net increase (decrease) in net assets resulting
from operations 66,725,693 (127,740,558) 80,817,956 (101,799,556)
------------ ------------ ------------ ------------
Dividends to Shareholders
Net investment income - Class A -- -- (1,561,227) (1,687,661)
Net investment income - Class B -- -- -- --
------------ ------------ ------------ ------------
Total dividends -- -- (1,561,227) (1,687,661)
------------ ------------ ------------ ------------
Share Transactions*
Class A:
Proceeds from shares sold 53,450,998 73,492,383 69,467,305 79,715,266
Reinvestment of dividends -- -- 1,545,811 1,664,228
Cost of shares redeemed (60,801,572) (77,168,241) (55,627,119) (61,106,341)
------------ ------------ ------------ ------------
(7,350,574) (3,675,858) 15,385,997 20,273,153
------------ ------------ ------------ ------------
Class B:
Proceeds from shares sold 8,941,786 13,297,345 11,899,634 14,340,579
Reinvestment of dividends -- -- -- --
Cost of shares redeemed (12,841,105) (14,136,139) (14,006,947) (13,128,084)
------------ ------------ ------------ ------------
(3,899,319) (838,794) (2,107,313) 1,212,495
------------ ------------ ------------ ------------
Net increase (decrease) from share transactions (11,249,893) (4,514,652) 13,278,684 21,485,648
------------ ------------ ------------ ------------
Net increase (decrease) in net assets 55,475,800 (132,255,210) 92,535,413 (82,001,569)
Net Assets
Beginning of year 389,867,731 522,122,941 383,723,679 465,725,248
------------ ------------ ------------ ------------
End of year+ $445,343,531 $389,867,731 $476,259,092 $383,723,679
============ ============ ============ ============
+ Includes undistributed net investment income of $ -- $ -- $ -- $ 185,829
============ ============ ============ ============
*Shares Issued and Redeemed
Class A:
Sold 3,344,515 3,868,107 7,092,953 7,143,441
Issued for dividends reinvested -- -- 160,200 151,337
Redeemed (3,864,778) (4,236,481) (5,818,365) (5,614,209)
------------ ------------ ------------ ------------
Net increase (decrease) in Class A shares outstanding (520,263) (368,374) 1,434,788 1,680,569
============ ============ ============ ============
Class B:
Sold 588,924 726,898 1,263,648 1,326,517
Issued for dividends reinvested -- -- -- --
Redeemed (860,901) (825,805) (1,523,474) (1,273,522)
------------ ------------ ------------ ------------
Net increase (decrease) in Class B shares outstanding (271,977) (98,907) (259,826) 52,995
============ ============ ============ ============
See notes to financial statements
- -----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
ALL-CAP GROWTH MID-CAP OPPORTUNITY
--------------------------- ---------------------------
Year Ended September 30 2003 2002 2003 2002
- -----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Increase (Decrease) in Net Assets From Operations
Net investment loss $ (857,716) $ (639,761) $ (1,684,478) $ (1,519,592)
Net realized loss on investments (1,931,995) (11,337,921) (9,144,785) (9,885,390)
Net unrealized appreciation (depreciation) of investments 18,163,770 (1,137,275) 47,400,847 (10,921,849)
------------ ------------ ------------ ------------
Net increase (decrease) in net assets resulting
from operations 15,374,059 (13,114,957) 36,571,584 (22,326,831)
------------ ------------ ------------ ------------
Share Transactions*
Class A:
Proceeds from shares sold 27,790,360 25,004,666 51,795,794 59,312,255
Cost of shares redeemed (7,697,061) (5,728,146) (21,887,533) (18,410,031)
------------ ------------ ------------ ------------
20,093,299 19,276,520 29,908,261 40,902,224
------------ ------------ ------------ ------------
Class B:
Proceeds from shares sold 4,175,360 4,295,754 7,921,873 10,541,423
Cost of shares redeemed (1,410,633) (964,150) (4,116,563) (3,671,709)
------------ ------------ ------------ ------------
2,764,727 3,331,604 3,805,310 6,869,714
------------ ------------ ------------ ------------
Net increase from share transactions 22,858,026 22,608,124 33,713,571 47,771,938
------------ ------------ ------------ ------------
Net increase in net assets 38,232,085 9,493,167 70,285,155 25,445,107
Net Assets
Beginning of year 52,261,120 42,767,953 156,334,442 130,889,335
------------ ------------ ------------ ------------
End of year $ 90,493,205 $ 52,261,120 $226,619,597 $156,334,442
============ ============ ============ ============
*Shares Issued and Redeemed
Class A:
Sold 4,464,318 3,669,658 3,001,097 3,121,193
Redeemed (1,288,511) (878,543) (1,294,434) (977,470)
------------ ------------ ------------ ------------
Net increase in Class A shares outstanding 3,175,807 2,791,115 1,706,663 2,143,723
============ ============ ============ ============
Class B:
Sold 685,202 634,111 487,764 582,542
Redeemed (241,915) (150,181) (261,744) (209,176)
------------ ------------ ------------ ------------
Net increase in Class B shares outstanding 443,287 483,930 226,020 373,366
============ ============ ============ ============
See notes to financial statements
- -----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
SPECIAL SITUATIONS FOCUSED EQUITY
--------------------------- ---------------------------
Year Ended September 30 2003 2002 2003 2002
- -----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Increase (Decrease) in Net Assets From Operations
Net investment loss $ (2,174,743) $ (2,545,535) $ (255,382) $ (680,473)
Net realized loss on investments (8,547,634) (34,159,441) (3,672,111) (10,627,918)
Net unrealized appreciation (depreciation) of investments 46,021,471 5,148,967 15,896,024 (5,692,491)
------------ ------------ ------------ ------------
Net increase (decrease) in net assets resulting
from operations 35,299,094 (31,556,009) 11,968,531 (17,000,882)
------------ ------------ ------------ ------------
Share Transactions*
Class A:
Proceeds from shares sold 21,524,779 25,895,900 7,578,453 9,353,360
Cost of shares redeemed (21,840,556) (24,129,486) (7,332,359) (8,989,170)
------------ ------------ ------------ ------------
(315,777) 1,766,414 246,094 364,190
------------ ------------ ------------ ------------
Class B:
Proceeds from shares sold 2,582,621 3,385,218 1,101,769 1,561,549
Cost of shares redeemed (3,464,531) (3,101,745) (1,629,642) (1,981,263)
------------ ------------ ------------ ------------
(881,910) 283,473 (527,873) (419,714)
------------ ------------ ------------ ------------
Net increase (decrease) from share transactions (1,197,687) 2,049,887 (281,779) (55,524)
------------ ------------ ------------ ------------
Net increase (decrease) in net assets 34,101,407 (29,506,122) 11,686,752 (17,056,406)
Net Assets
Beginning of year 155,259,177 184,765,299 46,988,096 64,044,502
------------ ------------ ------------ ------------
End of year $189,360,584 $155,259,177 $ 58,674,848 $ 46,988,096
============ ============ ============ ============
*Shares Issued and Redeemed
Class A:
Sold 1,599,285 1,642,904 1,128,365 1,179,890
Redeemed (1,660,681) (1,565,088) (1,112,790) (1,190,449)
------------ ------------ ------------ ------------
Net increase (decrease) in Class A shares outstanding (61,396) 77,816 15,575 (10,559)
============ ============ ============ ============
Class B:
Sold 204,411 227,334 168,390 200,283
Redeemed (282,940) (218,797) (262,445) (275,666)
------------ ------------ ------------ ------------
Net increase (decrease) in Class B shares outstanding (78,529) 8,537 (94,055) (75,383)
============ ============ ============ ============
See notes to financial statements
- ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
GLOBAL
---------------------------
Year Ended September 30 2003 2002
- ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Increase (Decrease) in Net Assets From Operations
Net investment loss $ (471,515) $ (1,004,862)
Net realized loss on investments and
foreign currency transactions (3,393,379) (35,674,655)
Net unrealized appreciation (depreciation) of
investments and foreign currency transactions 42,419,475 (5,935,660)
------------ ------------
Net increase (decrease) in net assets resulting
from operations 38,554,581 (42,615,177)
------------ ------------
Share Transactions*
Class A:
Proceeds from shares sold 13,212,580 18,958,509
Cost of shares redeemed (30,106,459) (40,395,353)
------------ ------------
(16,893,879) (21,436,844)
------------ ------------
Class B:
Proceeds from shares sold 1,392,241 2,070,558
Cost of shares redeemed (3,012,650) (3,187,216)
------------ ------------
(1,620,409) (1,116,658)
------------ ------------
Net decrease from share transactions (18,514,288) (22,553,502)
------------ ------------
Net increase (decrease) in net assets 20,040,293 (65,168,679)
Net Assets
Beginning of year 187,316,349 252,485,028
------------ ------------
End of year $207,356,642 $187,316,349
============ ============
*Shares Issued and Redeemed
Class A:
Sold 2,823,401 3,496,720
Redeemed (6,467,613) (7,558,621)
------------ ------------
Net decrease in Class A shares outstanding (3,644,212) (4,061,901)
============ ============
Class B:
Sold 315,712 404,854
Redeemed (690,288) (639,081)
------------ ------------
Net decrease in Class B shares outstanding (374,576) (234,227)
============ ============
See notes to financial statements
Notes to Financial Statements
September 30, 2003
1. Significant Accounting Policies--First Investors Total Return Fund, First
Investors Blue Chip Fund and First Investors Special Situations Fund, each
a series of First Investors Series Fund ("Series Fund"), a Massachusetts
business trust; First Investors Value Fund (formerly Utilities Income),
First Investors Growth & Income Fund, First Investors All-Cap Growth Fund,
First Investors Mid-Cap Opportunity Fund and First Investors Focused Equity
Fund, each a series of First Investors Series Fund II, Inc. ("Series Fund
II"), a Maryland corporation; and First Investors Global Fund, Inc.
("Global Fund"), a Maryland corporation, are registered under the
Investment Company Act of 1940 (the "1940 Act") as diversified, open-end
management investment companies, with the exception of First Investors
Focused Equity Fund, which is registered as a non-diversified series of the
investment company. Each Fund accounts separately for the assets,
liabilities, and operations of the Fund. Series Fund offers two additional
series which are not included in this report. The objective of each Fund is
as follows:
Total Return Fund seeks high, long-term total investment return consistent
with moderate investment risk.
Value Fund seeks total return.
Blue Chip Fund seeks high total investment return consistent with the
preservation of capital.
Growth & Income Fund seeks long-term growth of capital and current income.
All-Cap Growth Fund seeks long-term growth of capital.
Mid-Cap Opportunity Fund seeks long-term capital growth.
Special Situations Fund seeks long-term growth of capital.
Focused Equity Fund seeks capital appreciation.
Global Fund primarily seeks long-term capital growth and secondarily a
reasonable level of current income.
A. Security Valuation--Except as provided below, a security listed or traded
on an exchange or the Nasdaq Stock Market is valued at its last sale price
on the exchange or market where the security is principally traded, and
lacking any sales, the security is valued at the mean between the closing
bid and asked prices. Securities traded in the over-the-counter ("OTC")
market (including securities listed on exchanges whose primary market is
believed to be OTC) are valued at the mean between the last bid and asked
prices based upon quotes furnished by a market maker for such securities.
Securities may also be priced by a pricing service approved by the
applicable Fund's Board of Directors/Trustees. The pricing service
Notes to Financial Statements (continued)
September 30, 2003
considers security type, rating, market condition and yield data as well as
market quotations, prices provided by market makers and other available
information in determining value. Short-term debt securities that mature in
60 days or less are valued at amortized cost. If market quotations or
prices are not readily available or determined to be unreliable, the
securities will be valued at fair value as determined in good faith
pursuant to procedures adopted the Fund's Board of Directors/Trustees. At
September 30, 2003, the Special Situations Fund held three securities that
were fair valued by its Valuation Committee with an aggregate value of
$1,197,552 representing .6% of the Fund's net assets and the Global Fund
held one security that was fair valued by its Valuation Committee with an
aggregate value of $143 representing 0% of the Fund's net assets. For
valuation purposes, where applicable, quotations of foreign securities in
foreign currency are translated to U.S. dollar equivalents using the
foreign exchange quotation in effect.
B. Federal Income Taxes--No provision has been made for federal income taxes
on net income or capital gains since it is the policy of each Fund to
continue to comply with the special provisions of the Internal Revenue Code
applicable to investment companies and to make sufficient distributions of
income and capital gains (in excess of any available capital loss
carryovers) to relieve it from all, or substantially all, such taxes.
At September 30, 2003, capital loss carryovers were as follows:
Year Capital Loss Carryovers Expire
--------------------------------------------------------------------
Fund Total 2008 2009 2010 2011
- ---- ------------ ------------ ------------ ------------ ------------
Total Return $ 29,077,042 $ -- $ 1,458,508 $ 8,515,512 $19,103,022
Value 59,815,391 -- 5,196,775 18,257,137 36,361,479
Blue Chip 139,836,318 -- 9,527,196 61,121,583 69,187,539
Growth & Income 110,774,808 -- 5,645,569 40,308,647 64,820,592
All-Cap Growth 19,636,203 -- -- 8,825,943 10,810,260
Mid-Cap Opportunity 24,445,332 -- 1,528,251 16,230,216 6,686,865
Special Situations 81,944,473 -- 1,713,617 54,184,676 26,046,180
Focused Equity 25,075,256 553,800 12,951,888 1,712,582 9,856,986
Global 59,783,882 -- 2,316,335 24,383,554 33,083,993
C. Distributions to Shareholders--Dividends from net investment income, if
any, of Total Return Fund, Value Fund, Blue Chip Fund and Growth & Income
Fund are declared and paid quarterly. Dividends from net investment income,
if any, of All-Cap Growth Fund, Mid-Cap Opportunity Fund, Special
Situations Fund, Focused Equity Fund and Global Fund are declared and paid
annually. Distributions from net realized capital gains, if any, are
normally declared and paid annually. Income dividends and capital gain
distributions are determined in accordance with income tax regulations
which may differ from accounting principles generally accepted in the
United States of America. These differences are primarily due to differing
treatments for capital loss carryforwards, deferral of wash sales losses,
post-October capital losses, net operating losses and foreign currency
transactions.
D. Expense Allocation--Expenses directly charged or attributable to a Fund
are paid from the assets of that Fund. General expenses of Series Fund and
Series Fund II are allocated among and charged to the assets of each Fund
in the Series on a fair and equitable basis, which may be based on the
relative assets of each Fund or the nature of the services performed and
relative applicability to each Fund.
E. Repurchase Agreements--Securities pledged as collateral for repurchase
agreements entered into by the All-Cap Growth Fund, Focused Equity Fund,
and Global Fund are held by each Fund's custodian until maturity of the
repurchase agreement. The agreements provide that the Funds will receive,
as collateral, securities with a market value which will at all times be at
least equal to 100% of the amount invested by the Funds.
F. Use of Estimates--The preparation of the financial statements in
conformity with accounting principles generally accepted in the United
States of America requires management to make estimates and assumptions
that affect the reported amounts of assets and liabilities at the date of
the financial statements and the reported amounts of revenue and expense
during the reporting period. Actual results could differ from those
estimates.
G. Foreign Currency Translations--The accounting records of Global Fund are
maintained in U.S. dollars. Portfolio securities and other assets and
liabilities denominated in foreign currencies are translated to U.S.
dollars at the date of valuation. Purchases and sales of investment
securities, dividend income and certain expenses are translated to U.S.
dollars at the rates of exchange prevailing on the respective dates of such
transactions.
Global Fund does not isolate that portion of gains and losses on
investments which is due to changes in foreign exchange rates from that
which is due to changes in market prices of the investments. Such
fluctuations are included with the net realized and unrealized gains and
losses from investments.
Net realized and unrealized gains and losses on foreign currency
transactions includes gains and losses from the sales of foreign currency
and gains and losses on accrued foreign dividends and related withholding
taxes.
Notes to Financial Statements (continued)
September 30, 2003
H. Other--Security transactions are accounted for on the date the securities
are purchased or sold. Cost is determined, and gains and losses are based,
on the identified cost basis for both financial statement and federal
income tax purposes. Dividend income is recorded on the ex-dividend date.
Interest income and estimated expenses are accrued daily. Bond discounts
and premiums are accreted or amortized using the interest method. For the
year ended September 30, 2003, the Bank of New York, custodian for the
Series Fund and Series Fund II, has provided total credits in the amount of
$30,424 against custodian charges based on the uninvested cash balances of
these Funds.
2. Security Transactions--For the year ended September 30, 2003, purchases
and sales of securities and long-term U.S. Government obligations
(excluding U.S. Treasury bills, repurchase agreements, short-term
securities and foreign currencies) were as follows:
Long-Term U.S.
Securities Government Obligations
--------------------------- ---------------------------
Cost of Proceeds Cost of Proceeds
Fund Purchases from Sales Purchases from Sales
- ---- ------------ ------------ ------------ ------------
Total Return $160,077,699 $115,867,085 $8,893,441 $16,870,581
Value 112,400,743 103,979,389 -- --
Blue Chip 454,845,760 441,220,475 -- --
Growth & Income 331,044,430 285,993,856 -- --
All-Cap Growth 102,275,661 81,912,816 -- --
Mid-Cap Opportunity 104,376,648 65,472,951 -- --
Special Situations 172,992,635 173,664,689 -- --
Focused Equity 25,962,289 26,747,456 -- --
Global 211,542,128 224,019,525 -- --
At September 30, 2003 aggregate cost and net unrealized appreciation
(depreciation) of securities for federal income tax purposes were as
follows:
Net
Gross Gross Unrealized
Aggregate Unrealized Unrealized Appreciation
Fund Cost Appreciation Depreciation (Depreciation)
- ---- ------------ ------------ ------------ ------------
Total Return $184,786,214 $20,749,215 $2,848,185 $17,901,030
Value 131,510,042 15,094,916 2,316,582 12,778,334
Blue Chip 379,543,919 68,497,323 5,836,268 62,661,055
Growth & Income 410,992,287 73,658,911 9,896,476 63,762,435
All-Cap Growth 79,901,270 11,169,840 1,035,456 10,134,384
Mid-Cap Opportunity 198,763,291 36,878,978 9,101,241 27,777,737
Special Situations 147,504,909 47,127,232 3,330,408 43,796,824
Focused Equity 59,505,544 4,461,642 5,374,125 (912,483)
Global 181,556,296 29,510,642 4,039,103 25,471,539
3. Advisory Fee and Other Transactions With Affiliates--Certain officers and
directors/trustees of the Funds are officers and directors of its
investment adviser, First Investors Management Company, Inc. ("FIMCO"), its
underwriter, First Investors Corporation ("FIC"), its transfer agent,
Administrative Data Management Corp. ("ADM") and/or First Investors Federal
Savings Bank, ("FIFSB"), custodian of the Funds' Individual Retirement
Accounts. Directors/trustees of the Funds who are not "interested persons"
of the Funds as defined in the 1940 Act are remunerated by the Funds. For
the year ended September 30, 2003, total directors/trustees fees accrued by
the Funds amounted to $87,750.
The Investment Advisory Agreements provide as compensation to FIMCO, an
annual fee, payable monthly, at the following rates:
Total Return, Blue Chip, Mid-Cap Opportunity and Special Situations Funds--
1% on the first $200 million of each Fund's average daily net assets, .75%
on the next $300 million, declining by .03% on each $250 million
thereafter, down to .66% on average daily net assets over $1 billion. FIMCO
has waived 25% of the 1% annual fee on the first $200 million of each
Fund's average daily net assets for the year ended September 30, 2003.
Value, Growth & Income, All-Cap Growth and Focused Equity Funds-- .75% on
the first $300 million of each Fund's average daily net assets, .72% on the
next $200 million, .69% on the next $250 million and .66% on average daily
net assets over $750 million.
Notes to Financial Statements (continued)
September 30, 2003
Global Fund--1% on the first $250 million of the Fund's average daily net
assets, declining by .03% on each $250 million thereafter, down to .91% on
average daily net assets over $750 million.
For the year ended September 30, 2003, total advisory fees accrued to FIMCO
by the Funds were $15,774,291 of which $1,788,296 was waived. In addition,
FIMCO assumed $10,686 of the All-Cap Growth Fund's expenses.
FIMCO, pursuant to an expense limitation agreement, has agreed to reimburse
the All-Cap Growth Fund for organizational expenses and other expenses
incurred during the period ended September 30, 2001, to the extent
necessary to limit the All-Cap Growth Fund's total expenses to 1.75% of the
average daily net assets on the Class A shares and 2.45% of the average
daily net assets on the Class B shares. FIMCO and the All-Cap Growth Fund
have agreed that any expenses of the All-Cap Growth Fund reimbursed by
FIMCO pursuant to this agreement shall be repaid to FIMCO by the All-Cap
Growth Fund in the first, second, or third (or all) fiscal years following
the period ended September 30, 2001, if the total expenses of the All-Cap
Growth Fund for such year or years do not exceed 1.75% of the average daily
net assets on Class A shares and 2.45% on the average daily net assets of
Class B shares or any lower expense limitations to which FIMCO may
otherwise agree. At September 30, 2001, the total organizational expenses
and other expenses incurred in excess of the above stated limitations was
$163,722. This amount is subject to recapture by FIMCO from the All-Cap
Growth Fund based on the parameters discussed above.
For the year ended September 30, 2003, FIC, as underwriter, received
$12,424,673 in commissions from the sale of shares of the Funds, after
allowing $52,358 to other dealers. Shareholder servicing costs included
$5,871,749 in transfer agent fees accrued to ADM and $2,034,417 in IRA
custodian fees accrued to FIFSB.
Pursuant to Distribution Plans adopted under Rule 12b-1 of the 1940 Act,
each Fund is authorized to pay FIC a fee up to .30% of the average daily
net assets of the Class A shares and 1% of the average daily net assets of
the Class B shares on an annualized basis each fiscal year, payable
monthly. The fee consists of a distribution fee and a service fee. The
service fee is paid for the ongoing servicing of clients who are
shareholders of that Fund. For the year ended September 30, 2003, total
distribution plan fees accrued to FIC by the Funds amounted to $7,186,615.
Wellington Management Company, LLP ("Wellington") serves as investment
subadviser to All-Cap Growth Fund, Focused Equity Fund and Global Fund. The
subadviser is paid by FIMCO and not by the Funds.
4. Forward Currency Contracts--A forward currency contract is an obligation
to purchase or sell a specific currency for an agreed-upon price at a
future date. When a Fund purchases or sells foreign securities it
customarily enters into a forward currency contract to minimize foreign
exchange risk between the trade date and the settlement date of such
transactions. The Fund could be exposed to risk if counter parties to the
contracts are unable to meet the terms of their contracts or if the value
of the foreign currency changes unfavorably.
Global Fund had the following forward currency contracts outstanding at
September 30, 2003:
Contracts to Buy Unrealized
Foreign Currency In Exchange for Settlement Date Gain (Loss)
- ---------------------------- --------------- --------------- ----------
447,405 British Pound US$ 742,424 10/1/03 US$ 895
539,375 Malaysia Ringgit 141,941 10/1/03 --
1,667,682 Swiss Franc 1,240,493 10/1/03 22,328
428,995 Euro 499,883 10/3/03 (296)
22,022,799 Japanese Yen 199,397 10/3/03 (2,263)
623,300 Swiss Franc 471,390 10/3/03 593
--------------- ----------
$3,295,528 $21,257
=============== ----------
Contracts to Sell Unrealized
Foreign Currency In Exchange for Settlement Date Loss
- ---------------------------- --------------- --------------- ----------
1,785,752 Canadian Dollar US$1,319,164 10/1/03 US$(4,155)
1,439,463 Euro 1,649,150 10/1/03 (27,177)
44,424,266 Japanese Yen 394,210 10/1/03 (3,447)
287,420 Euro 333,178 10/2/03 (1,538)
--------------- ----------
$3,695,702 ($36,317)
=============== ----------
Net Unrealized Loss on Forward Currency Contracts ($15,060)
==========
5. Capital--Each Fund sells two classes of shares, Class A and B, each with
a public offering price that reflects different sales charges and expense
levels. Class A shares are sold with an initial sales charge of up to 5.75%
of the amount invested and together with the Class B shares are subject to
distribution plan fees as described in Note 3. Class B shares are sold
without an initial sales charge, but are generally subject to a contingent
deferred sales charge which declines in steps from 4% to 0% over a six-year
period. Class B shares automatically convert into Class A shares after
eight years. Realized and unrealized gains or losses, investment income and
expenses (other than distribution plan fees and certain other class
Notes to Financial Statements (continued)
September 30, 2003
expenses) are allocated daily to each class of shares based upon the
relative proportion of net assets of each class. The Series Fund has
established an unlimited number of shares of beneficial interest for both
Class A and Class B shares. Of the 100,000,000 shares originally designated
to each Fund, Series Fund II has classified 50,000,000 shares as Class A
and 50,000,000 shares as Class B for each Fund. Of the 100,000,000 Global
Fund shares originally authorized, the Fund has designated 65,000,000
shares as Class A and 35,000,000 shares as Class B.
6. Restricted Securities-- Certain restricted securities are exempt from the
registration requirements of the Securities Act of 1933 and may only be
sold to qualified institutional investors. At September 30, 2003, Total
Return Fund held three restricted securities with a value of $1,869,157
representing .9% of the Fund's net assets, and Special Situations Fund held
three restricted securities with a value of $1,197,552 representing .6% of
the Fund's net assets. These securities are valued as set forth in Note 1A.
7. Tax Components of Capital and Distributions to Shareholders--The tax
character of distributions declared for the years ended September 30, 2003
and 2002 were as follows:
Distributions Distributions
Declared Declared
in 2003 from: in 2002 from:
-------------- --------------
Ordinary Ordinary
Fund Income Income
- ---- -------------- --------------
Total Return $ 3,030,869 $ 3,909,413
Value 1,908,744 3,665,299
Blue Chip -- --
Growth & Income 1,561,227 1,687,661
All-Cap Growth -- --
Mid-Cap Opportunity -- --
Special Situations -- --
Focused Equity -- --
Global -- --
As of September 30, 2003, the components of distributable earnings
(deficit) on a tax basis were:
Total
Undistributed Capital Unrealized Total
Ordinary Loss Appreciation Accumulated
Fund Income Carryover (Depreciation) Deficit
- ---- ------------ ------------ ------------ ------------
Total Return $12,475 $ (29,077,042) $16,762,292 $(12,302,275)
Value 85,827 (59,815,391) 8,740,415 (50,989,149)
Blue Chip -- (139,836,318) 48,112,261 (91,724,057)
Growth & Income -- (110,774,808) 60,873,100 (49,901,708)
All-Cap Growth -- (19,636,203) 8,596,889 (11,039,314)
Mid-Cap Opportunity -- (24,445,332) 19,553,442 (4,891,890)
Special Situations -- (81,944,473) 38,607,849 (43,336,624)
Focused Equity -- (25,075,256) (4,194,798) (29,270,054)
Global -- (59,783,882) 25,118,655 (34,665,227)
Financial Highlights
FIRST INVESTORS
The following table sets forth the per share operating performance data for a share outstanding,
total return, ratios to average net assets and other supplemental data for each fiscal year ended
September 30, except as otherwise indicated.
- -----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
P E R S H A R E D A T A
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Less Distributions
Investment Operations from
------------------------------------- ----------------------
Net Asset Net Realized
Value, Net and Unrealized Total from Net Net
Beginning Investment Gain (Loss) on Investment Investment Realized Total
of Period Income Investments Operations Income Gain Distributions
- -----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
TOTAL RETURN FUND
- -----------------
Class A
- -------
1999 $14.27 $ .29 $ 1.26 $1.55 $ .30 $1.18 $1.48
2000 14.34 .31 2.29 2.60 .27 .40 .67
2001 16.27 .26 (2.86) (2.60) .32 1.07 1.39
2002++ 12.28 .22 (1.59) (1.37) .32 -- .32
2003 10.59 .20 1.44 1.64 .21 -- .21
Class B
- -------
1999 14.13 .21 1.22 1.43 .21 1.18 1.39
2000 14.17 .21 2.24 2.45 .17 .40 .57
2001 16.05 .18 (2.84) (2.66) .21 1.07 1.28
2002++ 12.11 .15 (1.59) (1.44) .21 -- .21
2003 10.46 .09 1.44 1.53 .13 -- .13
- -----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
VALUE FUND+++
- -----------------
Class A
- -------
1999 $ 7.62 $ .13 $ .74 $ .87 $ .13 $ .37 $ .50
2000 7.99 .13 1.21 1.34 .13 .60 .73
2001 8.60 .10 (2.10) (2.00) .11 .56 .67
2002++ 5.93 .11 (1.65) (1.54) .13 -- .13
2003 4.26 .08 .73 .81 .08 -- .08
Class B
- -------
1999 7.53 .08 .72 .80 .08 .37 .45
2000 7.88 .08 1.18 1.26 .07 .60 .67
2001 8.47 .06 (2.07) (2.01) .06 .56 .62
2002++ 5.84 .07 (1.63) (1.56) .08 -- .08
2003 4.20 .05 .71 .76 .04 -- .04
- -----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
- -----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
R A T I O S / S U P P L E M E N T A L D A T A
- ------------------------ --------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Ratio to Average Net
Ratio to Average Net Assets Before Expenses
Assets** Waived or Assumed
-------------------- ----------------------
Net Asset Net Net Portfolio
Value, Total Net Assets Investment Investment Turnover
End of Return* End of Period Expenses Income Expenses Income Rate
Period (%) (in millions) (%) (%) (%) (%) (%)
- -----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
TOTAL RETURN FUND
- -----------------
Class A
- -------
1999 $14.34 11.50 $ 92 1.40 2.08 1.63 1.85 127
2000 16.27 18.67 120 1.33 2.00 1.58 1.75 118
2001 12.28 (17.31) 121 1.37 2.02 1.62 1.77 130
2002++ 10.59 (11.44) 129 1.47 1.91 1.72 1.66 185
2003 12.02 15.58 177 1.52 1.72 1.77 1.47 80
Class B
- -------
1999 14.17 10.72 9 2.10 1.38 2.33 1.15 127
2000 16.05 17.79 16 2.03 1.30 2.28 1.05 118
2001 12.11 (17.82) 19 2.07 1.32 2.32 1.07 130
2002++ 10.46 (12.09) 22 2.17 1.21 2.42 .96 185
2003 11.86 14.71 28 2.22 1.02 2.47 .77 80
- -----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
VALUE FUND+++
- -----------------
Class A
- -------
1999 $ 7.99 11.99 $145 1.37 1.69 N/A N/A 65
2000 8.60 17.58 187 1.31 1.57 N/A N/A 46
2001 5.93 (24.98) 149 1.37 1.47 N/A N/A 51
2002++ 4.26 (26.34) 99 1.51 1.93 N/A N/A 40
2003 4.99 19.04 126 1.67 1.69 N/A N/A 198
Class B
- -------
1999 7.88 11.13 21 2.07 .99 N/A N/A 65
2000 8.47 16.77 32 2.01 .87 N/A N/A 46
2001 5.84 (25.46) 26 2.07 .77 N/A N/A 51
2002++ 4.20 (26.94) 17 2.21 1.23 N/A N/A 40
2003 4.92 18.26 19 2.37 .99 N/A N/A 198
- -----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Financial Highlights (continued)
FIRST INVESTORS
- -----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
P E R S H A R E D A T A
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Less Distributions
Investment Operations from
------------------------------------- ----------------------
Net Asset Net Net Realized
Value, Investment and Unrealized Total from Net Net
Beginning Income Gain (Loss) on Investment Investment Realized Total
of Period (Loss) Investments Operations Income Gain Distributions
- -----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
BLUE CHIP FUND
- --------------------
Class A
- -------
1999 $22.46 $ -- $ 5.46 $ 5.46 $.02 $ .75 $ .77
2000 27.15 (.09) 5.68 5.59 -- 1.65 1.65
2001 31.09 -- (8.64) (8.64) .01 3.30 3.31
2002 19.14 (.03) (4.55) (4.58) -- -- --
2003 14.56 -- 2.58 2.58 -- -- --
Class B
- -------
1999 22.15 (.14) 5.35 5.21 -- .75 .75
2000 26.61 (.25) 5.50 5.25 -- 1.65 1.65
2001 30.21 (.16) (8.33) (8.49) -- 3.30 3.30
2002 18.42 (.16) (4.35) (4.51) -- -- --
2003 13.91 (.11) 2.46 2.35 -- -- --
- -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
GROWTH & INCOME FUND
- --------------------
Class A
- -------
1999 $12.31 $ .04 $ 2.88 $ 2.92 $.05 $ -- $ .05
2000 15.18 .01 2.98 2.99 .01 1.55 1.56
2001 16.61 .06 (3.99) (3.93) .03 1.49 1.52
2002++ 11.16 .03 (2.31) (2.28) .05 -- .05
2003 8.83 .04 1.85 1.89 .04 -- .04
Class B
- -------
1999 12.14 (.04) 2.80 2.76 -- -- --
2000 14.90 (.08) 2.90 2.82 -- 1.55 1.55
2001 16.17 (.01) (3.88) (3.89) -- 1.49 1.49
2002++ 10.79 (.04) (2.24) (2.28) -- -- --
2003 8.51 (.03) 1.78 1.75 -- -- --
- -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
- -----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
R A T I O S / S U P P L E M E N T A L D A T A
- ------------------------ --------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Ratio to Average Net
Ratio to Average Net Assets Before Expenses
Assets** Waived or Assumed
-------------------- ----------------------
Net Net
Net Asset Investment Investment Portfolio
Value, Total Net Assets Income Income Turnover
End of Return* End of Period Expenses (Loss) Expenses (Loss) Rate
Period (%) (in millions) (%) (%) (%) (%) (%)
- -----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
BLUE CHIP FUND
- --------------------
Class A
- -------
1999 $27.15 24.88 $471 1.32 .01 1.41 (.08) 97
2000 31.09 21.49 615 1.27 (.31) 1.34 (.38) 125
2001 19.14 (30.88) 445 1.35 (.02) 1.43 (.10) 117
2002 14.56 (23.93) 333 1.48 (.17) 1.58 (.27) 144
2003 17.14 17.72 383 1.56 -- 1.68 (.12) 111
Class B
- -------
1999 26.61 24.07 70 2.02 (.69) 2.11 (.78) 97
2000 30.21 20.60 105 1.97 (1.01) 2.04 (1.08) 125
2001 18.42 (31.33) 78 2.05 (.72) 2.13 (.80) 117
2002 13.91 (24.48) 57 2.18 (.87) 2.28 (.97) 144
2003 16.26 16.90 62 2.26 (.70) 2.38 (.82) 111
- -----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
GROWTH & INCOME FUND
- --------------------
Class A
- -------
1999 $15.18 23.75 $378 1.36 .29 N/A N/A 112
2000 16.61 21.31 494 1.28 .05 N/A N/A 142
2001 11.16 (25.91) 383 1.34 .47 N/A N/A 168
2002++ 8.83 (20.53) 318 1.46 .33 N/A N/A 169
2003 10.68 21.49 400 1.52 .44 N/A N/A 70
Class B
- -------
1999 14.90 22.77 77 2.06 (.41) N/A N/A 112
2000 16.17 20.49 107 1.98 (.65) N/A N/A 142
2001 10.79 (26.38) 82 2.04 (.23) N/A N/A 168
2002++ 8.51 (21.13) 65 2.16 (.37) N/A N/A 169
2003 10.26 20.56 76 2.22 (.26) N/A N/A 70
- -----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Financial Highlights (continued)
FIRST INVESTORS
- -----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
P E R S H A R E D A T A
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Less Distributions
Investment Operations from
------------------------------------- ----------------------
Net Asset Net Realized
Value, Net and Unrealized Total from Net Net
Beginning Investment Gain (Loss) on Investment Investment Realized Total
of Period Loss Investments Operations Income Gain Distributions
- -----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
ALL-CAP GROWTH FUND
- -------------------
Class A
- -------
2001(a) $10.00 $(.05) $(3.42) $(3.47) $ -- $ -- $ --
2002 6.53 (.06) (1.14) (1.20) -- -- --
2003 5.33 (.06) 1.48 1.42 -- -- --
Class B
- -------
2001(a) 10.00 (.08) (3.43) (3.51) -- -- --
2002 6.49 (.10) (1.13) (1.23) -- -- --
2003 5.26 (.09) 1.44 1.35 -- -- --
- -----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
MID-CAP OPPORTUNITY FUND
- ------------------------
Class A
- -------
1999 $14.53 $(.13) $ 6.62 $ 6.49 $ -- $ -- $ --
2000 21.02 (.10) 8.02 7.92 -- 2.28 2.28
2001 26.66 (.05) (7.67) (7.72) -- 1.30 1.30
2002 17.64 (.13) (1.73) (1.86) -- -- --
2003 15.78 (.12) 3.52 3.40 -- -- --
Class B
- -------
1999 14.17 (.23) 6.41 6.18 -- -- --
2000 20.35 (.20) 7.67 7.47 -- 2.28 2.28
2001 25.54 (.18) (7.32) (7.50) -- 1.30 1.30
2002 16.74 (.24) (1.63) (1.87) -- -- --
2003 14.87 (.23) 3.31 3.08 -- -- --
- -----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
- -----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
R A T I O S / S U P P L E M E N T A L D A T A
- ------------------------ --------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Ratio to Average Net
Ratio to Average Net Assets Before Expenses
Assets** Waived or Assumed
-------------------- ----------------------
Net Asset Net Net Portfolio
Value, Total Net Assets Investment Investment Turnover
End of Return* End of Period Expenses Loss Expenses Loss Rate
Period (%) (in millions) (%) (%) (%) (%) (%)
- -----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
ALL-CAP GROWTH FUND
- -------------------
Class A
- -------
2001(a) $ 6.53 (34.70) $ 35 1.75+ (.90)+ 2.10+ (1.25)+ 84
2002 5.33 (18.38) 44 1.75 (1.03) 1.98 (1.26) 138
2003 6.75 26.64 77 1.94 (1.15) 1.96 (1.17) 126
Class B
- -------
2001(a) 6.49 (35.10) 8 2.45+ (1.60)+ 2.80+ (1.95)+ 84
2002 5.26 (18.95) 9 2.45 (1.73) 2.68 (1.96) 138
2003 6.61 25.67 14 2.64 (1.85) 2.66 (1.87) 126
- -----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
MID-CAP OPPORTUNITY FUND
- ------------------------
Class A
- -------
1999 $21.02 44.67 $ 50 1.50 (.69) 1.77 (.96) 171
2000 26.66 41.41 120 1.42 (.52) 1.67 (.77) 180
2001 17.64 (30.34) 109 1.51 (.27) 1.76 (.52) 123
2002 15.78 (10.55) 131 1.70 (.82) 1.95 (1.07) 112
2003 19.18 21.55 192 1.73 (.80) 1.97 (1.04) 37
Class B
- -------
1999 20.35 43.61 7 2.20 (1.39) 2.47 (1.66) 171
2000 25.54 40.46 24 2.12 (1.22) 2.37 (1.47) 180
2001 16.74 (30.84) 22 2.21 (.97) 2.46 (1.22) 123
2002 14.87 (11.17) 25 2.40 (1.52) 2.65 (1.77) 112
2003 17.95 20.71 35 2.43 (1.50) 2.67 (1.74) 37
- -----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Financial Highlights (continued)
FIRST INVESTORS
- -----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
P E R S H A R E D A T A
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Less Distributions
Investment Operations from
------------------------------------- ----------------------
Net Asset Net Realized
Value, Net and Unrealized Total from Net Net
Beginning Investment Gain (Loss) on Investment Investment Realized Total
of Period Loss Investments Operations Income Gain Distributions
- -----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
SPECIAL SITUATIONS FUND
- --------------------------
Class A
- -------
1999 $17.83 $(.22) $ 5.79 $ 5.57 $ -- $ -- $ --
2000 23.40 (.18) 9.81 9.63 -- 1.21 1.21
2001 31.82 (.18) (11.59) (11.77) -- 4.89 4.89
2002 15.16 (.19) (2.31) (2.50) -- -- --
2003 12.66 (.17) 3.14 2.97 -- -- --
Class B
- -------
1999 17.34 (.36) 5.64 5.28 -- -- --
2000 22.62 (.33) 9.38 9.05 -- 1.21 1.21
2001 30.46 (.29) (11.00) (11.29) -- 4.89 4.89
2002 14.28 (.29) (2.15) (2.44) -- -- --
2003 11.84 (.25) 2.93 2.68 -- -- --
- -----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
FOCUSED EQUITY FUND
- -------------------
Class A
- -------
1999(b) $10.00 $(.04) $ .92 $ .88 $ -- $ -- $ --
2000 10.88 (.08) (.42) (.50) -- -- --
2001 10.38 (.03) (2.63) (2.66) -- -- --
2002 7.72 (.07) (1.92) (1.99) -- -- --
2003 5.73 (.02) 1.52 1.50 -- -- --
Class B
- -------
1999(b) 10.00 (.06) .90 .84 -- -- --
2000 10.84 (.15) (.43) (.58) -- -- --
2001 10.26 (.09) (2.59) (2.68) -- -- --
2002 7.58 (.13) (1.86) (1.99) -- -- --
2003 5.59 (.07) 1.48 1.41 -- -- --
- -----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
- -----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
R A T I O S / S U P P L E M E N T A L D A T A
- ------------------------ --------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Ratio to Average Net
Ratio to Average Net Assets Before Expenses
Assets** Waived or Assumed
-------------------- ----------------------
Net Asset Net Net Portfolio
Value, Total Net Assets Investment Investment Turnover
End of Return* End of Period Expenses Loss Expenses Loss Rate
Period (%) (in millions) (%) (%) (%) (%) (%)
- -----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
SPECIAL SITUATIONS FUND
- --------------------------
Class A
- -------
1999 $23.40 31.24 $186 1.53 (.97) 1.76 (1.20) 132
2000 31.82 43.07 276 1.41 (.68) 1.60 (.87) 161
2001 15.16 (42.86) 164 1.54 (.94) 1.75 (1.15) 183
2002 12.66 (16.49) 138 1.69 (1.24) 1.93 (1.48) 153
2003 15.63 23.46 169 1.80 (1.26) 2.05 (1.51) 111
Class B
- -------
1999 22.62 30.45 20 2.23 (1.67) 2.46 (1.90) 132
2000 30.46 41.94 34 2.11 (1.38) 2.30 (1.57) 161
2001 14.28 (43.26) 21 2.24 (1.64) 2.45 (1.85) 183
2002 11.84 (17.09) 18 2.39 (1.94) 2.63 (2.18) 153
2003 14.52 22.63 20 2.50 (1.96) 2.75 (2.21) 111
- -----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
FOCUSED EQUITY FUND
- -------------------
Class A
- -------
1999(b) $10.88 8.80 $ 59 1.75+ (.93)+ 1.90+ (1.08)+ 57
2000 10.38 (4.60) 75 1.62 (.76) 1.52 (.66) 178
2001 7.72 (25.63) 51 1.75 (.35) N/A N/A 240
2002 5.73 (25.78) 38 1.83 (.90) N/A N/A 150
2003 7.23 26.18 48 1.99 (.35) N/A N/A 49
Class B
- -------
1999(b) 10.84 8.40 14 2.45+ (1.63)+ 2.60+ (1.78)+ 57
2000 10.26 (5.35) 18 2.32 (1.46) 2.22 (1.36) 178
2001 7.58 (26.12) 13 2.45 (1.05) N/A N/A 240
2002 5.59 (26.25) 9 2.53 (1.60) N/A N/A 150
2003 7.00 25.22 11 2.69 (1.05) N/A N/A 49
- -----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Financial Highlights (continued)
FIRST INVESTORS
- -----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
P E R S H A R E D A T A
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Less Distributions
Investment Operations from
------------------------------------- ----------------------
Net Asset Net Realized
Value, Net and Unrealized Total from Net Net
Beginning Investment Gain (Loss) on Investment Investment Realized Total
of Period Loss Investments Operations Income Gain Distributions
- -----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
GLOBAL FUND
- -----------
Class A
- -------
1999 $ 6.33 $ -- $ 1.86 $ 1.86 $ -- $ .08 $ .08
2000 8.11 (.02) .91 .89 -- .89 .89
2001 8.11 (.01) (2.13) (2.14) -- .76 .76
2002 5.21 (.01) (.96) (.97) -- -- --
2003 4.24 (.01) .93 .92 -- -- --
Class B
- -------
1999 6.19 (.04) 1.81 1.77 -- .08 .08
2000 7.88 (.07) .88 .81 -- .89 .89
2001 7.80 (.06) (2.03) (2.09) -- .76 .76
2002 4.95 -- (.95) (.95) -- -- --
2003 4.00 (.04) .88 .84 -- -- --
- -----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
- -----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
R A T I O S / S U P P L E M E N T A L D A T A
- ------------------------ --------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Ratio to Average Net
Ratio to Average Net Assets Before Expenses
Assets** Waived or Assumed
-------------------- ----------------------
Net Asset Net Net Portfolio
Value, Total Net Assets Investment Investment Turnover
End of Return* End of Period Expenses Loss Expenses Loss Rate
Period (%) (in millions) (%) (%) (%) (%) (%)
- -----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
GLOBAL FUND
- -----------
Class A
- -------
1999 $ 8.11 29.63 $316 1.72 (.03) N/A N/A 92
2000 8.11 11.73 350 1.65 (.26) N/A N/A 102
2001 5.21 (28.87) 234 1.77 (.21) N/A N/A 116
2002 4.24 (18.62) 173 1.87 (.35) N/A N/A 125
2003 5.16 21.70 192 1.98 (.19) N/A N/A 112
Class B
- -------
1999 7.88 28.78 18 2.42 (.73) N/A N/A 92
2000 7.80 10.99 26 2.35 (.96) N/A N/A 102
2001 4.95 (29.42) 18 2.47 (.91) N/A N/A 116
2002 4.00 (19.19) 14 2.57 (1.05) N/A N/A 125
2003 4.84 21.00 15 2.68 (.89) N/A N/A 112
- -----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
* Calculated without sales charges.
** Net of expenses waived or assumed by the investment adviser (Note 3).
+ Annualized
++ Prior to October 1, 2001, the Total Return Fund, Growth & Income
Fund, and Value Fund did not amortize premiums on debt securities. The
per share data and ratios prior to 2001 have not been restated. The
cumulative effect of this accounting change had no impact on total net
assets of the Funds.
+++ Prior to December 31, 2002, known as Utilities Income Fund.
(a) For the period October 25, 2000 (commencement of operations) to
September 30, 2001.
(b) For the period March 22, 1999 (commencement of operations) to
September 30, 1999.
See notes to financial statements
Independent Auditors' Report
To the Shareholders and Boards of Directors/Trustees of
First Investors Series Fund
First Investors Series Fund II, Inc.
First Investors Global Fund, Inc.
We have audited the accompanying statement of assets and liabilities,
including the portfolios of investments of the Blue Chip Fund, Special
Situations Fund and Total Return Fund (each a series of First Investors
Series Fund), the All-Cap Growth Fund, Focused Equity Fund, Growth & Income
Fund, Mid-Cap Opportunity Fund and Value Fund (formerly Utilities Income
Fund) (each a series of First Investors Series Fund II, Inc.), and First
Investors Global Fund, Inc. as of September 30, 2003, the related statement
of operations for the year then ended, the statement of changes in net
assets for each of the two years in the period then ended, and the
financial highlights for each of the periods indicated thereon. These
financial statements and financial highlights are the responsibility of the
Funds' management. Our responsibility is to express an opinion on these
financial statements and financial highlights based on our audits.
We conducted our audits in accordance with auditing standards generally
accepted in the United States of America. Those standards require that we
plan and perform the audit to obtain reasonable assurance about whether the
financial statements and financial highlights are free of material
misstatement. An audit includes examining, on a test basis, evidence
supporting the amounts and disclosures in the financial statements. Our
procedures included confirmation of securities owned as of September 30,
2003, by correspondence with the custodian and brokers. Where brokers have
not replied to our confirmation requests, we have carried out other
appropriate auditing procedures. An audit also includes assessing the
accounting principles used and significant estimates made by management, as
well as evaluating the overall financial statement presentation. We believe
that our audits provide a reasonable basis for our opinion.
In our opinion, the financial statements and financial highlights referred
to above present fairly, in all material respects, the financial position
of the Blue Chip Fund, Special Situations Fund, Total Return Fund, All-Cap
Growth Fund, Focused Equity Fund, Growth & Income Fund, Mid-Cap Opportunity
Fund, Value Fund, and Global Fund as of September 30, 2003, and the results
of their operations for the year then ended, changes in their net assets
for each of the two years in the period then ended, and their financial
highlights for the periods presented, in conformity with accounting
principles generally accepted in the United States of America.
Tait, Weller & Baker
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
November 3, 2003
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FIRST INVESTORS EQUITY FUNDS
Directors/Trustees and Officers*
Position(s)
Held with Principal Number of Other
Funds and Occupation(s) Portfolios in Trusteeships
Name, Date of Birth Length of During Past Fund Complex Directorships
and Address Service 5 Years Overseen Held
- ------------------- ------------------ ------------------ ------------ ------------
DISINTERESTED DIRECTORS/TRUSTEES
Robert M. Grohol 1/16/1932 Director/Trustee None/Retired 50 None
c/o First Investors since 6/30/00
Management Company, Inc.
95 Wall Street
New York, NY 10005
Rex R. Reed 3/19/1922 Director/Trustee None/Retired 50 None
c/o First Investors since 3/31/84
Management Company, Inc.
95 Wall Street
New York, NY 10005
Herbert Rubinstein 6/14/1921 Director/Trustee None/Retired 50 None
c/o First Investors since 9/20/79
Management Company, Inc.
95 Wall Street
New York, NY 10005
James M. Srygley 10/17/1932 Director/Trustee Owner 50 None
c/o First Investors since 1/19/95 Hampton
Management Company, Inc. Properties
95 Wall Street
New York, NY 10005
Robert F. Wentworth 7/5/1929 Director/Trustee None/Retired 50 None
217 Upland Downs Road since 10/15/92
Management Company, Inc.
95 Wall Street
New York, NY 10005
Position(s)
Held with Principal Number of Other
Funds and Occupation(s) Portfolios in Trusteeships
Name, Date of Birth Length of During Past Fund Complex Directorships
and Address Service 5 Years Overseen Held
- ------------------- ------------------ ------------------ ------------ ------------
INTERESTED DIRECTORS/TRUSTEES**
Glenn O. Head 8/16/1925 Director/Trustee Chairman of 50 None
c/o First Investors since 1968 First Investors
Management Company, Inc. Corporation,
95 Wall Street Chairman of
New York, NY 10005 First Investors
Consolidated
Corporation,
Chairman of
First Investors
Management
Company, Inc.,
Chairman of
Administrative Data
Management Corp.,
and officer of
other affiliated
companies***
Kathryn S. Head 12/31/1955 Director/Trustee Vice President 50 None
c/o First Investors since 3/17/94 of First Investors
Management Company, Inc. Corporation,
581 Main Street President President of
Woodbridge, NJ 07095 since 11/15/01 First Investors
Consolidated
Corporation,
President of
First Investors
Management
Company, Inc.,
President of
Administrative Data
Management Corp.,
Chairman of
First Investors
Federal Savings
Bank and
officer of
other affiliated
companies***
FIRST INVESTORS EQUITY FUNDS
Directors/Trustees and Officers* (continued)
Position(s)
Held with Principal Number of Other
Funds and Occupation(s) Portfolios in Trusteeships
Name, Date of Birth Length of During Past Fund Complex Directorships
and Address Service 5 Years Overseen Held
- ------------------- ------------------ ------------------ ------------ ------------
INTERESTED DIRECTORS/TRUSTEES (continued)
Larry R. Lavoie 9/12/1947 Director/Trustee General Counsel 50 None
c/o First Investors since 9/17/98 First Investors
Management Company, Inc. Corporation
95 Wall Street and other
New York, NY 10005 affiliated
companies***
John T. Sullivan 1/18/1932 Director/Trustee Of Counsel 50 None
c/o First Investors since 9/20/79 Hawkins,
Management Company, Inc. Delafield &
95 Wall Street Wood; Director
New York, NY 10005 and Chairman
of Executive
Committee of
First Investors
Corporation
* Each Director/Trustee serves for an indefinite term with the Funds,
until his/her successor is elected.
** Mr. Head and Ms. Head are interested directors/trustees because
(a) they are indirect owners of more than 5% of the voting stock of the
adviser and principal underwriter of the Funds, (b) they are officers,
directors and employees of the adviser and principal underwriter of the
Funds, and (c) they are officers of the Funds. Ms. Head is the daughter
of Mr. Head. Mr. Lavoie is an interested director/trustee of the Funds
because he indirectly owns securities issued by and is an officer of
the adviser and principal underwriter of the Funds. Mr. Sullivan is an
interested director/trustee because he is a director and Chairman of
the Executive Committee of First Investors Corporation and he
indirectly owns securities issued by the adviser and principal
underwriter of the Funds.
*** Other affiliated companies consist of: First Investors Realty
Company, Inc., First Investors Life Insurance Company, First Investors
Leverage Corporation, Route 33 Realty Corporation, First Investors
Credit Funding Corporation, N.A.K. Realty Corporation, Real Property
Development Corporation, School Financial Management Services, Inc.,
First Investors Federal Savings Bank, First Investors Credit
Corporation and First Investors Resources, Inc.
Position(s)
Held with Principal Number of Other
Funds and Occupation(s) Portfolios in Trusteeships
Name, Date of Birth Length of During Past Fund Complex Directorships
and Address Service 5 Years Overseen Held
- ------------------- ------------------ ------------------ ------------ ------------
OFFICERS WHO ARE NOT DIRECTORS/TRUSTEES
Joseph I. Benedek 8/2/1957 Treasurer Treasurer 50 None
c/o First Investors since 1988 and Principal
Management Company, Inc. Accounting Officer
581 Main Street
Woodbridge, NJ 07095
Dennis T. Fitzpatrick 5/15/1958 Vice President Portfolio Manager 2 None
c/o First Investors Series Funs, of First Investors
Management Company, Inc. since 1998 Management
95 Wall Street Company, Inc.
New York, NY 10005
George V. Ganter 5/29/1952 Vice President, Portfolio Manager 2 None
c/o First Investors Series Fund, of First Investors
Management Company, Inc. since 2000 Management
95 Wall Street Company, Inc.
New York, NY 10005
Clark D. Wagner 2/25/1959 Vice President Director of 27 None
c/o First Investors Series Fund, Fixed Income
Management Company, Inc. since 1991 (previously Chief
95 Wall Street Investment Officer)
New York, NY 10005 of First Investors
Management
Company, Inc.
FIRST INVESTORS EQUITY FUNDS
Shareholder Information
- --------------------------------------------------
Investment Adviser
First Investors Management Company, Inc.
95 Wall Street
New York, NY 10005
Subadviser (All-Cap Growth Fund, Focused
Equity Fund and Global Fund only)
Wellington Management Company, LLP
75 State Street
Boston, MA 02109
Underwriter
First Investors Corporation
95 Wall Street
New York, NY 10005
Custodian
The Bank of New York
One Wall Street
New York, NY 10286
Custodian (Global Fund only)
Brown Brothers Harriman & Co.
40 Water Street
Boston, MA 02109
Transfer Agent
Administrative Data Management Corp.
581 Main Street
Woodbridge, NJ 07095-1198
Legal Counsel
Kirkpatrick & Lockhart LLP
1800 Massachusetts Avenue, N.W.
Washington, DC 20036
Auditors
Tait, Weller & Baker
1818 Market Street
Philadelphia, PA 19103
It is the Funds' practice to mail only one copy of their annual and
semi-annual reports to any address at which more than one shareholder with
the same last name has indicated that mail is to be delivered. Additional
copies of the reports will be mailed if requested by any shareholder in
writing or by calling 800-423-4026. The Funds will ensure that separate
reports are sent to any shareholder who subsequently changes his or her
mailing address.
This report is authorized for distribution only to existing shareholders,
and, if given to prospective shareholders, must be accompanied or preceded
by the Funds' prospectus.
Item 2. Code of Ethics - Filed herewith
The Board of Directors/Trustees of First Investors Funds ("Board") has
adopted a Code of Ethics that applies to the First Investors Funds'
("Funds") principal executive officer, principal financial officer,
principal accounting officer or controller, or persons performing
similar functions, regardless of whether these individuals are employed
by the Funds or a third party. The Code of Ethics is attached to this
report as Exhibit A.
During the period of the report, there have been no amendments to the
Code of Ethics or waivers, implicit or otherwise, from its provisions.
Item 3. Audit Committee Financial Expert - Filed herewith
The Independent Director currently serving as the Audit Committee Financial
Expert is Robert F. Wentworth.
The Board of Directors/Trustees of First Investors Funds ("Board") has
unanimously determined that Mr. Wentworth satisfied the definition of an
audit committee financial expert as set forth in the instructions to
Form N-CSR under the Investment Company Act of 1940. Specifically, the
Board determined that Mr. Wentworth has all of the following: (i) an
understanding of generally accepted accounting principles and financial
statements; (ii) the ability to assess the general application of such
principles in connection with the accounting for estimates, accruals, and
reserves; (iii) experience preparing, auditing, analyzing or evaluating
financial statements that present the breadth and level of complexity of
accounting issues that are generally comparable to the breadth and
complexity of issues that can reasonably be expected to be raised by the
Funds' financial statements, or experience actively supervising one or more
persons engaged in such activities; (iv) an understanding of internal
controls and procedures for financial reports; and (v) an understanding of
audit committee functions. Furthermore, he had acquired these attributes
through education and many years of relevant experience in various financial
positions with American Telephone and Telegraph Company, including the
positions of Director - Accounting, Director - Finance, Director - Financial
Reporting and Analysis, Controller, and Director of Business Planning. Mr.
Wentworth also has many years experience serving on the Audit Committees
of First Investors Funds and other organizations. Finally, Mr. Wentworth is
independent as defined in the instructions to the Form.
Item 4. Principal Accountant Fees and Services - Not applicable to this
filing. Applicable to Annual Reports for fiscal years ending on
or after December 15, 2003.
Item 5. Audit Committee of Listed Registrants - Not applicable
Item 6. [Reserved]
Item 7. Disclosure of Proxy Voting Policies & Procedures for Closed-End
Management Investment Companies - Not applicable for this filing
Item 8. [Reserved]
Item 9. Controls and Procedures
(a) The Registrant's Principal Executive Officer and Principal
Financial Officer have concluded that the Registrant's disclosure controls
and procedures (as defined in Rule 30a-3(c) under the Investment Company
Act of 1940, as amended) are effective, based on their evaluation of these
disclosure controls and procedures as of a date within 90 days of the
filing date of this report.
(b) There were no significant changes in the Registrant's internal
controls or in other factors that could significantly affect these controls
subsequent to the date of their evaluation, including any corrective actions
with regard to significant deficiencies and material weaknesses.
Item 10. Exhibits
(a) Code of Ethics - Filed herewith
(b) Certifications pursuant to Section 302 of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act
of 2002 - Filed herewith
(c) Certifications pursuant to Section 906 of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act
of 2002 - Filed herewith
SIGNATURES
Pursuant to the requirements of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934
and the Investment Company Act of 1940, the Registrant have duly caused this
report to be signed on its behalf by the undersigned, thereunto duly
authorized.
First Investors Series Fund
First Investors Series Fund II, Inc.
First Investors Global Fund, Inc.
(Registrant)
By /S/ KATHRYN S. HEAD
Kathryn S. Head
President and Principal Executive Officer
Date: December 1, 2003
Pursuant to the requirements of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934
and the Investment Company Act of 1940, this report has been signed below by
the following persons on behalf of the Registrant and in the capacities and
on the dates indicated.
First Investors Series Fund
First Investors Series Fund II, Inc.
First Investors Global Fund, Inc.
(Registrant)
By /S/ JOSEPH I. BENEDEK
Joseph I. Benedek
Treasurer and Principal Financial Officer
Date: December 1, 2003