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The Value Line Fund, Inc.
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(Ticker Symbol: VLIFX)
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S U M M A R Y P R O S P E C T U S
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M A Y 1 , 2 0 1 3
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Before you invest, you may want to review the Fund’s Prospectus and Statement of Additional Information, which contain more information about the Fund and its risks. You can find the Fund’s Prospectus, Statement of Additional Information and other information about the Fund at www.vlfunds.com/home. You can also get this information at no cost by calling 800-243-2729 or by sending an email request to info@vlfunds.com. The current Prospectus and Statement of Additional Information dated May 1, 2013, are incorporated by reference into this Summary Prospectus.
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#00096266
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F U N D S U M M A R Y
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Investment objectives
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The Fund’s primary investment objective is long-term growth of capital. Current income is a secondary investment objective.
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Fees and expenses
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This table describes the fees and expenses that you may pay if you buy and hold shares of the Fund. There are no shareholder fees (fees paid directly from your investment).
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Annual Fund Operating Expenses (expenses that you pay each year as a percentage of the value of your investment)
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Management Fees
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0.69%
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Distribution and Service (12b-1) Fees
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0.25%
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Other Expenses
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0.34%
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Total Annual Fund Operating Expenses
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1.28%
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Less: 12b-1 Fee Waiver*
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–0.25%
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Net Expenses
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1.03%
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*
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Effective May 1, 2013 through June 30, 2014, EULAV Securities LLC (the “Distributor”) has contractually agreed to waive all of the Fund’s 12b-1 fee in an amount equal to 0.25% of the Fund’s average daily net assets. There is no assurance that the Distributor will extend the fee waiver beyond June 30, 2014. The waiver cannot be modified or terminated before June 30, 2014 without the approval of the Fund’s Board of Directors.
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Example
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This example is intended to help you compare the cost of investing in the Fund with the cost of investing in other mutual funds. The example assumes that you invest $10,000 in the Fund for the time periods indicated whether or not you redeem all of your shares at the end of those periods. The example also assumes that your investment has a 5% return each year and that the Fund’s operating expenses remain the same except in year one. Although your actual costs may be higher or lower, based on these assumptions your costs would be:
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1 year
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3 years
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5 years
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10 years
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Value Line Fund
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$105
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$381
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$678
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$1,523
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2
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Portfolio turnover
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The Fund pays transaction costs, such as commissions, when it buys and sells securities (or “turns over” its portfolio). A higher portfolio turnover rate may indicate higher transaction costs and may result in higher taxes when Fund shares are held in a taxable account. These costs, which are not reflected in annual fund operating expenses or in the example, affect the Fund’s performance. During the most recent fiscal year the Fund’s portfolio turnover rate was 6% of the average value of its portfolio.
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Principal investment strategies of the Fund
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To achieve the Fund’s investment objectives, EULAV Asset Management (the “Adviser”) invests substantially all of the Fund’s net assets in common stocks. While the Fund is actively managed by the Adviser, the Adviser relies primarily on the rankings of companies by the Value Line Timeliness™ Ranking System (the “Ranking System”) in selecting securities for purchase or sale. The Ranking System is a proprietary quantitative system that compares an estimate of the probable market performance of each stock within a universe during the next six to twelve months to that of all stocks within that universe and ranks stocks on a scale of 1 (highest) to 5 (lowest). The universe followed by the Ranking System consists of stocks of approximately 1,700 companies accounting for approximately 95% of the market capitalization of all stocks traded on the U.S. securities exchanges. All the stocks followed by the Ranking System are listed on U.S. stock exchanges or traded in the U.S. over-the-counter markets. The Fund’s investments principally are selected from common stocks ranked 1, 2 or 3 by the Ranking System at the time of purchase. Apart from the diversification requirements of the Investment Company Act of 1940 (the “1940 Act”) applicable to diversified funds (which generally means that it will not invest more than 5% of its total assets in the stocks of any one company), the Fund is not subject to any limit on the percentage of its assets that may be invested in any particular stock. Because the Adviser relies on the Ranking System in managing the Fund’s portfolio, the Fund is not limited to investments according to a company’s size.
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The Adviser may sell securities for a variety of reasons, such as to secure gains, limit losses or redeploy assets into more promising opportunities.
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As described above, the Adviser relies primarily on the rankings of companies by the Ranking System in selecting stocks for the Fund, but has discretion, including whether and which ranked stocks to include within the Fund’s portfolio, whether and when to buy or sell stocks based upon changes in their rankings, and the frequency and timing of rebalancing the Fund’s portfolio. The Adviser will determine the percentage of the Fund’s assets invested in each stock based on the stock’s relative attractiveness.
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Principal risks of investing in the Fund
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Investing in any mutual fund involves risk, including the risk that you may receive little or no return on your investment, and that you may lose part or all of your investment. Therefore, before you invest in this Fund you should carefully evaluate the risks.
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The chief risk that you assume when investing in the Fund is market risk, which is the possibility that the securities in a certain market will decline in value because of factors such as economic conditions. Market risk may affect a single issuer, an industry, a sector of the economy or the market as a whole.
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Because the Fund is actively managed, its investment return depends on the ability of the Adviser to manage its portfolio successfully. The Adviser’s investment strategies may not be able to produce the desired results.
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The Fund’s annual portfolio turnover rate has exceeded 100% in two of the last five years. A rate of portfolio turnover of 100% would occur if all of the Fund’s portfolio were replaced in a period of one year. To the extent the Fund engages in short-term trading in attempting to achieve its investment objective, it will increase the Fund’s portfolio turnover rate and the Fund will incur higher brokerage commissions and other expenses.
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An investment in the Fund is not a complete investment program and you should consider it just one part of your total investment program. An investment in the Fund is not insured or guaranteed by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation or any other governmental agency. For a more complete discussion of risk, please turn to page 10.
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Because the Fund uses the Ranking System, there is the risk that securities not covered by the Ranking System or lower rated securities will appreciate to a greater extent than those securities in the Fund’s portfolio.
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The price of Fund shares will increase and decrease according to changes in the value of the Fund’s investments. The Fund will be affected by changes in stock prices, which have historically tended to fluctuate more than bond prices.
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Fund performance
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This bar chart and table can help you evaluate the potential risks of investing in the Fund. The bar chart below shows how returns for the Fund’s shares have varied over the past ten calendar years, and the table below shows the average annual total returns (before and after taxes) of these shares for one, five, and ten years. These returns are compared to the performance of the S&P 500® Index, which is a broad based market index. The Fund’s past performance (before and after taxes) is not necessarily an indication of how it will perform in the future. Updated performance information is available at: www.vlfunds.com.
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Total returns (before taxes) as of 12/31 each year (%)
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Best Quarter:
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Q4 2004
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+13.28
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Worst Quarter:
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Q4 2008
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–27.78
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After-tax returns in the table below are calculated using the historical highest individual federal marginal income tax rates and do not reflect the impact of state and local taxes. Actual after-tax returns depend on an investor’s tax situation and may differ from those shown, and after-tax returns shown are not relevant to investors who hold their Fund shares through tax-deferred arrangements, such as 401(k) plans or individual retirement accounts.
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5
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Average Annual Total Returns for the Periods Ended December 31, 2012
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1 year
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5 years
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10 years
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Value Line Fund
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Return before taxes
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14.60%
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–3.31%
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4.21%
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Return after taxes on distributions
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14.60%
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–3.51%
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2.65%
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Return after taxes on distributions and sale of Fund shares
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9.49%
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–2.89%
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3.07%
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S&P 500® Index (reflects no deduction for fees, expenses or taxes)
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16.00%
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1.66%
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7.10%
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Management
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Investment Adviser. The Fund’s investment adviser is EULAV Asset Management.
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Portfolio Manager. Stephen E. Grant is primarily responsible for the day-to-day management of the Fund’s portfolio. Mr. Grant has been the Fund’s portfolio manager since 2009.
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Purchase and sale of Fund shares
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Minimum initial investment in the Fund: $1,000.
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Minimum additional investment in the Fund: $100.
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The Fund’s shares are redeemable and you may redeem your shares (sell them back to the Fund) through your broker-dealer, financial advisor or financial intermediary, by telephone or by mail, by writing to: Value Line Funds, c/o Boston Financial Data Services, Inc., P.O. Box 219729, Kansas City, MO 64121-9729. See “How to sell shares” on page 15.
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Tax information
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The Fund’s distributions generally are taxable as ordinary income or capital gains for federal income tax purposes unless you are tax exempt or investing through a tax-deferred account, such as a 401(k) plan or an Individual Retirement Account (“IRA”).
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Payments to broker-dealers and other financial intermediaries
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If you purchase the Fund through a broker-dealer or other financial intermediary (such as a bank), the Fund and its related companies may pay the intermediary for the sale of Fund shares and related services. These payments may create a conflict of interest by influencing the broker-dealer or other intermediary and your salesperson to recommend the Fund over another investment. Ask your salesperson or visit your financial intermediary’s website for more information.
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