Compels us to wait for the perfect pitch - differentiated companies with strong cash flows, low debt, high quality products or services, significant barriers to entry and low reinvestment requirements.
Allows us to take a long-term view and look past short-term noise with a 3-5 year time horizon in mind.

A Focused Approach

"Invest within your circle of competence." - Warren Buffett

Augments our conviction, especially during crunch time when it matters most.
Leads us to isolate key issues of importance to a company in the midst of market noise.
Results in our portfolio concentration in a limited number of names and industries.

A Team of Independent Thinkers

"If you buy the same stocks as everyone else, you get the same results."
- Sir John Templeton

Encourages us to buy out of favor, misunderstood and ignored stocks.
Leads us to perform our own original, proprietary research.
Persuades us to be benchmark agnostic with very different industry weightings.

Social Screens: The responsibility factor

We believe ethical business practices make good investment sense.

We do not invest in corporations whose primary source of revenue is derived from:

the production or sale of tobacco products or
the manufacture of handguns.

We consider a company’s environmental record which includes reviewing research from outside vendors that provide such services.

We encourage portfolio companies to have an open dialogue on:

giving back to the community,
a dedication to education, and
proactive diversity practices.

For more information, read The Responsibility Factor.

^* The inception date for the Class I shares is December 30, 2011. The expense ratio is based on estimated expenses for the current fiscal year.

Ariel Appreciation Fund

Investor Class

Institutional Class

 Market Cap Range: generally between $2 billion and $15 billion 
 Inception: December 1, 1989 
 Number of holdings: 30-45 
 Turnover: 20-30% 
 Expense Ratio: 1.15% as of the fiscal year ended 09/30/11 
 Ticker Symbol: CAAPX 
 Net Assets: $1.2 billion as of 12/31/2011 

Portfolio Managers

John W. Rogers, Jr.
Co-Portfolio Manager
View Full Bio

Timothy Fidler
Co-Portfolio Manager
View Full Bio

Matthew F. Sauer
Co-Portfolio Manager
View Full Bio

The four-part investment process drives us to take a long-term view, focusing on what matters most through independent thought and research.

The Idea: We read extensively, monitor computer screens, meet with industry experts, and stay abreast of former holdings.

The Science: We seek to purchase companies that trade at a 40% discount to the PMV we have calculated, sell for 13x or less forward cash earnings estimates, or both.

The Art: We surround companies to paint a long-term picture and identify what others are missing. The chief tool is our extensive independent verification network — the many experts we know well. We use strategic questioning of company management and outside experts to identify the key issues affecting an industry or company.

The Decision: We generally purchase only a few companies each year so we weigh our options carefully. Typically, key information is captured in a research report. Our research team vets the idea in a vigorous discussion and each senior research team member weighs in. After this step, the lead portfolio manager makes the final purchase decision.

Sector Weightings (%) as of December 31, 2011

	Ariel Appreciation Fund	Russell Midcap Value	Russell Midcap	S&P 500
Consumer Discretionary	40.17	12.00	16.46	12.51
Financial Services	34.02	31.82	20.64	14.56
Health Care	12.24	5.92	9.04	11.69
Producer Durables	4.35	10.11	12.89	11.03
Technology	3.95	6.31	10.86	17.08
Energy	2.84	5.94	7.91	12.28
Consumer Staples	2.43	6.94	6.30	10.13
Utilities	0.00	16.02	8.62	6.87
Materials and Processing	0.00	4.95	7.29	3.86

> View Historical Sector Diversification

Represents percentage of total equity holdings in the portfolio

Portfolio Characteristics as of December 31, 2011

	Ariel Appreciation Fund	Russell Midcap Value	Russell Midcap	S&P 500
Average Market Capitalization (billion)	$7.91	$6.36	$6.59	$49.81
Median Market Capitalization (billion)	9.32	3.76	3.97	11.16
Number of Holdings	38	528	783	500
Wall Street Analysts Per Stock	18	13	15	24
Turnover (%)	29.7	n/a	n/a	n/a
P/E (forward)	11.1	12.3	13.7	12.3
Beta (vs. Russell 3000 Index)	1.42	1.16	1.15	0.93
Price/Book	1.8	1.4	2.0	2.1
Return on Equity (5 year) (%)	16.8	10.1	14.2	20.6
EPS Growth (forward) (%)	12.5	9.7	12.4	11.5

> View Historical Portfolio Characteristics

The Russell Midcap® Value Index measures the performance of the mid-cap value segment of the U.S. equity universe. It includes those Russell Midcap Index companies with lower price-to-book ratios and lower forecasted growth values. The Russell Midcap® Index measures the performance of the mid-cap segment of the U.S. equity universe. The Russell Midcap Index is a subset of the Russell 1000® Index. It includes approximately 800 of the smallest securities based on a combination of their market cap and current index membership. The Russell Midcap Index represents approximately 27% of the total market capitalization of the Russell 1000 companies. The S&P 500® Index is the most widely accepted barometer of the market. It includes 500 blue chip, large cap stocks, which together represent about 75% of the total U.S. equities market.

Quarter End

Month End

Ariel Appreciation Fund Performance as of December 31, 2011

	One Month	Three Months	Year To Date	One Year	Three Years	Five Years	Ten Years	Since Inception
Inception date: December 1, 1989				Annualized
Ariel Appreciation Fund	0.82%	12.83%	-7.35%	-7.35%	21.78%	1.08%	4.81%	9.84%
Russell Midcap® Value Index	1.25%	13.37%	-1.38%	-1.38%	18.19%	0.04%	7.67%	10.69%
Russell Midcap® Index	-0.12%	12.31%	-1.55%	-1.55%	20.17%	1.41%	6.99%	10.43%
S&P 500® Index	1.02%	11.82%	2.11%	2.11%	14.11%	-0.25%	2.92%	8.24%

Ariel Appreciation Fund Performance as of December 31, 2011

	One Month	Three Months	Year To Date	One Year	Three Years	Five Years	Ten Years	Since Inception
Inception date: December 1, 1989				Annualized
Ariel Appreciation Fund	0.82%	12.83%	-7.35%	-7.35%	21.78%	1.08%	4.81%	9.84%
Russell Midcap® Value Index	1.25%	13.37%	-1.38%	-1.38%	18.19%	0.04%	7.67%	10.69%
Russell Midcap® Index	-0.12%	12.31%	-1.55%	-1.55%	20.17%	1.41%	6.99%	10.43%
S&P 500® Index	1.02%	11.82%	2.11%	2.11%	14.11%	-0.25%	2.92%	8.24%

> View Historical Quarter-by-Quarter Performance

Average Annual Total Return does not reflect a maximum 4.75% sales load charged prior to 07/15/94.

Expense Ratio as of the fiscal year ended 9/30/11: 1.15%

Investing in mid-cap stocks is more risky and volatile than investing in large-cap stocks. Ariel Appreciation Fund often invest a significant portion of its assets in companies within the financial services and consumer discretionary sectors and its performance may suffer if these sectors underperform the overall stock market.

Performance data quoted represents past performance. Past performance does not guarantee future results. All performance assumes the reinvestment of dividends and capital gains. The 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 their original cost. Current performance may be lower or higher than the performance data quoted.

Investors should consider carefully the investment objectives, risks, and charges and expenses before investing. For a current summary prospectus or full prospectus which contains this and other information about the funds offered by Ariel Investment Trust, call us at 800-292-7435 or click here. Please read the summary prospectus or full prospectus carefully before investing. Distributed by Ariel Distributors, LLC, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Ariel Investments, LLC.

Monthly Commentary: Perspectives on the current market

> Open the most recent Market Commentary

Quarterly Report: Quarterly performance update and communication to investors

> Open the most recent Ariel Investments Quarterly Report

Fact Sheets: Quarterly overview of fund objectives and performance summary

> Open the most recent Ariel Appreciation Fund Fact Sheet

Morningstar Analyst Report: Independent fund report published by Morningstar

> Open the most recent Ariel Appreciation Fund Morningstar Analyst Report

Schedule of Holdings as of December 31, 2011

Shares	Security Description	CUSIP	Ticker	Original Cost ($)	Current Value ($)	% of Net Assets

2,052,100	CBS Corp.	124857202	CBS	9,126,543	55,693,994	4.5
1,214,500	Viacom, Inc.	92553P201	VIAB	28,164,179	55,150,445	4.4
1,228,200	AFLAC Inc.	001055102	AFL	32,604,020	53,131,932	4.3
5,357,130	Interpublic Group of Cos., Inc.	460690100	IPG	32,334,448	52,124,875	4.2
3,346,200	Dell Inc.	24702R101	DELL	39,776,916	48,954,906	3.9
1,204,800	Northern Trust Corp.	665859104	NTRS	46,078,051	47,782,368	3.9
1,769,620	Lazard Ltd	G54050102	LAZ	61,272,185	46,204,778	3.7
713,175	Mohawk Industries, Inc.	608190104	MHK	31,911,602	42,683,524	3.4
664,800	Jones Lang LaSalle Inc.	48020Q107	JLL	35,523,324	40,725,648	3.3
1,233,850	Carnival Corp.	143658300	CCL	33,665,222	40,272,864	3.3
903,300	Omnicom Group Inc.	681919106	OMC	25,607,850	40,269,114	3.2
401,500	Franklin Resources, Inc.	354613101	BEN	17,710,278	38,568,090	3.1
1,579,400	Chesapeake Energy Corp.	165167107	CHK	46,413,253	35,204,826	2.8
2,736,500	First American Financial Corp.	31847R102	FAF	42,295,596	34,671,455	2.8
769,354	Thermo Fisher Scientific Inc.	883556102	TMO	13,146,106	34,597,849	2.8
646,200	Zimmer Holdings, Inc.	98956P102	ZMH	28,631,907	34,520,004	2.8
5,463,875	Janus Capital Group Inc.	47102X105	JNS	39,069,447	34,477,051	2.8
1,956,290	International Game Technology	459902102	IGT	24,120,469	33,648,188	2.7
964,300	St. Jude Medical, Inc.	790849103	STJ	35,049,207	33,075,490	2.7
2,354,200	Gannett Co., Inc.	364730101	GCI	5,042,659	31,475,654	2.5
384,675	J.M. Smucker Co.	832696405	SJM	18,220,251	30,070,045	2.4
440,699	Stanley Black & Decker, Inc.	854502101	SWK	9,258,985	29,791,252	2.4
2,124,100	Blackstone Group L.P.	09253U108	BX	28,642,815	29,758,641	2.4
2,246,455	KKR & Co. L.P.	48248M102	KKR	26,403,291	28,822,018	2.3
539,500	Accenture plc	G1151C101	ACN	7,430,316	28,717,585	2.3
705,000	DeVry Inc.	251893103	DV	27,886,811	27,114,300	2.2
943,300	Madison Square Garden Co.	55826P100	MSG	25,567,629	27,016,112	2.2
538,650	Illinois Tool Works Inc.	452308109	ITW	25,448,947	25,160,342	2.0
1,652,550	CBRE Group, Inc.	12504L109	CBG	8,206,412	25,151,811	2.0
507,800	City National Corp.	178566105	CYN	25,124,227	22,434,604	1.8
347,700	T. Rowe Price Group, Inc.	74144T108	TROW	5,618,661	19,801,515	1.6
201,625	Bio-Rad Laboratories, Inc.	090572207	BIO	12,994,851	19,364,065	1.6
374,500	Nordstrom, Inc.	655664100	JWN	3,661,621	18,616,395	1.5
587,700	Hospira, Inc.	441060100	HSP	22,809,090	17,848,449	1.4
619,200	Sotheby's	835898107	BID	13,343,489	17,665,776	1.4
1,083,200	Newell Rubbermaid Inc.	651229106	NWL	16,648,158	17,493,680	1.4
248,150	Baxter Intl Inc.	071813109	BAX	4,804,978	12,278,462	1.0
310,700	Mattel, Inc.	577081102	MAT	6,871,491	8,625,032	0.7
3,615,622	Fixed Income Clearing Corporation	85748R009		3,615,622	3,615,622	0.3
	Other Assets and Liabilities				124,839	0.0
Grand Total				$920,100,907	$1,242,703,600	100.0%

Portfolio Company Spotlights as of September 30, 2011

Mutual Funds

Separately Managed Accounts

Our patient investment philosophy

A Patient View

A Focused Approach

A Team of Independent Thinkers

We believe ethical business practices make good investment sense.

Sector Weightings (%) as of December 31, 2011

Portfolio Characteristics as of December 31, 2011

Ariel Appreciation Fund Performance as of December 31, 2011

Ariel Appreciation Fund Performance as of December 31, 2011

Schedule of Holdings as of December 31, 2011

Portfolio Company Spotlights as of September 30, 2011