Virtus Intermediate Tax-Exempt Bond Fund Named 'Category King'
13 Octobre 2009 - 4:00PM
PR Newswire (US)
Fund Recognized for Outperforming Peers HARTFORD, Conn., Oct. 13
/PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- The Virtus Intermediate Tax-Exempt Bond
Fund (Class I: HIXIX), which is the number one fund in the Lipper
Intermediate Municipal Debt Funds category on a one-year basis, has
been named a "Category King" by the Wall Street Journal among
intermediate municipal bond funds, according to Virtus Investment
Partners (NASDAQ:VRTS), which operates a multi-manager asset
management business with $22.4 billion under management as of June
30, 2009. (Logo:
http://www.newscom.com/cgi-bin/prnh/20090105/NEM020LOGO ) The fund,
subadvised by Harris Investment Management, Inc., generated the
strongest performance in the group on a one-year basis and beat the
category average for the year-to-date, one-, and five-year periods.
The category, as defined by the Journal includes 356, 351, and 311
funds, respectively, for the three time frames. Portfolio manager
George Selby employs a time-tested set of portfolio strategies
focused on mitigating the downside risk of rate movements,
supported by extensive credit analysis to help maintain a high
quality orientation. "In a market driven by fear and panic, we
relied on sound credit analysis combined with our understanding of
historical market relationships to take advantage of a significant
opportunity in municipal bonds," Selby said. "We have been
successful because we stood by our disciplined investment process
of quality security selection despite market turmoil and
dislocation." Selby utilizes the same approach in managing the
Virtus Tax-Exempt Bond Fund (Class I: HXBIX), which is the number
one fund in the Lipper General Municipal Debt Funds category for
the 10-year period, and is in the top five percent or better for
the one-, three-, and five-year periods. "Municipal bonds have
performed well over the last 10 years and have done so with low
volatility," said Frank Waltman, executive vice president, product
management at Virtus. "The success of both the Tax-Exempt Bond and
the Intermediate Tax-Exempt Bond funds speaks highly of two things:
a favorable investment market for municipal fixed-income securities
and, most importantly, exceptional portfolio management skill." The
Wall Street Journal Category Kings ranks the top-performing funds
in 22 categories by one-year total returns (changes in net asset
values with reinvested distributions) as of September 30, 2009.
Fixed-income performance reported by the Journal may be
preliminary. As of September 30, 2009 1 Year 3 Year 5 Year 10 Year
Virtus Intermediate Tax-Exempt Bond Fund (HIXIX) 16.26% 4.91% 4.22%
5.44% Lipper Intermediate Municipal Debt Funds Category Rank 1/156
36/142 20/126 7/74 Fund class operating expenses are 0.60% and
gross operating expenses are 0.70%. Operating expenses reflect a
voluntary expense reimbursement and a voluntary shareholder
servicing fee waiver, both of which may be discontinued at any
time. As of September 30, 2009: 1 Year 3 Year 5 Year 10 Year Virtus
Tax-Exempt Bond Fund (HXBIX) 20.38% 5.85% 5.01% 6.40% Lipper
General Municipal Debt Funds Category Rank 2/242 5/218 8/202 1/160
Fund class operating expenses are 0.60% and gross operating
expenses are 0.75%. Operating expenses reflect a voluntary expense
reimbursement and a voluntary shareholder servicing fee waiver,
both of which may be discontinued at any time. There is no sales
charge for an I share purchase, however there is a minimum
investment of $100,000. About Harris Investment Management, Inc.
Harris Investment Management, Inc. is a registered investment
advisor with the SEC, and wholly owned subsidiary of Harris
Bankcorp Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Harris Financial Corp.,
which is a wholly owned subsidiary of Bank of Montreal. Harris
Investment Management, Inc. is a part of BMO Asset Management(TM),
which is a trademark of Bank of Montreal and a trade name used by
the Bank of Montreal and Harris N.A. BMO Asset Management is the
umbrella structure for BMO Financial Group's institutional
investment management companies which offer a range of investment
management products and services to clients in North America,
Europe, the UK and the Middle East. About Virtus Investment
Partners, Inc. Virtus Investment Partners (NASDAQ:VRTS) is a
distinctive partnership of boutique investment managers singularly
committed to the long-term success of individual and institutional
investors. The company provides investment management products and
services through its affiliated managers and select subadvisers,
each with a distinct investment style, autonomous investment
process and individual brand. Virtus Investment Partners offers
access to a variety of investment styles across multiple
disciplines to meet a wide array of investor needs. Additional
information can be found at http://www.virtus.com/. A portion of
income may be subject to some state and/or local taxes and, for
certain investors, a portion may be subject to the federal
alternative minimum tax. As interest rates rise, existing bond
prices fall and can cause the value of an investment in the funds
to decline. Changes in interest rates will affect the value of
longer-term fixed income securities more than shorter-term
securities. Investing in municipal bonds involves market risk and
credit risk. Performance data quoted represents past results. Past
performance is no guarantee of future results and current
performance may be higher or lower than the performance shown.
Investment return and principal value will fluctuate so your
shares, when redeemed may be worth more or less than their original
cost. Please visit Virtus.com for performance data current to the
most recent month-end. Lipper ranks the fund based on the total
return as of 9/30/09. Each fund is ranked within a universe of
funds similar in portfolio characteristics and capitalization.
Rankings do not include the effect of a fund's sales load, if
applicable. Lipper ranking is for Class I shares only, other
classes may have different performance characteristics. Lipper,
Inc. is a nationally recognized organization that ranks the
performance of mutual funds. Please carefully consider a fund's
investment objectives, risks, charges and expenses before
investing. For this and other information about any Virtus mutual
fund, call 1-800-243-4361 or visit Virtus.com for a prospectus.
Read it carefully before you invest or send money. Distributed by
VP Distributors, Inc., member FINRA and subsidiary of Virtus
Investment Partners, Inc.
http://www.newscom.com/cgi-bin/prnh/20090105/NEM020LOGO
http://photoarchive.ap.org/ DATASOURCE: Virtus Investment Partners,
Inc. CONTACT: Matthew Kirdahy or Andrew Healy, both of Middleberg
Communications, +1-212-812-5665; or Joe Fazzino of Virtus
Investment Partners, +1-860-263-4725 Web Site:
http://www.virtus.com/
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