Montage Investments Surpasses $16 Billion, Receives Industry Recognition, Expands Distribution Team and Launches Mutual Fund

LEAWOOD, Kan., June 18, 2013 /PRNewswire/ -- Montage Investments today reported that assets at the firm's affiliated investment managers have increased to more than $16 billion. This reflects an increase of more than $3 billion in just five months, following $4 billion of growth in 2012.

In addition, several Montage-affiliated asset managers recently achieved significant milestones, particularly Nuance Investments, Convergence Investment Partners and Tortoise Capital Advisors, as noted below:

• The Nuance Concentrated Value and Nuance Mid Cap Value Strategies both received 5-Star Overall Morningstar Ratings^TM versus 407 separate accounts in the Large Value category and 120 separate accounts in the Mid-Cap Value category, for the period ending March 31, 2013 (derived from a weighted average of the fund's three-, five- and ten-year risk adjusted return measure, if applicable). Both strategies have also achieved PSN Informa Top Guns Status multiple times.
• The Convergence Core Plus Fund received a 5-Star Overall Morningstar Rating^TM versus 1,409 funds in the Large Blend category for the period ending May 31, 2013 (derived from a weighted average of the fund's three-, five- and ten-year risk adjusted return measure, if applicable).
• Tortoise Capital Advisors recently launched its second mutual fund – the Tortoise North American Energy Independence Fund (TNPTX). The latest fund complements Tortoise's first mutual fund – the Tortoise MLP & Pipeline Fund (TORTX/TORIX), which was ranked in the top percentile of the Morningstar Equity Energy category out of 118 funds for the one-year period ending March 31, 2013, based upon total returns.

According to Gary P. Henson, CFA, CFP®, president and chief investment officer of Montage, "The recent growth and recognition achieved by our affiliated managers illustrates a shared commitment to delivering institutional investments that serve client needs above all else. At Montage, we will continue to support our boutique managers' success by providing resources that allow them to focus on delivering innovative, relevant investments with few distractions. That is why we continue to enhance our distribution team by adding top industry talent."

Montage's distribution team is now comprised of 37 professionals who serve as a sales and marketing resource to more than 200 associates employed across the firm's investment management affiliates. Collectively, the Montage family is comprised of 15 investment managers, offering seven mutual funds and seven closed-end funds, in addition to more than 25 separately managed account strategies.

"As we continue to grow, we will remain focused on delivering boutique asset managers and alternative investments to financial advisors and their clients," said Henson.

About Montage Investments

Montage Investments offers a distinct collection of institutional investment managers delivering complex strategies across global asset classes, based on decades of experience. Collectively, Montage affiliates manage more than $16 billion, including nearly $2 billion across seven mutual funds. The Montage approach empowers independent investment managers with an array of sophisticated capabilities to help better serve their clients.

Visit www.montageinvestments.com.

Mutual fund investing involves risk. Principal loss is possible.

Nuance Concentrated Value and Mid Cap Value Strategies Investments in small and mid-capitalization companies involve additional risk such as limited liquidity and greater volatility than larger capitalization companies. Investments in foreign securities involve greater volatility and political, economic and currency risks and differences in accounting methods. The strategies are non-diversified, meaning they may concentrate their assets in fewer individual holdings than a diversified fund. Therefore, they are more exposed to individual stock volatility than a diversified fund.

Convergence Core Plus Fund 
Investments in midcap companies involve additional risk such as limited liquidity and greater volatility than larger capitalization companies. The Fund invests in foreign securities which involve greater volatility and political, economic and currency risks and differences in accounting methods. The fund regularly makes short sales of securities, which involves unlimited risk including the possibility that losses may exceed the original amount invested. However, a mutual fund investor's risk is limited to one's amount of investment in a mutual fund.

Tortoise Funds
The funds are non-diversified, meaning they may concentrate their assets in fewer individual holdings than a diversified fund. Therefore, the funds are more exposed to individual stock volatility than diversified funds. Investing in specific sectors such as energy may involve greater risk and volatility than less concentrated investments. Risks include, but are not limited to, risks associated with North American energy investments, including upstream energy companies, pipeline companies, master limited partnerships (MLPs), MLP affiliates, commodity price volatility, supply and demand, regulatory, environmental, operating, capital markets, terrorism, natural disaster and climate change risks. The tax benefits received by an investor investing in the funds differ from that of a direct investment in an MLP by an investor. The value of the funds' investments in an MLP will depend largely on the MLP's treatment as a partnership for US federal income tax purposes. If the MLP is deemed to be a corporation then its income would be subject to federal taxation, reducing the amount of cash available for distribution to the funds which could result in a reduction of the funds' values. Investments in foreign companies involve risk not ordinarily associated with investments in securities and instruments of U.S. issuers, including risks related to political, social and economic developments abroad, differences between U.S and foreign regulatory and accounting requirements, tax risk and market practices, as well as fluctuations in foreign currencies. The funds invest in small and mid-cap companies, which involve additional risks such as limited liquidity and greater volatility than larger companies. Investments in debt securities typically decrease in value when interest rates rise. This risk is usually greater for longer-term debt securities. Investment in lower-rated and non-rated securities presents a greater risk of loss to principal and interest than higher-rated securities. The funds may also write call options which may limit the funds' abilities to profit from increases in the market value of a security, but cause it to retain the risk of loss should the price of the security decline.

The Convergence Core Plus Fund, the Tortoise North American Energy Independence Fund and the Tortoise MLP & Pipeline Fund are distributed by Quasar Distributors, LLC.  The Nuance Concentrated Value and Mid Cap Value Strategies are not affiliated with Quasar Distributors, LLC. Neither Montage Investments nor any of its affiliated investment managers are affiliated with Quasar Distributors, LLC.

Before investing in the funds, investors should consider their investment goals, time horizons and risk tolerance. The funds' investment objectives, risks, charges and expenses must be considered carefully before investing. The summary prospectus and statutory prospectus contain this and other important information about the investment companies. The Convergence Core Plus prospectus may be obtained by calling 877- 677-9414, or visiting www.convergencefunds.com. The Tortoise MLP & Pipeline Fund and the Tortoise North American Energy Independence Fund prospectuses may be obtained by calling 855-TCA-FUND (855-822-3863) or visiting tortoiseadvisors.com. Read the prospectus carefully before investing.

Past performance does not guarantee future results.

©2013 Morningstar, Inc. All Rights Reserved. The information contained herein: (1) is proprietary to Morningstar; (2) may not be copied or distributed; and (3) is not warranted to be accurate, complete or timely. Neither Morningstar nor its content providers are responsible for any damages or losses arising from any use of this information. Past performance is no guarantee of future results.

The Morningstar Ratings^TM (the "Rating(s)") provided are as of 03/31/2013. The Rating is a measure of a separate account's risk-adjusted return, relative to other separate accounts in the same Morningstar Category. Separate accounts are rated from 1 to 5 stars, with the best performers receiving 5 stars and the worst performers receiving 1 star. Separate accounts are rated for up to three periods (three, five, and 10 years), and ratings are recalculated each quarter. The Morningstar Rating for separate accounts uses an enhanced risk-adjusted return measure, which accounts for all variations in a separate account's monthly performance, with more emphasis on downward variation. Separate accounts are ranked against others in the same category and stars are assigned as follows: the top 10% of separate accounts in a category earn 5 stars, the next 22.5% 4 stars, the middle 35% 3 stars, the next 22.5% 2 stars, and the bottom 10% 1 star. The Morningstar Category identifies separate accounts based on their actual investment styles as measured by their underlying representative holdings (portfolio statistics and compositions).
Ratings are not indicative of Nuance's future performance. For more information regarding the rating methodology, please contact [email protected].

For each fund with at least a three-year history, Morningstar calculates a Morningstar Rating^TM (based on a Morningstar Risk Adjusted Return measure that accounts for variation in a fund's monthly performance, including the effects of sales charges, loads, and redemption fees), placing more emphasis on downward variations and rewarding consistent performance. The top 10% of funds in each category receive 5 stars, the next 22.5% receive 4 stars, the next 35% receive 3 stars, the next 22.5% receive 2 stars and the bottom 10% receive 1 star. (Each share class is counted as a fraction of one fund within this scale and rated separately, which may cause slight variations in the distribution percentages.) The Convergence Core Plus Fund received 5 stars among 1,409 Large Blend Funds for the three-year period ending May 31, 2013.

Morningstar Percentile Ranking compares a fund's Morningstar risk and return scores with all the funds in the same Category, where 1% = Best and 100% = Worst.

The PSN universes were created using the information collected through the PSN investment manager questionnaire and use only gross of fee returns. Mutual fund and commingled fund products are not included in the universe. Top Gun ratings are based on star categories where the top ten performers in each category receive the Top Gun rating. 1 Star Category: these top ten performers are based on quarterly returns. 2 Star Category: These top ten performers are based on returns for one year period. 3 Star Category: These top ten performers are based on returns for a three year period. For the 4, 5, and 6 Star Categories: First, products must have an R-Squared of 0.80 or greater relative to the style benchmark for the recent five year period and products must have returns greater than the style benchmark for the three latest three-year rolling periods. 4 Star Category: These are the top ten performers following the first two criteria that have the top performance over a three year period. 5 Star Category: These are the top ten performers following the first two criteria that also have a standard deviation for the five year period that is equal or less than the median standard deviation for the peer group. The rolling three year performance ranks the top ten performers. 6 Star Category: These are the top ten performers following the first two criteria that also have a standard deviation for the five year period that is equal or less than the median standard deviation for the peer group. The rolling five year performance ranks the top ten performers. The All Cap universe is benchmarked against the Russell 3000 Value Index. The Mid Value universe is benchmarked against the Russell Midcap Value Index.

SOURCE Montage Investments