RidgeWorth White Paper Highlights Case for Bank Loans in Rising Rate Environments

ATLANTA, July 14 /PRNewswire/ -- Today RidgeWorth Investments published its latest white paper in a series of educational resources and tools that help advisors add value for their clients.  This latest white paper entitled, The Case for Bank Loans in a Rising Rate Environment details why now may be an opportune time to make an allocation to Bank Loans. Specifically, the paper describes that Bank Loans, also known as floating rate loans, have offered a hedge against rising interest rates, low correlation relative to other fixed income sectors, downside protection because of their seniority in the capital structure and lower relative high yield risk.

"We are optimistic about the outlook for Bank Loans as we anticipate that interest rates will rise as the economy continues to grow – albeit slowly," asserts George Goudelias, Managing Director at Seix Investment Advisors and Portfolio Manager of the RidgeWorth Seix Floating Rate High Income Fund. "History shows that they have performed well relative to other fixed income asset classes in previous rising rate environments and we believe the relationship should hold in the future."

Advisors can access the white paper by visiting www.ridgeworth.com/bank-loans.

About RidgeWorth Investments

RidgeWorth Investments serves as a holding company that owns interests in eight investment boutiques with approximately $65.5 billion of assets under management as of March 31, 2010. RidgeWorth's investment boutiques manage a wide variety of investment disciplines across the fixed income, equity, and liquidity management asset classes. Our boutiques provide investment management services to a growing client base that includes endowments, foundations, corporations, healthcare organizations, municipalities, public funds, associations, insurance companies, labor unions and high net worth individuals. In addition, RidgeWorth serves as the investment adviser to the RidgeWorth Funds mutual fund family. RidgeWorth Investments is a trade name for RidgeWorth Capital Management, Inc., an investment adviser registered with the SEC headquartered in Atlanta. For more information about RidgeWorth, visit www.ridgeworth.com.

About Seix Investment Advisors

Seix Investment Advisors LLC, a wholly-owned investment boutique of RidgeWorth Capital Management, Inc., is one of the leading institutional fixed income managers in the country with over $25.0 billion in assets under management as of March 31, 2010. The firm provides core, core plus, high yield, and customized fixed income solutions to institutional clients. Seix Investment Advisors is an investment adviser registered with the SEC headquartered in Upper Saddle River, New Jersey. For more information about Seix, visit www.seixadvisors.com.

An investor should consider the fund's investment objectives, risks, and charges and expenses carefully before investing or sending money. This and other important information about the RidgeWorth Funds can be found in the fund's prospectus. To obtain a prospectus, please call 888-784-3863 or visit www.ridgeworth.com. Please read the prospectus carefully before investing.

Past performance does not guarantee future results. Mutual fund investing involves risk, including possible loss of principal. Bond investors should anticipate fluctuations in price, especially for longer-term issues and in environments of rising interest rates. Indexes are unmanaged and investors cannot invest directly in an index. Intermediate-term, higher-quality bonds generally offer less risk than longer-term bonds and a lower rate of return. Floating rate loans are typically senior and secured, in contrast to other below-investment grade securities. However, there is no guarantee that the value of the collateral will not decline, causing a loan to be substantially unsecured. Loans generally are subject to restrictions on resale. Certain types of loans may limit the ability of a fund to enforce its rights and may involve assuming additional credit risks. Although a fund's yield may be higher than that of fixed income funds that purchase higher-rated securities, the potentially higher yield is a function of the greater risk that the fund's share price will decline. Investments in lower rated bonds are subject to greater credit risk and may experience greater volatility than higher rated securities. A bank loan fund may buy and sell securities frequently, which may result in higher transaction costs and lower performance, and will be more likely to generate short-term capital gains (which are generally taxed at ordinary income tax rates). Rating agencies such as Standard & Poor's, rates securities from AAA (highest quality) to C (lowest quality) with BBB and above being called investment grade securities. BB and below are considered below investment grade (speculative) securities.

®2010 RidgeWorth Funds. RidgeWorth Funds are distributed by RidgeWorth Distributors LLC. RidgeWorth Investments is the trade name for RidgeWorth Capital Management, Inc., the adviser to the RidgeWorth Funds, and is not affiliated with the distributor.

SOURCE RidgeWorth Investments

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