Sterling Capital Announces Behavioral International Mutual Fund

New fund rooted in investor behavior leads to value and momentum anomalies

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Dec 04, 2014, 05:00 ET

CHARLOTTE, N.C., Dec. 4, 2014 /PRNewswire/ -- Sterling Capital Management today announced the launch of the Sterling Capital Behavioral International Equity Fund that will be offered in three share classes: Class A (SBIAX), Class C (SBIDX) and Class I (SBIIX). The fund will be managed by Sterling's Behavioral Finance Team headed by co-portfolio managers Robert W. Bridges, CFA, and Robert O. Weller, CFA.

The Sterling Capital Behavioral International Equity Fund offers investors a seasoned management team that believes successful management is possible by understanding and capitalizing on the psychology that drives many investment decisions. The team believes its behavioral finance investment process identifies and captures valuation and momentum anomalies in the marketplace.

"As investors and advisors become more familiar with the concepts of behavioral finance, it has become imperative for us to provide investment solutions that transform those concepts into practical application," said John McAuley, CIMA, head of intermediary distribution for the firm. "The Sterling Capital Funds now has three behavioral finance mutual funds to help our clients navigate this complex and noisy investment environment."

The new international fund focuses on developed markets outside the United States and Canada. The firm believes investor behavior is similar across geographies, and developed international markets are a natural extension to a time-tested behavioral-finance investment philosophy and process.

McAuley added, "We believe this new fund along with the other two behaviorally driven funds – Sterling Large Cap Value Diversified Fund (BBISX) and Sterling Small Cap Value Diversified Fund (SPSCX) – offer investors something truly different: a process that capitalizes on several collective investor biases."

About the portfolio managers:

Bridges and Weller have nearly two decades of combined experience successfully building portfolios that seek to capitalize upon investors' persistent biases and behaviors.

Bridges, who joined Sterling Capital Management in 1996, is an executive director with more than 21 years of experience in the investment industry. As co-head of the Behavioral Finance Equity group, Bridges has also served as a senior analyst supporting the firm's fundamentally driven portfolios for more than a decade. He became part of the Equity team in 2000 and embarked on a research project in 2006 that led to the development of the firm's first behavioral finance investment strategy. This process led to the creation of the Sterling Behavioral Finance Small Cap Value Diversified Alpha portfolio in 2008 and laid the groundwork for future expansion into other behavioral finance portfolios.

Weller, who serves as co-head of the Behavioral Finance Equity group, joined Sterling Capital Management in 2012. He is an executive director and brings more than 18 years of investment experience to his role. Prior to joining Sterling, Weller was one of the founding members of the U.S.- based Large Cap, Mid Cap and Multi Cap Behavioral Finance strategies in 2003 at JPMorgan Investment Management. His responsibilities included the initial research on and implementation of the strategies, as well as portfolio management, and ongoing behavioral, quantitative and qualitative research. He helped grow an initial $4 million in seed capital to more than $21 billion in assets under management.

About Sterling Capital Management
Sterling Capital Management LLC is a registered investment adviser founded in 1970. The investment firm is an independently operated subsidiary of BB&T Corporation, one of the nation's largest financial services holding companies. Sterling is headquartered in Charlotte, N.C., with offices in Raleigh, N.C.; Atlanta, Ga.; Washington, D.C.; San Francisco, Calif.; Richmond, Va.; and Virginia Beach, Va. As of Sept. 30, 2014, Sterling had more than $46 billion in assets under management overseen by 106 investment and client service professionals.

The overall results of the fund will be dependent on the process and ability of the adviser to apply "behavioral finance" principles and recognize a company's value, earnings revisions and market momentum. The fund will invest in foreign securities, which may be more volatile and less liquid due to currency fluctuation, political instability, social and economic risks. The fund may invest in REITs (Real Estate Investment Trusts), the value of which will be affected by conditions of the real estate industry and exchange-traded funds (ETFs), entailing additional costs, and the ETF may not exactly replicate the performance it seeks to track.

Investors should consider the investment objectives, risks, charges and expenses carefully before investing. For a prospectus or summary prospectus with this and other information about the fund, call 888-228-1872 or visit our website at www.SterlingCapitalFunds.com. Read the prospectus carefully before investing.

This information does not constitute a solicitation or an offer to buy or sell any investment security, or provide investment advice.

Mutual Funds are not a deposit, are not FDIC insured, are not guaranteed by the bank, and are not insured by any government agency and may lose value.

The funds are distributed by Sterling Capital Distributors, LLC.

Investment advisory services are available through Sterling Capital Management LLC, a separate subsidiary of BB&T Corporation. Sterling Capital Management LLC manages customized investment portfolios, provides asset allocation analysis and offers other investment-related services to affluent individuals and businesses. Securities and other investments held in investment management or investment advisory accounts at Sterling Capital Management LLC are not deposits or other obligations of BB&T Corporation, Branch Banking and Trust Company or any affiliate, are not guaranteed by Branch Banking and Trust Company or any other bank, are not insured by the FDIC or any other government agency, and are subject to investment risk, including possible loss of principal invested.

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SOURCE Sterling Capital Management LLC