Touchstone Funds Mark Three-Year Anniversary With Strong Morningstar Ratings

CINCINNATI, Nov. 15, 2012 /PRNewswire/ -- Touchstone Investments announced today that several of the funds it launched on Sept. 30, 2009, have marked their three-year anniversary with four- and five-star Morningstar ratings. The funds' strong track records are a testament to the firm's rigorous sub-advisor selection process, which identifies leading institutional asset managers who are known and respected for proficiency in their specific area of expertise. 

"Touchstone launched these funds during the stormiest market conditions in recent memory. With the support and financial resources of our parent company, Western & Southern Financial Group, we took the opportunity to expand our fund lineup and fill gaps that previously existed," said Steven M. Graziano, president of Touchstone Investments. "Our selection process and ability to locate expert institutional asset managers has been validated with the funds' inaugural Morningstar ratings."

Following are the Touchstone Funds introduced in 2009 that received four- or five-star ratings overall and for the three-year period that ended Sept. 30, 2012:

• The Touchstone Emerging Markets Equity Fund (TEMYX) received a five-star overall rating in the Diversified Emerging Markets category as well as five stars among 354 funds.
• The Touchstone Small Cap Core (TSFYX) was given a five-star overall rating in the Small Blend category as well as five stars among 597 funds.   
• The Touchstone Global Real Estate Fund (TRFYX) earned a four-star overall rating in the Global Real Estate category as well as four stars among 155 funds.
• The Touchstone International Fixed Income Fund (TIFYX) received a four-star overall rating in the World Bond category as well as four stars among 249 funds.
• The Touchstone Mid Cap Value Fund (TCVYX) was given a four-star overall rating in the Mid-Cap Value category as well as four stars among 347 funds.

In addition to the funds introduced in 2009, 12 other Touchstone Funds received four- or five-star Morningstar ratings. "This is also an important accomplishment as Touchstone continues to grow and diversify its product offerings," Graziano said.

For each U.S.-domiciled fund with at least a 3-year history, Morningstar calculates a Morningstar Rating™ 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. Within each asset class, the top 10% of funds in each category receive five stars, the next 22.5% receive four stars, the next 35% receive three stars, the next 22.5% receive two stars and the bottom 10% receive one 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 Overall Morningstar Rating for a fund is derived from a weighted-average of the performance figures associated with its 3-, 5- and 10-year (if applicable) Morningstar Rating metrics. The Fund offers multiple classes of shares which are invested in a common portfolio. Each share class may have a different combination of sales charges and fees, and therefore may have different performance characteristics.

Performance data quoted represents past performance, which is no guarantee of future results. The investment return and principal value of an investment in the Fund will fluctuate so that an investor's shares, when redeemed, may be worth more or less than their original cost. Current performance may be higher or lower than performance data given. For performance information current to the most recent month-end, visit TouchstoneInvestments.com/home/pricingperformance/.

About Touchstone Investments

Touchstone Investments is a mutual fund company committed to providing investors with access to institutional asset managers who act in a sub-advisory capacity. While its sub-advisors are held to strict performance standards, they work with a large measure of independence and operate within their own demonstrated areas of expertise. Touchstone's sub-advisor selection and monitoring approach is built upon the conviction that an asset manager's organizational stability, quality of its personnel, adherence to its investment discipline and infrastructure represent the elements of repeatable, value-added performance results over time. This philosophy has resulted in a diverse but focused product offering that gives investors a full breadth of investment options across styles and asset classes. The Touchstone Funds are advised by Touchstone Advisors, Inc., a registered investment advisor, and are distributed nationally through intermediaries including broker-dealers, financial planners and institutions by Touchstone Securities, Inc., a registered broker-dealer and member FINRA/SIPC.

Please consider the investment objectives, risks, charges and expenses of a fund carefully before investing. The prospectus and the summary prospectus contain this and other information about the fund. To obtain a prospectus or a summary prospectus, contact your financial advisor or download and/or request one at Touchstoneinvestments.com/home/formslit/ or call Touchstone at 800.638.8194. Please read the prospectus and/or summary prospectus carefully before investing.

Touchstone, Touchstone Funds and Touchstone Investments are federal service mark registrations and applications owned by IFS Financial Services, Inc. Touchstone Securities, Inc., Touchstone Advisors, Inc. and IFS Financial Services, Inc. are members of Western & Southern Financial Group. For more information, please visit TouchstoneInvestments.com.

About Western & Southern Financial Group

Western & Southern Financial Group (Western & Southern), a Fortune 500 company, is a Cincinnati-based diversified family of financial services companies with assets owned and managed in excess of $55 billion as of Sept. 30, 2012. Western & Southern is one of the eight highest-rated life insurance groups in the world based on Standard & Poor's ratings. For more information, visit www.westernsouthern.com. Western & Southern is the title sponsor of the Western & Southern Open (www.wsopen.com) tennis tournament, a premier event in the U.S. Open Series featuring the world's top-ranked professional male and female players.

Ratings are current as of Nov. 1, 2012, and refer to the claims-paying ability of the insurance company and not to the safety, stability or performance of any investment product.

SOURCE Touchstone Investments

WANT YOUR COMPANY'S NEWS FEATURED ON PRNEWSWIRE.COM?

440k+
Newsrooms &
Influencers

9k+
Digital Media
Outlets

270k+
Journalists
Opted In

GET STARTED