Virtus Investment Partners Registers Five New Mutual Funds

HARTFORD, Conn., June 13, 2012 /PRNewswire/ -- Virtus Investment Partners, Inc. (NASDAQ: VRTS), which operates a multi-manager asset management business, announced today that it will expand the breadth and diversity of its investment strategies by introducing five open-end mutual funds.

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Registration statements were filed today with the Securities and Exchange Commission for the Virtus Herzfeld Fund, the Virtus Wealth Masters Fund, the Virtus Emerging Markets Equity Income Fund, the Virtus Emerging Markets Debt Fund, and the Virtus International Small-Cap Fund.  The funds are expected to be introduced later this year.

"Our strategy is to provide clients with a wide array of products to help them adapt to changing market cycles, and these new funds further diversify our product offerings by adding the expertise and differentiated approaches of five respected investment managers," said Frank Waltman, executive vice president, product management, at Virtus.  "These funds will offer financial advisors a range of new investment options for their clients, including strategies that are not readily available to the retail investor."

The new funds are:

• Virtus Herzfeld Fund is an open-end fund subadvised by Thomas J. Herzfeld Advisors, Inc., an investment advisory firm founded in 1984 that has an expertise in closed-end fund research and investments.  The Herzfeld strategy uses quantitative, qualitative and fundamental analysis to evaluate closed-end funds, focusing on those funds whose discount to net asset value (NAV) is attractive.  The manager also factors in variables including liquidity, volatility and distribution yield, then invests in those closed-end funds which they believe will benefit from a favorable shift in valuation.
• Virtus Wealth Masters Fund will be subadvised by Horizon Asset Management, a subsidiary of Horizon Kinetics, LLC, an employee-owned investment boutique.  The fund seeks to track the Horizon Kinetics ISE Wealth Index (Ticker: RCH) and invest in publicly held companies that are managed by some of the wealthiest individuals in the U.S.  The fund's strategy is based on the concept that companies managed or influenced by individuals who have created significant wealth in their companies will outperform other companies because those managers tend to prioritize creation of long-term shareholder value over the shorter-term considerations that are typical of other corporate managements.
• Virtus Emerging Markets Equity Income Fund will be subadvised by a portfolio management team at Kleinwort Benson Investors International, Ltd., the U.S.-registered adviser affiliate of Kleinwort Benson Investors of Dublin, Ireland.  The managers will identify a diverse group of companies based on industry groups and regions within emerging markets, and invest in high-quality companies that pay above-average dividends, have above-average dividend growth potential, and have strong balance sheets and cash flow.
• Virtus Emerging Markets Debt Fund will be managed by the Multi-Sector Fixed Income Strategies team at Newfleet Asset Management, LLC, which has invested in emerging markets as part of its  multi-sector strategies.  The new fund will invest in a diversified portfolio of emerging market debt, including sovereign, quasi-sovereign and corporate bonds.
• Virtus International Small-Cap Fund will be managed by Kayne Anderson Rudnick Investment Management, LLC and will apply Kayne's domestic equity investment philosophy that seeks to identify high-quality companies that can grow consistently, through different market cycles, purchased at reasonable prices to produce strong risk-adjusted returns in the equity markets.

About Virtus Investment Partners

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.  Its affiliated managers include Duff & Phelps Investment Management Co., Euclid Advisors LLC, Kayne Anderson Rudnick Investment Management, LLC, Newfleet Asset Management, LLC, and Zweig Advisers LLC.  Additional information can be found at www.virtus.com.

A registration statement relating to these securities has been filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission but has not yet become effective. These securities may not be sold nor may offers to buy be accepted prior to the time the registration statement becomes effective. This communication shall not constitute an offer to sell or the solicitation of an offer to buy, nor shall there be any sale of, these securities in any state in which such offer, solicitation, or sale would be unlawful prior to registration or qualification under the securities laws of any such state.

Investors should carefully consider a fund's investment objectives, risks, including those noted below, 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.

Risk Considerations. The funds described herein are subject to some or all of the following risks:

Credit Risk – An issuer of a security may not be able to make principal and interest payments in a timely manner.

Closed-End Fund Investment Risk - Investing in closed-end investment companies involves substantially the same risks as investing directly in the underlying instruments, but the total return on such investments at the investment company level may be reduced by the operating expenses and fees of such closed-end investment companies, including advisory fees.  In addition, the market price of a closed-end investment company fluctuates and may be either higher or lower than the NAV of such closed-end investment company.  There can be no assurance that the investment objective of any investment company in which the fund invests will be achieved. To the extent the fund invests a portion of its assets in investment company securities, those assets will be subject to the risks of the purchased investment company's portfolio securities.  Additionally, the fund is expected to invest in leveraged closed-end funds, which are subject to increased volatility of NAV and market price.

Emerging Markets and Foreign Investing Risk – Investing internationally, especially in emerging markets, involves additional risks such as currency, political, accounting, economic and market risk.

Equity REIT Securities Risk – Concentrating investments in REITs involves certain risks such as refinancing, property value changes and management skill.

Exchange-Traded Fund (ETF) Risk – Lack of liquidity in an ETF could result in its value being more volatile than the underlying portfolio of securities. Sector ETFs are subject to sector risks and non-diversification risks, which may result in greater price fluctuations than the overall market. Because the fund invests in ETFs, it indirectly bears its proportionate share of the operating expenses of the underlying funds. Indirectly, the fund is subject to all risks associated with the underlying ETFs.

Fund of Funds Risk – Because the fund invests in other mutual funds, it is a shareholder of those underlying mutual funds and indirectly bears its proportionate share of the operating expenses, including management fees of the underlying mutual funds. These expenses are deducted from the underlying mutual funds before their share prices are calculated and are in addition to the direct fees and expenses borne by the fund and its shareholders.

Geographic Concentration Risk – Events negatively affecting the fiscal stability of a particular country or region in which the fund focuses may cause the value of the fund's shares to decrease.

High Yield Risk – Investing in high yield bonds may subject the portfolio to greater credit and market risks.

Industry/Sector Concentration Risk – A portfolio that is heavily weighted in a single sector will be impacted by that sector's performance more than a portfolio with broader sector diversification.

Interest Rate Risk – As interest rates rise, existing bond prices fall and can cause the value of an investment in the portfolio to decline. Changes in interest rates will affect the value of longer-term fixed income securities more than shorter-term securities.

Limited Number of Investments Risk – A portfolio that holds a limited number of securities will be impacted by each security's performance more than a portfolio with a larger number of holdings.

Liquidity Risk – The fund may invest in illiquid loans which have a limited trading market and may not be readily sold at a favorable price.

Master Limited Partnership (MLP) Risk – A fund's investments in MLP units may be negatively impacted by tax law changes, regulatory developments or other factors affecting the MLPs.

Non-Diversification Risk – A non-diversified portfolio may be more susceptible to any single economic, political or regulatory event affecting an issuer than a diversified portfolio.

Small Company Risk – Investing in the securities of small companies involves greater risks and price volatility than larger, more established companies.

U.S. Government Securities Risk – The guarantee on U.S. government securities applies only to the underlying securities of the portfolio, and not to the value of the portfolio's shares.

Virtus Mutual Funds are distributed by VP Distributors, LLC, member FINRA and subsidiary of Virtus Investment Partners, Inc.

SOURCE Virtus Investment Partners, Inc.