HIG Hartford Financial Services Group Inc

While value stocks have performed better than growth stocks sixty percent of the time over the past 20 years (1989-2008) 1, they have stood out particularly after periods of recession. Value companies often become leaner during economic downturns, generate more operating leverage by cutting fixed costs and assets to weather a slower revenue environment, and set the stage for a greater acceleration in earnings as market conditions improve. History shows that value investments have outperformed growth investments for the one-, three-, and five-year time periods following the past four recessions (1/1980-7/1980, 7/1981-11/1982, 7/1990-3/1991, and 3/2001-11/2001)1.

INDEX PAST PERFORMANCE IS NOT INDICATIVE OF FUTURE RESULTS. Index Performance does not represent the performance of The Hartford Mutual Funds or any particular investment. Indices measured are Russell 1000 Value and Russell 1000 Growth, which are unmanaged; you cannot invest directly in these indices. Assumes reinvestment of income and no transaction cost.

“Why is it that some investment trends always seem to be in style, like value investing?” asks Dr. Bob Froehlich, senior managing director at The Hartford. “It’s the basic premise of investing – you buy low and sell high. What that really means is buying value stocks.”

The current opportunity in value investing is the theme of The Hartford Mutual Funds’ latest marketing campaign, which focuses on The Hartford’s value suite of mutual funds:

• The Hartford Balanced Income Fund2, 3: Invests in a mix of approximately 55 percent bonds and 45 percent stocks, with an investment objective to provide income with growth of capital.
• The Hartford Equity Income Fund2: Seeks established companies that are currently being overlooked by the market and are trading at a significant discount, and dividend paying companies.
• The Hartford Dividend and Growth Fund2: Blends a value-oriented approach with a focus on companies that pay or intend to pay dividends.
• The Hartford Value Fund2: Uses a “flexible value” approach to invest across the large-cap value spectrum in companies that have a negatively impacted valuation.
• The Hartford Value Opportunities Fund2, 4: Invests primarily in stocks believed to be undervalued and with growth potential across the market-cap spectrum.
• The Hartford MidCap Value Fund2, 4: Focuses on midcap companies with below average price/earnings ratio and bottom-up security selection.

The Hartford® SMART529®, Offered by the West Virginia College Prepaid Tuition and Savings Board of Directors, also provides investors with the opportunity for value investing as part of the college savings plan’s individual fund options. In that plan, families saving for college may choose among four value options*, which invest in The Hartford mutual fund value investment options5.

*The Hartford Equity Income 529 Fund, The Hartford Dividend and Growth 529 Fund, The Hartford Value 529 Fund and The Hartford MidCap Value 529 Fund.

A June 2009 Hartford survey of 530 investors over the age of 30 who work with financial advisors found that 81 percent of investors who work with advisors would like to have a dividend-paying stock in their portfolio, yet over half said their advisor has not talked to them about adding this type of option to their portfolio. Seventy-five percent of investors who don’t already hold dividend-paying investments would be open to including them in the future.

“We strongly believe in the power of value investing for growth and income,” says Keith Sloane, senior vice president of Hartford Mutual Funds. “We also think there is an opportunity for advisors to talk to their clients about solutions that can provide current income and capital growth.”

“Investments seem to be the only thing that retail investors do not want to buy on sale,” says Froehlich. “They shop for cars and clothes at discount prices but when it comes to stocks and investments, ‘on sale’ suddenly makes investors feel uneasy because they think the price is low. One way to heed Warren Buffet’s advice to ‘be fearful when others are greedy and greedy when others are fearful’ is to overweight the value style of investing.”

Wellington Management Company, LLP, is an independent and unaffiliated investment sub-adviser to The Hartford’s value-oriented mutual funds. The firm’s experience in value-oriented investing dates back more than eight decades to 1928, when its founder launched America’s first balanced fund.

Client brochures and other FINRA-reviewed brochures, articles, letters and emails are available to the public at www.hartfordmutualfunds.com. Financial professionals registered at Hartford Mutual Funds’ broker-only Web site (password protected) can access portfolio manager podcasts and an interactive flashbook which allows advisors to flip though the virtual pages of the brochure while listening to audio commentary from Hartford personal finance experts.

The Hartford Value Suite: Performance Summary

Class A-Share Average Annual Total Returns Including Maximum 5.5% Sales Charge (as of 12/31/09)

                      Fund Name (Fund Inception Date)   1 Year   5 Years   10 Years   Since Inception   Gross Operating Expenses6 The Hartford Dividend and Growth Fund (7/22/96)   16.89%   1.56%   3.20%   6.98%   1.09% The Hartford Value Fund (4/30/01)   16.84%   1.59%   N/A   1.64%   1.32%

The Hartford Equity Income Fund (8/28/03)

  11.85%   1.44%   N/A   4.48%   1.19% The Hartford Balanced Income Fund (7/31/06)   15.69%   N/A   N/A   1.60%   1.25% The Hartford MidCap Value Fund (4/30/01)   35.74%   1.08%   N/A   4.72%   1.39% The Hartford Value Opportunities Fund (1/2/96)   36.77%   -1.31%   2.81%   6.22%   1.42%

Performance data quoted represents past performance and is not indicative of future results. The investment return and principal value of an investment will fluctuate so that shares, when redeemed, may be worth more or less than their original cost. Current performance may be lower or higher than the performance data quoted. For more current performance information to the most recent month ended, please see www.hartfordmutualfunds.com. Performance results are historical and include reinvestment of all distributions at net asset value. Performance information may reflect historical or current expense waivers/reimbursements from an affiliate of the investment advisor, without which performance would have been lower. For more information on waivers/reimbursements, please see prospectus.

Performance data quoted does not represent performance of SMART529.

About The Hartford Mutual Funds

The Hartford Mutual Funds, established in 1996, offers a wide array of both broad-mandate and style-focused equity and fixed-income investment options. The Hartford Mutual Funds draw on the investment strength, experience and expertise of Wellington Management and Hartford Investment Management Co. These two organizations bring their decades of market experience, in-house investment capabilities, rigorous research and time-tested investment process to bear in managing the funds to help The Hartford Mutual Fund investors meet their long-term financial goals. Total retail mutual fund assets under management were $40.1 billion as of September 30, 2009. For more information on The Hartford Mutual Funds, including current holdings, visit www.hartfordmutualfunds.com.

About The Hartford

Celebrating nearly 200 years, The Hartford (NYSE: HIG) is an insurance-based financial services company that serves households, businesses and employees by helping to protect their assets and income from risks, and by managing wealth and retirement needs. A Fortune 500 company, The Hartford is recognized widely for its service expertise and as one of the world’s most ethical companies. More information on the company and its financial performance is available at www.thehartford.com.

HIG-L

Some of the statements in this release may be considered forward-looking statements as defined in the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. We caution investors that these forward-looking statements are not guarantees of future performance, and actual results may differ materially. Investors should consider the important risks and uncertainties that may cause actual results to differ. These important risks and uncertainties include those discussed in our Quarterly Reports on Form 10-Q, our 2008 Annual Report on Form 10-K and the other filings we make with the Securities and Exchange Commission. We assume no obligation to update this release, which speaks as of the date issued.

You should carefully consider investment objectives, risks, and charges and expenses of The Hartford Mutual Funds before investing. This and other information can be found in the Fund's prospectus, which can be obtained from your investment representative or by calling 888-843-7824. Please read it carefully before you invest or send money.

1 INDEX PAST PERFORMANCE IS NOT INDICATIVE OF FUTURE RESULTS. Index Performance does not represent the performance of The Hartford Mutual Funds or any particular investment. The Russell 1000 Value and Growth Indices are unmanaged; you cannot invest directly in these indices. Assumes reinvestment of income and no transaction cost.

Recession dates were 1/1980-7/1980, 7/1981-11/1982, 7/1990-3/1991, and 3/2001-11/2001.

Indices measured are Russell 1000 Value and Russell 1000 Growth.

Russell 1000 Value Index measures the performance of those Russell 1000 Index companies with lower price-to-book ratios and lower forecasted growth values.

Russell 1000 Growth Index measures the performance of those Russell 1000 Index companies with higher price-to-book ratios and higher forecasted growth values.

Data Source: Morningstar Direct, 10/2009

2 The Fund may invest in foreign securities, which can be riskier than investments in U.S. securities (risks may include currency risk, illiquidity risks, and risks from substantially lower trading volume on foreign markets).

The sub-adviser's investment strategy will influence performance significantly and the Fund could underperform its peers or lose money if that strategy does not perform as expected.

3 The Fund is subject to credit risk (the risk that the issuing company may not be able to pay interest and principal when due), interest rate risk (the risk that your investment may go down in value when interest rates rise), and risk of loss (the risk that you could lose money on your investment).

A portion of this Fund’s assets may be below investment grade securities ("high-yield securities" or "junk bonds"), which are rated lower because there is a greater possibility that the issuer may be unable to make interest and principal payments on those securities.

The Fund may invest in securities of companies that conduct their principal business activities (or that trade principally on exchanges) in emerging markets (including Asia, Latin America, Eastern Europe, and Africa), which is riskier than investing in securities of more developed countries (including risks of illiquidity and increased price volatility).

4 The Fund invests in securities of small-cap and/or mid-cap companies, which is riskier than stocks of larger companies, because smaller companies generally are young, have limited business history, and frequently rely on narrow product lines and niche markets.

5 These are not mutual funds. Fees, charges and expenses are different. Refer to the Offering Statement for additional information.

6 Gross operating expenses shown are before management fee waivers or expense caps. Performance information may reflect historical or current expense waivers or reimbursements, without which, performance would have been lower. For more information on fee waivers and/or expense reimbursements, please see the expense table in the prospectus.

Wellington Management Company, LLP is an independent and unaffiliated sub-adviser to The Hartford.

The Hartford Mutual Funds are underwritten and distributed by Hartford Investment Financial Services, LLC.

"The Hartford" is The Hartford Financial Services Group, Inc. and its subsidiaries.

SMART529 is offered by the West Virginia College Prepaid Tuition and Savings Program Board of Trustees and is administered by Hartford Life Insurance Company.

“The Hartford” is a registered trademark of "Hartford" Fire Insurance Company.

“SMART529” is a registered trademark of the West Virginia College Prepaid Tuition and Savings Program Board of Trustees.

If you reside in or have taxable income in a state other than West Virginia, you should consider whether your state has a qualified tuition program that offers favorable state income tax or other benefits exclusive to your state’s program that are not available under the SMART529 program.

Investments in SMART529 are not guaranteed or insured by the State of West Virginia, the Board of Trustees of the West Virginia College Prepaid Tuition and Savings Program, the West Virginia State Treasurer’s Office, Hartford Life Insurance Company, The Hartford Financial Services Group, Inc., the investment sub-advisors for the Underlying Funds or any depository institution and are subject to investment risks, including the loss of the principal amount invested, and may not be appropriate for all investors.

This information is written in connection with the promotion or marketing of the matter(s) addressed in this material. The information cannot be used or relied upon for the purpose of avoiding IRS penalties. These materials are not intended to provide tax, accounting or legal advice. As with all matters of a tax or legal nature, you should consult your own tax or legal counsel for advice.

You should carefully consider the investment objectives, risks, charges and expenses of SMART529 and its Underlying Funds before investing. This and other information can be found in the Offering Statement for SMART529 and the prospectuses or other disclosure documents for the Underlying Funds, which can be obtained on SMART529.com or by calling 866-574-3542. Please read them carefully before you invest or send money. SMART529 is distributed by Hartford Securities Distribution Company, Inc. Member SIPC.