AIP Mutual Funds Celebrate 5-Year Anniversary
October 03 2007 - 9:15AM
PR Newswire (US)
Hedge Fund Strategies...in a Mutual Fund(SM) WHITE PLAINS, N.Y.,
Oct. 3 /PRNewswire/ -- AIP Mutual Funds, whose flagship Alpha
Hedged Strategies Fund (Ticker: ALPHX) was launched in September
2002, has reached the 5-Year mark with category topping
performance. The Fund, managed by Alternative Investment Partners,
LLC (AIP), has outperformed its Lipper Equity Market Neutral Funds
category average with 12.01%, 9.20% and 7.64% total 1-year, 3-year
and 5-year annualized returns. The category averages were 4.47%,
4.06% and 2.09% respectively, as surveyed by Lipper Analytical
Services, Inc.*, for periods ending 9/30/07. Standardized
Performance as of 9/30/07 (%) Since Incep. 1Yr 3 Yr* 5 Yr* 9/23/02*
ALPHX 12.01 9.20 7.64 7.61 Lipper EMN Category 4.47 4.06 2.09 N/A
Lipper Ranking 4/56 2/22 1/16 N/A Total Annual Fund Operating
Expenses 6.05% Net Fund Operating Expenses 3.99%** Since Incep. 1Yr
3 Yr* 4/28/06* BETAX 19.02 N/A 6.12 Lipper EMN Category 4.47 N/A
N/A Lipper Ranking 1/56 N/A N/A Total Annual Fund Operating
Expenses 6.70% Net Fund Operating Expenses 3.99%** Performance data
quoted represents past performance; past performance does not
guarantee future results. The investment return and principal value
of an investment will fluctuate so that an investor's shares, when
redeemed, may be worth more or less than their original cost.
Current performance of the Fund may be lower or higher than the
performance quoted. Most recent month-end performance is available
by calling 1-877-LOW-BETA. *Average Annualized Return **Excluding
dividends on short positions and interest on borrowing. The Alpha
Hedged Strategies Fund has been a pioneer in the open-end multi-
strategy hedged mutual fund arena, providing broad access to
specialized hedge fund managers. Representing the next generation
of products for hedged portfolio investing, the Fund is designed to
minimize equity market exposure and volatility by employing a
variety of absolute return oriented hedged strategies. The Alpha
Hedged Strategies Fund currently manages over $650 MM. "Combining
real hedge fund strategies and mutual fund features has really
resonated with advisors seeking access to conservative portfolio
risk behavior and strong risk-adjusted performance. We have avoided
the 'hedge fund replicator' approach where 'short-cuts' in product
design have left many investors feeling short on returns and long
on market correlation. We are pleased to have recently passed both
the 5-Year mark and $650 million in AUM level," noted Lee
Schultheis, Chief Investment Strategist and Founder of AIP. "The
recent market shakeout in 'quant' model long/short strategies has
accelerated AIP's inflows as the multi-strategy approach provides a
true hedge against volatile markets. We are also getting increased
traction with our newer Beta Hedged Strategies Fund (BETAX), which
is really just a more aggressive mix of our platform of managers
and strategies, for investors seeking higher potential returns, and
needing a lesser degree of risk control. "We continue to attract a
broader range of investors, recently including Endowments and
Foundations, Defined Benefit plans and Bank Trust Departments, as
well as our core channel of Financial Advisor intermediaries. Since
we've been competitive with Hedge Fund Research, Inc.'s (HFRI)
Conservative Fund-of- Funds index over the last 5 years, we are
viewed as having 'walked the walk' by the marketplace, and are not
just the latest in the recent wave of new products that claim to be
able to 'mimic' hedge funds in some indirect manner, but where
early results are not meeting market expectations." The Fund has a
portfolio that operates much like a conservative hedge
fund-of-funds, and is accessible to all investors. AIP currently
utilizes 20+ hedge fund managers in proprietary separate accounts
to manage the individual portfolio strategies within ALPHX. The
Fund does not invest in 3rd party hedge funds, but can sell short
(up to 100% of net assets), use leverage (up to 50% of net assets),
and can employ any strategy where the securities involved can be
priced on a daily market value basis. However, because The Alpha
Hedged Strategies Fund is structured as a mutual fund, it also
offers several key features including daily liquidity, no lock-ups,
no accreditation requirement, no performance fees, and 1099-tax
reporting. By controlling custody of assets, valuation, and
leverage on the underlying security pools, as well as having 100%
transparency for all positions and trades, AIP can mitigate a
number of the primary risks that lead to occasional problems with
underlying hedge funds holdings, as can occur with the traditional
private hedge fund-of-funds structure. "Financial intermediaries
want a broad array of quality hedge-fund strategies for their
clients, but they prefer the mutual fund structure and features,
and are not willing to sacrifice the non-correlative, alpha-driven
'behaviors' that have made hedge funds so popular with
sophisticated institutions and high net worth individuals," said
Mr. Schultheis. "That is the market niche that we feel AIP Mutual
Funds has effectively addressed." For more information or to speak
with Lee Schultheis, please contact Jennifer Connelly at (973)
625-1130 or . Financial Intermediaries can call 1-866-LOW-BETA or
visit http://www.aipfunds.com/. About AIP Funds ALPHX and BETAX are
open-end mutual funds that invest their portfolios in a manner
similar to a conservative and more aggressive, hedge fund-of-funds,
respectively. The Funds employ a multi-manager approach to a
variety of hedged alternative investment styles, but each with a
liquid portfolio of its own securities, using the limited amounts
of leverage and short-selling allowable in open-end mutual funds.
The Funds provide broad exposure to a variety of active management
hedged strategies including: Distressed Securities & Special
Situations, Long/Short Equity, Long/Short Market-Neutral Equity,
International Long/Short Equity, Global Long/Short Equity,
Specialty Sector Long/Short Equity, Equity Options Overlay, Global
Hedged Income, Merger Arbitrage, Fixed-Income Arbitrage, and
Convertible Bond Arbitrage. The Funds utilize the talents of highly
specialized hedge fund managers as sub-advisors, in executing their
alternative investment strategies. The Funds offer the portfolio
diversification benefits that institutions, pension funds,
endowments & foundations, and high-net worth individuals have
become accustomed to in hedge funds. The Funds combine these
portfolio attributes with the daily pricing, liquidity, and other
shareholder features commonly associated with open-end mutual
funds. As such, the Funds are uniquely positioned to provide their
shareholders with additional portfolio diversification to
complement the traditional asset classes of stocks, bonds and cash.
Funds Disclosure The Funds' investment objectives, risks, charges
and expenses must be considered carefully before investing. The
prospectus contains this and other important information about the
investment company, and it may be obtained by calling
1-877-Low-Beta (569-2382), or visiting http://www.aipfunds.com/.
Read it carefully before investing. About Risk: Certain hedging
techniques and leverage employed in the management of the Funds may
accelerate the velocity of possible losses. Short-selling involves
the risk of potentially unlimited increase in the market value of
the security sold short, which could result in potentially
unlimited loss for the Funds. Derivatives involve investment
exposure that may exceed the original cost and a small investment
in derivatives could have a large potential impact on the
performance of the Funds. Options held in the Funds may be illiquid
and the fund manager may have difficulty closing out a position.
The Funds may also invest in: -- smaller capitalized companies --
subject to more abrupt or erratic market movements than larger,
more established companies; -- foreign securities, which involve
currency risk, different accounting standards and are subject to
political instability; -- securities limited to resale to qualified
institutional investors, which can affect their degree of
liquidity; -- shares of other investment companies that invest in
securities and styles similar to the Funds, resulting in a
generally higher investment cost than from investing directly in
the underlying shares of these funds. The Funds intend to utilize
these individual securities and hedging techniques in matched
combinations that are designed to neutralize or offset the
individual risks of employing these techniques separately. Some of
these matched strategies include: merger arbitrage, long/short
equity, convertible bond arbitrage and fixed-income arbitrage.
There is no assurance that these strategies will protect against
losses. The Funds are non-diversified and therefore may invest in
the securities of fewer issuers than diversified funds at any one
time; as a result, the gains and losses of a single security may
have a greater impact on each Fund's share price. Because the Funds
are fund-of-funds, your cost of investing in the Funds will
generally be higher than the cost of investing directly in the
shares of the mutual funds in which it invests. By investing in the
Funds, you will indirectly bear your share of any fees and expenses
charged by the underlying funds, in addition to indirectly bearing
the principal risks of the Funds. Please refer to the prospectus
for more information about the Funds, including risks, fees and
expenses. * Lipper Analytical Services, Inc. is an independent
mutual fund research and rating service. Each Lipper average
represents a universe of funds with similar investment objectives.
Rankings for the periods shown are based on fund total returns with
dividends and distributions reinvested and do not reflect sales
charges. While the Funds are no-load, management fees and other
expenses still apply. HFRI (Hedge Funds Research, Inc.) Performance
Indices are equally weighted hedge fund performance indices broken
down into 37 different categories by strategy, such as "equity
market neutral" investing and "conservative or market-neutral
fund-of-funds" investing. Conservative Fund of Funds investing
seeks to profit by investing in various absolute return hedged
strategies. Alpha is an annualized return measure of how much
better or worse a fund's performance is relative to an index of
funds in the same category, after allowing for differences in risk.
Quasar Distributors, LLC, Distributor - 10/07 DATASOURCE: AIP
Mutual Funds CONTACT: Jennifer Connelly of JC Public Relations, for
AIP Mutual Funds, +1-973-625-1130, Web site:
http://www.aipfunds.com/
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