Products July 12, 2010

Virtus Launches New AlphaSector Fund

Virtus Investment Partners has launched the Virtus Premium AlphaSector Fund (Class A: VAPAX), an extension of Virtus' AlphaSector product suite that is subadvised by quantitatively-based investment firm F-Squared Investments, Inc. 

Reported by

According to a press release, similar to the Virtus AlphaSector Allocation Fund  (Class A: PSWAX) and the AlphaSector Rotation Fund (Class A: PWBAX), the Virtus Premium AlphaSector Fund is constructed exclusively from the nine Select Sector SPDR exchange-traded funds plus a short-term Treasury ETF.  The principal distinction between the strategies is that the Premium AlphaSector Fund has the ability to reallocate weekly, rather than monthly.  

The Premium AlphaSector Fund’s weekly reallocation signals are generated by F-Squared’s proprietary quantitative model that identifies which sector(s) may weigh down future performance. Those sectors are then omitted from the portfolio and the assets are allocated equally to the remaining sectors.  When three or fewer sectors are represented, the portfolio will begin building a position in cash equivalents, up to 100% of the portfolio.  

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“Financial advisers recognize that our AlphaSector strategies provide clients what they are looking for in a post-2008 investment era – the flexibility to allocate to cash in downward trending markets while remaining invested in upward trending markets,” said Frank Waltman, Virtus’ executive vice president, product management, in the press release. “The Premium AlphaSector Fund offers advisers a way to better manage the impact of down markets which, in turn, increases the likelihood their clients can achieve their retirement or investment goals.”  

More information is available at http://www.virtus.com. 

Products July 12, 2010

Rydex Announces Four Additions to Alternative Investments Lineup

Rydex|SGI has introduced four mutual funds “that may help investors weather the ups and downs of challenging market environments.”
Reported by

The firm announced the launch of the Rydex|SGI Event Driven and Distressed Strategies Fund (RYDSX, H-Share Class); Rydex|SGI Long Short Interest Rate Strategy Fund (RYBUX, H-Share Class); Rydex|SGI Long Short Equity Fund (RYJLX, H-Share Class); and Rydex|SGI Alternative Strategies Fund (RYETX, H-Share Class).  

According to the announcement, the Rydex|SGI Event Driven and Distressed Strategies Fund offers investors an opportunity to profit during a variety of market cycles. The strategy, which may help diversify an equity allocation in an investment portfolio, aims to exploit pricing inefficiencies or premiums that may occur as a result of corporate mergers and acquisitions, as well as bankruptcies and financial restructurings.  

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The actively-managed Rydex|SGI Long Short Interest Rate Strategy Fund is geared toward helping investors profit during falling, rising or flat interest rate environments. This fund aims to take advantage of short-term movements in U.S. Treasury prices and may be used to diversify a core fixed-income allocation.  

The Rydex|SGI Long Short Equity Fund provides an opportunity to capture returns on both rising and falling equity movements, and the Rydex|SGI Alternative Strategies Fund provides exposure to a benchmark that corresponds to the performance of a broad range of hedge fund alternatives.  

For more information call 800-820-0888.

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