Products April 16, 2010

Keeley Asset Management Launches Alternative Value Fund

Keeley Asset Management Corporation has announced the national launch of the KEELEY Alternative Value Fund.
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The fund is a newly created series of Keeley Funds, Inc. and offers two share classes, Class A (KALVX) and Class I (KALIX).  It will be managed using an alternative strategy, combining the research of Keeley Asset Management with the active risk management techniques of the fund’s sub-adviser, Broadmark Asset Management LLC, according to an announcement.   

The fund will seek to provide incremental downside market protection through Broadmark’s tactical hedging process.  Its investment objective is to achieve long-term capital appreciation, as well as to protect capital during adverse market conditions.  

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For the equity investments, the fund intends to pursue its investment objective by investing in companies with small and mid-size market capitalizations, defined as $7.5 billion or less. The adviser will focus the equity investments primarily on individual stocks undergoing corporate restructuring including corporate spin-offs, companies emerging from bankruptcy, companies selling at or below actual or perceived book value, savings and loan and insurance conversions, and distressed utilities, the announcement said. 

John L. Keeley Jr. will serve as portfolio manager for the long-only equity exposure of the fund, which will be constructed similar to the KEELEY Small-Mid Cap Value Fund (KSMVX). Christopher J. Guptil of Broadmark will serve as portfolio manager of the tactical risk management segment of the strategy. 

Registered investment advisers can purchase Class I shares on behalf of their clients with less than $1 million per account, if the total investment of all investing client accounts is $1 million or more. Other institutional investors, such as defined contribution plans, might also qualify for purchasing institutional shares with less than $1 million per account, subject to certain specified conditions. 

To learn more about KEELEY Alternative Value Fund, contact Jim Stamper, vice president, at 312.786.5059 or info@keeleyfunds.com.

Data & Research April 16, 2010

Employees Identify Potential Retirement Plan Improvements

A survey from ING U.S. Retirement Services shows that those in a workplace plan are more confident, informed, and proactive when it comes to their savings.
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More than eight out of 10 respondents (84%) who had a workplace plan said they take an active role in managing their retirement savings and investments, compared to only about half (53%) without any type of retirement savings vehicle.   

However, according to the survey results, respondents identified a number of ways employers could be more proactive in facilitating and stimulating employee savings, including:

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  • offering a diversity of investment options within their plans (88%);
  • making employees aware of what their current accumulated savings account balance would be if converted into a monthly income stream upon retirement (84%);
  • providing more education and tools to help employees better understand how to save (83%);
  • offering a workplace retirement plan, regardless of the employer’s size (76%); and
  • incorporating plan strategies to make saving easier and more automatic for employees (75%).

According to the findings, a majority of Americans believe the private retirement savings system is not at all broken. In addition, nearly three-quarters of those polled (74%) agreed—and almost half (49%) strongly so—that saving for retirement was an individual’s responsibility and not the government’s job. 

The ING Survey, “Beyond the Politics and Pundits: What Americans Think about the Private Retirement System,” was conducted by Ipsos Public Affairs from March 18 to 22, polling 1,000 adult men and women nationwide.

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