Value Plus Fund - 1st Quarter Commentary

Past performance does not guarantee future results. Performance represents past performance; current returns may be lower or higher. The investment return and principal value will fluctuate so that an investor's shares, when redeemed may be worth more or less than the original cost. All returns reflect reinvested dividends and capital gains distributions, but do not reflect the deduction of taxes that an investor would pay on distributions or redemptions. To obtain performance through the most recent month end, call 800-432-7856, or visit our Funds' Returns page on the website. Subject to certain exceptions, shares of a Fund redeemed or exchanged within 10 days of purchase are subject to a 2% redemption fee. Performance does not reflect this fee, which if deducted would reduce an individual's return. 

The Value Plus Fund invests in stocks of small companies that generally are more volatile and less liquid than those of larger companies. Value investments are subject to the risk that their intrinsic values may not be recognized by the broad market. The Fund also invests in a smaller number of stocks (generally 40 to 70) than the average mutual fund. The performance of these holdings generally will increase the volatility of the Fund’s returns.

The Overall Morningstar Rating™ for a fund is derived from a weighted average of the performance figures associated with its 3-, 5-, and 10-year Morningstar Rating™ metrics. As of 12/31/11 the Value Plus Fund was rated against 302, 264 and 145 small value funds over the 3-, 5-, and 10-year periods and has received Morningstar's 3-star rating for the 3-year period, and Morningstar's 5-star rating for the 5- and 10-year periods. For each fund with at least a 3-year history, Morningstar calculates a Morningstar Rating™ based on Morningstar's risk-adjusted return measure that accounts for variation in a fund's monthly performance (including the effects of sales charges, loads and redemption fees), placing more emphasis on downward variations and rewarding consistent performance. The top 10% of funds in a category receive 5 stars, the next 22.5% receive 4 stars, the next 35% receive 3 stars, the next 22.5% receive 2 stars and the bottom 10% receive 1 star. (Each share class is counted as a fraction of one fund within this scale and rated separately which may cause slight variations in the distribution percentages.) The Morningstar Ratings™ are for the specified share class; other classes may have different performance characteristics.

Russell 2000 Value Index measures the performance of those Russell 2000 companies with lower price-to-book ratios and lower forecasted growth values. All indices are unmanaged. It is not possible to invest directly in an index.

Beta is a measure of the sensitivity of a portfolio's rates of return against those of the market. A Beta less than 1.00 indicates volatility less than that of the market.

Standard deviation is a measure of volatility of returns and is computed as the square root of the average squared deviation of the returns from the mean value of the return.

The statements and opinions expressed in the video are those of the presenter. Any discussion of investments and investment strategies represents the Funds' investments and portfolio managers' views as of the date of the video, and are subject to change without notice. All information is historical, not indicative of future results and subject to change. Audience should not assume that an investment in the securities mentioned was or would be profitable in the future. This information is not a recommendation to buy or sell.

The above individual is a Registered Representative of ALPS Distributors, Inc.