NEW YORK, Aug. 26, 2014 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Alternative asset management firm, Visium Asset Management, LP ("Visium") is celebrating the first anniversary of its debut mutual fund, the Visium Event Driven Fund (VIDVX), with one-year performance in the top one percent of its peer group for the period ending July 31, 2014 based on total returns. The fund placed 1 st out of 192 funds in its Morningstar Market Neutral Category. With a 1-year return of 9.42%, the Fund exceeded the category average of 1.61% by 781 basis points for the same time period.
The investment objective of the Visium Event Driven Fund is to achieve capital growth while maintaining a low correlation to the U.S. equity market. The Fund is managed with a flexible blend of two complementary strategies – Special Situations, managed by Francis X. Gallagher and Merger Arbitrage, managed by Peter A. Drippé. These strategies are used to target the securities of primarily North American companies that the portfolio managers believe will be impacted by anticipated or pending corporate events.
The Visium Event Driven Fund was converted from a private fund format with the same investment objective. Messrs. Gallagher and Drippé have managed the private fund since its inception in 2001.
"The Visium Event Driven Fund allows investors to participate in the rise of merger and acquisition activity, which is a trend we believe will continue," said Duggan Jensen, Associate Director of Research at Visium Asset Management.
About Visium Asset Management, LP
Founded in 2005 by Jacob Gottlieb, MD, CFA, Visium Asset Management, LP is dedicated to generating high-quality, low-correlated returns in a variety of market environments for high-net-worth and institutional clients.
Headquartered in New York City, Visium manages over $6.5 billion as of June 30, 2014 in long/short equity, credit, multi-strategy and event driven strategies. In addition to the Visium Mutual Funds, Visium manages five private funds. The firm has a staff of over 150 professionals.
Mutual fund investing involves risk. Principal loss is possible. Event-driven investments carry the risk that an expected event or transaction may not be completed, or be completed on less favorable terms than expected. Investments in debt securities typically decrease in value when interest rates rise. This risk is usually greater for longer-term debt securities. Investments in lower-rated and nonrated securities present a greater risk of loss to principal and interest than higher rated securities. The fund may make short sales of securities, which involves the risk that losses to those securities may exceed the original amount invested by the Fund. Investments in foreign securities involve greater volatility and political, economic and currency risks and differences in accounting methods. These risks are greater for emerging markets. Investments in micro, small and medium capitalization companies involve less liquidity and greater volatility than investments in larger companies. The Fund may use certain types of investment derivatives such as futures, forwards, and swaps. Derivatives involve risks different from, and in certain cases, greater than the risks presented by more traditional investments. The Fund may purchase IPOs (initial public offerings) which can fluctuate considerably and could have a magnified impact on fund performance when the Fund's asset base is small. The Fund may invest in other investment companies and ETFs and will bear its share of fees and expenses, in addition to indirectly bearing the principal risks of those underlying funds. The Fund may have a higher turnover rate which could result in higher transaction costs and higher tax liability which may affect returns. Past performance does not guarantee future results. Diversification does not assure a profit or protect against loss in a declining market.
The fund's investment objectives, risks, charges and expenses must be considered carefully before investing. The statutory prospectus and, if available, summary prospectus contains this and other important information about the investment company, and it may be obtained by calling 1-855-9VISIUM. Read it carefully before investing. The prospectus is available for download at www.visiummutualfunds.com .
Basis point is a unit equal to 1/100 th of 1% and is used to denote the change in a financial instrument.
Correlation is a statistical measure of the degree to which the movements of two variables (stock/option/convertible prices or returns) are related.
Morningstar Rankings represent a fund's total-return percentile rank relative to all funds that have the same Morningstar Category. The highest percentile rank is 1 and the lowest is 100. It is based on Morningstar total return, which includes both income and capital gains or losses and is not adjusted for sales charges or redemption fees. Morningstar ranked VIDVX in the top 1% out of 192 Market Neutral funds for the one-year period ended 7/31/14.
Morningstar Rankings represent a fund's total-return rank relative to all funds that have the same Morningstar Category. The highest rank is 1 and the lowest is based on the total number of funds ranked in the category. It is based on Morningstar total return, which includes both income and capital gains or losses and is not adjusted for sales charges or redemption fees.
© 2014 Morningstar, Inc. All Rights Reserved. The information contained herein (1) is proprietary to Morningstar (2) may not be copied or distributed and (3) is not warranted to be accurate, complete or timely. Neither Morningstar nor its content providers are responsible for any damages or losses arising from any use of this information. Past performance is no guarantee of future performance.
The Visium Event Driven Fund is distributed by Quasar Distributors, LLC. Not FDIC insured, not bank guaranteed, and may lose money.
Chris Cortezi Director of Public Relations Harborside Group 410-812-3784
