Frost Investment Advisors Surpasses $2 Billion in Mutual Fund Assets

SAN ANTONIO, April 20 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Frost Investment Advisors, Inc., a registered  investment advisor, surpassed the milestone of managing $2 billion in assets in the Frost mutual fund family just prior to the two-year anniversary of its offering institutional mutual funds. Both institutional and retail shares of Frost funds have seen a 32 percent increase in share count growth since their respective inception dates.

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"I am very proud of the accomplishments of our Frost Investment Advisors team in reaching the $2 billion mark so quickly," said Dick Evans, Chairman and CEO of Cullen/Frost Bankers, Inc. and Frost, the parent company of the advisor.  "We continue to grow assets and share counts, counter to national investment trends, validating our decision to build on our company's substantial experience and history to offer a family of mutual funds. The successes of Frost Investment Advisors will support our efforts to expand our company's $22.7 billion in trust assets."

"Reaching this milestone reflects well on the performance of our investment team and investment strategies," said Tom Stringfellow, president of Frost Investment Advisors. "Our solid performance in a volatile market has helped generate this growth.  We are now one of the largest investment firms in Texas in terms of staff and assets under management, including not only $2 billion in mutual funds, but also $5.09 billion in separately managed accounts for a variety of clients, including the Frost trust department.  We have a diverse and well-trained management team, with investment professionals from around the globe."

Frost Investment Advisors began offering mutual funds in April of 2008, initially to serve the needs of institutional clients, and expanding to offer retail shares in June 2008. The advisor now offers 13 mutual funds that include institutional and retail shares on 153 platforms (as of March 31, 2010).

Recent accomplishments and performance metrics include:

• Six of Frost funds received the Five-Star Overall Morningstar Rating™ as of March 31, 2010, with four receiving the Four-Star Overall Morningstar Rating™ for the same period
• Of the Frost funds rated by Morningstar, 73% of the assets are in four- and five-star rated funds as of March 31, 2010
• Recognized by Barron's as one of the Best Mutual Fund Families in its February 1, 2010 issue
• 54 percent overall growth in market value of all Frost funds over last 12 months
• Share count in all funds increased to 211,760,717 as of 3/31/10
• According to Morningstar, three of the four Frost bond funds (Institutional Share Class), are in the top 20 percent of peer group managers over a five-year period, as of March 31, 2010
• According to Morningstar, the Frost Dividend Value Equity Fund (Institutional and Retail Share Classes), and the Frost International Equity Fund are in the top decile over a five-year period when compared to a peer group of similar strategies, as of March 31, 2010

The investment team, which has been managing some of the proprietary commingled funds since 1981, includes a staff of more than 40 investment professionals in the main office in San Antonio, and satellite locations in Austin, Dallas, Fort Worth and Houston.

About Frost Investment Advisors, Inc.

Frost Investment Advisors, LLC, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Cullen/Frost Bankers, Inc. (NYSE: CFR), one of the oldest and largest Texas-based banking organizations, offers a family of mutual funds to institutional and retail investors.  The company has offered institutional shares since April 28, 2008, with retail shares available since June 2008.

The family of funds managed by Frost Investment Advisors provides clients diversification by offering separate mutual funds for growth, value and balance across small-cap, small/mid-cap, multi-cap value and international equity classes, as well as taxable and tax-free bonds.

Registered with the SEC in January of 2008, Frost Investment Advisors manages $2.0 billion in assets in the Frost mutual fund family, while also providing investment advisory services to institutional and high net worth clients, and to the Frost trust department for the $7.04 billion in assets it manages, including the mutual fund assets referenced above (as of March 31, 2010).

About Frost

Frost is the banking, investments and insurance subsidiary of Cullen/Frost Bankers, Inc. (NYSE: CFR), a financial holding company headquartered in San Antonio, with assets of $16.3 billion and trust assets of $22.7 billion as of December 31, 2009.  The corporation provides a full range of business and consumer banking products, investment and brokerage services, insurance products and investment banking services.  Frost operates more than 100 financial centers across Texas in the Austin, Corpus Christi, Dallas, Fort Worth, Houston, Rio Grande Valley and San Antonio regions.  Founded in 1868, Frost is one the largest banking organizations headquartered in Texas that operates only in Texas, with a legacy of helping clients with their financial needs during three centuries.  For more information, visit www.frostbank.com.

Mutual fund investing involves risk including loss of principal.  

To determine if the Fund(s) is an appropriate investment for you, carefully consider the fund(s') investment objectives, risk, charges and expenses.  This and other information can be found in the fund(s') prospectus which can be obtained by calling 1-877-71-FROST.  Please read the prospectus carefully before investing.

The Frost Funds are distributed by SEI Investments Distribution Co.  SEI Investments Distribution Co. is not affiliated with the Adviser or its affiliates.

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For each fund with at least a three-year history, Morningstar calculates a Morningstar Rating™ metric each month by subtracting the return on a 90-day U.S. Treasury Bill from the fund's load-adjusted return for the same period, and then adjusting this excess return for risk.  The top 10% of funds in each 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. The Overall Morningstar Rating for a fund is derived from a weighted average of the performance figures associated with its three-, five- and ten-year (if applicable) Morningstar Ratings metrics.  FIDVX was rated against 1120 (three years) and 941 (five years) US-domiciled Large Value funds and received a Morningstar rating of 5 stars for each period respectively; FICEX was rated against 1547 (three years) and 1276 (five years) US-domiciled Large Growth funds and received a Morningstar rating of 4 stars for each period respectively; FIBTX was rated against 955 Moderate Allocation funds over the last 3 years and received a Morningstar rating of 4 stars; FIHSX was rated against 702 (three years) and 609 (five years) Mid Cap Growth funds and received a Morningstar rating of 2 stars and 2 stars respectively; FIKDX was rated against 1120 (three years) and 941 (five years) US-domiciled Large Value Funds and received a Morningstar Rating of 3 stars and 3 stars respectively;  FILKX was rated against 1547 (three years) and 1276 (five years) US-domiciled Large Growth funds and received a Morningstar rating of 3 stars and 3 stars respectively; FITNX was rated against 638 (three years) and 466 (five years) Foreign Large Blend funds and received a Morningstar rating of 5 stars for each period respectively;  FIMUX was rated against 210 (three years) and 189 (five years) Muni National Intermediate Bond funds and received a Morningstar Rating of 4 stars and 4 stars respectively; FILDX was rated against 385 (three years) and 317 (five years) Short Term Bond funds and received a Morningstar Rating of 5 stars for each period respectively; FILMX was rated against 125 (three years) and 119 (five years) Muni National Short funds and received a Morningstar Rating of 3 stars for each period respectively; FIJEX was rated against 991 (three years) and 866 (five years) Intermediate Term Bond funds and received a Morningstar Rating of 5 stars for each period.

SOURCE Frost Investment Advisors, Inc.