Aberdeen Wins Four Lipper Awards for Asia Bond, Global Small Cap and International Equity Funds

PHILADELPHIA, March 15, 2013 /PRNewswire/ -- Aberdeen Asset Management Inc. ("Aberdeen") today announced that the Aberdeen Asia Bond Fund (Institutional Class: CSABX), the Aberdeen Global Small Cap Fund (Institutional Class: ABNIX) and the Aberdeen International Equity Fund (Institutional Class: GIGIX and Institutional Service Class: GIGSX) have won four (4) 2013 Lipper Fund Awards.   

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The Aberdeen Asia Bond Fund was awarded "Best International Income Fund over Three Years" for the second time (the Fund won the same award in 2012).    The Aberdeen Global Small Cap Fund was awarded "Best International Small Cap Equity Fund over Three Years." The Aberdeen International Equity Fund was awarded both "Best International Equity Fund over Three Years" and "Best International Equity Fund over Ten Years." The Aberdeen International Equity Fund and the Aberdeen Asia Bond Fund are both previous Lipper Fund Award winners; this is the first Lipper Fund Award for the Aberdeen Global Small Cap Fund.   

"We are delighted to be recognized by Lipper for the performance of these funds in both the three-year and ten-year categories," said Gary Marshall, Aberdeen's Chief Executive. "These awards are an outstanding testament to Aberdeen's core investment philosophy: a disciplined, research-driven investment strategy which applies to each of our mutual fund portfolios. We are extremely pleased that our investment teams are being recognized for their hard work in producing strong, consistent returns for our clients."

In the face of the low-growth, low-yield environment in the West, investors have been increasingly turning to internationally diversified portfolios in the search for income and growth. "With 31 offices in 23 countries, Aberdeen's investment teams around the world are in a particularly strong position to offer diversification, both geographically and between asset classes," concluded Marshall.

Aberdeen has had operations in the U.S. since 1995 and established its North American headquarters in Philadelphia in 2005. As of December 31, 2012, Aberdeen manages more than $50 billion on behalf of clients in the Americas invested in a range of domestic and international equity, fixed income and property portfolios.  Globally, Aberdeen and its affiliates manage more than $314 billion.  

The Lipper Fund Awards are part of the Thomson Reuters Awards for Excellence, a global family of awards that celebrate exceptional performance throughout the professional investment community. The Thomson Reuters Awards for Excellence recognize the world's top funds, fund management firms, sell-side firms, research analysts, and investor relations teams.

To find about more about Aberdeen's range of mutual funds, please visit: www.aberdeen-asset.us

Aberdeen Asset Management

Aberdeen Asset Management PLC, the parent company of Aberdeen Asset Management Inc. ("AAMI"), an independently‐run asset manager, has been listed on the London Stock Exchange since 1991, and is currently operating from 31 offices in 23 countries.  AAMI and its affiliates invest on behalf of institutional and wholesale clients, primarily in equities, fixed income, alternative investment strategies and property.  AAMI and its affiliates manage more than US$314.3 billion of assets for both institutions and private individuals as of December 31, 2012.

Aberdeen Asset Management is the marketing name in the U.S. for the following affiliated, registered investment advisers: AAMI, Aberdeen Asset Management Limited and Aberdeen Asset Management Asia Limited (collectively, the "Aberdeen Advisers"). Each of the Aberdeen Advisers is wholly owned by Aberdeen Asset Management PLC.

Lipper, a leading global provider of mutual fund information, based the awards on the calculation of consistent return, a quantitative metric that incorporates risk-adjusted return and strength of the Fund's performance trend. The Lipper Awards were based on Institutional Service Class (ten-year period) and Institutional Class (three-year period) shares of the Funds, respectively; other share classes may have different performance characteristics. A Fund's performance may now be higher or lower than the performance that was calculated to win the awards.

The Aberdeen Asia Bond Fund (Institutional Class) was awarded Best International Income Fund for the three-year period ended Dec. 31, 2012, among 29 funds. The Aberdeen Asia Bond Fund was formerly known as the Aberdeen Asia Bond Institutional Fund.

The Aberdeen International Equity Fund (Institutional Class) was awarded Best International Large-Cap Core Fund for the ten-year period ended Dec. 31, 2012, among 39 funds.

The Aberdeen International Equity Fund (Institutional Service Class) was awarded Best International Large-Cap Core Fund for the three-year period ended Dec. 31, 2012, among 47 funds.

The Aberdeen Global Small Cap Fund (Institutional Class) was awarded Best Global Small-/Mid-Cap Fund for the three-year period ended Dec. 31, 2012, among 23 funds.

Investment Risks

Concentrating investments in the Asian region subjects the Aberdeen Asia Bond Fund to more volatility and greater risk of loss than geographically diverse funds. Foreign securities are more volatile, harder to price and less liquid than U.S. securities; and are subject to different accounting and regulatory standards, and political and economic risks. These risks are enhanced in emerging markets countries.

Fixed income securities are subject to certain risks including, but not limited to: interest rate (changes in interest rates may cause a decline in the market value of an investment), credit (changes in the financial condition of the issuer, borrower, counterparty, or underlying collateral), prepayment (debt issuers may repay or refinance their loans or obligations earlier than anticipated), and extension (principal repayments may not occur as quickly as anticipated, causing the expected maturity of a security to increase).

Derivatives are speculative and may hurt a Fund's performance. Derivatives present the risk of disproportionately increased losses and/or reduced gains when the financial asset or measure, to which the derivative is linked, changes in unexpected ways.   

Smaller company stocks are usually less stable in price and less liquid than those of larger, more established companies, and therefore carry greater risk to investors.

Foreign securities are more volatile, harder to price and less liquid than U.S. securities. Foreign securities are subject to different accounting and regulatory standards, and political and economic risks. These risks are enhanced in emerging markets countries.

Investors should carefully consider a fund's investment objectives, risks, fees, charges and expenses before investing any money.  To obtain this and other fund information, please call 866-667-9231 to request a summary prospectus and/or statutory prospectus, or download at www.aberdeen-asset.us.  Please read the summary prospectus and/or the statutory prospectus carefully before investing any money.   

Aberdeen Funds are distributed by Aberdeen Fund Distributors LLC, 1735 Market Street, 32nd Floor, Philadelphia, PA 19103, Member FINRA and SIPC. Past performance is no guarantee of future results.

SOURCE Aberdeen Asset Management Inc.