AdvisorShares TrimTabs Float Shrink ETF (TTFS) Earns Five-Star Morningstar Rating™

BETHESDA, Md., Nov. 6, 2014 /PRNewswire/ -- AdvisorShares, a leading sponsor of actively managed exchange-traded funds (ETFs), announced today that the AdvisorShares TrimTabs Float Shrink ETF (NYSE Arca: TTFS) has received a Five-Star Morningstar Rating™ for both its three-year and overall risk adjusted performances from inception through October 31, 2014 out of 347 funds in Morningstar's Mid-Cap Blend category.

TTFS is managed by TrimTabs Asset Management (TrimTabs), a Sausalito, Calif.-based SEC registered investment advisor affiliated with TrimTabs Investment Research, the renowned independent institutional research firm founded by Charles Biderman that focuses on equity market liquidity.

In pursuing its investment strategy, TTFS invests in companies that shrink their equity float—the total number of shares publicly available for trading—while growing free cash flow and reducing leverage on their balance sheets. These are important attributes that differentiate TTFS from a passive approach to buyback investing. Utilizing a quantitative algorithm, the manager screens approximately 3,000 U.S. companies on a daily basis and then invests in their highest ranked 100 stocks for TTFS' equal-weighted portfolio. TrimTabs' liquidity research shows that companies using free cash flow to shrink the trading float of shares create a potentially profitable supply and demand imbalance as more money chases fewer shares, and TTFS' performance reinforces that notion. Since its inception on October 4, 2011, and through October 31, 2014, TTFS has outperformed the Russell 3000® Index.

Performance data quoted represents past performance and is no guarantee of future results. Current performance may be lower or higher than the performance data quoted. Investment return and principal value will fluctuate so that an investor's shares, when redeemed, may be worth more or less than original cost. Returns less than one year are not annualized. For the Fund's most recent month end performance, please visit www.advisorshares.com. The Fund's total annual operating expenses are 1.17%. The Advisor has contractually agreed to keep net expenses from exceeding 0.99% of the Fund's daily net assets for at least a year from the date of the Prospectus and for an indefinite period thereafter subject to annual reapproval of the agreement by the Board of Trustees.

Morningstar compares each ETF's risk-adjusted return, with at least a three-year history, to the open-end mutual fund rating breakpoints for each of its respective categories. Consistent with the open-end mutual fund ratings, TTFS earned its five-star ranking as being in the top 10% of funds – that includes both ETFs and mutual funds – in the Mid-Cap Blend category. 

"We are pleased that TTFS becomes yet another domestic equity strategy from AdvisorShares transparent actively managed ETF suite to earn a Five-Star Morningstar Rating™," said Noah Hamman, chief executive officer of AdvisorShares. "Although statistically speaking it's difficult for active equity managers to outperform their benchmark indexes, it's not hard to find those managers who produce alpha especially when they're fully transparent. This ranking is further testament to TrimTabs industry-leading portfolio management delivered with the sought-after benefits of a transparent active ETF structure."

"For decades, our industry-leading liquidity research has shown that companies with positive free cash flow that engage in float shrink can create a profitable supply and demand imbalance as more money chases fewer shares," said Mr. Biderman, chief executive officer of TrimTabs and co-portfolio manager of TTFS. "Our key assumption is that the enterprise value should not drop at companies that use a portion of their free cash flow to reduce the number of shares outstanding. Indeed over the past three years we have discovered that price of the remaining shares have gone up by more than the percentage of share count reduction."

TTFS joins additional AdvisorShares transparent actively managed equity ETFs afforded with a Four-Star or Five-Star Morningstar Rating™ that include:

• AdvisorShares Madrona Domestic ETF (NYSE Arca: FWDD) – a domestic equity strategy that holds a Five-Star Morningstar Rating™ for its three-year and overall risk adjusted performances from inception through October 31, 2014 out of 1,385 funds in Morningstar's Large Blend category. 
• AdvisorShares WCM/BNY Mellon Focused Growth ADR ETF (NYSE Arca: AADR) – an international equity strategy that holds a Four-Star Morningstar Rating™ for its three-year and overall risk adjusted performances from inception through October 31, 2014 out of 257 funds in Morningstar's Foreign Large Growth category.

For media inquiries requesting more information on AdvisorShares, please contact Ryan Graham at 202-684-6442 or [email protected].  For financial professionals and investors requesting more information, please visit www.advisorshares.com or call the AdvisorShares Investment Consultant Team at 1-877-THE-ETF1 (1-877-843-3831).

Please visit www.advisorshares.com to register for free weekly economic commentary. For educational insight into the active ETF marketplace, visit www.alphabaskets.com, follow @AdvisorShares on Twitter and 'Like' us on Facebook. Every Thursday at 4:00pm Eastern time, AdvisorShares hosts an educational conference call for Financial Professionals featuring our portfolio managers and leading investment industry experts—Dial: 1-800-977-8002; Code: 777534#

About AdvisorShares

AdvisorShares is one of the leading providers of actively managed ETFs. As of October 31, 2014, AdvisorShares offers 26 actively managed ETFs with over $1.5 billion of assets under management. AdvisorShares provides educational support to help financial advisors and investors understand the benefits of actively managed ETFs and their underlying investment strategies.

Before investing you should carefully consider the Fund's investment objectives, risks, charges and expenses. This and other information is in the prospectus, a copy of which may be obtained by visiting the Fund's website at www.AdvisorShares.com. Please read the prospectus carefully before you invest.

Foreside Fund Services, LLC, distributor.

There is no guarantee that the Fund will achieve its investment objective. An investment in the Fund is subject to risk, including the possible loss of principal amount invested. Investing in mid and small capitalization companies may be riskier and more volatile than large cap companies. Other Fund risks include market risk, equity risk, large cap risk, liquidity risk and trading risk. Please see prospectus for details regarding risk. This Fund may not be suitable for all investors.

Shares are bought and sold at market price not net asset value (NAV) and are not individually redeemed from the Fund.  Market price returns are based on the midpoint of the bid/ask spread at 4:00 pm Eastern Time (when NAV is normally determined) and do not represent the return you would receive if you traded at other times.

The Russell 3000 Index measures the performance of the largest 3000 U.S. companies representing approximately 98% of the investable U.S. equity market.

Alpha is a measure of performance on a risk-adjusted basis.

*The Morningstar Rating™ is provided for those exchange-traded funds ("ETFs") with at least a three-year history. Ratings are based on the ETF's Morningstar Risk-Adjusted Return measure which accounts for variation in monthly performance, placing more emphasis on downward variations and rewarding consistent performance. An ETF's risk-adjusted return includes a brokerage commission estimate. This estimate is intended to reflect what an average investor would pay when buying or selling an ETF. PLEASE NOTE, this estimate is subject to change and the actual brokerage commission an investor pays may be higher or lower than this estimate. Morningstar compares each ETF's risk-adjusted return to the open-end mutual fund rating breakpoints for that category. Consistent with the open-end mutual fund ratings, the top 10% of ETFs 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 rating for an ETF is based on a weighted average of the time-period ratings (e.g., the ETF's 3,5, and 10 year rating).. The determination of an ETF's rating does not affect the retail open end mutual fund data published by Morningstar. Past performance is no guarantee of future results.

Press Contact: Ryan Graham
AdvisorShares
202-684-6442
[email protected]

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