Avenue Capital Group - Credit Strategies Fund Achieves Total Return in Excess of 23% for the 1-Year Period Ended June 1, 2013

NEW YORK, June 13, 2013 /PRNewswire/ -- Avenue Capital Management II, L.P. (the "Adviser"), the investment adviser to the Avenue Credit Strategies Fund (the "Fund"), an opportunistic U.S. and non-U.S. event driven credit fund focused on high-yield bonds, senior secured bank loans, and stressed/distressed debt instruments, today announced the Fund achieved a total return of 23.74% for the Fund's Investor Share Class and 23.98% for the Fund's Institutional Share Class for the 1-year period ended June 1, 2013.  The Fund significantly outperformed the Barclays U.S. Corporate High-Yield Index and the Credit Suisse Leveraged Loan Index, which achieved returns of 14.82% and 9.04%, respectively.

Morningstar ranked the Avenue Credit Strategies Fund's Investor Share and Institutional Share Classes in the top 1% based on Total Return for the 1-Year period ended June 1, 2013 among 616 funds in the High Yield Bond category.  In the All Taxable Bond classification, the Institutional Share Class was #3 and the Investor Share Class was #5 out of more than 4,000 funds for the 1-year period ended June 1, 2013.  Morningstar compares a fund's risk and return scores with all the funds identified in each category.  The High Yield Bond category is defined as a fund with at least 65% of assets in bonds rated below BBB.  The Fund's performance reflects contractual expense reimbursements made during the period.  Absent such reimbursements, the Fund's performance would have been lower and past performance is no guarantee of future results. 

The Fund, which was launched on June 1, 2012, provides investors with the opportunity to achieve global exposure through an event-driven credit strategy that focuses on high conviction corporate credit ideas in a select portfolio of approximately 50 to 80 companies.  To mitigate risk, the Fund may use hedging and defensive strategies across its portfolio.  

"We are very pleased with the performance of the Avenue Credit Strategies Fund during its first 12 months," said Marc Lasry, the Chairman and CEO of Avenue Capital Group.  "We developed this opportunistic credit fund to provide total return to investors, and it is gratifying to see this important objective achieved over the past year."

"We are focused on identifying long and short-term investment opportunities in the corporate credit markets that we believe will position the Fund to generate long-term outperformance," said Jeffrey J.  Gary, the Fund's Senior Portfolio Manager.  "In what remains a low interest-rate environment, we believe the Fund's investors are well served by our experienced team of credit/investment professionals who seek out the most appropriate credit securities in the U.S., Europe and Asia."

About Avenue Credit Strategies Fund
The Fund is a registered open-end investment company that seeks total return, primarily from capital appreciation, fees and interest income.  The Fund seeks to achieve its investment objective by opportunistically investing in a combination of high yield bonds, senior secured bank loans and distressed debt instruments across U.S. and non-U.S. issuers.  The Fund's Investor Share Class trades under the symbol "ACSAX" and the Fund's Institutional Share Class trades under the symbol "ACSBX".  As of June 11, 2013, the Fund's assets under management were approximately $270 million.

Standardized Performance as of 3/31/2013

Performance data shown above represents past performance and does not guarantee future results. Current performance   may be lower or higher than the performance data shown.  Investment returns  and  principal  value  will  fluctuate,  and  when  sold,  your investment  may  be  worth  more  or  less  than  its  original  cost.  All returns assume reinvestment of all dividends.  Performance   information is not annualized, unless otherwise noted. The Fund commenced operations on June 1, 2012.  The performance shown thus represents the Fund's results for a relatively short period of time.  Moreover, the Fund was opportunistic and took advantage of several short-term trading opportunities.  There is no assurance that such investments will be made in the future or that they will positively impact performance, at all, or to the same extent. Current performance for the most recent month end can be obtained by calling 1-877-525-7330.

The annualized gross and net expense ratios, respectively, for each class of shares as disclosed in the February 28, 2013 prospectus were as follows: Investor Share Class – 5.20% and 1.75%; Institutional Share Class – 4.85% and 1.50%.  Through February 28, 2014, the Adviser has contractually  agreed  to  reimburse the Fund so that the Fund's total expense ratio is limited to 1.75% and 1.50% of the average  daily net assets of the Investor Class and Institutional Class, respectively (excluding  (i) interest, taxes, brokerage commissions and expenditures capitalized in accordance with generally accepted accounting principles; (ii) portfolio transactions and investment related expenses;  and  (iii) extraordinary expenses not incurred in the ordinary course of the Fund's business).

About Avenue Capital Group
Avenue Capital Group ("Avenue") is a global investment firm comprised of four registered investment advisers that focus on private and public debt, equity and real estate markets in the U.S., Europe and Asia. The firm is headquartered in New York, with offices in London, Luxembourg and Munich, and four offices throughout Asia.  As of April 30, 2013, Avenue oversaw assets of approximately $11.6 billion on behalf of a sophisticated global base of institutional investors, the majority of which is pension funds, and also includes family offices, foundations, insurance companies and sovereign wealth funds. Avenue was founded in 1995 by Marc Lasry and Sonia Gardner and draws on the skills and experience of approximately 200 employees worldwide. For more information please visit www.avenuecapital.com.

Please consider the Fund's investment objectives, risks, charges and expenses carefully before investing. The prospectus, which contains this and other information, should be read carefully before investing and can be obtained by calling 1-877-525-7330 or visiting www.avenuecapital.com.

The 1-year period ended June 1, 2013 is represented as a point-to-point time period, and ends on a non-trading day. Accordingly, the performance data represented is from beginning of day June 1, 2012 through end of day May 31, 2013.  The performance data provided herein represents past performance, which is no guarantee of future results.  You should consider your investment goals, time horizons and risk tolerance before investing. An investment in the Fund is not appropriate for all investors, and the Fund is not intended to be a complete investment program. The Fund is designed as a long-term investment and not as a trading vehicle. There is no assurance that the Fund will meet its investment objective. 

Alternative Investments are speculative and involve substantial risks. It is possible that investors may lose some or all of their investment.

Investing in the Fund involves risks, including the risk that you may receive little or no return on your investment or that you may lose part or even all of your investment. Investing in the Fund is also subject to the specific risks associated with investing in high yield bonds (including initial debt offerings), senior secured bank loans, distressed debt and other obligations, including but not limited to market risk, credit risk, counterparty risk, below investment grade securities risk, interest rate and income risk, prepayment risk and risk of senior loans. High yield bonds, in particular, are especially sensitive to adverse changes in general economic conditions, to changes in the financial condition of their issuers and to price fluctuation in response to changes in interest rates. Because the Fund may invest in non-U.S. issues, the Fund is also subject to foreign securities risk. The Fund's investment adviser is subject to conflicts of interest because Avenue Capital Group and its affiliates manage assets for other investment companies and pooled investment vehicles.  Please read the Fund's prospectus for more information on these and other risk factors.

The views and opinions expressed herein are subject to change. There is no guarantee that any market forecast set forth herein will be realized. This material represents an assessment of the market environment at a specific point in time, should not be relied upon as investment advice and is not intended to predict or depict performance of any investment.

This communication is not an offer to sell or the solicitation of an offer to buy securities of the Fund, nor shall there be any sale of such securities, in any state or jurisdiction in which such offer, solicitation or sale is not permitted.

© 2013 Morningstar, Inc. All rights reserved. The information contained herein: (1) is proprietary to Morningstar and/or its content providers; (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.

The Barclays U.S. Corporate High Yield Index comprises issues that have at least $150 million par value outstanding, a maximum credit rating of Ba1 or BB+ (excluding defaulted issues) and at least one year to maturity. The CS Leveraged Loan Index is designed to mirror the investible universe of the $US-denominated leveraged loan market. Investors cannot invest directly in an index, and index performance does not reflect the deduction of any fees or expenses. There are material differences between such indices and the Fund, including without limitation that such indices are unmanaged, broadly-based indices, do not reflect payment of management or brokerage fees and differ in numerous other respects from the portfolio composition of the Fund; as a result, the Fund's investment portfolio is materially different from any given index. Indices include reinvestment of dividends and other income.  It is not possible to invest directly in an index.

Not FDIC Insured • May Lose Value • No Bank Guarantee

The Fund is distributed by Foreside Fund Services, LLC

SOURCE Avenue Capital Group