Frost Investment Advisors Launches Frost Natural Resources Fund

SAN ANTONIO, Sept. 27, 2011 /PRNewswire/ -- Frost Investment Advisors, LLC., a registered investment advisor, today launched the Frost Natural Resources Fund (FNRFX –  Institutional shares and FNATX – Class A shares), adding another strategy to the firm's mutual fund family.

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Fund co-manager Ted Harper has 12 years of experience covering energy. He is co-manager for the Frost Dividend Value Equity Fund, which, according to Morningstar, is in the first decile over a five-year period, based on performance as of 8/31/11. John Lutz, CFA®, the fund's co-manager, has 11 years of experience in the energy and basic materials sectors and is co-manager for the Frost Core Growth Equity Fund, which, also according to Morningstar, is in the second decile over a five-year period, based on performance as of 8/31/11 for the Institutional Class.

"Given our location in Texas, our proximity to a broad and deep range of natural resources, and our significant in-house experience in the natural resources space, we believe we are well qualified to provide value to investors through the Frost Natural Resources Fund," said Tom Stringfellow, president of Frost Investment Advisors. "Ted and John bring years of experience managing portfolios and following the energy and commodities sectors from different perspectives, developing skills which can ultimately help shareholders looking for a portfolio that manages up and down markets in the natural resources space."

Adding to the solid expertise the managers bring, the fund will draw on Frost, the advisory's parent company, with its decades of experience in oil and gas lending, as well as its strength in managing oil and gas properties and mineral interests.

The managers will seek for FNRFX/FNATX to outperform the S&P North American Natural Resources Index, the fund's benchmark index. The fund will invest at least 80 percent of its net assets in securities of domestic and international companies in natural resources industries, subject to limits described in the prospectus. Investable sectors for the fund include oil and gas; energy equipment and services; metals and mining; and paper and forest products, among others.

The managers note that industries in the natural resources space, as a class, are often less correlated to the market than other sectors and have outperformed the market in periods of higher inflation. Given increasing global energy consumption and greater energy demand by both developed and developing countries, the managers believe that this is an ideal time to launch the Frost Natural Resources Fund.

Frost Investment Advisors began offering mutual funds in April 2008, initially to serve the needs of institutional clients, and expanding to offer retail shares in June 2008. With the Frost Natural Resources Fund, the adviser now offers 15 strategies and 25 mutual funds that include institutional and retail shares.

Recent accomplishments and performance metrics include:

• Two Frost Institutional Class Funds (FITNX, FIKTX) received the Five-Star Overall Morningstar Rating™ as of 8/31/11, with six (FIJEX, FICEX, FIDVX, FILDX, FIKSX, FIBTX) receiving the Four-Star Overall Morningstar Rating™ for the same period.
• Recognized by Barron's as one of the Best Mutual Fund Families in its February 1, 2010 issue.
• Share count in all funds increased 28% for the 12 month period ending 08/31/2011.
• According to Morningstar, two of the four Frost bond funds (Total Return Bond Fund, Low Duration Bond Fund Institutional Share Classes) are in the top 20% of peer group managers over a five-year period, as of 08/31/2011.
• According to Morningstar, the Frost Dividend Value Equity Fund (Institutional and Class A Share Classes) is in the top decile over a five-year period when compared to a peer group of similar strategies, as of 08/31/11.

The investment team includes a staff of more than 47 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 $2.5 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 $7.7 billion in assets it manages, including the mutual fund assets referenced above, as of June 30, 2011.

About Frost

Cullen/Frost Bankers, Inc. (NYSE: CFR) is a financial holding company, headquartered in San Antonio, with $18.5 billion in assets at June 30, 2011, and more than 110 financial centers throughout Texas. One of 24 U.S. banks included in the KBW Bank Index, Frost provides a wide range of banking, investments and insurance services to businesses and individuals in the Austin, Corpus Christi, Dallas, Fort Worth, Houston, Rio Grande Valley and San Antonio regions. Founded in 1868, Frost has helped clients with their financial needs during three centuries. Additional information is available at frostbank.com.

Mutual fund investing involves risk including loss of principal. There can be no assurance that the Fund will achieve its stated objectives. In addition to the normal risks associated with investing, narrowly focused investments typically exhibit higher volatility. To the extent the Fund invests in other investment companies, the Fund will be subject to substantially the same risks as those associated with the direct ownership of the securities held by such other investment companies. Commodities are subject to substantial price fluctuations over short periods of time and may be affected by unpredictable economic, political and environmental events.

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.

© (2011) 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 results.

For each fund with at least a three-year history, Morningstar calculates a Morningstar Rating™ based on a Morningstar Risk-Adjusted Return measure that accounts for variation in a fund's monthly performance (including the effects of sales charges, loads, and redemption fees), placing more emphasis on downward variations and rewarding consistent performance. 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:

• Frost Dividend Value Equity Fund  (FIDVX) was rated against 1128 (three years), 978 (five years), and 550 (ten years) US domiciled Large Value funds and received a Morningstar rating of 4, 5, and 4 stars for each period respectively;
• Frost Core Growth Equity Fund  (FICEX) was rated against 1481 (three years), 1269 (five years), and 800 (ten years) US-domiciled Large Growth funds and received a Morningstar rating of 4 stars for each period respectively;
• Frost Strategic Balanced Fund  (FIBTX) was rated against 832 (three years) and 707 (five years) US-domiciled Moderate Allocation funds and received a Morningstar rating of 4 stars for each period;
• Frost Small Cap Equity Fund  (FIHSX) was rated against 662 (three years), 565 (five years), and 359 (ten years) US-domiciled Small Growth funds and received a Morningstar rating of 2, 2, and 3 stars respectively;
• Frost Kempner Multi-Cap Deep Value Equity Fund (FIKDX) was rated against 1128 (three years) and 978(five years) US-domiciled Large Value Funds and received a Morningstar Rating of 3 stars for each period respectively;
• Frost LKCM Multi-Cap Equity Fund  (FILKX) was rated against 1481 (three years) and 1269 (five years) US-domiciled Large Growth funds and received a Morningstar rating of 4 stars and 3 stars respectively;
• Frost International Equity Fund  (FITNX) was rated against 206 (three years), 163 (five years) and 104 (ten years) Foreign Large Blend funds and received a Morningstar rating of 4, 5 and 5 stars for each period respectively;
• Frost Municipal Bond Fund  (FIMUX) was rated against 211 (three years), 187 (five years) and 135 (ten years) Muni National Intermediate Bond funds and received a Morningstar Rating of 3, 3, and 2 stars respectively;
• Frost Low Duration Bond Fund (FILDX) was rated against 373 (three years), 317 (five years) and 186 (ten years) Short Term Bond funds and received a Morningstar Rating of 4 stars for each period respectively;
• Frost Low Duration Municipal Bond Fund (FILMX) was rated against 155 (three years) and 139 (five years) Muni Short funds and received a Morningstar Rating of 3 stars for each period respectively;
• Frost Total Return Bond Fund (FIJEX) was rated against 1016 (three years) and 862 (five years) Intermediate Term Bond funds and received a Morningstar Rating of 5 and 4 stars for each period respectively;
• Frost LKCM Small-Mid Cap Equity Fund (FIKSX) was rated against 671 (three years) Mid Cap Growth Funds over the last 3 years and received a Morningstar Rating of 4 stars;
• Frost Kempner Treasury and Income Fund (FIKTX) was rated against 154 (three years) Inflation-Protected Bond funds and received a Morningstar Rating of 5 stars.

These Morningstar Ratings are for the share class indicated only; other share classes may have different performance characteristics.  The A Class rankings take into account the sales charge assessed on purchases.

Frost Dividend Value Equity Fund was ranked 43 and 36 out of 978 Large Value Funds for the A and Institutional Classes respectively for the 5-year period ending 8/31/11.  It was also ranked 673 and 599 (one year) out of 1233 and 95 and 66 (ten years) out of 550 Funds respectively for the A and Institutional classes.

Frost Core Growth Equity Fund's Institutional shares were ranked 503 out of 1668, 509 out of 1269, and 343 out of 800 Large Growth Funds for the one-, five-, and ten-year periods ending 8/31/11, respectively.

Frost Total Return Bond Fund's Institutional shares were ranked 77 out of 1166, 139 out of 862, and 166 out of 565 Intermediate-Term Bond funds for the one-, five-, and ten-year periods ending 8/31/11, respectively.

Frost Low Duration Bond Fund's Institutional shares were ranked 128 out of 431, 32 out of 317, and 53 out of 186 Short-Term Bond Funds for the one-, five-, and ten-year periods ending 8/31/11, respectively.

CFA® and Chartered Financial Analyst (CFA®) are trademarks owned by the CFA Institute.

Renee Sabel
Media Relations
210.220.5416
[email protected]

SOURCE Frost Investment Advisors, LLC