Neuberger Berman Strategic Income Fund Reaches 10-Year Anniversary With Top Decile Performance

NEW YORK, Aug. 6, 2013 /PRNewswire/ -- Neuberger Berman, one of the world's leading employee-controlled money managers, is pleased to announce that its Strategic Income Fund ("the Fund") (tickers: NSTAX, NSTCX, NRSIX, NSTLX, NSTTX) recently marked its 10-year anniversary with returns since inception ranking it in the top decile among its peer group of multi-sector bond funds.

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The Fund, rated four stars by fund tracker Morningstar Inc. for its Institutional Class, is designed for investors looking for exposure across the fixed income credit spectrum. The experienced team of five portfolio managers overseeing the Fund seeks diversified sources of high current income and long-term capital appreciation. From inception on July 23, 2003 through July 23, 2013, the Fund's Institutional Class (NSTLX) returned an annualized 8.21%, ranking it in the 9^th percentile within its category of 103 multi-sector bond funds, according Morningstar, and 3.48% ahead of the Barclays US Aggregate Bond Index. For the one-, three, and five-year periods, NSTLX ranks in the 63^rd, 52^nd, and 10^th percentiles in its category. For the one-, three, and five-year periods, the Fund's Class A shares (NSTAX) rank in the 69^th, 69^th, and 18^th percentiles in its category.

Neuberger Berman Strategic Income Fund is managed by Brad Tank, the firm's global chief investment officer of fixed income; Andy Johnson, chief investment officer of investment grade fixed income; and portfolio managers Thanos Bardas, David Brown, and Thomas Marthaler. They help manage $52.7 billion in fixed income assets for institutions and individuals at Neuberger Berman, including the $1.4 billion Neuberger Berman Strategic Income Fund.

"With the prospect of Federal Reserve easing of its stimulus program amid signals of improving U.S. economic conditions, we are positioning the Fund to minimize the impact of potential interest rate increases and take advantage of market opportunities," said Brad Tank. "This Fund has a proven track record over its 10-year history investing across the fixed income credit spectrum and through different market cycles."

About Neuberger Berman

Neuberger Berman is a private, independent, employee-controlled investment manager. It partners with institutions, advisors and individuals throughout the world to customize solutions that address their needs for income, growth and capital preservation. With more than 400 professionals focused exclusively on asset management, it offers an investment culture of independent thinking. Founded in 1939, the company provides solutions across equities, fixed income, hedge funds and private equity, and had $214 billion in assets under management as of June 30, 2013. For more information, please visit our website at www.nb.com.

Performance data quoted represent past performance, which is no guarantee of future results. The investment return and principal value of an investment will fluctuate so that an investor's shares, when redeemed, may be worth more or less than their original cost. Results are shown on a "total return" basis and include reinvestment of all dividends and capital gain distributions. Current performance may be lower or higher than the performance data quoted. For performance data current to the most recent month-end, please visit www.nb.com/performance.

Gross Expense Ratio for Strategic Income Fund Class A is 1.25%; Capped Expense Ratio is 1.16%. Gross Expense Ratio for Neuberger Berman Strategic Income Fund Institutional Class is 0.84; Capped Expense Ratio is 0.76%. Neuberger Berman Management contractually caps certain class expenses of the Fund through 10/31/2021 for Class A and Institutional Class. This undertaking applies to the Fund's direct expenses and does not cover interest, taxes, brokerage commissions, and extraordinary expenses; consequently, net expenses may exceed the contractual expense limitation. Absent this arrangement, the returns would have been lower. Information as of prospectus dated 2/28/13.

*The inception date for the Strategic Income Fund Institutional Class is 7/11/03. The inception date for the Class A is 12/20/07. Average Annual Total Returns with sales charge reflect deduction of current maximum initial sales charge of 4.25% for Class A shares.

An investor should consider Neuberger Berman Strategic Income Fund's investment objectives, risks and fees and expenses carefully before investing. This and other important information can be found in the Fund's prospectus and, if available, summary prospectus, which you can obtain by calling 877.628.2583. Please read the prospectus and, if available, the summary prospectus, carefully before making an investment.

Lower-rated debt securities involve greater risks than investment grade debt securities. Lower-rated debt securities may fluctuate more widely in price and yield than investment grade debt securities and may fall in price during times when the economy is weak or is expected to become weak. Foreign securities involve risks in addition to those associated with comparable U.S. securities. Additional risks include exposure to less developed or less efficient trading markets; social, political or economic instability; fluctuations in foreign currencies; nationalization or expropriation of assets; settlement, custodial or other operational risks; and less stringent auditing and legal standards.

The Fund may invest in senior loans and other debt securities which may be rated below investment grade. The risks of investing in such securities, such as risk of default, could result in loss of principal. Economic and other market events may reduce demand for certain senior loans held by the Fund, which may impact net asset value. Loans and other debt securities are also subject to the risk of increases in prevailing interest rates, although floating-rate securities are less susceptible to this risk than other fixed-rate obligations. Generally, bond values will decline as interest rates rise. However, because floating rates on senior loans only reset periodically, changes in prevailing interest rates can be expected to cause some fluctuation in the Fund's net asset value. Similarly, a sudden and significant increase in market interest rates, a default in a loan in which the Fund owns an interest, or a material deterioration of a borrower's creditworthiness may cause a decline in the Fund's net asset value. Floating-rate loans may be more susceptible to adverse economic and business conditions and other developments affecting the issuers of such loans. Although senior floating-rate loans are generally collateralized, there is no guarantee that the value of collateral will not decline, causing a loan to be substantially unsecured. No active trading market may exist for many loans, and some loans may be subject to restrictions on resale, which may also prevent the Fund from obtaining the full value of a loan when sold.

Shares in the Fund may fluctuate based on interest rates, market condition, credit quality and other factors. In a rising interest rate environment, the value of an income fund is likely to fall.

The Morningstar percentile ranking is based on the fund's total-return percentile rank relative to all funds that have the same category for the same time period. The highest (or most favorable) percentile rank is 1%, and the lowest (or least favorable) percentile rank is 100%. Morningstar total return includes both income and capital gains or losses and is not adjusted for sales charges. The top performing funds in a category will always receive a rank of 1. Ratings are ©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.

Mutual funds within the Morningstar Multi-Sector Bond category seek income by diversifying their assets across several fixed-income sectors, including U.S. government obligations, foreign bonds and high-yield domestic debt securities. The portfolio composition of Neuberger Berman Strategic Income Fund may differ from other funds in the category as a whole and so the performance of the Fund may differ from the overall category's performance. The fees charged by the different classes of Fund shares may be lower or higher than those of other mutual funds within the category. The Fund's Institutional Class and Class A were ranked against the following number of funds in the Morningstar Multi-Sector Bond category for the 1, 3 and 5 year periods: 308, 243 and 219. Past performance is no guarantee of future results.

The Barclays Capital U.S. Aggregate Index is an unmanaged index that represents the U.S. domestic investment-grade bond market. It is comprised of the Barclays Capital Government/Corporate Bond Index, Mortgage-Backed Securities Index, and Asset- Backed Securities Index, including securities that are of investment-grade quality or better, have at least one year to maturity, and have an outstanding par value of at least $100 million. Please note that indices do not take into account any fees and expenses of investing in the individual securities that they track and that individuals cannot invest directly in any index. Data about the performance of this index are prepared or obtained by NBM and include reinvestment of all dividends and capital gain distributions. The Fund may invest in many securities not included in the above-described index. Effective November 3, 2008, Barclays Capital announced the combination of the existing Lehman Brothers indices with the Barclays Capital indices into a single platform under the "Barclays Capital Indices" name. The renamed Lehman Brothers indices will continue to operate under their existing methodology. The index name changes will be reflected in all updates going forward.

The "Neuberger Berman" name and logo are registered service marks of Neuberger Berman Group LLC. "Neuberger Berman Management LLC" and the individual Fund names in this piece are either service marks or registered service marks of Neuberger Berman Management LLC. © 2013 Neuberger Berman Management LLC. All rights reserved.

© 2013 Neuberger Berman Management LLC, distributor.

Media Contact:
Alexander Samuelson, 212.476.5392, [email protected]

SOURCE Neuberger Berman

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