RidgeWorth Advocates for Actively Managed Muni Bonds

ATLANTA, May 22, 2013 /PRNewswire/ -- RidgeWorth Investments has published its latest white paper entitled The Case for Active Management of Municipal Bonds. The paper highlights the fact that within the last five years the muni bond market has shifted from a relatively homogenous, interest-rate-sensitive market to a credit-sensitive asset class where in-depth research and professional management are often paramount to success. It goes on to discuss why traditional buy-and-hold strategies may not be appropriate given the higher degrees of volatility and credit risk inherent in today's muni market.

"In the pre-financial-crisis market, many investors likely relied on muni bond insurance as a substitute for in-depth credit research," explains Ron Schwartz, CFA, portfolio manager for the RidgeWorth Investment Grade Tax-Exempt Bond Fund.  "Today insurance no longer offers much value to muni bond investors. We believe this underscores the need for detailed, ongoing financial analysis of various muni bond issuers to gauge creditworthiness — now and in the future."

Even with current tax rates, the tax advantage of municipal bonds has benefited affluent investors. To complement the white paper, RidgeWorth's interactive muni tool and Affluent Investor educational one-pager help illustrate this point.  Financial advisors can use the interactive tool to show their clients the tax-equivalent yield of a muni bond across select income levels. Likewise, the Affluent Investor piece tracks the history of marginal tax rates and municipal and treasury yields to show the tax advantage of municipal bonds.

Advisors can access the white paper and featured resources at ridgeworth.com/muni-bonds.

About RidgeWorth Investments
RidgeWorth Investments serves as a holding company that owns interests in six investment boutiques with approximately $50.4 billion of assets under management as of March 31, 2013. RidgeWorth's investment boutiques manage a wide variety of investment disciplines across the fixed income and equity asset classes. Our boutiques provide investment management services to a growing client base that includes endowments, foundations, corporations, healthcare organizations, municipalities, public funds, associations, insurance companies, labor unions and high net worth individuals. In addition, RidgeWorth serves as the investment adviser to the RidgeWorth Funds mutual fund family. RidgeWorth Investments is a trade name for RidgeWorth Capital Management, Inc., an investment adviser registered with the SEC headquartered in Atlanta. For more information about RidgeWorth, visit www.ridgeworth.com.

The assertions contained herein are based on RidgeWorth's opinion.

All investments involve risk. There is no guarantee a specific investment strategy will be successful. Individual investors are advised to consult with their investment professional about their specific financial needs and goals before making any investment decisions. Bonds offer a relatively stable level of income, although bond prices will fluctuate providing the potential for principal gain or loss. Intermediate-term, higher quality bonds generally offer less risk than longer term bonds and a lower rate of return. Generally, a Fund's fixed income securities will decrease in value if interest rates rise and vice versa. The Fund's income may be subject to certain state and local taxes and, depending on your tax status, the federal alternative minimum tax.

An investor should consider the fund's investment objectives, risks, and charges and expenses carefully before investing or sending money. This and other important information about the RidgeWorth Funds can be found in the fund's prospectus. To obtain a prospectus, please call 1-888-784-3863 or visit www.ridgeworth.com. Please read the prospectus carefully before investing. Past performance is not indicative of future results.

©2013 RidgeWorth Investments. RidgeWorth Investments is the trade name for RidgeWorth Capital Management, Inc., an investment advisor registered with the SEC and the adviser to the RidgeWorth Funds. RidgeWorth Funds are distributed by RidgeWorth Distributors LLC, which is not affiliated with the adviser. Collective Strength Individual Insight is a federally registered service mark of RidgeWorth Investments.

SOURCE RidgeWorth Investments