The Schooner Fund Celebrates 2nd Successful Anniversary

PHILADELPHIA, Oct. 19 /PRNewswire/ -- In these choppy equity markets advisors are increasingly turning to alternative mutual funds. Many RIAs are demanding greater transparency and liquidity from money managers, while focusing on risk-adjusted returns and uncorrelated investment strategies. The clear choice has been to shift money to alternative mutual funds. Asset flows illustrate that point. Morningstar's Long-Short category has seen inflows of almost $18 billion in the past year, while traditional Large Cap mutual fund categories have seen net outflows of over $75 billion over the same period (1 year ending 8/31/10).

The Schooner Fund (SCNAX) is one such alternative mutual fund that has demonstrated the ability to capture the upside of equity investments combined with the ability to protect principal in down markets. The Schooner Fund has experienced a growing acceptance by advisors on a number of platforms including: Schwab, Fidelity, TD Ameritrade, Pershing, Commonwealth and many regional broker dealers.

Advisors from across the country are impressed with Schooner's performance and product offering; seeking upside participation and real downside protection.

Jeffrey Phillips, Chief Investment Officer at Rehmann Financial, the wealth management arm of Rehmann, a CPA, consulting, and investigative services firm with offices in Michigan, Ohio and Florida says, "We are always looking for products with solid risk adjusted returns. The Schooner Fund has a strategy that is easy to communicate to our clients but difficult to execute. Greg Levinson and his team have been able to execute the strategy very well in a complex market."

Advisors looking for an active investment strategy that seeks to mitigate risk also agree that SCNAX is a good choice. Mark J. Schmerge of Cincinnati, Ohio comments, "I like managers who are actively managing their product. The Schooner Fund strategy forces the portfolio manager to actively engage with the fund every day in order to deliver on their mandate of lowering portfolio risk, and seeking the lion's share of up markets."

So what does this all mean in terms of actual returns? As of September 30, 2010, the class A shares of the Fund since inception (8/29/2008) have outperformed the S&P 500 by 21.29% on a cumulative basis. SCNAX total return is +14.70% as compared to the S&P 500 total return of -6.59%. Additionally, SCNAX has outperformed the Morningstar Long/Short Category on a cumulative basis by 19.53% since inception.

Performance reflects a net expense ratio of 2.04% pursuant to the waiver the advisor has contractually agreed to through 9/28/2021. Gross annual fund operating expense ratio is 4.01%. This waiver can only be terminated by, or with the consent of the Board of Trustees of the US Bank Trust for Professional Manager.  For performance data current to the most recent month end, contact your financial professional or call Schooner Funds at 1-866-724-5997.  The performance data contained within this material represents past performance, which does not guarantee future results.  The return and principal value of an investment will fluctuate, so that shares, when redeemed, may be worth more or less than the original cost.  The Fund's current performance may be higher or lower and is subject to substantial changes.  Performance figures assume that all distributions are reinvested.  Performance quoted without sales charges would be reduced if sales charges were applied.  Total return is based on net change in NAV assuming reinvestment of distributions.  Performance without the sales charge does not reflect the current maximum sales charge of 4.75%.  Had the sales charge and redemption fee been included, the Fund's returns would have been lower.

The Fund has been managed by Greg Levinson since its August 2008 launch. Relying on Levinson's experience in equity options and convertible securities developed during his 15 years trading and managing money for global banks and large institutions, Levinson and his team seek to add risk-reducing strategies to a core portfolio of large-cap stocks to develop a fund that is designed to not only generate yield but attempt to reduce overall downside risk.

Levinson states, "We are pleased not only with the Fund's strong outperformance of both the S&P 500 and Morningstar Alternative Categories, but also with a volatility as measured by annualized standard deviation that is almost half of the S&P 500. In our view, the Schooner Fund stands out as a managed portfolio that retains stock market exposure, yet strives to include a true risk-mitigation process."

For more information about Schooner Investment Group, LLC, and the Schooner Fund contact Greg Levinson at 610.977.2090 or email Greg at [email protected].

The fund's investment objectives, risks, charges and expenses must be considered carefully before investing.  The prospectus contains this and other important information about the investment company, and it may be obtained by calling 1-866-724-5997, or visiting www.schoonermutualfunds.com.  Read it carefully before investing.

Mutual fund investing involves risk; principal loss is possible.  Investments in debt securities typically decrease in value when interest rates rise.  This risk is usually greater for longer-term debt securities.  The fund may also use options and futures contracts, which have the risks of unlimited losses of the underlying holdings due to unanticipated market movements and failure to correctly predict the direction of securities prices, interest rates and currency exchange rates.  The investment in options is not suitable for all investors.  The fund may hold restricted securities purchased through private placements.  Such securities can be difficult to sell without experiencing delays or additional costs.

The S&P 500 Index is a broad based unmanaged index of 500 stocks, which is widely recognized as representative of the equity market in general. It is not possible to invest directly in an index. Standard Deviation is a statistical measure of the historical volatility of a mutual fund or portfolio. Each Morningstar Category Average represents a universe of funds with similar investment objectives.

The Schooner Growth and Income Fund was renamed the Schooner Fund on 9/28/10.

Schooner Fund is distributed by Quasar Distributors, LLC.

SOURCE Schooner Investment Group, LLC