Two Sterling Capital tax-free bond funds named Best Individual Funds in 2011 by Lipper

RALEIGH, N.C., March 25, 2011 /PRNewswire/ -- The Sterling Capital South Carolina Intermediate Tax-Free Fund's I Shares (BSCIX) and Sterling Capital Kentucky Intermediate Tax-Free Fund's I Shares (BKITX) were named two of the best individual funds for 2011 by Lipper Inc. The funds were recognized for delivering consistent risk-adjusted performance at a ceremony hosted by Lipper on March 23 in New York. The awards were presented for three-year and five-year performance, respectively, for the period ended Dec. 31, 2010.  

The Sterling Capital South Carolina Intermediate Tax-Free Fund was presented an award for three-year performance, ranking first among 121 funds in Lipper's Other States Intermediate Muni Debt category.

The Sterling Capital Kentucky Intermediate Tax-Free Fund was presented an award for five-year performance, ranking first among 117 funds in Lipper's Other States Intermediate Muni Debt category.  

Both funds are managed by Bob Millikan, CFA, executive director with Sterling Capital Management. In addition to the management of these funds, Millikan manages four additional state-specific tax-free funds for the firm. These include funds for North Carolina, South Carolina, Maryland and West Virginia.

"We are very proud to have won this award for the third consecutive year. We have a dedicated team that continues to focus on adding value to our shareholders through a high-quality and disciplined total-return approach," Millikan said. "We are grateful to our clients for their continued support and Lipper for recognizing our efforts to provide superior returns over a longer time period."

The Lipper Fund Awards are awarded to mutual funds in 21 countries in Asia, Europe, MENA, and the Americas. Lipper designates award-winning funds in most individual classifications for the three-, five-, and ten-year periods. In addition, the Lipper Fund Awards program spotlights fund families with high average scores for all funds within a particular asset class or overall. Past performance is not indicative of future results and high ratings do not guarantee favorable performance, in fact a fund may experience negative or flat performance over time.

"Since one of our overarching goals is to provide clients with high quality, risk-adjusted performance, this award certainly recognizes that we continue to achieve our intended goals. I am quite pleased with the recognition that Bob and the Sterling Fixed Income team are receiving," said Jeffrey Schappe, chief investment officer for Sterling Capital Management.

The Lipper Fund Awards are part of the Thomson Reuters Awards for Excellence, a global family of awards that celebrate exceptional performance throughout the professional investment community. The Thomson Reuters Awards for Excellence recognize the world's top funds, fund management firms, sell-side firms, research analysts, and investor relations teams. For more information, please contact [email protected] or visit excellence.thomsonreuters.com.

The fund family offers 23 mutual funds covering a broad spectrum of equity and fixed-income styles, including value and growth stock funds targeting the large-cap, mid-cap and small-cap sectors, and bond funds focusing on the government, corporate and municipal markets. Four asset allocation funds and two money market funds also are included in the lineup.

An investment in a money market fund is neither insured nor guaranteed by the FDIC or any other government agency. Although the fund seeks to preserve the net asset value of $1.00 per share, it is possible to lose money by investing in the fund.

Tax-free municipal bond funds may be subject to certain state and local taxes and depending on an investor's tax status, to the federal alternative minimum tax.

You should consider the investment objectives, risks, charges and expenses of the Sterling Capital Funds carefully before investing. A prospectus with this and other information may be obtained at 1-800-228-1872 or www.sterlingcapitalfunds.com. The prospectus should be read carefully before investing.

Not a deposit • Not FDIC insured • May lose value • Not guaranteed by the bank • Not insured by any government agency

Sterling Capital Management LLC is a registered investment advisor founded in 1970. Sterling is an independently operated subsidiary of BB&T Corporation, one of the nation's largest financial services holding companies. Headquartered in Charlotte, N.C. with offices in Raleigh, N.C.; Atlanta, Ga.; and San Francisco, Calif., Sterling has more than $32 billion* in assets under management overseen by 80 investment and client services professionals. Sterling provides investment management services to a diversified group of clients including corporate, public, healthcare, private clients, endowment, foundation, insurance, sub-advisory, and managed investment pools in 40 states and 10 countries worldwide.

* data as of 12/31/2010

Mutual fund investing involves risk including the possible loss of principal value.  An investment in a money market fund is neither insured nor guaranteed by the FDIC or any other governmental agency.  Although the fund seeks to preserve the net asset value of $1.00 per share, it is possible to lose money by investing in the fund.

For more complete information on the Sterling Capital Funds, you may request a prospectus by calling 800-228-1872, Option 1, or by visiting our Web site at www.sterlingcapitalfunds.com. You should consider the fund's investment objectives, risks, charges and expenses carefully before you invest or send money. This and other important information is contained in the prospectus, which should be read carefully before investing.

Sterling Capital Funds are distributed by Sterling Capital Distributors Inc., which is not affiliated with Branch Banking and Trust Company or its affiliates.  

SOURCE BB&T Corporation