Zweig Closed End Funds Comment On The Passing Of Martin Zweig

NEW YORK, Feb. 19, 2013 /PRNewswire/ --  The Boards of the Zweig Fund and the Zweig Total Return Fund, as well as Zweig Advisers and Virtus Investment Partners, express their deepest condolences to the family of Dr. Martin E. Zweig, the founder of the funds, who died February 18.

The Boards issued the following statement:

"Marty Zweig was a renowned investor who had a significant influence on modern financial analysis and investing. His contributions to the discipline of investing were broadly recognized. On behalf of the funds, we express our sincere sympathies to his family and the numerous colleagues, friends and admirers he earned during his impressive career. Marty will be sorely missed by all."

The Boards noted that among his accomplishments was the creation of an entire body of original and important statistical market research, including the creation of the put/call ratio, a technical measure of investor sentiment that is now a common market indicator. Dr. Zweig wrote a recognized book about his investment strategy, Winning on Wall Street, was a frequent contributor to business magazines, including Barron's, and throughout the 1980s was a regular guest on PBS's Wall $treet Week with Louis Rukeyser. During one such appearance in 1987, Dr. Zweig famously and accurately forecasted the October 1987 stock market crash.

Dr. Zweig founded the Zweig Fund in 1986 and the Zweig Total Return Fund in 1988. The current portfolio managers of the funds, Carlton Neel and David Dickerson of Zweig Advisers, who have managed the funds since 2003, worked with Dr. Zweig for more than 17 years. Neel and Dickerson said, "Marty was unique in his understanding of the markets, and became a great friend and mentor. We will miss him, and convey our sadness and respects to his family during this difficult time."

The Zweig closed-end funds are advised by Zweig Advisers LLC, an affiliated manager of Virtus Investment Partners.

SOURCE Zweig Advisers LLC