DENVER, Jan. 13, 2012 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Transamerica Multi-Manager Alternative Strategies Portfolio turned five years old on Dec. 28, 2011. On reaching its fifth anniversary, the fund received a four-star rating from Morningstar, Inc. and ranked in the top decile of its category among 105 Multialternative funds.
The Transamerica Multi-Manager Alternative Strategies Portfolio ("the fund") provides classic investors an entry point into alternative investments without the hurdles that usually accompany hedge funds, such as steep investor minimums and a bewildering array of choices. It offers a comprehensive investment solution that takes a diversified mix of alternative investments and combines them into a single vehicle accessible to the retail investor.
"Through a tumultuous five years, the fund has outperformed the S&P 500 with a little more than half the volatility," said Dave Paulsen, Chief Executive Officer for Transamerica Capital, Inc. "We're very pleased with how the fund has been able to bring institutional-quality diversification to a broad variety of investors."
Morningstar Associates, LLC, serves as the portfolio construction manager for the Transamerica Multi-Manager Alternative Strategies Portfolio. The fund is designed to expose investors to the potential benefits of a diversified blend of alternative investments while avoiding overexposure to a single manager or strategy. The fund offers investors transparency and liquidity, while also avoiding the confusion that sometimes complicates alternative strategies.
"Complexity, high costs, a lack of transparency and the perception of higher risk have made the alternative landscape difficult for most retail investors to grasp and access," said Paulsen. "We built Transamerica Multi-Manager Alternative Strategies Portfolio to overcome those challenges by focusing on simplicity, affordability, transparency and lower risk than other alternative investments."
Alternative assets provide advisors with an opportunity to utilize strategic diversification, and thereby help their clients build portfolios that are similar to those of institutional and high-net-worth individuals. Many investors and their clients have turned to alternative investments in recent years to help manage risk and potentially improve returns.
Financial professionals interested in learning more about the Transamerica Multi-Manager Alternative Strategies Portfolio, please call Sales Support at 1-800-851-7555. Investors may call Customer Service at 1-888-233-4339.
Transamerica Funds are advised by Transamerica Asset Management, Inc. and distributed by Transamerica Capital, Inc.
Mutual funds are subject to market risk, including the loss of principal. Alternative strategies are not suitable for all investors. Many alternative strategies use sophisticated and aggressive investment techniques. Certain alternative strategies may be tied to hard assets such as commodities, currencies and real estate and may be subject to greater volatility as they may be affected by overall market movements, changes in interest rates or factors affecting a particular industry, commodity or currency, and international economic, political, and regulatory developments.
Shares of the Funds may only be sold by offering the Fund's prospectus. You should consider the investment objectives, risks, charges, and expenses of the Fund carefully before investing. The prospectus contains this and additional important information regarding the Funds. To obtain the prospectus and/or a summary prospectus, please contact your financial professional or go to TransamericaInvestments.com. The prospectus should be read carefully before investing.
The Fund's adviser, Transamerica Asset Management, Inc. has chosen Morningstar Associates, LLC, a registered investment advisor and wholly owned subsidiary of Morningstar, Inc., to serve as portfolio construction manager to the fund. Morningstar Associates is not acting in the capacity of an advisor to individual investors. Morningstar Associates is not affiliated with Transamerica Asset Management or its affiliates.
Past performance does not guarantee future results. The S&P 500® Index is an unmanaged index used as a general measure of market performance. It is not possible to invest directly in an index.
Morningstar rankings and ratings are for class A Shares at NAV. Source: Morningstar, Inc. The fund was rated 3 stars (out of 105 funds) and 4 stars (out of 33 funds) for the 3- and 5-year periods, respectively. For each fund with at least a 3-year history, Morningstar calculates a risk-adjusted return measure that accounts for variation in a fund's monthly performance (including the effects of all sales charges), placing more emphasis on downward variations and rewarding consistent performance. The top 10% of funds in each category receive a Morningstar RatingTM of 5 stars, the next 22.5% receive 4 stars, the next 35% receive 3 stars, the next 22.5% receive 2 stars, and the bottom 10% receive 1 star. (Each share class is counted as a fraction of one fund and rated separately.) A fund's overall rating is derived from a weighted average of the 3-, 5- and 10-year (if applicable) rating metrics. Morningstar RatingsTM is for Class A shares only; other classes may have different performance characteristics.
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