Simple Alternatives Reports AUM Increase as Investors Shift to Alternative Mutual Funds

RIDGEFIELD, CT--(Marketwired - Jul 30, 2013) - Simple Alternatives, LLC, a leading alternative mutual fund company, focused on providing investors better access to hedge fund managers, announced today the firm's assets under management rose by twenty five percent in first half of 2013. The S1 Fund (NASDAQ: SONEX) is a multi-manager, long/short equity mutual fund.

"Institutional and retail investors have come to embrace 'liquid alternatives' recognizing the important role in terms of diversification, liquidity, and other desirable characteristics the strategies can serve in a portfolio," said James K. Dilworth, Simple Alternatives Founder and CEO. "Growth in liquid alternatives has been driven in a large part by institutional consultants and financial advisors who typically use hedge funds as part of an overall portfolio allocation strategy.

"There is a growing preference for a mutual fund structure, over limited partnerships, as the vehicle for access," continued Dilworth. "These are typically allocators that are already investing in hedge funds, have dedicated allocations to hedge funds, and have a growing preference to use the more liquid structure to allocate to the same exception managers."

Nearly three-quarters of financial advisors currently utilize alternative strategies, and an equal percentage have increased their usage over the past year, according to a recent study by Financial Advisor. ⁽¹⁾ Total assets in U.S. alternative mutual funds are approximately $550 billion. ⁽²⁾

"With a low historical correlation to US bonds and equities, alternative strategies such as long/short equity are gaining traction with investors that are concerned about current market valuations, and the outlook for key asset classes, in a post-Bernanke investment environment," concluded Dilworth.

The S1 Fund has a since inception standard deviation of 4.37%, and average beta of 0.31 compared to the S&P 500 index, as of June 30, 2013. ⁽³⁾

Through a disciplined investment process that focuses on strategy allocation, manager selection and risk management, the S1 Fund seeks to grow capital regardless of market direction. Financial Advisers use alternative strategies like S1 Fund in a portfolio to add diversification and potential downside protection during market volatility.

About Simple Alternatives, LLC

Simple Alternatives is an investment manager focused on liquid alternative strategies. The company is 100% independent and employee owned. Simple Alternatives' S1 Fund (SONEX) is a multi-manager alternative mutual fund that utilizes a portfolio of skilled (fundamentally-based) long/short equity managers each of whom brings a unique edge to the portfolio. The S1 Fund (the "Fund") seeks to provide long-term capital appreciation with an emphasis on absolute (positive) returns and low correlation to traditional financial market indices such as the S&P 500^® Index. Structured as a mutual fund, the S1 Fund offers direct access to long/short strategies to a wide range of investors, with the benefits of daily liquidity, high transparency and low investment minimums.

For more information on Simple Alternatives, LLC and the S1 Fund please visit www.simplealternatives.com

(1) Financial Advisor, "Ready or Not, Alternative Investments Are Going Mainstream," December 6, 2012; Financial Advisor, Private Wealth, Skybridge Capital, "Alternative Investments Survey 2012," August 2012.
(2) Strategic Insight SIMFUND.
(3) Annualized Standard Deviation: Risk as measured by the variability of performance. The higher the standard deviation, the greater the variability (and therefore the risk) of the fund or index. 

Beta: A quantitative measure of volatility relative to the S&P 500. A beta above 1 is more volatile than the overall market, while a beta below

Fund Risks

The Fund is non-diversified and may focus its investments in the securities of a comparatively small number of issuers. Concentration in securities of a limited number of issuers exposes a fund to greater market risk and potential monetary losses than if its assets were diversified among the securities of a greater number of issuers. The Fund may invest in small- and medium-sized companies which involve greater risk than investing in larger, more established companies, such as increased volatility of earnings and prospects, higher failure rates, and limited markets, product lines or financial resources.

The Fund may invest in foreign or emerging markets securities which involve special risks, including the volatility of currency exchange rates and, in some cases, limited geographic focus, political and economic instability, and relatively illiquid markets.

The Fund may invest in debt securities which are subject to interest rate risk. An increase in interest rates typically causes a fall in the value of the debt securities in which the Fund may invest. The Fund may also invest in high yield, lower rated (junk) bonds which involve a greater degree of risk and price fluctuation than investment grade bonds in return for higher yield potential. The Fund's distressed debt strategy may involve a substantial degree of risk, including investments in sub-prime mortgage securities.

The Fund may purchase securities of companies in initial public offerings. Special risks associated with these securities may include a limited number of shares available for trading, unseasoned trading, lack of investor knowledge of the company and limited operating history. The Fund may leverage transactions which include selling securities short as well as borrowing for other than temporary or emergency purposes. Leverage creates the risk of magnified capital losses.

The Fund may also invest in derivatives which can be volatile and involve various types and degrees of risks, depending upon the characteristics of a particular derivative. The Fund may invest in options and futures which are subject to special risks and may not fully protect the Fund against declines in the value of its stocks. In addition, an option writing strategy limits the upside profit potential normally associated with stocks. Futures trading is very speculative, largely due to the traditional volatility of futures prices.

Investors should carefully consider the Fund's investment objectives, risks, charges and expenses before investing. For a summary prospectus, or prospectus that contains this and other information, call 866-882-1226. Read the prospectus carefully before investing.

The S1 Fund is distributed by Foreside Funds Distributors LLC Berwyn, PA who is not affiliated with Simple Alternatives, LLC