Frost Investment Advisors Announces Significant Fee Reductions

SAN ANTONIO, Sept. 14, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- Frost Investment Advisors, LLC, a registered investment adviser, today announced significant fee reductions to several of the mutual funds in the Frost family. Beginning Sept. 1, 2017, the management fee for Frost's Value, Growth and Mid Cap Equity funds dropped by 15 basis points (bps) to .50 percent. The management fee for Frost's Credit Fund dropped 10 bps to .50 percent. The move follows a decision in 2015 to eliminate the sales charges, or front end loads, on Frost Funds' Investor Class shares.

"This change is consistent with our effort to offer excellence at a fair price," said Tom Stringfellow, president and chief investment officer of Frost Investment Advisors, LLC. "By lowering our management fees, we can make it more appealing for people to invest with us. As fee compression has become more common, we've seen the median fees fall for the peer groups which compete with our equity strategies. This change merely re-emphasizes our effort to deliver the Frost value proposition of excellence at a fair price to our shareholders."

Previous and new management fee structures are:

(Total Annual Fund Operating Expenses: Frost Growth Equity Fund Investor Class 0.90%, Frost Growth Equity Fund Institutional Class 0.65%; Frost Value Equity Fund Investor Class 0.90%, Frost Value Equity Fund Institutional Class 0.65%; Frost Mid Cap Equity Fund Investor Class 1.47%, Frost Mid Cap Equity Fund Institutional Class 1.22%; Frost Credit Fund Investor Class 0.96%, Frost Credit Fund Institutional Class 0.71%)

Previous and New Contractual Expense Limitations

(Total Annual Fund Operating Expenses: Frost Conservative Allocation Fund Investor Class Gross 4.56%, Net 1.16%*; Frost Moderate Allocation Fund Investor Class Gross 1.65%, Net 1.20%*; Frost Moderate Allocation Fund Institutional Class Gross 1.40%, Net 0.95%*; Frost Aggressive Allocation Fund Investor Class Gross 1.96%, Net 1.22%*)

*Frost has contractually agreed to waive fees and reimburse expenses until November 30, 2018.

Frost Investment Advisors manages $3.47 billion in mutual fund assets as of June 30, 2017. The adviser began offering mutual funds in April 2008, initially to serve the needs of institutional clients, and expanding to offer retail shares in June 2008. Frost Investment Advisors now offers 10 managed strategies as mutual funds, with most including institutional and investor share classes.

Recent accomplishments and performance metrics include:

• As of August 31, 2017, the Frost Total Return Bond Fund (FIJEX/FATRX) maintains its five star overall rating from Morningstar, for both the Investor and Institutional class based on risk adjusted returns out of 463 Short-Term Bond Funds.
• As of August 31, 2017, the Frost Total Return Bond Fund Investor Class was ranked on the basis of total returns in the top 4 percentile for one-year out of 513 funds, the top 3 percentile for three-year out of 463 funds and the top 1 percentile for five-year out of 376 funds within its peer group (Short-Term Bond), according to Morningstar.
• As of August 31, 2017, the Frost Total Return Bond Fund Institutional Class was ranked on the basis of total returns in the top 3 percentile for one-year out of 513 funds, the top 1 percentile for three-year out of 463 funds and the top 1 percentile for five-year out of 376 funds within its peer group (Short-Term Bond), according to Morningstar.
• During the quarter ended March 31, 2017, the Frost Total Return Bond Fund passed $2 billion in assets. As of June 30, 2017, the combined share classes of the Fund had total assets of $2.2 billion.

Performance data quoted represents past performance and does not guarantee similar future results. The investment performance and principal value of an investment will fluctuate so that an investor's shares, when redeemed, may be worth more or less than their original cost, and current performance may be lower or higher than the performance quoted. For performance data current to the most recent month end, please call (877) 713-7678.

About Frost Investment Advisors, LLC

The family of funds managed by Frost Investment Advisors, a wholly owned subsidiary of Frost Bank, provides clients diverse investment strategies, offering separate funds for growth, value, mid-cap, asset allocation, as well as taxable and tax-free bonds. Registered with the SEC in January 2008, Frost Investment Advisors manages $3.47 billion in assets in the Frost mutual fund family, while also providing investment advisory services to institutional and high net worth clients, and to the Frost trust department for the $30.5 billion in assets it manages, including the mutual fund assets referenced above, as of June 30, 2017. For more information, visit www.frostinvestmentadvisors.com.

About Frost

Frost is the banking, investments and insurance subsidiary of Cullen/Frost Bankers, Inc. (NYSE: CFR), a financial holding company with $30.2 billion in assets at June 30, 2017. One of the 50 largest U.S. banks by asset size, Frost provides a full range of banking, investments and insurance services to businesses and individuals in the Austin, Corpus Christi, Dallas, Fort Worth, Houston, Permian Basin, Rio Grande Valley and San Antonio regions. Founded in 1868, Frost has helped Texans with their financial needs during three centuries. For more information, visit www.frostbank.com.

Prior to March 31, 2015, Investor Class Shares of the Fund were called "Class A Shares," and shareholders were charged a sales charge on certain purchases of Class A Shares. The performance information provided for the period prior to March 31, 2015 represents the performance of Investor Class Shares when they were called Class A Shares, but does not include the Maximum Sales Charge (Load) that was applicable to Class A Shares. If sales charges were included, the returns would be lower.

To determine if a Fund is an appropriate investment for you, carefully consider the Fund's investment objectives, risk factors, charges and expenses before investing. This and other information may be found in the Fund's prospectus, which may be obtained by calling (877) 713-7678. Please read the prospectus carefully before investing. 

Mutual fund investing involves risk including possible loss of principal. Bond and bond funds are subject to interest rate risk and will decline in value as interest rates rise. High yield bonds involve greater risks of default or downgrade and are more volatile than the investment grade securities, due to the speculative nature of their investments. Mortgage backed securities are subject to prepayment and extension risk and therefore react differently to changes in interest rates than other bonds. Small movements in interest rates may quickly and significantly reduce the value of certain mortgage-backed securities.

Allocation Funds are subject to the risks and expenses of its underlying investments, including those related to investments in exchange-traded products, small and mid cap companies, REITS, options and bonds. Derivatives are often more volatile than other investments and may magnify a Fund's gains or losses. Diversification does not protect against market loss.

The Morningstar Rating™ for funds, or "star rating", is calculated for managed products (including mutual funds, variable annuity and variable life subaccounts, exchange-traded funds, closed-end funds, and separate accounts) with at least a three-year history. Exchange-traded funds and open-ended mutual funds are considered a single population for comparative purposes. It is calculated based on a Morningstar Risk-Adjusted Return measure that accounts for variation in a managed product's monthly excess performance, placing more emphasis on downward variations and rewarding consistent performance. The top 10% of products in each product category receive 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. The Overall Morningstar Rating for a managed product is derived from a weighted average of the performance figures associated with its three-, five-, and 10-year (if applicable) Morningstar Rating metrics. The weights are: 100% three- year rating for 36-59 months of total returns, 60% five-year rating/40% three-year rating for 60-119 months of total returns, and 50% 10-year rating/30% five-year rating/20% three-year rating for 120 or more months of total returns. While the 10-year overall star rating formula seems to give the most weight to the 10-year period, the most recent three-year period actually has the greatest impact because it is included in all three rating periods. The Frost Total Return Bond Fund Investor Class (FATRX) and Institutional Class (FIJEX) were rated on a risk adjusted return basis against 463 Short-Term Bond Funds over a three-year period and 376 over a five-year period. FATRX and FIJEX each received a rating of 5 stars for both time periods.

© 2017 Morningstar, Inc. All Rights Reserved. The information contained herein: (1) is proprietary to Morningstar and/or its content providers; (2) may not be copied or distributed; and (3) is not warranted to be accurate, complete or timely. Neither Morningstar nor its content providers are responsible for any damages or losses arising from any use of this information. Past performance is no guarantee of future results.

The Frost mutual funds are distributed by SEI Investments Distribution Co., 1 Freedom Valley Drive, Oaks, Penn. 19456 which is not affiliated with the Advisor or its affiliates.

NOT FDIC INSURED  MAY LOSE VALUE  NO BANK GUARANTEE

Bill Day
210-220-5427
Bill.Day@frostbank.com

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SOURCE Frost Investment Advisors