Aston to Soft Close the ASTON/River Road Independent Value Fund (ARIVX, ARVIX) Eleven Months After Opening

*** THIS FUND WILL STILL BE AVAILABLE TO ALL LSA MEMBERS! ***

• All LSA members will be able to continue making new purchases into the Aston Independent Value Fund even with the soft close announcement! 

CHICAGO, Dec. 6, 2011 /PRNewswire/ — Aston Asset Management, LP (Aston) has announced that it will implement a “Soft Close” of the ASTON/River Road Independent Value Fund (“the Fund”), on or about December 7, 2011. 

The Soft Close will mean that the Fund will close to new investors but remain open to existing shareholders.  The supplement sets forth the details of the Soft Close and can be found on the Aston Funds website, www.astonfunds.com.  The supplement details that certain exceptions may apply.

“Many potential clients may be disappointed to learn that we have to Soft Close the ASTON/River Road Independent Value Fund so soon after its inception,” said Stuart D. Bilton, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Aston, “but the integrity of the investment process must remain sacrosanct.”

The Fund’s portfolio manager is Eric Cinnamond, Vice President and Portfolio Manager at River Road.  Mr. Cinnamond leads the Independent Value strategy at River Road; his investment approach is opportunistic.  Prior to joining River Road he served as lead Portfolio Manager for Intrepid Capital Management’s Small Cap strategy. Mr. Cinnamond has over 17 years of investment experience and has earned significant professional recognition including being named MarketWatch’s 2008 Stockpicker of the Year. 

“This is Aston’s third small cap fund to soft close,” continued Bilton.  “In keeping with our shareholders’ best interests, we previously closed the ASTON/River Road Small Cap Value Fund and the ASTON/TAMRO Small Cap Fund based on net assets.  Looking forward, we are very pleased to be partnering with Silvercrest Asset Management Group LLC to open a new small cap fund at the end of the year.”   

Aston Asset Management, LP

Headquartered in Chicago, Illinois, Aston provides investment management services to the mutual fund and managed accounts markets by carefully selecting, monitoring and marketing experienced boutique investment managers, who seek to achieve consistent investment performance using disciplined investment processes and best in class business standards.  From the initial due diligence on an investment manager to the launching of a new Aston Fund, we take measured steps to ensure congruence between the requirements of Aston, the capabilities of the subadviser and the needs of clients.  As of November 30, 2011, Aston is the adviser to twenty-five mutual funds with total net assets of approximately $9.6 billion.  Our funds are distributed nationally through intermediaries including registered investment advisors, model platforms, broker-dealers, consultants, retirement platforms and wealth management teams.