OVERLAND PARK, Kan.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Ivy Funds has launched a comprehensive campaign designed to reinforce Ivy’s distinct and disciplined investment process, specific investment themes, global perspective, product breadth and its parent company’s nearly 75-year heritage.
“We are looking forward to further broadening the Ivy Funds brand and bringing a consistent assertion of the fund family’s unique value proposition,” said Thomas W. Butch, president and CEO of Ivy Funds Distributor, Inc. “In a competitive marketplace with little brand differentiation, this initiative shows Ivy’s commitment to grow its position as an important, focused, successful industry participant.”
According to recent research, Ivy Funds is perceived positively by advisors and investors who use the funds, as they cite words such as “innovative,” “consistent,” “sophisticated,” and “trustworthy.” However, research also showed that many advisors, and many of their clients, were not entirely familiar with Ivy Funds and the breadth of its lineup.
The campaign utilizes documentary videos, online advertising, social media (Facebook and YouTube), print advertising with “quick response” (QR) codes that link to the videos, a microsite featuring commentary and investment theme materials (www.ivyfunds.com/theworldcovered), all anchored by a new tagline and new graphics. The campaign kicks off with advertisements in Barron’s newspaper and a brochure inserted InvestmentNews the week of Feb. 21, 2011.
With the tagline “The World Covered,” the campaign centers on the Ivy Funds’ investment team’s distinct investment process, which brings its investment professionals together every day, creating meaningful perspective that makes for better decision making. Through unique documentary footage and collateral material, it actively illustrates how fundamental research and the corresponding market insight, enriched by time in the field, around the world, informs the work that Ivy’s portfolio managers, analysts and economists do every day. It also will reinforce the idea that, while Ivy’s approach to investing is designed to fuel highly-competitive, long-term returns, Ivy’s investment team and its wholesalers are motivated by the understanding that when an advisor recommends an Ivy Fund to their customers, they are putting their trust in the Ivy name.
Videos and presentation material developed by Ivy Funds for use by wholesalers, and available to advisors, describe broad investment themes and global trends identified by portfolio managers, which may translate into investment opportunity for clients. Called The Infinite Loop, the presentation series describes areas of growth and change around the world, including global rebalancing, raw materials and resources, innovation and transformation, and great American companies.
As further underpinning for the campaign, Ivy Funds tops the list of the “Best Mutual Fund Families” over the last five years in an annual ranking published by Barron’s, out of 53 fund families ranked. Ivy Funds also ranked among the top 10 fund families over the one-year period and the 10-year period ended Dec. 31, 2010. According to this year’s article, “Ivy Investment Management and Waddell & Reed, its sister company, remain a tough one-two punch over five years…” while the five-year rankings carry the headline “Ivy just keeps growing.”
Over the most recent one-year period, Ivy Funds ranked 9th out of 57 firms. Over the most recent 10 years, Ivy Funds ranked 5th out of 46 firms, according to Barron’s. In last year’s rankings (published Feb. 1, 2010) Ivy Funds ranked second, over the five-year period ended Dec. 31, 2009, out of 54 fund families ranked. In the rankings published in 2009, Ivy Funds ranked third over the five-year period ended Dec. 31, 2008, out of 53 fund families ranked. Barron’s rankings are based on asset-weighted returns in five categories: domestic equity, world equity (including international and global portfolios), mixed equity (stocks and bonds), taxable bonds and tax exempt funds. Rankings also take into account an individual fund’s performance within its Lipper peer group. Sales charges are not included in the calculation of returns, and the ranking period included time periods during which some funds’ returns were affected by expense reduction arrangements.
The Ivy Funds, with approximately $44 billion in assets under management at December 31, 2010, cover all major asset categories, including domestic, global and international equities; international and domestic balanced funds; domestic and international fixed income funds; specialty funds and a money market fund.
The Ivy Funds are managed by Ivy Investment Management Company and distributed by its subsidiary, Ivy Funds Distributor, Inc. The Ivy Funds Variable Insurance Portfolios are managed by Waddell & Reed Investment Management Company and distributed by Waddell & Reed, Inc. Waddell & Reed Financial, Inc. (NYSE: WDR) is the ultimate parent company of Ivy Funds Distributor, Inc.
Investors should consider the investment objectives, risks, charges and expenses of a fund carefully before investing. For a prospectus, or if available, a summary prospectus containing this and other information for any of the Ivy Funds, call your financial advisor or visit www.ivyfunds.com. Please read the prospectus or summary prospectus carefully before investing.
Investment return and principal value will fluctuate, and it is possible to lose money by investing.