Hennessy Advisors Acquires Assets Under Management of Lindner Asset Management
27 Febbraio 2004 - 10:59PM
PR Newswire (US)
Hennessy Advisors Acquires Assets Under Management of Lindner Asset
Management NOVATO, Calif., Feb. 27 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ --
Hennessy Advisors, Inc. (BULLETIN BOARD: HNNA) shareholders of four
mutual funds of Lindner Asset Management, Inc., based in Deerfield,
Illinois, voted to approve the mergers between the Lindner Funds
and the Hennessy Funds. The Lindner Funds Board of Directors had
unanimously recommended approval of the mergers. Hennessy Advisors,
Inc. acquired the assets under management of the Lindner Small-Cap
Growth, Lindner Communications, Lindner Growth & Income and
Lindner Large-Cap Growth Funds. Today the assets of those funds
were transferred into existing Hennessy mutual funds. Shareholder
approval to acquire the LindnerMarket Neutral Fund is still
pending. The four acquired Lindner Funds have approximately 25,000
shareholders and net assets of $291 million. Including assets from
this acquisition, Hennessy Advisors, Inc. manages assets totaling
$1.34 billion. "We want to welcome the Lindner shareholders to the
Hennessy family of funds and thank them for their strong vote of
confidence in us," said Neil J. Hennessy, president, chairman and
CEO of Hennessy Advisors, Inc. Hennessy attributes the
overwhelmingly positive vote to strong fund performance and a
highly disciplined management style that puts shareholders first.
"Our funds are built on solid, strategic investment formulas and
have produced strong results for our clients," he added. "We
believe in servingshareholders with honesty and integrity, and we
are committed to managing our funds in the sole interest of our
long-term investors." Each of the Hennessy Funds has stronger
long-term performance than the corresponding Lindner Fund. And,
Hennessy Funds is able to offer lower expense ratios than Lindner
on three funds, while maintaining the same expense ratio as Lindner
on one fund. Lindner shareholders will not be subject to any sales
charges as a result of this transaction and should not experience
any adverse tax consequences. "This agreement, like any that we
pursue, had to benefit existing shareholders of Hennessy Funds and
Hennessy Advisors, as well as Lindner shareholders," Hennessy
commented. Many existing Hennessy Funds shareholders will see a
reduction in expenses. The expense ratio will decrease an estimated
17% for the Cornerstone Value Fund and an estimated 35% for the
Hennessy Total Return Fund due to the increased asset size of these
two funds after the Lindner acquisition. "We are happy to pass on
savings and roll back expenses for existing Hennessy shareholders
as a result of the Lindner acquisition," he added. About Hennessy
Advisors Hennessy Advisors manages the Hennessy Funds, a family of
five no-load mutual funds, satisfying a variety of investment
objectives and risk tolerance levels. Each of the Hennessy Funds
employs a unique mutual fund money management approach combining
superb, time-tested stock selection formulas with unwavering
discipline and consistency.The company manages the Hennessy
Cornerstone Growth Fund (HFCGX), the Hennessy Cornerstone Value
Fund (HFCVX), the Hennessy Total Return Fund (HDOGX), the Hennessy
Balanced Fund (HBFBX) and the Hennessy Focus 30 Fund (HFTFX).
Supplemental Information Nothing in this press release shall be
considered a solicitation to buy or an offer to sell a security to
any person in any jurisdiction where such offer, solicitation,
purchase or sale would be unlawful under the securities laws of
such jurisdiction. For more complete information about the Hennessy
Funds, including risks, fees and expenses, call 800-966-4354 to
obtain a free prospectus. Read it carefully before investing. While
the Hennessy Funds are no-load, management fees and other expenses
apply. Please see the attached page for important disclosure
information. The distributor for the Hennessy Funds is Quasar
Distributors, LLC. Forward-Looking Statements Statements in this
press release regarding Hennessy Advisors, Inc.'s business that are
not historical facts, are "forward-looking statements" within the
meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995.
These forward-looking statements involve a number of risks,
uncertainties and other important factors that could causethe
actual results and outcomes to differ materially from any future
results or outcomes expressed or implied by such forward-looking
statements. These risks, uncertainties and other important factors
are described in more detail in the "Risk Factors"section of the
company's annual report on Form 10-KSB for the fiscal year ended
September 30, 2003, filed with the U.S. Securities and Exchange
Commission, including, without limitation, the "Risk Factors"
section of Management's Discussion and Analysis and Results of
Operations. The following factors could affect the actual results
of the company: -- Lindner shareholders may increase redemptions as
a result of the change in investment advisors. -- Continuing
volatility in the equity markets may cause the levels of assets
under management to fluctuate significantly. -- Weak market
conditions may lower assets under management and reduce the
company's revenues and income. About the Hennessy Funds-Lindner
Funds Reorganization Your Lindner Funds investment has been
transferred into one of the Hennessy Funds, as follows: Lindner
Large-Cap Growth Fund -- Hennessy Total Return Fund The Hennessy
Total Return Fund seeks a combination of capital appreciation and
current income by investing 75% of assets in the 10 top yielding
Dow Jones Industrial Average stocks ("Dogs of the Dow"), but limits
exposure to market risk and volatility by investing 25% of assets
in one-year Treasury securities. Average Annual Returns as of
12/31/03 1 Year 3 Year 5 Year Since Expense Inception Ratio
(7/29/98) Hennessy Total Return +22.57% +3.74% +3.96% +3.68% 1.25%*
Lindner Large -Cap Growth +27.63% -12.94% -9.01% -9.99% 1.35% * Net
of interest expense, which is estimated to be 0.38% annually.
Lindner Growth and Income Fund -- Hennessy Cornerstone Value Fund
The Hennessy Cornerstone Value Fund seeks total return, consisting
of both capital appreciation and current income by investing in
large, dividend yielding companies. Average Annual Returns as of
12/31/03 1 Year 3 Year 5 Year Since Expense Inception Ratio
(11/1/96) Hennessy Cornerstone Value +28.39% +4.75% +5.79% +7.08%
1.25% Lindner Growth and Income +26.01% -0.70% -0.07% +1.74% 1.25%
Lindner Small-Cap Growth Fund and Lindner Communications Fund --
Hennessy Cornerstone Growth Fund The Hennessy Cornerstone Growth
Fund seeks long-term growth of capital by selecting primarily
small-cap stocks we believe to be undervalued. As new growth trends
emerge in certain sectors, the Cornerstone Growth stock selection
formula will identify high-growth sectors to be included in the
portfolio. Average Annual Returns as of 12/31/03 1 Year 3 Year 5
Year Since Expense Inception Ratio (11/1/96) Hennessy Cornerstone
Growth +45.82% +15.93% +17.71% +17.10% 1.27% Lindner Small-Cap
Growth +41.52% -7.03% -1.31% +2.93% 1.50% Lindner Communications
+39.06% -16.00% -4.99% -1.50% 1.55% Past performance does not
guarantee future results. The performance returns assume all
dividends and capital gains were reinvested in the Funds. The
investment return 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. The performance returns for
each of the Lindner Funds and for the Hennessy Total Return Fund
reflect a fee waiver in effect; in the absence of such waiver
returns would be reduced. For the Cornerstone Value and Cornerstone
Growth Funds, small and medium- capitalization companies tend to
have limited liquidity and greater price volatility that
large-capitalization companies. Investments in foreign securities
involve greater volatility and political, economic and currency
risk and differences in accounting methods. The Hennessy Total
Return Fund is non-diversified, meaning it may concentrate its
assets in fewer individual holdings than a diversified fund, making
it more exposed to individual stock volatility that a diversified
fund. For more complete information about the Hennessy Funds,
including risks, fees and expenses, please call 1-800-966-4354 or
visit http://www.hennessyfunds.com/ for a free prospectus. Please
read it carefully before investing. Quasar Distributors, LLC,
Distributor. DATASOURCE: Hennessy Advisors, Inc. CONTACT: Terry
Nilsen of Hennessy Advisors, Inc., +1-415-899-1555, or fax,
+1-415-899-1559 Web site: http://www.hennessy-funds.com/
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