Wilshire Associates has joined the alternative strategies club with its new 130/30 offering. The Wilshire Large Cap Core 130/30 Fund will invest its assets in growth and value stocks of large cap companies.

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Addressing a growing desire by retail investors to have access to investment vehicles that mirror those of institutional investors, Wilshire Associates, a leading global investment services firm, today announced the launch of the Wilshire Large Cap Core 130/30 Fund. The fund was developed to appeal to long-term investors seeking growth of capital who are looking for an investment with potential for higher risk and return due to a short selling strategy.

“A 130/30 strategy is a straightforward extension of a long-only strategy which allows for a controlled level of shorting, thus permitting a more complete transfer of investment insights into the portfolio,” said Lawrence E. Davanzo, president of Wilshire Associates and the head of Wilshire’s investment management activities. “Our research suggests that with the addition of a well-structured 130/30 multi-manager fund, investors can significantly improve the risk/reward characteristics of their equity portfolio by moving the majority of the allocation in the long-only strategies into 130/30 strategies in the appropriate asset classes,” he added.

“We believe fundamental managers benefit from their deep insights and have more flexibility in structuring trades to isolate alpha opportunities. On the other hand, quantitative approaches focus on breadth and require relatively small changes from their current investment processes to accommodate limited shorting in the portfolio,” said Jim Dunn, managing director and chief investment officer of Wilshire Funds Management, which provides customized multi-discipline, multi-manager, and hedge fund investment solutions to financial intermediaries serving retail and institutional investors. “Given that there is clearly alpha to be captured from both fundamental and quantitative approaches - - and that their sources of alpha are very different -- in our view, the ideal 130/30 portfolio should be one that combines both types of strategies and that is reflected in our multi-manager approach.”

The Wilshire Large Cap Core 130/30 Fund invests substantially all its assets in growth and value stocks of large cap companies. Managers will take long positions in securities they believe have the ability to outperform the Russell 1000® Index and will sell short

securities it believes are likely to underperform. Selling short allows a manager to sell a security it does not own in anticipation of a possible decline in market price of that security. To complete the short sale, the Fund buys back the same security in the market and returns it to the lender.

Davanzo pointed out that the Large Cap Core 130/30 Fund will generally hold approximately 30 percent of its net assets in short positions, using the proceeds from the short sales to purchase additional long positions resulting in a portfolio with 130 percent of net assets in long positions. The Fund’s long positions may range from 120 percent to 140 percent and its short positions may range from 20 percent to 40 percent. Short sales allow the Fund to earn returns on securities the manager believes will underperform and to maintain additional long positions while keeping the Fund’s net exposure to the market at a level similar to a “long only” strategy. As a result, the Fund intends to maintain approximately 100 percent net long exposure.

The Fund’s equity investments may include common stocks, preferred stocks, convertible securities, warrants and securities issued by real estate investment trusts (REITs). The Fund also may invest in exchange-traded funds (ETFs) and similarly structured pooled investments in order to provide exposure to certain equity markets while maintaining liquidity. The Fund also may engage in short sales of ETFs and similarly structured pooled investments. The Fund may, but is not required to, use derivatives, such as futures, options, forward contracts, swap agreements and ETFs, as an alternative to selling a security short, as a substitute for investing directly in an underlying asset, to increase returns, to manage foreign currency risk, or as part of a hedging strategy. Wilshire conducts its investment decision-making through an investment committee structure. The investment committee reviews the daily performance of the Fund and the Sub-Advisers.

Past performance does not guarantee future results.

Before investing, investors should carefully consider a fund’s investment objectives, risks, charges, and expenses. Contact your financial professional, visit www.wilshirefunds.com or call 888-200-6796 to obtain a prospectus containing this and other information. Read the prospectus carefully before investing. Wilshire Mutual Funds are distributed by PFPC Distributors, Inc., King of Prussia, PA.

A mutual fund's share price and investment return will vary with market conditions. The principal value of an investment when you sell your shares may be more or less than the original cost.

About Wilshire Mutual Funds

Wilshire Mutual Funds delivers the advantages and sophistication of institutional investing to the individual investor. Our multi-managed funds identify and strategically combine multiple asset managers into a single portfolio taking advantage of a proven investment strategy that has been used for decades by institutional investors.

About Wilshire Associates

Wilshire Associates is a leading global investment technology, investment consulting and investment management firm with four business units, including, Wilshire Funds Management, Wilshire Analytics, Wilshire Consulting and Wilshire Private Markets. Wilshire Funds Management provides customized multi-discipline, multi-manager, and hedge fund investment solutions to financial intermediaries serving retail and institutional investors. We offers both risk based and target maturity portfolios, multi-manager U.S., non-U.S., and global equity and fixed income portfolios, as well as global tactical asset allocation overlay portfolios. In addition, we provide our clients with comprehensive access to Wilshire's proprietary manager research capabilities as a basis for identifying "best of class" managers on their investment platforms. The firm was founded in 1972, revolutionizing the industry by pioneering the application of investment analytics and research to investment management for the institutional marketplace. Wilshire also is credited with helping to develop the field of quantitative investment analysis that uses mathematical tools to analyze market risks. All other business units evolved from Wilshire's strong analytics foundation. Wilshire developed the index now known as the Dow Jones Wilshire 5000 Composite IndexSM, the first asset/liability models for pension funds, the first U.S. equity style metrics work and many other "firsts" as the firm grew to nearly than 350 employees serving the investment needs of institutional and high net worth clients around the world. Based in Santa Monica, CA, Wilshire provides services to clients in more than 20 countries representing in excess of 600 organizations with assets totaling more than US $12.5 trillion. With nine offices on four continents, Wilshire Associates and its affiliates are dedicated to providing clients with the highest quality counsel, products and services. Trust Universe Comparison Service® and TUCS® are registered service marks of Wilshire Associates Incorporated, Santa Monica, California. Please visit www.wilshire.com for more information.  

Edited by: Erin Kello


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