Hennessy Advisors' Focus 30 Fund has secured a spot on Morgan Stanley Smith Barney's recommended list. The inclusion took effect this month, Kevin Rowell, president of Novato, California-based Hennessy Funds, told The MFWire.

This is the first Hennessy fund that landed on MSSB's recommended list.

In a separate interview, Greg Sieghardt, director of separately managed accounts and advisory programs for MSSB's consulting group, told The MFWire that MSSB decided to put the fund on the list because "its investment strategy is easy to understand and it represents an opportunity to add alpha to a portfolio."

"The Focus 30 Fund is what Hennessy is best known for and the fund by which Neil Hennessy put himself on the map," Sieghardt added.

The Focus 30 fund, launched in 2003, invests in 30 mid-cap growth oriented companies, seeking to identify undervalued stocks with above-average growth potential. As of September 30, the fund had $167 million in assets under management.

The consolidation that has swept the broker-dealer industry has resulted in a "complete review of funds on recommended lists and this heightens the competition among fund firms for getting on those lists," Rowell said.

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Company Press Release

November 11, 2009 – Novato, CA - Hennessy Advisors, Inc. investment manager of the Hennessy Funds, today announced the introduction of the Hennessy Focus 30 Fund on the new Morgan Stanley Smith Barney platforms.

“We believe that the merger between Morgan Stanley and Smith Barney has created one of the world’s leading and most respected wealth management companies,” said Kevin Rowell, President of Hennessy Funds. “I have had the distinct pleasure of working with many of the executives now leading Morgan Stanley Smith Barney, and we are proud to have the Hennessy Focus 30 Fund represented by their high-caliber group of investment professionals,” he added.

“We couldn’t be more excited and honored that our Funds have been selected by Morgan Stanley Smith Barney for inclusion on their platforms," said Neil Hennessy, CEO of Hennessy Advisors, Inc. and CIO/Portfolio Manager of Hennessy Funds. "The Focus 30 Fund derives its strength from its time-tested, quantitative stock selection formula, and we believe it can serve as a strong mid-cap component in a well diversified portfolio,” he added.

About Hennessy Advisors, Inc.

Hennessy employs a consistent and repeatable investment process, combining time-tested stock selection strategies with a highly disciplined, team-managed approach, and offers investors a wide range of both domestic and international equity products. 

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