(Chicago, Illinois—February 18, 2021) Sterling Partners Equity Advisors (“SPEA”) has been awarded Top Guns distinction by Informa Financial Intelligence’s PSN manager database, North America’s longest running database of investment managers.

SPEA offers small-cap value and large-cap value strategies to its clients. The Small-Cap Value Diversified strategy (“SCV Diversified”) is a diversified, low-turnover, small-cap, value strategy holding 50-70 stocks with a 14-year verified track record.  The Sterling Quality Income & Value strategy (“QIV”), is a fully diversified large-cap portfolio of 65-90 high-quality, income-producing companies with a 12-year verified track record.  The Small-Cap Value Focus strategy (“SCV Focus”) is a concentrated, small-cap, value strategy holding 25-30 stocks with a 19-year verified track record.  The strategies have been managed by Kevin Silverman, CFA, SPEA’s CIO, since the strategy’s inception.* SPEA claims compliance with Global Investment Performance Standards (GIPS®).

Sterling Partners Equity Advisors was honored with awards in all of the following categories:

“We are excited to have delivered these excellent results to our clients over the past decade as well as during this most recent period of turbulence.  I really like our downside capture metrics, which are noteworthy for their consistency while also beating our benchmark.  These results have only been possible because of our excellent research effort, and so I applaud a decade of great work by our investment team, good job!,” said Kevin E. Silverman, CFA, Portfolio Manager. 

The PSN manager database is one of North America’s longer-running databases of investment managers. PSN Top Guns ranks products in six proprietary categories in over 50 universes and is a well-respected quarterly ranking widely used by institutional asset managers and investors. PSN Top Guns performance rankings are tabulated for thousands of strategies across 75 peer groups subdivided by increasingly rigorous screens and reported in ascending classes from 1-6 stars.  Distinct rankings are created for Separate Accounts, Managed Accounts and Managed ETF products.

Top Gun firms are awarded a rating ranging from one to six stars, with the number of stars representing continued performance over time.

Manager of the Decade: These products had had an r-squared of 0.80 or greater relative to the style benchmark for the latest 10-year period. Moreover, the strategy’s returns were greater than the style benchmark for the latest 10-year period and also standard deviation less than the style benchmark for the latest ten-year period. At this point, the top ten performers for the latest 10-year period become the PSN Top Guns Manager of the Decade.

Bull & Bear Masters: These products had an r-squared of 0.80 or greater relative to the style benchmark for a three-year period. Moreover, products must have an upside market capture over 100 and a downside market capture less than 100 relative to the style benchmark. The top ten ratios of Upside Capture Ratio over Downside Capture Ratio become the PSN Bull & Bear Masters.

6-Star Category: These products had an r-squared of 0.80 or greater relative to the style benchmark for the recent five-year period. Moreover, products must have returns greater than the style benchmark for the three latest three-year rolling periods. Products are then selected which have a standard deviation for the five-year period equal or less than the median standard deviation for the peer group. The top ten information ratios for the latest five-year period then become the 6 Star Top Guns.

5-Star Category: These products had an r-squared of 0.80 or greater relative to the style benchmark for the recent five-year period. Moreover, products must have returns greater than the style benchmark for the three latest three-year rolling periods. Products are then selected which have a standard deviation for the five-year period equal or less than the median standard deviation for the peer group. The top ten returns for the latest three-year period then become the 5 Star Top Guns.

4-Star Category: These products had an r-squared of 0.80 or greater relative to the style benchmark for the recent five-year period. Moreover, returns must have exceeded the appropriate style benchmark for the three latest three-year rolling periods. The top ten returns for the latest three-year period then become the 4 Star Top Guns.

2-Star Category: These products had one of the top ten returns for the one-year period in their respective universes.

Through a combination of Informa Financial Intelligence’s proprietary performance screens, PSN Top Guns ranks products in six proprietary categories in over 50 universes. This is a well-respected quarterly ranking and is widely used by institutional asset managers and investors. Informa Financial Intelligence is part of Informa plc, a leading provider of critical decision-making solutions and custom services to financial institutions.

About Sterling Partners Equity Advisors

Sterling Partners Equity Advisors is a SEC registered investment advisor specializing in long-only small-capitalization equity investment strategies. We offer an experienced investment management team coupled with an institutional financial services infrastructure. Our objective is straightforward: to offer our clients risk-adjusted returns in excess of the Russell 2000 Value Index. Our disciplined and repeatable investment process has been developed over decades of experience, resulting in our long-term track record in small-cap value.* Our clients can rely on our consistently applied research and investment process.

Sterling Partners Equity Advisors is an affiliate and Related Advisor of Sterling Fund Management, a Chicago-based diversified investment management firm formed in 1983. Sterling Fund Management is a SEC registered investment advisor and has invested in over 55 portfolio companies via eight institutional funds and a number of investment vehicles across a variety of industries, growth stages and structures. Sterling Fund Management provides active senior-level operational participation in Sterling Partners Equity Advisors accompanied with an operational infrastructure developed over 30 years.

Criteria: The PSN universes were created using the information collected through the PSN investment manager questionnaire and use only gross of fee returns. Mutual fund and commingled fund products are not included in the universe.  PSN Top Guns investment managers must claim that they are GIPS compliant. Products must have an r-squared of 0.80 or greater relative to the style benchmark for the ten-year period ending DECEMBER 31, 2020. Moreover, products must  have returns greater than the style benchmark for the ten-year period ending DECEMBER 31, 2020 and also standard deviation less than the style benchmark for the ten-year period ending DECEMBER 31, 2020. At this point, the top ten  performers for the latest ten-year period ending DECEMBER 31, 2020 become the PSN Top Guns Manager of the Decade.

The content of PSN Top Guns is intended for use by qualified investment professionals. Please consult with an investment professional before making any investment decisions using content or implied content from PSN Top Guns. All Rights Reserved. PSN Top Guns is powered by PSN. PSN is an investment manager database and is a division of Informa Financial Intelligence. No part of PSN Top Guns may be reproduced in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical,  photocopying, or otherwise without the prior written permission of Informa Financial Intelligence. Because of the possibility of human or mechanical error by Informa Financial Intelligence (IFI) sources or others, IFI does not guarantee the  accuracy, adequacy, completeness or availability of any information and is not responsible for any errors or omissions or for the results obtained from the use of such information. THERE ARE NO EXPRESS OR IMPLIED  WARRANTIES, INCLUDING, BUT NOT LIMITED TO, WARRANTIES OF MERCHANTABILITY OR FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE OR USE. In no event shall IFI be liable for any indirect, special or consequential damages  in connection with use of any information or derived using information based on PSN Top Guns results.

*Performance prior to May 2017 occurred while the Portfolio Manager was affiliated with prior firms and the Portfolio Manager was the only or primary individual responsible for selecting the securities to buy and sell. The PSN manager database is one of North America’s longer-running databases of investment managers. Manager must be a SEC Registered Investment Adviser to be listed on the database. There is no fee required by Informa Investment Solutions for inclusion in the PSN manager database. PSN Top Guns performance rankings are tabulated for thousands of strategies across 58 peer groups subdivided by increasingly rigorous screens.

Net of fees performance for the Small-Cap Value Diversified strategy would reflect (a) the deduction of a 1.00% annual investment management fee, billed quarterly in advance from the composite inception date through 12/31/2019, representing the highest fee that would be charged to any account during such performance period and  (b) deduction of a model annual management fee of 0.9%, billed quarterly in advance for periods after 1/1/2020  thereafter and may not reflect actual management fees charged to any accounts. Actual investment advisory fees incurred by clients may vary. The performance includes the reinvestment of dividends and other corporate earnings and is calculated in U.S. dollars

About Informa Financial Intelligence’s Zephyr

Financial Intelligence, part of the Informa Intelligence Division of Informa plc, is a leading provider of products and services helping financial institutions around the world cut through the noise and take decisive action. Informa Financial Intelligence’s solutions provide unparalleled insight into market opportunity, competitive performance and customer segment behavioral patterns and performance through specialized industry research, intelligence, and insight. IFI’s Zephyr portfolio supports asset allocation, investment analysis, portfolio construction, and client communications that combine to help advisors and portfolio managers retain and grow client relationships. For more information about IFI, visit https://financialintelligence.informa.com. For more information about Zephyr’s PSN Separately Managed Accounts data, visit https://financialintelligence.informa.com/products-and-services/data-analysis-and-tools/psn-sma.

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