Morningstar

Figuring out whether a fund is worth the investment can be a time-consuming, analytical process. The Morningstar Ratings™ are one way to make this task easier.

The ratings allow investors to see how a fund's past risk-adjusted performance stacks up against that of its category peers: 5 stars is the best; 1 star is the worst. Therefore, if a fund charges a low fee and has superb management, it will perform better than similar funds in a given category and will compare favorably to its related index. Consequently, it will have a higher Morningstar Rating.

These ratings can help you choose the best performing funds. However, you have to dig in a little deeper and consider other fundamental factors, such as manager experience and consistency of their investment process. Sometimes, a two star fund is a smarter buy than a five star fund for a given investor.

Morningstar Ratings™ as of December 31, 2011

Fund Category Overall 10 year 5 year 3 year
Select Value Fund * (HRSVX)
 
Mid-Cap Value
  354 funds
in category

  145 funds
in category

  307 funds
in category

  354 funds
in category
Value Plus Fund * (HRVIX) Small Value
302 funds
in category

  145 funds
in category

 


264 funds
in category

302 funds
in category
Value Fund * (HRTVX) Small Value
  302 funds
in category

145 funds
in category

264 funds
in category

302 funds
in category

 

* Investor Class Shares

Morningstar Proprietary ratings reflect historical risk-adjusted performance as of December 31, 2011. The Overall Morningstar Rating™ for a fund is derived from a weighted average of the performance figures associated with its 3-, 5-, and 10-year Morningstar Rating™ metrics. 

©2012 Morningstar, Inc. All Rights Reserved. The information contained herein: (1) is proprietary to Morningstar and/or its content providers; (2) may not be copied or distributed; and (3) is not warranted to be accurate, complete or timely. Neither Morningstar nor its content providers are responsible for any damages or losses arising from any use of this information. Past performance, rankings and ratings are no guarantee of future results. Rankings and ratings change monthly. Investment return and principal value will fluctuate so that your shares, when redeemed may be worth more or less than their original purchase price.

The Overall Morningstar Rating™ for a fund is derived from a weighted average of the performance figures associated with its 3-, 5-, and 10-year Morningstar Rating™ metrics. As of 12/31/11 the Select Value Fund was rated against 354, 307 and 145 mid-cap value funds over the 3-, 5- and 10-year periods, respectively. The Value Plus Fund was rated against 302, 264 and 145 small value funds over the 3-, 5- and 10-year periods, respectively. The Value Fund was rated against 302, 264 and 145 small value funds over the 3-, 5- and 10-year periods, respectively. The Select Value Fund has received Morningstar's 3-star rating for the 3-year period, and Morningstar's 4-star rating for the 5- and 10-year periods. The Value Plus Fund has received Morningstar's 3-star rating for the 3- year period, and Morningstar's 5-star rating for the 5- and 10-year periods. The Value Fund has received  Morningstar's 3-star rating for the 3-, 5- and 10-year periods. For each fund with at least a 3-year history, Morningstar calculates a Morningstar Rating™ based on Morningstar's risk-adjusted return measure that accounts for variation in a fund's monthly performance (including the effects of sales charges, loads and redemption fees), placing more emphasis on downward variations and rewarding consistent performance. The top 10% of funds in a category receive 5 stars, the next 22.5% receive 4 stars, the next 35% receive 3 stars, the next 22.5% receive 2 stars and the bottom 10% receive 1 star. (Each share class is counted as a fraction of one fund within this scale and rated separately which may cause slight variations in the distribution percentages.) The Morningstar Ratings™ are for the specified share class; other classes may have different performance characteristics.

Past performance does not guarantee future results. To obtain performance information current to the most recent month end, please visit the Funds' Returns pages of our website, or call 1-800-432-7856.

The Funds invest in small companies selected on a value basis. Such securities generally are more volatile and less liquid than those of larger companies. Value investments are subject to the risk that their intrinsic values may not be recognized by the broad market. The Select Value and Value Plus Funds also invest in a smaller number of stocks (generally 40 to 60 and 40 to 70, respectively) than the average mutual fund. The performance of these holdings generally will increase the volatility of the Funds’ returns. 

© 2012 Heartland Funds
789 N. Water Street, Suite 500, Milwaukee, WI 53202 • 1-800-432-7856
The Heartland Funds are distributed by ALPS Distributors, Inc.
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