First Investors Opportunity Fund Wins 2014 Lipper Fund Award for Best Mid-Cap Core Fund Over Three-Year Period

NEW YORK, March 21, 2014 /CNW/ - The First Investors Opportunity Fund* is the winner of  a 2014 Lipper Fund Award in the Mid-Cap Core category based on its performance over a three-year period as of December 31, 2013.

Co-portfolio managers Edwin Miska, Director of Equities at First Investors Management Company, Inc. (FIMCO), and Steven Hill accepted the award last night in New York. "I am delighted that Lipper chose to recognize the Opportunity Fund's recent and long-term performance," Miska says. "We continue to find exciting opportunities in our asset class."

"The success of the Opportunity Fund is a result of the outstanding leadership of Ed Miska and the hard work of Steven Hill and the entire equities team," says Derek Burke, President of FIMCO. "They have leveraged top-tier portfolio management, fundamental research and have brought our clients consistent, long-term performance. This is what our business is all about."

"We have worked for years to build and refine our investment process," says Hill. "I believe our fund's strong performance coupled with this award validates our process."

Lipper, a Thomson Reuters company, is a global leader in supplying mutual fund information, analytical tools, and commentary. Lipper's benchmarking and classifications are widely recognized as the industry standard by asset managers, fund companies and financial intermediaries.

The 2014 Lipper Fund Awards program "recognizes the world's top performing funds." The program honors funds that have excelled in delivering consistently strong risk-adjusted performance, relative to peers. In addition, the Lipper Fund Awards program recognizes fund families with high average scores for all funds within a particular asset class or overall. The Lipper Fund Awards take place in 23 countries in Asia, Europe, the Middle East and North Africa, and the Americas. The award winners are formally announced between January and April. Ceremonies take place in select countries.

Lipper, Inc. designates award-winning funds in most individual classifications for the three-, five-, and ten-year periods and fund families with high average scores for the three-year time period. The top three-year classification winners and fund family winners receive trophies.

The Lipper Fund Awards are part of the Thomson Reuters Awards for Excellence, a global family of awards that celebrate exceptional performance throughout the professional investment community.

Lipper Rankings: All rankings are done by Lipper, Inc., a Thomson Reuters company. The rankings are based on total return and after mutual fund fees, but before any front-end sales load, where applicable.

Lipper Mid-Cap Core funds are funds that, by portfolio practice, invest at least 75% of their equity assets in companies with market capitalizations (on a three-year weighted basis) below Lipper's USDE Large-Cap Floor. Mid-Cap Core funds have more latitude in the companies in which they invest. These funds typically have average characteristics compared to the S&P MidCap 400^®.

For more complete information about First Investors Opportunity Fund, you may obtain a free prospectus and summary prospectus by downloading it from our website, contacting a Representative, or calling [phone]. You should consider the investment objectives, risks, charges and expenses of the Fund carefully before investing. The prospectus and summary prospectus contain this and other information about the Fund, and should be read carefully before you invest or send money.

The Opportunity Fund seeks long-term capital growth. The Fund invests primarily in mid- and small-size companies that the Fund's adviser First Investors Management Company, Inc. believes offer strong growth opportunities. The Fund may continue to hold stocks of mid- and small-size companies that grow into large companies and may also invest opportunistically in stocks of larger companies.

The Fund is most appropriately used to add diversification to an investment portfolio. The Fund is intended for investors who: are seeking significant growth of capital; want exposure to  investments in mid- and small-size companies; are willing to accept higher than average investment risk; and have a long-term investment horizon and are able to ride out market cycles.

The principal risks of investing in the Fund are:

Market Risk: Because the Fund primarily invests in common stocks, it is subject to market risk. Stock prices may decline over short or even extended periods not only because of company-specific developments, but also due to an economic downturn, adverse political or regulatory developments, a change in interest rates or a change in investor sentiment. Stock markets tend to run in cycles with periods when prices generally go up, known as "bull" markets, and periods when prices go down, referred to as "bear" markets.

Mid-Size and Small-Size Company Risk. The market risk associated with stocks of mid-and small-size companies is generally greater than that associated with stocks or larger, more established companies because stocks of mid-and small-size companies tend to experience sharper price fluctuations. The additional volatility associated with mid-to-small-size company stocks is attributable to a number of factors, including the fact that the earnings of such companies tend to be less predictable than those of larger, more established companies. Mid-to-small-size company stocks are also not as broadly traded as stocks or larger companies. At times, it may be difficult for a Fund to sell mid-to-small size company stocks at reasonable prices.

Security Selection Risk. Securities selected by the portfolio manager may perform differently than the overall market or may not meet the portfolio manager's expectations. This may be a result of specific factors relating to the issuer's financial condition or operations or changes in the economy, governmental actions or inactions, or changes in investor perceptions regarding the issuer.

The views expressed by the Portfolio Managers in this release reflect their professional opinions and should not be construed as buy or sell recommendations. The views herein may change based on market and other conditions. Nothing stated herein is intended to be advice and should not be construed as an offer to sell, a solicitation or an offer to buy or a recommendation of a specific security or investment strategy. Investment decisions should be made based on an individual's goals, time horizon and risk tolerance. Stock markets are volatile and can decline significantly in response to adverse issues, including political, regulatory, market or economic developments. Individuals cannot invest directly in an index.

Edwin Miska and Steven Hill are affiliated with First Investors Management Company, Inc., the investment adviser to the First Investors family of funds and an affiliate of First Investors Corporation.

Foresters^TM is the trademark of The Independent Order of Foresters ("Foresters"), a fraternal benefit society, 78 Don Mills Road, Toronto, Canada M3C 1T9. Its subsidiary, First Investors Consolidated Corporation ("First Investors"), is licensed to use this mark. First Investors Corporation is a subsidiary of First Investors Consolidated Corporation. All securities products are offered through First Investors Corporation.

*Prior to January 31, 2008, the First Investors Opportunity Fund was known as the First Investors Mid-Cap Opportunity Fund.

First Investors Mutual Funds are distributed by:
First Investors Corporation
40 Wall Street
New York, NY  10005
[phone]
www.firstinvestors.com

First Investors Management Company is the investment adviser to First Investors Family of Funds and an affiliate of First Investors Corporation.

SOURCE: First Investors Corporation

Media Contact:
Joseph Nole
212-858-8012
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