BNY Mellon to Provide ETF Services for Advisor Shares SectorSam ETF

NEW YORK, Feb. 2, 2012 /PRNewswire/ – BNY Mellon, the global leader in investment management and investment services, has been selected to provide exchange-traded fund (ETF) services, custody, fund accounting and fund administration for the AdvisorShares Rockledge SectorSAM ETF (NYSE: SSAM – News). This mandate expands BNY Mellon’s relationship with AdvisorShares, which began in 2009, to include 12 ETFs with assets totaling more than $420 million.

Sub-advised by Rockledge Advisors LLC, the new ETF seeks to generate stable and consistent annual returns under all market conditions by investing in both long and short positions in U.S. sector ETFs that offer exposure to U.S. large capitalization equities.  The ETF employs an actively managed and diversified equity sector rotation process based on a proprietary quantitative analysis known as the “Sector Scoring and Allocation Methodology.”

Utilizing this analysis, the fund managers will buy long the sector ETFs that Rockledge forecasts to outperform the S&P 500 Index while also selling short an equal dollar amount of sector ETFs that are expected to underperform the S&P 500. The fund expects to hold equal amounts long and short, creating a dollar neutral portfolio.

“We expanded our relationship with BNY Mellon because of its ability to provide comprehensive support for alternative ETFs,” said Noah Hamman, founder and chief executive officer of AdvisorShares.  “This new fund requires BNY Mellon to support our ability to take both long and short positions.”

“We continue to see an increasing array of ETF strategies being developed by our clients, including actively managed funds such as those created by AdvisorShares,” said Joseph Keenan, managing director and global head of exchange-traded fund services at BNY Mellon Asset Servicing.  “BNY Mellon remains committed to the ongoing enhancement of its industry-leading ETF technology platform to facilitate the rapid evolution of the ETF business.”

AdvisorShares, the advisor, is headquartered in Bethesda, Maryland. AdvisorShares is one of the leading providers of actively managed ETFs. AdvisorShares is pleased to offer actively managed ETFs, including the Dent Tactical ETF (NYSE: DENT – News), the Accuvest Global Long Short ETF (NYSE: AGLS – News), the WCM/BNY Mellon Focused Growth ADR ETF (NYSE: AADR – News), the Cambria Global Tactical ETF (NYSE: GTAA – News) the Peritus High Yield ETF (NYSE: HYLD – News), the Madrona Domestic ETF (NYSE: FWDD – News), the Madrona International ETF (NYSE: FWDI – News), the Madrona Global Bond ETF (NYSE: FWDB – News), the Active Bear ETF (NYSE: HDGE – News), the Meidell Tactical Advantage ETF (NYSE: MATH – News), the TrimTabs Float Shrink ETF (NYSE: TTFS – News) and the Rockledge SectorSAM ETF (NYSE: SSAM – News). AdvisorShares provides educational support to help investors understand ETFs, and the underlying investment strategy for each of the AdvisorShares ETFs. AdvisorShares continues to seek qualified sub-advisor investment partners to offer compelling investment strategies in an active ETF structure. Visit the website at www.advisorshares.com to learn more about AdvisorShares. Follow the AdvisorShares Team on Twitter or ‘Like’ on Facebook.

Rockledge Advisors LLC, the sub-advisor, is headquartered in Brooklyn, New York. Rockledge Advisors LLC is a subsidiary of The Rockledge Group LLC, a Connecticut limited liability company established in 2004. The Rockledge Group LLC serves as investment adviser to a variety of individual and institutional investor accounts in the U.S. and in Europe. www.RockledgeAdvisors.com

BNY Mellon Asset Servicing offers clients worldwide a broad spectrum of specialized asset servicing capabilities, including custody and fund services, securities lending, performance and analytics, and execution services. BNY Mellon Asset Servicing provides services through BNY Mellon and other related companies.

BNY Mellon is a global financial services company focused on helping clients manage and service their financial assets, operating in 36 countries and serving more than 100 markets.  BNY Mellon is a leading provider of financial services for institutions, corporations and high-net-worth individuals, offering superior investment management and investment services through a worldwide client-focused team.  It has $25.8 trillion in assets under custody and administration and $1.26 trillion in assets under management, services $11.8 trillion in outstanding debt and processes global payments averaging $1.5 trillion per day.  BNY Mellon is the corporate brand of The Bank of New York Mellon Corporation (NYSE: BK – News).