NEW YORK, Jan. 6, 2015 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- City National Rochdale, a subsidiary of City National Bank, announced today that its City National Rochdale Emerging Markets Fund (ticker: RIMIX) received a "five-star rating" from Morningstar out of 521 funds. The rating has been awarded on merit of the fund's risk-adjusted returns as of December 31, 2014, which have performed in the top 10% of the Morningstar Diversified Emerging Markets fund category.

"This impressive 5-Star Overall rating from Morningstar reflects the success of our investment approach, which has historically generated a strong performance in a tough environment. These excellent results have stemmed from our intensive fundamental bottom up research," said Garrett D'Alessandro, chief executive officer at City National Rochdale in New York, which manages nearly $26 billion in assets. "We have a long-term commitment to this strategy."

Anindya Chatterjee, with more than 19 years of research experience covering the Asian markets, is the senior portfolio manager of the City National Rochdale Emerging Markets Fund, which has more than 41% of its holdings in companies in China and more than 20% in India. The fund is heavy on the consumer space, focusing on the emerging middle class in the region, and also on export sectors that enjoy long-term sustainable comparative advantages. Chatterjee spends a significant amount of his time in Asia researching companies and meeting analysts, think tanks and corporate leadership.

"We are very excited," said Chatterjee, following the news of the ratings on RIMIX from Morningstar, "We believe this strategy can offer our U.S. clients attractive returns along with credible portfolio diversification."

In August, City National Rochdale announced it had created an Asian subsidiary – City National Rochdale Asia Ltd. – and opened a new office in Hong Kong to house analysts who will provide on-the-ground research for the City National Rochdale Emerging Markets Fund. City National Rochdale Asia's Hong Kong office is located at 28 Hennessy Road, Suite 608, Admiralty, Hong Kong.

The RIMIX fund has more than $618 million in assets (as of December 31, 2014) and has returned more than 58.21% since its Dec. 14, 2011 inception, outperforming the MSCI Emerging Markets Index by 44%, according to Bloomberg data.

         
Performance
as of
12/31/2014
2012 2013 2014 Annualized
Since
Inception*
CNR Emerging Markets Fund 27.87% 11.92% 9.32% 16.23%
MSCI Emerging Markets Net Total Return Index 18.22% -2.60% -2.19% 4.45%
MSCI Emerging Markets Asia Net Total Return Index 20.83% 1.98% 4.89% 8.98%

Performance quoted represents past performance which does not guarantee future results. The investment return and principal value of an investment will fluctuate, so that an investor's shares, when redeemed, may be worth more or less than their original cost.

Current performance may be lower or higher than the performance quoted. The most recent month-end performance can be obtained by calling 800-245-9888.

*Since Inception of 12/14/2011 when the fund was the Rochdale Emerging Markets Portfolio. The fund was reorganized into the City National Rochdale Emerging Markets Fund on 3/28/13. It continues to be managed in the same way.

Returns for periods greater than 1 year are annualized.

The adviser has voluntarily agreed to limit its fees and reimburse expenses (excluding taxes, interest, brokerage commissions, acquired fund fees and expenses, and extraordinary expenses) until at least January 31, 2015. Investment performance may reflect voluntary fee waivers in effect. In the absence of such fee waivers, total return and yield would be reduced. The Fund's gross expense ratio is 1.66%.

City National Rochdale is a subsidiary of City National Bank, now the 25th largest American commercial bank, and has been listed by Barron's as one of the nation's top 40 wealth management firms for the past 13 years.

Mr. Chatterjee's bio: https://www.cnr.com/about-rochdale/rochdale-professionals/?id=139

About City National Rochdale:

City National Rochdale specializes in personalized portfolio management for high-net worth individuals, families, and foundations, and provides clients with service that relates all investment decisions to each client's personal benchmark. City National Rochdale manages nearly $26 billion as a registered investment advisory firm headquartered in Los Angeles and New York City. City National Rochdale is a wholly-owned subsidiary of City National Bank, America's premier private and business bank, which is backed by more than $32 billion in total assets, and provides banking, investment and trust services through 75 offices. City National Bank and its investment affiliates manage or administer $61.2 billion in client investment assets. City National is America's 25th largest commercial bank and has been recognized as a top wealth manager from Barron's for 13 years in a row. For more information, visit www.cnr.com.

All asset figures are as of September 30, 2014, unless otherwise noted.

DISCLOSURES:

An investor should consider carefully the fund's investment objectives, risks, charges and expenses. The prospectus contains this and other important information about the investment company, and it may be obtained by calling 800-245-9888. Please read it carefully before investing.

The Investment Manager for the fund is City National Rochdale, LLC, a subsidiary of City National Bank. The fund is distributed by SEI Investments Distribution Co. (SIDCO), 1 Freedom Valley Drive, Oaks, PA 19456. SIDCO is not affiliated with City National Rochdale, LLC, City National Bank, or any of their affiliates.

Investing involves risk including loss of principal. Investing in international markets carries risks such as currency fluctuation, regulatory risks, economic and political instability. Emerging markets involve heightened risks related to the same factors as well as increased volatility and lower trading volume. This fund is not diversified.

Diversification does not ensure a profit or protect against a loss.

The MSCI Emerging Markets Asia Net Total Return Index is a free float-adjusted market capitalization index that is designed to measure equity market performance in the Asian emerging markets.

The MSCI Emerging Markets Net Total Return Index is a free float-adjusted market capitalization index that is designed to measure equity market performance in the global emerging markets.

For each fund with at least a three year history, Morningstar calculates a Morningstar Rating based on a Morningstar 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 each category receive 5 stars, the next 22.5% receive 4 stars, the next 35% receive 3 stars, the next 22.5% receives 2 stars and the bottom 10% receive 1 star. The Overall Morningstar Rating for a fund is derived from a weighted average of the performance figures associated with its three-, five- and ten-year (if applicable) Morningstar Ratings metrics.  As of December 31, 2014, The City National Rochdale Emerging Markets Fund was rated against the following numbers of U.S.-domiciled Diversified Emerging Markets funds over the following time periods: 521 funds in the last three years. With respect to these Diversified Emerging Markets funds, the City National Rochdale Emerging Markets Fund received a Morningstar Rating of five stars for the three-year period. Past performance is no guarantee of future results.

CONTACT: Media Contact:
         Debora Vrana, City National Bank, 213.673.7631
         Debora.Vrana@cnb.com

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