Hartford Funds Expands Fixed Income Offering With Launch of Hartford Core Bond ETF

WAYNE, Pa.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Hartford Funds today announced the launch of Hartford Core Bond ETF (CBOE:HCRB), a new exchange traded fund sub-advised by Wellington Management, which seeks to provide long-term total return by investing primarily in investment-grade fixed income securities. HCRB expands the firm’s product suite to five actively managed fixed income ETFs.

HCRB is designed to provide investors with high quality fixed income exposure from diversified sources of return across multiple perspectives, investment styles, and time horizons, including U.S. Government, credit and securitized instruments. The Fund seeks to achieve its objective by investing primarily in investment-grade fixed income securities. The actively managed ETF structure allows HCRB to offer to shareholders the benefits of transparency, intraday trading, and the potential for increased tax-efficiency via the ETF creation and redemption process.

“Hartford Core Bond ETF is designed to satisfy an increasing investor appetite for high quality core bond offerings, especially in ETF vehicles,” said Ted Lucas, Head of Investment Strategies and Solutions at Hartford Funds. “With the prospect of increasing market volatility, we believe this offering is particularly relevant for investors seeking options that aim to provide returns while managing risk.”

Joseph Marvan, Campe Goodman and Robert Burn, the same portfolio management team that sub-advises Hartford Total Return Bond ETF (NYSE:HTRB) and similar mutual fund products, will serve as portfolio managers of the Hartford Core Bond ETF. HCRB’s estimated current expense ratio is 0.29%.

“This product is another great example of the power of our collaborative relationship with Wellington. We’ve built a potential solution that leverages Wellington’s extensive fixed income and investing expertise with Hartford Funds’ deep understanding of financial advisor and end investor needs,” said Vernon Meyer, Chief Investment Officer at Hartford Funds. “Hartford Core Bond ETF further solidifies our steadfast confidence in, and commitment to, actively managed fixed income ETFs sub-advised by world class managers.”

For more information about the Hartford Core Bond ETF, please visit hartfordfunds.com.

Important Risks: The Fund is new and has a limited operating history. Investing involves risk, including the possible loss of principal. The net asset value (NAV) of the Fund's shares may fluctuate due to changes in the market value of the Fund's holdings. The Fund's share price may fluctuate due to changes in the relative supply of and demand for the shares on an exchange. The Fund is actively managed and does not seek to replicate the performance of a specified index. The Fund may allocate a portion of its assets to specialist portfolio managers, which may not work as intended. • Fixed income security risks include credit, liquidity, call, duration, and interest-rate risk. As interest rates rise, bond prices generally fall. • Derivatives are generally more volatile and sensitive to changes in market or economic conditions than other securities; their risks include currency, leverage, liquidity, index, pricing, and counterparty risk. • Foreign investments may be more volatile and less liquid than U.S. investments and are subject to the risk of currency fluctuations and adverse political and economic developments. • The risks associated with mortgage related- and asset-backed securities as well as collateralized loan obligations (CLOs) include credit, interest-rate, prepayment, liquidity, default and extension risk. • The purchase of securities in the To-Be-Announced (TBA) market, can result in additional price and counterparty risk. • Restricted securities may be more difficult to sell and price than other securities • Obligations of U.S. Government agencies are supported by varying degrees of credit but are generally not backed by the full faith and credit of the U.S. Government • In certain instances, unlike other ETFs, the Fund may effect creations and redemptions partly or wholly for cash, rather than in-kind, which may make the Fund less tax-efficient and incur more fees than an ETF that primarily or wholly effects creations and redemptions in-kind.

About Hartford Funds
Founded in 1996, Hartford Funds is a leading asset manager, which provides mutual funds, ETFs, and 529 college savings plans. Using its human-centric investing approach, Hartford Funds creates strategies and tools designed to address the needs and wants of investors. Leveraging partnerships with leading experts, Hartford Funds delivers insight into the latest demographic trends and investor behavior.

The firm’s line-up includes more than 50 mutual funds in a variety of styles and asset classes, as well as a variety of multifactor and active ETFs. Its mutual funds (with the exception of certain fund of funds) are sub-advised by Wellington Management or Schroder Investment Management North America Inc. The strategic beta ETFs offered by Hartford Funds are designed to help address investors’ evolving needs by leveraging a unique risk-optimized approach, which identifies risks within each asset class and then deliberately and systematically re-allocates capital toward risks more likely to enhance return potential. Excluding affiliated funds of funds, as of September 30, 2019, Hartford Funds Management Company, LLC and its wholly owned subsidiary, Lattice Strategies LLC, had approximately $120.0 billion in discretionary and non-discretionary assets under management. For more information about our investment family, visit http://www.hartfordfunds.com.

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Some of the statements in this release may be considered forward-looking statements as defined in the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. We caution investors that these forward-looking statements are not guarantees of future performance, and actual results may differ materially. Investors should consider the important risks and uncertainties that may cause actual results to differ. These important risks and uncertainties include those discussed in The Hartford’s Quarterly Reports on Form 10-Q, our 2018 Annual Report on Form 10-K and the other filings The Hartford makes with the Securities and Exchange Commission. We assume no obligation to update this release, which speaks as of the date issued.

From time to time, The Hartford may use its website to disseminate material company information. Financial and other important information regarding The Hartford is routinely accessible through and posted on our website at http://ir.thehartford.com. In addition, you may automatically receive email alerts and other information about The Hartford when you enroll your email address by visiting the "Email Alerts" section at http://ir.thehartford.com.

About Wellington Management
Tracing our history to 1928, Wellington Management is one of the world’s largest independent investment management firms. With over US$1.1 trillion in assets under management as of 31 December 2019, we serve as a trusted investment adviser to more than 2,200 institutional clients and mutual fund sponsors in over 60 countries. Our comprehensive investment capabilities are built on the strength of rigorous, proprietary research and span nearly all segments of the global capital markets, including equity, fixed income, multi-asset, and alternative strategies. As a private partnership whose sole business is investment management, our long-term views and interests are aligned with those of our clients. Our commitment to investment excellence is evidenced by our significant presence and long-term track records in nearly all sectors of the global securities markets.

Investors should carefully consider a fund’s investment objectives, risks, charges and expenses. This and other important information is contained in the fund’s prospectus and summary prospectus, which can be obtained by visiting hartfordfunds.com. Please read it carefully before investing.

Mutual funds are distributed by Hartford Funds Distributors, LLC (HFD), Member FINRA. Exchange-traded products are distributed by ALPS Distributors, Inc. (ALPS). Advisory services are provided by Hartford Funds Management Company, LLC (HFMC) and its wholly owned subsidiary, Lattice Strategies, LLC (Lattice). Certain funds are sub-advised by Wellington Management Company LLP and/or Schroder Investment Management North America Inc. Schroder Investment Management North America Ltd. serves as a secondary sub-adviser to certain funds. Hartford Funds refers to HFD, HFMC, and Lattice, which are not affiliated with any sub-adviser or ALPS.

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