Starting with the premise that different investors have different resources, risk tolerances and objectives, the Hennion & Walsh SmartGrowth Lipper Funds represent portfolios in which the risk levels are differentiated across each of the Funds. Based on the recently released Lipper ETF indices, the funds provide exposure to various market sectors, geographies, and asset classes, modeled to respond to the need for growth-oriented portfolios with balanced risk.

Aware of the risks connected with stocks investing, Integrity Growth & Income Fund uses a blended strategy to balance its investments between growth and dividend-paying stocks, depending on where value is in the stock market. Portfolio manager Robert Loest looks within his ethical universe to identify well-managed companies that generate reliable cash flows and consistent returns on investment and that sell below their estimated fair market value.

Innovation can lead you to interesting places, and in the case of Van Eck Global, it led us to global-growth related ETFs in previously undercovered investment areas of the ETF market. Our ETFs are designed to be effective building blocks for a diversified portfolio and to provide investors with pure exposure to specific sectors or countries, including companies not trading in the U.S.

With not too many fixed-income ETFs on the market, Ameristock’s new products aim to bring competition and choice for investors. The concept behind the ETFs, which track a different index, includes the ability to play the yield curve, pure style, and limited expenses. The move is the next logical step for a company that already has products tracking the prices of oil and natural gas as reflected in their futures.

Back in 1995 the idea was to design a value fund that is suitable even for the most risk-averse investor. The result is the Ameristock Mutual Fund, which invests in 39 largest-cap stocks and household names that are profitable, pay dividends, and have solid business fundamentals. The manager Nicholas Gerber relies on a bottom-up selection process and fundamental analysis to hand-pick the right companies in the right industry dynamics.

It would hardly be a surprise that the Summit Short-Term Government Fund invests the majority of its assets in government and agency bonds. Targeted for risk-averse investors who seek stable income, the fund eliminates the credit risk from the portfolio and manages the interest rate risk with different strategies. In addition, Mike Schultz, the manager of the fund, aims to add alpha through investments in the agency mortgage-backed area.

Scouring a large universe of international stocks to find the ones with best chances to outperform, is indeed a difficult task. Joshua Byrne, the manager of the Putnam International Equity Fund, relies on a long-term view, a disciplined process, a team of 20 sector analysts, and a blend between quantitative and fundamental analysis to find multiple points of confirmation that the stocks in his portfolio have all it takes to outperform.

The Archer Balanced Fund aims at maintaining an asset allocation model by investing in stocks and bonds at different levels depending on market conditions while keeping the risk below that of the S&P 500. Portfolio manager Troy Patton uses a top-down approach to evaluate industries and sectors that have fallen out of favor and within them to identify companies with financial strength and strong management that are selling below their intrinsic value.

Index funds have been praised for providing low-cost exposure and have gained popularity due to the dismal performance of actively managed funds. The Payden Market Return Fund is neither of the above as it falls right in the middle. It aims for the return of the S&P 500 plus alpha, but with low volatility and tracking error. The interesting strategy of this fund is that it includes futures and bonds, although it remains an equity fund.