Heartland Advisors, Inc. Commended On Superior Customer And Employee Engagement From Allegiance, Inc.

Heartland Advisors, Inc., a mutual fund firm dedicated to value investing, was a proud recipient of an “Employee Engagement Index Award” and a “Customer Engagement Honorable Mention” from Allegiance, Inc. Awards were given to firms that demonstrated high customer or employee engagement based on 2009 surveys.

“We appreciate and value our clients’ and employees’ opinions as they help achieve our mission of providing outstanding service,” Founder and President Bill Nasgovitz said. “These awards demonstrate Heartland’s continuous focus on maintaining a distinguished customer experience.”

Each Engagement Award is scored using a top-down analysis survey designed by loyalty experts to measure attitudes and intentions of customers or employees. Top scores were broken up into two different categories: overall score for 2009, and an honorable mention for improvement in engagement score from first half of 2009 to the second half of 2009.

Allegiance, Inc., a leading provider of Voice-of-the-Customer (VOC) solutions, helps organizations drive growth and increase profitability through improved loyalty and engagement.

“Companies that understand the importance of engaging employees and customers are more successful and enjoy faster growth,” said Adam Edmunds, CEO of Allegiance. “We commend Heartland Advisors, Inc. for going beyond the ordinary in opening feedback channels with their employees and customers and being responsive to their needs.”

About Heartland

Heartland Advisors, Inc. is an independently owned Milwaukee-based firm established in 1983 and renowned as America’s Value Investor®. As of March 31, 2010, the firm managed $3.5 billion for institutional and high net worth clients and the Heartland family of value-driven mutual funds, which include the Heartland Value Fund (Investor: HRTVX), Heartland Value Plus Fund (Investor: HRVIX) and Heartland Select Value Fund (Investor: HRSVX). Learn more at http://heartlandfunds.com.

An investor should consider the Funds’ investment objectives, risks, and charges and expenses carefully before investing or sending money. This and other important information can be found in the Funds’ prospectus . To obtain a prospectus, please call 1-800-432-7856 or download a copy from our website. Please read the prospectus carefully before investing. The Heartland Funds are distributed by ALPS Distributors, Inc.