NEW YORK, March 22, 2018 /PRNewswire/ -- We are very pleased to announce that Royce International Premier Fund (Investment Class, RIPNX; Service Class, RYIPX) received a 2018 Thomson Reuters Lipper Fund Award in recognition of its performance for the three-year period ended 11/30/17 in the International Small/Mid-Cap Growth Funds category.

The Fund was ranked first out of the 48 funds included in Lipper's International Small/Mid-Cap Growth Fund category for the three-year period ended 11/30/17. (The Fund ranked 16^th out of 43 funds in this category for the five-year period ended 11/30/17; Lipper does not give awards for one-year time periods.)

Royce International Premier Fund seeks long-term growth of capital by investing in a limited number of international small-cap stocks, primarily those with market caps up to $3 billion.

The Fund outperformed its benchmark, the Russell Global ex-U.S. Small Cap Index, for the one-, three-, five-year, and since inception (12/31/10) periods ended December 31, 2017.

Chris Clark, CEO of Royce & Associates, LP (the Fund's investment adviser), said, "We are very proud of what David and Mark have accomplished with the portfolio, and we continue to see international small-caps as a key area of our investment focus."

The Thomson Reuters Lipper Fund Awards, granted annually, highlight funds and fund companies that have excelled in delivering consistently strong risk-adjusted performance relative to their peers. The Lipper Fund Awards are based on the Lipper Leader for Consistent Return rating, which is a risk-adjusted performance measure calculated over 36, 60 and 120 months. (To be eligible, a fund must have at least 36 months of performance history as of the end of November of the respective evaluation year.) The fund with the highest Lipper Leader for Consistent Return (Effective Return) value in each eligible classification wins the Lipper Fund Award. For more information, see www.lipperfundawards.com. Although Lipper makes reasonable efforts to ensure the accuracy and reliability of the data contained herein, the accuracy is not guaranteed by Lipper.

Important Disclosure Information

Average Annual Total Returns as of 12/31/17 (%)

Annual Operating Expenses: Gross 1.59%, Net 1.19%

All performance information reflects past performance, is presented on a total return basis, reflects the reinvestment of distributions, and does not reflect the deduction of taxes that a shareholder would pay on fund distributions or the redemption of fund shares. Past performance is no guarantee of future results. Investment return and principal value of an investment will fluctuate, so that shares may be worth more or less than their original cost when redeemed. Shares redeemed within 30 days of purchase may be subject to a 2% redemption fee, payable to the Fund, which is not reflected in the performance shown above; if it were, performance would be lower. Current month-end performance may be higher or lower than performance quoted and may be obtained at www.roycefunds.com. Gross operating expenses reflect the Fund's total gross annual operating expenses for the Service Class and include management fees, 12b-1 distribution and service fees, and other expenses. Net operating expenses reflect contractual fee waivers and/or expense reimbursements. All expense information is reported as of the Fund's most current prospectus. Royce & Associates has contractually agreed, without right of termination, to waive fees and/or reimburse expenses to the extent necessary to maintain the Service Class's net annual operating expenses (excluding brokerage commissions, taxes, interest, litigation expenses, acquired fund fees and expenses, and other expenses not borne in the ordinary course of business) at or below 1.44% through April 30, 2018.

Investors should carefully consider the investment objective, risks, charges, and expenses of Royce International Premier Fund before investing. For a prospectus containing this and other information about the Fund, please visit www.roycefunds.com or call 1-800-221-4268. Please read the prospectus carefully before investing or sending money. The Fund may invest a significant portion of its assets in foreign companies which may be subject to different risks than investments in securities of U.S. companies, including adverse political, social, economic, or other developments that are unique to a particular country or region. These risk factors may affect the prices of foreign securities issued by companies headquartered in developing countries more than those headquartered in developed countries. (Please see "Investing in Foreign Securities" in the prospectus.) Therefore, the prices of the securities of foreign companies in particular countries or regions may, at times, move in a different direction than those of the securities of U.S. companies. (Please see Primary Risks for Fund Investors in the prospectus.) The Fund invests primarily in small-cap stocks, which may involve considerably more risk than investing in larger-cap stocks. The Fund also generally invests a significant portion of its assets in a limited number of stocks, which may involve considerably more risk than a more broadly diversified portfolio because a decline in the value of any one of these stocks would cause the Fund's overall value to decline to a greater degree. (Please see "Primary Risks for Fund Investors" in the prospectus.)

About Royce & Associates, LP: Royce & Associates, LP, is a small-cap equity specialist offering distinct investment strategies with unique risk/return profiles designed to meet a variety of investors' needs. For more than 40 years, our strategies have focused on active, risk-conscious investing driven by deep, fundamental company research. Chuck Royce, the firm's founder and a pioneer of small-cap investing, enjoys one of the longest tenures in the industry. Royce & Associates, LP is a subsidiary of Legg Mason Inc. (NYSE: LM). Royce Fund Services, LLC, the Fund's distributor, is a member of FINRA and the SIPC.

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SOURCE Royce & Associates