Prudential's Strategic Partners Series Adds Focused Value Fund; Concentrated Fund to Include Best Picks from Davis Selected Advisers and Salomon Brothers Asset Management

Business Wire, Feb 6, 2001

Business Editors

NEWARK, NJ--(BUSINESS WIRE)--February 6, 2001

Prudential Investments has announced plans to launch the Strategic Partners Focused Value Fund, combining the talents of two premier managers, Davis Selected Advisers and Salomon Brothers Asset Management.

The subscription period is targeted for Feb. 21, 2001, ending March 27, 2001, with the fund being offered in Class A, B, C and Z shares.

The fund is expected to invest primarily in common stocks of small-, mid- and large capitalization U.S. companies and will be split into two portfolios, with Davis and Salomon each independently selecting about 20 to 30 stocks.

The fund continues to expand the Strategic Partners fund family introduced last year, first with the Strategic Partners Focused Growth Fund managed by Jennison Associates LLC, an affiliate of Prudential, and Alliance Capital Management L.P.; followed by the Strategic Partners New Era Growth Fund, managed by Jennison and MFS Investment Management(R).

"The Strategic Partners Focused Value Fund brings together two leading value managers with complementary styles, Davis and Salomon Brothers," said David Odenath, president of Prudential Investments.

One portfolio sleeve will be managed by Christopher C. Davis and Kenneth C. Feinberg, co-managers of the Davis New York Venture Fund.

Davis invests in quality growth companies that, in its opinion, are selling at value prices--what Davis calls "growth stocks in disguise"--and holds them over the long-term, focusing on risk management. "The most wonderful growth companies are the best values if you can buy them at the right price," Davis said. Davis has managed or co-managed the Davis New York Venture Fund since 1995 after being that fund's investment analyst for six years. Feinberg has co-managed the fund since May 1998.

Salomon Brothers' Ross Margolies and Jack Cunningham will manage the other sleeve. Salomon will focus on companies that, in its opinion, trade at a large discount to assessed intrinsic value. Margolies is a portfolio manager of the Salomon Brothers Capital Fund. Cunningham is a portfolio manager of the Salomon Brothers Investors Value Fund.

In managing the new fund, Davis and Salomon will look for value in not only traditional value sectors, but also in growth-oriented sectors often ignored by value fund managers.

"Recently, investors have witnessed unprecedented growth in the market, fueled by new economy growth companies, and with that growth came volatility," Odenath said. "In light of this, many investors are finding that their current investment allocation has become significantly over-weighted in the growth category and have begun looking to value-oriented investments to diversify their holdings."

Davis Selected Advisers was founded in 1969 by Shelby Davis and has more than $38 billion in equity assets under management as of 12/31/00.

Salomon Brothers Asset Management Inc. (SaBAM) was established as an investment adviser in 1989 and had $26.6 billion in assets under management as of December 31, 2000. SaBAM is part of Citigroup Asset Management, the money management arm of Citigroup. As of December 31, 2000, Citigroup Asset Management units managed $401 billion in assets, ranking it as one of the world's leading asset management companies.

Prudential's asset management division, with $314 billion in assets under management as of Dec. 31, 1999, encompasses nearly every major investment product category, including public and private equity, public and private fixed income, commercial mortgage lending and securitization, and private and public real estate advisory services.

The Prudential Insurance Company of America, with more than $363 billion in assets under management as of Dec. 31, 1999, is one of the largest life insurance companies in the United States and is among the largest financial services institutions in the world. Prudential serves millions of individual and institutional customers worldwide and offers a variety of products and services, including life insurance, property and casualty insurance, mutual funds, annuities, pension and retirement-related services and administration, asset management, securities brokerage, real estate brokerage franchising and relocation services.

The Strategic Partners Focused Value Fund is exchangeable only within the Strategic Partners family of funds. The Fund is not exchangeable with other Prudential, Davis or Salomon Brothers funds. Investors should keep in mind that the Fund is nondiversified. Investment in a nondiversified fund involves greater risks than a diversified investment, because a loss resulting from a particular security may have a greater impact on the Fund's overall return. The Fund may not be appropriate for all investors, nor should it be considered a complete investment program. There is no assurance that the Fund's investment objective will be achieved. The Fund may invest in small and mid-cap stocks, which may have limited marketability and may be subject to more abrupt or erratic movements than larger-capitalization stocks. The Fund may engage in the following non-principal strategies. The Fund may invest in foreign securities, which are subject to the risk of currency fluctuation and the impact of political, social, and economic change. The Fund also may trade its portfolio securities actively and frequently, resulting in an annual portfolio turnover rate of up to 125%. High portfolio turnover can result in higher costs, which may affect Fund performance. The Fund also may invest in derivative securities, which have their own risks. These risks may result in greater share price volatility.