Hedge Funds Prove Profitable in April; S&P 500, Dow, and NASDAQ All Negative Last Month

Business Wire, May 6, 2002

Business Editors

NASHVILLE, Tenn.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--May 6, 2002

Van Hedge Fund Advisors International, Inc. (VAN), a global hedge fund advisory firm, announced today that the Average U.S. Hedge Fund gained an estimated 0.6% net in April, based on initial performance reports. The major stock market benchmarks, in contrast, showed losses for the month.

"April was a tough month to be in the stock market as the S&P 500 lost -6.1%, the Dow dropped -4.3% and the NASDAQ fell -8.5%. Despite the fact that hedge funds generally invest primarily in equities, the April hedge fund returns that we have seen so far have been mostly positive," said Steven A. Lonsdorf, CEO of VAN. "Its 0.6% net gain for April boosts the performance of the Average U.S. Hedge Fund to 2.0% for the year to date, which also compares favorably with the three major stock market averages.

"Those funds with a strategy we classify as Market Neutral-Securities Hedging appear to be among the better performers for April. These funds invest about the same amount in short positions as long positions and therefore are not very swayed by general market movements. Of course, short selling is an important part of most hedge fund strategies and a key reason why hedge fund investors have enjoyed gains over the past two years while more traditional investments have lost money," concluded Lonsdorf.

Final April and year-to-date 2002 results for the Van Hedge Fund Indices, detailing the average performance for U.S., Offshore and Global hedge funds, by strategy, will be released later this month.

A registered investment advisor, Nashville, Tenn.-based Van Hedge Fund Advisors International, Inc. introduces top-performing hedge funds to substantial investors in the U.S. and abroad.

(The Company's information on hedge funds is based on information received (and not audited or independently verified) from the hedge funds in its databases and may not be representative of all hedge funds. Hedge fund returns are net of fees and performance allocations. The timing of the deduction of such fees and performance allocations may affect the reported performance. Different statistics may be based on different numbers of funds. Averages are not dollar-weighted. Past results are not necessarily indicative of future performance.)