The Bank of New York's Ivy Asset Management Corp. and DBS Asset Management Create Partnership to Deliver the DBS Absolute Return Fund

Business Wire, Feb 3, 2003

Business Editors

NEW YORK--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Feb. 3, 2003

New Venture to Provide Alternative Investment Solutions for Retail

Investors in Singapore

The Bank of New York today announced a partnership between Ivy Asset Management Corp. (Ivy), a wholly owned subsidiary of The Bank of New York, and DBS Asset Management (DBSAM), one of the largest and most experienced investment management organizations in Singapore.

As part of the agreement, Ivy and DBSAM will launch the DBS Absolute Return Fund, the first in a series of alternative investment solutions for retail investors in Singapore. The fund will be distributed exclusively by DBS Bank, Singapore's largest bank in terms of assets.

These funds will provide an alternative to traditional investments for investors aiming to diversify their portfolios and also provide consistent, low volatility approaches to investing. The partnership will enable DBSAM to offer investors access to Ivy, one of the world's leading alternative investment experts with more than 18 years of experience in the arena.

Joseph Tern, executive director of DBSAM, said, "Some investors have become averse to what they see as prolonged and excessive market volatility, and those who are impatient with the protracted negative returns on stock market investments are increasingly shifting their focus towards absolute, rather than relative, returns. After three years of weak equity market performance, we believe that the introduction of this new asset class will serve as a booster to investors' overall portfolio performance.

"For the DBS Absolute Return Fund, we have built a customized product that aims to provide a high-quality return profile coupled with low volatility and which excludes strategies commonly associated with volatile hedge funds, such as global macro, managed currencies and short selling. We believe that absolute return funds are a rapidly growing asset class globally and have the potential to become a significant asset class in Asia," continued Mr. Tern.

Absolute return funds seek to deliver returns independent of the performance of the fixed income, cash and equity markets. This differs from traditional unit trusts, where performance is usually pegged to a benchmark as well as the direction of markets. Managers of absolute return funds are typically able to employ flexible investment strategies and invest in a wide range of assets to extract positive returns from market inefficiencies. The skill of the fund manager is therefore integral to the performance of such funds.

"While the potential benefits of investing in absolute return funds are compelling, the risks are different from those of traditional equity funds. For this reason, we have devoted an extensive amount of resources, time and effort in selecting a preferred partner who can work with us to deliver the most appropriate solutions for our customers," added Mr. Tern.

Jeffrey R. Lindenbaum, managing director of products and markets at Ivy Asset Management Corp., said, "The Asian market is ripe for this product category, and we are pleased to bring absolute return funds to Singapore. We believe that investors in Singapore will welcome the chance to garner the benefits of investing in alternative investment funds, as have our other clients around the world. Ivy's extensive experience will provide value to investors, as we may be able to help them reduce the impact of market volatility on their investments and better manage their portfolio risk."

Kenneth Lopian, executive vice president and head of The Bank of New York's Asia-Pacific Division, said, "We are excited about this opportunity to partner with DBSAM. We believe that Asian investors will greatly benefit from Ivy's expertise in managing alternative investment funds, and we look forward to continuing and expanding a fruitful working partnership with DBSAM."

About Ivy Asset Management

Ivy Asset Management Corp., a registered investment advisor, is recognized as one of America's leading multi-manager alternative investment specialists. It is one of the most established Fund of Hedge Fund managers with over 18 years experience and is ranked among the top 10 fund of hedge fund asset management firms in the world based on assets under management. As of December 31, 2002, the firm managed in excess of $6.2 billion of investor capital for multi-national insurance corporations, Fortune 500 companies, governmental and Taft-Harley pension plans, global investment banking firms, professional money mangers, foundations and endowments, and high-net-worth investors. More information about Ivy is available at www.ivyasset.com.

About Development Bank of Singapore

Development Bank of Singapore (DBS Bank) is the largest bank in Singapore as measured by assets, with dominant positions in consumer banking, treasury and markets, securities brokerage, Singapore dollar loans, deposits, and equity and debt fund raising. Through its Dao Heng Bank and DBS Kwong On Bank operations, DBS Bank is the fourth largest banking group in Hong Kong. Beyond the anchor markets of Singapore and Hong Kong, DBS Bank serves corporate, institutional and retail customers through its operations in Thailand, The Philippines, and Indonesia. The Bank's credit ratings are amongst the highest in the Asia-Pacific region. More information about DBS Group Holdings and DBS Bank can be obtained at www.dbs.com.