New Managers Named to Driehaus International Growth Portfolio

Business Wire, Jan 27, 2003

Business Editors

CHICAGO--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Jan. 27, 2003

Driehaus Capital Management, Inc. announced today that three of its veteran portfolio managers will run its $1.1 billion International Growth portfolio.

The new portfolio management team members are Emery Brewer, Eric Ritter and Ivo St. Kovachev. They will start managing the portfolio on February 1, 2003, replacing William Andersen who will be leaving the firm on March 11, 2003 to manage his personal investments.

Brewer is the manager of the Driehaus Emerging Markets Fund and co-manages, with Ritter, the Driehaus International Discovery Fund. Ritter also manages the Driehaus Asia Pacific Fund. St. Kovachev is the manager of the Driehaus European Opportunities Fund.

The new portfolio management team has a combined 47 years in the business, 16 of which are as portfolio managers at Driehaus Capital Management. Brewer, Ritter and St. Kovachev also have more than 20 years of combined experience serving as regional analysts.

In commenting on the announcement, Robert Moyer, president of Driehaus Capital Management, said, "We are very excited about these three senior portfolio managers taking the reins of our largest international fund. Each has displayed excellence in their areas of expertise and the regional funds they manage. They have also shown that they work together very well as a team. With this team, we have managers who know our investment philosophy, who know our bottom-up approach, and who really know the dynamics of international investing."

The team management approach has been employed very successfully in other Driehaus Capital Management portfolios. Brewer and Ritter have co-managed the Driehaus International Discovery Fund since July 2000 in the team structure. In managing the International Growth Portfolio, each manager will focus primarily on their area of expertise, with Brewer focusing primarily on emerging markets, Ritter on Asia and the Pacific Rim, and St. Kovachev on Western Europe.

The three managers will report directly to Richard Driehaus, the firm's chief investment officer. All of the firm's international analysts will continue in their current roles.

Driehaus Capital Management, Inc., was founded by Richard H. Driehaus in 1982. Since its inception, the firm has earned an international reputation for its aggressive growth investment style. The firm manages more than $2 billion in domestic and international aggressive growth portfolios for institutional and high net-worth individuals.