Proposed Fund Launch

Polar Capital Holdings PLC 28 April 2008 28 April 2008 Polar Capital LLP Polar Capital LLP announces plans to launch UK Absolute Return Fund Polar Capital LLP ('Polar Capital') announces today plans to launch the UK Absolute Return Fund (the 'Fund'). The investment objective of the Fund will be to invest predominantly in equities of United Kingdom companies and to a significantly lesser degree European and global equities. Subject to the approval of the Fund by the Irish Financial Services Regulatory Authority, the Fund is expected to be launched on 3 June 2008 and will be domiciled in Dublin and listed on the Irish Stock Exchange. The Fund aims to deliver positive absolute returns regardless of UK stock market conditions by fully utilising the wider investment powers permitted under UCITS III regulations. Subject to the registration of the Fund with the Financial Services Authority, the Fund will be available to on-shore UK investors, providing them with the opportunity to invest in an authorised product that can hold both long and synthetic short positions with daily liquidity. The Fund will be run by Philip Hardy who founded the UK team at Polar Capital with the launch of a UK hedge fund in November 2001. This fund has a proven 6 year track record in long/short investing, providing an annualised return since inception of 9.5% versus an annualised total return of 5.7% for the FTSE All-Share Index, with annualised volatility of less than half of that index*. Prior to joining Polar Capital, Philip spent 13 years at Schroders Asset Management where he became a founding member of the Specialist UK Equity Team and also took on the management of the Schroder UK Equity Fund as well as running proprietary money. Philip will be assisted by Nick Shenton who joined Polar Capital in 2007 and has over four years experience as an analyst and assistant fund manager on UK and European equities. Mark Kary, Chief Executive of Polar Capital, commented: 'This gives investors a unique opportunity to access, through a regulated fund, Philip's proven 6 year track record in long/short investing on the UK market. Importantly, it comes at a time when investment market conditions would suggest that increased allocations to sensible low volatility absolute return strategies are appropriate.' Philip Hardy, fund manager of the Polar Capital UK Fund, commented: 'Global equity markets are at an inflection point and volatility in the UK equity market has increased significantly and is likely to remain high. With the outlook now being less predictable and risks skewed to the downside, the ability to establish short positions and identify secular trends and pricing anomalies is becoming increasingly important.' Enquiries Polar Capital Robert Blaxland 020 7227 2737 Iain Evans 020 7227 2740 Financial Dynamics Ed Gascoigne-Pees 020 7269 7132 Felicity Murdoch 020 7269 7243 Landsbanki Simon Bridges 020 7426 9569 Claes Spang 020 7426 7706 Notes to editors About Polar Capital Polar Capital is a research driven investment management company providing a highly entrepreneurial environment for outstanding portfolio managers within a structure that offers a level of marketing, administrative and operational support normally found in much larger organisations. Our objective is to achieve strong, sustainable earnings and dividend growth by building a highly diversified family of long-only, long-bias, equity long/short and other fundamentally driven hedge fund strategies managed under the Polar Capital brand. Today Polar Capital has a staff of 63 of whom 35 are investment professionals managing 14 funds, one managed account and two advisory relationships. These funds, which are aimed at institutional and professional investors, have combined assets under management as at 31 March 2008 of $3.1bn. Polar Capital now has offices in London, Singapore, Tokyo and Kiev. Polar Capital Funds plc-UK Absolute Return Fund details Fund name UK Absolute Return Fund Investment Management company Polar Capital LLP Fund structure Dublin domiciled UCITS III Fund manager Philip Hardy Fund base currency GBP Additional share classes Euro and USD Launch date 3 June 2008 Listing Irish Stock Exchange Investment Management fee 1.5% p.a. Performance fee 20% (subject to hurdle rate and high water mark) The Fund will be a sub-fund of Polar Capital Funds plc, an open-ended umbrella investment company with segregated liability between sub-funds and authorised in Ireland as an investment company pursuant to the European Communities (Undertakings for Collective Investment in Transferable Securities) Regulations, 2003 (S.I. Number 211 of 2003) as amended). (*Source: Polar Capital and Bloomberg, 14 Nov 2001 to 31 March 2008) This information is provided by RNS The company news service from the London Stock Exchange
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