ING cements position as leading fund manager

10 March 2006

ING cements position as leading fund manager

In the annual quest for the country’s top fund managers, independent global research house Morningstar has named ten-times past winner ING as overall Fund Manager of the Year 2005.

Over fourteen years, ING has now been awarded the premier award eleven times. The Awards recognise New Zealand retail funds management excellence during the previous calendar year, based on a combination of a quantitative research, as well as one-year performance to 31 December 2005.

As well as winning the major Award, ING was a finalist in four of the six underlying sector Awards, winning the Multisector and Property categories. Newly appointed CEO of ING New Zealand, Marc Lieberman, says he is extremely impressed by the company’s track record of investment expertise. He paid tribute to the effort of all staff over the past twelve months.

Mr Lieberman also noted that the New Zealand funds management industry, while clearly small compared with his native United States, was nevertheless extremely competitive.

“There has been considerable rationalisation over the past few years, so that only those managers with proven expertise and long-term intentions remain in the market. The result is an environment in which these managers have to work exceptionally hard to differentiate themselves and rise above the competition,” he says.

“ING has met that challenge, while still maintaining quality standards and achieving growth and performance for its clients.” Mr Lieberman believes the Morningstar awards provide the investing public with an extremely useful and credible means of identifying the best fund managers. ING began operating in New Zealand in 1989 with 12 people, managing just $100 million. Today, staff number 260, and funds under management total over $8 billion.

ENDS

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