Abria Financial Group Increases Maximum Issue Size to $50,000,000 for first retail offering of the A

Date: Wednesday, April 14, 2004

Press Release – April 14, 2004 - Abria Financial Group Increases Maximum Issue Size to $50,000,000 for first retail offering of the
ABRIA ALTERNATIVE STRATEGIES NOTES 
Henry Kneis, Founder, CEO and Chief Investment Officer of Abria Financial Group of Toronto, Canada, is pleased to announce that due to the extraordinary demand for the Abria Alternative Strategies Notes, Series 2, Abria and BNP Paribas have increased the maximum issue size to $50 million (CAD).

“With almost two weeks remaining, we have already exceeded the original maximum issue size of $30 million. By increasing the size of the offering we are able to fill orders currently in excess of $30 million and continue to accept orders from investors until the scheduled closing on April 23, 2004” stated Mr. Kneis. 
The Abria Alternative Strategies Notes, Series 2 is a guaranteed investment designed to provide investors with an alternative to traditional equity and fixed-income securities. The Notes provide 100% principal protection at maturity and offer investors returns linked to the performance of the Abria Alternative Strategies Fund -- a diversified multi-manager, multi-strategy absolute return fund. The annualized absolute return objective for the Abria Notes is US T-Bills plus 5 to 7%, net of fees, with a risk level less than or equal to mid-term bonds. 
The Alternative Strategies Fund is modeled after Abria’s flagship, the Abria Diversified Arbitrage Fund, which has received such acclamations as the #1 risk-adjusted fund-of-fund over the 36-month period ending June 30, 2003 by MAR/Hedge, and the #1 alternative strategies fund in Canada for its domestic feeder (Paterson & Associates, December 31, 2003). The Diversified Arbitrage Fund has a four-year track record delivering consistent, stable, positive returns of US T-bills + 6%, at less than half the volatility of mid-term bonds. With 46 positive months out of 49, its’ annualized return is 8.78% and volatility is 2.08%, resulting in a Sharpe Ratio of 2.90. 
The Notes are issued by BNP Paribas (Canada) and provide 100% guaranteed principal repayment backed by its parent company BNP Paribas. BNP Paribas is one of the world’s top 10 banks, over 3 times the size of the largest Canadian Bank, with an equivalent long-term AA- debt rating by Standard and Poors. www.bnpparibas.com 
“Abria” derived from the root word abri -- French for shelter…Latin for protection 
Abria is an investment management company that provides investors with multi manager, alternative strategy investment vehicles that focus on wealth preservation. Abria invests in a diverse array of alternative investment strategies to effectively neutralize the impact of the market's direction, allowing our experienced team to deliver positive returns through bull and bear markets. 
Abria's trading experience and expertise in alternative strategies is a crucial factor in the effective selection, control and monitoring of its underlying funds. Abria's industry relationships provide access to leading fund managers for selected strategies. Abria is committed to conservative risk management policies and procedures for the Abria funds. Abria currently manages in excess of CDN $160 million for Canadian and international investors. www.abriafunds.com
 
For further information about Abria, please contact:
 
Ms. Davee Gunn 
Executive Vice President 
Business Development 
(416) 365-0224 
gunn@abriafunds.com