Van Eck Robson Hard Assets Performance Trust files Final Prospectus

Date: Monday, November 17, 2003

Robson Hard Assets Inc., the manager of Van Eck Robson Hard Assets Performance Trust, is pleased to announce that it has obtained a receipt for a final prospectus from the securities commissions of all Canadian provinces for an initial public offering of Units of the Trust. The minimum offering size is $20 million and the maximum offering size is $75 million. The Offering: The price per Unit is $10 and the minimum purchase is 100 Units ($1,000). Investment Objective and Strategies: The Trust will provide investors with the opportunity to invest with the benefit of the portfolio manager’s depth and diversity of expertise in hard asset sectors, proprietary valuation model and investment strategies. The investment objective is to provide Unitholders with long term capital growth through a portfolio of securities focused on hard assets sectors such as gold and precious metals, energy, forest products, and industrial metals, as well as hard asset commodities. The Trust will provide attractive diversification potential, with a low correlation to equities, bonds and general commodity indices. The Trust’s strategies are similar to those of the portfolio manager’s current hard assets hedge fund, which has experienced a 13% compound annual return since 1996. Hard Asset Sector Highlights: A number of factors point to a positive long-term outlook for hard assets sectors, including: a declining US dollar, historically lower hard asset prices, positive supply/demand fundamentals in most hard asset sectors, lack of investment in commodity sectors over the past two decades and the emergence of China as a large consumer of many commodities. Management of the Trust: The portfolio of the Trust will be managed by Van Eck Associates Corporation and its subsidiaries. Van Eck created the first gold oriented mutual fund in the United States in 1968 and with its affiliates now manages approximately US$1.5 billion (including US$950 million concentrated in hard assets) in a variety of funds for retail investors, qualified investors and over 50 institutional clients, including pension fund assets of several Fortune 500 companies. Van Eck employs approximately 55 professionals and staff in its New York office. Administrative services will be provided to the Trust by Robson Hard Assets Inc., a subsidiary of Robson Capital Inc. Robson Capital is an alternative asset management company based in Toronto, whose strategy is to develop, market and manage specialty investment funds. Parallel Fund: A Canadian institutional investor has committed to invest US$15 million in a parallel investment fund, which will have the same investment objective, strategies and restrictions as the Trust, except that the parallel fund will not hedge for portfolio exposure between US and Canadian dollar currencies. The parallel fund will have the same management and pay the same management and performance fees as the Trust. Agents: Desjardins Securities Inc., BMO Nesbitt Burns Inc., RBC Dominion Securities Inc. and CIBC World Markets Inc. are co-leading the syndicate of agents that includes National Bank Financial Inc., Canaccord Capital Corporation, Dundee Securities Corporation, HSBC Securities (Canada) Inc., Raymond James Ltd., First Associates Investments Inc., Research Capital Corporation and Wellington West Capital Inc. Posting: A copy of the prospectus is available online at www.sedar.com, from the agents or through investors' local securities advisors. For further information: please call Jeffrey Shaul, President, Robson Capital Inc., (416) 489-6820, toll-free 1-877-762-1762 or email info@robsoncapital.com. This press release does not constitute an offer to sell or the solicitation of an offer to buy in any jurisdiction, which is only made in the provinces of Canada through the prospectus and registered dealers.