Mackenzie to merge Mackenzie Long / Short Equity Fund into Mackenzie Alternative Strategies Fund

Date: Tuesday, October 28, 2003

Mackenzie Financial Corporation today announced its plan to merge its Mackenzie Long / Short Equity Fund into its more popular Mackenzie Alternative Strategies Fund, effective December 31, 2003. Both funds employ a multi-manager approach. Tremont Capital Management, Corp. is the advisor to both funds. Mackenzie Alternative Strategies Fund was launched in January 2001 and has since grown into one of the largest hedge funds in Canada with net assets in excess of $160 million. Its objective of employing a variety of hedge fund strategies to provide attractive returns with a low correlation to equity- and fixed income-markets has contributed to its popularity over the last three years. Comparatively, the Mackenzie Long / Short Equity Fund has net assets of approximately $12 million. It was launched a year after the Mackenzie Alternatives Strategies Fund and employs a more concentrated hedge fund strategy, investing in equities on both the long and short sides of the market. During the recent period of market volatility, the more broadly diversified Mackenzie Alternative Strategies Fund has held more investor appeal, while the Mackenzie Long / Short Equity Fund has attracted fewer assets. After a careful review, Mackenzie determined that investors in both funds would be better served through the combination of the funds' assets thereby providing the managers with a larger pool of capital to invest, greater access to a variety of hedge opportunities, and a more diversified approach overall. Mackenzie has provided investors in the Mackenzie Long /Short Equity Fund with written notice of the merger. "Mackenzie Alternative Strategies Fund continues to be an excellent long-term investment alternative which provides for lower volatility than most equity funds, while offering a performance which is not dependent on any one manager," said David Feather, president, Mackenzie Financial Services Inc. "We firmly believe that a diversified, multi-manager approach to hedge fund investing is better for investors over time."