J.C. Clark closes hedge funds to new investors

Date: Tuesday, April 29, 2003

J.C. Clark Ltd. announced that it has closed its flagship long/short equity hedge funds to new investors. The Preservation Trust and its off-shore equivalent, Preservation Capital, were closed as a result of the acquisition of significant new assets. With the funds' capacity limited, certain major investors had also requested and been granted guaranteed capacity allocations by the firm. "We are very pleased with the success of this program," said John Clark, CEO of J.C. Clark Ltd. in a statement. "Assets have grown significantly over the past year and we want to avoid surpassing the optimal size required to maintain our disciplined and focused approach to investing." Colin Stewart, associate portfolio manager added, "Research has shown that hedge fund returns are often inversely correlated with excessive asset growth. This is especially true for funds that invest in smaller and less liquid equity markets such as those in Canada." The Preservation Trust is one of the oldest and largest hedge funds in Canada with a four-year compounded return of 28% per annum. Investors in Preservation Trust include Canadian institutions and wealthy individuals while investors in Preservation Capital include U.S. & European institutions and family offices. The firm said it will be expanding its product offering in the future by opening other funds such as duration-matched hedge-funds and targeted long-only funds.