Pro-Hedge Funds Launches Energy Fund of Funds

Date: Friday, August 26, 2005
Author: Canada News Wire

TORONTO, Aug. 26 /CNW/ - Pro-Hedge Funds, an industry leader in providing
Canadian investors unrivaled access to the worlds best money managers and
absolute return investments has done it once again with the announcement of
the launch of their diversified Pro-Hedge Multi-Manager Energy Fund, the first
such fund to be launched in the Canadian marketplace. Specializing in the
North American Energy and Utility sectors, the fund is widely diversified in
its strategies, sectors and security types, and is designed to take advantage
of this top performing energy sector while significantly lowering portfolio
volatility.
    This is another first for the Pro-Hedge team, who last year launched the
innovative "No Fee Guarantee" Capital Preservation Funds. Pro-Hedge Funds
President and CEO Stuart McKinnon is unabashedly proud of his group's ongoing
commitment to providing investor access to top-tier talent, saying "We
continue to hand-pick the best of the best, and are thrilled to be able to
offer exclusive access to some of Canada and the world's best money managers.
Initially allocated amongst 7 managers utilizing 6 strategies, our multi-
manager energy fund is designed to optimize portfolio performance with
substantially reduced volatility."
    One of the featured managers for this energy fund of funds is Second
Street Capital's John Stephenson, who for 19 years has been a recognized and
respected name in the domestic and international finance industry, and has
spent much of his tenure building expertise in the oil, gas and utility
sectors. Stephenson is as excited about his relationship with Pro-Hedge, as
they are with him, saying "Energy is front page news - and with good reason.
The world is facing unprecedented challenges and opportunities in its search
for sustainable hydrocarbon resources or alternatives. Now, more than ever,
investors are looking to the energy sector for the growth component of their
portfolios. We are delighted to be partnering with Pro-Hedge Funds Inc., a
recognized leader in the hedge fund community, to offer investors a truly
unique approach to energy investing. The Pro-Hedge energy fund offers
investors a diversified approach to global energy investing - one that
maximizes return while mitigating risk."
    The past two years have seen the energy sector amongst the top performing
sectors in North America; with S&P/TSX Capped Energy having doubled as the
price of a single barrel of crude oil climbed over 150%. During this period,
volatility in the energy sector has been relatively subdued, thereby creating
a wonderful environment for long only investors in the energy sector, however
like many industry experts, the Pro-Hedge team believes it likely that
volatility in both crude oil and energy shares will begin to rise as oil
prices reach levels that could potentially disrupt the global economy.
    "We believe now is an excellent time to bring this fund to market.
Despite what has been a great environment for investors who have been long the
energy sector, we are now at a point where volatility will likely rise
regardless of the future direction of prices," says Pro-Hedge Vice President,
Portfolio Manager Les Grober, adding "this creates a more advantageous
environment for hedge funds relative to long only managers. We have structured
the portfolio with this view in mind and as a result, investors will now be
able to participate in a far more diversified portfolio of underlying managers
and strategies in both the energy and utility sectors."

    The Pro-Hedge Multi-Manager Energy Fund is available for purchase today.

For further information: please contact: Colleen Curtis, (905) 273-7788 
or 1-877-566-5145, colleenc@pro-hedge.com