ING Raises $1.7 Billion in IPO for Global Equity Dividend Fund With Option Overlay Strategy
29 Março 2005 - 1:11PM
PR Newswire (US)
ING Raises $1.7 Billion in IPO for Global Equity Dividend Fund With
Option Overlay Strategy NEW YORK, March 29 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/
-- ING (NYSE:ING) today announced the launch of the ING Global
Equity Dividend and Premium Opportunity Fund (the "Fund")
(NYSE:IGD), a closed-end fund that invests in a portfolio of global
common stocks combined with a covered call writing strategy. The
Fund begins trading on the New York Stock Exchange today under the
ticker "IGD." ING Global Equity Dividend and Premium Opportunity
Fund raised $1.70 billion* in an offering, where Citigroup Global
Markets Inc. acted as sole bookrunner and co-lead manager, and UBS
Securities LLC and Wachovia Capital Markets, LLC acted as co-lead
managers. (*$1.955 billion assuming full exercise of underwriters'
over allotment option, which may not occur.) The Fund's primary
investment objective is to provide a high level of income. Capital
appreciation is the Fund's secondary investment objective. The Fund
seeks to achieve its investment objectives by investing in a
portfolio of global common stocks that have a history of attractive
dividend yields and utilizing an integrated options writing
strategy. Under normal market conditions, the Fund will invest
primarily in a portfolio of common stocks of dividend paying
companies located throughout the world, including the U.S. The Fund
will also seek to generate gains from option premiums by selling
covered call options on a substantial portion of its portfolio
securities. The Fund will seek to balance its objectives by
offering the potential for some protection against adverse changes
in selected markets through the strategic use of buying put options
on selected securities indices. "There is a growing base of
financial advisors and investors looking for investment strategies
with the potential to deliver attractive levels of cashflow, with
an opportunity for some appreciation from global markets and this
new Fund targets their needs," said Bob Crispin, Chairman and CEO
of ING Investment Management Americas. "The Fund benefits from the
knowledge of ING Investment Management Europe both in building a
portfolio of high-quality, dividend-paying common stocks and
seeking to enhance the yield on the portfolio through a covered
call writing program." The Fund is managed by ING Investments LLC
and draws on two teams of experienced global investment
professionals at ING Investment Management Advisor B.V., the Fund's
sub-adviser, which is part of ING Investment Management Europe. ING
Investment Management units oversee more than $412 billion in
assets. - ING's Global Equity Dividend team of three portfolio
managers led by Jorik van den Bos will oversee the equity portfolio
of the Fund. This team currently oversees approximately $5.4
billion in dividend-oriented strategies. They will be supported by
over 30 investment professionals in ING Investment Management's
global equity investment teams. - A team of seven investment
management, investment research and financial engineering
professionals will be responsible for implementing the Fund's
option strategy. This team currently manages approximately $1.5
billion in assets. Within this team, Leonard Stehouwer will lead
the managers responsible for the Fund. ABOUT CLOSED-END FUNDS
Closed-end funds like the Fund do not continuously offer shares for
sale and are not required to buy shares back from investors upon
request. Shares of closed-end funds trade on national stock
exchanges and, like other securities, share prices will fluctuate
with market conditions and at the time of sale may be worth more or
less than the original investment. Please consider the investment
objectives and policies, risk considerations, charges and expenses
of the Fund carefully before investing. For a prospectus which
contains this and other information relevant to an investment in
the Fund, please contact ING Investments, LLC at 7337 East
Doubletree Ranch Road, Scottsdale, AZ 85258 or (800) 992-0180.
Please read the prospectus carefully before investing. ABOUT ING
ING is a global financial institution offering banking, insurance
and asset management to over 60 million private, corporate and
institutional clients in more than 50 countries. With a diverse
workforce of over 113,000 people, ING comprises a broad spectrum of
prominent companies that increasingly serve their clients under the
ING brand. In the U.S., ING offers a comprehensive array of
financial services to retail and institutional clients which
include life insurance, retirement plans, mutual funds, managed
accounts, alternative investments, direct banking, institutional
investment management, annuities, employee benefits, financial
planning, and reinsurance. ING holds top-tier rankings in key U.S.
markets and serves over 14 million customers across the nation. For
more information, visit http://www.ing.com/ Contact: Tracey Gordon
or Christina Divigard ING U.S. Investment Management ING U.S.
Financial Services (212)309-1791 (860) 723-2293 DATASOURCE: ING
Americas CONTACT: Tracey Gordon of ING U.S. Investment Management,
+1-212-309-1791, or ; or Christina Divigard of ING U.S. Financial
Services, +1-860-723-2293, or Web site: http://www.ing.com/
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