Highly-rated specialist UK equity team joins NewSmith

London, Wednesday, February 04, 2004

NewSmith Asset Management, the investment management arm of NewSmith Capital Partners, today announces it is significantly extending its capabilities, with the arrival of Steve Thompson, Richard Milliken and Mark Wharrier, the highly rated specialist UK equity team.

NewSmith Capital Partners LLP is an independent investment management and corporate advisory partnership. It was founded in 2003 by Michael Marks, Paul Roy, Stephen Zimmerman, Check Low and Ron Carlson, together with TJ Lim, Kevin Krespi and Glenn Barnes. NewSmith is wholly owned and financed by its equity partners.

Specialists in UK equities, Steve, Richard and Mark have worked together for nine years, managing between them higher return, relative and absolute return portfolios, including UK pension funds, UK unit trusts and a long/short hedge fund. Their approach at NewSmith will continue to be research-driven, with a strong emphasis on stock picking, and a thematic overlay to add value. The team will begin providing investment management services in UK equities, to institutions and to high net worth individuals in the first quarter of 2004. NewSmith received regulatory authorisation from the Financial Services Authority in December 2003. Steve Thompson joined Mercury Asset Management (later acquired by Merrill Lynch) from Price Waterhouse in 1990. He was head of the UK Specialist Equity Team at Merrill Lynch Investment Managers (MLIM) between 1998 and 2003, overseeing a five-year period of exceptional performance and asset growth. He co-managed, among other funds, the Merrill Lynch UK Equity Hedge Fund, short-listed in 2002 for best new hedge fund by Eurohedge Magazine. He also managed the Merrill Lynch UK Dynamic Fund which was AA rated by S&P and was top quartile over the period of his management. At MLIM, Steve, Richard and Mark managed a range of high performance, relative and absolute return funds for institutions, pension funds and high net worth individuals. They were directly responsible for assets in excess of £5 billion.

Stephen Zimmerman, Chairman of NewSmith Asset Management said, "We are delighted to welcome Steve, Richard and Mark to the team. These outstanding individuals have produced excellent investment performance through both bull and bear cycles and have, between them, more than 40 years' experience in UK fund management. Their arrival reflects our desire to have a culture of investment excellence. Our aim is to build a highly successful fund management business, encompassing both relative and absolute return strategies. In our view, client demand for performance-driven fund management will continue to grow, and in Steve, Richard and Mark we have a team with an outstanding track record."

Steve Thompson said, "We are very excited at the prospect of serving investors from a new, highly focused, independent platform. Our roles will enable us to focus purely on fund management, supported by a team of the City's most experienced and successful professionals."