Jupiter to transfer Preference Fund to Premier Portfolio Managers

Jupiter will transfer the Jupiter Preference Fund to Premier Portfolio Managers Limited (Premier) with effect from the close of business on the 27 April 2007.

Following the transfer, the name of the fund will change to the Premier Preference Fund and, in the short term, will be managed by Premier on exactly the same terms as the Fund is currently run by Jupiter.

Jupiter has elected to transfer the Fund as it believes the transaction is in the best interests of the Fund’s unitholders. The Jupiter Preference Fund currently has assets of just over £2.5m and for a fund of this size, the fixed costs, such as the annual audit fee and regulatory fees, add significantly to the total costs of running the Fund.

Premier already has a much larger fund, the Premier Absolute Growth Fund, currently £54m in size, which has similar investment objectives and policies as the Jupiter Preference Fund. On taking over the Fund, Premier intends to seek approval to amalgamate it with the Premier Absolute Growth Fund, thus providing the benefits of economies of scale to unitholders from a much larger fund.

Gordon Davidson, Joint Managing Director of Jupiter Unit Trust Managers, said: “We believe that this new structure is in the best interests of our unitholders, enhancing economies of scale, helping reduce costs and enhancing the potential for enhanced performance going forward.”

Simon Weldon, Premier's Managing Director, Sales and Marketing said "The acquisition of the Jupiter Preference Fund will give investors access to one of the leading investment management teams in this specialist area of the market. In due course, and subject to shareholder consent, we expect to merge the fund into the Premier Absolute Growth Fund. This combined fund will have assets approaching £60m, which will give investors increased liquidity, more investment choice, greater diversity and reduced costs. The fund will be managed by Paul Branigan who joined Premier from AXA Framlington a year ago and he will be supported by Paul Smith and Howard Crossen from Premier’s fixed income team.”