Press Releases

Double Income Fund Launch at Newton

LONDON, 4 October 2005 — Two new international equity income funds managed by Newton Investment Management will be launched together in early November.

Newton Asian Income Fund and Newton Global Higher Income Fund will follow the successful approach of Newton Higher Income Fund with strict buy/sell disciplines based on equity yields.

Newton Global Higher Income Fund will aim to offer a yield of over 4% and invest in a portfolio of global equities to achieve increasing annual distributions together with long-term capital growth. The fund will be managed by James Harries, who recently re-joined Newton from Veritas Asset Management.

Newton Asian Income Fund will also target a yield of over 4% at launch and will invest in securities in the Asia Pacific ex. Japan region (including Australia and New Zealand). The manager, Jason Pidcock, expects initial favoured sectors to be Financials, Telecoms, Supply Chain Managers, Consumer and Healthcare.

Commenting on the launches, Alan Mearns, head of global marketing at Mellon Global Investments, the distributor of the funds, said: "There continues to be strong demand from clients for income provision but there is also a real need to deliver diversification for income portfolios. Both of these new income funds leverage Newton's global research process and the disciplined stock selection approach based on yield, pioneered by the successful Newton Higher Income Fund. They offer the compelling combination of a yield similar to the UK, plus much needed diversification."

Commenting on potential demand for the new funds, Mark Allpress, director of UK sales at Mellon Global Investments, said: "The Asian Income Fund is likely to appeal more to discretionary wealth managers who need the building blocks for customised asset allocation. The Global Higher Income Fund should appeal to IFAs whose clients are 'overloaded' with UK equity income investments and want to diversify."

The above launches are subject to FSA approval.

Newton Investment Management Limited is a London-based UK asset management subsidiary of Mellon Financial Corporation. With assets under management of approximately £26 billion, the company provides a broad range of award-winning investment products and services to individuals, pension funds, charities and corporations. Newton has operations in London, Edinburgh, Leeds and Jersey. News and other information about Newton is available at www.newton.co.uk.

London-based Mellon Global Investments Limited is the international distributor of the investment skills and products of the asset management subsidiaries of Mellon Financial Corporation. Each of Mellon's asset managers is a specialist in its field. Their combined offering includes mainstream and high yield bond, cash, equity management, currency overlay, indexation and alternative investment management. Mellon Global Investments delivers these diverse skills to a wide and varied client base, providing a wealth of solutions.

Mellon Financial Corporation is a global financial services company. Headquartered in Pittsburgh, Mellon is one of the world's leading providers of financial services for institutions, corporations and high net worth individuals, providing institutional asset management, mutual funds, private wealth management, asset servicing, payment solutions and treasury services. Mellon has approximately $4.2 trillion in assets under management, administration or custody, including $738 billion under management. Its asset management companies include The Dreyfus Corporation and U.K.-based Newton Investment Management Limited. News and other information about Mellon is available at www.mellon.com.

Newton Asian Income Fund & Newton Global Higher Income Fund will be sub-funds of the Mellon Investment Funds ICVC (Investment Company with Variable Capital) and the investment adviser will be Newton Investment Management Limited. The Authorised Corporate Director will be Mellon Fund Managers Limited which is authorised and regulated by the Financial Services Authority and a member of the IMA.

Key charges/minimum investments relate to Sterling Income Share Class:
Initial charge — 4%
Annual Management Charge — 1.5%
Minimum investment — £1,000 or £50 a month
Minimum subsequent investment — £250

All information and figures source Mellon Global Investments unless otherwise stated as at 30 June 2005. This press release is issued by Mellon Global Investments Limited to members of the financial press and media and the information contained herein should not be construed as investment advice. Past Performance is not a guide to future performance.