ING Investment Management - Americas Launches Global Opportunities Strategy for US Institutional Investors

NEW YORK, May 26 /PRNewswire/ -- ING Investment Management today announced it has launched the ING Global Opportunities equity strategy for US institutional investors.  The strategy, which is being made available in a collective trust, is based on a recognized fund that ING Investment Management has been managing on behalf of non-US investors for nine years.  Earlier this year, Morningstar Europe named the Netherlands-registered ING Global Opportunities Fund the Netherlands' Best Global Equity Fund.

The Global Opportunities Strategy is an actively managed, top-down approach to large- cap equity investing which focuses on identifying themes and choosing stocks that represent strong values within those themes.  Managed by an experienced team overseen by Lead Manager Tycho van Wijk, with the assistance of more than 35 analysts and investment professionals, the strategy seeks to invest in between 50 and 150 "high conviction" stocks that represent opportunities based on specific investment themes that reflect long-term developments in the economy and potential drivers of earnings growth.

"The Global Opportunities strategy is truly a unique way of looking at global, large-cap investing that is particularly relevant in today's market," said Floris Hart, Vice President and European product specialist at ING Investment Management.  "It dynamically plays into real world developments through its thematic approach and bottom-up stock selection while providing a high degree of diversification.  Our experienced team seeks original insights into the markets and companies to find some of the best growth investing opportunities for the current environment."

The investment team takes into account the correlation between its various investment themes, allowing it to manage company and market risks.  A proprietary risk model analyzes overall risk levels and seeks to reduce overall exposure to dominant risk factors.  Currently, there are seven themes represented in the portfolio. They are: Economic Growth, Technological and Industrial Innovations, Changes in Consumer Behavior, Environmental Changes, Digital Revolution, Societal and Political Changes and Shifts in Demographics. Within each theme, major sub-themes are identified to provide further basis for stock selection. Among the key criteria considered for stock selection are quality of management, ability to innovate and size and growth of the end market.

"Our thematic approach focuses on ideas that have merit in the economy for between two and 10 years," noted van Wijk.  "It allows us to crystallize our thinking and choose stocks for which we have high levels of conviction.  Our experience indicates that this approach yields a portfolio that may outperform over a market cycle."

ING Investment Management currently oversees $1.2 billion in its Global Opportunities strategies on behalf of non-US investors in a variety of vehicles including mutual funds and SICAVs.  The Global Opportunities team is part of ING's worldwide asset management unit that oversees $496 billion for investors worldwide including corporate, public, TAFT-Hartley pension funds as well as endowments and foundations.

More information on the fund, including performance, can be found at:

http://www.inginvestment.com/US/ProductsandServices/Institutional/index.htm

About ING Investment Management  

ING Investment Management is the primary investment arm of ING Group and one of the largest global investment managers with over $494 billion in assets under management (as of 12/31/09) across more than 30 countries. ING Investment Management's broad array of investment strategies, combined with ING Group's distribution capabilities across retail and institutional channels, enables the organization to offer an integrated financial services solution for all of its clients around the world. In the Americas, ING-IM manages over $206 billion with offices in the U.S., Canada and Latin America.

SOURCE ING Investment Management