ING Investment Management Offers New Global Bond Product for Institutional Investors

NEW YORK, Sept. 28 /PRNewswire/ -- ING Investment Management Americas today announced the launch of the ING Global Bond Collective Trust Fund, providing institutional investors with a proven and broadly diversified strategy to global fixed income investing.  The strategy is based on an approach to global fixed income markets that the firm has overseen since 2006 that combines fundamental and quantitative analysis in seeking out opportunities in more than 20 countries around the world.  The strategy has a 5 star rating from Morningstar and has been a top decile performer since inception according to PSN (1).

"Institutional investors are increasingly recognizing global bonds as a way to diversify their portfolios and as a source of alpha," said Erica Evans, Senior Vice President and Head of the US Institutional Business at ING Investment Management. "Historically, global bonds have provided investors with non-correlated returns that help smooth out portfolio performance and improve returns.  We believe that there will be considerable opportunity in global bonds over the next years and that this asset class will continue to provide favorable results over a market cycle."

The ING Global Bond Collective Trust Fund seeks to outperform the Barclays Capital Global Aggregate Bond Index by investing in a wide range of debt securities including sovereigns, corporates, emerging markets, high yield and mortgage-backed securities.  The strategy employs three main tools to generate excess returns:  duration and yield curve, active currency management and broad sector rotation.  Currency markets provide a liquid means to capitalize on opportunities in various types of economic environments and to manage the risk profile of the fund more precisely.

"In the current environment, global bonds are an important consideration for investors who want to achieve current income and capital appreciation," said Michael Mata, Senior Portfolio Manager for the Global Bond strategy.  "The U.S. represents less than half of the global bond market, and there are significant opportunities in fixed income investing in other parts of the world. Global bonds have provided an effective approach to broadening and diversifying portfolios and yet the category still has historically been under-utilized by many investors."

Mata indicates that, as investors are now seeking to make new allocations, that global bonds are increasingly being considered.  "Given the events in the market over the last several years, investors are concerned about where to allocate assets," said Mata.  "Global bonds may represent a good solution for many investors, particularly those who seek income and want to broaden their fixed income allocations."

For more information about the ING Global Bond Collective Trust Fund, please contact Erica Evans at 212.309.6552.

(1) PSN Global Fixed Income Universe includes all fixed income products that are not constrained by any geographic regions. Universe is available on both gross and net of fee basis. The ranking for the ING Global Bond strategy is as of 6/30/10.

ING PROFILE

ING is a global financial institution of Dutch origin offering banking, investments, life insurance and retirement services. As of 30 June 2010, ING served more than 85 million private, corporate and institutional clients in more than 40 countries. With a diverse workforce of about 105,000 people, ING is dedicated to setting the standard in helping our clients manage their financial future.

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 $500 billion in assets under management 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 $224 billion with offices in the U.S., Canada and Latin America.

SOURCE ING