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18 Apr 2008

UBS Teams Up With Hedge Fund Enso To Create Alternative Fund

UBS AG is teaming with $600 million hedge fund, Enso Capital Management LLC, creating UBS Enso Management LLC. The new fund will pursue alternative stock investment strategies, the companies said in a joint statement.

UBS clients qualified as institutional investors will be able to invest in the fund, UBS Enso will invest both long and short in a broad range of global equity securities. The fund's investment objective is to achieve consistent risk-adjusted returns that are uncorrelated to both general market indices and hedge fund indices, while at the same time preserving capital and minimizing downside risk and volatility.

"We are excited to be aligning Enso with the exceptional wealth management platform at UBS," said Josh Fink, CEO and Chief Investment Officer of Enso. "Partnering with UBS, a recognized leader in the management and distribution of over $100 billion in alternative investment assets, creates a unique and powerful opportunity to expand our global investor base."

The companies said portfolio managers from Enso will manage the fund's investments while UBS will oversee their activities. It said UBS Enso "will seek to identify unusual investment ideas in niche industries that may be overlooked by typical analytical methods."

Founded in 2002, Enso is an investment management firm based in New York that invests in both public and private companies globally, with over $600 million in assets under management. Roughly two-thirds of the portfolios Enso currently manages are allocated outside of North America.

UBS is present in all major financial centers worldwide. It has offices in 50 countries, employing more than 80,000 people around the world. Its shares are listed on the SWX Swiss Exchange (SWX), the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) and the Tokyo Stock Exchange (TSE).