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LONDON (Standard & Poor's) Dec. 11, 2008--Standard & Poor's Ratings Services
said today that it assigned its 'AAAm' principal stability fund rating to ING
(L) Liquid - Euro Government Liquidity Fund, a Luxembourg-based,
euro-denominated, money market fund managed by ING Investment Management
Belgium S.A. (ING IM) in Brussels.
The Euro Government is a subfund of ING (L) Liquid, a Luxembourg-based
Société d'investissement à Capital Variable, which is authorized under part 1
of the Luxembourg law of Dec. 20, 2002, and qualifies as an EU undertaking for
collective investment in transferable securities.
The recent launch of the subfund is in response to increased investor
appetite for money market funds that invest solely in government securities.
The ING (L) Liquid - Euro Government Liquidity Fund is the first Standard &
Poor's 'AAAm' rated government fund, sponsored by ING IM, Brussels. The ING
(L) Liquid - Euro Government Liquidity Fund expands the money market theme of
products offered by ING IM, which includes the following Standard & Poor's
'AAAm' rated funds:
-- ING (L) Liquid – EUR
-- ING (L) Liquid – USD
The subfund is distinguished by its high credit quality, low market risk,
and liquidity. The subfund's investments consist of European Government
securities rated at least 'AA-' by Standard & Poor's held directly or through
repurchase agreements, with counterparties carrying a Standard & Poor's
short-term rating of at least 'A-1' or the equivalent. All investments are
denominated in euros and the portfolio will maintain a weighted average
maturity of no more than 60 days at all times to enhance liquidity and
diminish sensitivity to interest rate risk.
The fund's investment advisor, ING IM is a global asset manager with
assets of more than €387 billion under management. ING IM's Brussels-based
money-market team, which manages €10 billion in money-market assets, is
responsible for the fund.
Standard & Poor's principal stability fund ratings, identifiable by the
'm' suffix, are assigned to funds or pools that exhibit stable net-asset
values. Those funds rated 'AAAm' exhibit a superior ability to limit exposure
to loss, and maintain a constant or rising net-asset value per share at all
times. Standard & Poor's reviews pertinent fund information and portfolio
reports on a weekly basis as part of its surveillance process.
Ratings information is available to subscribers of RatingsDirect, the
real-time Web-based source for Standard & Poor's credit ratings, research, and
risk analysis, at www.ratingsdirect.com. It can also be found on Standard &
Poor's public Web site at www.standardandpoors.com; select your preferred
country or region, then Ratings in the left navigation bar, followed by Credit
Ratings Search. Alternatively, call one of the following Standard & Poor's
numbers: Client Support Europe (44) 20-7176-7176; London Press Office (44)
20-7176-3605; Paris (33) 1-4420-6708; Frankfurt (49) 69-33-999-225; Stockholm
(46) 8-440-5914; or Moscow (7) 495-783-4017.
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