"

Montrusco Bolton is one of Canada's oldest institutional money managers
and a leader in alternative investments in Canada. Any such statements are
based on current expectations and involve a number of risks and
uncertainties.

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Speakers at the conference will address timely industry concerns,
including client reporting and transparency, developments in risk management,
opportunities in distressed and event-driven strategies and the hedge fund
outlook for 2005. partnered to offer multi-manager, multi-
strategy funds to sophisticated institutional and private investors , in Canada
and France.

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The conference by invitation only and is aimed at
institutional investors in Canada, and provides attendees with an intimate
view of the Montrusco Bolton / Focus Investment Group unique partnership,
experience and approach to managing absolute return portfolios.

Business Editors

BOSTON----State Street Corporation
(NYSE: STT), the world's leading provider of services to institutional
investors, released today the results of its institutional investor
hedge fund survey. However, investors also differ
greatly on the preferred way to invest in this asset class . The largest
increase will come from public and government pension plans, the
survey found. For more information,
visit State Street's web site at www.

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Business Editors

PLAINSBORO , N.

investing brody

MONTREAL, Montrusco Bolton Investments Inc. "We
are excited to discuss current industry concerns and outlook for the year
ahead across various strategies.
The results of the survey show that a majority of institutional
investors intend to add to hedge fund holdings in their portfolios
over the next three years as they strive for better risk-adjusted
returns and broader diversification .

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"Currently in its fourth year, our Alternative Investments Conference
provides a unique, informal opportunity for our investors and prospects to
gain direct access to our investment team and underlying managers," said Frank
Belvedere, Vice President, Alternative Investments for Montrusco Bolton.

State Street Survey of Institutional Investors Finds Hedge Fund Investing Will Continue to Rise; Study Also Shows Differing Views on Best Way to Invest in the

Investors who began investing in the
asset class over the last year (7 percent of survey participants),
said they preferred only funds of hedge funds.

Merrill Lynch Investment Managers Completes Successful Closed-End Fund Offering; Innovative structure offers investors enhanced income in a 'muddle through' ma

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In 2001, Focus Investment Group and
Montrusco Bolton Investments, Inc."
More than half of the survey respondents said they prefer
investing directly in hedge funds, rather than funds of hedge funds or
investable hedge fund indices .
For the key survey findings, please contact
publicrelations@statestreet.
Merrill Lynch (NYSE: MER) is one of the world's leading financial
management and advisory companies with offices in 36 countries and
total client assets of approximately $1.

These are money management firms primarily engaged in day-to-day management for individual separate accounts, mutual funds, pensions, and other institutions.

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State Street Global Advisors, State Street's
investment management arm, also provides institutional investors with
an array of hedge fund and fund-of-funds strategies. At the
time , 16 percent said they were not invested in hedge funds, but all
plan to have some allocation to the asset class by 2007.5 trillion in assets under custody and $1. State
Street encourages investors to review its annual report and SEC
filings in conjunction with this announcement and prior to making any
investment decision.

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Assets in their joint products have reached $150 million and
could be double that amount by year-end, according to the firms. State Street conducted the survey late last year in
conjunction with the 2004 Global Absolute Return Congress (ARC).

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Survey respondents included global corporate, public and government
pension plans, and endowments and foundations with combined investable
assets totaling more than $1. The fund will
invest primarily in a diversified portfolio of dividend-paying common
stocks, as well as write call options on equity indexes in an effort
to produce gains from options premiums. The
team, including portfolio managers Jonathan Clark and Debra Jelilian,
is known for its institutional capabilities and currently manages more
than $53 billion for institutional clients in equity index and
enhanced equity index products.

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Focus Investment Group is
a global leader in fund of hedge funds, and manages over $1 billion US for a
variety of institutions worldwide."
State Street provides a complete set of servicing and management
solutions for alternative investments including recordkeeping, fund
accounting, valuation, risk management and regulatory reporting .4 trillion in assets
under management as of December 31, 2004, State Street operates in 25
countries and more than 100 markets worldwide. As an investment
bank, it is a leading global underwriter of debt and equity securities
and strategic advisor to corporations, governments, institutions, and
individuals worldwide.

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J.
Currently, MLIM offers 44 closed-end funds that trade on the NYSE,
representing approximately $23. For more
information on Merrill Lynch, please visit www.

underdog investing

"The findings of our survey also
support the trend that we have seen in which new entrants to the asset
class choose the fund of funds approach, while those with more
experience in this asset class continue to favor direct investing.

Enhanced Equity Yield Fund, which commenced trading on the NYSE on
May 3, is designed to provide investors with current income and gains,
with a secondary objective of capital appreciation. In addition, the fund will
offer to repurchase between 5% and 25% of its outstanding shares on an
annual basis, helping to mitigate discounts in the secondary market by
allowing shareholders to sell back their shares to the fund at net
asset value. Through Merrill Lynch Investment Managers, the
company is one of the world's largest managers of financial assets.

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com

This news release may contain forward-looking statements, as
defined by federal securities laws, including statements about the
financial outlook and business environment.----Merrill Lynch
Investment Managers (MLIM) announced today that the initial public
offering of common shares of Enhanced Equity Yield Fund, Inc.
"By using an active covered call options strategy combined with a
diversified portfolio of dividend-paying stocks - a portfolio
management strategy traditionally available only to institutional
investors - Enhanced Equity Yield Fund aims to provide an enhanced
return over time with a moderate level of volatility," added Brian
Fullerton, chief investment officer for MLIM in the Americas.

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Firmwide , assets under management total $479 billion.com

The price of shares of the Fund traded on the New York Stock
Exchange will fluctuate with market conditions and may be worth more
or less than their original offering price.

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Montrusco Bolton and Focus Announce Fourth Annual Absolute Return Hedge Fund Conference

"
Eugenio Verzili, Managing Director of Focus Investment Group, added, "In
today's investment environment, funds of funds offer an unparalleled
investment opportunity and angle on industry issues and trends. Those who have been
investing in hedge funds for a year or more said they prefer direct
investing with single managers, with a combination of single manager
and funds of funds as the second most popular approach, the survey
found.ml.

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of
Montreal, and Focus Investment Group of Bermuda, today announced their fourth
Annual Absolute Return Hedge Fund Conference to be held on June 2-3, in
Montebello, Quebec.
"Given the uncertainty of the world's financial markets, it's no
surprise that institutional investors are looking to hedge fund
strategies to maximize their portfolios' risk-adjusted performance,"
said Gary Enos, executive vice president and head of alternative
investment services for State Street.com
State Street Corporation (NYSE: STT ) is the world's leading
specialist in providing institutional investors with investment
servicing , investment management and investment research and trading.
"Given overall expectations for modest stock market returns in the
near term, equity investors are looking to enhance the yield in their
portfolios," said Frank Porcelli, chief operating officer for MLIM in
the Americas.

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statestreet .4 billion in assets. Shares of closed-end funds
often trade at a discount to their net asset value , but may also trade
at a premium.

structuring asset

Our annual
Alternative Investments Conference is an opportunity for us to observe these
trends first hand as our investors, underlying managers and the members of our
investment team come together to share their perspectives on the industry.

In
2002 , State Street acquired International Fund Services, a leading
provider of fund accounting and administration as well as trade
support and middle office services for alternative investment
portfolios, and today services more than $100 billion in alternative
investment assets. The forward-looking statements contained in this
news release speak only as of the date of release, March 16, 2005, and
the company does not undertake to revise those forward-looking
statements to reflect events after the date of this release.6 trillion.

Could be a significant special department in a traditional investment management firm, providing these services.

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2 trillion.
"Hedge fund investing is obviously here to stay," continued Enos. Important factors, including those mentioned in this
news release, that could cause actual results to differ materially are
set forth in the company's 2003 annual report and subsequent SEC
filings. This income coupled with qualified dividend
income can provide investors with a portion of income at a tax
advantaged rate.

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A certain portion of
the fund's income from options transactions may be treated as
long-term capital gains.

Managers routinely utilizing one or more of the major socially responsible investing strategies.

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(NYSE:
EEF) raised gross proceeds of approximately $425 million , assuming
full exercise of the underwriters' overallotment option, which may not
occur.

trillium diversification

According to the State Street survey, one-third of institutional
investors responding to the survey have at least 10 percent of their
portfolios invested in hedge funds today, while half intend to have 10
percent or more invested in alternative strategies by 2007.
"As institutional investors become increasingly more familiar with
hedge funds, it is important that we, as service providers, have the
right solutions in place to meet this demand.
With $9.

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They include risks and uncertainties relating to the pace at
which State Street adds new clients or at which existing clients use
additional services, the value of global and regional financial
markets, and the dynamics of the markets State Street serves.
In addition to providing attractive quarterly income and capital
appreciation potential , the fund is designed to provide the
opportunity for tax advantaged qualified income.

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The Fund is managed by MLIM's quantitative investment team led by
portfolio manager Vincent Costa, who has over 18 years of investment
experience in index funds, enhanced index funds and hedge funds.