The Hermitage Fund is the world's leading public equity fund dedicated to Russia. The superior performance based on five-year returns makes the Hermitage Fund number one in the world among all other emerging markets funds and among all international equity investment mandates.

The Hermitage Fund's objective is to achieve superior capital gains for its investors by investing in equity or equity-related securities and other instruments of companies incorporated in Russia and countries of the former Soviet Union.

The Hermitage Fund is the largest Russia-dedicated fund in terms of assets. The Fund's investors include a wide range of international financial institutions, corporations, insurance companies, pension funds, public endowments, investment advisers, family groups and high net worth individuals based in the U.S., Europe and Asia.

Since its inception in April 1996 the Hermitage Fund has been investing in Russia. The Fund was started by William Browder in partnership with the late Edmond Safra. Since then, the Hermitage Fund has become one of the best-performing emerging markets equity funds. It ranks consistently as one of the best-performing Russia-dedicated funds by major international fund rating agencies, including Lipper and Micropal. Most recently, the Hermitage Fund received the 2005 EuroHedge Award naming it the "Fund of the Year" in the Emerging Markets Equities category. In relative terms the Hermitage Fund has consistently outperformed the MSCI Russia index on a cumulative return basis since inception. The Fund also significantly outpaces its benchmark the CSFB ROS Index. (See Performance).

The key to the successful performance of the Hermitage Fund are credibility, track record and investment focus. The Hermitage Fund is managed by Hermitage Capital Management being the Investment Adviser and HSBC, one of the largest banking and financial services organizations in the world, as the Fund Manager. The Hermitage Fund's management is built on values of ethics and integrity, active shareholder stance, and rigorous research. Most of the Fund's investment professionals are based in Moscow and have a vast experience and specialized knowledge in managing investments in Russia.

The unrivaled combination of the fund manager experience and index-beating track record, unique local insight into Russian equities, and relentless efforts to increase the value of the companies the Fund invests in makes the Hermitage Fund the fund of choice for leading international investors throughout the world.