ZUG, Switzerland/EWORLDWIRE/Aug. 12, 2008 --- Gardner Finance AG (Gardner), announced that it has made several new natural resources hedge fund focused Indexes available today joining the existing Gardner Energy MacroIndex(R) (GEMI(R)) in the Gardner MacroIndex(R) family. These new hedge fund indexes have been hypothetically calculated by Gardner since January, 2007, and checked for their robustness over that period. Gardner created the MacroIndex Product Family to provide investors with full multi-strategy exposure to all asset classes in a single industry sector. The new MacroIndexes target:
. Broader commodities (Gardner Commodity MacroIndex - GCMI)
. Agriculture and Livestock (Gardner Agriculture Livestock MacroIndex(R) - GALMI(R))
. Minerals and Metals (Gardner Minerals Metals MacroIndex(R) - GMMI(R))
. Environmental (Gardner Green MacroIndex(R) - GGMI(R))
. Electricity Trading (Gardner Power MacroIndex(R) - GPMI(R))
. Freight and Transportation (Gardner Shipping MacroIndex(R) - GSMI(R))
The Gardner MacroIndex family is designed to provide a macro view on various natural resource markets by looking at the performance of carefully selected and rated underlying best in class hedge funds in the chosen sector and to act as a hypothetical benchmark for investors. The index components are selected by Gardner using defined and objective rating criteria and the Index value is calculated monthly using pre-formulated index calculation rules. The existing Gardner Energy MacroIndex now has more than a three-year track record. More information on the Gardner MacroIndex® family can be found at 'http://www.macroindex.com'.
"Investor interest in commodities is at an all-time high," said Michael Laznicka, Gardner's CEO, "and the MacroIndex family, by uniquely referencing hedge funds in various sectors of the natural resources and commodities space, affords investors an alternative view of prospective returns from this asset class."
About Gardner Finance AG
Gardner Finance has a sound history of providing an innovative platform for financial solutions that cover a wide range of investment industry products in the commodity trading, public/private equity and public/private debt markets. Gardner Finance AG focuses on and is a recognized specialist in the natural resources investment sector where it employs its extensive knowledge of commodity investment products in the energy, agriculture, metals and materials sub-sectors.
Gardner created its MacroIndex Product Family to provide investors with full access to all asset classes and strategies in a single industry sector. Gardner launched its first MacroIndex, GEMI, over three years ago in cooperation with Credit Suisse in Switzerland as a first mover in the industry. That index remains unique in the market and no other active hedge fund performance index with such a strategy of composition currently exists.
To learn more about Gardner Finance AG and products, visit the Web site at 'http://www.gardner.ch'.
The Gardner MacroIndex Family Fact Sheet
The Gardner Energy MacroIndex (GEMI)
GEMI is a global investable, multi-strategy, sector hedge fund index that provides a macro view and enables broad exposure into the entire value chain and all sectors of international energy markets. Its performance reflects the performance of a group of established and emerging energy hedge fund managers who were selected based on objective criteria arranged in a proprietary selection matrix constituting between 35 and 50 components in the index at any given time.
In a comprehensive study of different industry benchmarks, the GEMI was found to have a positive alpha with respect to all of the used benchmark combinations. This suggests that investors who invest in the stock market and hedge fund benchmarks would greatly benefit from exposure in GEMI.
The Gardner Commodity MacroIndex (GCMI)
The Gardner Commodity MacroIndex is made up of hedge funds that engage in direct investments such as equities, bonds, structured finance deals, futures and other derivative products in the commodity sector. The index currently has 32 hedge funds as index components. The goal of the index is to provide a benchmark which measures the capitalization of the opportunities in the commodity sector.
Historical Net Performance data:
2008 YTD through June +10.90%
2007 +16.55%
The Gardner Agriculture Livestock MacroIndex (GALMI)
The Gardner Agriculture Livestock MacroIndex is an active hedge fund index made up of investment products that engage in direct investments such as equities, bonds, futures and other derivative products in the agriculture and livestock sector. The index currently has 12 funds as index components. The goal of the index is to provide a benchmark which measures the capitalization of the opportunities in the agriculture and livestock sector.
Historical Net Performance data:
2008 YTD through June +7.12%
2007 +15.56%
The Gardner Minerals Metals MacroIndex (GMMI)
The Gardner Minerals Metals MacroIndex is made up of hedge funds that engage in direct investments such as equities, bonds, structured finance deals, futures and other derivative products in the minerals and metals sector. The index currently has 11 hedge funds as index components. The goal of the index is to provide a benchmark which measures the capitalization of the opportunities in the minerals and metals sector.
Historical Net Performance data:
2008 YTD through June +6.41%
2007 +10.22%
The Gardner Green MacroIndex (GGMI)
The Gardner Green MacroIndex is made up of investment products that engage in direct investments such as equities, bonds, trade finance, futures and other derivative products in the green sector. The index currently has 8 funds as index components. The goal of the index is to provide a benchmark which measures the capitalization of the opportunities in the green sector.
Historical Net Performance data:
2008 YTD through June -3.82%
2007 +34.69%
The Gardner Shipping MacroIndex (GSMI)
The Gardner Shipping MacroIndex is made up of hedge funds that engage in direct investments such as futures and other derivatives, equities, bonds and physical deals in the shipping sector. The index currently has 6 hedge funds as index components. The goal of the index is to provide a benchmark which measures the capitalization of the opportunities in the shipping sector.
Historical Net Performance data:
2008 YTD through June +3.22%
2007 +22.2%
The Gardner Power MacroIndex (GPMI)
The Gardner Power MacroIndex is made up of hedge funds that engage in direct investments such as futures, other derivatives and equities (to a lesser extent) in the power sector. The index currently has 8 hedge funds as index components. The goal of the index is to provide a benchmark which measures the capitalization of the opportunities in the power sector.
Historical Net Performance data:
2008 YTD through June +6.55%
2007 +21.20%
For more information on the Gardner MacroIndex family, please visit 'http://www.macroindex.com'.
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