OREANDA-NEWS. April 3, 2008. Management company Finam Management, which is part of Finam Investment Holding, hereby announces the results achieved in managing close-ended mutual funds in March and the first quarter of 2008. During this period, close-ended mutual funds delivered improvements in NAV and fund unit figures. In the face of a falling market these funds turned out to be efficient capital saving instruments.

The highest returns in March were achieved by real estate mutual fund Finam – Capital Investments, whose NAV and fund units spiked 6.54% in March, up 7.7% in the quarter and 24.2% over the past six months. At the same time, in the January-March quarter the RTS Index declined 10% and since last September it has corrected down roughly 1%. The value of Finam – Capital Investments fund units grew primarily following a spike in the value of the assets it owns, specifically, agricultural lands in Russia's southern regions.

"The slump on the Russian equity market is mainly driven by conditions on external markets. Land assets are exposed to these conditions to a certain extent. They represent a stable and strong instrument growing in value against the backdrop of rising demand for food in Russia and worldwide. What's more, agricultural lands generate profits from lease of around 15-20%" – director of Finam Management's real estate department Alexey Garyunov said.

Venture investments fund Finam – Information Technologies reported a 3.82% increase in the value of fund units and NAV in March. In the first quarter of 2008 its fund units returned 3.72%. "Currently, Finam – Information Technologies assets are valued quite conservatively. Given the expansion of Russia's Internet business and rising earnings of the companies in which the close-ended mutual fund holds shares and stakes, we expect fund units rise sharply by the end of the year, providing investors with handsome returns on their capital" – general director of Finam Management Andrey Shulga said.

In his opinion, in terms of investment appeal close-ended mutual funds are approaching open-ended mutual funds as their fund units trade on exchanges. Specifically, Finam Investment Holding is carrying out a program aimed at maintaining the liquidity of its mutual funds on MICEX. Investors holding their fund units can sell at any time these assets at a price close to that determined by the management company.