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Hong Kong - Barclays, one of the world’s major financial institutions and a leading provider of retail structured products in Europe, has launched its latest retail fund in Hong Kong with exposure to different asset classes managed or owned by a number of investment legends.  

Barclays’ Investment Legends Fund is an open-ended fund that aims to provide a unique opportunity to achieve capital growth by investing in diversified asset classes under the management of such world renowned investment legends as Warren Buffett, Jim Rogers, Bill Gross, Mark Mobius, Ian Cumming and BlackRock, Inc.

Within the Investment Legends portfolio, investors are able to capture the potential capital growth in different asset classes in which the Fund invests, composed of Equities (40%), Commodities (40%) and Bonds (20%). The strategic asset allocation provides relatively stable returns under different market conditions.

Initial Investment Legends Portfolio at fund launch:

Equities 40%	Company / Assets	Weighting %
	Berkshire Hathaway Inc.	10%
	BlackRock, Inc.	10%
	Leucadia National Corporation	10%
	Templeton Emerging Markets Fund	10%
Commodities 40%	Rogers International Commodity Index™ - Total Return	40%
Fixed Income 20%	PIMCO Total Return Bond Fund	20%
	Total	100%

The Fund is an innovative investment which provides one-stop investment solutions to a portfolio of stocks, funds and indices. The Fund will also invest into institutional of mutual funds and shares which are more cost efficient.

With the unique quarterly rebalancing mechanism, the Investment Legends portfolio will be adjusted every quarter to its initial weighting. This may help to reduce volatility of the overall portfolio in the long run.

Backed by a historical track record, the selected Equities, Commodities and Fixed Income underlyings in the Investment Legends portfolio have achieved an average annualized returns (5 years) of 29.2%, 21.2% and 5.2% respectively. The underlyings remain strong in the face of the sub-prime crisis started in 2007, they have achieved positive return since 2007 in volatile market conditions.

Commenting on the launch of the Fund, Wendy Kwan, Barclays Capital's Director of Investor Solutions Retail Hong Kong said, “The Investment Legends Fund is a unique retail fund in Hong Kongto provide exposure to different asset classes managed or owned by world-class investment legends. This Fund aims to derive value from a balanced portfolio of Equity, Commodity and Fixed Income which have track records, and enables us to share the performance andinvestment insights of these world renowned investment gurus.”

The Fund will be distributed in Hong KongthroughABN Amro, Citic Ka Wah Bank, Dah Sing Bank, DBS, Fubon Bank, KGI, Mevas Bank, Standard Chartered Bank, Shanghai Commercial Bank, Sun Hung Kai FinancialandThe Bank of East Asia.

Barclays Capital is a recognised global leader in structured products and derivatives, having been named in the Risk magazine awards Structured Products House of the Year 2007, Inflation Derivatives House of the Year in 2006 & 2007, and Currency and Commodities Derivatives House of the Year in 2006.  Regionally, Barclays Capital was named Structured Products House of the Year 2007 in the Structured Products magazine, Currency Derivatives House of the Year 2006 by AsiaRisk magazine, and in The Asset Asian Awards won Best Currency Derivatives House & Best Commodity-Linked Structured Product in 2006.

-ENDS-

For further information please contact:

Clare Williams, Barclays Capital Communications Tel: +852 2903 2298

Angie Tang, Barclays Capital Communications Tel: +852 2903 2305

Notes to editors:

About Barclays PLC

Barclays is a major global financial services provider engaged in retail and commercial banking, credit cards, investment banking, wealth management and investment management services with an extensive international presence in Europe, the USA, Africa and Asia. It is one of the largest financial services companies in the world by market capitalisation.  With over 300 years of history and expertise in banking, Barclays operates in more than 50 countries and employs 134,000 people. Barclays moves, lends, invests and protects money for over 27 million customers and clients worldwide. For further information about Barclays, please visit our website www.barclays.com.

About Barclays Capital

Barclays Capital is the investment banking division of Barclays Bank PLC which has an AA long-term credit rating and a balance sheet of over £1.2 trillion. With a distinctive business model, Barclays Capital provides large corporate, government and institutional clients with solutions to their financing and risk management needs.  Barclays Capital has offices in 29 countries, employs over 16,200 people and has the global reach and distribution power to meet the needs of issuers and investors worldwide.

For further information about Barclays Capital, please visit our website www.barclayscapital.com.

Barclays Capital - the investment banking division of Barclays Bank PLC. Registered in England 1026167. Registered office 1 Churchill Place, London, E14 5HP, United Kingdom. Authorised and regulated by the Financial Services Authority and a member of the London Stock Exchange.