For immediate release
20 September 2005

Jupiter Emerging European Opportunities celebrates third birthday

Jupiter Emerging European Opportunities is celebrating its third anniversary with an impressive 230% return since its launch on 23 September 2002. This return, which is significantly ahead of the 172% posted by the Nomura Central and Eastern Europe index, places the fund first out of 21 funds in the IMA Global Emerging Markets sector and second out of the universe of 2115 UK authorised investment funds*.

The Fund, managed by Elena Shaftan and Ingrid Kukuljan has benefited from two major themes over the past three years - the convergence process spurred by EU accession of Central European countries and the strong economic recovery in Russia.

Kukuljan believes that since becoming part of the EU the risk profile of Central Europe has diminished considerably given that legislation and regulations have been harmonised with the EU which has led to an improvement in corporate governance. "These factors, combined with structural growth drivers, such as cheap and skilled labour, low taxes and higher consumption, are resulting in increasingly stable economies and, strong profit growth. These countries should not be classified as emerging markets anymore yet they are still trading at a discount to their Western counterparts."

Although political concerns have dominated in Russia over the last couple of years, Shaftan says the economic backdrop has improved. She said: "The economy has been in very good shape, aided by the high oil price and responsible government policies that have resulted in a current account and budget surpluses. Economic growth has been in excess of 6%, driven not only by energy exports but also by the domestic consumer, with retail sales growing by 12%. In addition, the market remains cheap trading on around eight times earnings.

Over the past year the Fund's performance has been helped by two themes: retail banking and oil and gas sector.

Kukuljan said: "Average mortgage penetration in Central Europe is 6% against 40% for Europe as a whole and with competition pressures in retail banking still low and interest rates falling, the prospects remain positive. Banks are still good value: given their high Return on Equity and high visibility of earnings growth."

Russia has, over the past year, been a major beneficiary of the strong oil price. Shaftan said: "Growth in oil production and better cost control also contributed to improvement in profit margins for oil companies such as Lukoil. On the other hand, Central European refiners, unlike the majority of their Western European counterparts, have the ability to refine the heavy oil that Russia produces and are profiting from a substantial discount between the Russian Urals oil and Brent oil price, as well as the environment of high refining margins."

Investors in Eastern Europe are also benefiting from the development of the region's stock markets. Shaftan said: "The investment universe is much broader now than three years ago. There have been a large number of IPOs both in Central Europe and Russia enabling investors to get access to more sectors of the economies. Investors can also look forward to the development of new markets, such as the Ukraine, Kazakhstan and Romania. Overall, the outlook for the region remains extremely positive over the long term"

The Fund, which now has assets of £340m, continues to attract support from leading independent advisers. Mark Dampier of Hargreaves Lansdown, an independent financial adviser, said: "The Fund seemed a bit esoteric at its launch but has become increasingly mainstream as these economies have developed. Elena Shaftan and Ingrid Kukuljan have established themselves as two of the best investors in this region and, with plenty of growth opportunities going forward, we remain major supporters of this Fund."

-ENDS-

Notes to Editors:
*Source Standard & Poor's. All figures bid to bid calculated from 23 September 2002 to 19 September 2005

Jupiter Unit Trust Managers Limited (JUTM) and Jupiter Asset Management (JAM) are both subsidiaries of Commerzbank AG one of Germany's leading banks. Both JUTM and JAM are authorised and regulated by the Financial Services Authority and their registered address is 1 Grosvenor Place, London SW1X 7JJ. The group is collectively known as "Jupiter". No opinion expressed should be interpreted as investment advice. Past performance should not be considered as a guide to future performance.

The Jupiter Emerging European Opportunities Fund is considered more suitable for experienced investors with diversified assets who are able to appreciate the specific risks associated with the less developed nature of the markets being invested in.