New Star tops equity income and specialist sectors in Citywire awards

• Paul Craig named UK Equity Income sector fund manager of the year
• Guy de Blonay named Specialist sector fund manager of the year
• Seven New Star managers ranked in top 100

The Citywire Top 100 Fund Manager of the Year awards have recognised the strength of New Star's fund management team across key sectors  and asset classes.

In the UK Equity Income sector, Paul Craig was named UK Equity Income manager of the year for his management of the New Star UK Strategic Income Unit Trust.

Guy de Blonay, manager of the New Star Global Financials Fund, was awarded top fund manager of the year in the Specialist sector.

In total, Citywire ranks New Star as having seven managers within its Top 100 in the industry. In addition to Paul Craig and Guy de Blonay, five other New Star managers demonstrated the skills required to qualify for Top 100 status.

Citywire based its judgements on risk-adjusted returns over 36 months to the end of December 2006.

Richard Wilson, UK retail marketing director at New Star, says:
"We are delighted that the strength of our fund management team has once again been recognised by the annual Citywire Top 100 fund manager awards. Our bond team is rightly seen as one of the strongest in the industry and to have both James Gledhill and Theo Zemek in the top dozen managers across the whole industry is a fantastic result.

"On the equities front, Richard Pease continues to deliver great figures with his European Growth Fund as does Guy de Blonay with his Global Financials Fund.

"Our talents at managing UK equities have not gone unnoticed either; Tim Steer and Jamie Allsopp have had another strong year and Paul Craig did particularly well to top the ultra-competitive UK Equity Income sector."

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For further information please contact:
Phil Wagstaff         New Star                     020 7225 6076
Ben Robinson        New Star                      020 7225 9294
Richard Wilson      New Star                      020 7225 9575
Denise Lyttle/        Polhill Communications  020 7655 0540
Karen Wagg

New Star notes to editors:

• The New Star Investment Funds website is www.newstaram.com.
• New Star was founded in June 2000 by John Duffield, previously the founder of Jupiter Asset Management, which he built into one of the most successful retail investment businesses in the UK. 
• New Star currently employs more than 340 people.

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