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The 3rd Hedge Fund Conference organised by Borsa Italiana in collaboration with the International Association of Financial Engineers (IAFE), which includes several Nobel prize winners and top level representatives of the international financial community, took place in Milan today.

Always following closely the financial markets evolution and main trends, Borsa Italiana has meant to provide a unique opportunity with a one-day intensive education and information session on hedge funds where major worldwide players will take the floor and be available for meetings.

The conference main sponsor is Goldman Sachs in association with Banca Akros, Caboto, UBS Giubergia Warburg, Hedge Invest SGR, Kairos Alternative Investment SGR, Morgan Stanley and the legal firm Loiacono.

"IAFE partnership confirms the worldwide importance and interest of this event - now at its third edition - even for markets such as the United States, which has always been a leader and in the forefront in this sector," said Raffaele Jerusalmi, Executive Director of Borsa Italiana Markets. "An excellent opportunity to enhance investors' knowledge and make the well-developed world of hedge funds user-friendly as for the last two years it has been successfully gaining ground in Italy as well."

The on-shore hedge fund industry birth is an important milestone in the evolution of the Italian financial market: in fact, hedge funds are among the greatest liquidity providers especially when financial crises occur. Their management style often gears them to counter the trend, providing greater stability to trading volumes and a better price formation, in particular, in difficult market situations.

Milan, 5 June 2003