ING Clarion Partners Enters Defined Contribution Marketplace with Private Real Estate Investment Products; Douglas DuMond Joins Firm to Lead Effort

NEW YORK, February 9, 2009 – ING Clarion Partners LLC, a leading real estate investment advisor, is entering the defined contribution (DC) retirement marketplace with a new family of real estate funds that give plan sponsors access to private real estate investments, it was announced today.  Douglas L. DuMond has joined the firm as Managing Director and Head of Defined Contribution and Retail Business to lead the new initiative.

 ING Clarion Partners is one of the country’s largest managers of institutional real estate assets. The firm plans to launch a commingled fund of funds that will be available to ERISA-qualified defined contribution plan sponsors and managed asset allocation programs.  The underlying funds will invest in direct properties including office, retail, multi-family residential and industrial.  ING Clarion noted that, historically, private real estate has offered attractive risk-adjusted returns with generally low correlation to the public equity and fixed-income markets.

 “Defined contribution plans are the fastest-growing segment of the retirement market with over $3 trillion in assets,” stated Stephen J. Furnary, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer at ING Clarion.  “In the past, plan sponsors and participants have had few opportunities to invest in private real estate.  Our new fund of funds product provides a simple, straightforward vehicle for accessing this asset class.”
 
 “Defined benefit (DB) plan sponsors have long been major investors in real estate, with allocations that have typically accounted for five to 10 percent of overall portfolio holdings,” DuMond said. “As DC plans continue to more closely resemble the DB market, we think there will be substantial interest in a private real estate product on the part of both plan sponsors, consultants and multi asset programs such as target date funs. I look forward to working with the research and portfolio management teams to introduce our products to this exciting new marketplace.”

DuMond comes to ING Clarion Partners from BlackRock, where he was a Managing Director and head of that firm’s U.S. defined contribution business.  He has held a number of senior positions in the financial services industry and, throughout his career, has focused on developing and providing services to the defined contribution marketplace. 
 
 “Doug adds significant experience in the defined contribution world to our firm,” said Furnary.  “We are delighted to welcome him aboard to help guide the firm’s entry into this important marketplace.”
DuMond holds both a BS and an MBA from the University of Connecticut. He will be based in the firm’s New York office.
 
Contact: Mike MacMillan
MacMillan Communications, (212) 473-4442, mike@macmillancom.com

About ING Clarion
Founded in 1982, ING Clarion and its affiliates manage almost $50 billion in assets in the private equity, public equity, and public debt sectors of the real estate markets. The ING Clarion organization has nearly 500 associates located in major markets throughout the United States.
 
The firm is the U.S. investment management arm of ING Real Estate, a global real estate company active in investment management, development and finance. With a total business portfolio approaching $180 billion and offices in 22 countries in Europe, the Americas, Asia and Australia, ING Real Estate ranks among the world's strongest real estate companies.

ING Real Estate is part of ING Group, a global financial institution of Dutch origin offering banking, insurance and asset management to over 75 million private, corporate and institutional clients in more than 50 countries.

More information about the firm is available at www.ingclarion.com.