ING is consolidating the activities of its Canadian mutual fund subsidiaries into ING Funds.

Currently, ING Direct Funds Limited (ING Direct Funds) offers a family of three funds directly to the public while ING Investment Management, Inc. (ING Investment Management) offers a family of eighteen funds through financial advisors and discount brokers. The ING Funds will be available through all methods of distribution.

Management of the current ING Direct Funds family will be assumed by ING Investment Management, who will also become the portfolio advisor.

ING Direct Funds and ING Investment Management will merge the ING Direct American Fund into the ING U.S. Equity Fund to avoid the duplication of funds with similar investment objectives. The merger will entail the acquisition of the assets of the ING Direct American Fund at fair market value in exchange for units of the ING U.S. Equity Fund, which will be distributed to the unitholders of the ING Direct American Fund. The management fee respecting the merged ING U.S. Equity Fund will be 2.25% per annum.

General Trust of Canada will act as the trustee of the ING Funds, Royal Trust Company will assume custody of the assets and Ernst and Young LLP will become the auditors. The current declarations of trust will also be amended as required.

The ING DIRECT Canadian Fund will be renamed the ING Canadian Balanced Fund, the ING DIRECT Global Brand Names Fund will be renamed ING Global Brand Names Fund and the ING DIRECT American Fund will be merged into the ING U.S. Equity Fund.

ING Direct Funds and ING Investment Management will seek the required unitholder approvals for this new initiative at meetings to be held in October 2001. Unitholders will receive detailed information and all applicable voting materials in due course. The transactions are also subject to any necessary regulatory approvals.

ING Direct Funds currently offers three funds directly to the public in Ontario and B.C. on a no- loads basis. After the combination of the two fund families ING Direct Funds will be able to offer the twenty ING Funds directly to its clients.

ING Investment Management currently offers the ING Advisor Funds, a diversified family of eighteen mutual funds designed specifically for Canadian investors available through financial advisors. ING Investment Management provides investors with leading edge asset management and the disciplined investment expertise of a network of portfolio managers and analysts spanning the globe.

ING Direct Funds and ING Investment Management are members of Amsterdam-based ING Group, one of the world's largest providers of integrated financial services including banking, asset management and insurance with operations in 65 countries and more than 100,000 employees.

For further information, please contact:

For ING Direct Funds:
Annette Borger
Director, Communications
ING Direct Funds Limited
(416) 758-5246

For ING Advisor Funds:
Doug Paul
Managing Director
ING Investment Management, Inc.
(416) 440-8154
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