ING Raises $345 Million in IPO for Global Advantage Fund With Index Call Option Strategy

ING today announced the launch of the ING Global Advantage and Premium Opportunity Fund (the "Fund"), a closed-end fund that invests in a portfolio of global common stocks combined with an index call option strategy. The Fund begins trading on the New York Stock Exchange today under the ticker "IGA."

ING Global Advantage and Premium Opportunity Fund raised $345 million in an offering, where Merrill Lynch, Pierce, Fenner & Smith Inc. acted as sole bookrunner and co-lead manager, and Citigroup Global Markets Inc., UBS Securities LLC and A.G. Edwards acted as co-lead managers.

The Fund's primary investment objective is to provide an attractive level of income. Capital appreciation is the Fund's secondary investment objective. The Fund seeks to achieve its investment objectives by investing in a portfolio of global common stocks coupled with an integrated options writing strategy. Under normal market conditions, the Fund will invest in common stocks of companies located in a number of different countries around the world, normally in approximately 550 common stocks that make up the Standard & Poor's 500 Stock Index ("S&P 500") and the Morgan Stanley Capital International Equity Index ("MSCI EAFE"). The Fund will typically seek to be broadly diversified across countries, asset classes and industries. Under normal market conditions, the Fund will seek to maintain a target weighting of the Fund's equity portfolio being 60% in U.S. domestic common stocks and not less than 40% in international (ex-U.S.) common stocks.

The Fund will also seek to generate gains from option premiums through an index call option strategy. The Fund's principal options activity will consist of writing index call options on selected indices on 60-100% of portfolio assets. The Fund seeks to generate gains from the index call option strategy and to a lesser extent, from dividends on the common stocks held in the Fund's portfolio.

"More and more financial advisors and investors are seeking to diversify their portfolios through international investing," said Bob Boulware, president and chief executive officer, ING Funds Distributor. "The ING Global Advantage Premium Opportunity Fund is another way for investors to have exposure to many key world markets and industries while also taking advantage of the extensive money management resources that ING has worldwide."

The Fund is managed by ING Investments LLC and draws upon a variety of experienced global investment professionals at ING Investment Management Co., the Fund's sub-adviser, which is part of ING Investment Management.

ABOUT ING FUNDS

ING Funds is a premier provider of domestic, international and global retail mutual funds, designed to help meet the needs of every investor. ING Funds also offers a number of closed-end funds. ING Funds are available through investment professionals and, employer-sponsored retirement plans, life insurance and annuities.

ING Funds has earned the reputation as a world-class fund manager. In February 2005, ING was named the fourth best global fund manager by Barron's (Annual Fund Family Review, Barron's, Feb. 7, 2005). ING Funds partners with ING Investment Management to create and deliver innovative and world class investment products. Both ING Funds and ING Investment Management fall under the global ING Groep umbrella.

As of June 30, 2005, ING Investments, LLC managed over $39.2 billion in assets.

ABOUT ING

ING is a global financial institution offering banking, insurance and asset management to over 60 million private, corporate and institutional clients in more than 50 countries. With a diverse workforce of over 113,000 people, ING comprises a broad spectrum of prominent companies that increasingly serve their clients under the ING brand.

In the U.S., ING offers a comprehensive array of financial services to retail and institutional clients which include life insurance, retirement plans, mutual funds, managed accounts, alternative investments, direct banking, institutional investment management, annuities, employee benefits, financial planning, and reinsurance. ING holds top-tier rankings in key U.S. markets and serves over 14 million customers across the nation.

  For more information, visit www.ing.com

  ABOUT CLOSED-END FUNDS

Closed-end funds like the Fund do not continuously offer shares for sale and are not required to buy shares back from investors upon request. Shares of closed-end funds trade on national stock exchanges and, like other securities, share prices will fluctuate with market conditions and at the time of sale may be worth more or less than the original investment.

Please consider the investment objectives and policies, risk considerations, charges and expenses of the Fund carefully before investing. For a prospectus which contains this and other information relevant to an investment in the Fund, please contact ING Investments, LLC at 7337 East Doubletree Ranch Road, Scottsdale, AZ 85258 or (800) 992-0180. Please read the prospectus carefully before investing.

  Press inquiries:
  Christina Divigard, ING US Financial Services, (860) 723-2293 or
  christina.divigard@us.ing.com

SOURCE: ING Funds

CONTACT: Christina Divigard of ING US Financial Services,
+1-860-723-2293, or christina.divigard@us.ing.com

Web site: http://www.ing.com/us
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