Payden & Rygel Launches Global Equity Fund;
New fund uses top-down strategy, optimizing changing global market leadership

Los Angeles, April 9, 2008 – Payden & Rygel, the Los Angeles-based global asset manager, announced today that it has launched the Payden Global Equity Fund (PYGEX). The fund offers an approach different from the bottom-up stock picking that is common to most equity mutual funds. Instead, the new fund employs a top-down process focusing on active selection of countries, sectors and currencies and also includes a 130/30 strategy.

"It’s a very interesting time in global markets and one in which investors will be best rewarded for making the right country and sector allocations,” said Chris Orndorff, managing principal and head of equity strategy at Payden & Rygel. “We believe that country and industry play the most significant role in the determination of global equity returns.”

The new fund follows an investment process similar to the firm’s long-standing global equity separate account strategy, which has been available to institutional investors since 1997. This top-down approach to global investing begins with evaluating the outlook for each country, sector and currency and then allocating investments to the best opportunities. The fund also incorporates short-selling as part of the overall investment strategy to capture additional sources of return. For securities identified as overvalued or poised for underperformance, the fund may hold short positions equal in value up to approximately 30% of the fund’s assets. In that case, long positions of up to 130% of the funds assets will be held in securities poised for outperformance, resulting in a net position of full market exposure.

Jay Wong, who serves as co-manager of the fund with Orndorff, commented, "Sectors are in fact global and artificially constraining them by geography to a US or non-US mandate sacrifices returns for investors. In our new fund, we analyze industry themes globally, providing a holistic overview of the available opportunities."

With offices in Los Angeles, London, Dublin Frankfurt and Hong Kong, Payden & Rygel’s research capabilities and history as a global manager are key benefits for the fund. The analysis of sectors on a global basis, according to Orndorff, gives the firm a clearer understanding of the “ever-changing opportunities in global markets and industries.” The new Payden Global Equity Fund can be used as a complement to a domestic equity fund portfolio or as an alternative to global portfolios that emphasize bottom-up, fundamental stock picking. Payden & Rygel currently manages more than $7 billion in global equity and global fixed income portfolios.

For more information about the fund or to see a prospectus, visit payden.com. Journalists may contact DAI Communications with inquires: Angela Dailey, Los Angeles: (714) 921-8449 or dailey@daicommunications.com; Annette Bronkesh, New York: (973) 778-8648 or annettec@att.net. For Payden & Rygel public relations, contact Kim Tipton at ktipton@payden-rygel.com or call (213) 625-1900.

About Payden & Rygel
Payden & Rygel (payden.com) is one of the largest global independent investment managers in the US, with more than $55 billion in assets under management. Since 1983, the firm has advised corporations, foundations, endowments, pension plans, public funds and individual investors on their overall investment strategies. Payden & Rygel offers a full array of investment strategies, including US and global fixed-income and equity, as well as leading edge absolute-return strategies. Headquartered in Los Angeles with offices in London, Dublin, Frankfurt and Hong Kong, Payden & Rygel is adviser to the Paydenfunds family of US-based mutual funds and to the firm’s Irish-domiciled funds.