Alpha Hedged Strategies Fund Ranked #1 in Morningstar's Conservative Allocation Category Out of 367 Funds for the One-Year Period Ending 12/31/04 (Based on Total Return)* WHITE PLAINS, N.Y., Jan. 4 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Alternative Investment Partners, LLC (AIP http://www.aipfunds.com/ ) is pleased to announce the 2004 performance for their Alpha Hedged Strategies Fund (NASDAQ:ALPHX). The Alpha Hedged Strategies Fund is an innovative open-end mutual fund designed to minimize equity market exposure and volatility by employing a variety of absolute return strategies. The Fund represents the next generation of product for hedged alternative strategies investing, and is open to all investors. The Alpha Hedged Strategies Fund delivered strong performance in 2004. The Fund was up 17.23% for the past year, and the annualized return from inception on 9/23/02 through 12/31/04 was 7.72%. Performance data quoted represents past performance and does not guarantee future results. The investment return and principal value of an investment will fluctuate so that an investor's shares, when redeemed, may be worth more or less than their original cost. Fund performance current to the most recent month-end may be lower or higher than the performance quoted and may be obtained by visiting http://www.aipfunds.com/. The fund imposes a 2.00% redemption fee for shares redeemed less than 180 calendar days after they are purchased. According to Morningstar, the Alpha Hedged Strategies Fund beat the #2 fund in the Conservative Allocation category by 3.11% in 2004. There are 367 mutual funds monitored in the Conservative Allocation category. Morningstar rankings are based on total return. Total return identifies the return of the Fund taking into consideration changes in the net asset value, accumulation and reinvestment of dividends and the compounding factor over time. "Investors are increasingly searching for alternatives to funds that have significant exposure to the equity markets" said Lee Schultheis, Chief Investment Strategist and co-founder of AIP and the Alpha Hedged Strategies Fund. "As a fully open-end mutual fund that allocates its assets among multiple specialized hedge fund managers (the Fund's sub-advisers), Alpha Hedged Strategies Fund represents a compelling opportunity for mutual fund investors, and an attractive alternative to traditional hedge fund-of-funds for many high net worth individuals and financial intermediaries. The Fund seeks to attain more consistently positive annual returns, with lower market exposure risk and volatility, than if it utilized a single manager or single strategy approach." As a multi-strategy fund, it is important to note that performance was positive in 2004 across a broad range of alternative strategies, including Distressed Securities, Earnings Revision Long/Short Equity, Momentum Long/Short Equity, Merger Arbitrage and Convertible Bond Arbitrage." Due to its unique positioning, and favorable performance, the Fund has been extremely well received by the registered investment advisor community, and we have even made inroads in the 401(k) plan marketplace and with selected bank trust departments," Mr. Schultheis noted. "Looking forward to 2005, we are planning to expand into the regional broker/dealer channel, and increase the breadth and depth of our relationships in our existing markets. As the success and stature of the AIP brand grows, we also anticipate rolling out additional fund products to provide our clients with a broad array of risk adjusted return oriented alternative products." About the Alpha Hedged Strategies Fund The Alpha Hedged Strategies Fund (ALPHX) is an open-end mutual fund that invests its portfolio in a manner similar to a conservative hedge fund-of-funds. The fund employs a multi-manager approach to a variety of hedged alternative investment styles, but with a liquid portfolio of its own securities, using the limited amounts of leverage and short-selling allowable in open-end mutual funds. The Alpha Hedged Strategies Fund utilizes the talents of highly specialized hedge fund managers, as sub-advisers to the Fund, in executing their alternative investment strategies. The Fund offers the portfolio diversification benefits that institutions, pension funds, endowments & foundations, and high-net worth individuals have become accustomed to in hedge funds. The Fund combines these portfolio attributes with the daily pricing, liquidity, and other shareholder features commonly associated with open-end mutual funds. As such, the Fund is uniquely positioned to provide its shareholders with portfolio diversification that goes well beyond the traditional asset classes of stocks, bonds and cash. For more information on the Alpha Hedged Strategies Fund please visit http://www.aipfunds.com/ or call 1-866-Low-Beta (569-2382). Fund Disclosure The fund's investment objectives, risks, charges and expenses must be considered carefully before investing. The prospectus contains this and other important information about the investment company, and it may be obtained by calling 1-877-Low-Beta (569-2382), or visiting http://www.aipfunds.com/. Read it carefully before investing. Certain hedging techniques and leverage employed in the management of the Fund may accelerate the velocity of possible losses. Short selling involves the risk of potentially unlimited increase in the market value of the security sold short, which could result in potentially unlimited loss for the Fund. Derivatives involve investment exposure that may exceed the original cost and a small investment in derivatives could have a large potential impact on the performance of the Fund. Options held in the Fund may be illiquid and the fund manager may have difficulty closing out a position. The Fund may also invest in: -- smaller capitalized companies -- subject to more abrupt or erratic market movements than larger, more established companies; -- foreign securities, which involve currency risk, different accounting standards and are subject to political instability; -- securities limited to resale to qualified institutional investors, which can affect their degree of liquidity; -- shares of other investment companies that invest in securities and styles similar to the Fund, resulting in a generally higher investment cost than from investing directly in the underlying shares of these funds. The Fund intends to utilize these individual securities and hedging techniques in matched combinations that are designed to neutralize or offset the individual risks of employing these techniques separately. Some of these matched strategies include: merger arbitrage, long/short equity, convertible bond arbitrage and fixed-income arbitrage. There is no assurance that these strategies will protect against losses. * Morningstar defines Conservative Allocation as: a fund that invests in both stocks and bonds and maintains a relatively small position in stocks. These funds typically have 20-50% of their assets in stocks and 50-80% of assets in bonds and cash. Mutual fund investing involves risk; loss of principal is possible. Please consult an investment professional for advice regarding your particular circumstances. Quasar Distributors, LLC, Distributor - 1/05 Contact: Jennifer Connelly JC Public Relations 908-813-2478 This press release was distributed by PRWEB ( http://www.prwebdirect.com/ ), a service of eMediawire. DATASOURCE: Alternative Investment Partners, LLC CONTACT: Jennifer Connelly of JC Public Relations, +1-908-813-2478, for Alternative Investment Partners, LLC Web site: http://www.aipfunds.com/

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