Cohen & Steers Seeking Alternatives to Auction Market Preferreds

NEW YORK, March 14  /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Cohen & Steers announced today that it is actively seeking alternative financing for eight of its closed-end funds that have issued auction market preferred securities (AMPS). "We are very sensitive to the liquidity issues facing our funds' preferred shareholders," said Robert Steers, Cohen & Steers co-chairman and co-chief executive officer, "and we are evaluating potential solutions to this industry-wide situation."

Cohen & Steers' senior management is working with all major industry participants-commercial banks and broker/dealers, among others-to evaluate ways to provide liquidity at par value to its AMPS holders. The firm is arranging lines of credit for its funds and is evaluating other alternatives, such as commercial paper and new forms of preferred stock that will replace the existing AMPS. The goal is to redeem the funds' AMPS as soon as possible, although the timing is uncertain.

Steers said further that the firm is working closely with the funds' board of directors to address the situation and find the best long-term solution for the funds-one that balances the interests of common and preferred shareholders. Investors and financial advisors are encouraged to visit Cohen & Steers' Web site (cohenandsteers.com), where it has posted an AMPS report and updates AMPS rates weekly.

About Cohen & Steers

Cohen & Steers is a manager of high-income equity portfolios specializing in U.S. REITs, international real estate securities, preferred securities, utilities and large cap value stocks. Headquartered in New York City, with offices in Brussels, Hong Kong, London and Seattle, the company serves individual and institutional investors through a wide range of open-end mutual funds, closed-end mutual funds and institutional separate accounts.

Forward Looking Statements

This press release and other statements that Cohen & Steers may make may contain forward-looking statements within the meaning of Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933 and Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, which reflect the company's current views with respect to, among other things, its operations and financial performance. You can identify these forward- looking statements by the use of words such as "outlook," "believes," "expects," "potential," "continues," "may," "will," "should," "seeks," "approximately," "predicts," "intends," "plans," "estimates," "anticipates" or the negative versions of these words or other comparable words. Such forward- looking statements are subject to various risks and uncertainties.

Accordingly, there are or will be important factors that could cause actual outcomes or results to differ materially from those indicated in these statements. The company believes that these factors include, but are not limited to, those described in the "Risk Factors" section of the company's Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2006, which is accessible on the Securities and Exchange Commission's website at sec.gov and on the company's Web site at cohenandsteers.com. These factors should not be construed as exhaustive and should be read in conjunction with the other cautionary statements that are included in this release. The company undertakes no obligation to publicly update or review any forward-looking statement, whether as a result of new information, future developments or otherwise. 

DATASOURCE: Cohen & Steers



CONTACT:  John McCombe of Cohen & Steers, Inc., [phone]



Web site:  http://www.cohenandsteers.com/ 

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