Break out the champagne, Fifth Third Asset Management has reason to celebrate Its mutual fund complex, Fifth Third Funds, produced investment performance results competitive with their benchmarks for the first quarter. With all the volatility, out there they feel this is a great achievement.

Fifth Third Asset Management, Inc. (FTAM) is proud to announce that its mutual fund complex, Fifth Third Funds produced investment performance results competitive with their benchmarks for the first quarter. FTAM supports and markets mutual funds that cover a broad array of investment strategies -- growth, value, core, quantitative and fixed income.

"The capital markets have been volatile so far this year and we are proud of our returns. Our performance speaks to the strength of FTAM's investment strategies and the talent of our portfolio managers," said E. Keith Wirtz, FTAM's President and Chief Investment Officer. "In addition to the strong performance results, some of our funds have received upgraded appraisals from outside evaluators. The experience of our team members and their disciplined approach has enabled us to produce competitive results in different market environments."

The Fifth Third Multi Cap Value Fund (MXEIX) has retained its Five-Star Overall Rating from Morningstar as of March 31, 2007. Peter M. Klein, CFA and James R. Kirk, CFA manage the Fifth Third Multi Cap Value Fund. Co-managed by Mitch Stapley, CFA and Mirko Mikelic, the Fifth Third U.S. Government Bond Fund (FGSIX) also earned a Five-Star Overall Rating from Morningstar. Morningstar awarded a Four-Star Overall Rating to the Fifth Third Municipal Bond Fund (KNTIX), the Fifth Third International Equity Fund (FSIEX.lw), the Fifth Third Disciplined Large Cap Value Fund (FEINX), the Fifth Third Micro Cap Value Fund (MXAIX), and the Fifth Third Strategic Income Fund (MXIIX).

Mirko Mikelic, Co-Manager of the Fifth Third U.S. Government Bond Fund notes, "For the past three years we have out-performed our benchmark assignment, the Lehman Brothers Intermediate Government Bond Index(R). We attribute our success to our process that is particularly focused on identifying attractive relative values. This leads us to emphasis on sector exposure and security selection over other factors like interest rate timing."

FTAM is an investment adviser under the Investment Advisors Act of 1940. FTAM is a diversified asset management firm providing investment advisory services to institutional investors, private accounts, and mutual funds offering value, growth, core, and quantitative equity strategies as well as short-term, intermediate, and core fixed income strategies. Through teams of experienced and knowledgeable investment professionals, advanced research resources and a disciplined approach, FTAM's goal is to produce superior, long-term investment results and client satisfaction.

FTAM is headquartered in Cincinnati, Ohio with offices in Grand Rapids, Michigan; Cleveland, Ohio; Minneapolis, Minnesota; Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania; and New York, New York. As of March 31, 2007 FTAM had over $21.6 billion in assets under management.

Past performance does not guarantee future results.

An investor should consider the fund's investment objectives, risks, and charges and expenses carefully before investing or sending money. This and other important information about the investment company can be found in the fund's prospectus. To obtain a prospectus, call 1-800-282-5706 or visit http://www.fifththirdfunds.com/. Please read the prospectus carefully before investing.

The Multi Cap Value Fund received a 5-star rating for overall performance for Institutional Shares as of 3/31/07. The fund received 4 stars for a 3- year period and 5 stars for a 5-year period among 1100 and 829 funds, respectively, in the Morningstar Large Value Funds category. A 10-year period Morningstar Rating for this fund is not available.

The U.S. Government Bond Fund received a 5 star overall rating for Institutional Shares as of 3/31/07 among 168 Short Government Funds. The fund received 4 stars for a 3-year period and 5 stars for a 5-year period among 168 and 147 funds, respectively, in the Morningstar Short Government Funds category. A 10-year period Morningstar Rating for this fund is not available.

The Municipal Bond Fund Institutional Shares received a 4-star rating for overall performance, 4 stars for 3-year performance among 233 Municipal National Intermediate Funds, 4 stars for 5-year performance among 198 Municipal National Intermediate Funds, and 4 stars for 10-year performance among 123 Municipal National Intermediate Funds.

The International Equity Fund, A Shares LW, received a 4-star rating for overall performance, 3 stars for 3-year performance among 546 funds, 3 stars for 5-year performance among 446 funds, and 4 stars for 10-year performance among 191 Foreign Large Blend Funds.

The Disciplined Large Cap Value Fund Institutional Shares received a 4- star rating for overall performance, 4 stars for 3-year performance among 1100 Large Value Funds, and 4 stars for 5-year performance among 829 Large Value Funds. For the 10-year period ending 3/31/07, the Morningstar Rating is not available.

The Micro Cap Value Fund Institutional Shares received a 4-star rating for overall performance, 2 stars for 3-year performance among 310 Small Value Funds, and 5 stars for 5-year performance among 238 Small Value Funds. For the 10-year period ending 3/31/07, the Morningstar Rating is not available.

The Strategic Income Fund Institutional Shares received a 4-star rating for overall performance, 3 stars for 3-year performance among 364 Conservative Allocation Funds, and 4 stars for 5-year performance among 185 Conservative Allocation Funds. For the 10-year period ending 3/31/07, the Morningstar Rating is not available.

Stocks have historically provided greater return potential than other investments over the long term, but may be subject to wide swings in value over shorter time periods.

The Fifth Third Funds are distributed by Fifth Third Funds Distributor, Inc., which is not affiliated with Fifth Third Bank. Fifth Third Asset Management, Inc. serves as Investment Adviser to Fifth Third Funds and receives a fee for its services.

For each fund with at least a 3-year history, Morningstar calculates a Morningstar Rating based on a Morningstar Risk-Adjusted Return measure that accounts for variation in a fund's monthly performance (including the effects of sales charges, loads, and redemption fees), placing more emphasis on downward variations and rewarding consistent performance. The top 10% of funds in each category receive 5 stars, the next 22.5% receive 4 stars, the next 35% receive 3 stars, the next 22.5% receive 2 stars and the bottom 10% receive 1 star. (Each share class is counted as a fraction of one fund within this scale and is rated separately, which may cause slight variations in the distribution percentages.) The Overall Morningstar Rating for a fund is derived from a weighted average of the performance figures associated with its 3-, 5- and 10- year (if applicable) Morningstar Rating metrics.

NOT FDIC INSURED - NO BANK GUARANTEE - MAY LOSE VALUE

Source: Fifth Third Bancorp

Edited by: Erin Kello

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