A month and a half after reopening two of its funds, Salt Lake City-based Wasatch Advisors announced plans to once again close them to new investors. The Wasatch Micro Cap Value Fund and the Wasatch International Opportunities Fund will close on June 30. The funds were reopened on May 1.

According to Wasatch, assets in the Micro Cap Value Fund have ballooned 32 percent to $125 million since the reopening, and assets in the International Opportunities Fund have grown nearly 9 percent to $51 million.

John Malooly, who runs the Micro Cap Value Fund, said Wasatch is "comfortable at our new asset level."

Added Blake Walker, portfolio manager of the International Opportunities Fund. "Wasatch errs on the conservative side of closing funds early to protect our shareholders, and this feels like the right time to now close the fund."

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Company Press Release

SALT LAKE CITY--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Wasatch Advisors today announced that it will close the Wasatch Micro Cap Value Fund and the Wasatch International Opportunities Fund to new investors on June 30, 2008. These two funds were recently re-opened to all investors on May 1, 2008.

Since the funds re-opened last month, the assets of the Wasatch Micro Cap Value Fund have grown 32% and the International Opportunities Fund assets have grown almost 9%. Total assets under management in these two funds are now $125MM and $51MM respectively. Both funds are intentionally kept small to protect the investment strategies and agility within this universe of tiny companies.

John Malooly, Portfolio Manager of the Micro Cap Value Fund since its inception, said, “The recent market provided us with a nice investment opportunity, and we’re glad that we could open this opportunity up to all interested investors. We received a good response to our re-opening and are comfortable at our new asset level.”

Said Blake Walker, Portfolio Manager of the International Opportunities Fund since its inception, “This felt like a good market entry point for new investors into the Fund. We were pleased with the number of investors who chose to take advantage of our re-opening during this softer market. Wasatch errs on the conservative side of closing funds early to protect our shareholders, and this feels like the right time to now close the fund.”

Wasatch carefully monitors mutual fund assets in order to protect the integrity of its investment process and objectives for each Fund. The Micro Cap Value Fund and International Opportunities Fund will close to new shareholders on June 30, but they will remain open to existing shareholders to make it easier for these shareholders to manage their investment portfolios. With these two closings, 11 of Wasatch’s 14 funds will be open to all investors.

About Wasatch Advisors

Wasatch Advisors, Inc. is an employee-owned investment adviser registered with the Securities and Exchange Commission under the Investment Advisers Act of 1940. Wasatch Advisors is the investment manager to Wasatch Funds®, a family of no-load mutual funds, as well as separately managed institutional and individual portfolios. Wasatch Advisors pursues a disciplined approach to investing, focused on bottom-up, fundamental analysis to develop a deep understanding of the investment potential of individual companies. The Portfolio Managers employ a uniquely collaborative multiple eyes™ process to leverage the knowledge and skill of the entire Wasatch Advisors research team in making investment decisions. Wasatch Advisors was founded in 1975 and is headquartered in Salt Lake City, Utah.

Investing in small and micro cap funds will be more volatile and loss of principal could be greater than investing in large cap or more diversified funds. Investing in foreign securities entails special risks, such as currency fluctuations and political uncertainties, which are described in more detail in the prospectus.

An investor should consider investment objectives, risks, charges and expenses carefully before investing. To obtain a prospectus, containing this and other information, visit www.wasatchfunds.com or call 800.551.1700. Please read it carefully before investing.

Eric Huefner is a registered representative of ALPS Distributors, Inc. Wasatch Funds are distributed by ALPS Distributors, Inc. 

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