American Stock Exchange Lists First Trust Value Line(R) & Ibbotson Equity Allocation Fund NEW YORK, April 28 /PRNewswire/ -- The American Stock Exchange(R) (Amex(R)) and First Trust Advisors L.P. today announced the trading of common shares in a new closed-end fund, the First Trust Value Line(R) & Ibbotson Equity Allocation Fund (Symbol: FVI). The First Trust Value Line & Ibbotson Equity Allocation Fund is designed to provide investors capital appreciation. The Fund seeks to outperform the Standard & Poor's 500 Composite Stock Price Index by investing in a diversified portfolio of common stocks selected through the application of a disciplined investment strategy. "The American Stock Exchange is pleased to welcome the First Trust Value Line & Ibbotson Equity Allocation Fund, the fourth First Trust Advisors closed-end fund to list on Amex in the past two years," said Tom Rzepski, vice president of Amex's closed-end fund business. "We look forward to a long and collaborative relationship with First Trust Advisors in bringing new, innovative investment opportunities to the market." "First Trust Advisors has a long association with Value Line and its research," said Robert Carey, Chief Investment Officer of First Trust Advisors, "as well as with Ibbotson Associates. This Fund allows us to offer what we believe are the gold standards of Value Line's independent research with the asset allocation expertise of Ibbotson. First Trust Advisors will automatically rebalance the portfolio semi-annually, and will make periodic adjustments to the portfolio to reflect changes in Value Line's #1 and #2 rankings. We are pleased that our relationship with both these firms has allowed us to bring this unique product to the market." The fund is issuing six million common shares at an initial price of $20 per share, resulting in gross proceeds of $ 120 million (exclusive of the underwriters' over allotments). The lead book running manager of the underwriting syndicate is A.G. Edwards & Sons, Inc., and the specialist for the First Trust Value Line(R) & Ibbotson Equity Allocation Fund is LaBranche & Co., Inc. The American Stock Exchange currently lists 147 closed-end funds with over $24 billion in assets. For additional information on this fund or other Amex-listed closed-end funds, please call 1-800-THE-AMEX. About the American Stock Exchange The American Stock Exchange(R) (Amex(R)) is the only primary exchange that offers trading across a full range of equities, options and exchange traded funds (ETFs), including structured products and HOLDRS(SM). In addition to its role as a national equities market, the Amex is the pioneer of the ETF, responsible for bringing the first domestic product to market in 1993. Leading the industry in ETF listings, the Amex lists 138 ETFs. The Amex is also one of the largest options exchanges in the U.S., trading options on broad-based and sector indexes as well as domestic and foreign stocks. For more information, please visit http://www.amex.com/. About First Trust Advisors L.P. First Trust Advisors L.P., a registered investment adviser, is an Illinois limited partnership formed in 1991. First Trust Portfolios L.P., the largest independent unit investment trust sponsor in North America (by sales), is an affiliate of First Trust Advisors. First Trust Advisors serves as an investment adviser to separately managed accounts, insurance companies, profit-sharing plans, and charitable foundations and endowments. First Trust Advisors currently manages or supervises approximately $10.9 billion in assets. (As of 12/31/03) You should consider the Fund's investment objectives, risks, charges and expenses carefully before investing. Call 800-621-1675 to request a prospectus, which contains this and other information about the Fund. Read it carefully before you invest or send money. Like all investment company securities, the shares of the Fund are not insured by the FDIC or any other government agency, are not issued or guaranteed by any bank, and may lose value. "Value Line," "The Value Line Investment Survey," and The "Value Line Ranking Systems" are registered trademarks of Value Line Securities, Inc. or Value Line Publishing, Inc. that have been licensed to First Trust Advisors L.P. This product is not sponsored, recommended, sold or promoted by Value Line Publishing, Inc., Value Line, Inc. or Value Line Securities, Inc. First Trust Advisors L.P. is not affiliated with any Value Line company. References to Ibbotson Associates are made pursuant to a license obtained by First Trust Advisors L.P. DATASOURCE: American Stock Exchange CONTACT: Lynn Duffy of the American Stock Exchange, +1-212-306-1654, Web site: http://www.amex.com/

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