Security Trust Focuses on Providing Stability to Customers

PHOENIX, AZ, November 25, 2003 -- Security Trust Company, N.A., (STC) announced today it will continue to cooperate with all authorities to achieve an orderly dissolution of the company by March 31, 2004. The company is focused on continuing to provide stable services to the retirement plans and other assets under its administration.

"Since our arrival in October, the new management team has been working to remedy the wrongdoing and to shore up STC's business for the sake of our customers and employees," said Thomas E. Plumb, STC's new president and CEO. "Our mutual fund and TPA partners should take comfort in the fact we have stabilized STC so we can transfer their business to another entity that will be able to sustain the services they require."

The key findings of STC's own independent investigation commissioned by its Audit Committee matched in large part those coming to light today, especially that the wrongdoing was directed by a set of individuals no longer with the company.

"There were things that happened at the old STC that should not have. They have been stopped and will not happen again," said Mr. Plumb. "The people who directed those activities are no longer with the company and have been replaced with serious, ethical, and experienced executives who are capable of carrying out this orderly dissolution.

"Working with our regulators, the new management has brought in a new culture, new policies and procedures, and new efficiencies that have stabilized STC's core business that serves nearly a million retirement plan investors. We can now conduct the safe transfer of the retirement plans with as little disruption as possible."

STC's Board and new management have been committed to rectifying the situation and ensuring it does not recur from the moment the allegations came to light in the form of inquiries aimed at STC's former management. STC has fully and openly cooperated with all authorities in this matter, even turning over the preliminary results of the independent review commissioned by its Audit Committee.

By the end of October—less than 60 days after the Canary filing - STC already had brought in new management, ceased questionable business practices, engaged KPMG to conduct an intensive review and assessment of STC's compliance programs, and put into force a number of controls working with the OCC. STC no longer has or will accept any new relationships with hedge funds and has welcomed OCC scrutiny of its operations.

STC's new management and the more than one hundred honest and hard-working STC employees are committed to sustaining the company's operations in order to complete the necessary transfers of customers' accounts in an orderly process.

Security Trust Company, N.A. (http://www.securitytrustco.com) is an independent trust company, providing institutional back-office trust services to financial service providers - including brokers, investment advisors, money managers, and record-keepers/third-party administrators (TPAs) - and their customers.

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