White Horse Advisors Partners With PlanTools to Provide 401k Risk Management System

EMERYVILLE, CA, October 27, 2004 -- PlanTools, LLC today welcomes White Horse Advisors, LLC as a distribution partner providing investment fiduciary support services for investment advisor, plan administrator and institutional clients. The PlanTools^TM Risk Management System will be used by White Horse to serve its retirement plan clients.

Based in Atlanta, GA, White Horse Advisors is a fee-based firm providing comprehensive retirement planning and financial consulting services that help plan sponsors with total cost analysis, investment policy management, fiduciary review, vendor search, and general financial education. The firm services more than 200 companies in a variety of industries, and it is affiliated with the Securian Financial Network.

"Given the changing regulatory climate, plan sponsors need an oversight system that is tailored to their individual needs," said Al Otto, founder and vice president of White Horse. "PlanTools^TM provides a powerful yet easy-to-use tool that allows plan sponsors to know they are meeting their fiduciary responsibilities."

As a PlanTools^TM distribution partner, White Horse will make that solution system available to selected investment advisors and plan administration professionals that serve sponsors of qualified retirement plans, including 401k, profit sharing and, in the future, defined benefit programs.

"The White Horse professionals are leaders in the retirement industry, and we are pleased to be working with them," added Bill Fleig, PlanTools’ general manager. "Our objective is to provide White Horse and its intermediary partners with technology-based service solutions that deliver superior reporting content with efficiencies. The goal is to help create efficiencies that drive advisor profitability."

White Horse will also have access to the institutional investment services of North Point Advisors, LLC, a national investment consulting and management firm that provides analytic and research services to the PlanTools platform. North Point’s partners, Cindy Hargadon and Adrian Anderson, have substantial experience in corporate and public fund retirement plan investment issues, having served as senior staff at the ICMA Retirement Corporation, the Washington, DC retirement system, the National Auto Dealers Retirement Trust and Watson Wyatt, as well as having supported numerous consulting clients through the years. North Point has offices in Emeryville, CA, Baltimore, MD and Westchester, NY.

The web-based PlanTools^TM platform helps sponsors of retirement plans that provide for employee direction of the investments. The program provides an investment policy statement and ongoing monitoring of funds for performance and notable management issues. Quarterly reporting of objective and subjective performance is provided in electronic form and includes recommendations for remedial action for consideration by the plan sponsor or plan committee. Fund selection assistance is also provided.

The PlanTools^TM Risk Management System consists of three core elements:

1. Investment Policy Statement (IPS) – Written operating document detailing plan investment operations, customized for each plan and its unique situation. This tool details the standards and criteria to be used in monitoring the client plan’s investment selections.
2. Fund Focus List – A list of funds available to the plan for consideration and use, analyzed and ranked based upon objective and subjective criteria, including issues related to corporate governance and management.
3. Integrated Quarterly Monitor Report (QMR) – System-generated report delivered quarterly, integrating the standards and criteria of the plan with the quarterly performance of the funds used by the plan.

This combined solution helps answer some key questions plan sponsors should ask and answer on a regular basis:

• "What do we know?" – What have our funds done this quarter and over time?
• "How are we doing?" – Did they meet or exceed our minimum requirements?
• "What should we do?" – Should we replace a fund that has not performed over time?
• "When should we take that action?" – How much time do we give the manager before action?

Plan sponsors, professionals or institutions interested in White Horse or PlanTools should contact Amy Anglin by email at amy.anglin@whitehorseadvisors.com or by phone at 678-322-3019.

About PlanTools, LLC

PlanTools, LLC is an SEC registered investment advisor and service organization that provides technology-based out sourced retirement plan risk management services, including co-fiduciary advisory support. Clients include financial institutions (banks, insurance companies, asset managers and securities brokers), their retirement plan clients and the professionals that serve them.

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