Invesmart's Retirement Portfolio Cost Barometer Declines to 57 BP

PITTSBURGH, PA, November 14, 2005 -- Invesmart, Inc., the national retirement financial services firm, has determined that 57 basis points (0.57%) or less represents a reasonable standard for the net investment management fees that a retirement plan participant should pay annually for an all-equity portfolio. This is a 9.5% fee decline from last November's guideline of 63 basis points. A 60/40 equity/fixed income portfolio should cost plan participants no more than 50 basis points, down from 55 basis points in November 2004.

Guidelines are determined by Invesmart's Retirement Portfolio Cost Barometer, which calculates the average cost of investment management for 64 best-of-breed institutional quality mutual funds.

"Our 'barometer' is showing that mutual fund firms are paring back on their investment management fees, a trend that benefits America's retirement plan participants," said Rob Rossi, VP & Director of Investment Research for Invesmart. "In fact, we noted a fee reduction year over year in every asset class we studied. While fees cannot decrease indefinitely; mutual fund companies have the ability to trim back operating expenses at the margin as mutual funds gain assets and realize larger economies of scale."

Invesmart's Retirement Portfolio Cost Barometer was launched in early 2004 to help plan sponsors and participants evaluate the competitiveness of the investment management fees being charged in their retirement plans.

Following is the average investment management fee, as determined by the Barometer, for each asset category for the current and prior years.

	Asset Class                                 Nov. '05       Nov. '04
	Large Cap U.S. Equity                         44 bps         48 bps
	Small/Mid Cap U.S. Equity                     88             95
	International Equity                          61             73
	U.S. Fixed Income                             40             44
	Cash Alternatives/                            29             45
	Ultra-short Term Bonds
	

In the interest of full fee disclosure, Invesmart recommends that sponsors urge their plan providers to separate investment management fees from servicing and marketing fees in mutual fund expense ratios. Service and marketing charges often embedded in expense ratios include finder's fees, 12b-1 fees, dealer concessions, shareholder servicing reimbursements and sub-transfer agent arrangements. Invesmart wants retirement plan sponsors and plan participants to request, review and question all of these fees.

Evaluating Investment Management Fees: The Retirement Portfolio Cost Barometer

To calculate the Retirement Portfolio Cost Barometer, Invesmart considered the investment management fees of 64 best-of-breed institutional quality mutual funds selected from a universe of approximately 2,400 funds representing 200 fund families. The investment management fees were calculated by netting from the fund expense ratio the revenue sharing for service and marketing available in the funds in the form of finder's fees, 12b-1 fees, dealer concessions, shareholder servicing reimbursements and sub-transfer agent arrangements. The 64 funds represent the range of investment style, managers and asset categories that allow a participant to build a well-diversified portfolio appropriate for investing retirement assets. Invesmart will continue to monitor mutual funds' investment management fees and update the Barometer at least twice annually.

Additional Retirement Portfolio Cost Barometer Methodology

The Retirement Portfolio Cost Barometer was constructed according to the following methodology:

1. The 64 best-of-breed funds were selected from a universe of approximately 2,400 mutual funds in 200 fund families appropriate for use in retirement plans.
2. The selection was based on an unbiased and independent institutional-quality investment research process taking into consideration: (a) level and consistency of historical performance, (b) current and historical portfolio characteristics, (c) consistency and specificity of style, (d) management team quality and security selection discipline.
3. The 64 selected mutual funds cover five core asset categories -- Large Cap U.S. Equity, Small/Mid Cap U.S. Equity, International Equity, U.S. Fixed Income, and Cash/Ultra Short-term Bond -- and allow for broad diversification between manager style (growth and value) and among managers and asset categories.
4. The mutual fund management fees were calculated by netting from the fund expense ratio the revenue sharing for servicing and marketing available in the funds in the form of finder's fees, 12b-1 fees, dealer concessions, shareholder servicing reimbursements and sub-transfer agent arrangements.
5. Within each portfolio, Equity was allocated as follows: 65% to Large Cap U.S. Equity, 20% to Small/Mid Cap U.S. Equity, and 15% to International Equity. Fixed Income was allocated as follows: 10% to High Yield Bonds Funds, 45% to Intermediate Term Government and Corporate Bond Funds and 45% to Short-term Government and Corporate Bond Funds.
6. The Barometer calculation supports a broad range of allocations among stocks, bonds and cash to cover the spectrum of participants' risk profiles.

About Invesmart

Invesmart, Inc. is a national full-service retirement financial services firm. Invesmart combines one-on-one, personalized service and technology to help financial service intermediaries advise companies of all sizes in establishing and administering retirement plans. Invesmart provides investment advisory services through Invesmart Advisors, Inc. and brokerage services through Invesmart Securities, LLC, member NASD. Invesmart, Invesmart Advisors and Invesmart Securities are wholly owned subsidiaries of Invesmart, Inc., a Delaware corporation. Invesmart Advisors' relationship as co-fiduciary to the plan and/or to the participant is governed by the terms and provisions of a contractual agreement executed by Invesmart Advisors and the plan sponsor or the participant. Invesmart, Inc. and/or its affiliates do not retain any fund-related reimbursements for any of its investment advisory programs and do not offer any proprietary investments. Invesmart represents 4,000 (Defined Contribution) retirement plans. Headquartered in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, the firm has 20 sales and service locations. Visit Invesmart's website at www.invesmart.com.

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