Press Release

Active Management Now Available for Small and Mid-sized 401k Portfolios

LITTLETON, CO, December 16, 2002 -- Until recently only the wealthy were afforded professional, active management of their 401k portfolios, leaving the majority of Americans to assume the burden and risk of making their own investment choices. Now Schield Management Company is offering another option in the form of its Retirement Solutions Strategy, featuring professional, active, independent, and third party management of small and mid-sized 401k plans.

Schield is one of four registered investment advisors to offer this type of active professional third-party management of 401k portfolios via Nationwide The Best of America® Group Pension Series Program. With more than 30 years of experience, Schield Management Company manages more than $600 million for over 10,000 client accounts in hundreds of mutual fund and variable annuity families.

Schield's Retirement Solutions offers unbiased, professional, active management within qualified pension and profit sharing plans at the participant's level. The plan not only delivers a dynamic portfolio to 401k participants, but also has the added benefit of potentially reducing employer liability.

Solving Participants' Concerns

SMC's Retirement Solutions aims to resolve one of the chief concerns of retirement plan participants: which funds to select within their 401k plan. The Company applies its expertise in asset allocation and quantitative analysis strategy on a daily basis to determine the best investment portfolio positions for participants, allowing them to optimize returns and possibly reduce the risk of market downturns.

The need for this type of professional, active management of 401k portfolios is clear. Despite a plethora of published and Web-based information on the subject of retirement planning, few people understand how to build a portfolio based upon their retirement goals, risk tolerance, and how much longer they'll be working.

In addition to mastering the science of portfolio diversification, retirement plan participants must factor in other uncertainties such as the economy, inflation, market fluctuations and potential government actions on health care, Social Security and taxes.

Not surprisingly, Americans are overwhelmed. The third annual Quicken Fiscal Literacy Survey released earlier this year shows that nearly one in three (31%) investors are not monitoring their investment portfolios in order to avoid distress over short-term fluctuations. An additional 25% have not changed their investment monitoring behavior since the end of the bull market.

Schield's Retirement Solutions are designed to reduce that anxiety with the goal of capital appreciation through capital preservation. The Company's investment methodology monitors each investment position and key domestic and international equity and bond indicators on a daily basis. These indicators impact the investment objective of the portfolio's total equity and/or bond position. The participant's portfolio can then be adjusted as needed to reflect market conditions and meet the participant's investment goals.

Schield uses nine individual models to customize participants' portfolios according to risk tolerance, time horizon, financial assets and continuing economic and market factors. The Company then applies its experience in quantitative analysis to a universe of more than 300 retail mutual funds from over 50 fund families to determine a participant's portfolio position, based on the above factors. In April 2003 the universe of funds available is expected to expand to nearly 1,000, providing participants virtually unlimited diversification opportunities.

All accounts are held in the participant's name with Nationwide Financial acting as the transfer agent and custodian. Participants appoint Schield to establish a discretionary advisory account with them, thereby authorizing Schield to move participants' assets between selected funds in response to market signals. The current fee for this service is a flat 1.50% of the participant's account balance. There is no minimum account size, truly allowing professional active management to all plan participants.

Benefits to Participants

• Enjoy the benefits of an independent, active, professionally managed portfolio -- a service previously reserved for the wealthy.
• Eliminates confusion over fund allocations
• Customized portfolios designed to maintain a disciplined investment strategy
• Daily monitoring of each investment position and key domestic and international equity and bond indicators
• Voluntary option -- paid directly out of the participant's account in arrears.

Benefits to Plan Sponsors

• No cost to the plan
• Portfolio management expertise
• Enrollment assistance
• Sophisticated management and reporting software
• State-of-the-art Web-based technology
• Website with customized log-in area
• State-of-the-art encryption techniques
• Marketing and sales support
• Available to all participants

Schield's Retirement Solutions also address the question of liability for Plan Sponsors since recently passed legislation implies that using federally Registered Investment Advisors, such as Schield Management Company, may reduce employer liability. Section 405 of ERISA limits the liability of certain plan fiduciaries if management of plan assets has been properly delegated to an investment manager.

Latest Technology for Daily Monitoring

A critical, core component of Schield Management Company is the use of comprehensive, state-of-the-art technologies to establish the most secure, reliable and management online base available. SMC's dynamic check point firewalls and dynamic proxy servers use exceptional encryption techniques designed specifically to safeguard otherwise carefully authenticated online sessions. This allows everything from simple online sessions, such as account access, to internal systems services to be confidential and readily accessible.

Schield's Retirement Solutions is only available through the Nationwide Financial's Best of America® Group Pension Services Program. Enrollment is handled by Preferred Plan Administrators -- along with the plan's Financial Advisor. Schield also assists in the enrollment process at no cost to the sponsoring company.

About Nationwide Financial

Nationwide Financial offers The Best of America® Group Pension Series to private sector, small, medium and large businesses, government entities, non-profit organizations and educational institutions through the investment-dealer community, preferred pension administrators, Nationwide retirement specialists, financial institutions and national and regional brokerage firms. Nationwide Financial retirement plan products and services are customized to meet the individual needs of specific organizations.

About Schield Management Co.

Since 1972, Schield Management Company of Littleton, Colo. has provided investment management services as a Registered Investment Advisor. Schield believes that through a disciplined investment strategy of capital appreciation through capital preservation, an investor can achieve above average returns with below average risk over time. Through the discipline of Quantitative Analysis, Schield Management Company analytically monitors, on a daily basis, mutual funds and variable annuities. The goal of identifying the strongest funds within the strongest asset groups and, using its time-tested investment strategies, strives to place its clients in the right funds at the right time. For more information, see the company web site at www.schield.com .

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