STATE STREET RESEARCH'S NEW MUTUAL FUND STATEMENTS EARN DALBAR COMMUNICATIONS SEAL
BOSTON, MA, December 21, 2000-State Street Research is pleased to announcethat its newly designed quarterly mutual fund summary has earned the DALBARCommunications Seal.DALBAR formally recognized the new statement for achieving a standard ofexcellence in the financial services industry, noting that it issignificantly better than the average mutual fund statement. The improvedversion now ranks 10th in the list of mutual fund statements rated byDalbar, a significant leap from its previous rank of 64th.
DALBAR, Inc., a Boston-based firm with offices in the United States andCanada, has a long history of creating an awareness of excellence in thefinancial industry by evaluating, rating and ranking industry efforts.
Prominently featured on the first page of the statement is importantportfolio information such as account value, additions and change in value.Other notable features include a bar graph which tracks the value ofinvestments over time; an allocation overview which includes definitions offund objectives; and a historical fund performance chart detailing short-and long-term performance for the funds in the portfolio. Investors willstart receiving the new statements in January 2001.
"We are excited that DALBAR has recognized State Street Research forproviding its investors with one of the most comprehensive statements in theindustry," said Kevin Wilkins, Executive Vice President, Head of RetailMarketing and Client Services Group. "While investors are using theInternet more frequently for their financial and investment information,they still prefer to have a tangible, hard copy version of their statement.
They also want personalized information and specific to funds in theirportfolio. We believe that this new statement answers the sophisticatedneeds of our clients."
"We are delighted to announce that the State Street Research Mutual Fundstatement has achieved the DALBAR Communications Seal," said Lou Harvey,President, DALBAR, Inc. "The State Street Research statement excels in itsorderly presentation of the answers investors need most, 'How much money doI have?' combined with a comprehensive review of the investor's portfolio.State Street Research has taken a bold step into the ranks of industryleaders with its new mutual fund statement."
State Street Research & Management Company, with a money management historydating back to 1924, is one of the nation's first investment managementorganizations. The Boston-based firm is a subsidiary of MetLife. As ofOctober 31, 2000, State Street Research managed $54 billion in assets, ofwhich $34 billion represented institutional clients and $20 billionrepresented mutual fund and variable annuity portfolios. The firm ismanaging money for 10 of the 12 largest U.S. corporate pension plans, unionprograms, and public employee pension plans; mutual funds for over 530,000shareholder accounts; and individually managed accounts for affluentinvestors. The firm's Web site address is www.ssrfunds.com.
# # #
The DALBAR awards recognize quality shareholder service and should not beconsidered a rating of fund performance. The survey included mutual fundcomplexes that volunteered or were otherwise selected to participate and wasnot industry-wide.
