STATE STREET RESEARCH INTRODUCES SPANISH 401(k) MATERIALS

The new Supplemental Income 401(k) Plan kit contains enrollment materials, an education guide, retirement calculator, and mutual fund fact sheets and prospectuses translated into Spanish. An enrollment video in Spanish is also available to union members interested in participating in the program. The Supplemental Income 401(k) Plan, for which State Street Research has managed money since January 1999, is the largest multi-union, collectively bargained Taft-Hartley 401(k) Plan in the country and offers simple, systematic pre-tax savings through payroll deductions. The State Street Research Adviser Retirement 401(k) kit is also available in Spanish and contains an education guide and getting started guide among its core materials.

"There is a great demand for the translated materials on behalf of Hispanic-American participants and interested prospects investing for retirement," said Kevin Wilkins, Executive Vice President, Head of Retail Marketing and Client Service Group. "Our brokers estimate that 35% of eligible participants speak Spanish as a first language and our sales force continues to receive a growing number of inquiries. This interest reinforces our research that shows a greater need exists for Spanish-language financial educational information."

Retirement planning information and investment assistance represent just a few of the programs that State Street Research is adding to bridge the language gap for investors living in the U.S. whose primary language is not English. In 1998, State Street Research introduced Chinese investment information and quickly followed it up with Spanish materials in 1999. In February 2000, the firm added one of the first truly bilingual financial services Web sites at www.ssrfunds.com/spanish that allows Spanish users to move back and forth between English and Spanish with ease. Investors can also take advantage of State Street Research's dedicated toll-free telephone number at 1-888-638-3191 to speak to a representative in Spanish about their investment questions and needs.

State Street Research & Management Company, with a money management history dating back to 1924, is one of the nation's first investment management organizations. The Boston-based firm is a subsidiary of MetLife. As of October 31, 2000, State Street Research managed $54 billion in assets, of which $34 billion represented institutional clients and $20 billion represented mutual fund and variable annuity portfolios. The firm is managing money for 10 of the 12 largest U.S. corporate pension plans, union programs, and public employee pension plans; mutual funds for over 530,000 shareholder accounts; and individually managed accounts for affluent investors. The firm's Web site address is www.ssrfunds.com.