401kExchange.com Selected For The InfoWorld E-Business Top 100!

Business Wire, Oct 19, 2000

Business Editors/High Tech Writers

WEST PALM BEACH, Fla.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Oct. 19, 2000

401kExchange.com today announced that it had been tapped by InfoWorld Magazine as one of the Top 100 E-Business innovators in the US.

InfoWorld editors took a look at companies who are leading the charge innovating in e-business and selected the top 100 that include industry leaders like 401kExchange.com, Safeco, Wells Fargo and Travelocity.com

401kExchange.com is the only objective Web-based e-business Exchange that provides objective Service Provider ratings, research information, proposal and analytical services for the 401(k) industry aligning Financial Advisors, Broker Dealers and Employer-Plan Sponsors shopping for 401(k) plans with Service Providers who offer the plans.

"Naturally, we are very gratified that a prestigious publication like InfoWorld Magazine has selected our Exchange as an e-business innovator and proud to be associated with industry leaders like G E Capital Fleet, Charles Schwab and LandsEnd," said Chris Lynch, President of 401kExchange.com.

According to InfoWorld, it chose to focus its research study on e-business strategies for this year's "InfoWorld E-Business 100" understanding that the nature of e-business is very complex.

Their goal was to understand how technology and the Internet was being used to make a company's e-business successful and to communicate those findings so that others might learn how to better build their e-business strategy.

InfoWorld E-Business 100 companies were evaluated on their use of technology to enhance external customer relationships, revamp current business transactions using Internet-based technology, reinvent the business model, create new market opportunities, quality of the management team, flexibility of the business model, ability to adapt to changes in the market and customer focus.

401kExchange.com, through its innovative e-business Exchange, is the only company to function as a clearinghouse for Requests for Proposal (RFP's) through its "open-ended" retail Exchange site and by offering a unique private label "closed-end" e-business Exchange platform solution to Broker Dealers through its proprietary 401kX Portal Services umbrella.

Through its e-business, solution Financial Advisors, Broker Dealers and Employers can find detailed 401(k) plan information, objective Service Provider ratings, customized plan/service quotes and in-depth plan analysis, including expert technical support from Online Retirement Consultants in user-friendly service modules.

InfoWorld.com's online article noted that the companies you see in their InfoWorld E-Business 100 are rapidly transforming in various ways, be it through technology, key online partnerships, mergers, or site redesigns the evolving nature of e-business.

Fred Barstein, 401kExchange's CEO said, "Our mission will be to continue to drill deeper into 401(k) distribution, sales, and marketing processes to e-engineer online tools that add value to all constituencies of the market. Through our Exchange framework, we have a sound foundation that delivers e-business solutions to the vast cost, administrative inefficiencies and fragmentation of the market using the Internet platform".

The 401KExchange.com online Exchange, Service Provider Ratings, Proposal Services and Research are free to all shoppers. Service Providers pay for the opportunity to respond to a qualified buyer's pricing inquiry on a pay-per transaction basis or a "winner pays" fee schedule (one time fee or amortized over the life of a plan).

The InfoWorld E-Business 100 list did not rank the companies, instead shifting the focus onto the qualitative aspects of each company's strategy. The list isn't about winners and losers. They chose these companies to represent a wide diversity of e-businesses' approaches, ones that were determined to be innovative and viable.

Key financial experts, industry trade publications and the general media including InfoWorld Magazine agree that 401kExchange.com has delivered the only independent objective source of 401(k) plan Service Provider Ratings, in-depth plan due diligence, analysis and innovative e-business resources on the Internet while revolutionizing the 401(k) search and selection process as demand for Internet based resources continues to grow.

401kExchange.com is headquartered in West Palm Beach, Fla. For more information, visit the Web site at www.401kexchange.com, e-mail Dlanman@401kExchange.com or phone 561/434-7735 x 226.