AssetMark and Fiserv Investment Support Services Offer New 401k Solution to Advisors; AssetMark iFlex 401k Plan to Provide Participants with Complete Asset Allocation Solution

Business Wire, Oct 11, 2004

PLEASANT HILL, Calif. & DENVER -- AssetMark Investment Services, Inc. and Fiserv Investment Support Services today announced the launch of a new 401(k) solution for Advisors, providing Plan Sponsors and participants with comprehensive asset allocation portfolios and a wide selection of third-party mutual funds. An integral part of the AssetMark iFlex 401(k) Plan is six new Target Allocation Funds - collective investment funds for which First Trust Corporation acts as trustee. The new Plan is designed to provide plan participants with comprehensive managed account solutions to help them in the asset allocation and manager selection decision making processes.

"The retirement plan industry is undergoing dramatic changes. With increased plan scrutiny and a proliferation of investment options offered, Plan Sponsors and participants are demanding one simple solution to meet their fiduciary and asset allocation needs, respectively," noted Ronald Cordes, Chairman of AssetMark. "We strongly believe this new solution, with a core offering of asset allocation portfolios, meets the unmet retirement plan needs of Plan Sponsors and participants."

With the Target Allocation Funds, participants can select from two Portfolio Strategists - Wilshire Associates and PanAgora Asset Management - each developing strategic (Wilshire) and tactical (PanAgora) asset allocation portfolios, implemented with multiple managers, to meet the risk/return profile for each participant. The six Target Allocation Funds include three strategic and three tactical asset allocation models: Conservative, Balanced and Growth. All the funds provide participants with automatic rebalancing and reallocation as market conditions change.

In addition, Plan Sponsors can select up to 14 additional fund choices from the over 2,000 registered mutual funds on the AssetMark iFlex 401(k) Plan list. Plan Sponsors can also choose from various Plan options regarding participant eligibility, vesting schedules, employer contribution rates and loan features.

"With this new 401(k) solution, we're able to take all the benefits of our daily valuation retirement platform and combine them with the managed portfolio expertise of AssetMark," noted Skip Schweiss, Executive Vice President of Fiserv Investment Support Services. "We think that Advisors and Plan Sponsors will find this new 401(k) offering to be a terrific solution for their retirement planning needs."

About AssetMark Investment Services, Inc.

AssetMark Investment Services, Inc. was founded in 1996 and is one of the industry's leading providers of fee-based investment management solutions for investment advisors, broker dealers, banks and CPA firms. The company provides services to over 1,000 advisory firms, and administers more than 30,000 investor portfolios with total assets exceeding $4 billion.

About Fiserv Investment Support Services

Fiserv Investment Support Services, headquartered in Denver, is one of the nation's largest independent trust groups, administering over 320,000 self-directed retirement and custodial accounts valued at $32 billion. The company was formed when four leading independent trust companies, First Trust Corporation, Lincoln Trust Company, Resources Trust Company and Retirement Accounts, Inc. united as one company under the name Fiserv ISS.

About Fiserv Inc.

Fiserv, Inc. provides information management systems and services to the financial industry, including transaction processing, outsourcing, business process outsourcing and software and systems solutions. The company serves more than 15,000 clients worldwide, including banks, broker-dealers, credit unions, financial planners/investment advisors, insurance companies and agents, self-insured employers, lenders and savings institutions. Headquartered in Brookfield, Wisconsin, Fiserv reported 2003 revenues of $2.7 billion.