Latest S&P Index Versus Active (SPIVA) Funds Report Shows Sharp Contrast With
                                     2003

    NEW YORK, July 19 /PRNewswire/ -- Standard & Poor's, the leading provider
of independent investment research, indices and ratings, released today the
results of the mid-year 2004 Standard & Poor's Indices Versus Active Funds
Scorecard (SPIVA). The S&P Indices Versus Active Funds (SPIVA) Scorecard
reports performance comparisons corrected for survivorship bias, shows
equal- and asset-weighted peer averages, and provides measures of style
consistency. At the halfway point of the year, year-to-date returns show that
the S&P 500 beat 63.1% of large-cap funds, the S&P MidCap 400 beat 57.3% of
mid-cap funds, and the S&P SmallCap 600 came out ahead of 90.0% of small cap
funds.
    "Over the first six months of 2004, benchmark indices are ahead of a
majority of actively managed funds for all nine style boxes," said Srikant
Dash, Index Strategist, Standard & Poor's. "This result is in sharp contrast
to the first half of 2003 when active funds were ahead in all but two style
boxes."
    Rosanne Pane, Mutual Fund Strategist at Standard & Poor's noted, "The
current market has been in a trading range with the S&P Composite 1500
returning 1.33% in the second quarter and 3.4% in the first six months. In
2003, active funds that were over-weight in economically sensitive industries
participated in the robust market rebound in the second quarter when the S&P

Composite 1500 returned 15.2%."
    The latest report shows longer-term results, however, being in line with
past observations. For the five-year period through June 30, 2004, the S&P 500
has outpaced 53.4% of large-cap funds, the S&P MidCap 400 outperformed 85.1%
of mid-cap funds, and the S&P SmallCap 600 edged out 76.0% of small-cap funds.
Results for the three-year term are similar: 65.5% of large-cap funds, 78.3%
of mid-cap funds, and 76.0% of small-cap funds fared worse than their index
benchmark.
    Based on a comparison of equal- and asset-weighted returns, the SPIVA
Scorecard showed that funds with bigger assets have outperformed their smaller
fund counterparts this year, with smaller funds faring better than their
larger counterparts in only one style box. "Funds with smaller asset sizes can
be more nimble in reacting to market trends," said Pane. "This ability did not
help smaller funds in 2004's trend-less market."
    SPIVA also reviews index fund performance and costs. The asset-weighted
average fees for S&P 500, S&P MidCap 400 and S&P SmallCap 600 funds are 0.15%,
0.32% and 0.30% respectively.

    Survivorship
    A key attribute of the SPIVA methodology is its correction for
survivorship bias, which can significantly skew results as funds liquidate or
merge. Over the last 12 months, 6.5% of general equity funds have merged or
liquidated. The corresponding figures for last three and five years is 17.3%
and 21.2% respectively. This quarter, 2519 actively managed funds were used in
the quarterly analysis and 1989 funds were used for the five-year numbers.
    The complete second quarter SPIVA scorecard, previous quarterly SPIVA
reports, including SPIVA Japan scorecards are available on
http://www.spiva.standardandpoors.com.

    About SPIVA
    The SPIVA scorecard reveals quarterly performance data for domestic equity
mutual funds benchmarked against nine corresponding S&P indices and eight
sector indices, including the S&P 500 for large-cap funds, the S&P MidCap 400
for mid-cap, the S&P SmallCap 600 for small-cap, and the S&P Composite 1500
for broad market comparisons. The S&P/BARRA growth and value indices are used
for style categories. S&P 500 sector indices and the S&P REIT index are used
for sector categories.  The SPIVA methodology is designed to provide an
accurate and objective apples-to-apples comparison of funds' performance
versus their appropriate style indices, correcting for factors that have
skewed results in previous index-versus-active analyses in the industry.
SPIVA scorecards show both asset-weighted and equal-weighted averages, include
survivorship bias correction to account for funds that may have merged or been
liquidated during the period under study, and show style consistency for each
style group across different time horizons.

    About Standard & Poor's
    Standard & Poor's, a division of The McGraw-Hill Companies (NYSE: MHP), is
the world's foremost provider of independent credit ratings, indices, risk
evaluation, investment research, data and valuations. With 5000 employees
located in 20 countries, Standard & Poor's is an essential part of the world's
financial infrastructure and has played a leading role for more than 140 years
in providing investors with the independent benchmarks they need to feel more
confident about their investment and financial decisions.  For more
information, visit http://www.standardandpoors.com.