STATE STREET RESEARCH ASSUMES ADMINISTRATIVE RESPONSIBILITY FORSUPPLEMENTAL INCOME 401(k) PLAN
BOSTON, MA, April 19, 2001- State Street Research has assumed completeresponsibility for all administrative duties for the Supplemental Income401(k) Plan. This Plan is the largest multi-union, collectively bargainedTaft-Hartley 401(k) Plan in the country and offers simple, systematicpre-tax savings through payroll deductions for union members.State Street Research has replaced Northwest Administrators as theadministrator of the Plan. The new structure provides participants andemployers with greater "ease-of-use" by facilitating access to accounts andminimizing the response time for account inquiries. State Street Researchwill also now accept Plan contributions directly, speeding up the process oftransferring money to participants' accounts. The firm's otherresponsibilities include loan applications and distribution requests, aswell as loan repayments.
The original Supplemental Income 401(k) Plan was structured as athree-tiered approach-State Street Research served as the investmentmanager, Sutro & Company enrolled participants and Northwest Administratorscollected the contributions and transferred them to the plan.
"We will continue to provide participants in the Supplemental Income 401(k)Plan with the superior service they have become accustomed to," said KevinWilkins, Executive Vice President, Head of State Street Research InvestmentServices. "By giving participants the information they need in the mosttimely and efficient manner possible, we are showcasing our commitment tocontinuous improvement."
"Employers and participants requested that the overall process become morestreamlined," said Ray Brown, Plan Investment Representative for Sutro &Company. "By asking State Street Research to handle these additionaladministrative duties, the process will speed up tremendously."
State Street Research has actively managed money for Taft-HartleySupplemental Income 401(k) Plan since January 1999. The Plan now has over400 employers and in excess of 13,000 participants while continuing to grow.State Street Research & Management Company, with a money managementhistorydating back to 1924, is one of the nation's first investment managementorganizations. The Boston-based firm is a subsidiary of MetLife, one of theworld's largest financial services companies. As of March 31, 2001, StateStreet Research managed $48 billion in assets, of which over $31 billionrepresented institutional clients and $17 billion represented mutual fundand variable annuity portfolios. The firm manages money for 11 of the 15largest U.S. corporate pension plans (as reported in the 2001 MoneyManagement Directory), union programs, public employee pension plans, mutualfunds for over 530,000 shareholder accounts, as well as individually managedaccounts for affluent investors. The firm's Web site address iswww.ssrfunds.com.
