NEW YORK, New York – Christian Brothers Investment Services (CBIS), a leading investment management firm serving the Catholic

institutional market, today released a copy of a comment letter it has forwarded to the Securities Exchange Commission (“SEC”), urging adoption of proposed rules issued September 19, 2002. The proposed rules would require that registered investment advisers and mutual funds adopt proxy-voting policies and procedures and disclose to clients and shareholders their actual proxy votes. The CBIS comment letter is available on the CBIS web site (www.cbisonline.com).

“These rules, if adopted, would constitute a tremendous step forward,” says Frank Coleman, Executive Vice President of CBIS. “The

SEC should be commended for undertaking these bold initiatives to promote transparency in corporate governance and financial markets at this critical historic moment – in the aftermath of corporate scandals that have shaken confidence in our financial institutions.”

In his comment letter, Mr. Coleman points out that CBIS has voluntarily disclosed its own proxy-voting policies and proxy votes to

clients since 1999.

“We consider such disclosure fundamental to the fiduciary duty we owe our client participants to vote their proxies in a manner

consistent with their best interests,” writes Coleman. “In fact, we have always thought it an anomaly that the policies and practices of

investment advisers in voting their clients’ securities did not have to be disclosed to those clients. The Proposed Rule would end this

anomaly by making such disclosure mandatory, and we strongly support this change.”

The CBIS comment letter recommends that reporting and record-keeping requirements for investment advisers and mutual funds

be uniform, and challenges the notion – raised by some opponents of reform – that the new regulations will be financially burdensome.

“(W)e believe the financial impact of compliance to be manageable,” writes Coleman, “(while) available technology and resources make the record-keeping and reporting functions of complying relatively routine.”

Coleman also says that the proposed rule changes mandating proxy-voting disclosure “could not have come at a more critical time.”

“The recent corporate scandals reveal that our system of corporate governance and accountability lacks adequate checks and balances,” writes Coleman in the firm’s comment letter. “This has underscored the need for investment advisers, mutual funds and other institutional investors to take their obligations as shareholders and as fiduciaries more seriously, and to play a more active role in corporate governance.”

“At the same time, as the Commission has pointed out, the potential for conflicts of interest between investment advisers and

their clients (or mutual fund managers and their shareholders) requires that proxy-voting be made transparent. The Proposed Rule

simultaneously addresses both of these needs: the need for more vigilant corporate governance by shareowners, and the need for

transparency in the discharge of governance activities by those shareowners’ fiduciaries.”

“We believe proxy-voting transparency will have salutary effects upon corporate governance, will better protect America’s investors,

and will help restore confidence in the integrity of financial markets,” concludes CBIS’ Coleman.

Christian Brothers Investment Services (CBIS) manages approximately $3 billion for Catholic organizations seeking to combine

faith and finance through the responsible stewardship of Catholic assets. CBIS’ combination of premier institutional asset managers,

diversified product offerings, and careful risk-control strategies constitutes a unique investment approach for Catholic institutions and

their fiduciaries. CBIS strives to integrate faith-based values into the investment process through a disciplined approach to socially

responsible investing that includes principled purchasing, active ownership strategies and community investment. The firm contributes a portion of all profits to support the Church’s educational and social ministry.

Additional information about CBIS may be obtained by calling (800) 592-8890 or visiting the firm’s web site (www.cbisonline.com).