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Five money managers examine portfolio management strategies in the latest issue of The Wall Street Transcript, available at (212/952-7433) or http://www.twst.com/info/info545.htm

TWST: How many stocks do you currently have in the Fund, and does the number fluctuate at all?

Mr. Lee: It stays fairly steady. We have about 85 stocks right now. It ranges from maybe 80 to 90. I would also like to mention that, year to date 2002, we are basically flat, whereas the NASDAQ is down about 9%. We’re in the top third of our universe so far this year.

TWST: What do you feel differentiates your particular investment style from other growth managers?

Mr. Lee: I think it’s more focused on some specific factors. We use a bottom-up approach that is a multifactor model. The model combines different weightings on valuation, earnings growth, earnings surprises and earnings revisions. That model identifies several ideas for us that are driven into the portfolio by a bottom-up process.

TWST: Could you tell us about your investment decision-making process?

Mr. Lee: The first cut would be companies with market caps between 1 billion and 10 billion. That identifies approximately 9,000 companies just in that one cut. I also look at what earnings have been over the last 12 months, and what they are projected to be over the next 12 months. I screen out any companies that are expected to have negative earnings comparisons. Next, I look for companies that have had positive earnings revisions over the last month. This data is based on First Call estimates. I also look for positive revisions over the last three months. Then we get into some of the valuation characteristics. I use a cash flow multiple, specifically enterprise value divided by EBITDA. We also look at p/e multiples on 2002 and also 2003 earnings. The final criterion in our screen is return on equity. We look for return on equity over the past year of at least 15%. Over the last five years, we look for it to average at least 15%. To sum up the process, after starting with 9,000 companies, we identify 150 to 200 names that we can research in more depth. That is a manageable number that we can review on a daily basis. We have already either owned or reviewed most of those names. The screen also identifies other names that we haven’t considered. All in all, it is a pretty efficient process.

TWST: Let’s move on to some of the holdings. Could you tell us some of the recent buys, as well as the reasons why you were attracted to them?

Mr. Lee: I mentioned that the housing stocks have been very strong and have been among our best performers year-to-date. NVR (AMEX:NVR), which is a homebuilder, is one of those stocks. Another good example is in the retailing area. Best Buy (NYSE:BBY) is a stock that did very well for us over the last six months. It fit a couple of our themes — not just continued strong consumer spending, but also the tendency for people to want to have more at-home entertainment after 9/11. It played right into that, as people were buying more digital televisions, DVDs and other stay-at-home entertainment.

This special Investing Strategies Report includes:

1) Alexander L. Muromcew, International Equity Portfolio Manager and a Vice President at Loomis, Sayles & Company, L.P., examines portfolio management strategies in this timely and deeply informative 3,900-word interview from The Wall Street Transcript.

2) Robert L. Lee, Senior Vice President of Sentinel Advisors Company, examines portfolio management strategies in this timely and deeply informative 4,400-word interview from The Wall Street Transcript.

3) Martha Kimball Pomerantz, Investment Principal at Lowry Hill, examines portfolio management strategies in this timely and deeply informative 3,900-word interview from The Wall Street Transcript.

4) Lawrence Auriana, Portfolio co-Manager of Federated Kaufmann Fund, examines portfolio management strategies in this timely and deeply informative 3,700-word interview from The Wall Street Transcript.

5) Paul A. Magnuson, Principal, Senior Research Analyst and Portfolio Manager with NFJ Investment Group, examines portfolio management strategies in this timely and deeply informative 3,500-word interview from The Wall Street Transcript.