[0] mPower's Community Sites Sign 50th Online Partner.

Business Editors/High-Tech Writers

SAN FRANCISCO--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Sept. 18, 2000

Riding the swelling wave of demand for retirement investment education, mPower has announced an online content partnership agreement with CNBC.com. Under the agreement, mPower's 401kafe.com and IRAjunction.com, the popular community sites that offer individuals free access to retirement planning content and education, will provide content to CNBC.com, marking mPower's 50th such agreement since the launch of the two sites in 1999.

Named "Best of the Web" in financial planning by Forbes magazine two years in a row (1999 and 2000), mPower's 401kafe.com offers exclusive and original interactive content from mPower's staff of investment and retirement planning professionals. In addition to CNBC.com, content from both 401kafe.com and IRAjunction.com including articles, consumer surveys on topical matters, investor education, tools, tips and expert Q&A, is also featured on sites such as CBS MarketWatch, PCQuote, Cox Interactive Media, FreeRealTime, Arthur Andersen and BET (Black Entertainment Network).

mPower's community sites are two of the best investment sites to offer interactive education. Visitors may submit questions and receive specific answers directly from Ted Benna, the benefits consultant who created the 401(k) plan 20 years ago. In addition, Scott Lummer, chief investment officer of mPower, writes a weekly column about stock market activity and related current events.

"Investment education is an integral part of our overall investment picture, and mPower's educational content is second to none," said Chris Glowacki, chief strategist at CNBC.com. "In fact, we were so impressed with both mPower's investment education and online advice service that that we not only decided to aggregate their content for our users, but also to invest in their company."

Part of the appeal of mPower to its many online partners is its breadth of offering. For example, mPower will soon offer 403(b) and 457 plan education to accommodate government and non-profit plan participants, according to Jon Squire, senior vice president of online business development at mPower.

"CNBC.com is one of the premier brands in business and investment information, and we're proud to be building this deep relationship as we pass the important milestone of 50 partnerships," remarked Squire. "Our community sites meet the market's need for content that is relevant to and easily understood by investors of all levels of sophistication, helping them navigate through the maze of retirement planning."

While mPower's primary reach to individual investors is through its B2B alliances with such leading 401(k) providers and recordkeepers as ADP Retirement Services, Putnam, American Express, Dreyfus, T. Rowe Price and Hewitt, its content partnerships have provided a way to meet the burgeoning demand for information that will help people plan for their retirement.

About mPower

Founded in 1995, mPower Advisors, L.L.C., (http://www.mpower.com), a registered investment advisor, was the first to offer affordable, objective, and actionable online investment advice to defined-contribution plan participants, and remains the leader in this field. Under the mPower umbrella are the award-winning 401Kafe (http://www.401kafe.com), the first independent, educational Web site about 401(k) plans, and IRA Junction (http://www.irajunction.com), a comprehensive information site for investors with Individual Retirement Accounts. From 1995-1999, mPower was called 401k Forum.