''Best of Best'' Meet at Barron's Winner's Circle Conference for Financial Advisors; Barron's First-Ever Event Yields Insights into Industry Best Practices.

NEW YORK -- Barron's magazine in partnership with R.J. Shook, author of "The Winner's Circle" books rating America's top financial advisors, today completed a three-day "Top Advisors Summit" at the Pierre Hotel in New York. Attending were 89 of the Top 100 financial advisors in the U.S., as ranked by R.J. Shook and published in Barron's June 13, 2005 issue. These industry leaders conducted seminars and panels that explored current issues affecting the business of delivering wealth management for high net worth individuals and institutions. Also in attendance were nearly 400 financial advisers representing the top 1% producers of their firms. Firms sending attendees included Legg Mason, Merrill Lynch, Morgan Stanley, Smith Barney, Royal Alliance, UBS and Wachovia, as well as American Express, Armstrong Fleming & Moore, Bank of America, Bear Stearns, Beird, Deutsche Bank, Lehman Brothers, JP Morgan, Levin Leahy, McDonald Financial, Neuberger Berman, Wells Fargo and Youngwirth.

"By bringing together the most successful advisors from all parts of the country and from all the major firms, we hope to do something that has never been done before: to have the financial industry's elite gather to discuss the issues, learn from one another and make their businesses even more successful," said Ed Finn, editor and president of Barron's.

R.J. Shook noted that "Scores of Winner's Circle advisors have told me that, once they've reached the top of their firms, there are fewer people - oftentimes no one - to share ideas with. They've outstripped their peers. For this reason, we're bring the 'best of the best' in the business together to share ideas and help each other - and the industry as a whole - move to a higher level of performance."

"Better performance in serving customers and improving the quality of the financial services industry are the reasons so many major firms are supporting this event," added Mr. Finn. "It's truly unique to have these firms, which compete with each other, working together in this way for the good of the industry and their clients."

Mr. Finn remarked that participants were enthusiastic about the event and the insights they garnered from attending. Most noted they were eager to return to their practices and use these ideas to better serve their clients.

About Barron's

Barron's magazine, published by Dow Jones & Company since 1921, is America's premier financial weekly. Barron's reaches an influential audience of corporate decision makers, institutional investors, individual investors and financial professionals.

Each issue provides readers with a complete market wrap-up of the previous week's activity, plus in-depth, sophisticated news reports and an outlook on the week to come. Barron's covers what happens when money and markets come together - who wins, who loses and for what reasons.

Each weekend, Barron's is read by people eager to prepare for the market's opening bell on Monday morning. Barron's comprehensive combination of reporting and statistics aptly arm these readers for the shocks and turmoil of market battles to come.

Barron's is read intensely--cover-to-cover, week-after-week--by some of the most powerful people in the world, people who need this information delivered in a timely, accurate and reliable manner for their professional success and their personal, financial well-being.

About R.J. Shook

Through exhaustive, in-depth studies in the financial services industry, R.J. Shook has developed a unique expertise in identifying success patterns and characteristics of the industry's top producers. Since September 2002, he has published a yearly ranking of the top advisors in America. A frequent contributor to business periodicals and the author a numerous books on the subject, Mr. Shook is a recognized authority on best practices in the financial services industry. He frequently gives speeches, conducts workshops and leads panel discussions on topics and issues of concern to financial services professionals and their organizations to which they belong.