ADVISORY/EXPERT SOURCE: 2004 Equities Forecast: Payden & Rygel's Chris Orndorff Says ``Tide Will Turn'' for Large Cap Growth Stocks.

Business Editors

ADVISORY...

LOS ANGELES--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Dec. 16, 2003

Orndorff Also Can Comment on Investment Outlook for

Small-Cap Stocks, Mutual Funds, the Economy

Christopher Orndorff, lead strategist of the Payden U.S. Growth Leaders Fund, rated four stars by Morningstar(TM)(a), is available to comment on the investment outlook for equities in 2004. Payden & Rygel (www.payden.com) is one of the largest independent investment managers in the United States, with $50 billion in assets under management. The firm's U.S. Growth Leaders Fund turned in a stellar year-to-date performance in 2003, up 33.77 percent through November 30, compared with a 25.41 percent increase for its benchmark, the Russell 1000 Growth Index(b).

Sound bytes from Orndorff include:

-- Small-cap stocks have done well relative to large caps over

the past couple of years. Going forward, however, the trend

will reverse itself and large-cap stocks are going to

outperform small caps for the foreseeable future.

-- The market seems to be ready for a pause as investors get

ready for the next round of corporate earnings releases in

January. During market pauses, large-cap value generally does

better than large-cap growth. For the balance of 2004,

however, we believe that large-cap growth will be at the top

of the charts since these stocks will exhibit stronger

earnings growth, and as the economy gains momentum next year,

investors will be attracted to the operating leverage present

in large-cap companies.

-- Stocks will likely outperform bonds by a considerable amount

during the first 9 months of 2004. However, we are concerned

that the actions of the U.S. government, which were designed

to achieve maximum growth in the election year, may be

followed by considerably lower growth in 2005. When investors

begin to see signs that this is the case (near or after the

election), the stock market could suffer a significant setback

late in 2004 or early in 2005.

FOR INTERVIEWS: Christopher Orndorff may be reached at 213-830-4301, or to arrange in-person or phone interviews, please contact Jessica del Mundo at 310-396-2400 or [e-mail].

There is no guarantee of future performance, nor are fund shares guaranteed. The value of an investment in the fund will fluctuate; upon redemption an investor's shares may be worth more or less than the original cost. Read the prospectus carefully before investing. The Paydenfunds are distributed through Payden & Rygel Distributors, member NASD.

(a) For the overall and three-year periods as of November 30, 2003. An overall rating is based on a weighted average of the fund's ratings for the three-, five-, and ten-year periods, if applicable. The number of funds in the large growth category tracked by Morningstar was 949 for the overall and three-year periods. For each fund with at least a three-year history, Morningstar calculates a Morningstar Rating based on a Morningstar Risk-Adjusted Return measure that accounts for variation in a fund's monthly performance (including the effects of sales charges, loads and redemption fees), placing more emphasis on downward variations and rewarding consistent performance. The top 10% of funds in each category receive five stars and the next 22.5% receive four stars. Highly rated funds are defined as those that have a four or five star Morningstar rating. Data provided by Morningstar, Inc. Although gathered from reliable sources, data completeness and accuracy cannot be guaranteed. Morningstar is a registered trademark of Morningstar, Inc. and is not affiliated with Paydenfunds.

(b) The fund returned 19.99% for the one-year period, -18.51% for the three-year period, and -9.37% since its inception date of 6/17/99 through 9/30/03.