Barclays Global Investors Appoints Rohit Bhagat as Global Chief Operating Officer.

SAN FRANCISCO and LONDON -- Barclays Global Investors (BGI), one of the world's largest asset managers, today announced the appointment of Rohit Bhagat as Global Chief Operating Officer. Mr. Bhagat will have oversight responsibility for the technology, operations, finance, strategic planning, human resources, legal, compliance and risk functions for the global firm. He replaces Rich Ricci, who in January 2005 became Chief Operating Officer of Barclays Capital, Barclays PLC's investment banking division, and Barclays Private Clients. Mr. Bhagat will report to BGI's Global Co-CEOs, Blake Grossman and Andrew Skirton, and be based in San Francisco. He will also be a member of BGI's Executive Committee.

"Rohit brings a wealth of relevant experience to BGI," said Blake Grossman. "He has worked across a broad range of financial services, with extensive experience in asset management and his work has familiarized him with best practices in the functional areas critical to the COO role."

Mr. Bhagat, 41, joins BGI from The Boston Consulting Group (BCG) where he was a Senior Vice President and ran the west coast Financial Services practice based in San Francisco. While at BCG, Mr. Bhagat's responsibilities included leading assignments for clients in retail banking, asset management, wealth management, brokerage and capital markets. He also launched and developed BCG's Indian practice. Mr. Bhagat was a core member of BCG's Technology and Corporate Finance & Strategy practices. Prior to that, he was with Booz-Allen & Hamilton, a strategic management and technology consulting firm.

"Rohit is uniquely qualified for the position and he will be a valuable addition to BGI's management team," said Andrew Skirton. "I am confident that Rohit's leadership, energy and experience will serve BGI well. He knows our business and will immediately fit with BGI's culture."

Mr. Bhagat holds an MBA from the Kellogg Graduate School of Management, Northwestern University, an MS in Engineering from the University of Texas at Austin and a Bachelor of Technology in Mechanical Engineering from the Indian Institute of Technology in New Delhi, India.

Barclays Global Investors (BGI) is one of the world's largest asset managers(1) providing structured investment strategies such as risk-controlled active strategies and indexing. In the US, BGI is one of the largest active managers(2), set apart by its risk-controlled approach. BGI manages assets for two-thirds of the world's 100 largest pension plans(3) and is the global leader in assets and products in the exchange traded funds through its iShares(R) brand with more than 120 ETFs. The firm managed over $1.3 trillion in assets as of 12/31/04, for more than 2,600 clients in 48 countries around the world. BGI is an innovator in investment management, applying science and technology to the investment process. BGI is owned by Barclays PLC, one of the world's leading global financial services providers.

(1)Source: "P&I/Watson Wyatt World 500," Pensions & Investments, September 6, 2004.

(2)Source: "Special Reports: Money Manager Directory," Pensions & Investments, May 31, 2004.

(3)Source: "P&I/Watson Wyatt World's 250 Largest Retirement Plans," Pensions & Investments, December 27, 2004.