Bear Stearns Asset Management Acquires Measurisk.

Business Editors

NEW YORK, New York--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Feb. 23, 2004

Bear Stearns Asset Management Inc. (BSAM), a separate and wholly owned subsidiary of The Bear Stearns Companies Inc., announced today that, along with minority partner Miller Tabak + Co., LLC, they have acquired Measurisk. Measurisk, which has been renamed Bear Measurisk, is a leader in providing institutional investors and asset managers with sophisticated risk transparency and risk measurement solutions designed to help assess, manage and communicate risk across multi-manager, multi-asset class, global portfolios. Bear Measurisk's independent, third party risk solutions are designed to address the needs of pension plans, endowments and foundations, insurance companies, hedge funds and funds of hedge funds.

Commenting on the transaction, Rich Marin, CEO of BSAM said, "Risk management is the cornerstone of our strategy and, as institutional investor demand for risk transparency increases, we believe that we will differentiate ourselves in the market with Bear Measurisk. With this capability we can deliver comprehensive risk measurement solutions that are critical to institutional investors and asset managers in understanding and communicating risk."

"We are very excited about our connection with BSAM and The Bear Stearns Companies; what it will do to accelerate the growth of Bear Measurisk and the many benefits for our clients," said Greg Quental, President and CEO of Bear Measurisk. "Our clients will benefit greatly from our ability to leverage the resources and analytics capability of Bear Stearns while enjoying the continuity of service from a core management team they already know. At the same time we have access to the resources of Bear Stearns, client and manager confidentiality remain a high priority. Bear Measurisk will operate in separate facilities and use separate systems to protect client confidentiality."

About Bear Stearns Asset Management Inc.

Bear Stearns Asset Management Inc. was founded in 1984 as a division of Bear, Stearns & Co., Inc. and is now a wholly-owned subsidiary of the Bear Stearns Companies Inc. Currently the firm manages more than $20 billion in assets with expertise spanning equity, fixed income and alternative investment strategies, while providing comprehensive asset management services to institutional and high net worth. Corporations, municipal governments, multi-employer plans, endowments, foundations and family groups rely on our disciplined investment processes, investment performance and superior client service.

About Bear, Stearns & Co. Inc.

Founded in 1923, Bear, Stearns & Co. Inc. is a leading worldwide investment banking and securities trading and brokerage firm, and the major subsidiary of The Bear Stearns Companies Inc. (NYSE:BSC). With approximately $37.5 billion in total capital, Bear Stearns serves governments, corporations, institutions and individuals worldwide. The company's business includes corporate finance and mergers and acquisitions, institutional equities and fixed income sales, trading and research, private client services, derivatives, foreign exchange and futures sales and trading, asset management and custody services. Through Bear, Stearns Securities Corp., it offers financing, securities lending, clearing and technology solutions to hedge funds, broker-dealers and investment advisors. Headquartered in New York City, the company has approximately 10,500 employees worldwide. For additional information about Bear Stearns, please visit the firm's Web site at http://www.bearstearns.com.