ICI to Host 2003 Equity Markets Conference in New York

Washington, DC, July 11, 2003 - The Investment Company Institute will sponsor a one-day conference to examine the evolution of the nation's securities markets and discuss institutional trading in the current market environment. The 2003 Equity Markets Conference will be held at the New York Marriott Financial Center Hotel on Thursday, September 18.

This year's conference will open with keynote speaker Robert Greifeld, President and CEO of The NASDAQ Stock Market, offering his perspectives on institutional trading trends and the equity markets.

Following the keynote address, the morning program will consist of two issue panels covering a variety of equity markets topics. The first panel will focus on the national market system, market linkages, and market access. Howard Kramer, Partner, Schiff, Hardin & Waite, will moderate the panel, and speakers will include: Jeffrey P. Brown, Executive Vice President and General Counsel, Cincinnati Stock Exchange; Robert L.D. Colby, Deputy Director, Division of Market Regulation, U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission; Christopher R. Concannon, Executive Vice President of Strategy and Business Development, The NASDAQ Stock Market; and Peter Jenkins, Managing Director of North American Active Equity Trading, Deutsche Asset Management.

The second morning panel will concentrate on floor-based auction markets in the 21^st century, and will be led by Institute Associate Counsel Ari Burstein. The panelists include: Robert H. McCooey, Jr., President and CEO, The Griswold Company; Michael L. Murphy, Managing Director of Equity Trading, Wachovia Securities; Robert M. Murphy, Director and CEO, LaBranche & Co.; and John J. Wheeler, Manager of Equity Trading, American Century Investment Management.

The luncheon will feature Richard A. Grasso, Chairman and CEO of the New York Stock Exchange.

The afternoon session will also include two panel discussions. The first afternoon panel will touch on such relevant issues as the disclosure of soft-dollar arrangements and mutual fund transaction costs. Steven W. Stone, Partner, Morgan Lewis will moderate the discussion and panelists include: Andrew M. Brooks, Vice President and Head of Equity Trading, T. Rowe Price Group; Robert T. Burns, Senior Vice President and Associate General Counsel, MFS Investment Management; William B. Keena, Senior Vice President, Prudential Equity Group; and Robert E. Plaze, Associate Director, Division of Investment Management, U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission.

The second afternoon panel will center on the self-regulatory model of market supervision and be led by Soo J. Yim, Partner, Wilmer, Cutler & Pickering. Speakers include: Edward A. Kwalwasser, Group Executive Vice President, New York Stock Exchange; Kevin J.P. O'Hara, Chief Administrative Officer and General Counsel, Archipelago Holdings; and Douglas Shulman, Executive Vice President, NASD.

Conference registration is $450 for Institute members and $750 for nonmembers. Additional details, a conference program, and online registration information are available on the Institute's conference website at http://conferences.ici.org.

All sessions are open to the media. Working members of the news media interested in covering the 2003 Equity Markets Conference are asked to register with the Institute's Public Communications Department in order to obtain press credentials. To register for the conference, please contact James Doyle at 202/326-8317 or jdoyle@ici.org.