Scudder Investments is part of Deutsche Asset Management, a global asset management company that is committed to providing style-specific asset management and innovative ideas, with the goal of generating competitive, consistent performance over the long term.Scudder Investments is the US retail brand name of Deutsche Asset Management (DeAM), which is the global asset management division of Deutsche Bank and has more than US $650 billion in assets under management globally (as of 9/30/05).

Serving Fortune 500 companies, institutions, wealth managers, governments, foundations and individual investors, Scudder offers a comprehensive range of products, including mutual funds, retirement plans and variable annuities. DeAM and its affiliates manage fixed-income, equity, balanced, cash, real estate and hedge funds around the globe. Another core focus of our investment group is asset allocation, where we are responsible for allocating more than US $90 billion (as of 9/30/05).

Scudder's focus on “alpha” builds upon historical performance to seek superior risk-adjusted returns on investment. Through Deutsche Asset Management, Scudder offers access to a far-reaching global research organization with approximately 800 investment professionals (as of 9/30/05) who work throughout the world's major investment centers.

For more than 85 years, Scudder Investments has sought to enhance client success and prosperity. The passion behind Scudder performance is demonstrated by our ongoing commitment to outstanding service, benefiting both our investors and their financial advisors.