FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Contact: Chris Paulitz or Danielle Holland Monday, October 25, 2010 [email protected] or 202.469.3007

IRI Board of Directors Welcomes New Members Addition of Four Industry Leaders Expands Stature of Association

CHICAGO – The Insured Retirement Institute (IRI) today announced the election of three top financial industry leaders to its Board of Directors and said a fourth will be officially added next year and start actively serving immediately. The addition of these board members follows the successful June expansion of the IRI Board, when six prominent industry leaders joined the already stellar ranks of IRI leadership.

Newly Elected to the IRI Board are:

• Valerie G. Brown¸ CEO of Cetera Financial Group; • Marc Costantini, president variable annuities at John Hancock Financial Services, Inc.; and • Larry Roth, president and CEO of Advisor Group.

* John Mulhall, managing director and head of insurance and annuities product development at Merrill Lynch Global Wealth Management, will begin his Board functions immediately but, because he fills a newly formed vacancy, will not officially be elected to the Board until next year.

“Over the course of the last two years, the strategic vision and leadership of our Board of Directors has advanced IRI’s reach and prominence throughout the financial industry,” said IRI President and CEO Cathy Weatherford. “The experience and wide array of expertise of our four new Board members will allow IRI to further promote the unique value of insured retirement strategies, providing education and resources to advisors and consumers alike.”

Along with the election of the four new Board members, six members departed from the Board having reached the conclusion of their three-year terms.

Departing from the IRI Board are:

• W. Thomas Conner, partner at Sutherland Asbill & Brennan LLP; • Clifford Jack, EVP and chief distribution officer at Jackson National Life; • William Lowe, CEO of ING US Annuity; • Mark Mayer, CEO of GMO LLC;

1101 New York Avenue, NW · Washington, D.C. 20005 · 202-469-3000 · Fax: 202-469-3030

• Hugh McHaffie, president of wealth management at John Hancock Financial Services, Inc.; and • David Odenath, head of Americas Asset Management and Senior EVP at Legg Mason, Inc.

“IRI thanks the departing members of the Board of Directors for their service and commitment to increasing awareness of planning for retirement through insured retirement solutions, as well as for their dedicated support of our organization,” said Weatherford. “We wouldn’t be in the strong position we are today without the enormous contributions of our departing Board members.”

The changes to the Board of Directors came during IRI’s Annual Meeting held this year in Chicago, Ill. Highlights of the meeting included an inside look on the financial crisis and Washington’s response by Anthony W. Ryan, chief administrative officer of Fidelity Investments; an update on political developments and their impact on the industry by financial policy expert Andy Friedman; a financial reform panel moderated by Alexis Glick, former anchor of CNBC’s “The Opening Bell” and former Vice President of Business New, FOX Business Network; and an encore, exclusive presentation of “Investor Attitude Live” – an interactive event conducted by ground breaking researcher Michael Maslansky.

For the complete list of IRI’s Board of Directors click HERE. For more information about IRI’s annual meeting please visit www.irionline.org .

About the Insured Retirement Institute: The Insured Retirement Institute (IRI) is a not-for-profit organization and is the authoritative source of all things pertaining to annuities, insured retirement strategies and retirement planning. IRI exists to vigorously promote consumer confidence in the value and viability of insured retirement strategies, bringing together the interests of the industry, financial advisors and consumers under one umbrella. IRI’s mission is to: encourage industry adherence to highest ethical principles; promote better understanding of the insured retirement value proposition; develop and promote best practice standards to improve value delivery; and to advocate before public policy makers on critical issues affecting insured retirement strategies. Visit www.IRIonline.org to experience the new, vast resources of the new Insured Retirement Institute for yourself.

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1101 New York Avenue, NW · Washington, D.C. 20005 · 202-469-3000 · Fax: 202-469-3030