Products March 10, 2008

Touchstone Adds Growth Fund

Touchstone Investments is expanding its product offering with the introduction of the Touchstone Mazama Institutional Growth Fund.

Reported by

Nevin E. Adams

According to a press release, the Cincinnati-based firm will rely on its sub-adviser, Mazama Capital Management, Inc., to manage its investments and make daily portfolio decisions.

The Mazama Institutional Growth Fund uses a fundamental, bottom-up research process, primarily focusing on companies with market capitalizations represented by the Russell Midcap Growth Index and seeks to outperform the Index over the long term, according to the firm. Mazama’s investment team uses its proprietary Price Performance Model to identify and track the growth companies believed to represent the best opportunities in the market. Mazama believes that people are the most important factor in determining the success of any business, according to the announcement.

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This strategy has been available since 2004 through Mazama to institutions investing at least $50 million. The Touchstone Mazama Institutional Growth Fund is available to institutional investors including registered investment advisers, private banks, endowments, foundations and consultants for a minimum initial investment of $500,000.

Headquartered in Portland, Oregon, Mazama Capital Management is an independent investment management firm specializing in growth equity investing for large institutional clients. Ronald A. Sauer, president, CEO and chief investment officer of Mazama Capital Management will lead a team of 11 sector specialists that includes portfolio manager, Gretchen Novak, CFA and associate portfolio manager, Joel Rubenstein.

For more information please visit http://www.touchstoneinvestments.com.

Products March 10, 2008

TIAA-CREF Adds International Equity to Social Choice Annuity Account

TIAA-CREF, provider of retirement services in the academic, medical, and cultural fields, has announced the addition of international equity investments to its CREF Social Choice variable annuity account.

Reported by

Rebecca Moore

In conjunction with the change in portfolio composition, the account’s composite benchmark will change to include the MSCI EAFE + Canada, alongside the Russell 3000 and Lehman Brothers U.S. Aggregate indexes, the announcement said. Inclusion of non-domestic companies in the CREF Social Choice Account will offer investors looking for global investment opportunities that align with their values a socially screened investment vehicle.

Under the new benchmark, the account will expand the universe of stocks in which it can invest beyond those in the KLD Broad Market Social Index (BMSI) to also include the recently launched KLD Global Sustainability Index Ex-US (GSIXUS). The research process evaluates a company’s sustainability performance by analyzing its relative strength in environmental stewardship; serving local communities and society overall; commitment to high labor standards throughout the supply chain; production of safe, high-quality products; and governance and ethics.

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With approximately $9.2 billion in net assets as of December 31, 2007, CREF Social Choice is the largest socially screened portfolio in the United States and the largest socially-screened global portfolio with over 430,000 individual investors, the company asserted. The account is a balanced portfolio with an overall target asset allocation of 60% equity securities and 40% fixed income securities, including a 2% target for proactive social and community investments within the fixed-income portfolio.

The new international equity investments, which are expected to be added gradually throughout March 2008, will total approximately 13% of the account’s total assets.

The CREF Social Choice Account is available to investors through TIAA-CREF’s employer-sponsored retirement plans or through TIAA-CREF IRAs and variable life policies.

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