Santa Barbara, CA – February 27, 2002

Timothy J. Mahota, Chief Compliance Officer of Partnervest Financial Group, and member of the United States Department of Labor’s ERISA Advisory Council (“Council”) is currently seeking topic ideas and input from investment professionals and other interested parties for submission to the Council. He welcomes any input on desired changes concerning pension and employee benefit plans. These views can then be voiced to the Council to help formulate laws and regulations.


Mr. Mahota, who has a significant background in ERISA, especially in the context of the securities industry, was appointed by U.S. Secretary of Labor Alexis Herman in April 2000. His candidacy to the Council was endorsed by several noteworthy organizations including the Investment Counsel Association of America, The American Corporate Council Association, the Financial Planning Association "FPA", the Council of Independent Financial Analysts, and he received letters in support from California Senator Dianne Feinstein and Congresswoman Lois Capps.


The ERISA Advisory Council is comprised of 15 members from statutorily specified subject areas in employee benefits and related fields. Members, who serve staggered three-year terms, have an explicit charter to provide the Labor Secretary with policy recommendations and reports relating to private pension and other employee benefit issues. The Councils year is starting soon and the first item on their agenda will be what topics to address this year.


Topics that the Council has advised the Department of Labor on in the past have included, among others, soft dollars, cash-balance plans, long term care and phased-retirement. Please see the Council’s website for more detail at: http://www.dol.gov/dol/pwba/public/adcoun/acintro.htm


Mr. Mahota in requesting input is acting in his personal capacity and does not represent the views or ideas of the Council as a whole. Mr. Mahota can be reached at (805) 966-1266 or by e-mail at tmahota@partnervest.com


About Timothy J. Mahota
Mr. Mahota is responsible for the legal and compliance functions of Partnervest Financial Groups regulated entities. Prior to Partnervest, Mr. Mahota was General Counsel and Chief Compliance Officer for Integral Securities, Inc. (Predecessor of Partnervest Securities Inc.) and Integral Securities Europe Ltd., and currently serves as General Counsel to software developer Integral Development Corp. (IDC). Prior to joining Integral and Partnervest, he was General Counsel and Chief Compliance Officer for Mercer Global Advisors and Mercer Global Securities, one of the nation’s largest fee-only financial planning and investment management firms, and he was an Enforcement Attorney with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission. Mr. Mahota holds a bachelors degree in economics and philosophy from John Carroll University, earned his Juris Doctor from Ohio State University College of Law, and obtained a Masters of Law from Georgetown University specializing in investment regulation. He is a member of the bar in California, Ohio and the District of Columbia, and chairman of the National ERISA subcommittee for the American Corporate Counsel Association. He is licensed as a General Securities Principal, a Municipal Securities Principal, an Options Principal, and a General Securities Representative.


About Partnervest
Partnervest Financial Group LLC, headquartered in Santa Barbara, California, is a privately owned full-service financial services, technology and consulting company. Partnervest and its wholly owned subsidiaries, Partnervest Securities, Inc. (Member NASD/SIPC), Partnervest Advisory Services LLC, a Registered Investment Advisor, and Partnervest Insurance Services LLC, an Insurance Agency, provide the full spectrum of financial services and products, as well as back-office operations, compliance, and business consulting services. Partnervest Technology Group provides multi tiered applications and an ASP model for account aggregation, electronic imaging, portfolio reporting, reconciliation, and integration management of financial service databases. For further information contact Partnervest at 805) 966-1266 or at www.partnervest.com.