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A MAJORITY OF AMERICANS EXPECT TO FARE BETTER FINANCIALLY IN RETIREMENT THAN THEIR PARENTS, BUT CHALLENGES REMAIN
Fidelity and National Financial Introduce Resources to Help Advisors More Effectively Address the Needs of Their Clients This IRA Season

BOSTON, February 17, 2005—Nearly three out of four Americans say they will be more financially prepared for retirement than their parents, according to a recent Fidelity Investment's poll, but confidence levels vary among the generations as do their challenges in saving for retirement.

Of all those surveyed, young adults (21-34 year-olds) are more confident than mid-life adults (35-54) that they will retire better off financially than their parents, and are beginning to save earlier than any other group Fidelity surveyed. In fact, 71 percent of younger Americans started saving for retirement before age 30, while only 54 percent of 35-54 year-olds began saving that soon.

For investment professionals, the best opportunity for talking about IRAs with clients can occur during the first four months of the year, and with the April 15, 2005 deadline for making a 2004 IRA contribution fast approaching, now may be an appropriate time to schedule a retirement “check-up” with clients. To help correspondent broker/dealers and financial advisors make the most of IRA Season, National Financial and Fidelity Investments Institutional Services Company have introduced a series of integrated IRA resources and tools for their respective clients.

“Saving for retirement remains one of the most important financial goals for Americans; however, it also can be one of the most daunting,” said Donna Morris, executive vice president, National Financial. “Procrastination, competing priorities, such as saving for college, and confusion about contribution limits and eligibility, among other things, can lead many retirement savers to forgo investing in an IRA, which could affect their ability to accumulate enough money for a comfortable retirement.”

According to the survey, six in 10 Americans surveyed do not currently save in a tax-advantaged IRA. When asked why, many (43%) younger adults report that they just haven't gotten around to it, due to lack of time or patience. In comparison, the inability to find additional funds is the most common obstacle to saving in an IRA for those in their prime savings years (35-54) who may be juggling multiple expenses such as daycare and saving for college.

“The good news is that the majority of Americans are confident they will be better financially prepared than their parents; however, our research shows that 60 percent of Americans are not saving in an IRA and 97 percent do not know the correct IRA limits for 2005,” said Marty Willis, executive vice president, Fidelity Investments Institutional Services Company. “Advisors can play an integral role in helping clients maximize their retirement savings by educating them about their IRA options and developing a strategy that takes into account their employer-sponsored retirement plan and other accounts.”

To get the most out of this IRA season, investment professionals should consider discussing the following items with their clients:

IRA Season Resources

Fidelity and National Financial have introduced a series of integrated IRA resources and tools designed to help correspondent broker/dealers and advisors strengthen their knowledge of the IRA opportunity and more effectively plan for their clients' retirement.

National Financial offers broker/dealers and their investment representatives a broad range of IRA resources including sales strategies, seminars, legislative and regulatory updates, and the new Interactive IRA Season Planning Calendar. The Interactive IRA Season Planning Calendar is a web-based calendar that consolidates retirement resources and tools in one convenient location. It allows broker/dealers to map out their IRA Season activities and order the appropriate materials for their reps. National Financial also offers a comprehensive range of IRA products, including Roth, Traditional, and Rollover IRAs that provide access to more than 11,000 mutual fund share class alternatives, plus thousands of individual securities. Broker/dealers and reps can learn more about National Financial's offerings by visiting http://www.nationalfinancial.com/retirement.

For financial advisors at financial institutions, including wirehouses, regional and independent broker/dealers, banks, trust companies and insurance companies, Fidelity created a CD-ROM-based IRA Tool Kit that offers a broad range of resources, including job changer and rollover seminars, investor insights and sales ideas. Fidelity also offers a comprehensive range of IRA products, including Roth, Traditional, Rollover IRAs.

Fidelity Advisor IRAs offer access to more than 70 Fidelity Advisor Funds^® across major asset classes. Financial advisors and their clients also have access to the Fidelity Advisor Freedom Funds, a series of target-timeline funds that are actively managed to become more conservative as retirement approaches. Financial advisors can learn more about Fidelity's offerings by visiting http://advisor.fidelity.com/individualretirement.

About the Survey

A telephone survey was conducted for Fidelity Investments by Opinion Research Corporation International among a national probability sample of 1,847 American household financial decision-makers. Interviews were conducted between January 6-10, 2005. The margin of error is +/- 3% and results were tested at the 95% confidence level.

About National Financial

National Financial provides broker/dealers, ranging from institutional and full-service firms to independent contractors, banks and discount brokers, with clearing and execution products and integrated productivity tools to help enhance firm profitability, drive business growth and forge deeper customer relationships. National Financial also offers a leading online brokerage platform, compliance support, middle-office outsourcing, consolidated record keeping tools, fee-based solutions, and retirement and high-net-worth products, all supported by dedicated client service professionals. The company currently provides clearing services to 267 financial institutions representing 3.9 million client accounts and approximately $409 billion in assets, as of December 31, 2004. For more information about National Financial, please visit www.nationalfinancial.com.

Fidelity Investments Institutional Services

Fidelity Investments Institutional Services Company provides investment management services through investment professionals at financial institutions nationwide, including wirehouses, regional and independent broker/dealers, banks, trust companies and insurance companies. The company offers Fidelity Advisor Funds^®, Variable Insurance Product (VIP) Portfolios, systematic investment plans, institutional money market funds and a comprehensive line of retirement products and services. Fidelity Investments Institutional Services Company's total assets under management were $200 billion as of December 31, 2004.

About Fidelity Investments

Fidelity Investments is one of the world's largest providers of financial services, with custodied assets of $2.1 trillion, including managed assets of $1.1 trillion as of December 31, 2004. Fidelity offers investment management, retirement planning, brokerage, human resources and benefits outsourcing services to more than 19 million individuals and institutions as well as through 5,500 financial intermediaries. The firm is the largest mutual fund company in the United States, the No. 1 provider of workplace retirement savings plans, one of the largest mutual fund supermarkets and a leading online brokerage firm. For more information about Fidelity Investments, visit www.fidelity.com.

¹ Clients should check with their tax attorney or tax advisor to see if they are eligible.

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Fidelity Investments Institutional Services Co., Inc.
82 Devonshire St., Boston, MA 02109

Clearing, custody or other brokerage services may be provided by National Financial Services LLC, or Fidelity Brokerage Services LLC, Members NYSE, SIPC.

Please consider the fund(s) investment objectives, risks, charges and expenses before investing. For this and other information on any fund available through Fidelity, call your investment professional for a free prospectus or visit advisor.fidelity.com for a free Fidelity Advisor Fund prospectus. Read it carefully before you invest or send money.

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