Hanseatic Group, Inc., and myMoneyPro.com Team Up toLaunch First Online Service Linking...

Business Editors & Internet Writers

ALBUQUERQUE, N.M.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--July 24, 2000

In a bid to expand the market for professional money management and level the playing field for everyday investors, Hanseatic Group, Inc., and myMoneyPro.com today joined forces as part

In teaming with myMoneyPro.com of Sunnyvale, Calif., Hanseatic Group will be able to serve a diverse group of investors through a convenient, customer friendly, web-based service called the Hanseatic Group Online Managed Account Service (OMAS)(TM). This service provides substantially greater investor access to the Hanseatic portfolio, locally, nationally and internationally.

Through myMoneyPro.com's Web-based service (www.mymoneypro.com), visitors can learn about the Albuquerque-based money manager and open an account, on the spot via myMoneyPro, for Hanseatic's U.S. Equity Program. The U.S. Equity Program employs a quantitative process to construct and manage portfolios of individual equities using pattern recognition and trend analysis techniques. Stocks are diversified across several sectors, and no leverage is used. The program is long only (buy and hold), and is not hedged.

Backed by Foundation Capital, the noted Menlo Park, Calif., venture capital firm, myMoneyPro.com is creating an entirely new market that allows individual investors to invest $200,000 or more with Hanseatic Group, which has traditionally required a minimum investment of $1,000,000.

The Hanseatic Group Online Managed Accounts Service enables these investors to enjoy the peace of mind, financial performance and tax advantages of having their accounts managed by Hanseatic's independent, top-ranked investment professionals.

"Hanseatic Group continues to innovate by embracing practical and creative ideas to serve all segments of the investing public with a variety of high-performance money management programs. Hanseatic emphasizes 'reach' as well as 'richness' in constructing its business strategy and investment portfolios," said Katherine Burr, CEO, Hanseatic Group, Inc. "The myMoneyPro service is at the forefront of the emerging trend of online personal money management in which the reach/richness equation is no longer a trade-off but seamlessly incorporated into one service. Hanseatic has partnered with the visionary company in our industry."

"With a three-year net average annual return of 43.88% (through June 2000) in its U.S. Equity Program, Hanseatic Group truly is a stellar performer among money management firms -- a primary reason why we've chosen to partner with them," said Mike Apker, co-founder and Chief Executive Officer, myMoneyPro.com. "Hanseatic Group's quantitative model reflects a sophisticated, proven approach to investing that now can help investors not just in New Mexico, but throughout the country."

myMoneyPro.com teamed with Hanseatic Group based on its sustained long-term performance and adherence to strict principles of professional conduct. Hanseatic complies with criteria that include:

  -- Delivering sustained performance in the top 25 percent when
     compared with its peers during the previous 3-5 years, according
     to national ratings services
  -- Having an immaculate record with the Securities Exchange
     Commission (no formal or informal investigation of any kind,
     and no outstanding issues or inquiries pending)
  -- Being in business for a minimum of three years
  -- Employing more than one portfolio manager

Application Service Enables Hanseatic to Scale

myMoneyPro.com enables Hanseatic Group to efficiently serve a large and geographically diverse body of investors. While Hanseatic Group creates model portfolios that are inherently scalable to thousands of clients, the increased fulfillment and service needs that come with new clients are often operationally prohibitive. myMoneyPro.com makes serving these incremental customers cost-effective for Hanseatic by offloading many non-value-added and time-consuming business processes, such as account initiation, trade execution, account reconciliation/reporting, billing and fee collection, and administrative customer service.

Equity transactions directed by Hanseatic Group are executed by myMoneyPro.com in each client's separate account through Fidelity Investments, America's largest private investment manager firm with more than $1 trillion in customer assets. myMoneyPro.com maintains a strategic partnership with Fidelity Investment Brokerage Group for brokerage and custody services and advanced money management technologies.

The launch of myMoneyPro.com comes as Americans are re-thinking their relationship to Wall Street. A just-concluded national poll, conducted by Market Facts, Inc., of Chicago for myMoneyPro.com, queried 1,000 consumers, seeking to measure attitudes about investing in equities since the April stock market correction. The survey revealed that 35 percent of respondents remain confident in the market but want assistance from an investment professional. By contrast, 28 percent feel confident about the market and are satisfied to go it alone.

About Hanseatic Group

The Hanseatic Group began business in 1977 in Albuquerque as a commodity trading advisor. Today Hanseatic manages $230 million in a variety of financial programs for institutions and high net worth individuals around the world through its SEC or CFTC-registered affiliates. Hanseatic trades managed futures, invests in domestic and global equities, manages hedge funds and uses interbank currencies to enhance the yield of equity and debt portfolios. Hanseatic also forecasts currencies, including thirty-five emerging market currencies. In late 1999 Hanseatic launched its first venture capital fund to invest in non-U.S. Internet-based business-to-business applications in finance and education. While dedicated to global finance, Hanseatic was created and has achieved its success through the work of long-time New Mexicans.

About myMoneyPro.com

Headquartered in Sunnyvale, Calif., myMoneyPro.com is an application service provider that enables professional money managers to scale their business at no incremental cost. myMoneyPro.com solves two growth-inhibiting issues for money managers: the cost of acquiring a client and the cost of servicing a client. Through innovative use of Internet technology, myMoneyPro.com provides the money management services of nationally top-ranked independent money management firms and support to individuals at historically low account minimums. myMoneyPro.com is funded by Foundation Capital of Menlo Park, Calif.