BOSTON, January 21, 2004 - National Financial, a Fidelity Investments company, today announced that it has expanded its correspondent clearing sales and relationship management team with the addition of six vice presidents. These new hires bring National Financial's team to more than 45 professionals serving over 300 broker/dealer clients across the country.

The following appointments have been made: In the Mid-Atlantic region, John Tirpak has been hired as vice president of sales. In the Southern region, Christine Baker and Keith MacDougall have been hired as vice presidents and relationship managers, and Fredrick Zeh has been appointed vice president of sales. In the Midwest region, Stephen Dripchak, Jr., has been appointed vice president and senior relationship manager, and Nancy Harris, vice president and relationship manager.

"These appointments are another example of National Financial's commitment to investing in its clearing business and building an experienced team of professionals who understand and can respond effectively to the unique needs of broker/dealers," said Norman R. Malo, president, National Financial.

National Financial relationship managers serve as a client's day-to-day contact, responsible for working consultatively with them to help meet their business objectives, build best practices and advocate for process changes, and technology and product enhancements. Sales associates are responsible for expanding National Financial's correspondent clearing business in their respective regions.

The new positions are in response to the recent realignment of National Financial's sales and relationship management organization, which is now divided into five dedicated regional teams. The regions include: New England, Mid-Atlantic, Southern, Midwest, and West.

The regions are overseen by the following senior vice presidents: Joseph R. Kelly (New England, based in Boston), David P. Brown (Mid-Atlantic, based in New York), Donna M. Fontana (Southern, based in Atlanta), W. Gordon Leese (Midwest, based in Chicago), and Ted Nelson (West, based in San Francisco).

"We are very excited about our new regionalized structure and the benefits it will bring our broker/dealer clients," said Malo. "Establishing local offices staffed with client management teams will allow us to increase the frequency of personal contact with our clients, while continuing to provide the highest quality service."

New Hire Background

Mid-Atlantic Region

John Tirpak, 35, joined National Financial from First Clearing, where he served as vice president responsible for client service and new business development. From 1995 to 2001, he was assistant vice president and relationship manager for Pershing. Prior to that, Tirpak was a registered representative with Neuberger & Berman.

Southern Region

Christine Baker, 45, was most recently branch office development consultant at Omaha-based Securities America, where she managed all recruitment activities in the Northeastern United States. Previously, she consulted for BD Solutions and worked for National Planning Corporation (NPC) as vice president, regional recruiting manager for the Midwest region.

Keith MacDougall, 40, joined National Financial from AmSouth Investment Services, Inc., in Birmingham, Alabama, where he was vice president of product management and technology. Previously, he was vice president for First American Investment Services Group (ISG), managing its discount trading operation as well as product development and vendor relations.

Federick Zeh, 36, joined National Financial from Legg Mason Wood Walker, Inc., in Baltimore, Maryland, where he worked for nine years. There, Zeh most recently served as assistant vice president, director of sales and marketing for clearing and technology services. In that position he directed and managed all aspects of business development, product development and marketing for the Clearing and Technology Services Group, which he established.

Midwest Region

Stephen Dripchak, Jr., 42, joined National Financial from New-York-based Gerard, Klauer, Mattison & Company, Inc., where he most recently was executive vice president, administration and operations. Previously, he worked for nine years at Bear Stearns Securities Corporation in several capacities. As managing director of Global Clearing Services, he oversaw client implementation and conversions, technology deployment and systems training.

Nancy Harris joined National Financial from BNY Clearing Services LLC, where she was vice president, relationship manager in the Midwest and West Coast regions. Prior to BNY Clearing, she was an institutional arbitrage trader for Harris Bank, opening and managing its London desk. Earlier in her career, she worked as a product manager for Continental Bank, and managed trust operations and brokerage back-office processing for banking institutions and brokerage firms.

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 an 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 more than 300 financial institutions representing nearly 3.4 million client accounts and approximately $320 billion in assets, as of November 30, 2003. For more information about National Financial, please visit www.nationalfinancial.com.

About Fidelity Investments

Fidelity Investments is one of the world's largest providers of financial services, with custodied assets of $1.8 trillion, including managed assets of $988.3 billion as of December 31, 2003. Fidelity offers investment management, retirement planning, brokerage, human resources and benefits outsourcing services to 18 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.

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National Financial Services LLC, Member NYSE, SIPC.