JERSEY CITY, N.J., August 15, 2007 — Pershing LLC, a unit of The Bank of New York Mellon, has released a new independent study with Moss Adams LLP entitled The Race for Top Talent. The study is a component of TalentConnect(SM), an innovative program recently launched by Pershing to help broker-dealers and independent registered investment advisors (RIAs) address every phase of an investment professional's life cycle ranging from recruiting and onboarding to retention and succession.

The report uncovers motivations behind investment professionals' loyalty and provides home office executives, business development managers and branch managers with best practices for attracting and retaining talented investment professionals. The study also offers broker-dealers valuable information to help them competitively differentiate themselves and enhance their value propositions.

According to the study, industry demand for attracting top investment professionals is outpacing supply, a trend that continues to increase at an exponential rate. In order to maintain a competitive advantage, broker-dealer firms will need to make concerted efforts to place human capital management at the forefront of their strategic objectives. Key findings from the study include:

• All Broker-Dealers Are Experiencing an Industry-Wide Race for Top Talent — Today, broker-dealers are competing with every affiliation model for top talent. Independent broker-dealers are competing with insurance broker-dealers, bank affiliated broker-dealers and even independent registered investment advisory firms (RIAs). In fact, more and more often, an advisor contemplating a change may not only consider different affiliation models, but is also more open to complete independence;
   
• Broker-Dealers Need to Develop Compelling Value Propositions to Attract and Retain Top Talent — A value proposition that fails to appeal to the investment professional's emotional interests will likely not attract nor retain high-quality talent. Payout is one of the predominant misconceptions about why investment professionals change affiliation. Payout, in fact, ranks lower than culture as an important aspect of the decision-making process to leave a firm;
   
• Shift Focus to Recruit Entry-Level Investment Professionals at the Branch Level — According to recruiters, the single biggest source of talent within the industry will come from entry-level investment professionals currently producing less than $250,000. Attracting and retaining these "rising stars" is a strategy that will grow a broker-dealer's business exponentially and is likely to have a far greater return on investment than paying large sums for the experienced investment professional.

James T. Crowley, managing director at Pershing, said, "As the financial marketplace continues to evolve and become more complex, broker-dealers will increasingly need to focus on attracting and retaining top-tier investment professionals to help them succeed. This new study identifies crucial human capital challenges and opportunities facing broker-dealer firms and provides them with important information to help them expand their advisor network and enhance their overall recruiting efforts."

Philip Palaveev, senior manager at Moss Adams LLP, said, "The only factor limiting the growth of the industry today is the ability of firms to find experienced and skilled people they can deploy in the field. No matter what direction the industry takes, the firms with the best investment professionals will have the most success financially."

TalentConnect is a component of Pershing's Ideas Without Limits(SM) practice management program for broker-dealers and RIAs. TalentConnect offers valuable research, insights into trends shaping the recruiting market, workshops led by industry-leading consultants and a wide range of tools for attracting, retaining and developing top performers including, guidebooks, podcasts, white papers and marketing support. Two guides are now available to assist broker-dealers in their efforts to attract and retain top talent. These include: A Guide to Attract Top Talent and A Guide to Relationship Recruiting. For copies of these guides, please e-mail Pershing LLC at marketing@pershing.com.

The Race for Top Talent was commissioned by Pershing LLC and independently executed by Moss Adams LLP. For a copy of the full report, please e-mail Pershing LLC at marketing@pershing.com.

Pershing LLC is a leading global provider of financial business solutions to more than 1,150 institutional and retail financial organizations and independent registered investment advisors who collectively represent over five million active investors. Financial organizations, investment professionals and independent registered investment advisors depend on Pershing's depth of experience and consultative approach to provide them with forward-thinking solutions that help them to grow their businesses. Located in 19 offices worldwide, Pershing is committed to service excellence and to providing dependable operational support, robust trading services, flexible technology, an expansive array of investment solutions and practice management support. Pershing (member NASD/NYSE/SIPC) is a member of every major U.S. securities exchange and its international affiliates are members of the Deutsche Borse, the Irish Stock Exchange and the London Stock Exchange. Pershing LLC is a subsidiary of The Bank of New York Mellon Corporation. Additional information is available at www.pershing.com.

The Bank of New York Mellon Corporation is a global financial services company focused on helping clients manage and move their financial assets, operating in 37 countries and serving more than 100 markets. The company is a leading provider of financial services for institutions, corporations and high-net-worth individuals, providing superior asset management and wealth management, asset servicing, issuer services and treasury services through a worldwide client-focused team. It has more than $20 trillion in assets under custody and administration and more than $1 trillion in assets under management. Additional information is available at www.bnymellon.com.