NEW YORK, January 25, 2001 — Horsesmouth LLC announced today that Gruntal & Co. LLC, a 120-year-old financial services firm headquartered in New York, signed an agreement to provide its private client group with access to the Horsesmouth Performance Improvement Network for Financial Advisors. Gruntal will sponsor membership to the Horsesmouth Network for all 600 of the firm's financial advisors.

"As one of the oldest firms in the business, Gruntal has a long tradition of empowering investors to meet their long-term financial goals," said William T. Nicklin, Horsesmouth's chief executive officer. "We are very excited to be a part of Gruntal's initiatives to empower its financial advisors."

Gruntal made its decision to offer Horsesmouth to its financial advisors after a pilot program successfully demonstrated the value of the Horsesmouth Network.

"One of the critical factors we considered in choosing Horsesmouth was the extremely positive reaction of branch managers," said Eric Siber, Gruntal's senior vice president of national sales. "Horsesmouth offers something for everyone in the firm and specifically augments the traditional mentoring role of the branch manager. Our investment in Horsesmouth will ultimately translate into increased productivity for financial advisors and better service for our clients."

The Horsesmouth Network offers an extremely cost-effective way for financial services firms to deliver continuous learning. Horsesmouth complements formal training by providing a daily flow of knowledge and guidance, strengthening and sustaining firms' existing training campaigns.

"Horsesmouth provides an excellent platform for developing the skills of our financial advisors," said Jeffrey Spivack, vice president and director of professional development for Gruntal. "We will be able to support more advisors more often because Horsesmouth offers 24 x 7 access to the resources that advisors need."

Because Horsesmouth integrates learning and development in the context of up-to-the-minute market news and data, advisors get support for doing their jobs and interacting with clients on the job—at their own pace. The service is produced by Horsesmouth's team of industry experts, trainers, editors, writers, and programmers, all focused exclusively on providing what financial advisors need daily.

"Gruntal has a major initiative underway to provide increased support to its financial advisors," according to Robert Rittereiser, Gruntal's chairman and chief executive officer. "Horsesmouth will give experienced advisors new perspectives and will provide newer advisors with the tools necessary to care for their customers and grow their business."

Gruntal & Co. LLC is a full-service investment firm headquartered at One Liberty Plaza in New York. Established in 1880, the firm has a proud history of service, financial stability, and growth. Client service is at the heart of Gruntal's business strategy, a philosophy that has served the firm well through the years. Gruntal provides quality service to the investment community through its approximately 1,500 employees in offices across the country. To meet the evolving needs of clients, the firm continually expands its comprehensive lines of products and services. In addition to standard brokerage services, Gruntal provides research, investment banking advice, advisory services, retirement plans, and a full range of insurance products, as well as cash management services.

Horsesmouth LLC, headquartered in New York's financial district, is a company focused on helping financial advisors succeed. The Horsesmouth Performance Improvement Network for Financial Advisors includes resources for business planning, prospecting, client and practice management, building knowledge about the markets and investing, branch management, and professional development. Horsesmouth also offers live Web-based events as well as sustained learning programs to leverage traditional classroom training.