June 3, 2004

Sacramento, CA - The California State Teachers' Retirement System announced today that it has sent a letter to the Securities and Exchange Commission commenting on the proposed change in the trade-through rule. The current rule, which applies to stocks listed on the New York Stock Exchange, requires brokers and dealers to trade on the market or exchange that offers the best price. The proposed modification to this rule would allow investors to opt out of the trade-through rule on a trade-by-trade basis. CalSTRS believes that investors should be given the option of choosing between speed and price, when it suits their investment strategy.

According to the letter, "Technology now allows investors an opportunity for expeditious trading that was not available to market participants when the 'trade-through' rule originated almost 30 years ago. The present day trade-through rule is obsolete; the unchecked operations of the 'trade through' rule all these years has allowed an enormous technological divergence to develop between the national market systems."

CalSTRS expressed support for the SEC's proposed new rule, which it says will set a standard that protects the stockholders. "The customer should come first and clearly, the customers of these national market systems want to be able to choose certainty and speed when it suits them."

The full text of the letter can be viewed by clicking here.

CalSTRS is the third-largest public pension fund in the United States. It provides retirement, disability and survivor benefits to California's public school teachers from kindergarten through community college, serving more than 735,000 members and their families. CalSTRS has $113.2 billion in assets, almost $49 billion of which are invested in the domestic equity market.