Investment Process -- Mutual Fund Portfolio Strategies

1IRA Funds & Technology Solutions


Provident Investment Counsel TCW Investment Management Co.		Brandes Investment Partners, L.P. Deutsche Asset Management, Inc.


TCW Investment Management Co. William Blair & Company, LLC		Ariel Capital Management, Inc. Cramer Rosenthal McGlynn, LLC


Lazard Asset Management Lombard Odier		Lend Lease Rosen Real Estate Securities LLC


Weiss, Peck & Greer Investments		Institutional Quality Funds from Multi-Managers

The Large Cap Growth Fund invests primarily in equity securities of U.S. companies with market capitalizations within the range of those on the Russell 1000® (Large Cap) index that have the potential for significant growth.

The Large Cap Growth Fund is sub-advised by:

Manager Research Commentary
The investment process at Provident Investment Counsel is implemented by a deep team of talented and experienced investment professionals. The firm places heavy emphasis on bottom-up, fundamental research to identify attractive stocks for portfolios.

Provident Investment Counsel
Founded: 1951
Headquarters: Pasadena, CA
Assets Under Management: $24 billion

For nearly fifty years, Provident Investment Counsel has been managing investment portfolios for individuals and institutions. Provident's investment philosophy is based on fundamental research, a stock selection process that emphasizes sustainable earnings growth, and rigorous buy and sell disciplines focused on preserving their investment style and consistency.

Manager Research Commentary
TCW's Large Cap Growth strategy is run by portfolio manager Glen Bickerstaff. The strategy is a concentrated, growth at a reasonable price strategy that places a heavy emphasis on original bottom-up fundamental research. The strategy also benefits from its relatively low turnover.

TCW Investment Management Company
Founded: 1971
Headquarters: Los Angeles, CA
Assets Under Management: $78.5 billion

The TCW Group is a group of affiliated financial companies providing a broad range of investment products for investors around the world. With a team of over 290 investment professionals, TCW has a broad depth of knowledge, investment experience and research capability. TCW's investment philosophy stresses investment in high quality companies with opportunities for growth that are not fully reflected in stock market valuations.

The Large Cap Value Fund invests primarily in equity securities of U.S. companies with market capitalizations within the range of those on the Russell 1000® (Large Cap) index that are undervalued in light of the company's fundamental characteristics.

The Large Cap Value Fund is sub-advised by:

Manager Research Commentary
Brandes is a bottom-up, absolute-value-oriented, equity manager which focuses on identifying the intrinsic value of companies and then buying them at steep discounts to intrinsic value. Research is performed by the firm's 50 plus investment professionals who perform in-depth, fundamental analysis on all their companies.

Brandes Investment Partners, L.P.
Founded: 1974
Headquarters: San Diego, CA
Assets Under Management: $50.9 billion

Brandes Investment Partners, L.P., a global investment advisory firm, manages assets for institutional and individual clients worldwide. With over a quarter-century of investment experience, they apply the value-oriented approach to securities selection pioneered by Benjamin Graham and David Dodd in the 1930s. Their value investing philosophy helps them uncover U.S. companies whose shares are trading at discounts to their estimated intrinsic value. These issues are typically sold when a company's intrinsic value becomes fully reflected in its stock price.

Manager Research Commentary
Portfolio Manager Jim Giblin is a very experienced value investor, and is complemented at Deutsche by a team of six sector analysts. The process is a relative value approach looking to identify high quality companies that are trading at a discount to fair value within each of the major sectors. An emphasis is put on identifying companies with stable and visible earnings.

Deutsche Asset Management, Inc.
Founded: 1985
Headquarters: New York, NY
Assets Under Management: $600 billion

Deutsche Asset Management, Inc. is the asset management division of Deutsche Bank A.G. Their presence in all of the major investment markets allows them to leverage the expertise of more than 400 portfolio managers and analysts across the globe. They manage for ongoing consistency in terms of investment style and fund objective, with a goal of competitive long-term, risk-adjusted performance. In addition, they utilize risk-managed diversified strategies and seek to adhere to a strict style consistency, without drifting either in investment discipline or in market capitalization.

The Small/Mid Cap Growth Fund generally invests in equity securities of U.S. companies with market capitalizations within the range of those on the Russell 2000® (Small Cap) Index and the Russell Midcap® Index that have the potential for significant growth in the light of the company's fundamental characteristics.

The Small/Mid Cap Growth Fund is sub-advised by:

Manager Research Commentary
The Small/Mid Cap Growth investment process at TCW is a high volatility strategy and is led by the investment team of portfolio managers Doug Foreman and Chris Ainley. They place a heavy emphasis on original fundamental research resulting in relatively low turnover.

TCW Investment Mangement Company
Founded: 1971
Headquarters: Los Angeles, CA
Assets Under Management: $78.5 billion

Manager Research Commentary
Portfolios at William Blair have been co-managed by the same portfolio management team for more than ten years. The research process is thorough and company-specific knowledge is strong. The team has maintained its philosophical approach, investing in high quality growth companies, and demonstrating deep conviction even in periods when their style is out of favor.

William Blair & Company, LLC
Founded: 1935
Headquarters: Chicago, IL
Assets Under Management: $13.1 billion

William Blair & Company is an employee-owned investment organization that has offered clients a consistent, well-defined investment philosophy for more than six decades. With an internationally recognized equity research team, William Blair generally focuses on companies with market capitalizations from $1 billion to $3 billion (at the time of purchase) that are selected for their superior financial characteristics and long-term earnings growth rates.

The Small/Mid Cap Value Fund invests primarily in equity securities of U.S. companies with market capitalizations within the range of those on the Russell 2000® (Small Cap) Index and the Russell Midcap® Index that are undervalued in light of the company's fundamental characteristics.

The Small/Mid Cap Value Fund is sub-advised by:

Manager Research Commentary
Ariel focuses exclusively on small/mid cap value investing. Their process seeks to identify companies with a low price compared to their future earnings power. An assessment of private market value is also made with the aim of buying companies at a discount or when the price reflects future earnings power.

Ariel Capital Management, Inc.
Founded: 1983
Headquarters: Chicago, IL
Assets Under Management: $5.1 billion

Since 1983, Ariel Capital Management, Inc. has concentrated their investment selection on small- and medium-sized companies whose share prices are undervalued. Ariel's investment strategy is directed by co-Chief Investment Officers John W. Rogers, Jr. and Eric T. McKissack, who have managed portfolios together at Ariel since 1986. The firm employs a patient, disciplined and conservative investment style, and uses knowledge and perspective accumulated over nearly two decades to serve clients in a variety of investment environments.

Manager Research Commentary
Cramer Rosenthal McGlynn is noted for its people and refinement of information. The firm has one of the deepest dedicated small/mid cap value teams in the industry. The firm's bottom-up, fundamental research effort is highly regarded for its quality and thoroughness, including meeting with company management and visiting companies on site.

Cramer Rosenthal McGlynn, LLC
Founded: 1973
Headquarters: New York, NY
Assets Under Management: $4 billion

Originally founded to serve as a private asset manager for a select number of wealthy families, Cramer Rosenthal McGlynn now manages portfolios for individuals, trusts and estates, pension plans, foundations and endowments. Cramer Rosenthal McGlynn's long-term value-oriented investment philosophy seeks to take advantage of periodic inefficiencies which develop in the valuation of small and mid cap companies, with market capitalizations typically ranging from $200 million to $5 billion (at the time of purchase).

The International Equity Fund invests primarily in equity securities of foreign companies.

The International Equity Fund is sub-advised by:

Manager Research Commentary
Lazard's international equity strategy is led by a team of experienced professionals who have access to Lazard's extensive network of global industry analysts. Lazard's value indicator approach is a highly defined process, which narrows the investment universe effectively. Company level research is thorough and each company undergoes extensive accounting validation to allow cross-country evaluation.

Lazard Asset Management
Founded: 1848
Headquarters: New York, NY
Assets Under Management: $69.4 billion

Lazard Asset Management is a division of Lazard, Freres & Co. LLC., a global investment bank with a worldwide presence in the investment industry spanning over 150 years. In managing international equity portfolios, Lazard employs an extensive global research staff and applies a consistent time-tested investment discipline with a focus on risk management, individual security selection and portfolio construction.

Manager Research Commentary
Lombard Odier's international strategy combines top-down country and sector allocations with fundamental, bottom-up, stock research. A global strategy committee of senior investment directors is responsible for setting regional allocations. A global group of analysts is then responsible for research and recommending their best ideas. Working together with the portfolio management team, a high conviction portfolio is constructed. Analysts visit companies and look for business models with strong competitive positioning and above-average growth prospects.

Lombard Odier
Founded: 1798
Headquarters: Geneva, Switzerland / London, England
Assets Under Management: $70 billion

For over two hundred years, Lombard Odier has specialized in global investment management. With over 1,300 employees in 15 global offices, Lombard Odier offers high quality investment management services to a wide and diverse range of institutional and private clients. Lombard Odier's international investment process combines in-depth fundamental analysis with disciplined portfolio construction and begins with the identification of growth companies that have shown consistent growth in earnings. Lombard Odier Portfolio Management Limited is part of the Lombard Odier Group.

The Real Estate Securities Fund invests primarily in companies deriving their revenues from the ownership, construction, financing, management or sale of U.S. commercial real estate.

The Real Estate Securities Fund is sub-advised by:

Manager Research Commentary
Lend Lease Rosen focuses on value, identifying companies that are trading at discounts to Net Asset Value based on a proprietary model. In addition, the firm emphasizes the strength of company management in terms of its ability to acquire high quality properties and its vision and ability to grow the company internally.

Lend Lease Rosen Real Estate Securities LLC
Founded: 1993
Headquarters: Berkeley, CA
Assets Under Management: $1.4 billion

As an affiliate of Lend Lease, a global real estate services firm with $37 billion in commercial property under management, Lend Lease Rosen is a research-driven investment management firm which focuses exclusively on the real estate securities industry. Combining its own internal research with the extensive experience and capabilities of the Lend Lease organization, the firm seeks to identify real estate companies with strong management and growth prospects selling at prices competitive with their underlying real estate values.

The Tax-Exempt Fixed Income Fund invests primarily in long-term, investment grade municipal securities.

The Tax-Exempt Fixed Income Fund is sub-advised by:

Manager Research Commentary
Weiss, Peck & Greer's tax-exempt fixed income strategy has a relative-value orientation and a quantitative methodology. This overall style drives an investment process that opportunistically overweights or underweights three primary areas to structure portfolios. They include the portfolio's exposure across the yield curve, how portfolios are allocated among fixed income asset classes and how portfolios are invested in specific securities.

Weiss, Peck & Greer Investments
Founded: 1970
Headquarters: New York, NY
Assets Under Management: $18.2 billion

Weiss, Peck & Greer Investments, a limited liability company, was formed as an investment management firm in 1970. In 1998, the firm became an affiliate of Robeco Group, a Dutch asset management company with $101 billion under management. Fully owned by Robeco, Weiss, Peck & Greer serves as Robeco's primary U.S. affiliate but maintains its independence with full investment and day-to-day business management authority.

The Core Plus Fixed Income Fund invests in shares of select institutional quality mutual funds that invest in a wide variety of fixed income securities.

Institutional Quality Funds from Multi-Managers
In the Core Plus Fixed Income Fund, 1IRA utilizes a unique investment approach, which enables the Fund to invest in multiple institutional fixed income funds encompassing a broad range of fixed income instruments. 1IRA Investment Services, utilizing research from BARRA RogersCasey, monitors the optimal combination of underlying funds and fixed income asset classes to meet the investment objectives of the Fund.