First Mercantile Names New Chief Investment Officer

MEMPHIS, Tenn., Oct. 8 /PRNewswire/ -- First Mercantile Trust Company, a
member of the MassMutual Financial Group, has announced that C. Edwin Riley
has joined First Mercantile as chief investment officer (CIO), effective
October 1.

In his role as CIO, reporting to First Mercantile president Ian Sheridan, Mr.
Riley is responsible for the oversight and management of First Mercantile's
overall investment strategy and investment platform on behalf of First
Mercantile clients.

Mr. Riley joins First Mercantile from Nationwide Financial, where he most
recently served as vice president and chief investment officer. In this role,
he was responsible for due diligence and oversight of Nationwide Financial's
money managers as well as the management of the company's team of investment
research managers, specialists and consultants. Mr. Riley's responsibilities
also included product development, sales support, investment selection and
monitoring, and business development efforts. He also served as chairman of
the investment committee for Nationwide Investment Advisors Corporation, LLC
(NIA).

Prior to his six years at Nationwide Financial, Mr. Riley served 27 years as a
senior investment executive and portfolio manager with several money
management firms. Most notably, he served as senior vice president and
director of equity management of NationsBank (now Bank of America).

Mr. Riley earned his bachelor of science degree in finance from West Virginia
University and holds the FINRA Series 7 and 24 registrations.

"We look forward to Ed's strong leadership and investment oversight on behalf
of First Mercantile clients as a member of the First Mercantile executive
leadership team," says Sheridan. "His in-depth experience with collective
investment trusts, which are at the core of the First Mercantile offering,
will be of tremendous value to our clients."

For more information regarding First Mercantile, please contact your advisor
or call First Mercantile at (800) 753-9863.

About First Mercantile
First Mercantile, a member of MassMutual Financial Group, is one of the
premier collective investment trust (CIT) record keepers in the United States.
It offers investment solutions exclusively for qualified retirement plans.
Employing a due diligence process, First Mercantile searches the investment
universe to select non-proprietary options suited for its investment
platforms. CITs are sub-advised by institutional money managers, or invest in
mutual funds or exchange traded funds (ETFs). Also included on the investment
platform are DFA Funds, Lifestyle and Target Date options. First Mercantile
acts in a fiduciary capacity with respect to the management of the assets of
the collective investment trusts. The Advisor Review Committee oversees the
entire due diligence process, which includes qualitative and quantitative
analysis.

Its investment products are distributed through solid relationships with
quality investment professionals and third party administrators. First
Mercantile offers full fee disclosure and transparency with a flexible and
competitive cost structure. It has a national network of seasoned,
knowledgeable professionals to provide excellent client service, customer care
and support.

MassMutual Financial Group is a marketing name for Massachusetts Mutual Life
Insurance Company (MassMutual) and its affiliated companies and sales
representatives. www.firstmerc.com.

Contact: Patrice Saddler
901.463.1226
psaddler@firstmerc.com

SOURCE First Mercantile

Patrice Saddler of First Mercantile, +1-901-463-1226, psaddler@firstmerc.com