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From the desk of Bill Stanton

Welcome to the August 2008 edition of Perspectives, JPMorgan's quarterly publication that focuses on topical industry news and changing dynamics of the investment management community.

As both JPMorgan Investor Services and our asset management clients increasingly expand abroad with products and distribution, we are compelled to keep abreast of not only local legislative actions but also those actions and directives outside the U.S. So this time, our Legal corner section will focus on the European Union legislation, Markets in Financial Instruments Directive (MiFID), which passed in November 2007, and the response from European markets to the increased regulations.

Next up in our Product corner, Peter Donatio, executive director, Fund Accounting and Administration for JPMorgan Investor Services, shares his perspective on how recent difficulties in the credit markets have elevated mutual fund clients' concerns around fair valuation and pricing. Also in the Product corner, growing interest in socially responsible investing (SRI) takes center stage as JPMorgan Investor Services extends its Compliance Reporting Services product to make it easier for clients to monitor their SRI restrictions. We then leave you with a brief report on JPMorgan's second-quarter 2008 earnings in our Earnings corner.

We hope you find the information in this issue of Perspectives useful. As always, your thoughts and suggestions are appreciated and we encourage your feedback. We are privileged to be your asset servicing provider, and you can be assured of our continued focus on providing leading solutions for the investment management community.

Bill Stanton
Managing Director and Investment Management Executive
JPMorgan Investor Services
william.m.stanton@jpmorgan.com