Rena Walsh Joins FFTW as Head of Money Markets

NEW YORK, NY--(Marketwire - Sep 19, 2011) - Fischer Francis Trees & Watts (FFTW), the global fixed income partner of BNP Paribas Investment Partners, has hired Rena Walsh as Head of Money Markets. This new hire demonstrates FFTW's commitment to the liquidity business.

Ms. Walsh has over 25 years of experience in institutional fixed income investment management and will complement FFTW's money market team. In the past, she has worked for State Street Global Advisors where she led the money market team, served as a money market portfolio manager and more recently fulfilled a key business development role managing the internal distribution channel and key banking relationships for State Street's cash sweep business. Prior to that Ms. Walsh was a Vice President and Senior Portfolio Manager at PNC Investment Management (BlackRock) managing money market and fixed income funds. She started her career at Calvert Group holding multiple roles during her tenure.

Ms. Walsh will be based in New York and report to Guy Williams, FFTW's Chief Investment Officer. Mr. Williams stated, "Expanding our liquidity business is a key strategic initiative for FFTW. Rena's appointment further enhances our capabilities in this area and underlines our commitment to developing and managing U.S. liquidity strategies. One of the key aspects of Rena's role will be to develop subadvisory relationships in the U.S. and promote our offshore U.S. Dollar liquidity capabilities."

Notes to Editors:

Fischer Francis Trees & Watts
www.fftw.com

Fischer Francis Trees & Watts ("FFTW") is a global investment management firm providing active, fixed income strategies to institutional investors. It manages single and multi-currency mandates across global, U.S. and emerging markets. As of May 31, 2011, FFTW managed and advised $52.8 billion on behalf of clients around the world, including central banks, public institutions, corporations, insurance companies, endowments, foundations and non-profit organizations, and sub-advisory relationships. FFTW has separate entities in the United States, United Kingdom and Singapore, all of which are registered as investment advisers with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission. FFTW is a wholly-owned subsidiary of BNP Paribas and sits within BNP Paribas Investment Partners.

About BNP Paribas Investment Partners
www.bnpparibas-ip.com

BNP Paribas Investment Partners is the brand name of the asset management business of the BNP Paribas Group. BNP Paribas Investment Partners offers the full range of investment management services to both institutional and retail clients around the world. Central to the way we work is the concept of partnership -- both in terms of how we behave as a family of companies and our relationships with our clients. Over 800 investment professionals work across our network of some 60 investment centres, each specialising in a particular asset class or type of product. With total assets under management of EUR 540 billion (USD 783 billion) as of 30 June 2011, BNP Paribas Investment Partners is the fourth-largest asset manager in Europe and the twelfth-largest in the world.