KLD Research & Analytics, Inc.

Boston, USA, October 12, 2006 - The International Finance Corporation (IFC) has awarded its $500,000 "Capturing Value" grant to the team of Standard & Poor’s (S&P), KLD Research & Analytics, Inc. (KLD), and CRISIL, Ltd., one of India's leading research and ratings companies, and to the partnership of Trucost and CLSA.

The grant to the KLD partnership will fund an emerging markets equities index and environmental, social and governance (ESG) research on companies in India.

"KLD is honored to be part of the team the IFC has chosen to develop the first ESG index for India. Investors must have reliable performance gauges. To construct them, one must have high-quality research. The IFC's award emphasizes the importance of this process and its byproducts," said Peter D. Kinder, president of KLD.

According to Noel Friedman, managing director of research products at KLD, the company has been conducting environmental and social analysis on emerging markets since 2002. This is part of KLD's global strategy to ultimately provide in-depth ESG analysis for all major markets, developing and emerging markets alike. KLD will use its existing social and environmental analysis framework as a starting point for its work with CRISIL, and S&P’s deep knowledge and experience of governance issues will round out the ESG methodology.

"KLD is thrilled to be on the team that received the IFC award," said Friedman. "The grant will accelerate the development of local ESG research capacity in CRISIL. For research and index houses, such as KLD, which provide their clients with global research, the local perspective on and understanding of corporate behavior is critical."

About The International Finance Corporation
The International Finance Corporation is the private sector arm of the World Bank Group and is the largest provider of financing for private enterprise in developing countries. The goal of the IFC competition is to provide investors in emerging markets with high quality research and investment products that focus on corporate environmental, social, and governance (ESG) performance. An independent panel of experts from the UN Global Compact, First State Investments, the World Resources Institute, the World Federation of Exchanges, OnValues, and the Association for Sustainable and Responsible Investment in Asia chose the grant winners.

About KLD Indexes
KLD Indexes, a division of KLD Research & Analytics, constructs indexes for investors who integrate environmental, social and governance factors into their investment decisions. Investors, trustees, and consultants depend on the quality and integrity of KLD Indexes, which are designed to be transparent, representative and investable. Today, more than $10 billion is invested in funds based on KLD's family of indexes.

About KLD Research & Analytics, Inc.
KLD Research & Analytics, Inc. is an independent investment research firm providing investment management tools used by professionals to serve clients requiring investment strategies based on social and environmental responsibility.

Since 1988, institutional investors, managers, trustees, consultants and advisors have depended on the quality and expertise of KLD. Institutional money managers worldwide use KLD’s research to integrate environmental, social and governance factors into their investment decisions.

KLD products and services, including SOCRATES (a web-based, company research tool) are used for screening, compliance and asset gathering.

About CRISIL
CRISIL is India's leading ratings, financial news, risk, and policy advisory company. CRISIL's major shareholder is Standard & Poor's.

About Standard & Poor's
Standard & Poor's is the world's foremost provider of independent credit ratings, indexes, risk research, data and valuations. The company has 6,500 employees located in 22 countries.