WASHINGTON, D.C., USA and PERTH, WESTERN AUSTRALIA//January 18, 2006//Zero Alpha Group (ZAG), a network of leading wealth management firms, has added to its ranks an eighth member – and the first from outside the borders of the United States. At the same time, the fast-growing ZAG has hired its first executive director.

Based in Perth, Western Australia, Plan B Financial Services Ltd is one of Australia’s oldest and most respected integrative wealth management providers. With a staff of more than 150, it is also one the largest independently owned wealth-management advisory firms in Australia and New Zealand, serving over 18,000 clients with advice, portfolio administration and investment management in respect to assets of well over US $1 billion.

Brent Brodeski, a founding member of ZAG who also is the managing director of Savant Capital Management in Rockford, IL., said: "The Zero Alpha Group intends to be one of the top financial planning groups in the United States and the world. We’ve already made our mark with major studies on the true cost of owning mutual funds. Today, we are embracing a global presence with the addition of Australia’s Plan B."

Plan B Founder and Executive Chairman Bryan Taylor said: "Our firm is an excellent fit with Zero Alpha Group members in the U.S. As with other ZAG member firms, Plan B advisers are paid salaries, not commissions, to ensure their only consideration is the client’s best interest. Borders are coming down all over the world in many aspects of the business and financial worlds. Plan B welcomes this opportunity to become part of the Zero Alpha Group, which is now a truly international wealth management network."

Becky Bianco, the new ZAG executive director, is a principal in the firm Baker-White Associates, Inc., a Lakewood, WA-based consulting firm. Her career experiences have been in financial operations, customer service, project management, and sales training, including work for Intercraft Industries, Kentucky Fried Chicken, Frank Russell Company, and Moss Adams LLP. Bianco is a Chartered Financial Analyst (CFA) and has a mathematics degree from the University of Louisville.

Bianco said: "As is true of any group that wants to exercise leadership in its industry, the Zero Alpha Group is going through the growth pains that are inevitable for an expanding organization that is taking on a bigger role and a higher profile. I look forward to working with ZAG as the organization reaches the next level in terms of its influence. My focus will be on making sure that Zero Alpha Group members get the value that they deserve and need from this organization."

ABOUT THE ZERO ALPHA GROUP

Founded in 1995, the Zero Alpha Group is an international network of independent investment advisory firms that manage a total of nearly $5 billion in assets. Members of the Group are committed to providing objective, long-term private wealth management solutions to investors, focusing on asset allocation and a structured, quantitative approach to investing. The firms in the Zero Alpha Group network share a common philosophy about investing and client service - a commitment to passive, tax-managed investment strategies while providing an independent financial planning solution for investors. Visit ZAG on the Web at http://www.zeroalphagroup.com.

ABOUT PLAN B

Plan B Financial Services Ltd was formed in the 1980s when it was formerly known as Precedent Financial Services. During the past two decades the Plan B Group has grown, in part, through the acquisition of complementary financial services networks in Australia and New Zealand. Plan B offers a full range of financial services including superannuation, managed investments, wills, estate planning and administration, business continuity planning, and personal and business insurance. Visit Plan B on the Web at http://www.planbonline.com.

CONTACT: Patrick Mitchell, (703) 276-3266 or , and Denys Pearce, for Plan B, +61892144904 or dpearce@planbonline.com.