Tokyo, Japan and Boston, USA - May 19, 2006 - SHINKO INVESTMENT TRUST MANAGEMENT CO., LTD. (SHINKO ITM), Tokyo, Japan, and KLD Research & Analytics, Inc. (KLD), Boston, USA, announced today plans to launch the first environmental index fund for socially responsible investors in Japan.

SHINKO ITM's new Chikyu Ondanka Boushi Kanrenkabu Fund is indexed to KLD's Global Climate 100 Index, the first global index focused on solutions to climate change. The Chinkyu Ondanka Boushi Kanrenkabu Fund – nicknamed "Chikyuryoku" (and whose full Japanese name is translated as "Global Warming Prevention Equity Fund"), maximizes investors' exposure to global companies taking steps to commercialize renewable energies such as solar and wind, future fuels such as natural gas and hydrogen, and innovations or applications of new technologies that help reduce emissions of greenhouse gases. The International Energy Agency (www.iea.org) projects that $10 trillion will be invested in energy systems in the next three decades to meet growing global demand.

"The Chikyuryoku Fund represents a response to the growing demand from Japanese investors concerned about the effects of global warming," said Atsuji Matsunaga, CEO of SHINKO ITM. "We are pleased to take the leadership in bringing this new investment opportunity to Japanese investors."

The initial subscription period for the SHINKO ITM Chikyuryoku Fund begins on June 5, 2006, and the launch date is scheduled for June 30, 2006.

Peter Kinder, president of KLD said, "We are proud that SHINKO ITM chose to license the Global Climate 100 Index. In an increasingly carbon-constrained world, climate change is an investment issue - not just an environmental issue. SHINKO ITM will bring their considerable experience to bear on addressing solutions to climate change through the capital markets. While these companies alone won't solve global warming, the Index focuses investors' attention on where the possibilities lie."

KLD's Global Climate 100 Index was launched on July 1, 2005. The Index has a total return of 31.71% from launch through April 30, 2006 compared to 21.53% for the MSCI World Index. KLD developed the Global Climate 100 Index in partnership with the Global Energy Network Institute (GENI), a non-profit research and education organization (www.geni.org) that focuses on the interconnection of electric power networks between regions and nations to tap the abundant renewable energy sources around the world.

In September 2005, KLD Indexes engaged Tokyo-based Sunrise Advisors Co., Ltd. to seek licenses for mutual funds, exchange traded funds, and separately managed accounts for the KLD Global Climate 100 Index in Japan. Sunrise has extensive knowledge of the Japanese socially responsible investment market.

"I'm delighted that SHINKO ITM has decided to offer such a unique and powerful anti-global warming fund to the Japanese investors who recognize the importance of investment returns as well as conservation of environments," said Sunrise Advisors CEO and President Sho Ikeda. "Sunrise Advisors is proud to have been able to arrange the deal as the GC100 licensing agent."

Additionally, due to the concern in Japan for environmental responsibility, The Chikyuryoku Fund will initiate a sustained contribution of five basis points of the total net asset value of the fund to environmentally conscious non-profit organizations. Global environmental protection organizations like The World Wildlife Federation Japan (www.wwf.or.jp) will receive these contributions.