Financial Network Investment Corporation Celebrates 25th Anniversary

Financial Network Investment Corporation (Financial Network) celebrates its 25th anniversary this month at its national planning conference, which began yesterday in Washington, D.C. More than 1,000 Financial Network representatives are attending the conference.

"Financial Network has seen strong success by providing local, hands-on support to the reps it serves," said John Simmers, CEO of ING Advisors Network and a founding partner of Financial Network. "That support continues to grow as we leverage the scale and resources of ING, one of the world's 10 largest companies(1). The reps of Financial Network and our other broker-dealers, ING Financial Partners, Multi-Financial Securities and PRIMEVEST Financial Services, can tap world-class research, ING Trust company, an integrated technology platform and a robust advisory program, that differentiates them and helps them better serve their clients."

The California-based broker-dealer was created in 1983 with 12 groups of practices or "regions" with approximately 400 representatives. This structure provides the registered representatives a high level of local support, while letting the broker-dealer handle compliance and back-office operations. Many regions provide additional marketing and sales assistance, practice-management support, training and infrastructure to help reps build their businesses. In the current environment, this structure has enabled smaller broker-dealers or larger practices to join Financial Network as a region while keeping their business model intact. Today, the broker-dealer has 35 regions and approximately 2,200 producing reps.

"Financial Network continues to thrive as a result of the principles instilled by the founders, which are helping reps succeed through a team-oriented regional structure," said Jack Handy, president and CEO of Financial Network. "Our culture particularly serves us well in the current environment as smaller broker-dealers are increasingly choosing to join Financial Network so that they can focus on their practices and leave the larger compliance and technology issues to us."

Financial Network said recruiting has been strong during this milestone year. The firm recently added 30 reps with approximately $17.5 million of production as a new region within the broker-dealer. The new region, known as "The Leader Board" region, is primarily located in California, with offices in Arizona, Texas and Utah. The region's average rep, mostly fee-based, has over $600,000 of annual production. Additionally, the broker-dealer plans to announce two more recruiting deals totalling over $35 million in annualized production in the coming month.

About Financial Network

Financial Network Investment Corporation, member SIPC, has a unique model that creates a dynamic environment of teamwork through the local service of its regional offices, the national support of its home office and the global scope of its parent company, ING. With this structure, Financial Network is able to build and support extraordinary regional teams, making it easier for its 2,600 financial professionals in the U.S. and Puerto Rico to succeed. In addition to its independent representative offices, Financial Network provides third-party marketing services to banks and credit unions through its Financial Institutions Division. For more information, visit www.financialnetwork.com.

About ING

ING is a global financial institution of Dutch origin banking, investments, life insurance and retirement services to over 85 million private, corporate and institutional clients in more than 50 countries. With a diverse workforce of over 130,000 people, ING comprises a broad spectrum of prominent companies that increasingly serve their clients under the ING brand.

In the U.S., the ING (NYSE: ING) family of companies offer a comprehensive array of financial services to retail and institutional clients, which includes life insurance, retirement plans, mutual funds, managed accounts, alternative investments, direct banking, institutional investment management, annuities, employee benefits, financial planning, and reinsurance. ING holds top-tier rankings in key U.S. markets and serves over 17 million customers across the nation. For more information, visit www.ing.com.

  (1) Fortune magazine Global 500, July 21, 2008

  Press inquiries:
  Philip Margolis
  ING
  (860) 580-2676
  phil.margolis@us.ing.com

SOURCE: ING

CONTACT: Philip Margolis, ING, +1-860-580-2676,
phil.margolis@us.ing.com

Web site: http://www.financialnetwork.com/
http://www.ing.com/us