Press Release: March 29, 2000

WR Hambrecht + Co Adds eLearning to its Equity Research Coverage

Senior analyst Trace Urdan and group to cover an emerging market

San Francisco, CA, March 29, 2000—WR Hambrecht + Co today announced its equity research group focused on the emerging eLearning market. Heading the group is senior analyst Trace Urdan, who recently joined WR Hambrecht + Co from Deutsche Banc Alex Brown where he was part of an Institutional Investor "All-Star" team covering stocks in the Education and Publishing industries.

WR Hambrecht + Co’s eLearning Group will focus on both established and emerging players in the education market that are using technology to create new models for learning whether in corporate or academic sectors. Earlier this month the eLearning team issued a report on the burgeoning multi-billion dollar corporate market, Corporate E-learning: Exploring a New Frontier.

"The new economy places a premium on the development of intellectual capital and companies are discovering better and more efficient ways of providing these services. We believe that the eLearning market presents promising growth opportunities for investors," said Keith Bachman, Director of Equity Research at WR Hambrecht + Co.

With the addition of eLearning research, the WR Hambrecht + Co coverage now extends into 12 sectors. The firm already tracks companies in eMedia, eNetwork Technologies, eSoftware, eHealth, eFinance, Open Source, eServices, eTailing/Consumer Brands, eNetwork Infrastructure, eMarkets/Portals and eWireless.

WR Hambrecht + Co offers all its research reports free and real-time at www.wrhambrecht.com.