At Minnesota Life, our goal is to offer VGUL policyholders top-notch portfolios to meet a variety of investment objectives. To accomplish this goal, we strive to maximize our strengths and leverage the strengths of our partners. We team up with reputable industry names like the firms shown below to offer a spectrum of management styles and investment approaches.

BlackRock®  BlackRock is a premier provider of global investment management, risk management, and advisory services. As of March 31, 2005, BlackRock's assets under management total $391 billion across various investment strategies, including fixed income, liquidity/cash management, equity, and alternatives. BlackRock is a sub-advisor on the W&R Small Cap Value subaccount.
Janus Capital  Founded over 30 years ago in Denver, Colorado, Janus offers institutions and investors a broad array of products that span the world's capital markets. Janus' investment philosophy is based on two simple truths: stock prices ultimately follow the value of the underlying business, and identifying rapidly growing companies before the rest of Wall Street requires an information advantage. Through exacting fundamental research, Janus seeks to value businesses earlier and more accurately than the market at large. Valuations are determined through detailed financial modeling, taking into account both quantitative and qualitative findings.
Fidelity Management and Research For more than 50 years investors have been entrusting their investment dollars to Fidelity. One major reason is our unique investment process. We combine the strength of our people, bottom-up research, and active investment management to seek long-term results for our investors.
Wall Street Associates  Investment advisor to some of America's largest corporations, Wall Street Associates applies its considerable experience to “finding the celebrated companies of tomorrow” for its portfolios. In advising the W&R Target Micro Cap Growth portfolio, Wall Street Associates focuses on lower capitalization and superior growth characteristics as selection criteria.
Julius Bär Investment, Inc. As part of one of Switzerland's leading financial institutions, we bring the kind of focus to international investing that makes us a recognized leader in our field. We are active managers employing a fundamental and disciplined approach to bond investing. Our stable ownership and investment team are our strengths.
Advantus Capital Management, Inc. Advantus Capital Management offers a broad array of investment products and services tailored to meet investors' objectives. Fundamental, bottom-up research and market acumen help the portfolio management team at Advantus Capital Management uncover opportunities that benefit investors. Every dollar entrusted to Advantus is prudently managed to maximize returns without taking undue risk.
Waddell & Reed Investment Management Company Since 1937, Waddell & Reed, Inc., through its investment management subsidiary and affiliate, has provided investment management services to clients throughout the United States. Our investment process, which is well-defined, genuine and repeatable, combines collaborative critical thinking with individual viewpoints. Waddell & Reed's ultimate parent company, Waddell & Reed Financial, Inc. (NYSE: WDR), is a Fortune 400 company. Our funds are managed by an investment team with unusual depth and breadth of experience, with an average of 26 years of experience. Always cognizant that we are investing other peoples' money, our investment team invests confidently, which often results in more concentrated portfolios, and seeks to mitigate risk in an effort to protect on the downside.

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