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First Federal Bank Partners with Advisor Software, Inc. to Provide Financial Advisors with a Powerful Investment Advice Solution

Lafayette, CA - October 14, 2003 - First Federal Bank (NYSE: FED) and Advisor Software, Inc. (ASI), today announced First Federal's plans to provide ASI's Investment Proposal Solution to its in-house network of investment advisors. The project will provide First Federal's investment officers with powerful asset allocation, investment selection and proposal generation capabilities and will be hosted as an ASP solution by ASI.

First Federal, a large publicly-traded regional bank located in Santa Monica, CA, selected ASI to support its rapidly expanding investment advisory and trust business. "We needed a way to improve the productivity and consistency across our team of advisors, while promoting First Federal's investment strategies and model portfolios to new clients," said Dick Arnold, Senior Vice President at First Federal. "ASI was able to accommodate our unique needs, especially our work with exchange traded funds (ETFs)."

Investment officers at First Federal will use ASI's Investment Proposal Solution to work through a logical sequence of steps: risk assessment, asset allocation, analysis of current holdings, recommendations and selection of model portfolios, and proposal generation.

"First Federal Bank represents the new breed of regional banks, and their investment advisory business is a key part of their growth plans," said Andrew Rudd, CEO of Advisor Software. "ASI is excited to be an integral part of their strategy in this area and confident our solutions will enhance advisors' productivity."

About First Federal Bank Founded in 1929, First Federal Bank of California has provided continuous service to its clients during every economic cycle. Locally managed and financially strong, First Federal continues to provide the best banking alternative in the communities it serves. In 1983, First Federal Bank of California went public. In 1987, First Federal Bank of California organized itself under FirstFed Financial Corp., a holding company. The Company common stock now trades on the New York Stock Exchange under the symbol FED. Today, First Federal Bank of California has 29 banking locations and over $4 billion in assets. http://www.firstfedca.com.

About Advisor Software
Advisor Software, Inc. (ASI) was founded in 1995 by Andrew Rudd (Founder, Chairman and former CEO of Barra, Inc.) to deliver institutional-strength analytics and advice to the individual investor and the advisors who serve them. ASI's advice technology is designed for a wide range of broker/dealers, banks, insurance companies, online brokerages, and other financial institutions, enabling these institutions and their advisors to deliver more insightful, actionable investment advice and build stronger, more profitable client relationships. ASI is a privately held company headquartered in Lafayette, California.

For more information, please visit ASI's website at www.advisorsoftware.com. Press Room Press Room