First American Funds Launches New Retirement Share Class New R Share Class is Designed for Small- and Mid-Sized Employer-Sponsored Retirement Plans MINNEAPOLIS, July 7 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- U.S. Bancorp Asset Management today announced that First American Funds is adding a retirement (R) share class to the fund family. The new R shares are designed primarily to serve the needs of the small- to mid-sized employer-sponsored 401(k) retirement plans with assets in the $1 million to $10 million range. A full line of First American Funds will now be available in an R share class, including: -- Taxable bond funds - Core Bond, Corporate Bond, High Income Bond, U.S. Government Mortgage -- Lifecycle funds - Strategy Aggressive, Strategy Growth, Strategy Growth & Income, Strategy Income -- Growth and income funds - Equity Income, Balanced -- Index funds - Equity Index, Mid Cap Index, Small Cap Index -- Large-cap funds - Large Cap Growth Opportunities, Large Cap Select, Large Cap Value -- Mid-cap funds - Mid Cap Growth Opportunities, Mid Cap Value -- Small-cap funds - Small Cap Growth Opportunities, Small Cap Select, Small Cap Value -- Sector funds - Real Estate The new R shares will be available through third-party retirement platform providers and broker-dealers providing services to retirement plans across the country. The shares will be sold with no front-end or contingent deferred sales loads or surrender charges* and will offer a 50-basis-point 12b-1 immediate trail to financial advisors. "We created R shares to meet the increased demand for our funds from third-party retirement platforms and their brokers," according to Wendy Schoppert, head of product, marketing and corporate development at U.S. Bancorp Asset Management. "This new share class serves the needs of the rapidly growing small- to mid-sized plan marketplace, and we look forward to expanding relationships with our distribution partners in the months ahead." One of the platforms that will offer the new R shares is BISYS Retirement Services. Christopher Guarino, president of BISYS, said, "The retirement plan sponsors we support continually search for new investment options for their plan participants. I believe First American is a first-rate fund family that encompasses a wide range of mutual funds that span the asset classes. We welcome the opportunity to offer plan sponsors, and ultimately, retirement plan participants, this full line of new no-load R-share-class funds." About First American Funds The First American Funds mutual fund family is the fifth-largest bank- proprietary fund family in the United States, with more than $56 billion** in 46 open-end funds. The funds are advised by U.S. Bancorp Asset Management. About U.S. Bancorp Asset Management U.S. Bancorp Asset Management is a national investment firm that serves as the registered investment advisor to First American Funds and provides customized portfolio management to private clients, corporations, public entities, nonprofit organizations, and other institutions. The firm is one of the nation's leading money managers, with more than $122 billion** in assets under management. * While the R share class will be sold without sales loads, management and distribution fees, and other expenses still apply. Please refer to the prospectus for details. ** Total assets listed as of March 31, 2004 The funds' investment objectives, risks, charges, and expenses must be considered carefully before investing. The prospectus contains this and other important information about First American Funds, and it may be obtained by calling First American Investor Services at 800.677.FUND or visiting http://www.firstamericanfunds.com/ . Read the prospectus carefully before investing. Investment products, including shares of mutual funds, are not obligations of, or guaranteed by, any bank, including U.S. Bank or any U.S. Bancorp affiliate, nor are they insured by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation, the Federal Reserve Board, or any other agency. An investment in such products involves investment risk, including possible loss of principal. Mutual fund investing involves risk; principal loss is possible. Investing in certain funds involve special risk, such as those related to investments in foreign securities, small and mid-capitalization stocks, high-yield securities, and funds which focus their investments in a particular industry. Please refer to the prospectus for more details pertaining to these risks. Strategy Aggressive Allocation, Strategy Growth Allocation, Strategy Growth & Income Allocation, and Strategy Income Allocation Funds are each a "fund of funds" comprised of holdings in several different First American funds, which may include small-cap, mid-cap, large-cap, money market, international and/or sector funds. The investment advisor allocates and reallocates the Fund's assets among the underlying First American funds within ranges designed to meet the investment objective. See the prospectus for an illustration of these ranges and special risks, which are associated with the underlying funds. Securities that are issued by the U.S. Government, its agencies or instrumentalities, are guaranteed as to principal and interest payments. The U.S. Government Mortgage Fund offers no such guarantee. U.S. Bancorp Asset Management, Inc., serves as the investment advisor to First American Funds. First American Funds are distributed by Quasar Distributors, LLC, an affiliate of the investment advisor. DATASOURCE: U.S. Bancorp Asset Management, Inc. CONTACT: Cheryl B. Stone, Vice President, Public Relations of U.S. Bancorp Asset Management, +1-612-303-5657 Web site: http://www.firstamericanfunds.com/

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