McDonald Investments Podcasts Become an Increasingly Popular and Convenient Tool for Investment Advice, Top Stock Picks and Market Insight

CLEVELAND, March 22 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- McDonald Investments, a business unit of KeyCorp that provides banking, trust and investment solutions for the nation's affluent market, recently became one of the first major firms in the financial services industry to offer "podcasting" as a means of sharing market insights and investment advice with current and prospective clients. The podcasts can be found at http://www.key.com/mfg.

Since the January 2006 soft-launch of the first three episodes -- which feature economic commentary, stock picks and market forecasts by McDonald Investments Chief Strategist John Caldwell -- more than 10,000 visitors have listened to or downloaded the podcasts. This week, McDonald Investments posted two more episodes from Caldwell, one on the Mortgage Industry and the State of the Housing Market, and the other about Diversifying with International Assets. McDonald plans to develop and post additional podcasts throughout the year featuring new market updates and ongoing economic commentary from Caldwell and other leading McDonald investment strategists.

"McDonald Investments is helping today's investors transform their iPods and MP3 players into powerful and practical investment tools," said Caldwell. "Our podcasts provide an easier, more convenient way for listeners to get intelligent insight into the stock market as well as sound investment advice and valuable economic commentary wherever and whenever they want -- whether in the car, commuting on the train or even working out in the gym."

McDonald Investments' inaugural three podcasts, which are available for free download on McDonald's Web site (http://www.key.com/mfg), feature comments given by John Caldwell at the firm's annual Economic Forecast Luncheon series where he unveiled his top "stock picks" for 2006. Overall, McDonald Investments' stock picks have outperformed the market in 12 of the past 16 years, or 75 percent of the time.

Listeners can also download this content free of charge from the iTunes Music Store at http://www.apple.com/itunes or from Podcast.net's online directory in the "Business & Money" section. Each podcast runs approximately 15 to 30 minutes and addresses a different economic topic, including:

- "Putting 2005 in Perspective" -- Caldwell reviews the economic trends of 2005 and how concerned investors can best transition into 2006. Topics include the slow economy, corporate spending, inflation, energy goods, natural disasters, the Fed, gold, and the risks and fear of recession. - "2006 Investment Outlook" -- Caldwell looks at 2006 to identify the keys to economic recovery. Topics include market similarities to 1994-95, the value of bonds, the need for stability and identifying a good company. - "Top Stock Picks for 2006" -- Caldwell presents his top stock picks for 2006, based on identifying leading companies with strong or improving balance sheets, solid track records of increasing earnings, cash flow and dividends, as well as strong shareholder orientation. - "Mortgage Industry and State of Housing Market" -- Topics include: disputing the nation's housing bubble, and discussion about affordability, price appreciation, concerns with over-leveraged buyers, and adjustable rate mortgages. - "Diversifying with International Assets" -- Topics include: why you should diversify, how international diversification can help the return on your portfolio, concerns with risk, and the many great investment opportunities that reside overseas.

According to Forrester Research, podcasting (defined as households that listen to at least one podcast per month) is expected to reach 12.3 million households by the year 2010.

Caldwell said, "The key to our approach to serving affluent clients involves meeting one-on-one to discuss each client's individual goals and designing a financial plan that helps them achieve those objectives. However, our new podcasts have proven to be a powerful and convenient investing tool that complements and reinforces the personalized advice we provide. As a result, we look forward to developing and releasing additional podcasts on new topics throughout the year."

About John Caldwell

John Caldwell is Chief Investment Strategist and Department Director at McDonald Investments where he also serves as Chairman of the Firm's Investment Policy Committee. John is responsible for McDonald Investments stock selections, which are presented each year at the firm's economic forecast luncheon series. He provides market and economic commentary for several internal and external newsletters, most notably Financial Perspectives, McDonald's quarterly newsletter to clients.

John has been quoted on the equity markets by national and local media -- including The Wall Street Journal, The New York Times and The Washington Post -- more than 1,800 times since January 2003. He also regularly appears on CNBC, Bloomberg TV and on network affiliates in McDonald Investments markets across the country.

John began his career at McDonald Investments in 1993 as a co-operative education student in the Research Department and a year later, moved into the Portfolio Strategies Group. After positions as both a Portfolio Analyst and Investment Analyst within the group - and a brief stint with Wayne Hummer Investments in Chicago - John returned to McDonald Investments to assume leadership of the Portfolio Strategies Group.

John studied Material Science Engineering at Cornell University before graduating with a B.B.A. from Cleveland State University with a finance concentration.

About KeyCorp

Cleveland-based KeyCorp is one of the nation's largest bank-based financial services companies, with assets of approximately $93 billion. Key companies provide investment management, retail and commercial banking, consumer finance, and investment banking products and services to individuals and companies throughout the United States and, for certain businesses, internationally.

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