NEW COLLEGESENSE® PROGRAM FEATURES LOWER EXPENSES AND WIDE RANGE OF DIVERSIFIED INVESTMENTS

BOSTON, MA and PARSIPPANY, NJ -- July 27, 2005 -- Evergreen Investments and MainStay Investments, a division of New York Life Investment Management LLC (NYLIM), jointly announced today that they have merged their State of New Mexico-sponsored 529 college savings plans under the CollegeSense 529 Higher Education Savings Plan name.  The combined plan, with assets exceeding $600 million, leverages the collective investment management and distribution capabilities of both firms. CollegeSense is designed for investors who work with financial advisors.  The plan will be distributed by both firms through a network of investment professionals and financial intermediaries nationwide.

CollegeSense now offers a total of thirteen investment options, including an age-based series, asset allocation portfolios -- ranging from aggressive to conservative to all equity or all fixed-income as well as a capital preservation portfolio -- and four individual mutual fund portfolios.  The investment options feature underlying funds managed by Evergreen Investments and New York Life Investment Management.

“With spiraling costs today, saving for college is one of the top priorities for Americans,” indicated Katherine Cantrell, Acting Secretary of Higher Education and Chairperson of the Education Trust Board of New Mexico, the plan’s sponsor.  “We are excited to see our partners joining forces, focusing on providing our participants with a plan that continues to benefit from the resources and talent offered by both Evergreen and NYLIM.”

The merger of the two college savings plans builds on the commitment made by Evergreen earlier this year to enhance the program.  In February of this year, the State of New Mexico awarded program management for the now-merged Arrive 529 Savings Plan and CollegeSense Plans to Evergreen.  As program manager, Evergreen outlined plans for new asset allocations, underlying funds and lower portfolio expenses, which are now complete.

“We view this merger as a highly positive next step for Arrive and CollegeSense investors,” said Dennis H. Ferro, President and Chief Executive Officer of Evergreen Investments.  “By combining the two established plans, we are driving down the cost of the program to current and future participants and providing a highly competitive product in the college savings plan marketplace.”

“The merger was a natural,” said Chris Blunt, President of MainStay Investments.  “Our 529 products were very similar. Our multi-manager approach to the college savings market is the same.  And most important, we share the same high level of commitment to providing quality products and service to our investors and financial advisors.”

The program web site, www.collegesense.com, offers extensive college search and education planning tools, including in-depth information about the benefits of 529 plans and the CollegeSense Plan, as well as easy account access for financial advisors and their clients.

The CollegeSense 529 Higher Education Savings Plan is an IRC Section 529 college savings plan available to all U.S. residents and is sponsored by The Education Trust Board of New Mexico. Evergreen Investment Services, Inc., and Evergreen Investment Management Company, LLC are the program managers of the CollegeSense plan. Some states offer favorable tax treatment or other benefits to their residents only if they invest in their state’s own 529 plan. Non-residents of New Mexico should consider whether their state offers its residents a 529 plan with alternative tax advantages or other benefits.

CollegeSense and securities are distributed by Evergreen Investment Services, Inc.,
200 Berkeley St., Boston, MA 02116 and NYLIFE Distributors LLC, 169 Lackawanna Avenue, Parsippany, New Jersey, 07054.

CollegeSense and Arrive are registered marks of Evergreen Investment Services, Inc.

529 plans are in themselves municipal securities, not mutual funds, and are not intended to be liquid securities.  Withdrawals not used for educational purposes are subject to taxation at the distributee's rate and a 10% additional penalty.  Investments in the plan are subject to account fees, as well as mutual fund and other underlying investment fees and expenses - such as administration, customer service, and distribution fees as well as sales charges associated with the various underlying mutual fund share classes.  

Please call 1.866.529.SENSE (1.866.529.7367), or visit collegesense.com, for the CollegeSense Disclosure Statement and Customer Agreement, and the prospectuses and fact sheets for the underlying investments.  An investor should consider the investment objectives, risks, charges and expenses of a portfolio carefully before investing or sending money. The Disclosure Statement contains this and other information about the investment options and their underlying investments, respectively. Please read the Disclosure Statement carefully before investing or sending money.

Investments in the plan:
Not FDIC Insured / Not Bank Guaranteed / May Lose Value

About Evergreen Investments
Evergreen Investments is the brand name under which Wachovia Corporation (NYSE:WB) conducts its investment management business and is a leading asset management firm serving more than four million individual and institutional investors through a broad range of investment products.  Led by 350 investment professionals, Evergreen Investments strives to meet client investment objectives through disciplined, team-based asset management.  Evergreen Investments manages more than $249 billion in assets (as of June 30, 2005).  For more information on Evergreen, please visit www.evergreeninvestments.com.

About MainStay Investments
MainStay Investments is a division of New York Life Investment Management LLC (NYLIM). NYLIM and its affiliates, with more than $191 billion in assets under management as of May 31, 2005, provide a wide range of investment services to institutional, individual, corporate, public, and Taft-Hartley clients, including institutional asset management, retail investments, retirement services, guaranteed products, real estate investments and alternative investments. For more information, visit the New York Life Investment Management website at www.nylim.com.

Media Inquiries:

MainStay Investments
Diane Kagel, 973-394-4403
diane_kagel@nylim.com

Evergreen Investments
Dan Flaherty 617.210.3887
dflaherty@evergreeninvestments.com 

Commission on Higher Education of New Mexico
John Whiteside, 505-822-1264
jwhites@earthlink.net