The toll of the World Trade Center attack took a steep toll on Fiduciary Trust. The unit of Franklin Resources has reported that 84 employees are unaccounted for and that another three are confirmed dead as of Tuesday evening.

"While we are moving forward with our business, we continue to be saddened by this horrific tragedy," said Anne Tatlock, Fiduciary's chairman and chief executive officer.

In response to the tragedy, Franklin has funded the FT Fiduciary Trust Memorial Fund with a $2 million challenge grant to its employees, and will be matching those contributions on a two-for-one basis. The memorial fund and account have been established at Franklin Templeton Bank & Trust, FSB, One Franklin Parkway, San Mateo, CA 94403, 1-877-236-7932. Fiduciary Trust has an employee hotline at 1-800-632-2350 x22578. Additional information is available at ftci.com.

Fiduciary Trust was headquartered in Two World Trade Center at the time of the attack. Since that time it has been operating from disaster recovery offices in New Jersey and next week it plans to move to 600 Fifth Avenue. The new offices in Rockefeller Center will be permanent and the long-term lease agreement for the space is currently in escrow, according to firm officials.

"We are extremely fortunate to have been able to secure space for our new headquarters so quickly," commented Tatlock. "Having a place for all of our employees to come back together is extremely important to us now."

"Mission critical systems are fully operational, all investment data has been backed up and we are successfully conducting trades," reported Bill Yun, president of Fiduciary Trust Company International. "All of our accounts are being managed by our investment teams. With the continued support and strength of Franklin Templeton Investments and our other business partners, IBM and Compaq, we are confident that we will be able to transition to normal business operations in our new headquarters."  

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