This trend holds tremendous promise for The Hartford, and we are developing cutting-edge products  that help create a secure future for our customers. To meet aging boomers’ demand for a broader range of life insurance choices, we introduced a new suite of life insurance products. We also improved our sales execution. Customers responded, and we ended the year with two sequential quarters of life insurance sales growth.  Mutual funds are also growing. They’re natural complements to our variable annuity and individual life insurance businesses because they enable distributors to diversify their customers’ investment portfolios within The Hartford family. We started selling retail mutual funds in 1996 with eight funds. We now offer distributors 34 retail mutual funds and manage more than $20 billion in mutual fund assets. Eighty-four percent of our funds are rated in the first or second quartile of their Lipper peer groups for investment performance. Our  presence among the top 20 U.S. fund companies shows the strength of The Hartford brand, especially when  you consider that many of our competitors have been in the mutual fund business for more than 50 years.  In 2003 we laid the groundwork to intensify our mutual fund focus. We are broadening our distribution, introducing new product offerings and creating excitement behind our portfolio through effective marketing.  Our life operations closed the year with an acquisition that reaffirms our commitment to our profitable group benefits business. Our customers recognize that group benefits are an affordable way to protect their income as part of a holistic financial plan. The addition of CNA’s group benefits business will give us improved expense leverage and improved earnings. The Hartford now is the number two provider of group disability  for America’s workplaces.  We’re always thinking ahead, but we never lose sight of what makes us strong today: a diversified, strong  and balanced portfolio of businesses.  Think of high-achieving small to medium-size business owners who need property-casualty insurance, 401(k) plans and group life and disability products. As individuals, they need life insurance, college-savings  plans and retirement and estate planning.  Now make a list of strong, customer-focused companies with nearly 200 years of experience who can  provide all those products and services. It’s a very short list. Our breadth of products and services and our  strong financial position are what distinguish The Hartford.  Customers and distributors want to put their trust in companies who they know will be there for the long term, who understand what they need, who operate with the utmost honesty and integrity and who constantly improve to deliver extraordinary service. We’ve been doing these things for nearly two centuries, and we’re  doing them better than ever today as we position The Hartford for the future. Our leadership team believes strongly in our mission to protect customers today and to help them create a more secure, fulfilling future for their families. That’s why we have one of the most highly regarded management teams in this industry. I’m deeply grateful to The Hartford’s leaders and to the thousands of dedicated employees who are creating the future for this company. I also thank our business partners, our board of directors and, most of all, our  customers for their continued support and trust.  We look forward to earning your trust for many years to come. Sincerely, 2003 Annual Report Thirteen Ramani Ayer Chairman, President and Chief Executive Officer Creating the future