February 3, 2003 - ScotiaMcLeod Direct Investing offers new technical analysis tool to clients

One of the first brokerage firms to offer this tool
Ottawa, ON, Canada, February 3, 2003— ScotiaMcLeod Direct Investing (SMDI) announced today the introduction of a new research tool available to select clients through a partnership with Recognia Inc. The new tool tracks and analyzes price and volume patterns for all securities and indices on major North American markets to give investors an indication of potential future price movements. SMDI is one of the first direct brokerage firms to offer technical analysis to its clients.

"Technical analysis provides an alternative way for clients to look at the merits of various investment alternatives," says Marianne Hasold-Schilter, Managing Director and COO, SMDI. "This new tool is a unique addition to our existing research capabilities which provide clients with market, industry and corporate information that they can use to develop effective investment strategies."

"SMDI actively seeks out and brings its clients specialized research content from a broad range of sources including proprietary industry-leading equity and fixed income research from ScotiaCapital," says Hasold-Schilter. "We also try to select and present an intelligent and complementary suite of top-quality research sources and tools that our clients will find useful without overwhelming them with information."

Recognia provides a broad range of analytical tools including a screening tool to analyze individual securities or markets, a search function that identifies specific technical patterns (or events), and educational content that helps explain how technical analysis can be used.

"We are very excited to have ScotiaMcLeod Direct Investing clients using Recognia tools. These tools give investors a new and objective information source, based on the principles of Technical Analysis." says Sean Church, President and CEO of Recognia. "By combining Recognia's tools with the extensive research information already available to their clients, SMDI is providing a comprehensive suite of tools that will help them make better investing decisions."

Those interested in this new tool can check it out through a link available through SMDI's Online Test Drive promotion at www.scotiamcleoddirect.com/testdrive launched earlier this month. Online Test Drive participants manage a fantasy $100,000 investment portfolio and experience investing online in real time - except there's no risk. All participants who outperform the S&P/TSX 60 Index during the program period will be eligible to win their choice of a new 2004 performance edition 300hp Volvo V70 R wagon or S60 R sports sedan.

About ScotiaMcLeod Direct Investing
ScotiaMcLeod Direct Investing is a division of Scotia Capital Inc., a member of the Scotiabank Group. ScotiaMcLeod Direct Investing provides independent investors with access to a wealth of resources and services, in-depth investment research and analysis; convenient, fast, and reliable account access; and direct control over their trading transactions and choice of investments to help them achieve their financial goals. Visit ScotiaMcLeod Direct Investing at www.scotiamcleoddirect.com.

Scotiabank is one of North America's premier financial institutions and Canada's most international bank. With approximately 49,000 employees, Scotiabank Group and its affiliates serve about 10 million customers in some 50 countries around the world. Scotiabank offers a diverse range of products and services including personal, commercial, corporate and investment banking. With C$296 billion in assets (as at October 31, 2002), Scotiabank trades on the Toronto (BNS), New York (BNS) and London (BNV) Stock Exchanges. For more information please visit www.scotiabank.com.

About Recognia Inc.:
Recognia has developed proprietary technology for chart pattern recognition and price forecasting. The pattern recognition technology is capable of recognizing patterns in the price charts of any publicly traded financial instrument including stocks, bonds, mutual funds, commodities, currencies and indexes. These chart patterns can indicate trading opportunities. Recognia provides Pattern Recognition content to financial institutions that want to enhance client satisfaction by offering unique and valuable online content. Recognia is generating an unrivaled historical database of information relating to chart patterns, providing historical context and past performance information. Recognia's content service provides access to more reliable patterns, from more financial instruments, more quickly than competitors in its field.

For further information:

Michael Arbour
Scotiabank Public Affairs
(416) 933-1093

Sean Church
President and CEO
Recognia Inc.
(416) 697-8400