Charles Taylor, the leading provider of services and technology solutions to the global insurance market, has today announced that Arjun Ramdas will join the firm as Chief Executive Officer of Charles Taylor InsureTech, effective September 2nd. Arjun joins Charles Taylor from Microsoft where he served as the Practice Leader for Microsoft’s Consulting Services in the UK.

Arjun Ramdas said, “I am excited to lead a team that combines Charles Taylor’s insurance heritage with a deep understanding of relevant technologies, and real-world business transformation experience. The insurance industry is poised for a significant period of transformative change, and Charles Taylor InsureTech is in a strong position to drive this change through its industry insider perspective coupled with process & technology know-how and a consultative approach.”

Rob Brown, Charles Taylor Group Chief Executive Officer added, “I am delighted to welcome Arjun to Charles Taylor. Arjun has a strong track record of building high performing teams that have consistently delivered technology-led benefits for clients. This client focus, coupled with his deep technology expertise, will really help us define the next chapter of success for not only our InsureTech business but also Charles Taylor as a whole.”

About Arjun Ramdas

Arjun started in Microsoft as the Services Practice Leader for the Financial Services & Insurance. Prior to his role at Microsoft, Arjun spent over a decade at Cognizant where he worked to build out Cognizant’s Management Consulting practice in key European markets,in the UK, Germany, France, Switzerland & the Netherlands and he recruited a pan-European consulting team, before running an Industry business in the UK.

DRAPER, Utah, Aug. 5, 2020 /PRNewswire-PRWeb/ -- Inside Real Estate, one of the fastest growing independently-owned real estate software companies and a trusted technology partner to over 200,000 top agents, teams and brokerages, is doubling down on innovation and growth. The company announced today a major new Innovation Investment focused on accelerating the use of technology to dramatically enhance the experience of real estate professionals and consumers across the entire home transaction lifecycle. The program was financed through additional investment in the Company by management and its financial partner, Lovell Minnick Partners.

In the last seven years, Inside Real Estate has invested over $200 million to create the industry's first, purpose-built platform that meets the unique needs of brokers, teams and agents—all in one tech ecosystem. The new innovation program is a natural continuation of this effort and will be dedicated to making targeted technology advancements to both front and back office platforms, as well as expanding marketplace offerings and consumer-facing applications by leveraging and integrating technologies including machine learning and artificial intelligence (AI).

"The rapidly evolving nature of the real estate industry coupled with the challenges of the current landscape demand that we expand our efforts to empower our customers with the best tools and technology to deliver even better consumer experiences, greater productivity and solutions that are easier to use," said Ned Stringham, CEO of Inside Real Estate. "Inside Real Estate started as an innovator and will continue to build upon that reputation as we expand to serve our growing network of agents, teams and brokerages."

As part of doubling research and development initiatives and investing in and expanding technology offerings, Inside Real Estate will add to both its product and customer success departments, adding leadership and team roles that will provide additional resources and expertise to partners.

"We're looking forward to growing the Inside Real Estate team and continuing to collaborate with industry professionals that share our creative vision for the future of real estate," continued Stringham. "The feedback from and needs of our customers is our top priority and key driver as we expand our team and offerings during this inflection point for our robust and ever-changing industry."

About Inside Real Estate:
Inside Real Estate is a fast growing, independently-owned real estate software firm that serves as a trusted technology partner to over 200,000 top brokerages, agents and teams. Their flagship product, kvCORE Platform, is the most modern and comprehensive solution in the industry known for delivering profitable growth at every level of a brokerage organization. Built on a modern, scalable and flexible architecture, kvCORE enables every brokerage to create their own unique technology ecosystem through custom branding, robust integrations and high-quality add-on solutions. With an accomplished leadership team and over 200 employees, Inside Real Estate brings the resources, scale and vision to deliver ongoing innovation and success to their growing customer base. Visit insiderealestate.com to learn more.

Trevor Rich spoke with FundFire for this week’s Alts issue about increased interest and deal activity in the insurance sector. Read more here.

Englewood, NJ/Bellevue, WA—July 30, 2020—Pathstone, an independently operated and partner owned multi-generational family office serving HNW and UHNW individuals and families, family offices, and select institutions, announced today that they will be acquiring Cornerstone Advisors Inc. Cornerstone, headquartered in Bellevue, WA, was founded in 1984 with the sole purpose of equipping wealthy individuals and families to make sound financial decisions and achieve long-term financial results desired by the client.

“We are incredibly excited for our shared “Path” to success in service to our clients and employees,” said Steve Braverman, Co-CEO of Pathstone. “Cornerstone is uniquely aligned around our future mission and shares a similar culture as ours with focus in their people, growth, service to clients, and promise of being a multigenerational firm. Together we can continue our vision to be a firm celebrated for our core values and to be recognized as “Built for Clients, Powered by Innovation and Smart in a Way that Matters.”

“This combination enhances our capabilities and offerings and will allow us to further differentiate Pathstone as our clients’ most trusted advisor,” said Matthew Fleissig, President of Pathstone. “By combining our talented teams, state-of-the-art technology, and innovative processes, we strengthen the promise to our clients to create, manage, and preserve their legacy for many generations.”

“This is the next chapter of the Cornerstone story,” says Ken Hart, CEO of Cornerstone. “This decision was a result of a deliberate and diligent process with a core focus on building the best possible future for clients and employees. It will have significant positive long-term impact and will position us to continue to thrive going forward.”

“As part of this exciting combination, we look forward to adding 22 new partners, equating to 44% of our employees that own equity in Pathstone,” said Allan Zachariah, Co-CEO of Pathstone. “We believe this is critical to improve the strength of the business, helping us to insure stability and longevity for clients and employees.”

The combination of the two firms will allow many more opportunities for clients as it will leverage the talents of 200 employees across 9 offices serving clients representing in excess of $20 Billion in total advisory assets.

Cornerstone Advisors, Inc. was advised by the Asset and Wealth Management investment banking team of Raymond James throughout the course of this undertaking with DLA Piper serving as legal counsel. Alston & Bird LLP served as legal counsel to Pathstone.


About Pathstone:
Pathstone is an independently operated and partner owned multigenerational family office that offers strategic wealth management and customized investment services to high-net-worth and ultra-high-net worth individuals and families, family offices, and select institutions.

With decades of experience as trusted advisors, we employ an advocacy-focused model that empowers our clients to define and achieve their unique long-term goals and support their legacy. For more information please visit: www.pathstone.com.

About Cornerstone:
Cornerstone Advisors Inc., is a wealth and lifestyle management company with $4 billion in assets under management. Cornerstone was founded in 1984 with the sole purpose of equipping wealthy individuals and families to make sound financial decisions and achieve the long-term financial results they desire.

The privately-held firm is headquartered in Bellevue, WA with additional offices in Seattle and Anchorage with 65 employees throughout the region serving more than 600 families. For more information please visit: www.buildbeyond.com.

The Drawdown sought our insights on operational due diligence; Jason Barg is quoted in their article here.

New York, NY – July 29th 2020  BlueVoyant, a global expert-driven cybersecurity services company, has announced a strategic partnership with Foreside Financial Group (Foreside), to provide the company’s cybersecurity consulting, Professional Services (PS) and Managed Security Services (MSS) solutions to Foreside’s clients, enabling them to be proactive in the complex arena of cyber risk management.

This strategic alliance with Foreside, a provider of regulatory and compliance service and technology offerings to clients in the global asset and wealth management industry, will offer tailor-made cybersecurity consulting programs and Managed Detection and Response (MDR) solutions for all of Foreside’s 2,000+ Investment Advisors, Broker-Dealers, and global asset managers clients.

“Investment advisors and broker-dealers are a common target for threat actors, as they handle highly sensitive client information. Therefore, a proactive, defensive stance is required to protect financial-related data from theft and exploitation,” said Mark Alcaide, Senior Managing Director, Foreside. “As a trusted and industry-recognized provider of cybersecurity services and with a highly experienced team of professionals, BlueVoyant is a great partner to deliver value-enhanced services to our clients, giving them confidence that their systems, data, and client information are robustly protected.”

Foreside will offer BlueVoyant’s MSS to clients, including MDR, and Security Information and Event Management (SIEM) capabilities. Additionally, Foreside has partnered with BlueVoyant to offer Penetration Testing, Incident Response, and a full range of cybersecurity consulting services.

“BlueVoyant’s partnership with Foreside capitalizes on the firm’s position as one of the leading providers of compliance consulting solutions to Investment Advisors and Broker-Dealers,” adds Jim Rosenthal, co-founder and CEO, BlueVoyant. “Foreside’s clients can now access BlueVoyant’s cybersecurity tools through Foreside’s centralized client portal, allowing them to develop, implement, and maintain a customized cybersecurity program designed to meet their objectives.”

Foreside’s partnership with BlueVoyant offers simple, packaged cybersecurity services that are designed to not only help Investment Advisors and Broker-Dealers meet compliance expectations, but to help them prepare and protect themselves and their clients from potential cyberattacks.

About BlueVoyant

BlueVoyant is an expert-driven cybersecurity services company whose mission is to proactively defend organizations of all sizes against today’s constant, sophisticated attackers and advanced threats. Led by CEO Jim Rosenthal, BlueVoyant’s highly skilled team includes former government cyber officials with extensive frontline experience in responding to advanced cyber threats on behalf of the National Security Agency, Federal Bureau of Investigation, Unit 8200 and GCHQ, together with private sector experts. BlueVoyant services utilize large real-time datasets with industry-leading analytics and technologies.

Founded in 2017 by Fortune 500 executives and former Government cyber officials and headquartered in New York City, BlueVoyant has offices in Maryland, Tel Aviv, San Francisco, London, and Latin America.

About Foreside

Foreside delivers comprehensive advice and best-in-class technology solutions to clients in the global asset and wealth management industries. Foreside distributes more than $1 trillion1 of product through their 20 limited purpose broker-dealers. For 15 years, Foreside’s suite of services and platform-based model have helped automate and simplify compliance and marketing for clients. Foreside works with pooled investment products, investment advisors, broker-dealers, global asset managers, and other financial institutions.

By harnessing state-of-the-art technology, Foreside helps firms address and shape today’s regulatory environment, drive operational efficiency and growth, and focus on value-adding work. Foreside is headquartered in Portland, Maine, with numerous regional offices, including New York and Boston. For more information on Foreside’s suite of services, please visit www.foreside.com.


1 as of January 1, 2020

(PONTE VEDRA BEACH, Florida, July 2020) – Tony Wanderon, CEO of National Auto Care, and Chris Weber and James Jodison, the principals of Diversified Management Group (DMG) today announced that National Auto Care has acquired DMG.

DMG is an independent automotive finance & insurance agency based in Chicago that has successfully driven profits for its dealership clients since the agency’s founding in 2002.

DMG President Chris Weber and his partner James Jodison will continue to manage the day-to-day operations of their Illinois office with the added support of NAC’s industry-leading products and best-in-class claims management capabilities. By combining with NAC, DMG’s growth will be further accelerated through offering a wider array of value-added products, services, and technology to its existing and new dealer relationships.

“With its dedication to outstanding client service and product innovation, Diversified Management Group is an ideal fit with the NAC team. Its culture and commitment to growth are fully aligned with NAC’s values and objectives, and I am excited to begin our partnership,” says National Auto Care’s Senior Vice President, Courtney Wanderon. “NAC is committed to a high-growth strategy of supporting our core agency relationships across the country as well as making strategic acquisitions of like-minded agencies.”

CEO Tony Wanderon adds, “We are excited about the acquisition of Diversified Management Group. DMG’s values and commitment to excellence make it a natural fit with the NAC team, and we look forward to working with Chris and James.”

The DMG leadership team has over 60 combined years of experience in bringing innovative products and market leading tools to assist dealers in meeting their customers’ needs.

“We have been privileged to serve such fantastic dealership clients for many years, and we are honored to begin the next chapter of our growth with National Auto Care. We believe this partnership creates opportunities for us that we have not seen elsewhere across the industry,” says DMG President Chris Weber.

About National Auto Care Corporation
National Auto Care Corp. provides F&I products, administration, consulting services, training and marketing support to independent agents, insurance companies, financial institutions, third-party administrators, and credit unions. National Auto Care focuses on increasing agent and dealer profitability by providing unique F&I products in protected markets. National Auto Care was honored with a 2019 Dealer’s Choice Platinum Award for F&I Products for the fourth consecutive year. For more information, visit nationalautocare.com.

Acquired Data Elements Include Proprietary School Attendance Area Boundaries, Neighborhood Boundaries and Additional Datasets;
Acquisition Further Solidifies ATTOM’s Position as The One-Stop Shop for Comprehensive Property Data

IRVINE, Calif. – July 8, 2020 — ATTOM Data Solutions, curator of the nation’s premier property database, today announced it has acquired Home Junction Inc., a real estate data technology company that specializes in building high quality geographic boundary datasets for neighborhoods, school attendance zones, subdivisions and more.

“ATTOM’s mission is to increase real estate transparency in America, and expanding our geospatial capabilities and datasets is core to that mission,” said Rob Barber, CEO at ATTOM Data Solutions. “This acquisition extends ATTOM’s data footprint and will enhance our value proposition for our customers, while integrating a talented team from Home Junction to an already talented team at ATTOM. While data elements are important, people elements are even more important. This is an important acquisition because it is an investment in both data and people.”

The strategic acquisition of Home Junction will expand ATTOM’s already robust data warehouse by adding proprietary school and neighborhood boundary data, crime, points of interest and demographics. ATTOM will continue Home Junction’s commitment of servicing real estate agents, teams and brokers with a suite of products that include custom websites and data widgets.

Click here to view ATTOM’s Table of Data Elements

“Our focus at Home Junction has always been creating and unifying geospatial property datasets,” said John Perkins, CEO and Founder of Home Junction. “By joining forces and having common goals, we are confident that ATTOM will continue to increase efficiencies in the marketplace and continue to be a custom solutions provider for businesses ranging from startup to seasoned enterprise.”

Founded over 10 years ago, Home Junction’s goal is to provide brokers, agents, teams, lenders, insurers and others with the ability to integrate vast amounts of property data into their internal and external web applications. The synergy of the two companies will strengthen ATTOM’s competitive positioning in the enterprise data licensing marketplace and the consumer & investor real estate search market.

About ATTOM Data Solutions
ATTOM Data Solutions provides premium property data to power products that improve transparency, innovation, efficiency and disruption in a data-driven economy. ATTOM multi-sources property tax, deed, mortgage, foreclosure, environmental risk, natural hazard, and neighborhood data for more than 155 million U.S. residential and commercial properties covering 99 percent of the nation’s population. A rigorous data management process involving more than 20 steps validates, standardizes, and enhances the data collected by ATTOM, assigning each property record with a persistent, unique ID — the ATTOM ID. The 9TB ATTOM Data Warehouse fuels innovation in many industries including mortgage, real estate, insurance, marketing, government and more through flexible data delivery solutions that include bulk file licenses, property data APIs, real estate market trends, marketing lists, match & append and introducing the first property data delivery solution, a cloud-based data platform that streamlines data management – Data-as-a-Service (DaaS).

About Home Junction Inc.
Based in San Diego, CA, Home Junction is a data technology company that specializes in real estate data and boundary licensing, custom websites created with WordPress real estate themes, WordPress real estate plugins and additional services. The company provides an extensive number of data layers on home sales, neighborhoods, schools, school attendance zones, demographics, home value estimates, geospatial boundaries, and other information. The founders have more than 50 years’ experience combined in data aggregation and real estate website development.

We’re pleased to share coverage from S&P Global Market Intelligence including commentary from an interview with Jason Barg.
Click here to read the full article.

Steve Pierson was interviewed for the July issue of Private Equity International on the impact that COVID-19 has had on the financial technology sector.

Click here to read the full article.

Top real estate tech provider acquires award-winning pricing tool, helping real estate professionals facilitate the most effective & compelling pricing discussions with buyers & sellers 


DRAPER, UTAH, JUNE 30th , 2020:  Inside Real Estate, one of the fastest growing independently-owned real estate software companies and a trusted technology partner to over 200,000 top agents, teams and brokerages, announced today its acquisition of dashCMA. The modern pricing tool, dashCMA, helps real estate agents win more listings and secure more accepted offers by facilitating simple yet compelling pricing discussions with buyers and sellers.

 
A 2019 Inman Innovator Award nominee, dashCMA drastically simplifies the process of creating and presenting a Comparative Market Analysis (CMA) by delivering key data points in an elegant and interactive format that takes minutes, not hours. Traditionally, CMA products have an overwhelming amount of unstructured details and instead of serving their purpose of educating, they often leave clients more confused about home pricing. By structuring the most pertinent data into a simple, yet comprehensive dashboard, dashCMA facilitates pricing conversations that establish trust and easier decision making between agents and their clients.

 
“We are thrilled to welcome dashCMA into the Inside Real Estate family,” said Ned Stringham, CEO of Inside Real Estate. “Karen and the entire dashCMA team have done a fantastic job creating a product that helps real estate professionals do more business, more efficiently - a core value we are very much aligned on. We look forward to integrating dashCMA into our ecosystem to provide even more cutting-edge technology to our clients, and to expand its reach across our growing footprint of top agents, teams and brokerage partners.” 

 
Over the past year, dashCMA has garnered an impressive following, including clients like Seven Gables Real Estate and Keller Williams Forward Living. dashCMA has a growing wait list of real estate professionals looking to take advantage of its compelling pricing presentations. By joining Inside Real Estate, and their extensive footprint of over 600 MLSs covering nearly 99% of all listings across the US & Canada, dashCMA’s availability will expand rapidly to most major markets. The solution will be available for purchase as a standalone product offering to brokerages, and in the coming months, will be integrated into Inside Real Estate’s flagship platform kvCORE and made available for purchase within the kvCORE Marketplace. 

 
“dashCMA ups the game for real estate professionals to deliver highly compelling presentations and ensure no deal is ever lost over pricing,” said dashCMA founder, Karen Abram, who was recently recognized by HousingWire in their 2020 class of Rising Stars. “I’m beyond excited to join the Inside Real Estate family where, together, we can expand the reach of dashCMA exponentially, helping even more real estate professionals achieve success.” 

 
About Inside Real Estate:

Inside Real Estate is a fast growing, independently-owned real estate software firm that serves as a trusted technology partner to over 200,000 top brokerages, agents and teams. Their flagship product, kvCORE Platform, is the most modern and comprehensive solution in the industry known for delivering profitable growth at every level of a brokerage organization. Built on a modern, scalable and flexible architecture, kvCORE enables every brokerage to create their own unique technology ecosystem through custom branding, robust integrations and high-quality add-on solutions. With an accomplished leadership team and over 175 employees, Inside Real Estate brings the resources, scale and vision to deliver ongoing innovation and success to their growing customer base. Visit insiderealestate.com to learn more.

Partner Brad Armstrong recently spoke with Middle Market Growth Magazine about dealmaking in today’s virtual environment. Read more here.

Steve Gelsi from The Deal interviews Brad Armstrong for his insights on new guidelines allowing PE in 401K plans.  Read more here.

Brings global insurance services experience and a track record of profitable growth through focusing on clients and people

LONDON, June 16, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- Charles Taylor, the leading provider of services and technology solutions to the global insurance market, has today announced the appointment of Rob Brown as Group Chief Executive Officer. For over three decades, Brown has been a transformative leader responsible for steering large global insurance businesses to achieve excellent performance in terms of both client outcomes and financial results.

Brown has a strong track record of building and leading high performing teams and was selected from an international pool of exceptional candidates. An outstanding leader with deep insurance knowledge, Brown has worked as an underwriter, a broker and a manager and has built an excellent reputation for leadership, through concentrated focus on clients, people and communications.

In his previous role as CEO of AXA Global Corporate Solutions, Brown was responsible for 1500 employees globally over a 4-year period. During his tenure, he successfully led the team of the Corporate Solutions business to expand their product solutions and their client base.

Prior to AXA, Brown spent 15 years at Aon in a variety of senior leadership roles in the UK and EMEA, including a 4-year period as CEO of Aon UK. More recently, he held the position of CEO of Aon Risk Solutions, EMEA, with overall leadership of 15,000 employees across 50 countries from 2011-14. Brown’s tenure in both roles saw a consistent focus on delivering great outcomes for clients. He has also held underwriting roles in commercial lines at global insurance carriers, including Zurich and AIG.

Edward Creasy, Chairman of Charles Taylor commented, “We are delighted to welcome Rob to Charles Taylor. He is a highly regarded CEO with impressive insurance experience at the board and executive level within major insurance market organisations and an outstanding leader of people. Above all he is a great cultural fit for our organization having also spent time in multiple markets around the world in people-focused businesses.” He added, “We are looking forward to the future with Rob at the helm. We are confident that under his operational and strategic guidance Charles Taylor will continue to grow its distinctive market position as the provider of professional services and technology solutions supporting every stage of the insurance lifecycle and operating model.”

Rob Brown said, “The insurance industry increasingly relies on first class providers of services and solutions to access expertise and operational capacity, and to help market participants across the world deliver what their clients want. I believe that this will be truer than ever over the coming years as current market conditions drive more rapid operating model change. Charles Taylor has an outstanding reputation for superior client service and a great culture. I’m excited to be joining the team and to listening, learning and adding value as we collectively deliver the next chapter of Charles Taylor’s success.”

About Charles Taylor
Charles Taylor is a global provider of professional services and technology solutions dedicated to enabling the global insurance market to do its business fundamentally better. Dating back to 1884, Charles Taylor now employs approximately 3000 staff in more than 120 locations spread across 30 countries in Europe, the Americas, Asia Pacific, the Middle East and Africa.

Charles Taylor believes that it holds a distinctive position in its markets in that it is able to provide professional services and technology solutions in order to support every stage of the insurance lifecycle and every aspect of the insurance operating model. Charles Taylor serves a diversified blue-chip international customer base that includes national and international insurance companies, mutuals, captives, MGAs, Lloyd's syndicates and reinsurers, along with brokers, distributors and corporate insureds.  http://charlestaylor.com/

Alliance Fulfills Advisor Demand for Turnkey Outsourced Compliance and Investment Solutions

[Chicago -- June 16, 2020] GeoWealth, a leading financial technology and turnkey asset management platform (TAMP), today announced a strategic alliance with Foreside Financial Group (“Foreside”), a global provider of compliance technology solutions and product distribution services to the asset and wealth management industries. Through this partnership, financial advisors that are either breaking away and becoming independent, or are founding a registered investment advisory firm (“RIA”), will have access to the full, turnkey investment, technology, and compliance infrastructure they need to successfully launch their businesses.

“Before an advisor launches an RIA, they must select both a compliance and technology partner. With the added complexities for advisors now working remotely during COVID, we are focused on simplifying and streamlining what is often characterized as an overwhelming process,” said, Colin Falls, President of GeoWealth. "We are excited to announce our partnership with Foreside. Their industry-leading compliance offerings combined with our turnkey, modern platform will help entrepreneurial advisors successfully make the transition to independence.”

GeoWealth’s next-generation turnkey asset management platform is powered by its proprietary enterprise technology that comprehensively supports advisors. This cloud-based platform simplifies the wealth management process by allowing advisors to seamlessly manage all aspects of their business. GeoWealth’s flexible, outsourced model management program includes both advisor-managed and third-party models. Their third-party model marketplace features investment solutions from some of the industry's most trusted asset managers, including J.P. Morgan, PIMCO, Fidelity, State Street Global Advisors, Van Eck, and Global X.

Foreside’s Compliance Programs for RIAs are designed by experienced compliance experts and tailored to fulfill the ongoing compliance obligations of RIAs. Each level of support provides a dedicated consultant, supported by a team of compliance professionals, to deliver proactive services and continuous support to your firm. Together, GeoWealth and Foreside’s synergistic offerings will unite, allowing advisors to access their shared resources, knowledge, and platforms.

“Foreside continues to bring to our clients best-in-class proprietary technology and partnerships with providers like GeoWealth who are pioneers in the industry. In so doing, we help our clients gain access to products that help them innovate, improve, and grow” said, Mark Alcaide, Senior Managing Director, Foreside. GeoWealth’s end-to-end advisor platform allows a holistic solution that assists our clients with their technology, investment, and back-office needs.”

About GeoWealth
GeoWealth’s cloud-based financial technology platform empowers advisors to grow faster and to serve their clients more efficiently. With over 500 advisors and more than 60,000 accounts on its platform today,
GeoWealth provides advisors flexible portfolio management, performance reporting, billing and risk profiling. GeoWealth also offers a diversified lineup of turnkey model portfolios. More information is available at http://www.geowealth.com.

About Foreside
Foreside delivers comprehensive advice and best-in-class technology solutions to clients in the global asset and wealth management industries. Foreside distributes more than $1 trillion of product through their 20 limited purpose broker-dealers. For 15 years, Foreside’s suite of services and platform-based model have helped automate and simplify compliance and marketing for clients. Foreside works with pooled investment products, investment advisors, broker-dealers, global asset managers and other financial institutions.

By harnessing state-of-the-art technology, Foreside helps firms address and shape today’s regulatory environment, drive operational efficiency and growth, and focus on value-adding work. Foreside is headquartered in Portland, Maine, with numerous regional offices, including New York and Boston. For more information on Foreside’s suite of services, please visit www.foreside.com.

Scott Heberton, Steve Ozonian and Stefanie Shelley Join Advisory Council
Greg Cohen will Join Advisory Council and Continue as Operating Partner

PHILADELPHIA, LOS ANGELES and NEW YORK – May 22, 2020 – Lovell Minnick Partners (‘LMP’), a private equity firm focused on investments in the global financial services industry, including related technology and business services companies, today announced the appointments of Greg Cohen, Scott Heberton, Steve Ozonian and Stefanie Shelley to the firm’s Advisory Council.

“Greg, Scott, Steve and Stefanie are excellent additions to Lovell Minnick’s Advisory Council,” said Steve Pierson, Managing Partner at LMP. “Greg’s significant operating company experience in commerce platforms and payments along with the work he’s been doing with us over the past year, as well as the industry expertise and credentials in the financial services space that Scott, Steve and Stefanie possess position them all well to offer insights and resources that we believe will drive growth and value creation at Lovell Minnick and for our portfolio companies.”

Greg Cohen was named an Operating Partner to LMP in 2019 and since then, has been assisting the investment team in reviewing numerous payment opportunities. He currently sits on the board of Lovell Minnick portfolio companies BillHighway, Currency and Fortis Payments. Most recently, Greg was President of Paya, a private equity backed integrated software, payment and EFT processor. He has also held several leadership roles in the payment and financial technology space throughout his career.

Scott Heberton currently serves as a Board Member and the Executive Chairman of Omni Healthcare Financial, LLC, a Lovell Minnick Fund IV portfolio company. Prior to that, he served as Head of FIG Investment Banking and Capital Markets at Wells Fargo. Scott’s extensive career in financial services has been primarily focused on advisory work and capital raising for industry verticals including specialty finance, real estate and alternative asset management.

Steve Ozonian is the President and CEO of Williston Financial Group. He has a strong and innovative background in the real estate industry, specifically focused on digitally transforming transactions. Steve was part of Lending Tree’s launch as a public entity and also served as CEO of RealEstate.com. He also sits on the boards of Attom Data and Inside Real Estate, Lovell Minnick portfolio companies.

Stefanie Shelley is an Advisor and Board Director and has been a long time business executive in the financial services and financial technology industries. Stefanie was the Chief Marketing Officer at Broadridge Financial Solutions and prior to that, she held C-suite roles driving growth and digital transformation at JP Morgan Chase, Citibank and Capital One. Stefanie was also a Board Director at Green Bancorp, a regional bank that was owned by private equity firms, grown significantly and taken public over a number of years.

LMP’s Advisory Council members are independent contractors that serve as advisors to Lovell Minnick as well as to the firm’s portfolio companies.

About Lovell Minnick Partners
Lovell Minnick Partners (‘LMP’) is a private equity firm focused on investments in the global financial services industry, including related technology and business services companies. We partner with outstanding management teams to help grow their companies and build value for investors through a combination of driving growth initiatives, strategic activity and operational improvements. Since our inception in 1999, we have become a leader in our chosen space, raising $3.5 billion of committed capital from leading institutional investors including public and private pensions, insurance companies, endowments and foundations. To date, we have completed more than 50 portfolio company investments.

We seek to invest in management-driven, growth-oriented companies that span the supply chains of investment products, insurance products, credit products and payments. Some of the areas in which we specialize include financial and insurance technology; payments; specialty finance; insurance brokerage and services; asset and wealth management; and related business services.

ATTOM Data Solutions CEO Rob Barber Named 2020 Maverick Of The Year By American Business Awards®.  Please click here to read more.

John Cochran and Trevor Rich recently spoke with PaymentsSource about how fintech and payments are being used to solve issues in supply chains’ financing methods during this time. Read more here.

Click here to read "Will an uptick in tech adoption during COVID-19 mean a cutback in staff?" in Investment News.

Click here to read the article.

"Will PE stick with firms through down times?" Our Partner, Brad Armstrong, was interviewed for this article in Financial Planning.

Foreside has been named Foreside: Top 10 hedge fund solution provider for 2020 by Capital Markets CIO Outlook.

Caution and care are a priority when making investment decisions, especially in financial services. Our Partner, Brad Armstrong recently discussed Lovel Minnick’s approach with John Gittelsohn at Bloomberg News.

With the health of our communities as a top priority, Lovel Minnick has been hunkered down all across the U.S. We have also been focused on keeping the wheels keep turning. Our partner, Brad Armstrong talked with Institutional Investor on deal-making in a pandemic, read it here. 

• United Community Banks, Inc. (“UCBI”) acquires a strong commercial lender focused on relationship banking with a “branch lite” approach in key Florida metro areas
• Seaside National Bank & Trust (“Seaside”): founded and led by an experienced and highly capable President and Chief Executive Officer, who will be joining the combined organization
• Strategically compelling transaction, combining UCBI’s significant liquidity, low-cost funding and excess capital with Seaside’s extensive client network and growth potential
• Accretive combination that is expected to add between $0.12 and $0.14 to earnings per share in the first full year of operations

GREENVILLE, S.C., March 09, 2020 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- United Community Banks, Inc. (NASDAQ: UCBI) (“UCBI”) and Three Shores Bancorporation, Inc. (“Three Shores”) announced today a definitive agreement for UCBI to acquire Three Shores, including its wholly-owned subsidiary, Seaside National Bank & Trust (“Seaside”).

Headquartered in Orlando, Florida, Seaside is a premier commercial lender with a strong wealth management platform. Its high-touch customer service is delivered to high net worth individuals and middle-market businesses through a network of 14 branches located in key Florida metro markets. As of December 31, 2019, Seaside reported outstanding loans totaling approximately $1.4 billion, comprised of a diversified group of small business borrowers operating in multiple industries in Florida. Additionally, Seaside operates a wealth management platform with more than $900 million of client assets under advisement.

Three Shores and Seaside were founded in 2006 by Gideon Haymaker, who continues to lead the company today as President and Chief Executive Officer. In Mr. Haymaker’s prior experience, he served as Executive Vice President of Private Client Services for SunTrust Banks for the State of Florida. Overall, he has more than 38 years of executive experience in regional banking. Following completion of the acquisition, Mr. Haymaker will become a key part of United’s team and continue to lead the Florida market.

“This transaction is consistent with our commitment to grow our commercial lending business and to deepen our client offerings,” said Lynn Harton, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of UCBI. “Seaside adds the ability to supplement our traditional retail branch and commercial model with a “branch lite” C&I focus. Our larger balance sheet and low cost funding brings capital needed to continue to grow Seaside’s business and relationships. Additionally, the financial returns of the transaction are not reliant on high cost savings or on revenue synergies. However, we do believe these opportunities will exist as we will be able to offer expanded products and services through our combined franchise. The business will continue to be run by Seaside’s experienced and proven management team, and our cultural compatibility and shared relationship-based approach makes this a great fit.”

Gideon Haymaker, President and Chief Executive Officer of Seaside, stated, “Since its inception, Seaside has focused on developing a business model with the right products, services and delivery methods that fit our target markets and client base. We believe that we have been successful at that. However, to continue growing and to become more profitable, we needed to access more permanent capital and lower cost funding. Our partnership with the United team provides just that, as well as the opportunity to expand the products and services that both United and Seaside bring to the partnership. I believe that the synergies that exist between our commercial lending businesses will result in tremendous success for both sides.”

The transaction value is estimated to total approximately $180 million, including approximately $25 million being paid to holders of options and follow-on rights to acquire Three Shores common stock. The stock portion of the merger consideration is based upon .3300 shares of UCBI common stock being issued in exchange for each share of Three Shores common stock. The acquisition is expected to be accretive to UCBI’s earnings per share by approximately $0.12 to $0.14 in the first full year of operations and is consistent with UCBI’s stated acquisition criteria pertaining to tangible book value and targeted internal rates of return. The transaction is expected to be completed in the third quarter of 2020 and is subject to customary conditions, including regulatory approval as well as the approval of Three Shores’ shareholders.

“I am excited to work with Gideon as we have developed a relationship over the past few years and have been looking for an opportunity to enter the Florida markets. This is an exceptional opportunity for us, and we look forward to what the future holds together,” added Mr. Harton.

Morgan Stanley & Co. LLC acted as financial advisor to UCBI, and Nelson Mullins Riley & Scarborough LLP served as its legal advisor. Piper Sandler & Co. served as Three Shores’ financial advisor, and Smith Mackinnon, PA served as its legal advisor.

About United Community Banks, Inc.
United Community Banks, Inc. (NASDAQ: UCBI) is a bank holding company headquartered in Blairsville, Georgia, with executive offices in Greenville, South Carolina. United is one of the southeast region’s largest full-service financial institutions with $12.9 billion in assets and 149 offices in Georgia, North Carolina, South Carolina and Tennessee. It operates principally through United Community Bank, its bank subsidiary, which specializes in personalized community banking services for individuals, small businesses and companies. Services include a full range of consumer and commercial banking products, including mortgage, advisory, and treasury management. Respected national research firms consistently recognize United for outstanding customer service. For five of the past six years, J.D. Power’s U.S. Retail Banking Satisfaction Study has ranked United first in customer satisfaction in the Southeast. In 2019, for the sixth consecutive year, Forbes magazine included United on its list of the 100 Best Banks in America, and for the first time included United on its list of The World’s Best Banks. Additional information about UCBI and United can be found at www.ucbi.com.

About Three Shores Bancorporation, Inc.
Three Shores Bancorporation, Inc. is a bank holding company that operates Seaside National Bank & Trust and its subsidiaries Seaside Insurance and Seaside Capital Management, a registered investment adviser. Seaside National Bank & Trust is a nationally-chartered commercial bank headquartered in Orlando, Florida that operates in 14 cities located throughout North Florida, Central Florida, West Florida, South Florida, and the Greater Miami Area.

Through its affiliated companies, Three Shores Bancorporation, Inc. offers its clients a complete array of financial services including: private banking, commercial banking, wealth management, trust services, and insurance.

As of December 31, 2019, Three Shores had total consolidated assets of $1.9 billion, total deposits of $1.5 billion, total loans of $1.4 billion and total stockholders’ equity of $169 million. Off balance sheet in its wealth management business, Company subsidiaries had $913.4 million of assets under advisement, of which $721.7 million is fully managed for the benefit of its clients.

Caution About Forward-Looking Statements
This press release contains “forward-looking statements” within the meaning of Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended, and Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended. In general, forward-looking statements usually may be identified through use of words such as “may,” “believe,” “expect,” “anticipate,” “intend,” “will,” “should,” “plan,” “estimate,” “predict,” “continue” and “potential” or the negative of these terms or other comparable terminology, and include statements related to the expected timing of the closing of the Merger, the expected returns and other benefits of the Merger to shareholders, expected improvement in operating efficiency resulting from the Merger, estimated expense reductions resulting from the transactions and the timing of achievement of such reductions, the impact on and timing of the recovery of the impact on tangible book value, and the effect of the Merger on United’s capital ratios. Forward-looking statements are not historical facts and represent management’s beliefs, based upon information available at the time the statements are made, with regard to the matters addressed; they are not guarantees of future performance. Actual results may prove to be materially different from the results expressed or implied by the forward-looking statements. Forward-looking statements are subject to numerous assumptions, risks and uncertainties that change over time and could cause actual results or financial condition to differ materially from those expressed in or implied by such statements.

Factors that could cause or contribute to such differences include, but are not limited to (1) the risk that the cost savings and any revenue synergies from the Merger may not be realized or take longer than anticipated to be realized, (2) disruption from the Merger of customer, supplier, employee or other business partner relationships, (3) the occurrence of any event, change or other circumstances that could give rise to the termination of the Merger Agreement, (4) the failure to obtain the necessary approval by the shareholders of Three Shores, (5) the possibility that the costs, fees, expenses and charges related to the Merger may be greater than anticipated, (6) the ability of United to obtain required governmental approvals of the Merger, (7) reputational risk and the reaction of each of the companies’ customers, suppliers, employees or other business partners to the Merger, (8) the failure of the closing conditions in the Merger Agreement to be satisfied, or any unexpected delay in closing the Merger, (9) the risks relating to the integration of Three Shores’ operations into the operations of United, including the risk that such integration will be materially delayed or will be more costly or difficult than expected, (10) the risk of potential litigation or regulatory action related to the Merger, (11) the risks associated with United’s pursuit of future acquisitions, (12) the risk of expansion into new geographic or product markets, (13) the dilution caused by United’s issuance of additional shares of its common stock in the Merger, and (14) general competitive, economic, political and market conditions. Further information regarding additional factors which could affect the forward-looking statements can be found in the cautionary language included under the headings “Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations” and “Risk Factors” in United’s Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2019, and other documents subsequently filed by United with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC”).

Many of these factors are beyond United’s and Three Shore’s ability to control or predict. If one or more events related to these or other risks or uncertainties materialize, or if the underlying assumptions prove to be incorrect, actual results may differ materially from the forward-looking statements. Accordingly, shareholders and investors should not place undue reliance on any such forward-looking statements. Any forward-looking statement speaks only as of the date of this communication, and neither United nor Three Shores undertakes any obligation to update or revise any forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise, except as required by law. New risks and uncertainties may emerge from time to time, and it is not possible for United or Three Shores to predict their occurrence or how they will affect United or Three Shores.

United and Three Shores qualify all forward-looking statements by these cautionary statements.

IMPORTANT INFORMATION FOR SHAREHOLDERS AND INVESTORS
In connection with the proposed merger, UCBI will file with the SEC a registration statement on Form S-4 that will include a Proxy Statement of Three Shores to be sent to Three Shores’ shareholders seeking their approval in connection with the merger. The registration statement also will contain the prospectus of UCBI to register the shares of UCBI common stock to be issued in connection with the merger. INVESTORS AND SHAREHOLDERS OF THREE SHORES ARE ENCOURAGED TO READ THE REGISTRATION STATEMENT, INCLUDING THE PROXY STATEMENT/PROSPECTUS THAT WILL BE A PART OF THE REGISTRATION STATEMENT WHEN IT BECOMES AVAILABLE AND ANY OTHER RELEVANT DOCUMENTS FILED BY UNITED WITH THE SEC, INCLUDING ANY AMENDMENTS OR SUPPLEMENTS TO THE REGISTRATION STATEMENT AND THOSE OTHER DOCUMENTS, BECAUSE THEY WILL CONTAIN IMPORTANT INFORMATION ABOUT UCBI, THREE SHORES AND THE PROPOSED TRANSACTION.

The registration statement and other documents filed with the SEC may be obtained for free at the SEC’s website (www.sec.gov). You will also be able to obtain these documents, free of charge, from UCBI at the “Investor Relations” section of UCBI’s website at www.ucbi.com or from Three Shores at the “Investor Relations” section of Three Shores’ website at www.threeshoresbancorporation.com. Copies of the definitive proxy statement/prospectus will also be made available, free of charge, by contacting United Community Banks, Inc., P.O. Box 398, Blairsville, GA 30514, Attn: Jefferson Harralson, Telephone: (864) 240-6208, or Three Shores Bancorporation, Inc., 201 South Orange Avenue, Orlando, Florida 32801, Attn: Barry Griffiths, Telephone: (407) 567-2212.

This communication does not constitute an offer to sell, the solicitation of an offer to sell or the solicitation of an offer to buy securities, nor shall there be any sale of securities in any jurisdiction in which such offer, solicitation or sale would be unlawful prior to registration or qualification under the securities laws of such jurisdiction. This communication is also not a solicitation of any vote or approval with respect to the proposed transactions or otherwise.

PARTICIPANTS IN THE TRANSACTION
United, Three Shores, Seaside and certain of their respective directors and executive officers, under the rules of the SEC may be deemed to be participants in the solicitation of proxies from Three Shores’ shareholders in favor of the approval of the proposed merger. Information about the directors and officers of United and their ownership of United common stock can also be found in United’s definitive proxy statement in connection with its 2019 annual meeting of shareholders, as filed with the SEC on March 29, 2019, and other documents subsequently filed by United with the SEC. Information about the directors and executive officers of Three Shores and their ownership of Three Shores capital stock, as well as information regarding the interests of other persons who may be deemed participants in the transaction, may be obtained by reading the Proxy Statement/Prospectus regarding the proposed merger when it becomes available. Free copies of this document may be obtained as described above.

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Foreside Financial Group, a leading provider of compliance and distribution solutions, is pleased to announce they have been named “Best Compliance Consulting Firm” for the 2020 Private Asset Management Awards. The awards ceremony took place on Thursday, February 6, 2020, in New York City.

The Private Asset Management Awards recognize the top wealth advisors, consultants, investment professionals, legal firms, and other key service providers in the private asset management space. These highly sought-after PAM awards provide a platform for top firms within the sector, to showcase the incredible achievements they have accomplished.

“We are honored that Private Asset Management named Foreside Best Compliance Consulting Firm, ” said Emmy Bernard, Senior Managing Director at Foreside. “Through a shared partnership with our clients, our approach of combining technology with comprehensive consultative advice drives operational efficiencies that enable our clients to flourish in today’s regulatory environment.”

Foreside marries innovative technology with high-touch consulting and expertise to help mitigate risk and increase operational efficiencies for firms across the asset management industry. At Foreside, our goal is to help clients get ahead of regulatory concerns by partnering with regulators to find solutions.” Foreside’s consulting and technology solutions alleviate pain-points for clients, allowing them time to focus on their value-adding work such as portfolio management, client service, and sales.

About Foreside:

Foreside delivers best-in-class technology solutions and comprehensive advice to clients in the global asset management industry. We distribute more than $1 trillion of product through our 20 limited purpose broker-dealers. For 15 years, our suite of services and platform-based model have helped us automate and simplify compliance and distribution for clients. We work with global asset managers, investment advisors, broker-dealers, and other financial institutions.

By harnessing state-of-the-art technology, we help firms address and shape today’s regulatory environment, drive operational efficiency and growth, and focus on value-adding work. Foreside is headquartered in Portland, Maine, with numerous regional offices, including those in New York and Boston. For more information on Foreside’s suite of services, please visit www.foreside.com.

Partnership unlocks new opportunities for customers to spend points like cash, debit or credit card

TORONTO, ON / February 13, 2020 – Engage People, a global technology provider that redefines the way customers spend loyalty reward points, today announced that it is working with Priceline, a world leader in travel deals, to give loyalty program members the option to pay for travel using credit card loyalty reward points.

Engage People, which covers 100% of the top 13 e-commerce categories in North America, gives its customers the flexibility to spend loyalty points just like any other currency at participating retail partners around the world. With Priceline, Engage People loyalty program members can pay for the entire breadth of offerings from Priceline including flights, car rentals and hotels with loyalty points.

“Our aim is to unlock new ways for customers to spend loyalty reward points that have accumulated in their mobile wallets – and the best way to do that is by viewing points as a valuable form of currency,” said Len Covello, CTO of Engage People. “We’re excited to team up with popular sites like Priceline that are taking innovative approaches to providing people with more choices when it comes to making purchasing decisions.”

“This collaboration with Engage People will allow millions of travelers to use their points to pay for Priceline travel, including a worldwide assortment of flights, hotels and rental cars,” said Kayla Dickin, Director of Partnerships at Priceline Partner Network. “It also allows us to provide private travel discounts to exclusive groups such as loyal cardmembers. Whether it’s receiving the best deal on a trip and earning points for that transaction, or redeeming those points for travel, we continue to help consumers experience the moments that matter.”

To find out more about Engage People and its suite of award-winning technology offerings, visit www.engagepeople.com. For more information about how to collaborate with Priceline, contact Kayla Dickin at Kayla.Dickin@priceline.com.

About Engage People Inc.
Engage People is a global technology provider that redefines the way customers spend loyalty reward points. Serving as the conduit between banks, retailers and their customers, Engage People allows consumers to make everyday purchases with loyalty points, giving them the flexibility to buy what they want – whenever they choose. By offering pay with points, Engage People unlocks loyalty points that have been accumulated but not spent. Top banks and retailers around the world rely on Engage People for its first-of-its-kind loyalty ecosystem. With headquarters in Toronto, Ontario, Canada and offices in the U.S., Canada and Italy, Engage People has been ranked on Canada’s Fastest-Growing Companies list by Canadian Business and PROFIT. For more information visit: www.engagepeople.com

About Priceline
Priceline, part of Booking Holdings Inc., is a world leader in travel deals. Priceline offers exclusive discounts on hotels, flights, alternative accommodations, rental cars, cruises and packages. We offer more than a million lodging properties, helping travelers find the right accommodation at the right price. We negotiate great deals every day, and put our best pricing on the Priceline app. Our deep discounts on hotels, flights, rental cars and more are also distributed through our partnership brand, Priceline Partner Network. With free cancellation for many rates, 24-hour customer assistance and the option for both pre-paid and pay upon arrival reservations, Priceline helps millions of travelers be there for the moments that matter. For us, every trip is a big deal.

PITTSBURGH--(BUSINESS WIRE)--TriState Capital Holdings, Inc. (Nasdaq: TSC) (“TriState Capital”) announced that affiliates of Lovell Minnick Partners LLC (collectively, “Lovell Minnick”) have agreed to sell 2,678,049 shares of TriState Capital common stock in an underwritten public offering. Barclays Capital Inc. is acting as the sole book-running manager for the offering.

TriState Capital is not selling any stock in this transaction and will not receive any proceeds from the secondary offering.

Lovell Minnick funds have been equity investors in TriState Capital since August 2012. Following the offering, the Lovell Minnick funds will no longer hold shares in TriState Capital.

The shares are being offered pursuant to a shelf registration statement (File No. 333-222074) under the Securities Act of 1933, as amended, which has been filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission (the “SEC”) and was declared effective by the SEC on December 21, 2017. The offering is being made only by means of a prospectus supplement and accompanying prospectus. Potential purchasers of TriState Capital common stock should consider carefully the information contained in the preliminary prospectus supplement and the accompanying prospectus and other documents that TriState Capital has filed with the SEC that are incorporated by reference into the preliminary prospectus supplement for more complete information about TriState Capital and the offering. Copies of the registration statement, prospectus supplement and the accompanying prospectus relating to the offering may be obtained free of charge by visiting the SEC’s website at www.sec.gov, or may be obtained by contacting Barclays Capital Inc., c/o Broadridge Financial Solutions, 1155 Long Island Avenue, Edgewood, New York 11717; barclaysprospectus@broadridge.com (phone 888-603-5847).

This press release shall not constitute an offer to sell or the solicitation of an offer to buy any securities, nor shall there be any sale of these securities in any state or jurisdiction in which such offer, solicitation or sale would be unlawful prior to registration or qualification under the securities laws of any such state or jurisdiction.

ABOUT TRISTATE CAPITAL

TriState Capital Holdings, Inc. (Nasdaq: TSC) is a bank holding company headquartered in Pittsburgh, Pa., providing commercial banking, private banking and investment management services to middle-market companies, institutional clients and high-net-worth individuals. Its TriState Capital Bank subsidiary had $7.7 billion in assets, as of December 31, 2019, and serves middle-market commercial customers through regional representative offices in Pittsburgh, Philadelphia, Cleveland, Edison, N.J., and New York City, as well as high-net-worth individuals nationwide through its national referral network of financial intermediaries. Its Chartwell Investment Partners subsidiary had $9.7 billion in assets under management, as of December 31, 2019, and serves institutional clients and TriState Capital’s financial intermediary network.

FORWARD LOOKING STATEMENTS

This press release includes “forward-looking” statements as that term is defined in the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995, including with respect to the timing and size of the offering, which statements are subject to a number of risks, uncertainties and assumptions, including, but not limited to those that are described in the “Risk Factors” section of the preliminary prospectus supplement for this offering and the sections titled “Risk Factors,” “Cautionary Note Regarding Forward-Looking Statements” and “Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations” contained in TriState Capital’s most recent annual and quarterly reports filed on Form 10-K and Form 10-Q, as well as in other filings that TriState Capital makes with the SEC from time to time (which are available at www.sec.gov). The events and circumstances discussed in such forward-looking statements may not occur, and TriState Capital’s actual results could differ materially and adversely from those anticipated or implied thereby. Any forward-looking statements speak only as of the date of this press release and are based on information available to TriState Capital as of the date of this release.

PHILADELPHIA, LOS ANGELES and NEW YORK – JANUARY 21, 2020 - Lovell Minnick Partners, a private equity firm focused on investments in the global financial services industry, including related technology and business services companies, today announced that it has completed a majority investment in Charles Taylor, the provider of services and technology solutions to the global insurance market. The acquisition will support the continuation of Charles Taylor's successful growth strategy, with a focus on expanding client relationships, broadening specialist capabilities and the range of services and technology solutions, deepening geographic coverage, and reinvesting in quality of service and technology.

The acquisition marks the next step in Charles Taylor’s long and distinguished history and builds on its success over recent years. In the last five years, Charles Taylor has increased revenue by 115% and adjusted EBITDA by 97%, tripled its global headcount to around 3,100, and developed multiple new services and technology solutions for its clients across the global insurance market.

Lovell Minnick has committed to supporting Charles Taylor’s clients and to drive the delivery of Charles Taylor’s successful growth strategy, ensuring the future success of Charles Taylor for employees, partners and clients. Accordingly, Charles Taylor and Lovell Minnick will work together to:

          • Grow Charles Taylor’s Adjusting, Medical Assistance and other Claims Services businesses across the globe
          • Support the sustainable growth of Charles Taylor’s Insurance Management clients
          • Further develop Charles Taylor’s InsureTech business.

Charles Taylor’s existing experienced management team remains in place; there is no intention to make any changes to management structures or reporting lines as a result of this transaction.

David Marock, Group Chief Executive Officer, Charles Taylor, said, “I am excited to announce the completion of this acquisition, and believe that it is positive news for Charles Taylor, its clients, partners and staff. Throughout its history and irrespective of its ownership, Charles Taylor’s achievements have always been founded on its people, innovation and a commitment to excellent client service. Lovell Minnick understands these foundations, and I welcome their commitment to working with the management team to drive the business forward over the next stage of its history.”

Jason Barg, partner of Lovell Minnick, said, “We share a vision with the Charles Taylor team to continue supporting its clients, further advancing the ways in which we can support them, while further growing the platform over years to come.”

Spencer Hoffman, partner of Lovell Minnick, added, “Charles Taylor is a high-quality business, operating in a sector in which we have extensive experience. We are delighted to support the management team in continuing the development of the business they have built over the past years.”

About Charles Taylor

Charles Taylor is a global provider of professional services and technology solutions dedicated to enabling the global insurance market to do its business fundamentally better. Dating back to 1884, Charles Taylor now employs approximately 3,100 staff in more than 120 locations spread across 30 countries in Europe, the Americas, Asia Pacific, the Middle East and Africa.

Charles Taylor believes that it holds a distinctive position in its markets in that it is able to provide professional services and technology solutions in order to support every stage of the insurance lifecycle and every aspect of the insurance operating model. Charles Taylor serves a diversified blue-chip international customer base that includes national and international insurance companies, mutuals, captives, MGAs, Lloyd's syndicates and reinsurers, along with brokers, distributors and corporate insureds.

Further information is available at www.charlestaylor.com

Accelerates Expansion of Payments Technology into New Markets

PHILADELPHIA, LOS ANGELES and NEW YORK – DECEMBER 17, 2019 – Lovell Minnick Partners, a private equity firm focused on investments in the global financial services industry, including related technology and business services companies, today announced that it has completed a significant growth investment in Fortis Payment Systems, LLC (“Fortis” or the “Company”), a payments technology and merchant services provider. Financial terms of the private transaction were not disclosed.

Headquartered in Novi, Michigan, Fortis provides payment technology and processing capabilities to developers and businesses throughout North America. The Company’s proprietary payments platform, Zeamster, creates integrated commerce experiences for software and ERP providers as they transform the way businesses interact with their customers.

“Fortis has developed a highly configurable, powerful payments platform with industry-leading technical and security capabilities, supported by superior high touch service,” said Trevor Rich, Partner at Lovell Minnick Partners. “We look forward to supporting CEO Jimmy Nafso and his highly talented team to identify new solutions and channel partners.”

Since its founding in 2010, the Company has been a market leader in developing vertical specific solutions and integrating with point of sale software and ERP providers in numerous end markets. Fortis supports hundreds of developers, software providers, and channel partners and provides services to merchants throughout North America.

“We’re excited to leverage Lovell Minnick’s strong track record of scaling technology-businesses. With Lovell Minnick’s support we will be able to accelerate Fortis’ expansion into additional markets and continue innovating best-in-class payments solutions that meet the evolving needs of our customers,” said Nafso. “With Lovell Minnick as our new partner, our clients should remain assured that we will continue to provide ‘white glove’ customer service and innovative technology, which have been core to our value proposition since inception.”

“Jimmy and his leadership team have an excellent reputation in the payments industry. Their customer-centric approach is truly unique and the Zeamster micro-services platform is cutting edge with features to support a wide variety of businesses,” said Greg Cohen, an Operating Partner at Lovell Minnick and former president of the Electronic Transactions Association.

Lovell Minnick’s Trevor Rich and Greg Cohen will be joining the Fortis Board of Directors.

Sidley Austin LLP served as legal advisor and the Strawhecker Group served as payments advisor to Lovell Minnick. Butzel Long was counsel to Fortis.

About Fortis Payments Systems
Fortis Payments (Fortis) provides payments technology and merchant solutions to businesses and software developers across North America. Fortis has a focus on technology enabled solutions through a White Glove service approach and a mission to help small and mid-sized businesses scale through innovation. Fortis’ Zeamster platform provides state-of-the-art connectivity solutions for hundreds of software developers and channel partners. Fortis provides payments and financial technology solutions to thousands of businesses processing billions of dollars annually. For more information, please visit https://www.fortispayments.com/.

PORTLAND, Maine – November 25, 2019 – Foreside Financial Group, LLC (“Foreside”), a provider of regulatory and compliance service and technology offerings to clients in the global asset and wealth management industry, today announced its intent to acquire U.S. Bancorp’s mutual fund and exchange-traded funds (“ETFs”) distribution business, Quasar Distributors. The transaction is expected to close sometime in the first quarter of 2020. The acquisition will make Foreside one of the largest third-party fund distributors globally.

The acquisition will also expand Foreside’s internal team and client base, with the addition of more than 200 current Quasar clients, 26 employees and a new office location in Milwaukee, WI. With over $1 trillion in assets under distribution, Foreside continues to grow its market share rapidly. The transaction will introduce Foreside’s customizable compliance solutions and outsourcing support to all current Quasar clients, while strongly focusing on expanding Foreside’s broker-dealer capabilities, including dealer clearing services.

“Foreside is excited for the potential this acquisition provides to broaden our wide range of compliance and regulatory service offerings to clients based all over the U.S.,” said Dave Whitaker, President of Foreside. “Our inorganic growth continues to fuel our organic growth, as acquisitions like this one allow us to expand our service offerings and provide better strategic counsel and service to our clients.”

Quasar’s current clients range from small to large asset management firms, focused on mutual funds and ETFs. Quasar has carved out a niche during the past 20 years that has opened it up to growth opportunities outside of U.S. Bancorp.

“With Foreside’s investment and core capabilities in the mutual fund and ETF distribution space, Quasar should thrive while remaining true to its strengths. We have historically had a strong working relationship with Foreside and expect that relationship to continue into the future given the complementary nature of our businesses. We appreciate the hard work and dedication the Quasar team has shown during the years and wish them all the best as they transition to Foreside,” said Joe Neuberger, head of U.S. Bank Global Fund Services. “For us, the deal furthers our efforts to focus on our core competencies and grow strategically to create value for employees, customers, communities and shareholders.”

This is Foreside’s third acquisition in 2019. The firm acquired Compliance Advisory Services, a leading regional compliance firm, in October, and NCS Regulatory Compliance, a comprehensive provider of outsourced compliance and regulatory services, in January.

About Foreside
Foreside delivers comprehensive advice and best-in-class technology solutions to clients in the global asset and wealth management industries. Foreside distributes more than $1 trillion of product through their 20 limited purpose broker-dealers. For 15 years, Foreside’s suite of services and platform-based model have helped automate and simplify compliance and marketing for clients. Foreside works with pooled investment products, investment advisors, broker-dealers, global asset managers and other financial institutions.

By harnessing state-of-the-art technology, Foreside helps firms address and shape today’s regulatory environment, drive operational efficiency and growth, and focus on value-adding work. Foreside is headquartered in Portland, Maine, with numerous regional offices, including New York and Boston. For more information on Foreside’s suite of services, please visit www.foreside.com.

About U.S. Bancorp
U.S. Bancorp, with 74,000 employees and $488 billion in assets as of September 30, 2019, is the parent company of U.S. Bank, the fifth-largest commercial bank in the United States. The Minneapolis-based bank blends its relationship teams, branches and ATM network with mobile and online tools that allow customers to bank how, when and where they prefer. U.S. Bank is committed to serving its millions of retail, business, wealth management, payment, commercial and corporate, and investment services customers across the country and around the world as a trusted financial partner, a commitment recognized by the Ethisphere Institute naming the bank a 2019 World’s Most Ethical Company. Visit U.S. Bank at www.usbank.com or follow on social media to stay up to date with company news.

Quasar Distributors LLC, member FINRA, SIPC. Quasar Distributors, LLC is a wholly owned subsidiary of U.S. Bancorp.

LMP embraces existing vision and leadership, new investment supports innovation and growth for premier
multi-generational firm to continue serving multi-generational clients

ENGLEWOOD CLIFFS, N.J.- November 5, 2019 - Pathstone (“the Company”), a leading Registered Investment Advisory (RIA) firm with over $15 billion in assets under advisement as of the end of September 2019, today announced an investment by Lovell Minnick Partners (“LMP”). LMP, a private equity firm focused on investments in the global financial services industry and related technology and business services companies, will make a significant investment in Pathstone and provide ongoing strategic guidance to support the Company’s continued growth. Financial terms of the private transaction were not disclosed.

Under the terms of the transaction, Pathstone will remain independent and it will continue to be managed by its existing leadership team. In addition, Pathstone will add 16 existing employees as new shareholders, bringing total employee ownership to 48 of the Company’s 110 employees. With LMP’s investment, Pathstone’s current financial partner, Fiduciary Network, will fully exit its investment.

Matt Fleissig, President of Pathstone, states, “We set out to build a truly modern family office powered by next generation technology and a culture of innovation or, as we like to say, an organization that is ‘smart in a way that matters.’ With our partnership with LMP, we continue our focus on investing financial and intellectual capital in further developing client solutions.”

“We are excited to partner with Pathstone in their next stage of growth. As experienced investors in the wealth management industry, we greatly admire the business they have built and we embrace their multi-generational promise,” said Jim Minnick, Co-Chairman of LMP. “Pathstone has created a full service offering with a unique technology-enabled approach that we believe helps drive superior client service and operational efficiencies through automation.”

Brad Armstrong, Partner of LMP, added, “One of our reasons for investing in Pathstone is our shared commitment to incorporating Environmental, Social, and Governance (ESG) considerations in our investment criteria. We each believe it is additive to performance and beneficial in aligning our investment portfolios with our clients’ values. Inclusive of its legacy firms, Pathstone has been actively investing in sustainable and socially responsible investing strategies for nearly two decades and today has one of the most attractive ESG and impact investing platforms we have seen in the wealth management industry.”

Allan Zachariah, Pathstone’s Co-CEO shared, “We are grateful for our current financial partners at Fiduciary Network and Emigrant Partners, who had faith in us and believed in our vision five years ago. They helped guide us through two material acquisitions that propelled the growth of our firm. We wish them well and appreciate their support in helping us reach this exciting milestone.”

“This is a proud and exciting day for all of us here at Pathstone,” said Steve Braverman Co-CEO of Pathstone. “At Pathstone, we make a multi-generational promise to our clients, and that commitment is centered on providing a trusted and valued partnership. This is the next chapter of the Pathstone story that will continue to honor the trust and responsibility we have been granted by our clients. Our new partnership with LMP is built on that unifying vision, and we couldn’t be more thrilled for the path ahead.”

The transaction is expected to close at the end of the Fourth Quarter of this year. Raymond James | Silver Lane served as financial advisor and Alston & Bird LLP served as legal counsel to Pathstone on the transaction. Davis Graham & Stubbs LLP served as legal counsel to LMP on the transaction. Madison Capital Funding LLC provided funding for the transaction.

About Pathstone
Founded in 2010, Pathstone provides integrated and customized family office, wealth and investment services to multi-generational families, single family offices, high net worth individuals and institutions, such as charities and foundations, via a technology-enabled open architecture investment platform. Pathstone is privately held and has over 100 employees serving approximately 300 clients with $15 billion of assets under advisement through seven locations nationwide. For more information, please visit www.pathstone.com.

Introduces a series of comprehensive financial service offerings for current CAS clients

PORTLAND, Maine – October 14, 2019 – Foreside Financial Group, LLC (“Foreside”), a provider of regulatory and compliance service offerings to clients in the global asset management industry, today announced its acquisition of Compliance Advisory Services (“CAS”), a leading regional financial institution consulting firm.

The acquisition expands Foreside’s footprint in the U.S. and captures additional market share. The firm already enjoys a national presence, headquartered in Maine with offices in New York, Boston, Berwyn and Columbus, Londonderry, Concord, and Delray Beach.

“At Foreside, we’re committed to putting our clients first. This opportunity to partner with CAS allows us to work together to expand our comprehensive regulatory and compliance suite of service offerings as well as maintain a structured business model and point of contact for all CAS clients,” said David Whitaker, President of Foreside. “This acquisition is a fundamental step in a series of roll-ups that will keep us at the forefront of the regulatory consulting landscape. It gives us the opportunity to expand our wide-range of partnership offerings to a diverse range of clients. We are eager to work beside fellow expert compliance professionals to provide world-class service for clients while reaching our growth goals.”

The acquisition will introduce Foreside’s various compliance consulting solutions, including proprietary compliance technology to all current CAS clients. Further, the partnership will consist of a combination of Foreside’s financial services solutions, personalized service models, and an all-inclusive partnership program.

“We are deeply excited to be working alongside the Foreside team and feel Foreside is well-positioned to continue providing in-depth compliance service offerings to our clients,” said LaVerne White at CAS. “Not only will this partnership allow our clients' needs to be met in a more holistic capacity, but it will also offer an expansive level of support from a leading compliance firm. We feel confident Foreside will maintain the same level of professional expertise and precision we at CAS have strived to provide to our clients for over 25 years.”

A nationally recognized regulatory compliance consulting firm with a focus on Investment Advisors, CAS works to provide their clients with extensive regulatory and compliance offerings designed to fit their needs. In partnership with CAS, Foreside will continue to offer these comprehensive service packages, will maintain the dedicated consultant model that characterizes CAS’s hands-on consulting approach, and will introduce its proprietary compliance technology to further streamline their clients' management of regulatory obligations.

About Foreside
Foreside delivers best-in-class technology solutions and comprehensive advice to clients in the global asset management industry. We distribute more than $1 trillion of product through our 20 limited purpose broker-dealers. For 15 years, our suite of services and platform-based model have helped us automate and simplify compliance and marketing for clients. We work with pooled investment products, investment advisors, broker-dealers, global asset managers and other financial institutions.

By harnessing state-of-the-art technology, we help firms address and shape today’s regulatory environment, drive operational efficiency and growth, and focus on value-adding work. Foreside is headquartered in Portland, Maine with numerous regional offices, including those in New York and Boston. For more information on Foreside’s suite of services, please visit www.foreside.com.

About Compliance Advisory Services
Compliance Advisory Services, LLC. (CAS) is a nationally-known regulatory compliance consulting firm. CAS has long provided authoritative and practical advice in compliance matters and other important issues facing financial institutions. CAS' clients range in size from small community institutions to multibillion-dollar regionals. The firm’s consulting staff possess two common traits: excellent knowledge of regulatory requirements and finely-tuned comprehension of the financial industry.

New Investment to Accelerate the Company’s Growth in Existing and New Markets

PHILADELPHIA, LOS ANGELES and NEW YORK – OCTOBER 14, 2019 – Lovell Minnick Partners, a private equity firm focused on investments in the global financial services industry, including related technology and business services companies, today announced that it has completed the acquisition of Billhighway (the “Company”), a provider of integrated software and payments solutions to membership-based organizations (“MBOs”). Financial terms of the private transaction were not disclosed.

Headquartered in Troy, Mich., Billhighway provides SaaS-based accounting and transaction processing services to MBOs such as fraternities, sororities, unions and associations. MBOs use the Company’s technology suite for accounting, reconciliation and reporting while leveraging a full suite of electronic bill payment and presentment solutions. Billhighway improves the members’ experience while automating back-office functions and enhancing cash flow for national headquarters and local chapters. Founded in 1999, the Company is a leader in serving MBOs, which have more than 750,000 members nationwide.

“We are excited to partner with the Billhighway team to support the Company’s growth in its core MBO markets and expansion into new segments,” said Trevor Rich, Partner at Lovell Minnick. “We believe that Billhighway solves critical pain points for its clients through scalable, differentiated technology and superior client service, and we are excited to accelerate further investments in the product, the market and the team.”

Billhighway has continued to enhance its technology capabilities by developing integrations with leading member management, fundraising, and event management platforms. The Company has been highly focused on bringing together the best technology solutions and services to better serve its clients. The Company recently rolled out an in-person payments solution, an integrated housing management solution, and expanded services for MBO’s foundations and fundraising activities.

“Lovell Minnick brings invaluable experience in the financial technology and payments sectors, and we’re pleased that we have found the right partner to help us further grow our business,” said Tom Bomberski, President at Billhighway. “They are highly committed to our current clients and their investment and operational acumen will help us to continue building out our technology platform, to enable member-based organizations to transform their operations, and to capitalize on attractive market opportunities.”

“Billhighway’s platform provides MBOs with industry-leading financial and payments tools that streamline back-office tasks so MBOs can focus on their broader objectives, such as member experience and growth,” said Greg Cohen, an Operating Partner to Lovell Minnick and former president of the Electronic Transactions Association. “In partnership with Lovell Minnick, Billhighway will pursue organic and acquisitive growth opportunities to expand its footprint and position the Company for continued success.”

As part of the transaction, Trevor Rich and Greg Cohen will be joining Billhighway’s Board of Managers.

Morgan, Lewis & Bockius and Jaffe Raitt Heuer & Weiss provided legal counsel to Lovell Minnick. TPG Sixth Street Partners and Wells Fargo Bank, N.A. provided financing for the transaction.

About Billhighway
Got Chapters? Billhighway gives chapter-based organizations the tools to automate and simplify operations while creating data visibility across entire organizations. This empowers them and their chapters to focus more on member value and organizational growth.

For over the past 20 years, Billhighway has provided “best in industry” technology to help chapter-based organizations simplify and take control of chapter finances. Our partner-centric approach offers clients flexible solutions to address challenges and achieve results that help them thrive and grow. Billhighway focuses on streamlining accounting, increasing cash flow and reducing expenses so they can focus on what’s important, their members.  www.billhighway.co/

Foreside named Best Compliance Advisory Firm at the 2019 Fund Intelligence Operations and Services Awards

Foreside Financial Group, a leading provider of compliance and distribution solutions, is pleased to announce they have been named “Best Compliance Advisory Firm” at the 2019 Fund Intelligence Operations and Services Awards. The award was announced on October 10th at a ceremony in New York City.

The Fund Intelligence Operations and Services Awards recognize outstanding contributions made by business, operations, and technology leaders at asset management and service provider firms over the past year.

“We are honored that Fund Intelligence recognized Foreside as the Best Compliance Advisory Firm,” said Mark Alcaide, Senior Managing Director at Foreside. “At Foreside we see regulation not as an obstacle, but as a catalyst for innovation. Our firm pairs best-in-class technology with comprehensive and customized consulting advice to help firms in the investment management space continue to innovate, improve, and grow.”

Foreside marries innovative technology with high-touch consulting and expertise to help mitigate risk and increase operational efficiencies for firms across the asset management industry. ForesideConnectTM is one of the many technology tools Foreside has in place to align parties on compliance and timeline initiatives. Foreside’s technology solutions alleviate pain-points for clients, allowing them time to focus on their own value-adding work such as portfolio management, client service, and sales.  www.foreside.com

LEAWOOD, Kan. – Sept. 20, 2019 – Tortoise today announced it has completed its previously announced acquisition of the midstream energy asset management business of Advisory Research Inc. from Piper Jaffray Companies (NYSE: PJC).

The transaction brings together two highly experienced and tenured midstream energy pioneers with strong track records and complementary investment philosophies anchored in fundamental research. The midstream energy infrastructure team, including the leadership team of Senior Portfolio Managers Jim Cunnane, Jr. and Quinn Kiley, will maintain oversight of their current midstream energy infrastructure business and client relationships. The team brings approximately $3 billion in assets under management in balanced and equity strategies through mutual funds, separate accounts and sub-advised closed-end funds.

“We are pleased to welcome Jim, Quinn and the entire team to Tortoise,” said Tortoise Chief Executive Officer, Kevin Birzer. “This partnership underscores our shared view that the midstream sector will play an essential role in the energy transition story as the U.S. exports low-cost energy to the rest of the world.”

“We are excited to become part of the Tortoise family,” said Tortoise Senior Portfolio Manager, Jim Cunnane. “We share a passion for the midstream energy sector and see tremendous opportunities to leverage our collective industry wisdom. Most importantly, we have been actively collaborating to ensure a smooth transition for our clients.”

Financial terms of the transaction were not disclosed.

About Tortoise
Tortoise invests in essential assets – those assets and services that are indispensable to the economy and society. With a steady wins approach and a long-term perspective, Tortoise strives to make a positive impact on clients and communities. For additional information, please visit tortoiseadvisors.com.

NOT FOR RELEASE, PUBLICATION OR DISTRIBUTION, IN WHOLE OR IN PART, DIRECTLY OR INDIRECTLY, IN, INTO OR FROM ANY JURISDICTION WHERE TO DO SO WOULD CONSTITUTE A VIOLATION OF THE RELEVANT LAWS OR REGULATIONS OF SUCH JURISDICTION.

Jewel BidCo Limited (“LMP Bidco”), a company formed on behalf of funds advised by Lovell Minnick Partners LLC and its affiliates (“Lovell Minnick”), is pleased to announce a recommended cash offer for Charles Taylor plc (“Charles Taylor”) (“Rule 2.7 Announcement”).

This announcement should be read in conjunction with, and is subject to, the full text of the Rule 2.7 Announcement, which includes additional information about the terms and conditions of the Offer. This announcement and the Rule 2.7 Announcement will be available (subject to certain restrictions relating to persons resident in restricted jurisdictions) on Charles Taylor’s website at http://www.ctplc.com/investors and on LMP Bidco’s website at http://www.lmpartners.com by no later than 12.00 p.m. on the Business Day following the Rule 2.7 Announcement. The content of the websites is not incorporated into, and does not form part of, this announcement. Certain terms used in this announcement are defined in the Rule 2.7 Announcement.

Under the terms of the Offer, each Charles Taylor Shareholder at the Scheme Record Time will be entitled to receive:

For each Charles Taylor Share held 315 pence in cash

In addition, under the terms of the Offer, Charles Taylor Shareholders will be entitled to receive the previously declared Interim 2019 Dividend of 3.65 pence per Charles Taylor Share to be paid on 8 November 2019 to Charles Taylor Shareholders on the Charles Taylor register of members on 11 October 2019 without any consequential reduction in the Offer Price, subject to the terms set out in paragraph 18 of the Rule 2.7 Announcement.

The Offer Price represents: 

• a premium of approximately 34.0 per cent. to the Closing Price per Charles Taylor Share of 235 pence on 18 September 2019 (being the last Business Day prior to the date of the Rule 2.7 Announcement);
• a premium of approximately 39.5 per cent. to the three-month volume weighted average price of 226 pence per Charles Taylor Share to 18 September 2019 (being the last Business Day prior to the date of the Rule 2.7 Announcement);
• a premium of approximately 40.9 per cent. to the six-month volume weighted average price of 224 pence per Charles Taylor Share to 18 September 2019 (being the last Business Day prior to the date of the Rule 2.7 Announcement); and
• a value of approximately £261 million for the entire issued and to be issued share capital of Charles Taylor on a fully diluted basis.

In order to become effective, the Scheme must be approved by a majority in number of the Charles Taylor Shareholders voting at the Court Meeting, either in person or by proxy, representing at least 75 per cent. in value of the Charles Taylor Shares voted. In addition, at the General Meeting to implement the Scheme a special resolution to approve the adoption of the Amended Charles Taylor Articles must be passed by Charles Taylor Shareholders representing at least 75 per cent. of the votes cast on that resolution.

Charles Taylor is a leading international provider of professional services and technology solutions to numerous clients across the global insurance market. It operates 24 hours a day across the globe to support every stage of the insurance lifecycle and every aspect of the insurance operating model. With approximately 3,100 employees spanning 30 countries, Charles Taylor brings together the skills and expertise of people across the organisation to deliver the best possible outcomes to its clients.

Lovell Minnick has significant experience of investments in similar businesses to Charles Taylor, and is confident in the overall prospects of Charles Taylor's businesses and the sectors in which it operates. Lovell Minnick considers the Charles Taylor team to have built a high quality business and intends to support Charles Taylor by leveraging its expertise and experience of investing in global financial services companies, including related technology and business service companies.

Additionally, LMP Bidco has affirmed the importance of the management and employees of Charles Taylor to its future strategy and confirmed that following completion of the Proposed Acquisition LMP Bidco plans to safeguard the existing contractual and statutory employment rights of all Charles Taylor’s management in accordance with applicable law. LMP Bidco has also confirmed that it intends to continue to service Charles Taylor’s existing customers to a high standard.

Commenting on the Offer, Spencer Hoffman and Jason Barg, partners of Lovell Minnick, said:

“We are delighted to invest in Charles Taylor and to support David and the management team in continuing the development of the business they have built over the past years. Charles Taylor is a high-quality business, operating in a sector Lovell Minnick has a strong track record of investing in and we believe that partnering with Lovell Minnick to pursue a shared vision to grow the platform will provide benefit to clients, employees and partners.”

Commenting on the Offer, David Marock, Group CEO of Charles Taylor, said:

“I am proud of what Charles Taylor has achieved over many years for its clients, partners, employees and shareholders. These achievements have been founded on its people, innovation and commitment to excellent client service. I am confident that this acquisition by Lovell Minnick, a highly regarded investor with experience in our markets, will provide Charles Taylor with the opportunity to continue to deliver on its existing growth strategy. They understand the foundations and strengths of our group and we welcome their commitment to working with the management team to drive the business forward.”

The Offer will be put to Charles Taylor Shareholders at the Court Meeting and at the General Meeting. In order to become effective, the Scheme must be approved by a majority in number of the Charles Taylor Shareholders voting (and entitled to vote) at the Court Meeting, either in person or by proxy, representing at least 75 per cent. in value of the Charles Taylor Shares voted. In addition, at the General Meeting to implement the Scheme a special resolution to approve the adoption of the Amended Charles Taylor Articles must be passed by Charles Taylor Shareholders representing at least 75 per cent. of the votes validly cast on that resolution. The General Meeting will be held immediately after the Court Meeting.

RBC Capital Markets acted as financial adviser to Lovell Minnick and Rothschild & Co acted as financial adviser to Charles Taylor. Debevoise & Plimpton LLP acted as legal adviser to Lovell Minnick and Davis Polk & Wardwell London LLP acted as lead legal advisors to Charles Taylor.

The Offer is conditional on certain antitrust and regulatory clearances including the approval of the FCA and, if relevant, the PRA and Lloyd’s in the UK, and regulatory approvals in the Isle of Man, Bermuda and the State of Texas, United States of America.

This announcement, the Rule 2.7 Announcement and the documents required to be published pursuant to Rule 26.1 of the Code will be available free of charge, subject to certain restrictions relating to persons resident in Restricted Jurisdictions, on Charles Taylor’s website at http://www.ctplc.com/investors and on LMP Bidco’s website at http://www.lmpartners.com by no later than 12.00 p.m. on the Business Day following the Rule 2.7 Announcement.

About Lovell Minnick
Lovell Minnick is a private equity firm focused on investments in the global financial services industry, including related technology and business services companies. Since its inception in 1999, Lovell Minnick has raised $3.3 billion of committed capital from leading institutional investors including public and private pensions, insurance companies, endowments and foundations, including $1.28 billion of capital committed to the Lovell Minnick Fund V. Lovell Minnick has 40 team members, of whom 21 are investment professionals, operating from offices in Philadelphia, Los Angeles and New York. Lovell Minnick provides buyout and growth capital, leveraging its deep domain expertise and network of relationships to support dynamic companies in capitalising on attractive market opportunities. Lovell Minnick focuses on developing strong working relationships with management teams and being value-added partners to help build long-term value for clients, employees and shareholders.

Lovell Minnick Partners is a growth investor with significant experience in the insurance services and related technology space. To date, Lovell Minnick has completed more than 50 portfolio company investments. Relevant examples of current and former Lovell Minnick Partners investments include: J.S. Held, Worldwide Facilities, Duff & Phelps, ATTOM and Trea Asset Management. None of Lovell Minnick Partners’ current portfolio companies compete directly or indirectly with Charles Taylor.

Important notice
This announcement and the Rule 2.7 Announcement is for information purposes only and is not intended to and does not constitute, or form part of, an offer to sell or an invitation to purchase any securities or the solicitation of an offer to buy, otherwise acquire, subscribe for, sell or otherwise dispose of any securities, pursuant to the Offer or otherwise, nor shall there be any purchase, sale, issuance or exchange of securities or such solicitation in any jurisdiction in which such offer, solicitation, sale, issuance or exchange would be unlawful prior to the registration or qualification under the laws of such jurisdiction. The Offer will be made solely by means of the Scheme Document or any document by which the Offer is made which will contain the full terms and Conditions of the Offer, including details of how to vote in respect of the Proposed Acquisition.

This announcement and the Rule 2.7 Announcement have been prepared for the purpose of complying with English law and the Code and the information disclosed may not be the same as that which would have been disclosed if this announcement and the Rule 2.7 Announcement had been prepared in accordance with the laws of jurisdictions outside the United Kingdom.

RBC Capital Markets is the trading name for RBC Europe Limited, which is authorised by the PRA and regulated by the FCA and the PRA and is a subsidiary of Royal Bank of Canada. RBC Capital Markets is acting exclusively for Lovell Minnick and LMP Bidco and for no one else in connection with the Offer and will not be responsible to anyone other than Lovell Minnick and LMP Bidco for providing the protections afforded to its clients nor for providing advice in relation to the Offer or any other matters referred to in this Announcement.

Overseas Shareholders
The release, publication or distribution of this Announcement in certain jurisdictions may be restricted by law. Persons who are not resident in the United Kingdom or who are subject to the laws of other jurisdictions should inform themselves of, and observe, any applicable requirements. Any failure to comply with the applicable restrictions may constitute a violation of the securities laws of any such jurisdiction. To the fullest extent permitted by applicable law, the companies and persons involved in the Offer disclaim any responsibility or liability for the violation of such restrictions by any person.

The Offer relates to shares of a UK company and is proposed to be effected by means of a scheme of arrangement under the laws of England and Wales. Neither the US proxy solicitation rules nor the tender offer rules under the US Exchange Act apply to the Offer. Accordingly, the Offer is subject to the disclosure requirements, rules and practices applicable in the United Kingdom to schemes of arrangement, which differ from the requirements of US proxy solicitation or tender offer rules. However, if LMP Bidco were to elect to implement the Offer by means of a Takeover Offer, such Takeover Offer would be made in compliance with all applicable laws and regulations, including Section 14(e) of the US Exchange Act and Regulation 14E thereunder. Such a takeover would be made in the United States by LMP Bidco and no one else. In addition to any such Takeover Offer, LMP Bidco, certain affiliated companies and the nominees or brokers (acting as agents) may make certain purchases of, or arrangements to purchase, shares in Charles Taylor outside such Takeover Offer during the period in which such Takeover Offer would remain open for acceptance. If such purchases or arrangements to purchase were to be made, they would be made outside the United States and would comply with applicable law, including the US Exchange Act.

None of the securities referred to in this Announcement have been approved or disapproved by the US Securities and Exchange Commission, any state securities commission in the United States or any other US regulatory authority, nor have such authorities passed upon or determined the adequacy or accuracy of the information contained in this document. Any representation to the contrary is a criminal offence in the United States.

DENVER, Sept. 17, 2019 /PRNewswire/ -- Mercer Advisors, a national Registered Investment Adviser (RIA) with Assets Under Management (AUM) exceeding $16.5 billion, announced today a recapitalization whereby Oak Hill Capital will acquire an equity stake in the company from current private equity owners Genstar Capital ("Genstar") and Lovell Minnick Partners.

Mercer Advisors is one of the largest independent wealth managers in the U.S., serving clients with a focus on the mass affluent and high net-worth markets. Based in Denver, Mercer Advisors has a national footprint with 44 offices and over 370 employees. The Company has nearly 35 years of wealth management experience and differentiates itself as a total wealth manager serving investors as a fiduciary and providing a broad range of services including financial planning, investments, estate planning and tax planning and preparation services.

Under Genstar's and Lovell Minnick's ownership since Genstar's original investment in 2015, Mercer Advisors' AUM has grown dramatically, driven by addition of new client assets and acquisitions of other advisory firms from less than $5.8 billion in AUM to over $16.5 billion in AUM. In that span, Mercer Advisors invested heavily in enhancing its services for clients including the expansion of its investment offerings, significantly adding talent and expertise to its estate and tax planning teams, and extending its regional office footprint to over 40 regional offices. Mercer Advisors also enhanced its referral relationships with Charles Schwab, E*TRADE, Fidelity Investments, and TD Ameritrade. Over the past three-and-a-half years Mercer Advisors has completed 23 acquisitions that expanded its footprint, talent and expertise. In addition, in 2018, Mercer Advisors opened a new, full-service "Central Hub" headquarters in Denver to house multiple teams and functions to better support the dozens of Mercer Advisors' regional offices.

Dave Welling, Chief Executive Officer of Mercer Advisors, said, "Mercer Advisors' vision centers on our unconditional commitment to our clients and working collaboratively with them to create the best context possible for their Economic Freedom™. With the support of our private equity partners we have been able to make significant investments in building a comprehensive set of services for our clients and in expanding that vision to new parts of the country." Added Welling, "Genstar Capital and Lovell Minnick were instrumental in our development and we are delighted that Genstar will be staying on as an investor and partner. Our future is even brighter with Oak Hill being added as a strategic investor. Key to our process in selecting Oak Hill as our partner was the unique combination of cultural alignment and their expertise in supporting management teams leading growth and change."

Steve Puccinelli, Partner of Oak Hill, said, "Mercer Advisors is a unique integrated registered investment adviser with multiple levers to compound value and is well-positioned to further accelerate its already impressive growth. We are excited to partner with CEO Dave Welling, his outstanding team, and existing investor Genstar to further help the company expand organically and through strategic acquisitions."

Tony Salewski, Managing Director of Genstar, said, "We are extremely gratified by the success of Mercer Advisors, having worked with management to create a strategic wealth management platform that delivers a truly integrated and robust client experience. Through a dynamic blend of organic and inorganic growth, the business has rapidly achieved scale and established itself as a market-leading RIA with immense future potential. We are excited to continue as investors and look forward to further building Mercer Advisors in our new partnership with Oak Hill."

"We have enjoyed our collaboration with the Mercer Advisors management team for over a decade. They have performed at a very high level and achieved premier status in wealth management. We wish the team continued success as the Company writes its next chapter," said Jeffrey Lovell, Co-Chairman of Lovell Minnick Partners.

Goldman Sachs & Co. served as lead financial advisor, Moelis & Company LLC assisted as financial advisors, and Willkie Farr & Gallagher LLP served as legal counsel to Mercer Advisors on the transaction. UBS served as financial advisor and Paul, Weiss, Rifkind, Wharton & Garrison LLP served as legal counsel to Oak Hill Capital on the transaction.

About Mercer Advisors
Established in 1985, Mercer Global Advisors Inc. ("Mercer Advisors") is a total wealth management firm that provides comprehensive, fee-based investment management, financial planning, family office services, retirement benefits and distribution planning, estate and tax planning, asset protection expertise, and corporate trustee and trust administration services. Mercer Advisors is the parent company of Mercer Global Advisors, one of the largest Registered Investment Advisors and financial planning firms in the U.S. with over $16.5 billion in client assets. Headquartered in Denver, Mercer Advisors is privately held, has over 370 employees, and operates nationally through 44 offices across the country. For more information, please visit: www.merceradvisors.com.

About Oak Hill Capital
Oak Hill Capital is a private equity firm managing funds with approximately $15 billion of initial capital commitments and co-investments since inception. Over the past 33 years, Oak Hill Capital and its predecessors have invested in over 90 private equity transactions across broad segments of the U.S. and global economies. Oak Hill Capital applies an industry-focused, theme-based approach to investing in the following sectors: Consumer, Retail & Distribution; Industrials; Media & Communications; and Services. Oak Hill works actively in partnership with management to implement strategic and operational initiatives to create franchise value. For more information, please visit: www.oakhill.com.

About Genstar Capital
Genstar Capital is a leading private equity firm that has been actively investing in high quality companies for over 30 years. Based in San Francisco, Genstar works in partnership with its management teams and its network of strategic advisors to transform its portfolio companies into industry-leading businesses. Genstar currently has approximately $17 billion of assets under management and targets investments focused on targeted segments of the financial services, healthcare, industrial technology, and software industries. For more information on Genstar, please visit: www.gencap.com.

About Lovell Minnick Partners
Lovell Minnick Partners is a private equity firm focused on investments in the global financial services industry, including related technology and business services companies. The firm partners with outstanding management teams to help grow their companies and build value for investors through a combination of driving growth initiatives, strategic activity and operational improvements. Since its inception in 1999, Lovell Minnick Partners has become a leader in their chosen space, raising $3.3 billion of committed capital from leading institutional investors including public and private pensions, insurance companies, endowments and foundations. To date, the firm has completed more than 50 portfolio company investments.

DRAPER, Utah, Sept. 12, 2019 /PRNewswire-PRWeb/ -- Inside Real Estate, one of the fastest growing independently-owned real estate software companies and a trusted technology partner to over 200,000 top brokerages, agents & teams announced this week the appointment of Steve Ozonian to its Board of Directors. Known as a visionary leader in the real-estate tech space, Ozonian brings over 3 decades of experience serving in executive roles at Coldwell Banker Real Estate, Prudential Real Estate & Relocation, and REALTOR.com.

"We're thrilled to welcome Steve to our board," said Ned Stringham, CEO of Inside Real Estate. "Steve brings a wealth of knowledge and relationships having successfully led companies through many facets of the real estate industry. His experience and perspective will be invaluable as Inside Real Estate expands its reach, partnering with the most prominent brokerage and franchise brands in real estate today."

Named a Top Innovator and influential leader by The National Association of Realtors and other prominent media outlets, Ozonian has a long history of driving innovation at the intersection of real estate and tech. After serving as a senior executive at Coldwell Banker Real Estate and Chairman and CEO of Prudential Real Estate & Relocation, Ozonian went on to serve as the CEO of REALTOR.com, one of the leading real estate consumer portals in the United States. After his tenure at REALTOR.com, Ozonian also served as the CEO of RealEstate.com and is currently the lead independent director of Lending Tree and CEO of Williston Financial.

"I believe Inside Real Estate is uniquely positioned to dominate the real estate software space," said Steve Ozonian. "They've gained substantial traction and scale in a highly fragmented industry thanks to a winning strategy, experienced team and a powerful software platform which drives real results for the agents, teams and brokers they serve. I'm honored to join their board and participate in their continued growth."

Ozonian's appointment comes on the heels of substantial revenue growth for Inside Real Estate which has brought on hundreds of top brokerages to its flagship platform, kvCORE, so far this year and has doubled down on its long-term strategy with a new primary financial backer, Lovell Minnick Partners.

About Inside Real Estate
Inside Real Estate is one of the fastest growing independently-owned real estate software companies and a trusted technology partner to over 200,000 agents, teams and top brokerages. The company's flagship platform, kvCORE, is a modern and comprehensive solution known for delivering profitable growth at every level of a brokerage organization. Built with a scalable and flexible infrastructure, kvCORE enables brokerages to create their own unique technology ecosystem to enhance and differentiate their brand and culture. With an accomplished leadership team and over 175 employees, Inside Real Estate brings the resources, scale and vision to deliver ongoing innovation and success for its growing customer base. Learn more at insiderealestate.com.

Giant RIAs are aggressively targeting fast-growing, high net worth-focused firms. Before acting, advisors should pay heed to these key considerations.

By David Sterman
September 10, 2019

Throughout an advisor’s career, major milestones justify the celebratory popping of top-notch champagne.

Be it the first multi-millionaire client, the first year that managed assets surpass $100 million, or when a multi-advisor team crosses the billion-dollar threshold, a great sense of accomplishment is well deserved.

What to do next, though, is often the hardest part.

While many advisors are content to keep adding clients in a slow and steady organic manner, some want to jumpstart growth by joining forces with a larger firm to leverage growth and derive the benefits of scale. Of course, a decision to sell a practice may simply come down to prudent succession planning.

In the past, a common next step would have been to reach out to nearby planning and wealth management peers to see if they represented a good fit for existing clients.

Yet in the past few years, the decision to merge or sell, already an emotionally fraught question, has become far more complex as a new wave of mega-RIAs with ambitious expansion plans has created a whole new class of industry buyers.

Knowing more about these mega-RIAs, their growth strategies, and most importantly, how they can help serve existing clients, are key factors to understand before acting.

To be sure, many of the new massive RIAs under construction promise to solve a basic set of challenges. They can help a firm monetize (i.e. cash out) after years of building a wealth management practice. Or they can bring in fresh tools to help grow a base of clients, and managed assets.

Focus Financial Partners typifies the new breed of acquisition-driven firms. As part of its investor presentation, the firm lays out a fairly mundane set of reasons for selling your practice to Focus, citing virtues such as “an alignment of values,” an adherence to “fiduciary standards,” ample marketing resources, and “access to strategy.”

Beyond that kind of marketing pablum, Focus and its ilk also offer to take the managerial aspects of running a business off a company’s plate, usually for a hefty slice of cash flows. This kind of basic straightforward approach may be just fine for some advisors.

“You can’t convince someone to be an entrepreneur,” says Louis Diamond, executive vice president at industry recruiter Diamond Consultants. “Not everyone is well-suited to control various aspects such as marketing, technology, social media and office supervision.”

Yet for advisors (and their advisory teams) that instead want to pursue more robust and targeted growth, other massive RIA-focused aggregators offer more specific skill sets to help catalyze growth.

Take Lovell Minnick Partners as an example. The private equity-backed firm has been cobbling together a broad range of financial services firms, not just asset managers, in a bid to create an advanced toolset for advisors at its captive RIA firms.

“We’re fascinated by the recurring themes across financial services, which you cannot identify unless you have a broader lens,” says Brad Armstrong, a partner at the firm. “For example, we see the abundance of data and potential for AI and automation, an evolutionary change that’s playing out in areas beyond just wealth management – we’re also seeing it unfold in specialty finance, asset management, and other sectors within financial services.”

From compliance to fintech to analytics, Lovell Minnick helps provide acquired RIA firms with a very broad ecosystem of tools and a network of relevant contacts for business and corporate development that they may have lacked when they operated independently, says Armstrong.

“We’re heavily invested in our companies’ success and get excited about adding value,” says Armstrong, who adds, “we have over twenty companies pursuing growth strategies; while each has its own mission, we enjoy helping them deploy best practices we see elsewhere in the portfolio. In wealth management, an important toolkit today is the ability to drive an M&A strategy – our companies have made over 80 add-on acquisitions and average more than one a month, so we have the experience base and resources in-house to draw from.”

Along with a growing base of captive RIAs now under the Lovell Minnick umbrella, the firm also owns industry vendors such as Attom Data Solutions, which provides real estate industry analytics, SRS Acquiom, a provider of M&A settlement support, LSQ Funding Group, which offers working capital management tools, and One Zero Financial, which sells foreign exchange trade management software.

Emigrant Partners takes a different approach in support of RIA firms, eschewing traditional buyouts and focusing instead on providing access to growth capital (usually in the form of loans and cash flow participation), along with strategic advice.

Structuring the deals that way brings several key advantages.

“Firms maintain their independence and operating autonomy, and we stay out of their board rooms. These features are important to their founders, next gen and clients,” says Karl Heckenberg, Emigrant Partners’ CEO. Instead, his firm is focused on providing the kind of mentorship that can lead to higher AUM and profits.

As just one example, Emigrant established a partnership with Minneapolis-based NorthRock Partners this past April, and is already helping NorthRock devise strategies to drive rapid growth in high net worth relationships.

Heckenberg says that “North Rock is already on pace to double in size compared to when we first linked up.”

As is the case with Lovell Minnick, Emigrant Partners aims to bring in resources from other divisions to aid its RIA portfolio members’ growth strategies. Heckenberg cites services that can be offered from other subsidiairies at Emigrant Bank such as trust administration, property & casualty advisory, fine art finance, and other specialty lending and advisory capabilities.

Emigrant Partners is a part of New York Private Bank & Trust, which is an atypical industry backer of RIAs. Most of the industry’s growth capital is coming these days from private equity, other RIAs, and in rare cases, investment banks.

New York Private Bank & Trust also operates a separate RIA consolidator under the leadership of Heckenberg, known as Fiduciary Network. RIAs under that umbrella have asset management bases ranging from around $1 billion to $12 billion, with the average holding controlling $3 billion in AUM.

Emigrant Partners, Lovell Minnick Partners and other more selective industry operators share a key common trait: a desire to tap into the high net worth and corporate clients.

Advisors and their teams with such relationships will always be in high demand, says Carolyn Armitage of industry consultant Echelon Partners.

“I’ve seen advisors make an entire career off of one corporate client,” she says, adding that providing planning services to corporate executives, helping with areas such as stock options exercises, can be very lucrative for advisors.

A focus on high net worth clients isn’t the only key criterion for these selective RIA investors. Heckenberg says that his firm looks at 40 to 50 deals per year, and most of them aren’t growing organically.” His firm only looks to invest in firms that are already on the growth fast-track.

For firms like Emigrant, the talent bench at a potential acquisition is also a key consideration. Heckenberg says his firm is “heavily focused on internal succession. We spend as much time with the next gen leadership at the firm as we do with the founders.

Not all firms aim towards the premium client and rapid growth end of the market. Captrust Financial Advisors, for example, has a large defined contribution plan business, which helps advisors open the door for 401(k) relationships to sprout into full planning engagements.

Edelman Financial Engines is now the nation’s largest RIA, thanks to a similar approach that builds out from a core set of retirement plan management offerings.

These firms and other large RIAs are making heavy investments in digital planning technologies to help advisors streamline their processes and carve out more time to spend with clients (or look for new clients).

“Advisors tend to be laggards when it comes to technology,” says Tim Welsh, CEO of industry consultant Nexus Strategy. He adds that “many smaller practices simply lack the resources to spend a lot on technology.”

The good news: Welsh says that “there has been a renaissance in terms of advisor technology, in areas such as Customer Relationship Management (CRM), rebalancing software, tax planning efficiency software and others,” which is helping advisors to become much more efficient.

While Edelman Financial Engines has historically been focused on retirement plan management for the bulk of its asset growth, the firm now sees a growing set of tech tools as a key differentiator for clients as well.

“We want to scale our business on the retail side, using technology to help our advisors handle more clients,” says CEO Larry Raffone.

Indeed, the growing use of technology—by both advisors and clients alike—can be seen as an opportunity to stay on the industry’s vanguard. Millennial clients are especially well-adapted to a tech-driven financial planning approach.

The flip side of that trend is that any advisors with long-standing (and perhaps aging) clients may be ill-equipped to compete for next generation clients if they fail to evolve.

Raffone says his firm will continue to invest in firms that can bring more tech arrows into the quiver.

“We’re always on the lookout for vendors that can expand our digital offerings,” he says.

Even as Edelman Financial Engines has been at the forefront of the robo-advisory trend, he doesn’t consider it a major threat to the industry.

“Robo isn’t a business, it’s a capability,” he says. “For more complicated financial pictures, you still need to have a strong human connection. As far as he’s concerned, “digital services offer a path to create a better client experience, even for older advisors.”

The growing use of digital tools in planning and wealth management is also a defensive measure, as they can lower costs. Raffone cites the growing use of virtual planning as just one example.

“Planning fees are coming down and you can’t spend too much time on face-to-face meetings if you want to efficiently manage your time and your clients’ time,” he notes.

At the risk of oversimplifying the current landscape of large RIAs, we’re entering a bifurcated world in which high net worth-focused firms with ambitious growth plans sit squarely in the crosshairs of the industry’s most selective deal makers.

At the other end are firms that have a mass affluent client base and are looking to simply better mange their platforms and perhaps enable succession plans.

Picking the right investor is critical to a firm’s success. It also will ensure that the bubbly keeps flowing.

PHILADELPHIA, LOS ANGELES and NEW YORK – SEPTEMBER 10, 2019 – Lovell Minnick Partners, a private equity firm focused on investments in the global financial services industry, including related technology and business services companies, today announced that it has completed fundraising for Lovell Minnick Equity Partners V LP (“Fund V”) at $1.28 billion. Fund V, which was oversubscribed, exceeded its $1 billion target and achieved its hard cap.

Lovell Minnick secured commitments to Fund V from a diverse group of investors including U.S. and international public and private pension funds, insurance companies, endowments and foundations, asset managers and family offices.

“We are grateful for the strong support we received from existing investors, as well as confidence in our strategy from many new investors in the U.S. and abroad,” said Steve Pierson, Managing Partner at Lovell Minnick Partners. “Fund V will enable us to continue pursuing our proven thematic approach to investing and partnering with outstanding management teams to support them in growing their companies.”

“Our successful fundraise and the appeal of our strategy reflects our proven demonstrated ability to consistently drive positive investment outcomes, and we continue to see strong demand for our capital and business-building expertise in some of the most compelling subsectors within financial and business services today,” said Robert Belke, Managing Partner at Lovell Minnick Partners.

Lovell Minnick’s Fund V will continue the same focused strategy as its predecessor funds, investing in middle market businesses in the Americas and Europe where the firm can apply its industry experience, vast network and business-building acumen to help them grow. Lovell Minnick will generally target equity investments of between $40 million and $150 million, although it has in the past and expects in the future to complete much larger investments with co-investors.

“We’re excited to begin the next chapter of our growth as we celebrate the closing of Lovell Minnick’s oversubscribed fifth fund and the firm’s 20th anniversary. We look forward to continue serving as trusted stewards of our investors’ capital amid the rapidly changing and growing opportunity set in the financial services industry,” said Jeffrey Lovell and James Minnick, Co-Chairmen at Lovell Minnick Partners.

With the closing of Fund V, Lovell Minnick has raised $3.3 billion since its inception in 1999. Lovell Minnick has had a busy 2019, investing in three new platforms: real estate data provider ATTOM Data Solutions, FX trading technology solutions provider oneZero and real estate software company Inside Real Estate; successfully exiting three portfolio companies: Commercial Credit, J.S. Held and Worldwide Facilities; and completing nine add-on acquisitions across its portfolio.

Evercore Private Funds Group acted as exclusive global placement agent, and Kirkland & Ellis LLP as fund formation counsel, to Lovell Minnick.

About Lovell Minnick Partners
Lovell Minnick Partners is a private equity firm focused on investments in the global financial services industry, including related technology and business services companies. We partner with outstanding management teams to help grow their companies and build value for investors through a combination of driving growth initiatives, strategic activity and operational improvements. Since our inception in 1999, we have become a leader in our chosen space, raising $3.3 billion of committed capital from leading institutional investors including public and private pensions, insurance companies, endowments and foundations. To date, we have completed more than 50 portfolio company investments.

We seek companies in the Americas and Europe where we can apply our industry expertise and business-building acumen to drive attractive outcomes. Targeted investment areas include asset management, wealth management, specialty finance, insurance brokerage and services, financial and insurance technology, payments, and related business services. For more information, please visit www.LMpartners.com.

New Investment Positions Leading Real Estate Technology Business for Accelerated Growth

PHILADELPHIA, LOS ANGELES, NEW YORK – AUGUST 20, 2019 — Lovell Minnick Partners, LLC, (“LMP”) a private equity firm focused on investments in the global financial services industry, including related technology and business service companies, today announced it has entered into an agreement to acquire a majority stake in Inside Real Estate, (“the Company”) a leading end-to-end SaaS platform serving the residential real estate market. Financial terms of the transaction were not disclosed.

Headquartered in Salt Lake City, Inside Real Estate provides an end-to-end software solution to residential real estate brokers, teams and agents that empowers their ability to manage the full cycle of home property buying and selling. Founded in 2008, the Company’s platform serves over 200,000 top agents, teams and brokerages, enabling them to manage the complete front-end marketing and sales processes for home purchases and sales, and back office functions, such as accounting and commission payments.

“Inside Real Estate is a highly trusted partner for its differentiated and end-to-end SaaS platform that enables residential realtors, teams and agents across North America to compete more effectively and deliver positive results for their clients,” said John Cochran, a Partner at Lovell Minnick Partners. “We are excited to support CEO Ned Stringham and his team, who have built a robust platform delivering an incredibly innovative and complete technology solution to serve today’s top performing real estate professionals.”

“LMP has an exceptional investment track-record of backing strong, growth-oriented financial technology businesses, including those in real estate, and it’s an honor to have their confidence and support,” said Stringham. “We’re excited to partner with a firm that will enable Inside Real Estate to remain an independent, reliable and innovative tech partner that supports the growth of our customers’ real estate businesses for years to come.”

Inside Real Estate has experienced strong recent momentum in partnering with some of the top brokerages in the country. The Company has continued to invest in building out its product suite and has recently expanded its marketplace to include new products.

“Inside Real Estate’s advanced kvCORE platform meets the needs of our nation’s most innovative brokers, teams and agents who have come to recognize the value that its next generation platform offers as compared to other siloed vendor solutions,” said Jason Barg, a Partner at Lovell Minnick Partners. “This transaction builds on our firm’s history of partnering with management teams and founders of technology-enabled financial and related business service companies. We are excited about the opportunity to support the Company’s growth through strategic acquisitions and organic initiatives, in addition to building out Inside Real Estate’s technology solutions.

GCA acted as an exclusive financial advisor to Inside Real Estate in the transaction. Morgan, Lewis & Bockius served as legal counsel to LMP, while Parr Brown Gee & Loveless served as counsel to Inside Real Estate.

About Inside Real Estate
Inside Real Estate is one of the fastest growing independently-owned real estate software companies and a trusted technology partner to over 200,000 agents, teams and top brokerages. The company’s flagship platform, kvCORE, is a modern and comprehensive solution known for delivering profitable growth at every level of a brokerage organization. Built with a scalable and flexible infrastructure, kvCORE enables brokerages to create their own unique technology ecosystem to enhance and differentiate their brand and culture. With an accomplished leadership team and over 175 employees, Inside Real Estate brings the resources, scale and vision to deliver ongoing innovation and success for its growing customer base. Learn more at insiderealestate.com

We hosted our annual Executive Summit in May, bringing together senior management from our portfolio companies to share insights, experiences and best practices.

Discussions included:

• Using Marketing to Deliver Business Results and Create Real Value
• Promoting Excellence: The Mind Science Behind Creating Workplace Diversity
• Sales Organization Strategy
• Leadership and Organization Development

Our 4th annual Executive Summit will be held in May 2020.

  

  

New York, August 19, 2019 – CenterSquare Investment Management, a leading global real assets investment manager, today announced that it has entered into a definitive agreement to purchase private real estate debt manager RCG Longview. The transaction brings together two highly experienced real estate managers with strong track records and complementary investment philosophies.

Founded in 1999 and headquartered in New York City, RCG Longview provides debt capital solutions for owners and operators of real estate. To date, the Firm has completed over 550 transactions with a total capitalization of over $4 billion. Founded in 1987, CenterSquare Investment Management has approximately $11 billion in assets under management in U.S. and global listed real estate and infrastructure, and private equity real estate investments.

“We are excited to welcome the RCG Longview team to our organization,” said Todd Briddell, CEO and CIO of CenterSquare. “In addition to adding deep capabilities in real estate debt, the RCG Longview track record, reputation and culture are a terrific fit for CenterSquare. Under the leadership of Michael Boxer and Richard Gorsky, this transaction brings an exceedingly talented group of professionals to manage and grow the combined firm’s debt strategies. As a complement to our existing real assets platform, this transaction allows CenterSquare to selectively expand our best-in-class investment offerings to meet the evolving needs of our clients.”
“Joining CenterSquare will position our firm to continue growing our investment strategies, providing new opportunities for us to work with existing and new clients,” said Michael Boxer, Founding Partner at RCG Longview. “We were attracted to CenterSquare’s premier reputation, long and successful track record, and like-minded focus on the importance of people and relationships. We are excited to become part of the CenterSquare team and gain additional resources that will better serve our clients.”

The acquisition of RCG Longview follows CenterSquare’s management buyout from the Bank of New York Mellon in January 2018, in conjunction with Lovell Minnick Partners, a private equity firm focused on financial services companies. As an independent firm, CenterSquare has sought to expand its real assets footprint through organic growth and select inorganic acquisitions into new strategies. Following the acquisition, CenterSquare will manage in excess of $12 billion across four key business lines – private equity real estate, private real estate debt, listed real estate and listed infrastructure.

Financial terms of the private transaction were not disclosed. The transaction is expected to be completed by year end 2019.

In connection with this transaction, Berkshire Global Advisors LP acted as financial advisor and Stroock & Stroock & Lavan LLP acted as legal advisor to RCG Longview. Stradley Ronon Stevens & Young, LLP acted as legal advisor to CenterSquare.

About CenterSquare
CenterSquare is a global investment manager focused on actively managed real estate and infrastructure strategies. Founded in 1987, CenterSquare manages approximately $9.5 billion of real estate and infrastructure securities through CenterSquare Investment Management, Inc. and approximately $1.1 billion (gross) of private equity real estate investments as of June 30, 2019. It manages investments for institutional investors and high net worth individuals throughout global markets and across public and private capital sectors.  https://www.centersquare.com/

About RCG
RCG Longview is a private real estate investment manager focused primarily on private real estate debt strategies. Founded in 1999, RCG Longview managed approximately $1.8 billion of private real estate debt and equity investments as of December 31, 2018. It manages investments for institutional investors and high net worth individuals throughout the US. https://www.rcglongview.com/

With this appointment, ATTOM’s Board of Directors expands to five governing members.

IRVINE, Calif. – August 14, 2019 - ATTOM Data Solutions, curator of the nation’s premier property database and first property data provider of Data-as-a-Service (DaaS), is pleased to announce the appointment of Martha Notaras, to its Board of Directors, effective immediately.

“We’re delighted to have Martha Notaras join our Board and we look forward to her valuable contributions,” said Rob Barber, CEO, ATTOM Data Solutions. “Martha’s deep professional background and corporate development experience in technology, information and financial service companies, will continue to strengthen our position as the premier one-stop shop for high-quality real estate data and fuel future growth and innovation.”

This announcement comes on the heels of ATTOM most recently being acquired by Lovell Minnick Partners, a private equity firm specializing in financial and related business services companies.

Notaras is a partner at venture capital fund, XL Innovate, investing in insurtech and fintech, including startups focused on data and analytics, as well as new business models. She serves on the boards of four of XL Innovate’s portfolio companies: Cape Analytics, Pillar Technologies, GeoQuant and Notion.

“I am delighted to serve on the ATTOM Data Solutions Board of Directors,” said Martha Notaras. “ATTOM is transforming the future of property data through innovative technology and I look forward to helping power this innovation by guiding strategic initiatives to expand ATTOM's reach into various industries, with a strong focus on insurance-specific solutions.”

Previously, Notaras ran corporate development for the business data and analytics division of the Daily Mail and General Trust plc. Of the 20 investments Notaras made, two achieved and maintained valuations over $1 billion. Notaras has served as board director for companies that are in early and growth stages, with a focus on fintech, insurtech, proptech, edtech and digital media. Notaras’s prior experience includes investment banking at Merrill Lynch and commercial banking at Credit Suisse. Notaras earned her A.B. cum laude from Princeton University and her MBA from Harvard Business School, where she was a Baker Scholar, awarded for graduating in the top five percent of the class.

The 2019 ATTOM Data Solutions Board of Directors also consists of Rob Barber, CEO, ATTOM Data Solutions; Steve Ozonian, CEO of Williston Financial Group and Lead Director of LendingTree; John D. Cochran, Partner of Lovell Minnick and a member of its Investment Committee and its Management Committee; and Jason S. Barg, Partner of Lovell Minnick.

About ATTOM Data Solutions
ATTOM Data Solutions provides premium property data to power products that improve transparency, innovation, efficiency and disruption in a data-driven economy. ATTOM multi-sources property tax, deed, mortgage, foreclosure, environmental risk, natural hazard, and neighborhood data for more than 155 million U.S. residential and commercial properties covering 99 percent of the nation’s population. A rigorous data management process involving more than 20 steps validates, standardizes and enhances the data collected by ATTOM, assigning each property record with a persistent, unique ID — the ATTOM ID. The 9TB ATTOM Data Warehouse fuels innovation in many industries including mortgage, real estate, insurance, marketing, government and more through flexible data delivery solutions that include bulk property data licensing, Property Data APIs, market trends, marketing lists, match & append and introducing the first property data deliver solution, a cloud-based data platform that streamlines data management – Data-as-a-Service (DaaS).  https://www.attomdata.com/

Firm Continues to Strengthen Senior Leadership Team

PHILADELPHIA, LOS ANGELES, NEW YORK – August 8, 2019 – Lovell Minnick Partners, a private equity firm focused on investments in the global financial services industry, including related technology and business service companies, today announced that Scott Shebelsky has been promoted to Chief Financial Officer. Shebelsky joined the firm in 2016 as Vice President of Finance and Chief Compliance Officer.

“We are pleased to recognize Scott’s significant contributions and proven leadership of our financial, accounting and compliance functions,” said Steve Pierson, Managing Partner at Lovell Minnick Partners. “Scott has also led important technology-driven initiatives that have helped improve the firm’s operational efficiency. His promotion reflects our continued emphasis on further building our senior leadership talent as we continue to grow, ”added Robert Belke, Managing Partner at Lovell Minnick Partners.

Shebelsky joined Lovell Minnick after leading Corporate Development, at Preferred Sands, Inc. His responsibilities included driving the company’s overall M&A and corporate strategy, and managing the tax, treasury, and risk management functions. Shebelsky is a CPA and formerly Senior Consultant with Deloitte Tax.

Shebelsky earned an LL.M in Taxation from the Villanova University School of Law, his J.D. from the Widener University School of Law, and holds a B.S. in Accounting from Pennsylvania State University.

Worldwide to Benefit from Expanded Access to Capital to Fuel Next Chapter of Growth

RADNOR, PA, LOS ANGELES and SAN FRANCISCO, CA – AUGUST 7, 2019 – Lovell Minnick Partners, a private equity firm focused on investments in the global financial services industry, including related technology and business service companies, and Genstar Capital, a leading private equity firm focused on investments in targeted segments of the financial services, healthcare, industrial technology, and software industries, today announced the signing of a definitive agreement in which Lovell Minnick will exit its investment in Worldwide Facilities, LLC (“Worldwide” or “the Company”), a national wholesale insurance brokerage, managing general agency and program manager, and Genstar will become a new investor in Worldwide. Financial terms of the private transaction were not disclosed.

“It has been a privilege to partner with the Worldwide management team over the past four years. We’re proud to have supported the Company in executing its strategic goal of becoming a larger, more diversified, top-five insurance wholesaler in the US market,” said Spencer Hoffman, a Partner at Lovell Minnick Partners. “We believe Worldwide is well-positioned for continued growth and success as it begins its next chapter of partnership with Genstar.”

Headquartered in Los Angeles, Worldwide is one of the largest national wholesale insurance brokerage, managing general agent and program underwriters in the U.S. Founded in 1970, the Company has dedicated teams of product line specialists across its brokerage, managing general agent and program underwriter business units. With over 700 employees in 37 offices, Worldwide serves as the managing general agent for several leading carriers and provides a wide range of underwriting, rating, binding and policy issuance services.

“Given our focus investing in the insurance sector, we have tracked Worldwide for many years, and have been impressed with the company’s significant growth,” said Ryan Clark, President and Managing Director at Genstar. “The management team is outstanding and has established Worldwide as an employer and platform of choice, and we believe there are multiple opportunities to continue organic growth and strengthen its position as a leading independent wholesale broker, MGA and program manager. Importantly, we expect to support strategic add-on acquisitions that will further scale the business and enhance its technology and product offerings to create innovative solutions for its clients.”

“We would like to thank Lovell Minnick Partners and our Board of Directors for their support of the strategic initiatives we sought to achieve together. Together, we completed eight acquisitions, added high quality producers and management talent, and achieved above average organic growth while building a specialized and diversified platform designed to continue to increase our relevance in the market for years to come,” said Davis Moore, Chairman & CEO of Worldwide. “We’ve successfully executed on our strategy to create a market-leading national wholesale insurance broker, managing general agent and program underwriter, with immense domestic and international reach,” added President Ronald Austin. “Looking forward, Worldwide Facilities has a very bright future and we’re excited about the opportunities to continue delivering significant value and service to our customers as we enter the next chapter of our growth in partnership with Genstar Capital.”

“The growth at Worldwide has been terrific, significantly outpacing the market’s average organic rate, while complementing that growth through strategic acquisitions and other investments. This is consistent with our desire to work with companies in which we can bring our deep industry knowledge, help identify strategic opportunities for growth, and continually invest in the further institutionalization of great, growing businesses,” added Trevor Rich, a Partner at Lovell Minnick Partners.

The transaction is expected to close in the third quarter of 2019 and is subject to customary closing conditions. Morgan Stanley & Co. LLC and Waller Helms Advisors acted as financial advisors to Lovell Minnick and Worldwide Facilities in connection with the transaction, while McGuireWoods LLP served as legal counsel to Lovell Minnick. Marsh, Berry & Co. acted as financial advisor, and Ropes and Gray LLP as legal counsel to Genstar.


About Worldwide Facilities
Worldwide Facilities, LLC, is a national wholesale insurance broker, managing general agent and program manager that has been in business since 1970. Its brokers and underwriters are industry leaders providing expertise in a wide range of specialty lines, as well as extensive contacts with carriers domestically and overseas. For more information, please visit www.wwfi.com.

About Lovell Minnick Partners
Lovell Minnick Partners is a private equity firm focused on investments in the global financial services industry, including related technology and business services companies. Lovell Minnick provides developing companies with equity capital to support private company recapitalizations, execute majority buyouts, and pursue growth initiatives. Since its inception in 1999, Lovell Minnick Partners has raised $3.2 billion in committed capital and has completed investments in over 50 platform companies. Targeted investment areas include asset management, wealth management, investment product distribution, specialty finance, insurance and brokerage services, financial and insurance technology, and related business services. Over its twenty-year history, Lovell Minnick has built a steady track record of investment returns through a consistent investment process that focuses on driving portfolio company growth, strategic activity, and operational improvement, without relying upon excessive financial leverage. 

About Genstar Capital
Genstar Capital (www.gencap.com) is a leading private equity firm that has been actively investing in high quality companies for over 30 years. Based in San Francisco, Genstar works in partnership with its management teams and its network of strategic advisors to transform its portfolio companies into industry-leading businesses. Genstar currently has approximately $17 billion of assets under management and targets investments focused on targeted segments of the financial services, healthcare, industrial technology and software industries.

SRS Acquiom is pleased to announce Scott C. Ganeles, an accomplished financial services executive, has joined the company’s Board of Directors. Scott previously served as Chief Executive Officer of Ipreo Holdings LLC (“Ipreo”), a leading financial services solutions and data provider for capital market participants. Under Scott’s leadership, Ipreo’s business and market share grew significantly and attracted notable equity investors including Kohlberg Kravis Roberts & Co L.P. (KKR), Blackstone (NYSE: BX) and the Goldman Sachs Merchant Banking Division. Ipreo was acquired in 2018 by IHS Markit (Nasdaq: INFO), a leading critical information, analytics and solutions company.

Scott began his career as President of the Carson Group (“Carson”), a financial information services firm focused on corporate strategic intelligence and investor relations. As a co-founding Partner of Carson, Scott was one of the prime architects and leaders in Carson’s development from a start-up to a multimillion dollar enterprise. Scott is currently a Partner at WestCap, a private investment platform with a focus on driving operational excellence and sustainable long term value creation. He holds a BA in Political Science from Brown University.

“Scott is an experienced leader with an impressive track record of growing and leading tech-enabled services companies across the capital markets space,” said SRS Acquiom Co-Founder and CEO Paul Koenig. “We are thrilled to have him join our board and provide his expertise during a period of continued growth for SRS Acquiom, as we continue to enhance our ability to offer market-leading M&A and Loan Agency services to clients across the world.”

About SRS Acquiom

SRS Acquiom offers the most comprehensive platform to help deal parties manage complex financial transactions within mergers & acquisitions, and bilateral or syndicated loan deals. Our solutions include escrow agent and payment services, online pre-closing solicitation, representations and warranties insurance brokerage, professional shareholder representation, and for loan and credit transactions, administrative, collateral and sub-agent services. Since 2007, we have helped businesses, investors, lenders, and advisors complete transactions as efficiently and effectively as possible, so they can focus on building strong businesses, and maximizing value.  www.srsacquiom.com

Foreside is proud to announce that it has been named a finalist for two industry awards in connection with its compliance services and proprietary technology, Foreside AdCompliance®, that saves clients time and money reviewing advertising materials:

• WealthManagement.com 2019 Industry Awards in the Compliance/Law Firm Category
• Fund Intelligence Operations and Services Awards 2019 for Best Compliance Advisory Firm

Winners will be announced in September and October respectively.

As a leading provider of governance, risk and compliance solutions, Foreside is committed to designing, building and delivering innovative solutions for clients, including customized, business-focused compliance consulting services, supported by best-in-class technology.

Foreside’s newly rebuilt proprietary Ad Review system, Foreside AdCompliance®, provides best-in-class technology to support our consulting clients or as a licensed product for in-house use through a secure SaaS platform. Foreside developed this new proprietary marketing compliance review system using state of the art cloud technology. Foreside AdCompliance® promotes collaboration, evidences principal approval of material and maintains compliant books and records. It is an efficient tool to aid in the review of marketing materials without faxing, emailing, scanning, handwriting, and saving multiple documents offline during the review process. It saves clients time and money. We believe in it so strongly that we use it ourselves.

The advanced capabilities of Foreside AdCompliance® come from our many years of experience owning and operating advertising compliance systems. This system was designed with the user in mind – whether that be marketing departments who create the materials, compliance departments who sign off on the materials or management teams who use the system as a workflow management tool. Foreside AdCompliance® saves time and adds value across an organization as a robust workflow management tool.

To keep up with the dynamic regulatory environment, Foreside recently enhanced the system to make it GDPR compliant and included additional management reporting capabilities. It is an important step in ensuring our clients are operating on the most compliant, and effective systems.

www.foreside.com

Positions Premier FX Technology Solutions Business for Accelerated Growth

PHILADELPHIA, LOS ANGELES and NEW YORK, June 25, 2019 – Lovell Minnick Partners (“LMP”), a private equity firm focused on investments in the global financial services industry, including related technology and business services companies, today announced it has completed a significant minority investment in oneZero Financial Systems (“oneZero” or “the Company”). oneZero is a leading provider of software and technology solutions to the rapidly growing foreign exchange (“FX”) trading industry. Financial terms of the private transaction were not disclosed.

Founded in 2009 and headquartered in Cambridge, MA, oneZero provides mission-critical FX and multi-asset class liquidity, distribution, business intelligence and risk management solutions to the retail brokerage and institutional marketplace, including hedge funds, prime brokers and global banks. Through its international presence across offices in the United Kingdom, Australia, Singapore and Cyprus, the Company offers hosted and SaaS-based solutions that enableclients to aggregate, route and manage their risk exposures through Liquidity Hub, access broader liquidity distribution through oneZero’s EcoSystem and gain business intelligence insights through Data Source.

“The convergence of the retail and institutional FX markets is rapidly increasing as global market participants seek sophisticated, highly-scalable trading solutions and reliable IT infrastructure with ultra-low latency, unparalleled pricing data and high transactional capacity,” said Steve Pierson, Managing Partner, Lovell Minnick Partners. “oneZero continues to develop next-generation wholesale technology and business intelligence solutions for market participants with unmatched speed, efficiency and risk management support.”

“We are excited to build upon our strong foundation as a leading technology solutions provider to both the retail and institutional brokerage FX markets as we expand our multi-asset class trading, technology and data solutions to serve more market participants around the world,” said Andrew Ralich, Co-Founder and Chief Executive Officer of oneZero. “We look forward to partnering with the deeply experienced team at Lovell Minnick and tapping their institutional capital markets expertise to accelerate oneZero’s growth.”

Lovell Minnick is joined in this investment by Phil Weisberg, institutional foreign exchange executive veteran and founder of Matzliach Capital who has served as Senior Advisor to oneZero since June 2018. Weisberg has deep financial markets, derivatives and corporate development experience, previously founding and serving as CEO of FXall, a business-to-business foreign exchange platform that previously traded on the New York Stock Exchange before being acquired by Thomson Reuters. “We believe there is an enormous greenfield opportunity for oneZero’s further expansion into the global institutional market as regulatory requirements across Europe and globally continue to evolve and create demand for versatile, robust and cost-efficient technology solutions,” he said.

oneZero serves a network of over 200 global retail and institutional broker-dealers, which conduct over $100 billion in average daily trading volume on over 6 million executed transactions per day.

Broadhaven Capital Partners served as exclusive financial advisor to oneZero, while Gunderson Dettmer served as legal advisor to the Company. Morgan Lewis served as counsel to Lovell Minnick.

About oneZero Financial Systems
oneZero Financial Systems delivers leading multi-asset technology solutions through a high-performance aggregation, order routing, and risk management Liquidity Hub, access to a complete EcoSystem of distribution partners, and Data Source business intelligence insights that help clients grow. oneZero is known for its superior client support, including fast setup, responsive service and superior technology that is scalable, configurable and reliable. Transparency is embedded through complete access to transactional data and industry benchmarks and unbiased liquidity from multiple providers. oneZero supports your growth and profitability by scaling with your business needs and empowering you to manage your end-customer and partner risk more effectively. oneZero delivers its globally compliant, liquidity-neutral solutions through a hosted, SaaS model across three self-managed, highly reliable and ultra-low latency data centers that deliver connectivity to major financial exchanges, banks and other wholesale venues. For more information, please visit www.onezero.com.

JERICHO, N.Y. – June 3, 2019 – J.S. Held, a global consulting firm, announced today that it has acquired Hagen, Streiff, Newton, & Oshiro, Accountants, PC ("HSNO"). HSNO is a forensic accounting firm internationally recognized for their expertise on matters involving insurance, legal, economic, corporate, energy services, and cyber fraud. This transaction represents the 19th acquisition for J.S. Held since Lovell Minnick's investment.

With the knowledge and experience of the HSNO team, this acquisition strengthens J.S. Held’s ability to support clients on matters of all types requiring forensic accounting expertise. Founded in 1973, HSNO now has more than 80 professionals, located in 12 offices. The HSNO team has experience solving problems for the insurance, legal, and public/private sectors. This includes a broad range of experience from financial and data analysis, review of relevant economic issues, expert witness testimony, evidence gathering, and administrative support.

“We are excited to add the experience and expertise of HSNO. This further expands our forensic accounting services across the world, while strengthening our resources throughout the country,” said Jon Held, Chief Executive Officer of J.S. Held. “Through the addition of such a knowledgeable and experienced team, this expansion builds upon one of our foundational pillars: to deliver an unparalleled client experience.”

HSNO will join the J.S. Held team of more than 600 consultants around the globe. Existing HSNO clients will now have access to J.S. Held’s suite of specialized services including construction consulting; property damage assessment; water and fire restoration consulting; surety services; project and program management; equipment consulting; forensic architecture and engineering; forensic accounting; and environmental, health, and safety services.

“HSNO is excited to become part of the J.S. Held team and gain additional resources and expertise that will better serve our clients,” said Peter Hagen, Chief Executive Officer of HSNO. “We are respected for our accounting expertise, service, and integrity in many of the same industries and share the same values, which will be paramount to our joint success.”   www.jsheld.com

LEAWOOD, Kan. – May 29, 2019 – Tortoise today announced it has reached a definitive agreement to acquire the midstream energy asset management business of Advisory Research Inc. from parent company Piper Jaffray Companies (NYSE: PJC). The Advisory Research midstream energy infrastructure team has approximately $3 billion in assets under management in both balanced and equity strategies, through mutual funds, sub-advised closed-end funds and separate accounts. The transaction brings together two highly experienced and tenured midstream energy pioneers with strong track records and complementary investment philosophies anchored in fundamental research.

The Advisory Research midstream energy infrastructure team, including Senior Portfolio Managers Jim Cunnane, Jr. and Quinn Kiley, will join Tortoise. The existing team will maintain oversight of Advisory Research’s current midstream energy infrastructure business and client relationships.

“We have a shared history with Jim and Quinn as early investors in midstream energy,” said Tortoise Chief Executive Officer, Kevin Birzer. “The Advisory Research team is well-known and highly regarded as forward-thinking midstream energy asset managers. We anticipate that our similar leadership styles and culture will ensure a seamless transition.”

“We are thrilled to bring our combined experience and shared commitment to serving clients to the Tortoise organization,” said Advisory Research’s Senior Portfolio Manager, Jim Cunnane. “We see opportunities to continue to grow with the support of Tortoise’s deep and experienced distribution team.”

The transaction is expected to close during the second half of 2019, subject to customary regulatory and closing conditions, including fund board/shareholder approval. Advisory Research currently manages separate accounts, mutual funds and also serves as sub-adviser to the Fiduciary/Claymore Energy Infrastructure Fund (NYSE: FMO), the Nuveen Energy MLP Total Return Fund (NYSE: JMF) and the Nuveen All Cap Energy MLP Opportunities Fund (NYSE: JMLP).

Morgan Stanley & Co. LLC served as financial adviser to Tortoise.

About Tortoise

Tortoise invests in essential assets – those assets and services that are indispensable to the economy and society. With a steady wins approach and a long-term perspective, Tortoise strives to make a positive impact on clients and communities. For additional information, please visit tortoiseadvisors.com.

RADNOR, PA and JERICHO, NY – May 20, 2019 – Lovell Minnick Partners, a private equity firm specializing in financial and related business services companies, today announced the signing of a definitive agreement in which J.S. Held LLC, a global consulting firm focused on the construction industry and insurance claim management, will be acquired by private equity firm Kelso & Co. Financial terms of the private transaction were not disclosed.

“It has been our pleasure to partner with Jon Held and his team over the past four years as the Company significantly expanded its practice areas, geographic coverage and consultant base,” said Robert Belke, a Managing Partner at Lovell Minnick Partners. “With a robust and growing platform, and a strong track record of acquisitions, J.S. Held is now the acquirer of choice in the industry and has done a remarkable job institutionalizing an integration process that is proven and repeatable,” added Jason Barg, a Partner at Lovell Minnick Partners.

Founded in 1974, J.S. Held is the global leader in providing specialized consulting services to address complex and high value insurance claims and construction-related matters. J.S. Held’s growth has included 18 acquisitions and expansion to over 600 professionals in more than 60 offices across the U.S., Canada, Latin America, Europe, and the Middle East.

“Our mission for the last 40 years has been to provide the best service to our clients and to support the continued professional growth of our people,” said Jon Held, Chief Executive Officer of J.S. Held. “We are committed to connecting our clients with subject matter experts so they can solve the strategic and tactical business challenges they face every day. Lovell Minnick has played an instrumental role in helping us think strategically about our growth opportunities, and we look forward to our partnership with Kelso which will allow us to continue to add resources to our team, expand solutions to new verticals, and continue our growth on a global scale.”

“We are thrilled to partner with Jon and his team. J.S. Held’s leadership position in the insurance industry is a testament to the world-class expertise and unparalleled client service demonstrated by the consulting team,” said Chris Collins, Managing Director of Kelso. “We look forward to supporting the J.S. Held team as they accelerate their strategic plan to offer best-in-class solutions to an expanded client base spanning new vertical and global markets,” added Steve Dutton, Managing Director of Kelso.

The transaction is expected to close in the third quarter of 2019 and is subject to customary closing conditions. William Blair & Company and Morgan, Lewis & Bockius LLP advised Lovell Minnick and J.S. Held in connection with the transaction. Debevoise & Plimpton LLP advised Kelso in connection with the transaction.

About Lovell Minnick Partners
Lovell Minnick Partners is a private equity firm focused on investments in the global financial services industry, including related technology and business services companies. Lovell Minnick provides developing companies with equity capital to support private company recapitalizations, execute majority buyouts, and pursue growth initiatives. Since its inception in 1999, Lovell Minnick Partners has raised over $3 billion in committed capital and has completed investments in over 50 platform companies. Targeted investment areas include asset management, financial product distribution, insurance, banks, specialty finance, and related technology and business services. Over its twenty-year history, Lovell Minnick has built a steady track record of investment returns through a consistent investment process that focuses on driving portfolio company growth, strategic activity, and operational improvement, without relying upon excessive financial leverage.

About J.S. Held LLC
J.S. Held is a global consulting firm with expertise in construction, environmental health & safety, water & fire restoration, equipment, and forensic architectural & engineering matters. Established in 1974, J.S. Held brings together years of unrivaled technical expertise and unparalleled service to deliver reliable, comprehensive solutions to its clients. J.S. Held is renowned for recruiting and cultivating distinguished experts and being a trusted partner on the world’s most complex environmental and construction matters. www.jsheld.com

About Kelso & Company
Kelso is one of the oldest and most established firms specializing in private equity investing. Since 1980, Kelso has invested approximately $14 billion of equity capital in over 125 transactions. Kelso was founded by the inventor of the Employee Stock Ownership Plan (“ESOP”) and, as a result, the principles of partnership and alignment of interest serve as the foundation of the firm’s investment philosophy. Kelso benefits from a successful investment track record, deep sector expertise, a long-tenured investing team, and a reputation as a preferred partner to management teams and corporates. Kelso has significant experience investing in financial services, having deployed over $2 billion of equity capital in the sector over the past decade. For more information, please visit www.kelso.com.

Mutual funds continue to face headwinds that require nimble reactions and flexibility – neither of which are easy feats given the ever-shifting regulatory landscape. Continued pressure on fees, industry consolidation, and increased demand for transparency from investors all present challenges but also opportunities to innovate. When partnered with the right regulatory consultant, mutual funds have the authority to forge new pathways and create value for investors that to date has been unheard of.

Foreside is proud to have partnered with ABR Dynamic Funds to introduce a new level of transparency for institutional investors, called the Foreside Letter. This interpretive guidance, drafted with FINRA’s oversight, allows open-end mutual funds to disclose pre-inception index performance data, an allowance previously only made to passively managed ETFs. This guidance gives mutual funds a new and improved way to demonstrate value to potential investors, while meeting investors’ demands for increased transparency.

This type of regulatory innovation is critical to compete in today’s crowded landscape, according to Dave Whitaker, president of Foreside.

“We’re seeing a higher demand from institutional investors for more data, including for pre-investment performance data, so they can properly evaluate their investment decisions. The funds that bring in the right partners to navigate their clients’ and prospects’ changing demands will be the ones to win in the end.”

The Foreside Letter applies to open-end mutual funds that are seeking to replicate pre-defined rules that cannot be altered except under extraordinary market, political or macroeconomic conditions, similar to passively managed ETFs. The guidance does not change FINRA’s long-standing position that the presentation of hypothetical back-tested performance in the retail material is prohibited.

Collaboration was key to this industry-leading achievement. Foreside partnered with ABR Dynamic Funds, the law firm DLA Piper, and FINRA to complete the expansion of this guidance. No single party could have completed the task alone, and each brought value to the process. Key to this guidance, and to future innovation that navigates today’s regulatory landscape, is keeping the focus on the investor.

“Oftentimes, institutional investors and compliance consultants can become too caught up in sticking to the old way, that they miss opportunities to add value for clients,” said Whitaker. “At Foreside, we never just say ‘no’ – we always seek opportunities to make things work.”  www.Foreside.com

CHARLOTTE, N.C. and ATLANTA, Ga., April 17, 2019 /PRNewswire-PRWeb/ -- Global Financial, a leading national provider of financial solutions to healthcare providers and patients, announced today it has completed the acquisition of Omni Holdings. Financial terms of the private transaction were not disclosed.

Founded in 2012, Omni Holdings is the leading medical lien funding company operating in the Southeastern U.S. Through its subsidiary companies, Omni helps finance essential medical treatment for individuals in need of physical therapy, surgery, chiropractic care, pain management, radiology, and other diagnostics and forms of treatment. Omni's funding solutions provide immediate working capital to healthcare providers administering such procedures, enabling patients to access care immediately, often in circumstances in which traditional funding sources, including health insurance, are insufficient or unavailable. Through affiliates, Omni also provides pre-settlement advances, which provide financing solutions to patients to help cover essential needs and other living expenses as they undergo care.

"We are excited to welcome the Omni team to our organization," said Wensley McKenney, Founder and Chief Executive Officer of Global Financial. "Omni has built a strong reputation with medical providers and the legal community and has exhibited robust growth over its seven-year history. Its high-touch client service model is highly additive to our business, providing us with an exciting way to better serve our clients."


"Global's experienced leadership team, scale, and access to capital enable us to further expand Omni's services to new medical providers and geographies," said Rich Rescigno, who will become President of the combined company. "We look forward to the opportunities this will create for our customers and employees."

This acquisition builds upon a significant period of growth for Global Financial. In 2017, Lovell Minnick Partners, a private equity firm focused on financial services companies, acquired a majority stake in Global Financial. Since the Lovell Minnick investment, Global Financial has grown considerably and expanded its service, technology, and product offerings.

About Global Financial Credit
Global Financial Credit provides financing solutions to healthcare providers and individuals following personal injury events. Founded in 2002, Global is headquartered in Charlotte, NC. Through its subsidiary brands, the Company provides medical lien funding and pre-settlement advances to clients across the entire United States. The Company sources business through direct marketing and has an extensive business referral network that includes healthcare providers and law firms.

About Omni Healthcare
Injury Funding, LLC ("Omni") provides medical lien funding and pre-settlement advances. The business operates through its two branded subsidiaries, Omni Healthcare and Peak Funding Group, to deliver best in class medical funding and pre-settlement advance solutions to medical providers and injured plaintiffs involved in clear-liability litigation. Omni was founded in 2012 and has built a strong reputation with attorneys, medical providers and plaintiffs for delivering high-quality service.

JERICHO, N.Y. – April 15, 2019 – J.S. Held, a global consulting firm, announced today that it has acquired Veritox, Inc. and GT Engineering, a division of Veritox. Veritox (VTOX), a toxicology and industrial hygiene consulting firm with offices in Washington, Texas, South Carolina, and Florida, provides services in exposure assessment, industrial hygiene, human and environmental toxicology, forensic toxicology, and risk assessment. Headquartered in Washington state, GT Engineering (GTEN) provides technical consulting, forensic engineering, failure analysis, and fire investigation services.

This acquisition amplifies J.S. Held’s portfolio of professional services in EHS and forensic engineering. The addition of these two firms provides a complimentary depth of consulting talent, with experts who have training and experience in occupational health, product registration, health risk assessment, and personal injury claims relating to exposure; as well as professionals in materials science and metallurgy, mechanical engineering, and chemistry. Both groups have more than 20 years of experience solving problems for individuals, private and public companies, schools, and governmental and non-governmental organizations. This includes expert courtroom testimony.

“We are excited to add the experience and expertise of Veritox and GT Engineering to our already outstanding team of professionals and specialists,” said Tracey Dodd, Executive Vice President – Environmental, Health, & Safety of J.S. Held. “This expansion builds upon one of our foundational pillars of providing high-quality technical expertise through the addition of PhD toxicologists and industrial hygienists, material scientists, and engineers.”

VTOX and GTEN will join the J.S. Held team of over 600 consultants around the globe. Their existing clients will now have access to J.S. Held’s suite of specialized services including construction consulting; property damage assessment; surety services; project and program management; equipment consulting; forensic architecture and engineering; forensic accounting; and environmental, health, and safety services.

“Joining J.S. Held is a natural progression to provide the best service to our clients and support the continued professional growth of our people. J.S. Held’s commitment to client service, as well as training and development, fits with what our mission has been over the past 20 years,” said Bruce Kelman, PhD, DABT, ATS, ERT, President and Principal Toxicologist of Veritox.

Founded in 1974, J.S. Held has provided specialized consulting to better address complex construction and environmental matters globally. Following its continued growth trajectory and commitment to unparalleled client service, Veritox, Inc. is its 18th acquisition since 2015. J.S. Held now has over 50 offices across the U.S. and Canada, Latin America, Europe, and the Middle East.

About J.S. Held LLC

J.S. Held is a global consulting firm with expertise in construction, environmental health & safety, forensic accounting, water & fire restoration, equipment, and forensic architecture & engineering matters.

Established in 1974, J.S. Held brings together years of unrivaled technical expertise and unparalleled service to deliver reliable, comprehensive solutions to its clients. J.S. Held is renowned for recruiting and cultivating distinguished experts and being a trusted partner on the world’s most complex environmental and construction matters.
www.jsheld.com

IRVINE, Calif. – April 1, 2019 — ATTOM Data Solutions, curator of the nation’s premier property database and first property data provider of Data-as-a-Service (DaaS), is pleased to announce it has been named once again by HousingWire as a Tech100 winner. The HW Tech100 awards program recognizes the most innovative technology companies in the U.S. housing economy, spanning the real estate and mortgage industries.

ATTOM was selected to be included in the 2019 Tech100 awards program for its development of ATTOM DaaS. In the DaaS solution, the customer does not have to download and load data files, rather, the customer simply accesses the database directly in the cloud. DaaS also relieves the customer of the burden of managing the infrastructure required to host the data including security, disaster recovery and scalability. ATTOM DaaS manages the data and the platform on which members of the housing industry can build their real estate solutions, allowing the customer to focus on their business.

HousingWire created the Tech100 in 2013 to recognize the increasingly important role of technology companies serving the mortgage space. The number of applicants for the 2019 awards increased from previous years and the final list of 100 companies demonstrates the depth and range of technology solutions that are available for those operating in the housing economy.

“This year’s Tech100 list is stronger than ever! We leveraged a highly-qualified selection committee to review all nominations and guide the selection process. This extra layer of expertise and practical exposure to selected companies was influential in helping HousingWire recognize the 100 fintech companies that deserve the honor of being named the greatest players in the game,” said HousingWire Editor-in-Chief Jacob Gaffney.

About ATTOM Data Solutions

ATTOM Data Solutions provides premium property data to power products that improve transparency, innovation, efficiency and disruption in a data-driven economy. ATTOM multi-sources property tax, deed, mortgage, foreclosure, environmental risk, natural hazard, and neighborhood data for more than 155 million U.S. residential and commercial properties covering 99 percent of the nation’s population. A rigorous data management process involving more than 20 steps validates, standardizes and enhances the data collected by ATTOM, assigning each property record with a persistent, unique ID — the ATTOM ID. The 9TB ATTOM Data Warehouse fuels innovation in many industries including mortgage, real estate, insurance, marketing, government and more through flexible data delivery solutions that include bulk file licenses, APIs, market trends, marketing lists, match & append and introducing the first property data deliver solution, a cloud-based data platform that streamlines data management – Data-as-a-Service (DaaS).

JERICHO, N.Y. – March 1, 2019 – J.S. Held, a global consulting firm, announced today that it has acquired Magnan Graizzaro and Associates (MG&A). Headquartered in New York, MG&A is a national accounting firm that provides insurance claims investigation, forensic accounting and investigation, litigation and dispute consulting, and expert testimony.

The acquisition enhances J.S. Held’s portfolio of professional services and strengthens the firm’s ability to support clients in claims disputes with the knowledge and experience of the MG&A accounting team, including Louis Magnan and Bruno Graizzaro, Managing Partners of MG&A.

“Since our inception, Magnan Graizzaro and Associates has led the industry in service excellence and the building of unmatched customer loyalty. Our experience and the service that we provide set us apart from other accountants,” said Magnan. “As a part of J.S. Held, we are able to bring additional benefits to clients on complex engagements.”

MG&A will join the J.S. Held team of over 600 consultants around the globe. Existing MG&A clients will now have access to J.S. Held’s suite of specialized services including construction consulting, property damage assessments, surety services, project and program management, forensic engineering, and environmental, health, and safety services.

“We have worked alongside the MG&A team for many years on numerous complex assignments. Their entire organization operates with the utmost professionalism, and it shows in their work. Their reputation for excellence is well deserved,” said Jon Held, Chief Executive Officer of J.S. Held. “MG&A brings extensive experience in claims assessment, and accounting related disputes, which aligns perfectly with the needs of J.S. Held and its clients. This is an exciting day for J.S. Held because this new business solution addresses a growing demand from many of our valued clients.”

Founded in 1974, J.S. Held has provided specialized consulting to better address complex construction and environmental matters globally. Following its continued growth trajectory and commitment to unparalleled client service, MG&A is its 16th acquisition since 2015. J.S. Held now has over 50 offices across the U.S. and Canada, Mexico, Europe, and the Middle East.

About J.S. Held LLC

J.S. Held is a global consulting firm with expertise in construction, environmental health & safety, water & fire restoration, equipment, and forensic architectural & engineering matters.

Established in 1974, J.S. Held brings together years of unrivaled technical expertise and unparalleled service to deliver reliable, comprehensive solutions to its clients. J.S. Held is renowned for recruiting and cultivating distinguished experts and being a trusted partner on the world’s most complex environmental and construction matters.

RADNOR, PA (February 11, 2019) – Lovell Minnick Partners, a private equity firm specializing in financial and related business services companies, today announced the signing of a definitive agreement in which Commercial Credit, Inc., an equipment and accounts receivable finance company and the parent company of Commercial Credit Group Inc. and Commercial Funding Inc., will be acquired by BDT Capital Partners, a merchant bank that provides family- and founder-led businesses with long-term, differentiated capital, who will be making a majority equity investment in the company.

With this transaction, Commercial Credit, Inc., one of the largest independent commercial finance companies, will continue to expand its equipment and accounts receivable financing businesses.

President and CEO Dan McDonough states, “We’re thrilled to partner with BDT. Their culture, way of doing business and long-term perspective mirror ours and their patient capital will support the growth of our company, the development of our people and our ability to deliver superior customer service in the years to come. We thank Lovell Minnick for their support over the past seven years and appreciate their dedication and loyalty to our business and employees.”

John Cochran, Partner at Lovell Minnick, commented, “We are extraordinarily proud of Commercial Credit and its accomplishments, not just during our long and productive partnership together, but over a history that spans nearly 15 years. The Company’s steady growth and consistent execution demonstrate the resilience of their business model, the strength of their team, and their commitment to serving their clients.” Brad Armstrong, Partner at Lovell Minnick, added, “Commercial Credit exemplifies the type of successful independent specialty finance company we strive to find and build, one that is positioned to navigate an ever-evolving marketplace. This marks an important milestone, not just for Lovell Minnick and our limited partners, but for Commercial Credit, which is aligning itself with BDT, a premier organization with deep expertise and extensive resources available to perpetuate the company’s success.”

“We are excited to partner with founder and CEO Dan McDonough and his highly-experienced management team,” said Dan Jester, President of BDT Capital Partners. “Commercial Credit’s specialized equipment finance expertise, focus on credit quality and superior customer service have contributed to its strong results. Our long-term capital, combined with Commercial Credit’s differentiated approach to commercial lending, will provide a solid foundation for the company to continue helping its customers navigate business cycles, acquire equipment and scale their own businesses.”

The transaction is expected to close in the first quarter of 2019 and is subject to customary closing conditions. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods, Inc. and Ardea Partners LP advised the Company in connection with the transaction.

About Commercial Credit, Inc.
Commercial Credit, Inc., through its wholly owned subsidiaries Commercial Credit Group Inc. and Commercial Funding Inc., provides equipment loans and leases to small and mid-sized businesses in the construction, fleet transportation, machine tool and manufacturing, and waste industries, and accounts receivable factoring in a variety of industries. Since its inception in 2004, the Company has originated over $4 billion of finance receivables. The company’s sales force is located throughout North America, is headquartered in Charlotte, NC and operates full-service offices in Buffalo, NY, Naperville, IL, Hamilton, ON and Salt Lake City, UT. For more information, please visit www.commercialcreditgroup.com, and www.commercialfund.com.

About BDT Capital Partners
BDT Capital Partners provides family- and founder-led businesses with long-term, differentiated capital. The firm manages more than USD 9 billion across its investment funds and an additional USD 4.6 billion of co-investments from its global limited partner investor base. The firm’s affiliate, BDT & Company, is a merchant bank that works with family- and founder-led businesses to pursue their strategic and financial objectives. BDT & Company provides solutions-based advice and access to a world-class network of business owners and leaders.

About Lovell Minnick Partners
Lovell Minnick Partners LLC is a private equity firm focused on investing in middle market companies in the global financial services and related business services industries. Lovell Minnick provides developing companies with equity capital to support private company recapitalizations, execute majority buyouts, and pursue growth initiatives. Since its inception in 1999, Lovell Minnick Partners has raised over $3 billion in committed capital and has completed investments in over 50 platform companies. Targeted investment areas include asset management, financial product distribution, insurance, banks, specialty finance, and related technology and business services. Over its twenty-year history, Lovell Minnick has built a steady track record of investment returns through a consistent investment process that focuses on driving portfolio company growth, strategic activity, and operational improvement, without relying upon excessive financial leverage.

New Partnership Positions Market-Leading Property Data Expert for Sustained Growth

PHILADELPHIA, LOS ANGELES and NEW YORK, January 8, 2019 – Lovell Minnick Partners, a private equity firm specializing in financial and related business services companies, today announced it has completed the acquisition of ATTOM Data Solutions (“ATTOM” or “the Company”), a leading provider of national real estate data and analytics. Lovell Minnick acquired ATTOM from Renovo Capital and Rosewood Private Investments. Financial terms of the private transaction were not disclosed.

Headquartered in Irvine, California, ATTOM manages a comprehensive data platform that draws upon a wide range of sources to provide property tax, deed, mortgage, foreclosure, environmental risk, natural hazard and neighborhood data for more than 155 million U.S. residential and commercial properties covering 99 percent of the nation’s population. ATTOM licenses its data to companies in the real estate, mortgage, insurance, marketing and adjacent industries.

“ATTOM’s data provides mission-critical insights to enterprise clients who seek to make well-informed business decisions with the benefit of historic, rich and near real-time data,” said Jason Barg, Partner, Lovell Minnick Partners. “We’re excited to partner with CEO Rob Barber and his team who have an excellent reputation for leadership and innovation in the real estate data and information services market.”

“ATTOM remains focused on expanding our seamless end-to-end data platform to deliver greater value for our customers as we continue to grow our market share in our core markets and build out our footprint in new end-markets across the U.S.,” said Barber. “We look forward to the next chapter of our growth, supported by the experience and resources of Lovell Minnick Partners, as we further strengthen our position as the premier one-stop shop for high-quality real estate data.”

Lovell Minnick Partners has strong experience investing in technology-enabled service providers in the financial services sector, such as Engage People Inc., an innovative, market-leading solutions provider for the global loyalty and incentive industry, and more recently, SRS Acquiom, a market-leading provider of technology-enabled solutions to facilitate private market M&A transactions. Lovell Minnick Partners also has deep industry knowledge and relationships in the property sector developed through proprietary research and through prior investments in the space such as J.S. Held, a specialty advisory firm that provides property loss consulting among other services, and CenterSquare Investment Management, a global investment manager focused on actively managed real estate and infrastructure strategies.

“ATTOM’s management team has generated strong organic growth and successfully pursued accretive strategic opportunities such as their acquisition of neighborhood data provider Onboard Informatics in early 2018,” said John Cochran, Partner, Lovell Minnick Partners. “We believe the Company’s innovative technology platform, focus on superior data quality and customer service, and its recurring license revenue model position ATTOM extremely well for continued success in the space. We are eager to support management in executing their strategic plan to build the leading technology platform in the real estate data industry.”

ATTOM’s extensive property database is also used to power consumer-facing websites such as RealtyTrac.com, Homefacts.com and HomeDisclosure.com.

Morgan Lewis served as LMP’s legal counsel. GCA Advisors acted as financial advisor to ATTOM, while Venable LLP served as ATTOM’s legal counsel. Monroe Capital provided debt financing for the transaction.


About Lovell Minnick Partners LLC
Lovell Minnick Partners LLC is a private equity firm with expertise in investing in the financial and related business services sectors. With offices in Philadelphia, Los Angeles and New York, Lovell Minnick provides developing companies with equity capital to support private company recapitalizations, leveraged buyouts and pursue growth initiatives. Since its inception in 1999, Lovell Minnick Partners has raised $3 billion in committed capital and has completed investments in 50 companies. Targeted investment areas include asset management, wealth management, investment product distribution, specialty finance, insurance brokerage and services, financial and insurance technology and business services. For more information, please visit www.lmpartners.com.

About ATTOM Data Solutions
ATTOM Data Solutions provides premium property data to power products that improve transparency, innovation, efficiency and disruption in a data-driven economy. ATTOM multi-sources property tax, deed, mortgage, foreclosure, environmental risk, natural hazard, and neighborhood data for more than 155 million U.S. residential and commercial properties covering 99 percent of the nation’s population. A rigorous data management process involving more than 20 steps validates, standardizes and enhances the data collected by ATTOM, assigning each property record with a persistent, unique ID — the ATTOM ID. The 9TB ATTOM Data Warehouse fuels innovation in many industries including mortgage, real estate, insurance, marketing, government and more through flexible data delivery solutions that include bulk file licenses, APIs, market trends, marketing lists, match & append and more.  www.attomdata.com

PORTLAND, Maine – January 3, 2019 – Foreside Financial Group, LLC (“Foreside”), a provider of distribution and compliance services to clients in the global asset management industry, today announced the acquisition of NCS Regulatory Compliance (“NCS”), a comprehensive provider of outsourced compliance and regulatory solutions to the Registered Investment Adviser (“RIA”) and Broker-Dealer (“BD”) markets.

The combination of Foreside and NCS provides a full-suite of best-in-class outsourcing solutions to companies across the financial services industry, as clients increasingly demand a one-stop shop for their business processes, including broker-dealer solutions, consulting services and adviser compliance. Further, the acquisition will expand Foreside’s scope through increased market share, proprietary technology, enhanced regulatory and SEC compliance services, senior-level leadership, and a larger geographic footprint, which includes offices in New York City.

“We’re committed to providing our clients with a comprehensive and holistic set of solutions to streamline and increase revenue opportunities, as well as to quickly expand and launch new products, all in one place,” said David Whitaker, President of Foreside. “In addition to best meeting our clients’ needs in the midst of an ever-changing regulatory landscape, NCS’s leading technology-enabled financial services compliance solutions, paired with their deep industry expertise, both complements and drives forward our strategic plan to grow our market position and broaden our breadth of services globally.”

“We are thrilled to be joining the Foreside team,” said Mark Alcaide, Partner and Chief Operating Officer at NCS. “Foreside’s experienced management team, comprehensive resources, and scale offers the unique opportunity to further expand NCS’s core solutions to new customer segments, investment products and geographies, and we look forward to the opportunities that this will create.”

Added Rich Berthy, CEO of Foreside: “Adding NCS and their seasoned team of consultants to our market leading business solutions suite provides our clients an unparalleled level of support at a time when compliance and regulatory solutions are mission critical to the financial services industry.”

Formed in 2015 following the merger of two well-established firms in the compliance market, Regulatory Compliance and National Compliance Services, NCS provides over 1,800 clients in the US with FINRA/SEC and state registrations, ongoing compliance support, annual reviews and mock audits, risk assessments, compliance manuals, FINOP services and financial accounting support and cybersecurity compliance, in addition to regulatory services.

This acquisition builds upon a significant period of growth for Foreside. In 2017, Lovell Minnick Partners, a private-equity firm based in Radnor, Pennsylvania, purchased a majority stake in the company, and has since set forth a strategy to scale Foreside’s offering and expand the markets the firm services.

Financial terms of the transaction were not disclosed. The acquisition is expected to close in early January 2019.

About Foreside
Foreside delivers a range of distribution and compliance services to clients in the global asset management industry. Foreside services open- and closed-end funds, exchange-traded products, commodity pools, private placements, investment advisers and registered broker-dealers. Foreside’s comprehensive technology suite includes Foreside AdCompliance™ a proprietary Internet-based portal to coordinate marketing material review with SEC and FINRA and ForesideXchange, a proprietary ETF order management system to facilitate the create/redeem process for ETFs.

Foreside’s service offerings include distribution, registered representative licensing, fund chief compliance officer and treasurer services, and regulatory and compliance consulting. Foreside distributes over $1 trillion of product through their 19 limited purpose broker-dealers. The firm’s solutions enable clients to focus on asset management without sacrificing distribution and compliance best practices. Foreside is headquartered in Portland, Maine and has offices in Berwyn, Pennsylvania, Boston, Massachusetts, and Columbus, Ohio. For more information on Foreside’s suite of services, please visit www.foreside.com.

About NCS Regulatory Compliance
With more than 25 years of experience in the compliance consulting space, NCS Regulatory Compliance offers deep expertise and proven compliance knowledge for investment advisers and broker-dealers. NCS Regulatory Compliance’s experts remain on the cutting edge, leveraging decades of experience and the latest technologies to simplify and streamline the registration process and management of ongoing compliance requirements for clients. For more information on NCS Regulatory Compliance, visit www.ncsregcomp.com.

Positions SRS Acquiom for Continued Growth in M&A Settlement & Risk Management Services

PHILADELPHIA, LOS ANGELES and NEW YORK, November 13, 2018 – Lovell Minnick Partners (“LMP”), a private equity firm specializing in financial and related business services companies, announced it has completed a majority investment in SRS Acquiom (the “Company”), a market-leading provider of technology-enabled services related to M&A settlement support and risk mitigation.

Founded in 2007 by Paul Koenig, Mark Vogel and Jason Mendelson and headquartered in Denver, SRS Acquiom provides an integrated platform of professional services, technology solutions and data that enables corporate acquirers, private equity firms and venture capital firms to navigate the complex M&A deal execution process more efficiently. The Company has managed over 2,200 deals, representing 205,000 shareholders, valued at over $340 billion.

“SRS Acquiom has a strong history of innovation and offers best-in-class solutions for managing and simplifying M&A processes throughout the transaction lifecycle,” said Steve Pierson, Managing Partner at LMP. “We look forward to supporting the Company in its continued growth, including the cultivation of next generation transaction support products, data analytics and new services.”

SRS Acquiom offers an expansive range of services, including post-closing shareholder representation, payment agency, escrow administration, representation and warranty insurance brokerage, and pre-closing shareholder solicitation. The company also boasts an extensive database of private M&A data that provides insights to help dealmakers determine appropriate transaction terms. The Company has served some of the largest and most well-known venture capital firms, private equity firms and corporate acquirers across the world.

“LMP’s strong network within financial services and experience investing in technology-enabled services businesses will expand and enhance our ability to offer market-leading M&A services to our clients across our increasingly global footprint,” said Paul Koenig, co-founder and CEO of SRS Acquiom. “We are experiencing strong demand for our platform of solutions from both new and existing clients, and we look forward to working with LMP to put the next phase of our strategic growth plans into action.”

“The SRS Acquiom team has built out an impressive presence in the United States, and we fully support the Company’s plans to expand its product offerings and to grow internationally,” added Brad Armstrong, a Partner at LMP. “At Lovell Minnick, we have had a long and successful history of supporting portfolio companies in executing upon both organic and inorganic growth initiatives, and we believe the Company is well-positioned to grow through add-on acquisitions of complementary products and services.”

SRS Acquiom’s management team will continue in their current roles and employees will continue to hold a significant investment in the Company alongside LMP. Prior investors, including Revolution Ventures and Top Tier Capital, will also participate in this transaction and will continue to support the company’s growth.

“I’d like to thank our dedicated employees, our Board of Directors and all of our current shareholders for helping us to build SRS Acquiom into the market leader it is today,” said co-founder and Vice Chairman Mark Vogel. “Together, we have turned an entrepreneurial idea into a business serving blue-chip clients involved in some of the market’s most significant M&A transactions. We look forward to ongoing success and growth in partnership with LMP.”

“SRS Acquiom started with a simple idea that M&A deals could be done better,” said co-founder Jason Mendelson. “The company has been passionate about that mission and has grown today into an amazing company that I am proud to have been a part of since the beginning.”

Since its inception, SRS Acquiom has developed value-added, innovative products for M&A transactions, including the following: SRS Acquiom MarketStandard, a technology platform allowing deal makers to apply filters on over 150 deal attributes using the largest private target M&A deal database to help negotiate deal terms; SRS Acquiom Clearinghouse, the first and leading online M&A payments platform allowing shareholders to submit required electronic paperwork within minutes and to be paid on the same day; SRS Acquiom ComPort, a portal that provides shareholders with a summary of metrics such as transaction distributions, claims, expenses and disbursements; and, SRS Acquiom Deal Dashboard, which provides acquirers with online access for managing escrow balances, assessing shareholder payment status and reviewing summarized transaction terms for all prior transactions completed by the acquirer.

Kirkland & Ellis LLP served as LMP’s legal counsel. Cowen and Company acted as exclusive financial advisor to SRS Acquiom, while Latham & Watkins LLP served as SRS Acquiom’s legal counsel.

About SRS Acquiom
SRS Acquiom, headquartered in Denver with offices in San Francisco, New York, Los Angeles, Chicago, Boston, London and Tel Aviv, is the global leader for managing closing and post-closing M&A activity, providing a comprehensive platform of services including shareholder representation, M&A payments and M&A risk management, including escrow administration and representation and warranty insurance brokerage. With more than 2,200 deals valued at over $340 billion, SRS Acquiom has made a business out of constant innovation with a singular purpose: helping deal parties and their advisors gain the freedom to do more. For more information, please visit www.srsacquiom.com.

LOS ANGELES, CA – October 16, 2018 - After a period of unprecedented growth, national wholesale insurance brokerage, managing general agent and program underwriter Worldwide Facilities announces an organizational restructuring. The company will reorganize into three divisions: Worldwide Brokerage, Worldwide MGA, and Worldwide Programs.

The driving force for this change is the significant growth that Worldwide Facilities has experienced in recent years. Having grown from about $550 million in gross written premium 3 years ago, the company now places approximately $1.5 billion in premium, with MGA and Program underwriting contributing 35% of that figure.

“We have evolved, on a deliberate and intentional basis, to a much more diversified company,” says Ronald Austin, President of Worldwide Facilities. “We now operate on three distinct distribution platforms—Brokerage, MGA, and Programs—each with separate operational and sales features and protocols. This reorganization reflects that change.”

The new structure will also enhance the company’s ability to leverage products across distribution platforms, target its growth strategy to each platform, and more effectively leverage its leadership talent.

As part of the restructure, Eric Stuckman has been promoted to President – Worldwide Brokerage, and Hank Haldeman will take on the role of President – Worldwide Programs. Emily Flores, Gary Kitchen, Gil Hine and Amicia Hine will continue to drive the national MGA strategy.

Austin comments, “Eric’s roots are wholesale brokering. During his decade-long tenure with us, he has continually grown in terms of responsibilities and contributions, most recently leading the Los Angeles production office as well as the company’s market relationship activities. His background, demonstrated skill set and energy are well suited to leading the company’s brokerage division.”

“Hank joined Worldwide Facilities as part of the Sullivan Group acquisition, and his expertise has been crucial across strategic initiatives, M&A, market relationships, and program assessment and management,” Austin adds.

LOS ANGELES, CA – September 18, 2018 - WORLDWIDE FACILITIES, LLC (“Worldwide”) and MCCLELLAND AND HINE, INC. / MCLELLAND & HINE TRUCKING UNDERWRITERS LLC, (collectively “MHI”) announce that they have entered into a Letter of Intent pursuant to which Worldwide Facilities proposes to acquire the assets of MHI. The parties anticipate completing the transaction, which is subject to certain conditions, within the next thirty days.

“We are extremely pleased that Gil Hine, Amicia Hine and their team are joining our company. Gil, Amicia and the MHI leadership have done an excellent job of building a great company. Their proprietary technology and underwriting products are enormously complementary and will be beneficial to our growing platform. MHI’s business provides us with a broader geographical footprint as well as a more diversified product offering. We are very excited to partner with the MHI team and have them participate in our broad-based equity ownership plan.” commented Davis Moore, CEO of Worldwide Facilities.

Gil Hine, Chairman of MHI, said, “When you first meet the leaders of an organization and your first reaction is “they are like us” and everything from then on reinforces that feeling you know you are making the right decision. For me, I feel like I did thirty-six years ago when McClelland and Hine started. Our team is just as pumped as I am to partner with Worldwide Facilities and help contribute to their continuing success.” Amicia Hine, CEO of MHI, added “Our vision for the continued success of the MHI business platform and the contribution we can make to the profitable growth of the combined companies is evident and compelling. The compatibility of MHI and Worldwide Facilities’ leadership culture, dedication to career building and professional growth of our members along with our commitment to our partners, our customers and our industry made this an obvious and exciting next step for our organization.”

Marsh, Berry & Company, Inc. served as the financial advisor to MHI.

About Worldwide Facilities, LLC
Worldwide Facilities is a national wholesale insurance broker and managing general agent that has been in business since 1970. Its brokers and underwriters are industry leaders providing expertise in a wide range of specialty lines, as well as extensive contacts with carriers domestically and overseas. For more information, please visit wwfi.com.

About McClelland and Hine, Inc. / McClelland & Hine Trucking Underwriters LLC
McClelland and Hine, Inc. / McClelland & Hine Trucking Underwriters LLC is a Managing General Agent and Excess and Surplus Lines Broker headquartered in San Antonio, Texas. MHI began writing business in 1982 and later expanded its operation with the opening of additional offices in Houston, Dallas and Atlanta.

JERICHO, N.Y. – September 5, 2018 – J.S. Held, a leading multidisciplinary consulting firm, today announced that it acquired Construction Process Solutions, Ltd. Construction Process Solutions (CPS) is a national construction consulting firm that provides project management support, dispute resolution services (including construction claims development and analysis), expert testimony, bond default analyses, and building forensic investigations.

The acquisition complements J.S. Held’s portfolio of professional services in construction consulting and strengthens the company’s Construction Advisory division. Andrew T. Englehart, President & Director of CPS, will join J.S. Held as Senior Vice President. Michael Collins, Director of Project Support Services at CPS, joins as Vice President. Timothy J. Schap, Director of Building Forensics at CPS, also joins J.S. Held as Vice President.

“Since 1995, we have focused on creating solutions to our clients’ needs throughout the construction process. Regardless of our client’s role in the design and construction process, we’ve assisted at different stages, from inception to years after completion,” said Englehart. “By joining J.S. Held, we can now provide additional resources and invaluable experience from a wide range of professionals with skills and experiences that complement our existing capabilities to benefit clients and their projects.”

CPS will join the J.S. Held team of over 500 consultants around the globe. Existing CPS clients will now have access to a broader range of services as J.S. Held specializes in construction consulting, property damage assessment, surety services, project and program management, forensic engineering, and environmental, health, and safety services.

“I have admired the exceptional team at CPS for many years,” said Sean Donohue, Senior Vice President and Service Line Leader for J.S. Held Construction Advisory Services. “CPS is an industry leader in construction claims, project management, and building forensic consulting, and a trailblazer in the use of technology to provide these services. This is an exciting day for J.S. Held and our growing Construction Advisory Services practice.”

Founded in 1974, J.S. Held has provided specialized consulting to better address complex construction and environmental matters globally. Following its continued growth trajectory and commitment to unparalleled client service, CPS is its 15th acquisition since 2015. J.S. Held now has over 50 offices across the U.S. and Canada, Mexico, Europe, and the Middle East.

About J.S. Held LLC
J.S. Held is a leading consulting firm specializing in construction, forensic engineering, and environmental consulting services. J.S. Held consultants have provided their expertise on the most complex construction and environmental matters around the globe. The company serves its clients from over 50 locations throughout the U.S., Canada, Latin America, the United Kingdom, and United Arab Emirates. For more information regarding J.S. Held, please visit www.jsheld.com.

PITTSBURGH--(BUSINESS WIRE)-- August 24, 2018 -- Fortune named TriState Capital Holdings, Inc. (Nasdaq: TSC) to its annual 100 Fastest-Growing Companies list, citing the financial services company’s 30% growth in earnings per share, 19% growth in revenue and 26% total return on a three-year annualized basis. The parent company of TriState Capital Bank and Chartwell Investment Partners was one of only 46 companies making this list for the second consecutive year.

TriState Capital’s national private banking, national investment management and regional middle-market commercial banking businesses also generated average annual growth in the company’s pre-tax income of 20% and net income available to common shareholders of 30% since June 2015.

In addition, the bank achieved more than 20% average annual organic growth in both loans and deposits since June 2015. Chartwell grew client assets under management at an average annual growth rate of 8% over the same three year period, with investment management fees contributing to non-interest income representing nearly a third of TriState Capital’s total revenue.

“Our unique financial services business model, unwavering focus on our three business lines and the clients they serve, and disciplined strategic execution by our exceptional team, all enabled TriState Capital to consistently deliver superior annual earnings growth,” Chairman and Chief Executive Officer James F. Getz said. “We are pleased to have Fortune’s 100 Fastest-Growing Companies list recognize our profitable growth for the second year in a row, and are proud to share this distinction with other high performing organizations from a variety of industries.”

Fortune reported that it ranks the 100 Fastest-Growing Companies listed on major U.S. stock exchanges by “revenue growth rate, EPS growth rate, and three-year annualized total return for the period ended June 29, 2018. (To compute the revenue and EPS growth rates, Fortune uses a trailing-four-quarters log linear least square regression fit.)” More information on the list is available in the September 2018 issue of Fortune and at http://fortune.com/100-fastest-growing-companies/.

ABOUT TRISTATE CAPITAL

TriState Capital Holdings, Inc. (Nasdaq: TSC) is a bank holding company headquartered in Pittsburgh, Pa., providing commercial banking, private banking and investment management services to middle-market companies, institutional clients and high-net-worth individuals. Its TriState Capital Bank subsidiary had $5.1 billion in assets, as of June 30, 2018, and serves middle-market commercial customers through regional representative offices in Pittsburgh, Philadelphia, Cleveland, Edison, N.J., and New York City, as well as high-net-worth individuals nationwide through its national referral network of financial intermediaries. Its Chartwell Investment Partners subsidiary had $9.6 billion in assets under management, as of June 30, 2018, and serves as the advisor to The Berwyn Funds and Chartwell Mutual Funds. For more information, please visit http://investors.tristatecapitalbank.com.

Partnership with NAC Positions Nation’s Premier Auto
Warranty and Vehicle Protection Leader for Continued Growth

PHILADELPHIA, LOS ANGELES and NEW YORK – JULY 30, 2018 – Lovell Minnick Partners (“LMP”), a private equity firm specializing in financial and related business services companies, today announced that it has entered into an agreement to acquire National Auto Care Corporation (“NAC” or “the Company”). NAC is a diversified, nationwide provider of automotive protection products. Financial terms of the transaction were not disclosed.

NAC, established in 1984 and acquired by Trivest Partners in 2012, is headquartered in Jacksonville, Florida. NAC is one of the longest operating providers of products such as vehicle service contracts, guaranteed asset protection, limited warranty, tire, wheel and a full suite of ancillary protection products nationwide.

Through its independent agents, NAC supports over 2,300 partners that distribute its products. These include automobile dealers, credit unions, financial services companies, recreational dealers and other strategic partners across North America. Additionally, the Company has unique value enhancing services that support its distributors with their branding, marketing and sales activities.

“NAC is the premier national market leader in developing innovative products that help protect consumers from a wide range of risks that can arise with Vehicle or Power Sport ownership,” said Trevor Rich, a Partner at LMP. “We look forward to partnering with President and CEO Tony Wanderon, who is an accomplished veteran and innovator in the automotive protection industry, and his experienced team at NAC, as our investment positions the Company to aggressively pursue acquisitions that complement its strong growth trajectory.”

NAC has invested significantly in the development and implementation of proprietary and third-party technology over the past four years, empowering its dealer and distributor partners with digital contract remittance and customized support services. In addition, the Company provides its distributor partners with a unique variety of support services and incentive programs that drive customer loyalty and strengthen their agency value.

“LMP has strong experience investing in service-oriented businesses across the finance and insurance value chain that will prove invaluable as NAC builds upon our flexible and customized solutions to support our agency distributor partners in driving sales and profitability,” said Wanderon. “We believe LMP’s expertise in identifying and negotiating strategic transactions will add significant value to our acquisition strategy.”

“Since our investment 6 years ago, NAC has grown to be one of the premier providers in the F&I space, and we are extremely proud of our partnership and investment in such an exciting company. We are confident that NAC and the management team are well positioned for continued growth and success through their partnership with LMP,” said Troy Templeton, Managing Partner at Trivest Partners.

LMP has a strong record of investing in and building fast-growing businesses across the insurance value chain, including J.S. Held, a specialty advisory firm providing property loss consulting, dispute resolution and construction and development services, and Worldwide Facilities, LLC, one of the largest wholesale insurance brokerage companies in the U.S.

Houlihan Lokey served as financial advisor to NAC and Trivest, and Sandler O’Neill was advisor to LMP. Madison Capital Funding LLC and NewStar Financial, Inc. are providing debt financing for the transaction.

The transaction is expected to close in the third quarter of 2018.

About National Auto Care Corporation
National Auto Care Corp. provides F&I products, administration, consulting services, training and marketing support to independent agents, insurance companies, financial institutions, third-party administrators, and credit unions. National Auto Care focuses on increasing agent and dealer profitability by providing unique F&I products in protected markets. National Auto Care was recently named a Top Workplace in Central Ohio for the third year running and was honored with a 2018 Dealer’s Choice Platinum Award for F&I Products. For more information, visit www.nationalautocare.com.

About Trivest Partners
Trivest Partners is a private investment firm that focuses on partnering with founder/family owned businesses in the United States and Canada. Since its founding in 1981, Trivest has completed more than 250 transactions, totaling in excess of $6.0 billion in value. For additional information, please visit www.trivest.com.

Global Service Offering Expanded with Addition of UK-Based Commercial Support Services Company and Mexico-Based Specialized Construction Consulting Firm

JERICHO, N.Y. – July 12, 2018 – J.S. Held, a leading multidisciplinary consulting firm, announced today that it has officially entered the global market with the acquisitions of Leach Group and Comando Ingenieria. With the partnership of these two international companies, J.S. Held will be able to provide a greater depth of specialized services to clients throughout the globe.

As a prominent firm based in the United Kingdom, Leach Group has been providing commercial support services to contractors and employers in the construction industry since 1946. Leach has teams of experienced professionals available to support and assist clients throughout Europe, the Middle East and beyond from its offices in the United Kingdom & Abu Dhabi. Effective immediately, Leach Group will change its name to “Leach Group, a part of J.S. Held” with plans to rebrand under the J.S. Held name in the future.

“The combination of J.S. Held and Leach Group will allow us to support and serve our clients with a wider range of services,” said Melvyn D. Smith, Managing Director of Leach Group. “We at Leach Group share the belief system and level of customer dedication that J.S. Held exemplifies, and together we will be able to offer our combined specialty services to an international customer base.”

Mexico City based construction consulting firm Comando Ingenieria has offered building supervision and insurance services with a focus on damage valuation in Latin America since 1986. A well-known name in the field of damage assessment, Comando has extensive experience assessing damage to buildings and other infrastructure resulting from disasters or catastrophic events. Comando Ingenieria will rebrand as “J.S. Held Mexico.”

“We at Comando Group are proud to join J.S. Held to offer our joint services in the global marketplace,” said Raul Losana Alvarado, General Director of Comando. “With our combined expertise, our clients will have a comprehensive solution for a variety of specialty construction and engineering matters.”

“J.S. Held is very pleased to be able to serve clients throughout the global market with the addition of Leach Group and Comando Ingenieria,” said Jon Held, President and Chief Executive Officer of J.S. Held. “Both companies are very highly regarded in their respective fields, and we believe that they will make outstanding additions to our team.”

Continuing a trajectory of strong growth, Comando and Leach Group are the 13th and 14th acquisitions made by J.S. Held following a 2015 investment from Lovell Minnick Partners, a private equity firm that specializes in investing in financial and related business services companies. Previous acquisitions include Applied Environmental Health & Safety (AEHS), Bracken Engineering, Antonucci Consulting Corp., Donohue Consulting, Leighton Associates, Spex, Meridian Consulting, CEIPS, U.S. HELM, Lovett Silverman Construction Consultants, Inc., the Property Loss Division of Chroma Building Corp., and Wakelee Associates.

Since 1974, J.S. Held has added the capabilities of specialized consulting businesses to better address complex construction and environmental matters globally. J.S. Held now has over 500 professionals and over 50 offices across the U.S., Canada, Mexico, United Kingdom and Abu Dhabi.

About J.S. Held LLC

J.S. Held is a leading consulting firm specializing in construction, forensic engineering, and environmental consulting services. J.S. Held consultants have provided their expertise on the most complex construction and environmental matters around the globe. The company serves its clients from over 50 locations throughout the U.S. and Canada. For more information regarding J.S. Held, please visit www.jsheld.com.

LOS ANGELES, CA – May 31, 2018 - Worldwide Facilities, LLC, a national wholesale insurance brokerage, program manager and managing general agency, announces that it is acquiring the assets of RIC Insurance General Agency, Inc. (“RIC”), a wholesale insurance broker and managing general agent specializing in small to medium-sized commercial business as well as personal lines business. RIC will continue to maintain its client and market relationships and commitments as a division of Worldwide Facilities.

“We are pleased that the RIC team will be part of Worldwide Facilities. The combination of our complementary products, capabilities and market specialties will increase the relevance of the combined companies to the retail agent community,” says Davis Moore, CEO of Worldwide Facilities.

Gary Kitchen, CEO of RIC, adds, “The RIC team is excited to become part of the expanding Worldwide Facilities brand. We’re looking forward to helping the combined company continue to execute a growth strategy for the benefit of customers, markets and employees. We look forward to being a great asset to the organization and are excited to capitalize on the opportunities.”

PhiloSmith, a private investment banking firm specializing in insurance and financial services, advised RIC in the transaction.

About Worldwide Facilities, LLC
Worldwide Facilities is a national wholesale insurance broker and managing general agent that has been in business since 1970. Its brokers and underwriters are industry leaders providing expertise in a wide range of specialty lines, as well as extensive contacts with carriers domestically and overseas. For more information, please visit wwfi.com.

About RIC Insurance General Agency, Inc.
RIC Insurance General Agency, Inc. is a wholesale insurance brokerage and managing general agency with office locations across the western United States. It offers Admitted and Non-Admitted Property and Casualty products, including: Commercial / Excess and Surplus, Specialty, Personal Lines, Workers’ Compensation / Access State Fund, and Transportation / Auto. For more information, please visit ric-ins.com.

PITTSBURGH--(BUSINESS WIRE)--TriState Capital Holdings, Inc. (Nasdaq: TSC) today announced that affiliates of Lovell Minnick Partners LLC (collectively, “Lovell Minnick”) have agreed to sell 2,200,000 shares of TriState Capital common stock in an underwritten public offering. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods, Inc., A Stifel Company, is acting as the sole book-running manager for the offering. TriState Capital is not selling any stock in this transaction and will not receive any proceeds from the secondary offering.

Lovell Minnick funds have been equity investors in TriState Capital since August 2012. Upon completion of the offering Lovell Minnick is expected to continue to own approximately 9% of the Company’s outstanding common stock. Lovell Minnick Co-Chairman James E. Minnick also remains a member of TriState Capital’s Board of Directors.

The shares are being offered pursuant to a shelf registration statement (File No. 333-222074) under the Securities Act of 1933, as amended, which has been filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission (the “SEC”) and was declared effective by the SEC on December 21, 2017. The offering is being made only by means of a prospectus supplement and accompanying prospectus. Potential purchasers of our common stock should consider carefully the information contained in the preliminary prospectus supplement and the accompanying prospectus and other documents that TriState Capital has filed with the SEC for more complete information about TriState Capital and the offering. Copies of the registration statement, prospectus supplement and the accompanying prospectus relating to the offering may be obtained free of charge by visiting the SEC’s website at www.sec.gov, or may be obtained from Keefe, Bruyette & Woods, Inc., Equity Capital Markets, 787 Seventh Avenue, NY, NY 10019, or by calling 800-966-1559.

This press release shall not constitute an offer to sell or the solicitation of an offer to buy any securities, nor shall there be any sale of these securities in any state or jurisdiction in which such offer, solicitation or sale would be unlawful prior to registration or qualification under the securities laws of any such state or jurisdiction.

ABOUT TRISTATE CAPITAL

TriState Capital Holdings, Inc. (Nasdaq: TSC) is a bank holding company headquartered in Pittsburgh, Pa., providing commercial banking, private banking and investment management services to middle-market companies, institutional clients and high-net-worth individuals. Its TriState Capital Bank subsidiary had $4.7 billion in assets as of March 31, 2018, and serves middle-market commercial customers through regional representative offices in Pittsburgh, Philadelphia, Cleveland, Edison, N.J., and New York City, as well as high-net-worth individuals nationwide through its national referral network of financial intermediaries. Its Chartwell Investment Partners subsidiary has more than $9 billion in assets under management, and serves as the advisor to The Berwyn Funds and Chartwell Mutual Funds.

FORWARD LOOKING STATEMENTS

This press release includes “forward-looking” statements as that term is defined in the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995, including with respect to the timing and size of the offering, which statements are subject to a number of risks, uncertainties and assumptions, including, but not limited to those that are described in the “Risk Factors” section of the preliminary prospectus supplement for this offering and the sections titled “Risk Factors,” “Cautionary Note Regarding Forward-Looking Statements” and “Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations” in TriState Capital’s Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q for the quarter ended March 31, 2018 and Annual Report on Form 10-K for the fiscal year ended December 31, 2017, as well as in other filings that TriState Capital makes with the SEC from time to time (which are available at www.sec.gov). The events and circumstances discussed in such forward-looking statements may not occur, and TriState Capital’s actual results could differ materially and adversely from those anticipated or implied thereby. Any forward-looking statements speak only as of the date of this press release and are based on information available to TriState Capital as of the date of this release.

LOS ANGELES, CA – April 27, 2018 - WORLDWIDE FACILITIES, LLC is pleased to announce that it has completed the acquisition of GERALD J. SULLIVAN & ASSOCIATES, INC., which trades as “The Sullivan Group” (“Sullivan”), a national specialty intermediary.

Formed in 1981, Sullivan is an insurance program manager, contract binding authority manager and wholesale broker offering its products and services nationally through retail insurance agents and brokers. Sullivan has been dedicated to providing retail producers the best possible service, professionalism and expertise, based on strong, lasting relationships with insurance companies and retail producers.

Jerry Sullivan, Chairman of Sullivan, is being retained as a consultant / Non-Executive Director to Worldwide Facilities. Hank Haldeman, President of Sullivan, joins Worldwide Facilities as Senior Executive Vice President and will continue to lead the Sullivan programs divisions as well as assume corporate responsibilities at Worldwide Facilities. Kevin Davis, President of Kevin Davis Insurance Services (KDIS) joins as Executive Vice President and will continue to lead the KDIS division.

About Worldwide Facilities, LLC
Worldwide Facilities is a national wholesale insurance broker and managing general agent that has been in business since 1970. Its brokers and underwriters are industry leaders providing expertise in a wide range of specialty lines, as well as extensive contacts with carriers domestically and overseas. For more information, please visit wwfi.com.

By Luisa Beltran

Trevor Rich in 2010 joined Lovell Minnick Partners, where he has focused on financial technology. He was promoted to partner in January. Lovell Minnick, Radnor, Pennsylvania, was once known for its asset-management deals but has expanded into business services, specialty finance, insurance and fintech.

Strategics are buying up many U.S. payments companies. This is causing larger buyouts to shop outside the U.S. for deals. Is there still a market in the U.S. for payments?
We do think there is an opportunity outside the U.S. in terms of payments, but we’ve not spent any time there. We still think there’s an opportunity here in the states and we are focused on those [opportunities]. It’s clear that it’s a bit of a seller’s market. Valuations have been high. You have to really pick your spots here and make sure you are looking at areas that can bring value beyond the standard PE capital. That’s what we’re focused on. I do think there are a number of established payments players out there, much more in software and the acquiring side. We’ve seen that channel evolve as an opportunity for PE in recent years.

What about insuretech?
There is lots of interest in insuretech but it’s still very much an early-stage opportunity. You’ve seen lots of VC and corporate VC activity [there]. Lots of early players in the space are focused on disruption, creating a full-stack insuretech play. They’re going around established insurance carriers or agents. We’ve seen a bunch of models try to do that. Like many areas in fintech that get attention in VC, those that tend to attract pretty high multiples, a lot of those are focused on revenue multiples, a lot of them aren’t cash-flow positive yet. While it’s an opportunity from a PE perspective, it presents a challenge from both a stage and a valuation perspective.

What do you think about blockchain?
This is a topic that we could talk about for hours. Clearly, it’s complicated. There are investors who are probably making less educated bets on the space. Our view is that there will be practical applications for blockchain in development and it might have an impact in the next few years. Not necessarily crypto. We as a firm won’t invest in cryptocurrency. That market at this point is highly speculative. We see broader applications for blockchain. Those applications will filter their way to financial services. I don’t think they will be an overnight disruptive force where markets are altered overnight because of a business process powered by blockchain. I don’t think it will disrupt existing players as much as it will be adopted by existing players and do things more efficiently. And [it will] likely lower the costs, which will flow to the end consumer. There is a lot of opportunity there but not an area we will be investing in at this point.

What do you think of online lending?
I think the space will continue to evolve. … Any lending platform, whether digital or traditional brick and mortar, it’s best to have a diversified set of funding sources — having warehouse lines, having a marketplace, having access to the securitization market — should all be utilized. What has changed in the digital lending landscape is that much of the value is more about the customer experience. Is there a way to more seamlessly source, originate and underwrite loans that enhance credit quality and, at the same time, improve speed that these loans are made? That’s the true change in an industry that recognizes the need to improve.

Someone mentioned the other day that private equity may once again invest in banks. How likely is this?
I don’t see banks as an area for private equity investment absent a significant market correction. Banks are trading at fairly healthy multiples, so it’s not an opportunity for PE-like returns. We’ll have to see multiples come down to near book level before we see interest [from] PE again.

LOS ANGELES, CA and WEST HARTFORD, CT – April 2, 2018 - Worldwide Facilities, a national wholesale insurance brokerage and managing general agency, announces the acquisition of Tennant Risk Services Insurance Agency, LLC, a wholesale insurance broker and underwriting manager specializing in the placement of professional liability and specialty insurance coverages.

Tennant offers its products and services across the U.S. through retail agents and brokers. Robert Sargent, CEO of Tennant, joins Worldwide Facilities as Executive Vice President where he will continue to manage and lead his experienced team as well as assume a company leadership role as part of Worldwide Facilities’ senior management team.

This transaction represents an expansion of Worldwide Facilities' footprint in the professional liability space, where Tennant has extensive expertise and products in the E&O, D&O, EPLI and Cyber lines of business. It broadens the markets and products available to the retail brokers and agents served by Worldwide Facilities as well as the underwriting opportunities for Worldwide Facilities' markets.

“Tennant’s demonstrated expertise and specialized product offerings will contribute to Worldwide Facilities’ continued growth and further our presence in the Northeast. Robert Sargent has built a great business as well as a great reputation in the professional liability and specialty insurance marketplace, and we are very pleased to have him and his team join our organization,” says Davis Moore, Chief Executive Officer of Worldwide Facilities.

“On behalf of my team, we are excited to become part of the expanding brand Worldwide Facilities has created. With technical and market expertise in our specialty areas, we know we will be a great asset to the organization and are excited to capitalize on the opportunities,” says Sargent.

Lovell Minnick Partners’ investment in Worldwide Facilities continues to support the company’s growth initiatives. Lovell Minnick Partners is a private equity firm specializing in investing in financial and related business services.

About Worldwide Facilities, LLC
Worldwide Facilities is a national wholesale insurance broker and managing general agent that has been in business since 1970. Its brokers and underwriters are industry leaders providing expertise in a wide range of specialty lines, as well as extensive contacts with carriers domestically and overseas. For more information, please visit www.wwfi.com.

About Tennant Risk Services Insurance Agency, LLC
Tennant Risk Services is a wholesale insurance broker and underwriting manager specializing in professional liability lines and offering its products and services to retail agents across the U.S. Tennant maintains relationships with a wide range of high-quality insurers around the world to provide the best combination of price, product, service and security.

LEAWOOD, Kan. – March 26, 2018 – Tortoise today announced the launch of the Tortoise Tax-Advantaged Social Infrastructure Fund (TSIFX), a closed-end interval fund that offers investors access to the firm’s direct lending strategy that was previously available only to qualified purchasers through a private fund. The fund will provide capital for social infrastructure projects related to 501(c)(3) organizations, nonprofits and other entities authorized to issue private activity and tax-exempt bonds focused on education, healthcare, housing, industrial infrastructure, human service providers and social services, where there is currently a capital dislocation. The fund seeks to generate attractive total return with an emphasis on tax-advantaged income.

“The capital supply demand imbalance that resulted from the financial crisis provides our team an opportunity to potentially benefit 501(c)(3) entities with the capital needed to fund social infrastructure projects and investors with tax-advantaged income and diversification in their portfolios,” said Garey Fuqua, senior portfolio manager and team lead for Tortoise’s social infrastructure and direct lending strategies. “We believe our team’s extensive experience sourcing and structuring direct origination deals and our differentiated credit philosophy and approach gives us a competitive advantage in a rather opaque market.”

“Tortoise is very thoughtful about structuring products to best meet the needs of our investors,” said Jeremy Goff, a managing director focusing on the firm’s direct lending platform. “Utilizing an interval fund structure for this strategy allows investors to capitalize on the potential illiquidity premium of direct origination private deals, while also offering quarterly liquidity.”

Liquidity will be provided to shareholders through the fund’s quarterly repurchase offerings.

About Tortoise
Tortoise invests in assets and services that serve essential needs in society and can also serve essential client needs, such as diversification and income. Tortoise’s expertise spans traditional energy investing across the entire energy value chain, sustainable infrastructure including wind, solar and water infrastructure, credit investing, direct lending to social infrastructure projects and index construction. Through a variety of investment vehicles, Tortoise provides access to a wide range of client solutions, focused on their evolving needs. For more information, visit www.tortoiseadvisors.com.

Forward-Looking Statement
This press release contains certain statements that may include “forward-looking statements” within the meaning of Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933 and Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934. All statements, other than statements of historical fact, included herein are "forward-looking statements." Although the fund and Tortoise Index Solutions believe that the expectations reflected in these forward-looking statements are reasonable, they do involve assumptions, risks and uncertainties, and these expectations may prove to be incorrect. Actual results could differ materially from those anticipated in these forward-looking statements as a result of a variety of factors, including those discussed in the funds’ reports that are filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission. You should not place undue reliance on these forward-looking statements, which speak only as of the date of this press release. Other than as required by law, the fund and Tortoise Index Solutions do not assume a duty to update this forward-looking statement.

Safe Harbor Statement
This press release shall not constitute an offer to sell or a solicitation to buy, nor shall there be any sale of these securities in any state or jurisdiction in which such offer or solicitation or sale would be unlawful prior to registration or qualification under the laws of such state or jurisdiction.

Disclosures
The closed-end interval fund has adopted, pursuant to Rule 23c-3 under the 1940 Act, a fundamental policy, which cannot be changed without shareholder approval, requiring the fund to offer to repurchase at least 5% and up to 25% of its common shares at NAV on a regular schedule. Although the policy permits repurchases of between 5% and 25% of the fund's outstanding common shares, for each quarterly repurchase offer, the fund currently expects to offer to repurchase 5% of the fund's outstanding common shares at NAV subject to approval of the Board. It is possible that a repurchase offer may be oversubscribed, in which case shareholders may only have a portion of their shares repurchased. Subject to the above, quarterly repurchase offers and liquidity are limited.

Before investing in the fund, investors should consider their investment goals, time horizons and risk tolerance. The fund’s investment objective, risks, charges and expenses must be considered carefully before investing. The statutory and summary prospectus contain this and other important information about the funds. Copies of the fund’s prospectus may be obtained by visiting www.tortoiseadvisors.com or calling 855-TCA-FUND. Read it carefully before investing.

Mutual fund investing involves risks. Principal loss is possible. The fund is suitable only for investors who can bear the risks associated with the limited liquidity of the fund and should be viewed as a long-term investment. The fund will ordinarily accrue and pay distributions from its net investment income, if any, once a quarter; however, the amount of distributions that the fund may pay, if any, is uncertain. There currently is no secondary market for the fund’s shares and the adviser does not expect that a secondary market will develop. Limited liquidity is provided to shareholders only through the fund’s quarterly Repurchase Offers for no less than 5% of the fund’s shares outstanding at net asset value. There is no guarantee that shareholders will be able to sell all of the shares they desire in a quarterly Repurchase Offer. The fund invests in Municipal- Related Securities. Litigation, legislation or other political events, local business or economic conditions or the bankruptcy of the issuer could have a significant effect on the ability of an issuer of municipal bonds to make payments of principal and/or interest. Changes related to taxation, legislation or the rights of municipal security holders can significantly affect municipal bonds. Because the fund concentrates its investments in Municipal-Related Securities the fund may be subject to increased volatility. Investments in debt securities typically decrease in value when interest rates rise. This risk is usually greater for longer-term debt securities. Investment by the fund in lower-rated and non-rated securities presents a greater risk of loss to principal and interest than higher-rated securities. The fund may invest in derivative securities, which derive their performance from the performance of an underlying asset, index, interest rate or currency exchange rate. Derivatives can be volatile and involve various types and degrees of risks. Depending on the characteristics of the particular derivative, it could become illiquid. The fund may utilize leverage, which is a speculative technique that may adversely affect common shareholders if the return on investments acquired with borrowed fund or other leverage proceeds do not exceed the cost of the leverage, causing the fund to lose money.

Tortoise Credit Strategies is the adviser to the Tortoise Tax-Advantaged Social Infrastructure Fund, Inc., which is distributed by Quasar Distributors, LLC.

Contact Information
Tortoise
Pam Kearney, Investor and Media Relations, 844-872-1562, info@tortoiseadvisors.com

US-based private equity firm Lovell Minnick Partners will consider new investments in the asset finance sector as part of a long-term strategic growth plan as the firm continues to focus on investing in financial services and related business services companies.

The firm already has made some investments in the sector, such as Commercial Credit Group, which provides heavy equipment financing to the construction, transportation and waste industries, and its subsidiary Manufacturers Capital, a specialist in machine tool and fabrication equipment financing.

It also owns Currency Capital, a company that has developed technology to streamline approval and funding processes for business owners to obtain access to financing from numerous lenders.

These businesses reflect LMP’s strategy of investing in companies that specialize in business service areas to drive customer loyalty and deliver long-term growth.

Brad Armstrong, a partner at LMP, said: “Asset finance is a core sector, so we will be looking for acquisitions if they complement our existing platforms or enable us to develop a separate strategy or special expertise. For asset finance companies, specialisation is critical to be competitive and win.”

For Commercial Credit, a key USP is the level of engagement it has with clients through specialising in their industry sectors, to enable in-depth finance discussions that get to the heart of client strategies. This close relationship with clients means that the majority of its originations come from existing clients.

Armstrong said: “The human touch and expertise is important from the point of view of originating, servicing, and collecting through the full lifecycle of credit. You need engagement.”

As an independent supplier, Commercial Credit is also able to streamline the lending process for companies by offering a single source of finance for multi-brand acquisitions.

Armstrong added: “Its independence provides flexibility that could not be afforded through dealing with a captive. For example, if you acquire a truck and a trailer from different suppliers, that is two agreements with separate captive finance houses, whereas you have a single agreement through Commercial Credit.”

Recent major business wins for Commercial Credit, including construction, transportation and machine tools, show the benefits of such strong industry relationships he said, adding: “The business wins were based on its deep expertise in client categories.”

Another key factor driving business growth is its direct distribution strategy, which further enhances client loyalty and regional sector knowledge.

He said: “Long-term you need a direct distribution model or have very good connections through intermediaries.”

Armstrong was recently made a partner at LMP, which has offices in Philadelphia, Los Angeles and New York.

Since 1999, LMP has raised $1.9 billion of committed capital, enabling it to complete more than 45 portfolio company investments, including the 2012 acquisition of Commercial Credit Group.

Online equipment financing exchange Currency Capital was acquired in 2017 and through its online portal offers small businesses competitively-priced loans for equipment purchases within minutes. This delivers an alternative business model for small businesses that require a ‘one-stop-shop’ that offers convenience and simplicity.

Armstrong said: “For a lot of smaller businesses that have no chief financial officer, having a one-stop-shop is better for them. Convenience is important when you have limited time or resources to source financing.”

For the year ahead, Armstrong says the US economy is looking robust, with companies investing on the back of business-friendly fiscal policies.

As a result, an emerging trend is the growing presence of banks in equipment finance which are looking to increase their market share as the sector continues to provide consistent revenues.

He added: “We are seeing growth through their own recruitment and through their acquisitions. There is an uptick in deal activity.”

This is leading to a decline in independents because acquired companies are not being replaced at the same pace by new entrants, which raises interesting questions about the future development of the market in years to come.

Armstrong is nearing his tenth anniversary with LMP, having joined the business in 2009.

Prior to LMP, he was part of the financial institutions group at Bank of America Merrill Lynch, where he focused on mergers and acquisitions along with capital raising transactions for the firm’s investment banking clients.

He is a former assistant vice president in Bank of America’s finance group and began his career in a strategic advisory group within Wachovia Corporation, following graduation from Kellogg School of Management at Northwestern University, where he received an MBA with a concentration in finance and accounting.

He is currently a member of the boards of directors at a number of LMP companies, including Commercial Credit, Global Financial Credit, LSQ Group Holding and Tortoise Investments.

Armstrong is one of three partnership appointments this year, alongside Jason Barg and Trevor Rich.

At the same time Steven Pierson and Robert Belke have been appointed managing partners with responsibility for running the business day-to-day, overseeing finance, operations, and investor relations, and continuing to grow the team and resources over time.

Pierson will chair a newly-created management committee that includes partners Robert Belke, John Cochran and Spencer Hoffman.

Belke has been appointed chairman of the firm’s investment committee, which includes the management committee members as well as company co-founders Jeffrey Lovell and James Minnick.

Lovell, who remains co-chairman alongside Minnick, said: “These changes ensure the successful continuity of our strong financial and business services franchise through a new leadership structure that positions LMP for further growth over the next 20 years.

“They will improve our organizational management processes, better align the firm’s decision-making resources, and strengthen our teamwork culture.”

Jericho, NY – February 23, 2018 – J.S. Held, a leading multidisciplinary consulting firm, today announced that it will acquire Bracken Engineering, a Florida-based consulting company. As a prominent firm specializing in engineering and design sciences, forensics, and construction and disaster support, Bracken Engineering amplifies J.S. Held’s current, extensive portfolio of consulting services.

The acquisition will benefit clients as they have access to property damage consulting, surety services, construction claims consulting, project and program management, equipment consulting, environmental, health and safety services, and engineering services.

Bracken Engineering’s four offices and personnel will transition to the J.S. Held brand. William C. Bracken, PE, founder and CEO of Bracken Engineering, will join J.S. Held as Executive Vice President, National Director of Engineering. In this role, he will continue to lead the engineering consultant team as they address construction defects, property claims, and code, public safety, cost, and risk management issues. David L. Compton, the current President of Bracken Engineering, will join J.S. Held as Senior Vice President, Regional Manager. Robin Davies, Executive Vice President of Bracken will join as Vice President and Forensics Practice Leader.

“We are excited to add Bracken Engineering’s seasoned pool of talent to our already outstanding team of professionals and specialists,” said Jon Held, President and Chief Executive Officer of J.S. Held. “The purchase of Bracken Engineering further strengthens our portfolio of professional consulting services for the insurance, legal, and construction industries. Both brands are aligned in their mission to provide unparalleled technical expertise and client service to their clients.”

Through a growing team of experts, national distribution of offices, and superior technology and processes, J.S. Held continues to exceed client expectations as they bolster their network of professional consulting experts throughout the United States. The acquisition of Bracken Engineering will add approximately 30 licensed and certified specialists.

“With the combined expertise and reach of J.S. Held and Bracken Engineering, our clients will have a comprehensive solution for a variety of complex construction and engineering matters,” said William Bracken. “This partnership is a natural extension of our mission, to be a dependable partner to our customers and a source of excellence to our profession.”

J.S. Held continues its strong growth trajectory, with this being its 11th acquisition following a 2015 investment from Lovell Minnick Partners, a private equity firm specializing in investing in financial and related business services companies. Previous acquisitions include Antonucci Consulting Corp., Donohue Consulting, Leighton Associates, Spex, Meridian Consulting, CEIPS, U.S. HELM, Lovett Silverman Construction Consultants, Inc., the Property Loss Division of Chroma Building Corp., and Wakelee Associates.

Since 1974, J.S. Held has added the capabilities of specialized consulting businesses to better address complex construction and environmental matters globally. J.S. Held now has over 45 offices across the U.S. and Canada.

About J.S. Held LLC
J.S. Held is a leading consulting firm specializing in construction consulting and environmental, health and safety services. J.S. Held consultants have provided their expertise on the most complex construction and environmental matters around the globe. The company serves its clients from over 40 locations throughout the U.S. and Canada. For more information regarding J.S. Held, please visit J.S. Held.

LEAWOOD, KS and LOS ANGELES, CA – Jan. 31, 2018 – Tortoise Investments and Lovell Minnick Partners today announced the completion of the buyout of Tortoise. As part of the transaction, ongoing management and employees have meaningfully increased their equity ownership of Tortoise, with many investing additional capital alongside Lovell Minnick, who purchased the equity stake held by Mariner Holdings and certain retiring co-founders of Tortoise. Tortoise will maintain its independence and autonomy with its brand, investment processes and day-to-day portfolio management remaining unchanged.

“We are excited to set course with our new partner,” said Tortoise co-founder and Chief Executive Officer, Kevin Birzer. “The asset management expertise and global network that Lovell Minnick brings the partnership will help us to enhance and expand our client solutions.”

“We look forward to partnering with Tortoise and providing the team with strategic and capital support to help them build upon their successful platform of essential assets and income investing,” said Bob Belke, Managing Partner at Lovell Minnick.

Lovell Minnick is joined by a premier group of institutional investors who supported the transaction, including HarbourVest Partners, AlpInvest Partners, and several additional limited partners.

BMO Capital Markets acted as exclusive financial adviser to Mariner Holdings and Evercore acted as exclusive financial adviser to Lovell Minnick. Key Strategic Advisors advised management on the transaction. UBS and Credit Suisse provided committed debt financing for the transaction.

Terms of the private transaction, announced on Oct. 18, 2017, were not disclosed.

About Tortoise
Tortoise invests in assets and services that serve essential needs in society and can also serve essential needs in clients’ portfolios, such as diversification and income. Through a variety of investment vehicles, Tortoise provides a wide range of client solutions, focused on their evolving needs. As of Dec. 31, 2017, Tortoise had $20.2 billion in assets under advisement. For more information, please visit www.tortoiseinvest.com.

Three New Partners Named
Steven Pierson and Robert Belke Appointed Managing Partners

PHILADELPHIA, LOS ANGELES, NEW YORK - January 18, 2018 – Lovell Minnick Partners (LMP), a private equity firm specializing in the financial and business services sectors, today announced a series of leadership team and new Partner appointments designed to further evolve its management and governance structure and to address continued firm growth over the long-term.

Steven Pierson and Robert Belke have been named Managing Partners of LMP, with responsibility for managing the business day-to-day, overseeing finance, operations, and investor relations, and continuing to grow the team and resources over time. Pierson will Chair the newly-created Management Committee that includes Partners Robert Belke, John Cochran and Spencer Hoffman. Belke has been appointed Chairman of the firm’s Investment Committee, which includes the Management Committee members as well as Co-Founders Jeffrey Lovell and James Minnick, who will continue in their current roles as Co-Chairmen. Lovell and Minnick will continue in their roles as Co-Chairmen of the firm’s Board of Managers to which the Committees report.

“These changes ensure the successful continuity of our strong financial and business services franchise through a new leadership structure that positions LMP for further growth over the next 20 years,” said Lovell. “They will improve our organizational management processes, better align the firm’s decision-making resources, and strengthen our teamwork culture.”

Three New Partners Named

LMP also announced the promotion of Brad Armstrong, Jason Barg and Trevor Rich to Partner. The three executives had most recently served as Principals and have each been with the firm more than eight years. The firm simultaneously named Saurabh Desai and Scott Shebelsky as Principals.

“As we approach the start of our third decade as a firm, we are pleased to recognize the invaluable contributions our investment professionals have made to our success,” said Minnick. “Congratulations to our newly promoted Partners and Principals. We are also very pleased to expand the roles of Steve and Bob. Their years of complementary industry experience, investing acumen, business building capabilities, and managerial skills will support our growth for years to come.”

“We share Jeff and Jim’s vision for building upon LMP’s success as a pre-eminent private equity investor in middle market financial and business services companies,” said Pierson. “With the implementation of our expanded leadership structure, we will be better able to support our continued investment success.”

“These promotions and organizational changes enhance our ability to identify and invest in proven management teams of growing, dynamic companies in the financial and business services sectors for the benefit of our investors,” added Belke. “The contributions of Brad, Jason, and Trevor have been invaluable to LMP, and we welcome them to the partnership.”

New Managing Partners

Pierson joined LMP in 2016 and opened its New York office. He serves as a member of the Board of Directors of Engage People, Global Financial Credit, and Trea Asset Management. Steve joined the firm from UBS, where served as the Head of FIG Investment Banking Americas and Global Head of Financial Technology & Services. Prior, he was at Credit Suisse and previously spent 12 years at Putnam Lovell, preceding Lovell Minnick’s founding.

Belke joined LMP in 2000, one year after the firm’s inception, and is resident in the Los Angeles office. He serves on the Board of Directors of Tortoise Investments, J.S. Held, Worldwide Facilities and Keane Holdings. He has spent most of his career with LMP, where he has been involved with helping to build and accelerate the growth of many of the firm’s portfolio companies during the past two decades.

New Partners

Armstrong joined the Philadelphia office of LMP in 2009 and serves on the Board of Directors of Commercial Credit Inc., Global Financial Credit, LSQ Group Holding LLC, and Tortoise Investments. Prior to joining LMP, Brad was part of the Financial Institutions Group at Bank of America Merrill Lynch, where he focused on M&A and capital raising transactions for the firm’s investment banking clients.

Barg joined the Philadelphia office of LMP in 2010 and serves on the Board of Directors of CenterSquare Investment Management, Currency Capital, Foreside Financial Group, and J.S Held. Prior to LMP, Jason was an Investment Banking Associate in Goldman Sachs’ Financial Institutions Group, where he advised clients on transactions involving commercial and trust banks, specialty finance companies, and asset managers.

Rich joined the Los Angeles office of LMP in 2010 and serves on the Board of Directors of Worldwide Facilities and Keane Holdings. Prior to LMP, he was on the corporate development team at Morgan Stanley and participated in the evaluation and analysis of strategic transactions.

New Principals

Desai joined the Philadelphia office of LMP as an Associate in November 2006 and re-joined the firm in June 2012 as a Senior Associate following a two-year hiatus to obtain an MBA. Saurabh has worked on several important transactions including LMP’s investments in CenterSquare Investment Management, Trea Asset Management, and Lincoln Investment Planning.

Shebelsky joined the Philadelphia office of LMP in 2016 from Preferred Sands, where he served most recently as Director, Corporate Development. Scott is a CPA and, prior to Preferred Sands, was a Senior Consultant with Deloitte Tax.

NEW YORK, January 2, 2018 -- BNY Mellon Investment Management, a leading global asset manager, today announced that it has completed the sale of investment boutique CenterSquare Investment Management to the private equity firm Lovell Minnick Partners and CenterSquare’s management team. Originally announced on September 20, 2017, the terms of the transaction were not disclosed.

Todd Briddell, CEO and CIO of CenterSquare Investment Management, said, “We are excited about the next phase of CenterSquare’s evolution, as we continue to bring premier real estate and infrastructure strategies to the market while investing in the development and growth of our company. Lovell Minnick shares our vision for the future of CenterSquare and we are delighted to partner with them.”

“We’re excited to partner with an experienced management team to continue building upon their tremendous success in developing investment solutions that enhance portfolio diversification, and offer inflation protection and higher risk-adjusted return characteristics than traditional asset classes,” said James Minnick, Co-Chairman of Lovell Minnick Partners.

CenterSquare will now operate as an independent entity owned in a partnership between CenterSquare’s management team and Lovell Minnick Partners. BNY Mellon and CenterSquare will continue to collaborate on investment solutions via a number of sub-advisory arrangements.

About CenterSquare
CenterSquare is a global investment manager focused on actively managed real estate and infrastructure strategies. Founded in 1987, CenterSquare manages approximately $8.9 billion of real estate and infrastructure securities and approximately $832 million (gross) of private equity real estate investments as of September 30, 2017. It manages investments for institutional investors and high net worth individuals throughout global markets and across public and private capital sectors.  Learn more at www.centersquare.com.

About BNY Mellon Investment Management
BNY Mellon Investment Management is one of the world's leading investment management organizations and one of the top U.S. wealth managers, with $1.8 trillion in assets under management as of September 30, 2017. It encompasses BNY Mellon's affiliated investment management firms, wealth management services and global distribution companies. BNY Mellon Investment Management is part of BNY Mellon, which has $32.2 trillion in assets under custody and/or administration as of September 30, 2017. BNY Mellon can act as a single point of contact for clients looking to create, trade, hold, manage, service, distribute or restructure investments. BNY Mellon is the corporate brand of The Bank of New York Mellon Corporation (NYSE: BK). Additional information is available on www.bnymellon.com.

J.S. Held Expands Construction Consulting Practice with Acquisition of Antonucci Consulting Corporation


Jericho, NY – November 17, 2017 – J.S. Held, a leading multidisciplinary consulting firm, today announced that it has acquired Antonucci Consulting Corporation, a New York-based construction consulting company. Antonucci Consulting Corporation’s damage evaluation and catastrophe response experience complements J.S. Held’s portfolio of professional consulting services and further strengthens the company’s coverage along the east coast.

Antonucci Consulting Corporation will operate immediately under the J.S. Held brand. Frank Antonucci Sr., founder of Antonucci Consulting Corporation, will join J.S. Held as Sr. Vice President in the company’s New York metro region, continuing his focus on providing expert property damage evaluations, construction claims consulting services, and response to catastrophes throughout the nation. Frank Antonucci Jr., the current CEO, will join J.S. Held as a Vice President, also in New York.

“This is an exciting time for J.S. Held and we welcome our new team members,” said Jon Held, President and Chief Executive Officer of J.S. Held. “I have known and highly respected Frank Antonucci Sr. for 40 years. He is a gifted and valuable resource in our industry. The chance to work with him at this stage of our respective careers is truly exciting. Under the leadership of his son, Frank Jr., Antonucci Consulting Corp. has maintained a level of continued excellence that we and our clients value highly.”

Through a growing team of experts, national distribution of offices, and superior technology and processes, J.S. Held plans to continue to exceed client expectations as they strengthen their network of professional consulting experts throughout the United States.

“With this partnership in place, our clients with have access to a broader suite of services and a larger, more geographically diverse pool of expert consultants. We will also be able to deliver an enhanced client experience, as we adopt the technology and processes that are successfully in place at J.S. Held,” said Frank Antonucci. “Essentially, we will become a more valuable resource for our clients.”

Clients of Antonucci Consulting Corporation will now have access to J.S. Held’s comprehensive line of services, which includes property damage consulting, surety services, construction claims consulting, project and program management, equipment consulting, and environmental, health and safety services.

J.S. Held continues its strong growth trajectory, with this being its tenth acquisition following a 2015 investment from Lovell Minnick Partners, a private equity firm specializing in investing in financial and related business services companies. Previous acquisitions include Donohue Consulting, Leighton Associates, Spex, Meridian Consulting, CEIPS, U.S. HELM, Lovett Silverman Construction Consultants, Inc., the Property Loss Division of Chroma Building Corp., and Wakelee Associates. Since 1974, J.S. Held has added the capabilities of specialized consulting businesses to better address complex construction and environmental matters globally. J.S. Held now has over 40 offices across the U.S. and Canada.

About J.S. Held LLC
J.S. Held is a leading construction consulting firm specializing in property damage consulting, surety services, construction claims consulting, project and program management, equipment consulting and environmental, health and safety services. J.S. Held’s consultants have provided their expertise on the most complex construction and related matters around the globe. The company serves its clients from over 40 locations throughout the U.S. and Canada. For more information regarding J.S. Held, please visit J.S. Held.

Steve Pierson, Lovell Minnick Partners president, discusses Cerberus taking a stake in Deutsche Bank. He speaks with Bloomberg's Jason Kelly on "Bloomberg Markets."
Click to view a clip of the Bloomberg interview with Steve Pierson

LEAWOOD, KS and LOS ANGELES, CA – Oct. 18, 2017 – Tortoise Investments and Lovell Minnick Partners today announced the signing of a definitive agreement for a buyout of Tortoise, a leader in essential assets and essential income investing. Terms of the private transaction were not disclosed.

As part of the transaction, ongoing management and employees are expected to meaningfully increase their ownership of Tortoise. Employees will retain a significant equity interest, with many investing additional capital alongside Lovell Minnick, who will purchase the equity stake held by Mariner Holdings and retiring co-founders of Tortoise.

“We are excited and energized by our fit with the team at Lovell Minnick,” said Tortoise chief executive officer and co-founder, Kevin Birzer. “Their substantial expertise investing in asset management companies, along with their extensive and global industry network, are second to none. We believe this partnership will deepen our financial flexibility to facilitate strategic growth, which also provides opportunities to develop and retain employees. Most importantly, Tortoise will remain focused on our goal of delivering strong returns to our clients while providing top quality service.”

“Tortoise is a market leader in essential assets and essential income investing with differentiated actively managed and passive energy and fixed income solutions,” said Bob Belke, a partner at Lovell Minnick. “We are excited to partner with Tortoise and its talented management team, and we look forward to providing Tortoise with strategic and capital support to help further enhance and expand its client solutions.”

Tortoise will maintain its independence and autonomy with its brand, investment processes and day-to-day portfolio management remaining unchanged. Members of Tortoise’s senior management and its portfolio managers have signed long-term employment agreements to remain with Tortoise. Three co-founders, Zachary Hamel, Kenneth Malvey and Terry Matlack, will sell their remaining interest in Tortoise and retire from Tortoise upon closing of the transaction. Co-founder David Schulte, who left Tortoise in 2015, will also sell his remaining interest in Tortoise.

“I’d like to thank my fellow co-founders, Zach, Ken, Terry and Dave, for helping to build Tortoise into the market leader it is today,” said Birzer. “I’m also grateful for the valuable support and partnership with Mariner over the past eight years. Together, we have turned a business idea into approximately $20 billion in assets under advisement at Tortoise and helped lead the development of the institutional master limited partnership (MLP) investment industry. We are looking forward to continued success with our new partner, Lovell Minnick.”

Lovell Minnick is joined by a premier group of institutional investors, including HarbourVest Partners, AlpInvest Partners, and several additional limited partners, who are supporting the transaction.

BMO Capital Markets acted as exclusive financial adviser to Mariner Holdings and Evercore acted as exclusive financial adviser to Lovell Minnick. Key Strategic Advisors advised management on the transaction. UBS and Credit Suisse are providing committed debt financing for the transaction.

Independent directors and the full boards of Tortoise’s registered funds have approved new advisory agreements as a result of the transaction. The transaction is expected to close by the end of the first quarter of 2018, subject to standard regulatory, client and fund shareholder approvals.

About Tortoise
Tortoise is a leader in essential assets and essential income investing. Through its registered advisers, Tortoise provides investors access to differentiated active and passive investment solutions and market insights and had $20.2 billion assets under advisement as of Sept. 30, 2017. For more information, please visit www.tortoiseinvest.com.

Forward-looking statements
This press release contains certain statements that may include “forward-looking statements” within the meaning of Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933 and Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934. All statements, other than statements of historical fact, included herein are “forward-looking statements.” Although Tortoise and Lovell Minnick believe the expectations reflected in these forward-looking statements are reasonable, they do involve assumptions, risks and uncertainties, and these expectations may prove to be incorrect. Actual results could differ materially from those anticipated in these forward-looking statements as a result of a variety of factors, including those discussed in the Tortoise registered funds’ reports that are filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission. You should not place undue reliance on these forward-looking statements, which speak only as of the date of this press release. Other than as required by law, Tortoise and Lovell Minnick do not assume a duty to update any forward-looking statement. There is no assurance that any transaction will be completed.

New York, September 20, 2017 – BNY Mellon Investment Management, a leading global asset manager, today announced that it has entered into a definitive agreement to sell the business of real assets investment boutique CenterSquare Investment Management to its management team and private equity firm Lovell Minnick Partners.

Founded in 1987 and headquartered near Philadelphia, CenterSquare Investment Management has approximately $9 billion in assets under management in U.S. and global real estate and infrastructure investments. Founded in 1999, Lovell Minnick Partners has a long and successful track record of investing across the investment management, distribution, and advisory value chain.

“CenterSquare is a highly respected real assets investment manager and teaming up with Lovell Minnick will ensure that CenterSquare continues to thrive. For BNY Mellon Investment Management, this transaction meets our strategy of streamlining our portfolio to provide a focused set of specialist investment solutions for clients via our global distribution network. We will continue to offer real asset investment solutions through our other investment boutiques.” said Mitchell Harris, CEO of BNY Mellon Investment Management. “We wish Todd Briddell and the entire CenterSquare team well and thank them for their contributions as part of BNY Mellon.”

“We believe this transaction will position us to continue to optimize client solutions and pursue sustainable growth initiatives in a rapidly evolving investment landscape. Our firm has enjoyed significant growth over the last 11 years with BNY Mellon and we will continue our partnership via a number of sub-advisory relationships,” said Todd Briddell, CEO of CenterSquare. “We look forward to partnering with Lovell Minnick, and tapping their resources and deep experience in investment management as we grow our business and further enhance the solutions that we offer to our clients.”

“CenterSquare’s market-leading position is a testament to the management team’s deep experience developing attractive and durable real asset investment solutions that provide strong investment returns for clients,” said James Minnick, Co-Chairman of Lovell Minnick Partners.

“We see an opportunity to enhance distribution and development of CenterSquare’s premier real assets platform, and to leverage our track record in building investment management businesses to help the team drive further growth and client success,” added Jason Barg, Principal at Lovell Minnick.

Terms of the transaction were not disclosed. The transaction is subject to standard regulatory and other required approvals and is expected to be completed by year end 2017.

About CenterSquare
CenterSquare is a global investment manager focused on actively managed real estate and infrastructure strategies. Founded in 1987, CenterSquare manages approximately $8.0 billion of real estate and infrastructure securities through CenterSquare Investment Management, Inc. and approximately $1.3 billion (gross) of private equity real estate investments through CenterSquare Investment Management Holdings, Inc. (together referred to as “CenterSquare”), as of June 30, 2017. It manages investments for institutional investors and high net worth individuals throughout global markets and across public and private capital sectors.

About BNY Mellon Investment Management
BNY Mellon Investment Management is one of the world’s leading investment management organizations and one of the top U.S. wealth managers, with $1.8 trillion in assets under management as of June 30, 2017. It encompasses BNY Mellon’s affiliated investment management firms, wealth management services and global distribution companies. BNY Mellon Investment Management is a division of BNY Mellon which has $31.1 trillion in assets under custody and/or administration as of June 30, 2017. BNY Mellon can act as a single point of contact for clients looking to create, trade, hold, manage, service, distribute or restructure investments. BNY Mellon is the corporate brand of The Bank of New York Mellon Corporation (NYSE: BK). Additional information is available on www.bnymellon.com. Follow us on Twitter @BNYMellon or visit our newsroom at www.bnymellon.com/newsroom for the latest company news.

PITTSBURGH, September 18, 2017 – Fortune named TriState Capital Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ: TSC) to its annual 100 Fastest-Growing Companies list, citing the financial services company’s 33% growth in earnings per share, 20% growth in revenue and 21% total return on a three-year annualized basis.

The parent company of TriState Capital Bank and Chartwell Investment Partners’ three-year EPS growth rate ranked seventh among the 17 U.S. commercial banks on Fortune’s Fastest Growing Companies list. Overall, Fortune ranked TriState Capital 11th among U.S. commercial banks and 90th among all 100 Fastest Growing Companies listed on major U.S. stock exchanges.

The financial services company’s performance reflects strong contributions from its regional middle-market commercial banking, national private banking, and national investment management businesses, enabling the company to achieve annual average organic loan growth of 20% since June 2014 and expand non-interest income from about 8% of revenue three years ago to 34% for the most recent quarter.

“As an organization with a relationship-driven sales culture and a strong commitment to delivering meaningful and sustainable earnings growth for its shareholders, we are very proud that our top- and bottom-line performance earned us a place on Fortune’s Fastest Growing Companies ranking just four years after TriState Capital’s initial public offering,” Chairman and Chief Executive Officer James F. Getz said.

Fortune ranks its 100 Fastest Growing Companies list by “revenue growth rate, EPS growth rate, and three-year annualized total return for the period ended June 30, 2017. (To compute the revenue and EPS growth rates, Fortune uses a trailing-four-quarters log linear least square regression fit.)” More information on the ranking and methodology are available in the September 15, 2017 issue of Fortune and at http://fortune.com/100-fastest-growing-companies.

ABOUT TRISTATE CAPITAL
TriState Capital Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ: TSC) is a bank holding company headquartered in Pittsburgh, Pa., providing commercial banking, private banking and investment management services to middle-market companies, institutional clients and high-net-worth individuals. Its TriState Capital Bank subsidiary had $4.2 billion in assets, as of June 30, 2017, and serves middle-market commercial customers through regional representative offices in Pittsburgh, Philadelphia, Cleveland, Edison, N.J., and New York City, as well as high-net-worth individuals nationwide through its national referral network of financial intermediaries. Its Chartwell Investment Partners subsidiary had $8.0 billion in assets under management, as of June 30, 2017, and serves as the advisor to The Berwyn Funds and Chartwell Mutual Funds. For more information, please visit http://investors.tristatecapitalbank.com.

Charlotte-based equipment finance company establishes accounts receivable factoring operation.

CHARLOTTE, NC (August 1, 2017) – Commercial Credit, Inc., parent company of Commercial Credit Group Inc. (CCG), a leading independent commercial equipment finance company, today announced the purchase of the business operations of Transfac Capital, Inc., thus expanding into the accounts receivable factoring business. With the closing of the transaction, Salt Lake City-based Transfac Capital, Inc. will operate as a subsidiary of Commercial Credit, Inc and a sister company to CCG and will continue to provide accounts receivable factoring to middle-market companies nationwide.

“The acquisition of Transfac Capital, an independent, industry leader, allows us to expand into a line of business which is highly complementary to CCG, our equipment finance business.” notes Commercial Credit CEO, Dan McDonough. “It was very important to add a scalable business focused on the middle-market, ensuring our ability to provide the best possible working capital solutions to CCG’s customers and conversely equipment finance to Transfac Capital’s customers. The Transfac team is quite accomplished and I cannot think of a better cultural fit.”

With roots extending back 75+ years, Transfac Capital prides itself on being one of the longest operating financial service providers in the country. Formed as a co-op created to process invoices for the transportation industry, Transfac Capital has evolved into a full-service accounts receivable finance provider for a variety of industries.

About Commercial Credit, Inc.:
Commercial Credit, Inc., through its wholly owned subsidiaries Commercial Credit Group Inc. (including its division Manufacturers Capital) and Transfac Capital, Inc., provides secured loans and leases to small and mid-sized businesses in the construction, fleet transportation, machine tool and manufacturing and waste industries and accounts receivable factoring in a variety of industries. The company’s sales force is located throughout North America. Commercial Credit Inc. is headquartered in Charlotte, NC and operates full service offices in Buffalo, NY, Naperville, IL, Hamilton, ON and Salt Lake City, UT. For more information, please visit www.commercialcreditgroup.com, www.mfrscapital.com and www.transfac.com.

NEW YORK – AUGUST 1, 2017 – Lovell Minnick Partners, a private equity firm specializing in the financial and business services sectors, today announced that Roumi Zlateva has joined the firm’s New York office as a Vice President. Ms. Zlateva will assist with the firm’s evaluation of new investment opportunities, due diligence and transaction structuring.

Ms. Zlateva brings broad experience in principal investing and corporate advisory work to her new position at Lovell Minnick. Most recently, she served as Director in the Financial Institutions Group at UBS Securities, providing strategic advice and transaction support to clients in the specialty finance sector.

“Roumi’s skills and experience in corporate advisory, origination and structuring are highly complementary to Lovell Minnick as we continue to build our team of talented professionals,” said Jeffrey Lovell, Co-Chairman of Lovell Minnick Partners. “We believe her previous experience in private equity, along with her portfolio company management skills and results-driven work ethic, will help further strengthen our investment and operational capabilities.”

“Lovell Minnick Partners is one of the premier investors in financial services, and I’m looking forward to taking on this new role,” said Zlateva. “I believe my experience in identifying, executing and managing investments across the financial services industry will fit well with Lovell Minnick’s successful track record in building market-leading businesses.”

Prior to UBS, Ms. Zlateva was an Associate at Oak Hill Capital Partners focused on investments in the business and financial services sectors. She previously served as an Analyst in the Financial Institutions Group of Morgan Stanley. Ms. Zlateva graduated with High Honors in Mathematical Economics from Colgate University.

JERICHO, N.Y. – July 5, 2017 – J.S. Held LLC, a leading, national, multi-disciplinary consulting firm, today announced the acquisition of Leighton Associates, Inc. (“Leighton Associates”). Robert Leighton, founder, president and technical director of Leighton Associates, joins J.S. Held as Senior Vice President. Financial terms of the private transaction were not disclosed.

Leighton Associates is an environmental health consulting firm specializing in industrial hygiene, indoor air quality, environmental health and safety investigations and training, as well as mold assessments and mold remediation planning and consulting. The company will join the Environmental, Health & Safety Services division of J.S. Held, which is led by Executive Vice President, Tracey Dodd.

“We are excited to welcome Leighton Associates to the J.S. Held team. Since expanding into the environmental, health and safety arena last year, our clients have expressed a desire for us to extend our offering into the Northeast market,” said Jon Held, President and Chief Executive Officer of J.S. Held. “The proven capabilities of Leighton Associates ensure we can increase our level of service to our clients in the Northeast, and leverage the Leighton brand and existing relationships to provide broader support to their clients.”

Founded in 1992, Leighton Associates has served a wide variety of clients throughout the United States, including state and local municipalities, insurance companies, real estate development and property management firms, contractors, law firms, retail establishments, schools, universities, landlords, and private owners. Services include air quality testing and consulting, project management and training for mold identification and remediation.

“J.S. Held has a stellar reputation for high quality technical talent and unwavering commitment to clients, so we are very excited to join forces,” said Leighton. “We look forward to working closely with Tracey and the rest of the team as we further expand our environmental, safety, and industrial hygiene consulting footprint throughout the U.S.”

This is the eighth acquisition J.S. Held has made since receiving a controlling investment in 2015 from Lovell Minnick Partners, a private equity firm specializing in investing in financial business services companies. Previous acquisitions include Spex, Meridian Consulting, CEIPS, U.S. HELM, Lovett Silverman Construction Consultants, Inc., the Property Loss Division of Chroma Building Corp., and Wakelee Associates. J.S. Held now has over 35 offices across the U.S. and Canada.

About J.S. Held Established in 1974, J.S. Held is a leading consulting firm specializing in construction consulting, property damage assessment, surety services, project and program management, and environmental, health & safety services. The organization is committed to three fundamental pillars: to provide high quality technical expertise; to deliver an unparalleled client experience; and to be a catalyst for change. J.S. Held is a leading global consulting firm, respected for its exceptional success addressing complex construction and environmental matters in the world. The team is a group of multi-talented professionals, bringing together years of technical field experience among all facets of projects including commercial, industrial, high rise, special structures, governmental, residential, and infrastructure.

About Leighton Associates Leighton Associates, Inc. is an environmental consulting company specializing in indoor air quality, environmental investigations, and mold remediation. Founded in 1992, Leighton Associates serves a wide variety of clients including state and local municipalities, insurance companies, contractors, law firms, retail stores and individuals. Leighton Associates services include air quality testing and consulting, project management and training for mold identification and remediation.

InsurTech company expands to provide best-in-class digital inspection software to the P&C industry

J.S. Held to assist in development of claims technology solution for property insurance businesses

JERICHO, NY and DENVER, CO – May 8, 2017 – J.S. Held, a leading global multi-disciplinary consulting firm, today announced an investment in Spex, a digital property inspection and reporting platform for the property and casualty industry. J.S. Held will become a majority owner in Spex which will continue to be led by its current management team. Financial terms of the private transaction were not disclosed.

Founded in 2012 to enhance the methodology of property claims handling, Spex has built a data driven platform to streamline the process of property inspection and related work. The Spex platform provides an easy to use tool for on-site inspections, allows for better collection and organization of data, and creates greater efficiencies and transparency during the claims handling process. The company offers a highly configurable platform with intuitive mobile apps, robust project management capabilities, API connectivity, online and offline functionality and a variety of integration options for residential and commercial use.

“As a Spex customer, we have been impressed by its ease of use, robust functionality and systems integration capabilities, resulting in significant field reporting and file management productivity improvements,” said Jon Held, President and Chief Executive Officer of J.S. Held. “We are confident carriers, adjusters, and underwriters will embrace the enhanced communications, visibility, management, and efficiency of the Spex platform to assist in accurate and timely analysis of insurance claims and underwriting review.”

The Spex team will continue to be led by Chief Executive Officer Brett Goldberg, Chief Technology Officer Levi Cook and Founder & Chief Product Officer David Cockrel. Together, the team has over 50 years of experience working in technology and insurance businesses.

“Quality inspection documentation is the key to a positive claims experience,” said Goldberg. “We launched Spex as a solution that leads to consistent, complete, and timely data. Spex provides streamlined workflows, transparency between all claims stakeholders, and a more efficient claims handling process – not to mention how easy it is to use. We are encouraged to see how carriers and their service providers are accelerating the adoption of technology. We are confident that Spex will become a digital standard in the insurance claim arena and are pleased to be teaming up with J.S. Held moving forward.”

Established in 1974 and based in Jericho, NY with offices nationwide, J.S. Held is a leader in construction and environmental consultation services including property damage consulting, surety services, construction claim analysis, program and project management, and environmental, health and safety services. Including the acquisition of Spex, the company has added the capabilities of seven specialized consulting businesses since Lovell Minnick Partners acquired J.S. Held in 2015.

About J.S. Held:
J.S. Held is a leading construction consulting firm specializing in property damage consulting, surety services, construction claims consulting, project and program management, equipment consulting and environmental, health and safety services. J.S. Held’s consultants have provided their expertise on the most complex construction and related matters around the globe. The company serves its clients from over 40 locations throughout the U.S. and Canada. For more information regarding J.S. Held, please visit www.jsheld.com.

About Spex:
After spending a combined total of more than 25 years working for some of the largest insurance companies and contracting firms in the country, the founders of Spex came to a sobering conclusion: the property inspection process was stressful, complicated and downright miserable for each and every party involved. Determined to turn this negative experience into a positive and effective one, the Spex team set out to create a digital inspection platform that would improve quality control and business rules at the point-of-inspection. With Spex, businesses can demonstrate that they are serious about customer service, professionalism and quality inspection documentation. Follow Spex on LinkedIn and Twitter and to learn more, please visit http://www.spexreport.com.

RADNOR, Pennsylvania – April 12, 2017 – Lovell Minnick Partners, a private equity firm specializing in financial and business services companies, today announced that it has completed a majority investment in Global Financial Credit, a commercial and consumer finance company that provides specialized working capital solutions to healthcare providers and pre-settlement funding to consumers. Terms of the private transaction were not disclosed.

Through its MedChex and ChiroCapital brands, Global Financial helps physical therapy centers, chiropractors, and other healthcare providers receive payment for care rendered to accident victims. In addition, Global Financial extends financing to injured individuals to help them cover healthcare and living expenses during their recovery. Founded in 2002, the Company sources business through direct marketing and has an extensive business referral network that includes healthcare providers and law firms.

“Global Financial Credit has established an impressive platform, and we’re excited to help the current management team build upon its track record of strong organic growth, including expanding its healthcare coverage footprint,” said Steve Pierson, President of Lovell Minnick Partners. “An early leader in the industry, the company has a seasoned risk management process refined over more than fifteen years of operation and hundreds of thousands of transactions, providing a solid foundation. One of our priorities will be to support Global Financial Credit’s continued growth through acquisitions that build greater scale in its core markets, including healthcare.”

Global Financial Credit’s current management team will continue to manage the company post-closing. Extending beyond its historical focus on pre-settlement advances, the company formed MedChex in 2005 to assist MRI and physical therapy centers with financing treatment procedures in connection with case-related injuries. ChiroCapital was formed in 2010 to aid chiropractors and physical therapists with receiving payments for services provided to accident victims.

“We are excited to work with Lovell Minnick. They are the natural partner for us, given their relevant domain expertise and collaborative approach to business-building,” said Wensley McKenney, CEO of Global Financial Credit. “Lovell Minnick’s resources will enable us to further capitalize on the opportunities that lie ahead, bringing their resources to bear with acquisitions, financing relationships, and other corporate development efforts.”

Lovell Minnick has extensive experience in supporting growing businesses across financial services, including specialty finance companies. Within specialty finance, Lovell Minnick’s portfolio companies include: Commercial Credit, an independent specialty finance company that provides equipment financing for commercial and industrial equipment; LSQ Funding, a leading technology-enabled provider of working capital solutions to small and mid-sized businesses; and Currency Capital, a leading online equipment financing exchange serving owners of small and medium-sized companies.

Keefe Bruyette & Woods, a Stifel Company, acted as financial advisor, and Davis Graham & Stubbs and Katten Muchin Rosenman served as legal advisors to Lovell Minnick. Bray & Long served as legal advisor to Global Financial Credit.

About Global Financial Credit:
Global Financial Credit provides financial solutions to healthcare providers and individuals following personal injury events. Founded in 2002, Global Financial is headquartered in White Plains, NY, and has operations in Charlotte, NC. Through the Global Financial, MedChex, and ChiroCapital brands, the Company provides medical lien funding and pre-settlement advances to underserved credit markets across the entire United States.

Jericho, NY – March 18, 2017 – J.S. Held, a leading global multi-disciplinary consulting firm, today announced the acquisition of Meridian Consulting Group LLC. It is the company’s sixth acquisition in the last two years. Meridian provides construction consulting and management services as well as claims resolution and litigation support to the surety industry. Financial terms of the private transaction were not disclosed.

Meridian Consulting Group was formed in 1986 by a group of experienced construction professionals with a commitment to providing responsive, professional services focused on the needs and expectations of clients. Today, Meridian is engaged by clients across the country to evaluate and manage troubled construction projects, evaluate contract compliance, monitor environmental projects, and provide expert testimony and litigation support. Clients have included Capitol Indemnity Corporation, International Fidelity Insurance Company and Liberty Mutual Insurance, among others.

“We are thrilled to welcome Doug Fritz, Allen Thibodeaux and all the employees of Meridian to our team,” said Jon Held, President and Chief Executive Officer of J.S. Held. “Like J.S. Held, Meridian’s success and national recognition as a leading consulting firm is based on its professional staff of construction managers, engineers, accounting and technical support personnel who have extensive experience in claims analysis and contract compliance issues. They are important additions to our surety practice.”

Meridian will be rebranded as J.S. Held and join the J.S. Held Surety Services division. In June of 2016, J.S. Held expanded into surety services through the acquisition of Lovett Silverman Construction Consultants. The addition of the Meridian team will bolster J.S. Held’s surety division in the Southwest.  Meridian will be integrated with the surety team under the direction of J.S. Held Senior Vice President, John Lovett.

Established in 1974 and based in Jericho, New York, J.S Held is a leader in construction consulting and environmental, health, and safety services with offices located nationwide and in Canada.

“We look forward to bringing our combined experience and construction and engineering backgrounds to J.S. Held,” said Fritz, who has been named a Vice President of J.S. Held. “Our full range of project management services and understanding of underlying issues that often give rise to, or form the basis for, disputes will be highly complementary to J.S. Held’s existing surety capabilities.”

Morgan Lewis served as legal counsel to J.S. Held on the deal.

About J.S. Held LLC
J.S. Held is a leading consulting firm specializing in construction consulting and environmental, health and safety services. J.S. Held consultants have provided their expertise on the most complex construction and environmental matters around the globe. The company serves its clients from over 40 locations throughout the U.S. and Canada. For more information regarding J.S. Held, please visit www.jsheld.com.

Meridian Consulting Group LLP
Meridian provides construction expertise to those insurance companies competing in the surety (performance and payment) bond and professional liability marketplaces. In addition, Meridian provides a full range of construction related services to legal firms, financial institutions, contracting agencies and private project owners. For more information, visit www.meridianconsulting.net.

Transaction Marks Firm’s First Investment in Europe

NEW YORK and BARCELONA – FEBRUARY 20, 2017 – Lovell Minnick Partners, a private equity firm specializing in financial and related business services companies, today announced that it has completed a significant growth investment in Trea Asset Management (“Trea” or “the Company”), a leading independent asset management firm in Spain. Terms of the private investment were not disclosed.

Founded in 2006 and with offices in Barcelona and Madrid, Trea currently has approximately €2.8 billion of assets under management. The firm manages traditional mutual funds across equities, fixed income, balanced, and fund of funds primarily through exclusive distribution partnerships with its bank partners, its own branded funds and alternative private equity and credit products.

The Lovell Minnick Partners investment will provide capital to support the continued growth of Trea and its acquisition of Banco Madrid Asset Management, which manages €1.3 billion of mutual fund assets primarily through its distribution partnership with Banco Mare Nostrum. Trea will remain majority owned by its Chairman and Founder Carlos Tusquets, who founded Spain’s first private bank (Fibanc), as well as Vice Chairman Ramón Betolaza, and CEO/CIO Antonio Muñoz.

“Trea‘s management team has demonstrated unparalleled success in creating bank partnerships and developing unique products to meet growing demand from retail customers for higher yielding investment options,” said Steve Pierson, President of Lovell Minnick Partners. “We are thrilled to partner with Trea and its talented management team in executing their growth plans. It is also gratifying to source our first proprietary investment in Spain, one of the key markets in Europe where we are seeing attractive growth opportunities in financial and business services.”

Lovell Minnick’s current asset management portfolio companies include Matthews International Capital Management and 361 Capital.

The acquisition of Banco Madrid Asset Management will boost the Company’s assets under management to over €4 billion and create a new distribution partnership with Banco Mare Nostrum, in addition to its existing relationships with Cajamar and Banco Mediolanum.

“We are confident that Lovell Minnick Partners’ proven experience in scaling asset management businesses will help support the growth of Trea and enhance our operations, sales and distribution capabilities,” said Munoz. “We continue to focus on providing a complete range of asset management services to Spain’s underserved retail investors through our bank partners.”

Spain’s asset management industry has grown significantly over the last several years as banks, which account for more than 85 percent of the country’s assets under management, continue to outsource their investment product management activities to experienced third party asset managers, such as Trea. At the same time, Spain’s economic expansion – characterized by well above average Eurozone GDP growth, an uptick in consumer spending, significantly reduced unemployment, and low interest rates – are causing the country’s retail investors to shift their cash out of savings accounts and money market funds into higher returning mutual funds and alternative assets.

Rothschild & Co. served as financial advisor to Lovell Minnick and GBS Finanzas advised Trea.

About Trea Asset Management
Trea Asset Management is an independent asset manager with offices in Barcelona and Madrid, specializing in managing both traditional and alternative funds for institutional clients. Trea is registered with the CNMV (Spanish regulator) with European Passport and approved to manage UCIT funds, SICAV, Unit linked and alternative funds in Spain, Ireland and Luxembourg. Trea has been managing the Spanish funds for Banco Mediolanum since 2010, and became the exclusive manager for Grupo Cajamar’s funds since December 2015, and for Banco Mare Nostrum in February 2017.

CHARLOTTE, NC (February 15, 2017) – Commercial Credit Group Inc. (CCG), a leading independent commercial equipment finance company, today announced the purchase of the machine tool finance business of Manufacturers Capital, LLC., thus expanding into the machine tool and manufacturing industry. With the closing of the transaction, the Manufacturers Capital team will operate as a division of CCG and will continue to provide outstanding service to the machine tool and manufacturing industries.

“The acquisition of Manufacturers Capital, an independent, industry leader, allows us to expand into a new, yet similarly structured market to our existing business, led by a very accomplished group of professionals,” notes CCG Co-founder and CEO, Dan McDonough. “Many senior managers of CCG have previously worked with Mr. Goose and the Manufacturers Capital team and I cannot think of a better cultural fit to further enhance our growth opportunities.”

“CCG’s significant funding capabilities and operating scale enable us to enhance our industry-leading customer experience by offering an extensive selection of financing options. The similarities in our cultures and senior management provide for a seamless transition to our new partner. The entire Manufacturers Capital team is excited to become part of the CCG family.” said Senior Vice President, David Goose.

MANUFACTURERS CAPITAL provides commercial loans and leases for machine tool and fabrication equipment to manufacturing companies located throughout the United States. The Manufacturers Capital team uses its knowledge of the machine tool market to develop close relationships with equipment vendors in order to deliver custom tailored finance solutions to end-user manufacturing customers.

RADNOR, Pennsylvania – February 7, 2017 – Lovell Minnick Partners, LLC, a private equity firm specializing in financial and related business services companies, today announced the signing of a definitive agreement to acquire a majority stake in Foreside Financial Group, LLC (“Foreside”). Foreside provides a variety of regulatory compliance and distribution solutions to clients in the investment management industry. Financial terms of the private transaction were not disclosed.

Established in 2005 and based in Portland, Maine, Foreside has quickly grown to become a U.S. market leader in its space, and enjoys an excellent reputation as a best-in-class service provider across its mix of services. The company is led by Chief Executive Officer Richard Berthy and President Dave Whitaker, who will remain shareholders and continue in their current management roles.

Foreside delivers outsourced services to investment advisers and broker dealers, including the financial products they manage or distribute. Servicing over $800 billion of fund products, Foreside offers outsourced solutions for legal underwriting, FINRA licensing, compliance consulting, fund officer services and trust governance. Demand for Foreside’s services is likely to continue to grow as a result of increasing and costly fund compliance requirements, growing risk management needs, new fund launches, AUM growth and greater cross-border investment activity.

“Our relationship with Lovell Minnick goes back many years, and we share a strategic vision to achieve greater scale in our core distribution and compliance services for investment managers and their funds, both in the U.S. and offshore markets,” said Berthy. “Lovell Minnick has an excellent track record of partnering with financial services firms in the investment management industry, and their capital and strategic insight will help us grow our client base and offerings while ensuring that we continue to deliver first class service.”

Lovell Minnick believes the market opportunity for outsourced fund and compliance services is compelling. The firm holds ownership stakes in several of Foreside’s existing clients, including 361 Capital, Chartwell Investment Partners, and Matthews International Capital Management.

“As one of the most respected outsourced service providers in the asset management industry, Foreside is uniquely positioned to help clients navigate the changing financial and regulatory landscape,” said Spencer Hoffman, a Partner at Lovell Minnick. “We look forward to working closely with Rich, Dave and the rest of Foreside’s strong management team as they execute their strategy to grow the business and to further broaden the scope of services they provide.”

The transaction is expected to close in the second quarter of 2017, subject to customary regulatory reviews and approvals. Morgan, Lewis & Bockius, LLP served as legal counsel to Lovell Minnick Partners.

About Foreside
Foreside delivers a range of distribution and compliance solutions to clients in the investment management industry. Foreside services open- and closed-end funds, exchange traded products, commodity pools, private placements, investment advisers and registered broker-dealers.

Foreside’s service offerings include legal underwriting, FINRA licensing, adviser and broker-dealer compliance consulting, fund officer services, and trust governance. Currently, Foreside distributes over $800 billion of product through our established broker-dealers. Foreside’s solutions allow its clients to focus on asset management without sacrificing distribution and compliance best practices. Foreside is headquartered in Portland, Maine and has offices in Berwyn, Pennsylvania, Boston, Massachusetts, and Columbus, Ohio. For more information on Foreside’s suite of services, please visit our website at www.foreside.com.

LOS ANGELES – JANUARY 30, 2017 – Lovell Minnick Partners, a private equity firm specializing in financial and related business services companies, today announced that it has made a growth capital investment in Currency Capital, LLC, a leading online equipment financing exchange serving owners of small- and medium-sized companies. The investment will support Currency Capital’s growth strategies. Financial terms of the private transaction were not disclosed.

Headquartered in Los Angeles, Currency Capital will continue to be led by CEO Charles Anderson and his experienced executive team who will retain a significant equity interest in the company.

Currency Capital’s online portal enables business owners to receive competitively priced loans for equipment purchases. The expedited approval process allows borrowers to receive funding rapidly and often the same day. This contrasts with the weeks- or months-long process typically involved with obtaining credit from traditional lenders. With Currency Capital, borrowers are provided with unparalleled, instant access to financing options from hundreds of lenders with “one click,” making the entire application, selection, approval and funding process simple and transparent.

“Charles and his team are transforming the $1.7 trillion equipment purchase industry, empowering American business owners to meet their capital-buying needs at the point of sale in a convenient, seamless and efficient manner,” said John Cochran, Partner at Lovell Minnick. “By originating, processing and servicing transactions, Currency Capital brings together buyers of varied credit profiles, sellers and equipment funding sources.”

Currency Capital provided approximately $150 million in loans to customers in 2016. Equipment buyers are also able to purchase equipment for sale by the Company’s industry-leading partners: eBay, Big Tex Trailers, IronPlanet and Proxibid.

“Our partnership with Lovell Minnick is further validation of the significant market opportunity we identified in 2012 to provide independent and small business owners with fast, on-demand and reliable financing,” said Anderson, who also serves as the Executive Director of the Commercial Equipment Marketplace Council. “Our vision is build an end-to-end equipment financing exchange so that our platform will empower business owners to ask Siri, ‘find me a dump truck for $200/mo.’ And for Siri to respond with, ‘where and when would you like the dump truck to be delivered?’ We are approaching this massive market in the same way that Amazon is approaching traditional retail.”

Lovell Minnick’s portfolio companies include LSQ Funding, a leading technology-enabled provider of working capital solutions to small and mid-sized companies; and Commercial Credit Inc., an independent specialty finance company that provides secured loans and leases for commercial and industrial equipment.

American Discovery Capital served as financial advisor/merchant bank to Currency Capital.

RADNOR, PA – JANUARY 19, 2017 – Lovell Minnick Partners, a private equity firm specializing in financial and related business services companies, today announced that Irene Hong Edwards has joined the firm as Principal and Head of Investor Relations.

“We are thrilled to welcome Irene to Lovell Minnick as we build out investor relations to better serve our limited partners,” said Co-Chairman Jeffrey D. Lovell. “We are confident her depth of experience on both the fundraising and investor relations fronts will prove to be valuable assets as we nurture our very important existing investor relationships and cultivate new ones.”

Ms. Hong Edwards, who will be based in New York, brings to Lovell Minnick more than 15 years of experience in alternative investments as an investor relations and business development professional as well as her investment professional experience. She was most recently a Managing Director at Z Capital where she was responsible for investor relations and business development for the firm’s private equity and credit strategies. Hong Edwards previously served as Vice President of Investor Relations for KPS Capital Partners, L.P., and was a member of the placement agent arm of Jefferies & Co. Inc. Earlier in her career, she worked at Lexington Partners on the secondaries team evaluating, executing and monitoring investments.

“Lovell Minnick Partners has a long and successful track record in the private equity industry as an astute investor in financial and business services, and I am excited to join this experienced team,” said Hong Edwards, “I look forward to working closely with firm’s impressive stable of world-class investors and expect to drive continued growth of the firm in the U.S. and abroad, where there is strong interest in funds that focus on the financial services sector.”

“Irene’s skill set and successful track record raising capital for private equity and credit funds is an excellent match for our firm,” said Steven Pierson, President and Partner of Lovell Minnick Partners. “Irene has a demonstrated track record of cultivating long standing relationships, broadening the reach and extending the platforms of growing private equity firms.”

Ms. Hong Edwards received a Masters in Business Administration degree from Columbia University and a Bachelors degree in Business Administration from Georgetown University. She also attended The Chinese University of Hong Kong. She is an active member and sits on the board of the NY Private Equity Network.

TORONTO – January 17, 2017– Engage People, Inc. (“Engage”), a leading global solutions provider for the loyalty and incentive industry, today announced that it has received a significant investment from Lovell Minnick Partners, a private equity firm specializing in financial and related business services companies. The investment will support plans for growth at Engage, which will continue to be majority owned and operated by the current management team. Terms of the private investment were not disclosed.

Engage products include Podium, a proprietary SaaS-based platform that manages end-to-end loyalty rewards, employee recognition, sales and sales channel incentive programs on a global basis. Engage is changing the industry with its highly differentiated solutions, including its patented Local Redemption Globally solution that enables participants in programs to redeem and earn loyalty rewards on most ecommerce sites anywhere in the world. These innovative solutions, coupled with traditional fulfillment services and data analytics, solve major challenges in the $250 billion loyalty and incentive industry.

The global loyalty market currently consists of over 10,000 loyalty programs with 7.6 billion program members. Engage offers a tangible, high value proposition to clients and their loyalty and incentive members, which has helped fuel the company’s rapid growth. Engage’s blue chip clients, which include financial institutions, hotels, airlines, telecommunications companies and others, typically utilize a mix of products and services to drive consumer, channel and employee engagement.

“We have more than doubled in size every year for the past five years both in terms of revenue and client base. As our rapid growth continues and we expand our offerings to clients worldwide, the support and capital investment from Lovell Minnick will help us scale to meet increased demand for our solutions across different industries,” said Jonathan Silver, Chief Executive Officer of Engage. “We look forward to a successful partnership that will enable us to broaden the range of solutions we offer as we continue our journey to becoming the market leader in the loyalty and incentive industry.”

“We are thrilled to support Engage at this key inflection point in its development. The company’s proprietary, technology-driven solutions, combined with its history of meeting the increasingly diverse client needs across industries and geographies, positions it well to address the changing demands of the loyalty and incentive marketplace,” said Spencer Hoffman, Partner at Lovell Minnick. “We look forward to using our experience working with dynamic, growth companies to assist the leadership team in its aggressive expansion efforts.”

”This is our first investment in Canada, a market in which we see a number of exciting investment opportunities. As an investor with national reach and relationships, and as we’ve done with many of our portfolio companies, we hope to identify and introduce both new clients and strategic acquisitions for Engage,” said Steven C. Pierson, President and Partner at Lovell Minnick. As part of the transaction, Hoffman and Pierson will join the Engage Board of Directors. Raymond James provided financial advisory services, and Miller Thompson acted as legal advisor to Engage People. Morgan, Lewis & Bockius, LLP acted as legal advisor to Lovell Minnick Partners.

About Engage People, Inc.
Engage is an innovative, market-leading solutions provider for the global loyalty and incentive industry. Engage products include its proprietary SaaS-based platform that manages end to end loyalty rewards, employee recognition, sales and sales channel incentive programs on a global basis. Headquartered in Toronto, the company has offices and employees in London, Rome, New York, Orlando and Sydney. For more information, please visit www.engagepeople.com.

Jericho, NY – December 6, 2016 – J.S. Held LLC, a leading, national construction consulting firm, today announced the acquisition of CEIPS LLC. Jerry Hammar, President of the firm, joins J.S. Held as Vice President. Financial terms of the private transaction were not disclosed.

CEIPS is a premier commercial equipment assessment consulting firm, specializing in providing accurate and realistic pricing on commercial equipment losses for the insurance industry. The company will operate as “CEIPS, a J.S. Held Company.” CEIPS executive Cathy Sarrocco also joins J.S. Held continuing her leadership role as Assistant Vice President.

“CEIPS has a stellar reputation for providing accurate and timely consulting on commercial equipment losses,” said Jon Held, President and Chief Executive Officer of J.S. Held. “Their dedication to providing superior client service to the insurance industry will allow us to offer a wider range of services to our clients, while further scaling our business.”

“We have been dedicated to providing advice on property losses to shared clients for many years, and the J.S. Held platform gives us the ability to build a national equipment consulting practice,” said Hammar. “We share a commitment to providing an unrivaled experience for our insurance clients and Cathy and I are looking forward to joining the J.S. Held team.”

This acquisition is the fifth acquisition J.S. Held has made since receiving a controlling investment in 2015 from Lovell Minnick Partners, a private equity firm specializing in investing in financial and related business services companies. Previous acquisitions include the Property Loss Division of Chroma Building Corp., Wakelee Associates, LLC, a construction and mitigation consulting firm, Lovett Silverman, a surety consulting firm, and U.S. HELM, an environmental, health and safety services firm. J.S. Held has over 35 offices across the United States and Canada. J.S. Held continues to grow its team of professionals by expanding its network of offices throughout the United States and Canada.

About J.S. Held LLC
J.S. Held is a leading construction consulting firm specializing in property damage consulting, construction claims consulting, project and program management and environmental, health and safety services. J.S. Held’s consultants have provided their expertise on the most complex construction and related matters around the globe. The company serves its clients from over 35 offices throughout the U.S. and Canada. For more information regarding J.S. Held, please visit
www.jsheld.com.

About CEIPS
Commercial Equipment Insurance Pricing System, CEIPS provides expert assistance to accurately assess damage and determine pricing on commercial equipment for the insurance industry.

Expands Insurance Underwriting Platform and Presence in the Commercial Automobile Market 

LOS ANGELES, CA AND SAVANNAH, GA— December 5, 2016 – Worldwide Facilities, a national wholesale insurance brokerage and managing general agency, today announced the acquisition of Trinity Underwriting Managers, Inc. (TUMI), an underwriting manager and wholesale insurance broker specializing in commercial transportation. TUMI offers its products and services across the U.S. through retail agents and brokers. Stephen Standing, a principal of TUMI, joins Worldwide Facilities as Executive Vice President where he will continue to manage and lead his experienced team.

This transaction represents a significant expansion of Worldwide Facilities’ footprint in the transportation and underwriting management space, where Trinity has extensive demonstrated expertise. It broadens the markets and products available to the retail brokers and agents served by Worldwide Facilities as well as the underwriting opportunities for Worldwide Facilities’ markets.

“Trinity’s specialized business model and industry verticals match well with our growing specialty product practice groups. Stephen Standing has helped to build a great business, and we are very pleased to have him and his team join our organization,” said Davis Moore, Chief Executive Officer of Worldwide Facilities.

“On behalf of my team, we are excited to become part of the expanding brand Worldwide Facilities has created. With technical and market expertise in our specialty areas, we know we will be a great asset to the organization and are excited to capitalize on the opportunities,” said Standing.

In 2015, Worldwide Facilities received an investment from Lovell Minnick Partners, a private equity firm specializing in investing in financial and related business services.

About Worldwide Facilites, LLC
Worldwide Facilities is a national wholesale insurance broker and managing general agent that has been in business since 1970. Its seasoned brokers and underwriters are industry leaders in providing expertise in a wide variety of specialty lines, and offer extensive contacts with carriers domestically and overseas.

In an interview with Finextra, Steve Pierson, President of Lovell Minnick Partners, gives an investor’s view of fintech, talking about why advice, insurtech and outsourcing are hotter investment prospects than blockchain right now, the likely evolution of digital lending beyond consumer and how banks are set to learn from – and acquire – fintechs going forward. Click to view the video here.

Adding proven investment experience and institutional clients

Denver, CO (October 4, 2016) – 361 Capital, a leading boutique asset manager offering alternative strategies to institutions, investment advisors and their clients, today announced the strategic acquisition of BRC Investment Management, LLC. BRC Investment Management is a global equity asset manager focused on delivering innovative, behavioral-based solutions to its clients.

BRC Investment Management is a pioneer in developing proprietary algorithms designed to monetize market inefficiencies in order to pursue consistent alpha for client portfolios. BRC Investment Management brings unique and complementary investing skills and time-tested strategies, including large, mid and small cap, as well as Japanese All-Cap Equity to 361’s product offering.

“We are thrilled to be adding BRC Investment Management’s highly experienced team to further our vision of being a world-class investment management firm specializing in distinctive solutions rooted in behavioral finance,” said Tom Florence, President and Chief Executive Officer of 361 Capital. “Incorporating BRC Investment Management into our platform broadens our capabilities and expands our distribution footprint across both institutional and intermediary channels.”

“361 Capital’s highly regarded industry reputation and similar focus greatly expands our opportunity to drive meaningful alpha for our institutional clients and for a wider range of new investor portfolios,” said John Riddle, Managing Principal and Chief Investment Officer of BRC Investment Management. “Both organizations have a strong research-oriented approach and look to capitalize on the many biases and heuristics that drive investor decisions.”

The transaction is expected to close by October 31, 2016, and upon completion of the acquisition the firms will combine under the 361 Capital name.

About 361 Capital
361 Capital is an award-winning* boutique asset manager focused on delivering an array of innovative alternative investment strategies to institutions, financial intermediaries and their clients. Founded in 2001, the Firm specializes in creating distinctive portfolio solutions using behavioral-driven, quantitative methods to help advisors and institutions better understand and manage portfolio risk. 361 Capital is majority employee-owned and has strategic partnerships with Lovell Minnick Partners, a private equity firm specializing in investing in financial and related business services companies, and Lighthouse Investment Partners, which invested in the business in 2014. For more information, call 866.361.1720 or visit www.361capital.com.

About BRC
Founded in 2005, BRC Investment Management (Bounded Rationality Concepts) is a global equity asset manager focused on delivering innovative, behavioral-based solutions to its clients. The Firm is a pioneer in developing proprietary algorithms designed to monetize behavioral biases and market factors in order to pursue consistent alpha for client portfolios. BRC was formed as a result of an amicable separation of the U.S. equity investment team from Duff & Phelps Investment Management Co. BRC utilizes the same U.S. equity investment philosophy, process and performance track record that dates back to 1996.

*Awards: WealthManagement.com 2016 Industry Awards, Winner & 2015 Industry Awards, Finalist: Alternative Asset Manager, http://awards.wealthmanagement.com. The WealthManagement.com Industry Awards recognizes the alternatives asset manager that has made an ‘outstanding contribution’ in adding a new initiative/program or enhancing an existing platform that improves advisors’ understanding, usage, & portfolio management of alternatives.

Investment Advisor-Prima Capital’s 8th annual Separately Managed Account Managers of the Year – BRC Investment Management named 2012 U.S. Large-Cap Equity SMA Manager of the Year. The SMA Managers of the Year awards recognize those products that have at least $200 million in assets and have tenured management of at least three years. Products and managers must rate highly according to Prima’s due diligence process, which uses a proprietary, systematic, multifactor manager evaluation methodology that combines both quantitative and qualitative criteria. There are 13 factors that the Prima analysts consider before recommending the finalists for SMA Managers of the Year, including performance, firm, people, process, style, customer service, tax efficiency and composite.

RADNOR, PA and LOS ANGELES – OCTOBER 3, 2016 – Lovell Minnick Partners, a private equity firm specializing in financial and related business services companies, today announced that Joseph Velli will become a Senior Advisor to the firm. Velli is a veteran senior executive in the financial services and transaction processing industries. He spent most of his career at The Bank of New York (now BNY Mellon) as a Senior Executive Vice President and a member of the bank’s Senior Policy Committee, and most recently served as the Chairman and CEO of Convergex Group, a global provider of execution, software and technology services.

Velli’s career has been devoted to creating, managing and building businesses focused on servicing, processing, payment, record-keeping, consumer banking, institutional and retail brokerage, and software platforms. He will assist Lovell Minnick in the evaluation and due diligence of investment opportunities within asset management, custody and related services, as well as bank divestitures, transaction processing and technology enabled businesses.

“Joe brings a unique combination of leadership skills, operational talents and extensive experience with financial services and technology-enabled businesses,” said Steve Pierson, President and Partner of Lovell Minnick Partners. “I know from long experience that Joe’s strong relationships throughout the global financial services community will also be additive to our sourcing and portfolio company growth initiatives.”

Velli, 58, will join a group of three current Senior Advisors at the firm, including Michael Dura, a former executive at National Financial Services, a Fidelity Investments company; Heinz Hockmann, a former Commerz Bank AG executive; and Alan Warrick, a former Aegon executive.

“I am excited to join Lovell Minnick at a time when tremendous technological change in the financial services industry is creating strong demand for the deep sector expertise and business growth capabilities of the firm,” said Velli. “I look forward to working closely with the talented team to identify and seize new opportunities and build businesses.”

During his 22 year tenure with The Bank of New York, Velli, in addition to running some of the bank’s biggest businesses, also played a key role in over 50 acquisitions including the $2 billion acquisition of Pershing, and the spin-out of the bank’s institutional brokerage businesses. Velli oversaw numerous initiatives, including creating and building the world’s largest ADR business, creating the first ETF-like product known as a stapled ADR, and building the bank’s Issuer Services, Clearing and Global Liquidly Businesses. Velli began his finance career at Citibank.

Velli also has considerable public company board experience, currently serving on the Boards of Directors of Paychex and Computershare. Previously Velli served on E*TRADE Financial Corporation and American Management Systems Boards. Velli has also served on various private boards.

Addition of Environmental Services Group Will Expand Service Offering

JERICHO, N.Y. and NEW ORLEANS, L.A. – September 30, 2016 – J.S. Held LLC, a leading national, full service construction consulting firm, today announced the acquisition of U.S. Health and Environmental Liability Management, LLC (“U.S. HELM”). Tracey Dodd, founder and principal of U.S. HELM, joins J.S. Held as Executive Vice President and National Director of Health and Environmental Services. Financial terms of the private transaction were not disclosed.

U.S. HELM is a national leader in environmental risk assessment, corrective action, industrial hygiene, safety and environmental consulting. The company will operate as the “Health and Environmental Services” business practice group of J.S. Held, which will provide rapid response onsite services, environmental risk management, insurance and litigation support, property analysis, vulnerability assessments, and other services that minimize corporate liability concerns.

“The combination of our two strong, well-respected brands under one umbrella enables us to serve our clients with a broader range of service offerings,” said Jon Held, President and Chief Executive Officer of J.S. Held. “The proven capabilities of U.S. HELM’s extensive scope of environmental service offerings ensures we can meet the environmental and safety management needs of our clients to mitigate their risks while controlling losses.”

Dodd and Tom Sumner, a Principal at U.S. HELM, will assist with running the Health and Environmental Services business reporting to Adrian Frank, Executive Vice President of Corporate Operations at J.S. Held.

“J.S. Held and U.S. HELM share a commonality among clients and projects that is highly complementary, so we are very excited to join forces,” said Dodd. “We look forward to working closely with the team as we further expand our environmental, safety, and industrial hygiene consulting footprint throughout the U.S.”

High profile work performed by U.S. HELM includes assessing and managing complex spill response efforts and natural resource damage restoration efforts in the Gulf of Mexico, damage assessment and remediation design and oversight of the New Orleans Superdome and Convention Center following Hurricane Katrina, and the Mercy Regional Medical Center response efforts following the tornado in Joplin, Missouri.

This acquisition is the fourth acquisition J.S. Held has made since receiving a controlling investment in 2015 from Lovell Minnick Partners, a private equity firm specializing in investing in financial and related business services companies. Previous acquisitions include Lovett Silverman Construction Consultants, Inc., the Property Loss Division of Chroma Building Corp., and Wakelee Associates, LLC. J.S. Held now has 33 offices across the U.S. and Canada.

About J.S. Held
Established in 1974, J.S. Held is a leading construction consulting firm specializing in property damage consulting, construction claims consulting, project and program management and dispute resolution services. J.S. Held’s consultants have provided their expertise on more than 100,000 commercial, industrial, high rise, special structures, governmental, residential, and
infrastructure construction matters globally. The company serves its clients from over 30 locations throughout the U.S. and Canada. For more information regarding J.S. Held, please visit www.jsheld.com.

About U.S. HELM
New Orleans-based U.S. HELM is one of the nation’s leading providers of environmental risk identification, evaluation and mitigation services for the industrial, manufacturing, exploration and production, and transportation sectors. Founded in 2003, U.S. HELM offers demanding clients a wide array of environmental and industrial hygiene services including risk assessment, litigation support, regulatory compliance, process safety management, emergency response, homeland security, indoor and outdoor air quality and vegetative and ecosystem restoration. U.S. HELM has an extensive business footprint across the United States.

Transaction Reinforces Lincoln Investment’s Commitment to Retirement Plan Advice Space, and Underscores Cetera’s Commitment to Driving a More Focused Advisor Experience Through Full-Service Retail Broker-Dealers

Los Angeles, CA and Fort Washington, PA – Lincoln Investment Capital Holdings, LLC and Cetera Financial Group today announced the signing of a definitive agreement for for the divestiture of Legend Group Holdings, LLC (“The Legend Group”) by First Allied Holdings, Inc., a Cetera affiliate, to Lincoln Investment Capital Holdings, LLC. Financial terms of the transaction, which is expected to close by early next year subject to regulatory approval, were not disclosed.

Lincoln Investment Capital Holdings, LLC is the parent company of Lincoln Investment Planning, LLC (“Lincoln Investment”), a leading full-service independent broker-dealer and registered investment adviser. The Legend Group includes an independent broker-dealer and registered investment adviser focused on supporting the delivery of professional guidance by financial advisors to 403(b) plans, the retirement savings plan that is typically available to employees of public education organizations and non-profits across the country.

Under the terms of the transaction, Lincoln Investment Capital Holdings, LLC will acquire the common interests and assets of The Legend Group Holdings, LLC. The independent financial advisors supported by The Legend Group will transition to Lincoln Investment and continue to leverage The Legend Group brand. The Legend Group’s headquarters office in Palm Beach Gardens, FL, will continue to operate as part of Lincoln Investment.

“We are excited to welcome The Legend Group’s financial advisors to Lincoln Investment as it pairs two well-resourced partners who share a longstanding commitment to the retirement plan market,” said Ed Forst, president and chief executive officer of Lincoln Investment. “This is a transaction that enhances our scale, and by extension, our ability to remain independent, while positioning Lincoln Investment to compete more effectively in the mass affluent to high net worth investor space.” Lincoln Investment received an investment in June 2015 from Lovell Minnick Partners, an independent private equity firm specializing in financial services and related business services companies in the middle market.

Mr. Forst continued, “The combined business will be over 1,100 financial advisors strong supporting over $30 billion in client assets and have a total of 100 years of industry experience, placing Lincoln Investment among the top 25 independent broker-dealers and RIAs in the U.S.”

Robert Moore, chief executive officer of Cetera, said, “We are very pleased with this divestiture, which underscores our renewed focus to build upon our successful track record of helping advisors and institutions deliver holistic wealth management solutions for their clients on a full-service basis. As publicly disclosed earlier this year, our exploration of a potential sale of The Legend Group was guided by our plan to exit businesses that were not core to our future growth plans, combined with our commitment to identify a transaction opportunity with a company that understands and supports The Legend Group’s unique strengths in the 403(b) plan space. We see this transaction as a very positive development for the advisors and institutions Cetera supports, as well as the advisors affiliated with The Legend Group.”

For this transaction, Lazard served as financial advisor to Cetera.

About Cetera Financial Group
Cetera Financial Group® (“Cetera”) is a leading network of independent retail broker-dealers empowering the delivery of objective financial advice to individuals, families and company retirement plans across the country through trusted financial advisors and financial institutions. Cetera is the second-largest independent financial advisor network in the nation by number of advisors, as well as a leading provider of retail services to the investment programs of banks and credit unions.

Through its multiple distinct firms, Cetera offers independent and institutions-based advisors the benefits of a large, established broker-dealer and registered investment adviser, while serving advisors and institutions in a way that is customized to their needs and aspirations. Advisor support resources offered through Cetera include award-winning wealth management and advisory platforms, comprehensive broker-dealer and registered investment adviser services, practice management support and innovative technology. For more information, visit www.ceterafinancialgroup.com.

* “Cetera Financial Group” refers to the network of retail independent broker-dealers encompassing, among others, Cetera Advisors, Cetera Advisor Networks, Cetera Financial Institutions, Cetera Financial Specialists, First Allied Securities, Girard Securities, and Summit Brokerage Services.

About Lincoln Investment
Lincoln Investment Planning, LLC is a leading full-service independent broker/dealer and registered investment adviser providing investment, wealth and retirement planning services nationwide through a network of financial advisors. The company currently has more than 300 employees and over 800 financial advisors with 300 branches in 34 states. Lincoln Investment serves over 270,000 individual investors, with over $24 billion in assets including over $10.6 billion in fee-based assets and provides retirement plan services to employees of more than 2,500 employers nationwide. For more information, visit www.lincolninvestment.com.

About The Legend Group
The Legend Group Holdings, LLC includes Legend Equities Corporation, an independent broker-dealer, and Legend Advisory Corporation, a registered investment adviser. The Legend Group empowers the delivery of quality investment solutions and personalized service by financial advisors with a primary focus on the 403(b) plan space. The Legend Group provides investment solutions for retirement, education savings plans, insurance needs, income generation and professional portfolio management. For more information, visit www.legendgroup.com.

JERICHO and HAUPPAUGE, NY – June 23, 2016 – J.S. Held LLC, a leading, national, full service construction consulting firm, today announced the acquisition of Lovett Silverman Construction Consultants, Inc. John J. Lovett, President of the firm, joins J.S. Held as Senior Vice President and National Director of Surety Services. Financial terms of the private transaction were not disclosed.

Lovett Silverman is a premier construction surety claims consulting firm, specializing in construction claims analysis, Critical Path Method scheduling, expert witness and litigation support, property inspection, and risk analysis. The company will operate as “Lovett Silverman,a J.S. Held Company”. Lovett Silverman executives Anthony Lardaro and Richard Sexton will continue their leadership roles as Vice Presidents in the New York and Orlando Offices, respectively. Lovett Silverman’s Ramsey, NJ operations are not included in the transaction.

“We have sought to enter the surety services sector for some time and are excited to unite our strong teams under one umbrella,” said Jon Held, President and Chief Executive Officer of J.S. Held. “We will be able to offer a wider range of services to our clients, while further scaling our business.”

“We have provided different services to shared clients for many years, and the J.S. Held platform gives us the ability to build a national surety practice and enhance our project scheduling services,” said Lovett. “We share a dedication to high quality client service and look forward to working closely with Jon and his team.”

This acquisition is the third acquisition J.S. Held has made since receiving a controlling investment in 2015 from Lovell Minnick Partners, a private equity firm specializing in investing in financial and related business services companies. Previous acquisitions include the Property Loss Division of Chroma Building Corp., and Wakelee Associates, LLC, a construction and mitigation consulting firm. J.S. Held now has 33 offices across the United States and Canada.

Corporate Fuel Advisors served as financial advisor, and SilvermanAcampora LLP acted as legal counsel to Lovett Silverman. Morgan Lewis & Bokius, LLP served as legal counsel to J.S. Held.

About J.S. Held LLC
Established in 1974, J.S. Held is a leading construction consulting firm specializing in property damage consulting, construction claims consulting, project and program management and dispute resolution services. J.S. Held’s consultants have provided their expertise on more than 100,000 commercial, industrial, high rise, special structures, governmental, residential, and infrastructure construction matters globally. The company serves its clients from over 30 locations throughout the U.S. and Canada. For more information regarding J.S. Held, please visit www.jsheld.com.

About Lovett Silverman
Lovett Silverman Construction Consultants provides quality services and a standard of care that are the best in the industry. The company’s national network of diverse professionals has earned the trust and respect of a number of America’s leading owners, corporations, sureties, law firms, financial institutions, insurance companies and government agencies. Over the years, Lovett Silverman has consulted on thousands of jobs with a combined value of tens of billions of dollars.

RADNOR, PA and LOS ANGELES – MAY 10, 2016 – Lovell Minnick Partners, a private equity firm specializing in financial and related business services companies, today announced that Steven C. Pierson will join the firm as President and Partner. Mr. Pierson, who will start his duties at Lovell Minnick in June, comes to the firm from UBS, where he most recently served as the Head of FIG Investment Banking Americas and Global Head of Financial Technology & Services. He was also a member of the investment committee for the UBS FinTech Strategic Investment Group.

“On behalf of our partners, we are delighted to welcome Steve Pierson to Lovell Minnick, and to the already strong financial services investment team at our firm,” said Co-Chairmen Jeffrey D. Lovell and James E. Minnick in a joint statement. “We have been privileged to work closely with Steve over many years and have been continually impressed by his superior investment acumen and professional skills. He brings to Lovell Minnick an enviable record of success and a deep network that will elevate our existing capabilities in the sectors where we are focused on investing our fourth institutional fund, including financial technology.” Lovell Minnick Equity Partners IV closed last October, reaching its cap of $750 million in commitments.

Mr. Pierson, 49, is a 21-year investment banking veteran who has focused his entire career on financial institutions and the financial technology sector. Prior to joining UBS in 2013, Mr. Pierson served as Vice Chairman and Co-Head of FIG Investment Banking Americas at Credit Suisse. He began his investment banking career at Putnam Lovell Securities in 1995 where he rose to become head of its investment banking division.

“I am very excited to join the talented and experienced team at Lovell Minnick at a time when we see attractive investment opportunities for the new fund in financial services and related business services and technology,” said Mr. Pierson. “It is wonderful to be re-united with Jeff and Jim, and to join my new partners in extending the firm’s track record of success. I leave UBS with extremely fond memories and wish the FIG team continued success. I expect to continue to work with UBS in an advisory capacity and welcome UBS’s support of Lovell Minnick’s financial services investment efforts.”

In recent years, Mr. Pierson has played a key role handling numerous prominent large-cap and middle-market financial services transactions, including the $30 billion merger of the London Stock Exchange with Deutsche Borse; Barclay’s acquisition of Lehman Brothers; State Street’s $4.5 billion acquisition of Investor’s Bank & Trust; the $3 billion acquisition of Worldpay from RBS on behalf of Advent International and Bain Capital Private Equity; the $530 million sale of the Hull Group to Goldman Sachs; and, the sale of Brundage, Story & Rose to Bessemer Trust Co. He also worked on the initial public offerings of CETIP, Flow Traders, MARKIT, Moelis & Company and Virtu Financial.

Mr. Pierson earned his MBA at the Fuqua School of Duke University and holds a BS in Finance & Management from Virginia Tech University. Mr. Pierson will join Lovell Minnick’s Board of Managers and become a member of its investment committee.

Expands Presence in the Energy Market

LOS ANGELES AND SAN DIEGO, CA – May 5, 2016 – Worldwide Facilities, a national wholesale brokerage and managing general agency, today announced an agreement to acquire Sloan Mason Insurance Services, a wholesale insurance broker specializing in coverage placements for the energy and energy related businesses. Paul Mason and his team will join Worldwide Facilities.

This acquisition represents a significant expansion of Worldwide Facilities’ footprint in the energy space, where Sloan Mason has extensive contacts and specialized knowledge. It will also broaden the markets and products available to the retail brokers and agents served by Worldwide Facilities.

“Sloan Mason’s specialized business model and industry verticals match well with our growing specialty product practice groups. Paul built a great business, and we are very pleased to have him and his team join our organization” said Davis Moore, Chief Executive Officer of Worldwide Facilities.

Mason, who founded Sloan Mason in 2001 and has served as its President, brings extensive expertise in placing commercial insurance for retail insurance agents and brokers in the areas of energy and environmental. He will assume a leadership position as Executive Vice President with Worldwide Facilities in the new San Diego office.

“On behalf of my team, we are excited to become part of the expanding brand Worldwide Facilities has created. With technical and market expertise in our specialty areas, we know we will be a great asset to the organization and are excited to capitalize on the opportunities,” says Mason.

In 2015, Worldwide Facilities received an investment from Lovell Minnick Partners, a private equity firm specializing in investing in financial and related business services.

About Worldwide Facilities, LLC

Worldwide Facilities is a national wholesale insurance broker and managing general agent that has been in business since 1970. Our seasoned brokers and underwriters are industry leaders in providing expertise in a wide range of specialty lines, and offer extensive contacts with carriers domestically and overseas.

SANTA BARBARA, Calif. and HOUSTON, March 28, 2016 — Mercer Advisors and Kanaly Trust, two leading wealth management firms, today announced that they have reached a definitive agreement to merge. Upon the merger completion, the combined company will manage assets exceeding $8 billion making it one of the largest independent wealth managers in the United States. Terms of the private transaction were not disclosed.

The combined company will be led by David H. Barton, Chief Executive Officer of Mercer Advisors. Mercer Advisors was acquired by Genstar Capital, a private equity firm, last year. Kanaly Trust is owned by Lovell Minnick Partners, a private equity firm that invests in the financial and related business services sectors, which will retain a stake in the combined company.

Mercer Advisors is a total wealth management firm that provides fee-only comprehensive investment management, financial planning, family office services, retirement benefits and distribution planning, estate planning, and tax management services. Based in Santa Barbara, Mercer has over $6 billion in assets under management and more than 5,000 clients. Kanaly Trust provides comprehensive wealth management and financial planning and trust/estate services to families, individuals, and estates. The Houston-based company manages and advises on assets totaling over $2 billion on behalf of more than 500 families, and serves as the trustee or executor for estates totaling more than $2.5 billion.

“This transaction brings together two great companies and creates a strong partnership of people who have the benefit of a stronger platform from which to offer expanded services with the personal and customized service clients demand,” said Barton. “Genstar has been instrumental in helping us rapidly grow our company, and we are well-positioned to build on our momentum. Paramount in Kanaly Trust’s decision to join Mercer Advisors was our shared commitment to the highest level of service, which makes this combination such a great fit.”

“The merger with Kanaly Trust is a significant step forward towards scaling a national wealth management firm to a broader base of sophisticated clients,” said Anthony J. Salewski, a Managing Director at Genstar. “This transaction combines the complementary resources of two important players, and we are excited about this transformative partnership. We are pleased with Mercer Advisors’ progress, led by Dave, and we plan to continue to invest in and support the company as it continues to build its presence in the wealth management sector.”

“This merger brings together two world-class wealth management firms, which will allow us to expand client resources beyond the high-levels we have today,” noted Drew Kanaly, Chairman of Kanaly Trust. “Our extensive experience working with high-net-worth entrepreneurs and executives, and family offices is highly complementary to Mercer Advisors, and this partnership will allow us to provide those services on a national level.”

“The talented Kanaly Trust team remains focused on providing high touch, highly personalized financial advice and customized solutions, which we believe will continue to be in high demand among clients,” said James E. Minnick, Co-Chairman of Lovell Minnick Partners. “We look forward to our continued involvement and support in working with Mercer and Kanaly in growing the combined company.”

Moelis & Company LLC served as financial advisor, and Davis Graham & Stubbs LLP acted as legal counsel, to Kanaly Trust. Willkie Farr & Gallagher LLP served as legal counsel to Mercer Advisors.

The merger is subject to customary regulatory approval.

About Mercer Advisors

Established in 1985, Mercer Advisors Inc. is a total wealth management firm that provides fee-only comprehensive investment management, financial planning, family office services, retirement benefits and distribution planning, estate planning, and tax management services to affluent individuals. Mercer Advisors is the parent company of Mercer Global Advisors, one of the largest Registered Investment Advisors and financial planning firms in the U.S. with over $6 billion in assets under management and more than 5,000 clients. Headquartered in Santa Barbara, California, Mercer Advisors is privately held, has over 175 employees and operates nationally with 19 branch offices across the country. For more information about Mercer Advisors, visit www.merceradvisors.com.

About Kanaly Trust, LTA

Kanaly Trust is a comprehensive wealth management firm managing and advising over $2 billion of assets. Based in Houston, the firm was founded in 1975 by Deane Kanaly. Since its founding, Kanaly has been committed to serving clients as their trusted advisor providing a full array of investment, financial & estate planning, and trustee services. For more information, visit www.kanaly.com.

About Genstar Capital LLC

Genstar Capital (www.gencap.com) is a leading private equity firm that has been actively investing in high quality companies for more than 20 years. Based in San Francisco, Genstar works in partnership with its management teams and its network of operating executives and strategic advisors to transform its portfolio companies into industry-leading businesses. Genstar manages funds with total capital commitments of over $5 billion and targets investments focused on selected sectors within the financial services, software, industrial technology, and healthcare industries.

JERICHO, NY and HACKENSACK, NJ – January 4, 2016 – J.S. Held LLC, a leading national construction consulting firm providing specialized services to the insurance industry, today announced the acquisition of Wakelee Associates, LLC. Timothy Woods, Wakelee’s President, joins J.S. Held as Executive Vice President. Financial terms of the private transaction were not disclosed.

Based in Hackensack, NJ, Wakelee Associates is an 18-person construction and mitigation consulting firm providing cost and time analysis of residential, commercial and industrial property damage, and owner’s representative services to its clients.

“We are excited to welcome Tim and the entire Wakelee staff of energetic and knowledgeable professionals to our team,” said Jon Held, President and Chief Executive Officer of J.S. Held. “Joining forces with Wakelee allows us to deepen our bench in the Northeast in serving the needs of clients.”

“The expert services of J.S. Held and their successful project management discipline clearly align with our approach, and that creates a great home for our clients and our people,” said Woods. “We’re confident that joining J.S. Held will contribute significantly to our ability to provide an even more comprehensive range of services to clients. We look forward to working closely with Jon and his team.”

Earlier in 2015, J.S. Held received a controlling investment from Lovell Minnick Partners, a private equity firm specializing in investing in financial and related business services companies. In July 2015, J.S. Held announced the acquisition of the Property Loss Division of Chroma Building Corp. and the addition of industry veteran Doug DePhillips to the management team.

EMA Partners, LLC served as financial advisor, and Cole Schotz, P.C. acted as legal counsel to Wakelee Associates. Morgan Lewis & Bokius, LLP served as legal counsel to J.S. Held.

About J.S. Held LLC
Established in 1974, J.S. Held is a leading construction consulting firm specializing in property loss analysis, estimating, scheduling, construction claims advisory services, project management, and dispute resolution services. J.S. Held’s consultants have provided their expertise on more than 100,000 commercial, industrial, high rise, special structures, governmental, residential, and infrastructure construction matters globally. The Company serves its clients from over 25 locations throughout the U.S. and Canada. For more information regarding J.S. Held, please visit www.jsheld.com.

About Wakelee Associates, LLC
Wakelee Associates (www.wakeleellc.com) is dedicated to assisting insurance professionals and attorneys throughout the U.S. with resolving claims quickly, accurately and equitably. Wakelee has extensive experience in construction estimating, project management, dispute resolution, and job site monitoring. The company provides accurate and reliable cost and time analysis of commercial, industrial and residential property damage due to fire, water, earthquake, floods, hurricanes and other disasters.

Strategic acquisition increases Chartwell Investment Management’s revenues to more than $44 million and AUM to more than $10 billion

PITTSBURGH – Dec. 16, 2015 – TriState Capital Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ: TSC) entered into a definitive asset-purchase agreement to acquire The Killen Group, Inc. (TKG), an investment management firm and the advisor to The Berwyn Funds.

“This transaction creates an investment management firm with annual revenues approaching $50 million and more than $10 billion in assets under management, as part of our well-defined strategy for growing our Chartwell Investment Partners business into a world-class asset manager,” TriState Capital Chief Executive Officer James F. Getz said. “We have an exceptional opportunity to combine Killen’s highly credible investment performance, particularly by the Morningstar five-star rated Berwyn Income Fund, with our proven national financial services distribution model to meaningfully accelerate growth in client assets, while enhancing Chartwell’s retail and institutional offerings through The Berwyn Funds.”

Together, TKG and TriState Capital’s Chartwell Investment Partners subsidiary would have pro forma investment management fees of $44.3 million, representing 38% of total company revenue, for the 12 months ending Sept. 30, 2015, as well as a weighted average fee rate of 0.41% during the period. TKG and Chartwell’s pro forma assets under management would total $10.1 billion at Sept. 30, 2015.

The value of the all-cash transaction is estimated to be in the range of $30 million to $35 million. This includes an initial purchase price of $15 million, or 5.0 times a base EBITDA (earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization) of $3.0 million, and an estimated $15 million to $20 million for contingent consideration that may be earned based on 7.0 times the incremental growth in TKG’s annual run rate EBITDA in excess of $3.0 million at Dec. 31, 2016.

Established in 1982, TKG provides active portfolio management and investment advisory services to a variety of institutional and separately managed account clients nationwide. TKG’s investment management fees were $14.3 million on an annual-run-rate basis at an average weighted rate of 0.56%, as of Sept. 30, 2015, and its AUM totaled $2.5 billion at the end of the period. TKG is investment advisor to The Berwyn Funds, including the Berwyn Income Fund, a Morningstar five-star rated conservative allocation strategy with a net asset value of $1.9 billion at Sept. 30, 2015. With its long-term record of strong performance, this fund was included in Morningstar’s 2015 “Fantastic 50” and 2014 “Fantastic 48” lists, which recognized an exclusive group of high-performing mutual funds that meet the independent investment research firm’s strict criteria.

“We’ve long admired what Bob Killen and his team have built, delivering specialized investment expertise to a select clientele and, through The Berwyn Funds, mutual fund shareholders,” said Chartwell Managing Partner and Chief Executive Officer Timothy J. Riddle, who will continue to lead TriState Capital’s investment management subsidiary after transaction closing. “We’re excited to welcome the Killen team, its high-performing products and distinguished brand to Chartwell, as we continue the growth of our boutique money management business and provide additional products and capabilities for the benefit of both our firms’ clients.”

In conjunction with the transaction, TKG’s investment professionals have signed multi-year restrictive agreements with Chartwell, including its Chairman and Chief Executive Officer Robert E. Killen. All TKG employees are expected to join Chartwell at closing.

“In Chartwell, we found an ideal partner for our clients and our people,” said Killen. “It’s a firm that shares our philosophy for disciplined value investing and active portfolio management, while providing the exceptional distribution, technology and operational resources we sought to support the continued growth of our business. We’re looking forward to joining Tim’s team and collaborating with all our new TriState Capital colleagues to create and share in even greater success, together.”

Upon closing of the acquisition, TriState Capital plans to integrate TKG’s personnel and operations into Chartwell, while maintaining The Berwyn Funds brand. With both TKG and Chartwell headquartered in Berwyn, Pa., the firms are expected to consolidate their offices in the Main Line suburb of Philadelphia before the end of 2016.

The board of directors of TriState Capital, TKG’s owners and board, and the board of trustees of The Berwyn Funds have voted in favor of the transaction. Closing is anticipated in the second quarter of 2016, subject to regulatory requirements, approval by shareholders of The Berwyn Funds, certain TKG-client consents, and other customary closing conditions and adjustments.

Keevican Weiss Bauerle & Hirsch LLC served as TriState Capital’s legal advisor on the transaction. Stephens Inc. provided a fairness opinion to TriState Capital. Fox Rothschild LLP served as TKG’s legal advisor on the transaction.

Following today’s announcement by the Federal Reserve Board’s Open Market Committee that it determined to begin increasing the federal funds target rate, TriState Capital reiterates that it remains very well positioned to profit from a rising interest-rate environment. TriState Capital continues to manage a highly asset-sensitive balance sheet, as 84% of its loan portfolio and 58% of its securities portfolio were floating rate, at Sept. 30, 2015. In addition, 36% of deposits were fixed-rate time deposits.

About TriState Capital
TriState Capital Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ: TSC) is a bank holding company headquartered in Pittsburgh, Pa., providing commercial banking, private banking and investment management services to middle-market companies, institutional clients and high-net-worth individuals. Its TriState Capital Bank subsidiary has $3.1 billion in assets, as of September 30, 2015, and serves middle-market commercial customers through regional representative offices in Pittsburgh, Philadelphia, Cleveland, Edison, N.J., and New York City, as well as high-net-worth individuals nationwide through its national referral network of financial intermediaries. Its Chartwell Investment Partners subsidiary has $7.6 billion in assets under management, as of September 30, 2015, and serves institutional clients and TriState Capital’s financial intermediary network. For more information, please visit http://investors.tristatecapitalbank.com.

About the Killen Group
The Killen Group, Inc. is a premier provider of investment advisory services to individuals, corporations and non-profit organizations. A major component of The Killen Group’s work is the management of The Berwyn Funds family of no-load mutual funds and its individually managed accounts. Since its inception, The Killen Group has maintained a sensible, value-oriented investment philosophy. Constructing a diversified portfolio of undervalued, well-managed companies with long-term stock appreciation potential is the essence of the firm’s work. As the company has evolved, it has also developed expertise in the management of fixed income securities and enjoys a sound long-term record in this area. For more information, please visit http://thekillengroup.com/.

FORWARD LOOKING STATEMENTS
This press release includes “forward-looking” statements related to TriState Capital that can generally be identified as describing TriState Capital’s future plans, objectives or goals. Such forward-looking statements are subject to risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results or outcomes to differ materially from those currently anticipated. These forward-looking statements are made pursuant to the safe harbor provisions of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. For further information about the factors that could affect TriState Capital’s future results, please see the company’s most-recent annual and quarterly reports filed on Form 10-K and Form 10-Q.

IMPORTANT INFORMATION FOR BERWYN MUTUAL FUND SHAREHOLDERS
This press release is not a solicitation of a proxy from any shareholder of The Berwyn Funds. A prospectus/proxy statement with respect to the proposed transaction will be mailed to shareholders of The Berwyn Funds and filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission. Investors and shareholders of The Berwyn Funds are urged to read the prospectus/proxy statement regarding the proposed transaction and any other relevant documents filed with the SEC, as well as any amendments or supplements to those documents, as they will contain important information. The prospectus/proxy statement will be available free of charge from the SEC’s website at www.sec.gov or by calling The Berwyn Funds at 1-800-992-6757.

In soliciting shareholder approval of the transactions, The Berwyn Funds, as well as their trustees, officers and advisors, may be deemed to be participants in the solicitation. Information about the funds’ trustees may be found in their annual reports and statement of additional information most recently filed with the SEC and available free of charge from the SEC’s website at www.sec.gov, or by calling The Berwyn Funds at 1-800-992-6757.

RADNOR, PA and LOS ANGELES – November 4, 2015 – Lovell Minnick Partners, a private equity firm specializing in financial and related business services companies, today announced the successful completion of fundraising for its fourth institutional buyout fund, reaching the cap of $750 million and surpassing the $550 million target.

Lovell Minnick Equity Partners IV was raised from leading institutional investors including endowments, foundations, insurance companies, pension funds, as well as family offices and other institutional investors. The new fund received commitments from many limited partners who invested in previous funds sponsored by the firm, including Goldman Sachs Asset Management, RCP Advisors, Twin Bridge Capital Partners, and PPM America on behalf of certain clients. Lovell Minnick also attracted commitments from a number of new investors including MassPRIM and the W.K. Kellogg Foundation. The firm’s prior fund, Lovell Minnick Equity Partners III, secured $455 million of commitments.

Lovell Minnick will seek to continue its successful strategy of investing in middle-market financial services companies, typically making equity commitments of between $20 million and $100 million to private companies pursuing growth investments, management buyouts, succession and ownership transitions, and recapitalizations. Targeted investment areas include asset management, financial product distribution, insurance and securities brokerage, banks, specialty finance, and related technology and business services. The firm’s investments in these areas have included companies such as, ALPS Holdings, AssetMark Investment Services, Commercial Credit, Duff & Phelps, First Allied Securities, Matthews International Capital Management, and Mercer Advisors.

“Lovell Minnick is very grateful for the support we continue to receive from our limited partners, and we appreciate the new relationships we have developed with an outstanding group of investors who embrace our focus on middle-market financial services,” said Jeffrey D. Lovell, Chairman of Lovell Minnick Partners. “We see attractive opportunities across such themes as investment solutions, underserved credit markets, outsourcing, and consolidation. We look forward to building another portfolio of growing, dynamic companies where we can support management in realizing their strategic objectives.”

Lovell Minnick Equity Partners IV has deployed capital in three investments to date:

J.S. Held, a consultant to insurance carriers on property loss, dispute resolution, and construction services;
LSQ Funding, a technology-enabled provider of working capital solutions to small and mid-sized businesses; and,
Worldwide Facilities, one of the largest wholesale insurance brokerage companies in the U.S.
The firm’s investment team is led by five partners, with an average of more than 20 years of industry-related experience. Lovell Minnick has offices in Philadelphia and Los Angeles.

RADNOR, PA – October 14, 2015 – Lovell Minnick Partners, a private equity firm specializing in financial and related business services companies, today announced the signing of a definitive agreement in which HD Vest Financial Services, Inc. (“HD Vest”) will be acquired by Blucora, Inc. (NASDAQ: BCOR). HD Vest is the leading independent broker-dealer providing wealth management and advisory solutions specifically for tax professionals. The transaction is valued at approximately $580 million.

Based in Irving, Texas, HD Vest’s independent network is comprised of over 4,500 tax and non-tax financial professionals who manage over $36 billion in client assets and provide comprehensive investment planning solutions for individuals, families and institutions. Lovell Minnick co-sponsored the management buyout of HD Vest from Wells Fargo & Company (NYSE: WFC) in 2011.

“This transaction highlights how HD Vest has firmly established itself as an industry leader in the independent broker dealer market. We are pleased that the company and its management team have been recognized for the significant value they’ve created,” said Spencer Hoffman, a Managing Director at Lovell Minnick Partners. “Our partnership with the HD Vest team has been very rewarding and exciting. This transaction is a logical next step for HD Vest that will position the company for continued growth.”

“In the four years since we completed our management buyout, with the support of our partners and Board, we’ve been successful both in investing in the company while also driving significant growth,” said Roger Ochs, President and CEO of HD Vest. “Through expanded product offerings to meet our advisors’ client needs, through an energized approach to identifying, recruiting, and educating HD Vest advisors, and through the development of proprietary technology designed specifically for our advisors, we’ve taken HD Vest to the next level. Lovell Minnick’s and Parthenon’s support was critical in achieving those goals.”

The transaction is expected to close late in the fourth quarter 2015 or early first quarter 2016, subject to customary closing conditions and regulatory approvals.

About HD Vest Financial Services®
Since its inception in 1983, HD Vest Financial Services has supported an independent network of tax and non-tax professionals who provide comprehensive financial planning solutions including securities, insurance, money management services, and banking solutions. HD Vest is ranked as one of the top 20 independent broker-dealer firms1with over 4,500 independent contractors managing over $36 billion in assets for individuals, families and small businesses in all 50 states.2 For more information, please visit www.hdvest.com. HD Vest Financial Services® is the holding company for the group of companies providing financial services under the HD Vest name. Securities offered through HD Vest Investment ServicesSM, Member SIPC, Advisory services offered through HD Vest Advisory ServicesSM.

About Blucora®
Blucora, Inc. (NASDAQ: BCOR) operates a diverse group of Internet businesses. Its mission is to deliver long-term value to its customers, partners, and shareholders through financial discipline, operational expertise, and technology innovation. Named one of Fortune® Magazine’s 100 Fastest-Growing Companies for the past two years, Blucora’s online businesses reach millions of users worldwide every day. Blucora is headquartered in Bellevue, Washington. For more information, please visit www.Blucora.com. Follow and subscribe to Blucora on Twitter, LinkedIn, and YouTube.

About Lovell Minnick Partners
Lovell Minnick Partners LLC is a private equity firm with expertise in investing in the financial and related business services sectors. Lovell Minnick provides developing companies with equity capital to support private company recapitalizations, leveraged buyouts, and pursue growth initiatives. Since its inception in 1999, Lovell Minnick Partners has raised over $1.4 billion in committed capital and has completed investments in over 30 companies. Targeted investment areas include asset management, financial product distribution, insurance, banks, specialty finance, and related technology and business services.

1 Investment Advisor 2014 Broker-Dealer Reference Guide, which measured/ranked the top 25 independent broker-dealers by annual revenue.

2 As of August 31, 2015

Radnor, PA – September 30, 2015 – Lovell Minnick Partners, a private equity firm specializing in financial and related business services companies, today announced the signing of a definitive agreement to sell a portion of its stake in Matthews International Capital Management, LLC (“Matthews Asia”) to Mizuho Financial Group (“Mizuho”). Lovell Minnick Partners will remain a minority equity holder in the independent investment manager, which is the leading Asia investment specialist in the United States. Terms of the private transaction were not disclosed.

Lovell Minnick Partners acquired a minority equity interest in Matthews Asia in early 2011. The firm provides investors with a broad range of choices for building a global portfolio that includes exposure to one of the world’s fastest-growing regions. Since Lovell Minnick’s investment in early 2011, Matthews Asia has launched several new investment strategies, doubled its employee headcount, and increased its assets under management from $19.1 billion to $26.2 billion as of August 31, 2015.

“We are pleased to remain a significant shareholder in Matthews Asia, and to continue to support the company’s growth,” said Jeffrey D. Lovell, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Lovell Minnick Partners. “Mizuho is a world renowned institution and we are confident their role as a new shareholder will be instrumental to Matthews Asia’s continued progress.”

“Regarded as a preeminent global financial institution, Mizuho’s investment in our firm is an endorsement of the success Matthews Asia has achieved for our clients over the past 24 years,” said William Hackett, Chief Executive Officer of Matthews Asia. “Mizuho’s investment will help ensure continued long-term stability of ownership while retaining our independence. We appreciate Lovell Minnick’s support in facilitating Mizuho’s investment.”

The transaction is expected to close by the end of the first quarter 2016 and is subject to customary closing conditions, including receipt of any required regulatory approvals.

RBC Capital Markets and Kirkland & Ellis LLP are serving as advisors to Lovell Minnick Partners on the transaction.

About Matthews Asia

Matthews Asia is an independent, privately owned firm and the largest dedicated Asia investment specialist in the United States. With $26.2 billion in assets under management as of August 31, 2015, the firm focuses on investing solely in Asia. It is the investment advisor for the Matthews Asia Funds, a group of 16 open-ended equity and fixed income mutual funds organized in the U.S. and 11 SICAVS registered in Luxembourg.

About Mizuho Financial Group

Mizuho Financial Group is one of the leading financial institutions in Japan, offering a broad range of services including banking, trust banking and securities, and other business related to financial services through its group companies. The group has approximately 55,000 staff working in approximately 900 offices inside and outside Japan, and total assets of over US$1.6 trillion (as of March 30, 2015).

Los Angeles, CA and Radnor, PA – July 6, 2015 – Lovell Minnick Partners has made a significant investment in Worldwide Facilities, LLC, a national wholesale insurance broker and managing general agent. Following the transaction, Worldwide Facilities will continue to be majority-owned by its employees. Terms of the transaction were not disclosed.

Founded in 1970 and based in Los Angeles, Worldwide Facilities is one of the largest wholesale insurance brokerage companies in the U.S. As a national wholesale broker, Worldwide Facilities places excess and surplus lines insurance on behalf of retail agents and brokers, and their insureds. The company also has been successful in growing its proprietary program and managing general agency businesses. Worldwide Facilities has more than 190 employees across 11 offices in major metropolitan areas including Atlanta, Chicago, Hartford, Houston, Irvine, Los Angeles, New York, Orlando, Phoenix, San Francisco and Seattle.

“We are enthused about our next chapter of growth and the capital base that we have put in place to support it. We look forward to continuing to invest in the development and growth of our company by creating new products, adding to our team of capable and seasoned producers, and making strategic acquisitions,” said Davis Moore, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Worldwide Facilities. “Lovell Minnick Partners has a strong track record in helping financial services companies such as ours advance their businesses. They share our vision for the future of Worldwide Facilities, and they have the resources and expertise to support our plan. We are excited to partner with them.”

“Worldwide Facilities is clearly a market leader, and has achieved impressive, consistent organic growth while developing deep expertise in specialized insurance solutions. Their strong relationships with retail agents and brokers and insurance carriers, and their dedication to client service, have put them in a position to further grow and thrive” stated Robert Belke, a Managing Director at Lovell Minnick Partners, which has made investments in a variety of brokerage businesses. “We look forward to working with this management team, led by Davis Moore and Ron Austin, to support and drive execution of their growth strategy.”

Waller Helms Advisors, LLC served as financial advisor, and Musick, Peeler & Garrett LLP acted as legal counsel to Worldwide Facilities. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods, Inc served as financial advisor, and Kirkland & Ellis LLP served as legal counsel to Lovell Minnick Partners.

About Worldwide Facilities
Worldwide Facilities, LLC is a national wholesale insurance broker and managing general agent. In business since 1970, the seasoned team of brokers and underwriters are industry leaders in providing specialized products in a wide range of specialty lines, as well as having extensive relationships with domestic and international carriers. For more information, please visit www.wwfi.com.

Radnor, PA – June 18, 2015 – Lovell Minnick Partners, an independent private equity firm specializing in financial and related business services companies in the middle market, today announced it has agreed to make a 20% minority investment in Lincoln Investment Planning, Inc., a leading full-service independent broker-dealer providing investment, wealth and retirement planning services nationwide. Terms of the investment were not disclosed.

The investment will provide capital to support continued growth of Lincoln Investment, which will remain majority family-owned and operated by the current management team. Founded in 1968, Lincoln Investment is one of the nation’s fastest growing independent broker-dealers and is committed to helping clients achieve financial well-being. The company has over $24 billion in client assets including over $9 billion in assets managed by Lincoln Investment and/or its affiliate, Capital Analysts, Inc., registered investment advisors. With this investment, Lovell Minnick continues its long history of investing in successful broker-dealer related businesses.

“Lincoln Investment has an attractive market position as a leading independent broker-dealer, and they have demonstrated meaningful and consistent growth in their advisor network, bolstered by the successful acquisitions of Great American Advisors, Inc. and Capital Analysts, Incorporated” stated Jim Minnick, President and Managing Director of Lovell Minnick Partners. “The company’s management team, led by Ed Forst, is both strong and deep. We look forward to working with this leadership team to continue to build the business.”

“We have consistently expanded our market position through organic and strategic growth, and we believe there are opportunities for continued growth from the company’s core customer base and through further plan diversification,” said Ed Forst, President and Chief Executive Officer. “Over time, we have developed an excellent relationship with Lovell Minnick Partners, and we respect their knowledge of our industry and their strong track record of success in the investment business. We look forward to a successful partnership that will help us expand our network of financial advisors and our breadth of client services.”

“Lincoln Investment’s expertise in designing and delivering a wide breadth of investment strategies and services is closely aligned with Lovell Minnick’s theme of investing in sophisticated providers of investment solutions. This made it an attractive partnership that we are confident will continue to contribute to Lincoln Investment’s future successes,” added Minnick.

The transaction is expected to close in the third quarter of 2015, subject to customary regulatory reviews and approvals.

Moss Adams Capital served as financial advisors to Lincoln Investment on this transaction; Berkshire Capital served as financial advisors for Lovell Minnick Partners.

About Lincoln Investment

Lincoln Investment is a leading full-service independent broker-dealer providing investment, wealth and retirement planning services nationwide through a national network of financial advisors. Clients include corporations, school districts, universities, hospitals, other non-profits and high net worth individuals. Founded by Nick Forst almost 50 years ago and headquartered in Philadelphia, Lincoln Investment currently has more than 250 employees and over 800 financial advisors with 300 branches in 35 states. Lincoln Investment serves over 235,000 individual investors, with $24 billion in assets under administration and over $9 billion in assets under management and provides retirement plan services to employees of more than 3,000 employers nationwide. For further information, please visit www.lincolninvestment.com.

About Lovell Minnick

Lovell Minnick Partners LLC is a private equity firm with expertise in investing in the financial and related business services sectors. Lovell Minnick provides developing companies with equity capital to support private company recapitalizations, leveraged buyouts, and pursue growth initiatives. Since its inception in 1999, Lovell Minnick Partners has raised over $1.3 billion in committed capital and has completed investments in over 30 companies. Targeted investment areas include asset management, financial product distribution, insurance, banks, specialty finance, and related technology and business services. For more information, please visit www.lovellminnick.com.

ORLANDO, FL (April 15, 2015) — LSQ Funding Group, a leading technology-enabled provider of working capital solutions for small- and mid-sized businesses, today announced that it has received a capital investment of over $100 million in a transaction led by Lovell Minnick Partners LLC, a private equity firm that specializes in the global financial services industry.

The investment will support LSQ Funding’s growth strategies, which are differentiated by a decade of technology innovation, credit IP, and bank partnerships. These differentiators have accelerated LSQ’s growth, which exceeded 85 percent in 2014. Over its twenty years of operating history, LSQ has provided more than $10 billion in invoice advances.

“We’re excited to add an equity partner with proven success supporting high-growth companies like ours,” said LSQ Funding’s CEO and founder Max Eliscu. “We will use this incremental capital to accelerate our investment in automation, revolutionizing the process by which businesses unlock the liquidity tied up in their unpaid invoices. We have always been committed to helping businesses of all sizes, from start-ups sending their first invoices to established companies managing complex supply chains, easily access working capital. We’re now bringing that capability to micro-businesses through automation.”

“The millions of small businesses in the U.S. that experience cash shortages as a result of success — and sometimes obstacles — deserve to have a company like LSQ Funding in their corner to help them meet such challenges,” added Lovell Minnick Managing Director John Cochran. “LSQ’s management team has built an industry-leading brand and an exemplary bank referral partnership model and is now aggressively pursuing automation that will serve even more small businesses. We are excited to bring our experience in specialty finance and in under-served credit markets to the partnership with this innovative team.”

J.P. Morgan Securities LLC served as financial advisor and Kirkland & Ellis LLP served as legal advisor to Lovell Minnick. The Cosine Group, a division of Armory Securities, LLC, served as financial advisor and Wilson Sonsini Goodrich & Rosati LLP served as legal advisor to LSQ Funding.

About LSQ Funding Group

LSQ Funding is one of the country’s largest independent accounts receivable financing companies. Founded in 1996 in the Orlando area, LSQ provides specialized accounts receivable financing to growing companies throughout the U.S., offering competitive rates, customized financing arrangements, and personalized service to help them improve profitability and financial security. The company’s proprietary accounts receivable technology enables accounts receivable financing at all levels, ranging from multi-million-dollar corporations to small businesses. For more information, please visit www.lsq.com.

ROSLYN HEIGHTS, N.Y., March 30, 2015 – Lovell Minnick Partners LLC is pleased to announce the acquisition of a majority interest in J.S. Held LLC, a specialty advisory firm providing outsourced consulting services to its insurance industry clients. In conjunction with the investment, Held Enloe & Associates, LLC will combine with J.S. Held, further strengthening J.S. Held’s property loss consulting, litigation and dispute resolution services, and construction and development advisory services.

J.S. Held and Held Enloe professionals have served as consultants, expert witnesses, and arbitration panelists on many of the largest and most complex property insurance claims, construction projects and disputes. The senior management team of both firms will continue to hold a significant minority interest in the combined company.

J.S. Held’s President and Chief Executive Officer Jonathon Held said, “With the Lovell Minnick investment, J.S. Held has a partner who shares our vision for growth. Through its depth of knowledge and focus on financial service firms, Lovell Minnick has an extraordinary track record of investing in growth-oriented companies in our sector.” Held Enloe’s Managing Member Lisa Enloe added, “The combined service offering of J.S. Held and Held Enloe will provide clients with a world-class resource to help navigate through the increasingly complex claims and litigation environment.”

Lovell Minnick Managing Director Bob Belke noted, “We believe that an increasing propensity among insurers to seek third-party expertise when managing complex claims, coupled with the depth and talents of the J.S. Held and Held Enloe professionals, will result in significant growth opportunities for the company. Jon, Lisa, and their colleagues have built a formidable company that has superbly executed upon its growth plan, and we are proud to partner with them.”

Deloitte Corporate Finance LLC acted as financial advisor to J.S. Held and Held Enloe, and William Blair & Company, L.L.C. acted as financial advisor to Lovell Minnick. Zukerman Gore Brandeis & Crossman LLP acted as legal counsel to J.S. Held and Held Enloe, and Morgan, Lewis & Bockius LLP acted as legal counsel to Lovell Minnick.

About J.S. Held

Founded in 1974, J.S. Held has extensive experience in all facets of property loss consulting, including estimating, scheduling and project monitoring. J.S. Held’s consultants have evaluated damage to more than 50,000 buildings and structures throughout the world and have experience working on all types of engagements including insurance claims related to commercial, industrial, high rise, special structures, governmental, residential, and infrastructure damages. The Company has a presence in over 20 locations throughout the U.S. and Canada. For more information regarding J.S. Held, please visit www.jsheld.com.

About Held Enloe & Associates

Held Enloe & Associates was formed in 2005 by two of the construction and insurance industries’ top leaders, Lisa A. Enloe and Jonathon C. Held. Today, Held Enloe & Associates is a full service construction consulting firm with expertise in managing and advising on large complex construction projects of all types. Held Enloe offers a variety of construction and development related services to enable clients to more effectively manage risk and uncertainty throughout all phases of construction, from project commencement through close-out. For more information regarding Held Enloe & Associates, please visit www.heldenloe.com.

SAN FRANCISCO, March 25, 2015 – Genstar Capital, a leading middle market private equity firm based in San Francisco, today announced that it has signed a definitive agreement to partner with management in acquiring a majority interest in Mercer Advisors from Lovell Minnick Partners, a private equity firm which specializes in lower middle-market investments in the financial services industry.

Mercer is a leading registered investment advisor with a full suite of wealth management services and over 30 years of experience. The Company services primarily the mass-affluent and high-net-worth clients and today has a strong base of individual clients with assets of nearly $6 billion. Mercer Advisors offers comprehensive wealth management solutions, including: financial planning, investment management, tax management, retirement income and benefits planning, and estate planning.

Genstar’s operational expertise and industry experience will be valuable in assisting the company in its continued expansion, both in terms of scale and service offerings. According to David H. Barton, President and Chief Executive Officer of Mercer Advisors, the transaction provides seamless continuity for Mercer Advisors and its clients. “This acquisition benefits our clients and employees, as well as the long-term strategy of our firm and provides for continuing a renewed private equity partnership first established with Lovell Minnick. Genstar has a long history of supporting its portfolio companies and shares our belief in a client-centric culture and holistic service model. Genstar’s capital investment will allow us to further invest in growth, both organically and through acquisitions, and elevate the value proposition we offer our current and future clients.”

Anthony J. Salewski, Managing Director of Genstar, added: “Genstar has followed Mercer Advisors for a number of years and this investment demonstrates our continued commitment to investing in targeted growth segments within the financial services industry. Mercer Advisors has delivered consistent growth over the past several years, and we look forward to partnering with Dave and his management team to accelerate that trajectory.”

Jeffrey D. Lovell, Chairman of Lovell Minnick Partners, noted: “We have enjoyed working closely with the Mercer management team over the past seven years to support the Company as it has grown into the leading business it is today. We are pleased management has formed a partnership with Genstar, whose interests and plans align well with the Company’s strategy.”

The transaction is expected to be completed in the second quarter of 2015. Mercer Advisors is currently a portfolio company of Lovell Minnick Partners. Moelis & Company acted as exclusive financial advisor to Mercer Advisors.

About Mercer Advisors

Established in 1985, Mercer Advisors Inc. is a total wealth management firm that provides fee-only comprehensive investment management, financial planning, family office services, retirement benefits and distribution planning, estate planning, and tax management services to affluent individuals. Mercer Advisors is the parent company of Mercer Global Advisors, one of the largest Registered Investment Advisors and financial planning firms in the U.S. with nearly $6 billion in assets under management and more than 4,300 clients. Headquartered in Santa Barbara, California, Mercer Advisors is privately held, has over 140 employees and operates nationally with 15 branch offices across the country. For more information about Mercer Advisors, visit www.merceradvisors.com.

About Genstar Capital

Genstar Capital (www.gencap.com) is a private equity firm that has been actively investing in high quality companies for more than 20 years. Based in San Francisco, Genstar works in partnership with its management teams and its network of strategic advisors to transform its portfolio companies into industry-leading businesses. Genstar manages funds with total capital commitments of over $3 billion and targets investments focused on selected sectors within the financial services, software, healthcare, and industrial technology industries. Current investments in financial services include an asset manager focused on alternative investment solutions; a provider of critical data, business intelligence, and information services to the global investment management industry; a leading Midwest retail insurance brokerage; and a leading provider of investment management, client relationship tools, and practice management programs to financial advisors.

About Lovell Minnick Partners

Lovell Minnick Partners LLC is a private equity firm with expertise in investing in the financial and related business services sectors. Lovell Minnick provides developing companies with equity capital to support private company recapitalizations, leveraged buyouts, and pursue growth initiatives. Since its inception in 1999, Lovell Minnick Partners has raised over $1.2 billion in committed capital and has completed investments in over 30 companies. Targeted investment areas include asset management, financial product distribution, insurance, banks, specialty finance, and related technology and business services. Lovell Minnick has a demonstrated track record of increasing value through a variety of methods including internal investment, acquisitions, and prudent use of leverage.

RADNOR, Pennsylvania, January 13, 2015 — Lovell Minnick Partners LLC, an independent private equity firm providing buyout and growth capital to companies in the financial services industry, has retained Michael F. Dura as a Senior Advisor.

As a Senior Advisor, Mr. Dura will assist Lovell Minnick’s investment team in the sourcing, evaluation and due diligence of investment opportunities with a particular focus on broker-dealers, securities processing services and financial technology companies. He also will collaborate with fellow Senior Advisors Dr. Heinz J. Hockmann, a former executive officer at Commerzbank AG in Germany, and Alan F. Warrick, a former Aegon insurance executive, in supporting Lovell Minnick portfolio companies in various board and strategic roles.

Mr. Dura has over 30 years of experience in the financial services industry, with an extensive operating history in securities, financing, and asset management businesses. Most recently, he was an Executive Vice President of National Financial Services, a Fidelity Investments company, after leading the sale of Correspondent Services Corporation, a wholly-owned subsidiary of UBS, to National Financial Services in 2003. Prior to becoming President of Correspondent Services Corporation, Mr. Dura served as Joint Group Managing Director and co-head of the global securities business of Schroder & Co., Inc., with primary operating responsibility for all business lines in the Americas, until the sale of the investment bank to Salomon SmithBarney in 2000.

Mr. Dura is currently a Managing Partner and co-founder of Prex Capital Partners, LLC, a private management firm established in 2004 and specializing in providing advisory services to hedge funds, broker dealers and related financial services firms. Mr. Dura is a member of the board of directors of Keane Holdings Inc., and previously served on the board of First Allied Holdings, both Lovell Minnick portfolio companies. He holds a B.A. in Political Science and Economics from Columbia University and resides with his wife and two children in Albany, NY.

“We have had the privilege of working with Mike for nearly a decade on several opportunities and are very pleased to have Mike formally join us as a senior advisor,” said Jeffrey D. Lovell, Chairman of Lovell Minnick Partners.

About Lovell Minnick Partners LLC

Lovell Minnick Partners LLC is a private equity firm providing buyout and growth capital to companies in the financial services industry. Having raised over $1.2 billion in committed capital, we have provided equity capital for management buyouts, succession and ownership transitions, growth investments, and recapitalizations for over 30 middle-market companies. Portfolio companies of Lovell Minnick operate in various areas of the global financial services industry, such as asset management, financial planning, financial product distribution, specialty finance, insurance and securities brokerage, commercial banking and trust services, and related administration and business services companies and outsource providers in the financial services industry.

Acquisition further strengthens Keane’s position as premier unclaimed property services provider.

New York, NY, December 11, 2014 – Keane, the nation’s leading provider of outsourced unclaimed property solutions, today announced the acquisition of Unclaimed Property Recovery & Reporting, LLC and its wholly owned subsidiary, UPRR Securities LLC, a registered Broker-Dealer  (UPRR). Through the acquisition, Keane further strengthens its position as the industry leader, providing unclaimed property services to more than 2,000 public corporations, banks, broker-dealers, mutual funds, insurance carriers, and transfer agents.

“This acquisition is ideal for the industry, as the services offered by both Keane and UPRR complement each other perfectly,” commented Keane Chief Executive Officer, Michael J. O’Donnell. “Through the combination of each of our advanced owner location service platforms, clients of both Keane and UPRR will now have access to an even greater suite of services to assist their shareholders, customers, and investors.”

Keane’s owner location and communication services, ranked the highest in Group Five’s annual shareholder services report for the fifth consecutive year, will grow and expand through UPRR’s impressive technologies and unique service offerings, such as its Pre-Escheat Location (PEL) owner communication program. Keane will also supplement its outsourced escheat reporting services and unclaimed property consulting and compliance services through the addition of key management and operational talent.

UPRR Chief Administrative Officer, Pete Miller remarked, “I believe the combination of Keane and UPRR will provide clients with a unique set of tools to reduce unclaimed property risk and return property to the correct owners.”

About Keane

Keane is the country’s leading provider of comprehensive outsourced unclaimed property solutions. Keane provides corporations, mutual funds, banks, brokerages, insurance companies and transfer agents with a full suite of professional outsourced services, including locating account owners or beneficiaries, risk mitigation, customer communication programs, recovery of escheated assets, consulting, reporting and other unclaimed property compliance-related services.  Keane employs more than 200 people across the country. Keane is headquartered in New York, NY with a main operating facility in King of Prussia, PA, and has various satellite offices across the country. For more information, please visit www.KeaneUP.com.

About UPRR

Since 1996, UPRR has developed customized solutions to minimize the liability and risk associated with unclaimed property for a vast array of organizations spanning across multiple industries.  Staffed by employees with decades of experience in this field, UPRR provides clients with thorough and thoughtful answers to the most challenging unclaimed property questions.  Additionally, through UPRR’s proprietary escheat compliance system, UPRR clients can be assured that the requirements of all reporting jurisdictions are met.

Analytic Investors to serve as fund sub-advisor

DENVER, September 17, 2014 – 361 Capital, an asset management firm specializing in liquid alternative mutual funds, announced today that it has filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) to launch the 361 Global Long/Short Equity Fund. Los Angeles-based Analytic Investors, which manages approximately $10 billion in assets, will sub-advise the Fund.

The 361 Global Long/Short Equity Fund will use the same investment strategy as the Analytic Global Long/Short Equity Portfolio, a Separately Managed Account (SMA), which was launched in December 2009.

“The launching of this Fund will provide a quality long/short mutual fund option to investors. There is clearly a shortage of attractive long/short equity mutual funds, and even more so funds that deliver global exposure,” said Tom Florence, CEO of 361 Capital. “In Analytic Investors, we have a sub-advisor with more than 40 years of experience managing both traditional and non-traditional portfolios. Importantly, they have effectively been managing this strategy for almost 5 years.”

Founded in 1970, Analytic Investors is an employee-owned, boutique asset management firm specializing in quantitative investment solutions and portfolio management. Analytic Investors strives to anticipate and capitalize on changes in the investment climate through a disciplined, active management strategy.

“We manage money for some of the world’s most sophisticated and demanding institutional investors, and look forward to bringing our investment focus to advisors and their clients,” said Harin de Silva, Ph.D., CFA, President and Portfolio Manager of Analytic Investors. “We have worked with the senior management at 361 in the past and believe they have the right approach to working with advisors, and will execute their plans for the growth of this Fund.”

The Fund will seek to achieve long-term capital appreciation. The Fund also seeks to participate in rising markets and preserve capital in down markets.

The filing of the 361 Global Long/Short Equity Fund is the first of a series of funds the Firm plans to offer that will be sub-advised by single managers. It also follows the launch of two new internally managed mutual funds, 361 Global Managed Futures Strategy Fund and 361 Global Macro Opportunity Fund, by the firm in the last five months. In addition, effective August 28, 2014, the Firm has changed the name of its 361 Long/Short Equity Fund to the 361 Market Neutral Fund. The renamed fund will maintain its investment strategy and track record, but will now be classified in Morningstar’s Market Neutral category.

About 361 Capital

361 Capital is an asset management firm specializing in liquid alternative investments. Founded in 2001, the firm is a pioneer in delivering innovative alternative investment strategies to investors in highly liquid vehicles. 361 Capital specializes in managed futures, market neutral, multi-strategy, and global macro strategies, accessible through mutual funds, limited partnerships, and separate accounts. The firm distributes its products through investment advisors and institutions. For more information, call 866-361-1720 or visit www.361capital.com.

About Analytic Investors

Analytic Investors employs a quantitative investment process in managing assets for institutional and mutual fund investors in the United States, Australia, Europe, Canada and Japan. The Los Angeles-based firm offers a variety of global and regional investment products including traditional equity, low volatility equity, long/short equity and option-based strategies. Analytic Investors specializes in the application of modern quantitative tools and is a leader in the application of risk-managed strategies. The firm believes that the use of such techniques allows it to fulfill clients’ objectives through rational, systematic identification of market opportunities. More information is available at www.aninvestor.com.

 

A REGISTRATION STATEMENT RELATING TO THE 361 GLOBAL LONG/SHORT EQUITY FUND HAS BEEN FILED WITH THE SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION. SHARES OF THE FUND MAY NOT BE SOLD UNTIL THE REGISTRATION STATEMENT BECOMES EFFECTIVE. THIS COMMUNICATION IS NOT AN OFFER TO SELL SHARES OF THE FUND IN ANY STATE WHERE SUCH OFFERS ARE NOT PERMITTED. Before investing, you should carefully consider the Fund’s investment objectives, risks, charges and expenses. You may obtain a preliminary prospectus with this and other information about the Fund by calling 1-888-736-1227. The preliminary prospectus is incomplete and subject to change. The final prospectus, when available, should be read carefully before investing.

Investors should consider the 361 Funds’ investment objectives, risks, charges and expenses carefully before investing. For a prospectus, or summary prospectus, that contains this and other information about the Funds, call 1-888-736-1227 or visit www.361capital.com. Please read the prospectus or summary prospectus carefully before investing.

Past performance does not guarantee future results. The Funds’ performance may be influenced by political, social and economic factors affecting investments in foreign markets, including exposure to currency fluctuations relative to the U.S. dollar, less liquidity, less developed or less efficient trading markets, lack of comprehensive company information, political instability, and differing auditing and legal standards. Emerging markets tend to be more volatile than the markets of more mature economies. The value of securities held by the Funds may fall due to general market and economic conditions. The securities of small-cap companies may be subject to more abrupt or erratic market movements; trading may be more erratic or have lower volume than securities of larger companies. Fixed income securities are subject to the risk that securities could lose value because of interest rate, inflation and credit changes.

Derivatives can be highly volatile, illiquid and difficult to value, and changes in the value of a derivative held by the Funds may not correlate with the underlying instrument or the Funds’ other investments. The Funds may make short sales, which may expose the Funds to the risk that it will be required to “cover” the short position at a time when the underlying instrument has appreciated in value, thus resulting in a loss to the Funds. Losses may be incurred even if they are “covered”.  The use of leverage may further magnify the Funds’ gains or losses.

Funds’ performance may be more vulnerable to changes in the market value of a single position and more susceptible to risks associated with a single economic, political or regulatory occurrence than a diversified fund. The Funds may have limited or no track record on which to base investment decisions. Regulators may undertake rulemaking, supervisory or enforcement actions that would adversely affect the Funds. Active and frequent trading may lead to a greater proportion of the Funds’ gains being treated for federal income tax purposes as short-term capital gains or to distribute taxable income to its shareholders sooner than it would have distributed income if the investments were held for longer periods of time. Frequent trading and overlapping security transactions including ETFs would also result in transaction costs, which could detract from performance.

Alternative Investments are speculative and involve substantial risks. It is possible that investors may lose some or all of their investment.

The 361 Funds are distributed by IMST Distributors, LLC.

DENVER, June 10, 2014 – 361 Capital, an asset management firm specializing in liquid alternative investments, announced today that it has entered into a strategic partnership with Lovell Minnick Partners, a private equity firm focused on financial services. Lovell Minnick Partners will assume a minority ownership stake in the Denver-based alternatives firm. Transaction terms were not disclosed.

“Lovell Minnick is a preeminent private equity firm with a long track record of successful investing in asset management businesses,” said Tom Florence, CEO of 361 Capital. “The firm’s stake in 361 Capital strengthens our investment capabilities and positions us for significant growth.” Mr. Florence added that the ability to leverage Lovell Minnick’s deep relationships within the industry will help to accelerate 361 Capital’s expansion.

361 Capital recently announced a comprehensive growth strategy aimed at adding new funds through partnerships and expanding its unique distribution pipeline. The firm plans to partner with hedge fund managers and successful managers of alternative mutual funds, who will serve as sub-advisors to the new funds. Distribution will be carried out through a hybrid strategy that leverages marketing automation, technology and a strong sales force, with a focus on reaching registered investment advisors.

Jeff Lovell, Chairman of Lovell Minnick Partners, said 361 Capital is well-positioned to capitalize on the long-term opportunities in liquid alternatives. “We are very excited about the growth potential for liquid alternatives,” said Mr. Lovell, who added, “361 Capital has a management team with a unique combination of proven success in alternative investing and considerable experience with mutual fund distribution. This gives us great confidence in their ability to execute their business plan and become a leader in the space, and we are pleased to partner with them in supporting their growth.”

About 361 Capital

361 Capital is an asset management firm specializing in liquid alternative investments. Founded in 2001, the firm is a pioneer in delivering innovative alternative investment strategies to investors through highly liquid vehicles. 361 Capital specializes in managed futures, long/short equity, multi-strategy, and global macro strategies, accessible through mutual funds, limited partnerships, and separate accounts. The firm distributes its products through investment advisors and institutions. For more information, call 866-361-1720 or visit www.361capital.com.

About Lovell Minnick Partners LLC

Lovell Minnick Partners LLC is an independent, management-owned private equity firm providing buyout and growth capital to companies in the financial services industry. From offices in Philadelphia and Los Angeles, Lovell Minnick manages private equity partnerships that have raised over $1.1 billion in committed capital. Portfolio companies of Lovell Minnick operate in various areas of the global financial services industry, including asset management, financial product distribution, securities brokerage, financial consulting services, banking, specialty finance, and specialized outsourcing solutions. For more information regarding Lovell Minnick Partners, call 610-995-9660 or visit www.lovellminnick.com.

RADNOR, Pennsylvania, June 9, 2014 – Lovell Minnick Partners LLC, an independent private equity firm providing buyout and growth capital to companies in the financial services industry, is pleased to announce the promotions of Jason S. Barg and Trevor C. Rich to Principal.  Lovell Minnick Partners, which has offices in the Philadelphia and Los Angeles areas, has raised over $1.1 billion in committed capital.

Messrs. Barg and Rich are members of the investment team that is completing the investment of Lovell Minnick Equity Partners III LP.  They have been involved with portfolio companies such as HD Vest Financial Services, Kanaly Trust, Keane, Matthews International Capital Management, Mercer Advisors, and TriState Capital.

Mr. Barg joined the firm’s Pennsylvania office in 2010 from Goldman Sachs’ Financial Institutions Group, where he was an Investment Banking Associate.  Mr. Barg is a CPA who began his career in forensic accounting at PricewaterhouseCoopers.  Mr. Barg received his MBA from the Wharton School of Business and holds a Bachelor of Science in Business Administration from Penn State University.

Mr. Rich joined the firm’s California office in 2010 from Morgan Stanley’s Strategic Acquisitions Group where he was an Analyst evaluating corporate acquisitions and divestitures.  Prior to Morgan Stanley, he was an Analyst in J.P. Morgan’s investment banking group.  Mr. Rich received his MBA from the Wharton School of Business and holds a Bachelor of Arts in Economics from Brigham Young University.

“Jason and Trevor have made significant contributions to our firm over the past several years and successfully led our due diligence efforts on several new investments.  Each has proven himself to be a highly skilled private equity professional and will be an important part of our future,” noted Chairman Jeffrey Lovell.

About Lovell Minnick Partners

Lovell Minnick Partners LLC is an independent, management-owned private equity firm providing buyout and growth capital to companies in the financial services industry.  From offices in the Philadelphia and Los Angeles areas, Lovell Minnick manages private equity partnerships that have raised over $1.1 billion in committed capital.  For more information regarding Lovell Minnick Partners and its portfolio companies, please visit www.lovellminnick.com.

NEW YORK CITY, February 20, 2014 – Lovell Minnick Partners is pleased to announce the acquisition of Keane, the nation’s leader in outsourced unclaimed property solutions.

Led by an experienced group of industry executives, Keane provides outsourced unclaimed property services to many of the nation’s largest financial institutions including transfer agents, mutual funds, banks, brokerages and insurance companies.  Services include locating account owners or beneficiaries, risk mitigation, customer communication programs, recovery of escheated assets, consulting, reporting and other unclaimed property compliance-related services.

Keane Chief Executive Officer Michael O’Donnell commented, “We are very excited to partner with Lovell Minnick given their depth of knowledge and relationships in the financial services industry.  We have a shared vision for the growth potential of Keane, and I look forward to their assistance in helping us execute on our strategy.” Senior management team members at Keane will invest in the company alongside Lovell Minnick.

Lovell Minnick Managing Director Bob Belke said, “We believe the Company is well positioned for growth.  The regulatory environment concerning unclaimed property continues to evolve and grow more complex.  Keane has the team and resources to help financial institutions navigate through these challenges.  We are thrilled to partner with Mike and his team as they continue to deliver best-in-class solutions to the industry”.

About Keane

Keane is the country’s leading provider of comprehensive outsourced unclaimed property solutions. From customized communication programs to in-depth consulting and annual compliance outsourcing, Keane provides corporations, mutual funds, banks, brokerages, insurance companies and transfer agents with a full suite of professional outsourced services. Keane employs more than 200 people across the country in its New York, NY headquarters, main operating facility in King of Prussia, PA, and various satellite offices. For more information on Keane, please visit www.KeaneUP.com.

About Lovell Minnick Partners LLC

Lovell Minnick Partners LLC is an independent private equity firm providing buyout and growth capital to companies in the financial services industry. From offices in Philadelphia and Los Angeles, Lovell Minnick manages private equity partnerships with committed capital totaling over $850 million. Portfolio companies of Lovell Minnick operate in various areas of the global financial services industry, including asset management, banking, specialty finance, financial product distribution, securities brokerage, financial consulting services and specialized outsourcing solutions. For more information regarding Lovell Minnick Partners, visit www.lovellminnick.com.

PITTSBURGH, Jan. 7, 2014 – TriState Capital Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ: TSC) entered into a definitive asset-purchase agreement to acquire Chartwell Investment Partners, L.P., an investment management firm with over 150 institutional clients and approximately $7.5 billion in assets under management.

The holding company for TriState Capital Bank has been actively evaluating investment management firms as part of its longstanding strategy to potentially acquire a firm in order to profitably accelerate recurring fee-income growth, while complementing the products and services the Pittsburgh-based bank already offers to financial intermediaries and high-net-worth clients nationwide. The purchase will include substantially all of the assets of Chartwell, and TriState Capital believes the acquisition will be approximately 25 percent accretive to its earnings per share in the first 12 months following completion of the transaction.

“Chartwell’s partners and employees have built a world-class investment management firm, and we look forward to supporting their continued growth and success in serving their exceptional institutional clients,” TriState Capital Chief Executive Officer James F. Getz said. “The acquisition of Chartwell will enhance TriState Capital’s recurring fee income, provide new product offerings for our national network of financial intermediaries and leverage our financial services distribution capabilities. We are excited that Chartwell has the talent and infrastructure already in place to accommodate significant growth in client accounts and assets for years to come.”

TriState Capital has estimated the transaction value to be approximately $60 million, comprised of a purchase price of approximately $45 million, payable in cash, and estimated earn-out consideration of approximately $15 million to be finally determined based on the growth in profitability of Chartwell in 2014. Up to 60 percent of the earn-out may be paid in common stock of TriState Capital at its option. The asset purchase transaction is expected to close in the first quarter of 2014, subject to regulatory requirements, obtaining certain Chartwell-client consents and other customary closing conditions.

Chartwell provides advisory and sub-advisory investment management services primarily to institutional plan sponsors such as public mutual funds, corporations, Taft-Hartley funds, endowments and foundations. Its annual revenues are expected to exceed $25 million in 2013. Chartwell has maintained an excellent account retention record since its founding in 1997, and its entire team of more than 40 employees will be joining TriState Capital. The investment management business will become a wholly owned subsidiary of TriState Capital Holdings, Inc., and it will continue to operate from its Berwyn, Pa. offices under the Chartwell brand upon completion of the transaction.

“We are very pleased to be joining the TriState Capital team,” said Chartwell Managing Partner, Chief Executive Officer Timothy J. Riddle. “Given TriState Capital’s financial strength and growth culture, its officers’ and directors’ experience in building investment management businesses, and their support for our proprietary, fundamentals-based approach to identifying quality investments, we believe this partnership will be an outstanding fit. Importantly, our clients will continue to be served by the same investment and client service professionals they’ve come to rely on for consistent results and exceptional service, and we look forward to introducing our capabilities to TriState Capital’s financial intermediaries and relationship managers.”

TriState Capital’s evaluation of asset management firms was focused on those within its geographic footprint, and the company’s presence in the Greater Philadelphia market will be enhanced by the addition of Chartwell’s office in the Main Line suburbs. TriState Capital Bank’s Eastern Pennsylvania regional team and representative office will continue to be located in nearby Villanova, Pa.

The board of directors of TriState Capital and the partners of Chartwell have voted in favor of the transaction, which is not subject to approval by TriState Capital shareholders.

TriState Capital’s legal advisor on the transaction is Keevican Weiss Bauerle & Hirsch LLC. Stephens Inc. served as financial advisor and provided a fairness opinion to TriState Capital. Chartwell’s legal advisor is Pepper Hamilton LLP.

ABOUT TRISTATE CAPITAL
TriState Capital Holdings, Inc. is the registered bank holding company for TriState Capital Bank, a commercial bank serving middle-market businesses and high-net-worth individuals. Headquartered in Pittsburgh, Pa., TriState Capital has representative offices in Philadelphia, Cleveland, Princeton, N.J., and New York City, and serves private banking clients nationwide. Established in 2007, TriState Capital had assets of approximately $2.2 billion as of Sept. 30, 2013. It has also announced plans to acquire Chartwell Investment Partners, an investment management firm with about 150 institutional clients and $7.5 billion in assets under management, in a transaction that is expected to close during the first quarter of 2014. For more information, please visit www.tristatecapitalbank.com.

Sale includes Mercer’s OnTrack® dental practice management software system

Santa Barbara, CA — August 2, 2013 — Mercer Advisors Inc. today announced the sale of Mercer Mastery to Patterson Companies, Inc. (Nasdaq: PDCO). Mercer Mastery was a wholly-owned subsidiary of Mercer Advisors providing online business intelligence systems, consulting, workshops and transition services to dental practices nationwide. Through the acquisition, Patterson will gain Mercer’s proprietary OnTrack® dental practice performance software system.

“This is a strategic acquisition that enhances our software offerings for dental practices,” said Paul Guggenheim, president of Patterson Dental. “Mercer’s OnTrack software is a highly compatible solution that can be easily integrated into our platforms to expand our industry-leading software offerings. Longer-term, we anticipate leveraging the OnTrack system across all of Patterson’s businesses to generate additional revenue opportunities.”

According to David Barton, president and CEO of Mercer Advisors, “OnTrack is a cloud-based business intelligence system that allows dentists to choose growth targets for their practice and then create a business plan to achieve those goals. Utilizing customizable planning elements and a cutting edge executive dashboard, OnTrack monitors, measures and helps manage key performance indicators known to drive practice growth.”

Patterson Dental currently offers powerful dental practice software systems for general dentists through its Eaglesoft software and for orthodontic practices with its Dolphin Imaging and Management Solutions.

The transaction closed on July 31, 2013.

About Mercer Advisors Inc.

Established in 1985, Mercer Advisors Inc. is a total wealth management firm that provides comprehensive investment management, financial planning, family office services, and retirement plan design and administration, to affluent individuals. Mercer Advisors is the parent company of Mercer Global Advisors, one of the largest Registered Investment Advisors and financial planning firms in the U.S. with $5 billion in assets under management and more than 3,800 clients nationwide. Mercer Advisors is privately held, has over 150 employees and operates nationally with 15 branch offices across the country. For more information about Mercer Advisors, visit www.merceradvisors.com.

About Patterson Companies, Inc.

Patterson Companies, Inc. is a value-added distributor serving the dental, companion-pet veterinarian and rehabilitation supply markets.

Dental Market
As Patterson’s largest business, Patterson Dental provides a virtually complete range of consumable dental products, equipment and software, turnkey digital solutions and value-added services to dentists and dental laboratories throughout North America.

Veterinary Market
Patterson Veterinary is a leading distributor of consumable veterinary supplies, equipment and software, diagnostic products, vaccines and pharmaceuticals to companion-pet veterinary clinics.

Rehabilitation Market
Patterson Medical is the world’s leading distributor of rehabilitation supplies and non-wheelchair assistive patient products to the physical and occupational therapy markets. The unit’s global customer base includes hospitals, long-term care facilities, clinics and dealers.

Radnor, PA, June 11, 2013 – Lovell Minnick Partners, a leading private equity firm focused on investments in the global financial services industry, announced today that is has signed an agreement to sell First Allied to RCAP Holdings, a firm focused on direct retail investments. First Allied, together with its subsidiaries including The Legend Group, serves over $32 billion in assets across 300,000 clients, 1,500 independent financial advisors and 500 branches in the United States. First Allied’s core value proposition centers around driving advisor efficiency and productivity, which has resulted in the company being a perennial leader in average advisor production. Following this transaction, First Allied, The Legend Group and their subsidiaries will continue to operate autonomously under the current management structure and will maintain their respective brands as part of the RCAP Holdings’ family of companies.

Robert M. Belke, Managing Director of Lovell Minnick Partners, commented, “We have enjoyed a strong partnership with the First Allied team over the years and we wish them great success in the future. We also have tremendous respect for RCAP Holdings and expect it will be a valuable strategic partner to First Allied going forward. This transaction reflects our belief that a profitable exit from an investment makes sense when it brings together companies with complementary competencies. We believe the combined First Allied and RCAP Holdings businesses will be well-positioned to create substantial future value for all stakeholders.”

Adam Antoniades, CEO and President of First Allied, commented, “We benefited from a successful partnership with Lovell Minnick, during which time we saw transformational growth in our business, ultimately driving to this step in our evolution as a firm. We are excited to join RCAP Holdings and its family of companies, where we believe our advisors will benefit from immediate access to a well-capitalized platform tailored to provide mass affluent, emerging high-net-worth, and retirement-focused investors with the next generation of industry-leading investment solutions focused on durable income and principal preservation. Both First Allied and Legend advisors can expect RCAP Holdings and its management to further support their trusted relationships with their clients by maintaining an unwavering commitment to providing unbiased, objective advice through our client-focused model.”

Nicholas S. Schorsch, CEO and Chairman of RCAP Holdings, commented, “We see value and opportunity for growth in a paradigm shift toward a sustainable direct relationship between the mass affluent investor and their independent financial advisor. The acquisition of First Allied gives RCAP Holdings a top-notch management team – in our view, one of the premier independent teams in the industry. Our value-add to First Allied is in being the best financial partner we can be, while also providing strategic insights and direction where we can be helpful.”

About Lovell Minnick Partners

Lovell Minnick Partners LLC is an independent private equity firm providing buyout and growth capital to companies in the financial services industry. From offices in Philadelphia and Los Angeles, Lovell Minnick manages private equity partnerships with committed capital totaling over $850 million. Portfolio companies of Lovell Minnick operate in various areas of the global financial services industry, including asset management, banking, specialty finance, financial product distribution, securities brokerage, financial consulting services and specialized outsourcing solutions. For more information regarding Lovell Minnick Partners, visit www.lovellminnick.com.

About First Allied Holdings

Headquartered in San Diego, First Allied Holdings Inc. operates an independent retail broker/dealer that serves as the firm of choice for independent financial advisors seeking to grow their businesses. First Allied’s exclusive business development platform has been expertly constructed to provide entrepreneurial advisors with the industry’s most comprehensive platform for growth. Dedicated to providing independent financial advisors with a competitive edge, First Allied empowers advisors to successfully compete and win the battle for high-net-worth and ultra-affluent clients. First Allied’s subsidiary companies provide brokerage, investment advisory, asset management, insurance, retirement plan design, technology, training and support services to financial advisors nationwide. First Allied’s subsidiaries include The Legend Group, a specialized provider of investment and retirement solutions to the not-for-profit space, including 403(b) accounts. For more information about First Allied and The Legend Group, visit www.firstallied.com and www.legendgroup.com.

About RCAP Holdings

Based in New York, RCAP Holdings, LLC focuses on the retail direct investment industry and owns a direct majority economic interest in Realty Capital Securities, LLC, a FINRA registered wholesale broker/dealer and an investment banking and capital markets business, American National Stock Transfer, LLC, an SEC registered transfer agent, and RCS Advisory Services, LLC, a transaction management services business.

PITTSBURGH — May 8, 2013 — TriState Capital Holdings, Inc. (“TriState Capital”), the holding company for TriState Capital Bank, today announced the pricing of its initial public offering of 5,700,000 shares of common stock at a price to the public of $11.50 per share, including 5,500,000 primary shares of common stock being offered by TriState Capital.

The common stock will be listed on the NASDAQ Global Select Market and is expected to begin trading on May 9, 2013, under the symbol “TSC.” The offering is expected to close on May 14, 2013. To commemorate the first day of trading, TriState Capital’s founders are expected to ring the Opening Bell at the NASDAQ MarketSite in New York City on Thursday, May 9th.

The underwriters have a 30-day option to purchase up to an additional 855,000 shares from TriState Capital at the initial public offering price less the underwriting discount to cover over-allotments, if any.

Stephens Inc., Keefe, Bruyette & Woods, A Stifel Company, and Baird are serving as joint bookrunning managers, and Macquarie Capital is serving as co-manager for the offering. The offering will be made only by means of a prospectus. Copies may be obtained from Stephens Inc., Attention: Prospectus Department, 111 Center Street, Little Rock, AR 72201, by telephone at 1-501-377-2130 or by email at prospectus@stephens.com.

A registration statement relating to these securities has been filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission and was declared effective by the SEC on May 8, 2013.

This press release shall not constitute an offer to sell or a solicitation of an offer to buy, nor shall there be any sale of these securities in any state or jurisdiction in which such an offer, solicitation or sale would be unlawful prior to registration or qualification under the securities laws of any such state or jurisdiction.

ABOUT TRISTATE CAPITAL:
TriState Capital Holdings, Inc., is the registered bank holding company for TriState Capital Bank, a commercial bank serving middle-market businesses, professionals and high-net-worth individuals. Headquartered in Pittsburgh, Pa., TriState Capital has representative offices in Philadelphia, Cleveland, Princeton, N.J., and New York City and serves private banking clients nationwide. Established in 2007, TriState Capital had assets of approximately $2.1 billion as of March 31, 2013. For more information, please visit www.tristatecapitalbank.com.

LAS VEGAS, NV  (March 11, 2013)— The Independent Community Bankers of America® (ICBA) today announced a new strategic partnership with Kanaly Trust to provide community banks with a unique option to maximize their existing trust and wealth management assets. The announcement was made during the 2013 ICBA National Convention and Techworld® at the Wynn Las Vegas and Encore.

“Many community banks have successful and growing trust and wealth management offerings, but others face challenges, including succession, compliance and a difficult operating environment. Too often these banks are faced with divesting these valuable assets and risking client relationships,” ICBA Services Network President and CEO Gary Teagno said.

Kanaly Trust is a wealth management firm with more than $2 billion in assets under management. In addition to wealth management services, the company provides trust/estate services to families, individuals and estates. The firm is independent of any banking or corporate relationships and does not promote specific financial products or services. Along with ICBA, the new solution is backed by Lovell Minnick Partners, a private equity firm that invests in financial service companies and SEI (NASDAQ: SEIC), a leading global provider of outsourced processing and wealth management solutions for institutional and private clients.

With more than 35 years of experience, along with access to substantial capital, technology and human resources, Kanaly Trust will deliver comprehensive offerings and targeted expertise to clients. “This is a truly unique partnership that offers community banks a new solution for their trust wealth management businesses,” Bill Rankin, CEO of Houston, Texas,-based Kanaly Trust, said.

“Through this strategic partnership, ICBA member banks will now have a strategic alternative with a non-depository—without risk of losing deposits or related lending,” Cynthia Blankenship, ICBA Services Network chairman and vice chairman and chief operating officer, Bank of the West, Grapevine, Texas, said. “In the end, this is an opportunity for community banks who may wish to free up capital while continuing to provide unparelled services to their most valued trust clients.”

About Kanaly Trust

Kanaly Trust is a wealth management firm with approximately $2 billion in assets under management. The company provides comprehensive financial planning and trust/estate services to families, individuals and estates with assets in excess of $1 million. The firm is independent of any banking or corporate relationships and does not promote specific financial products or services. Kanaly Trust serves as the trustee or executor for estates totaling more than $2.5 billion, and works with clients worldwide. Based in Houston, Kanaly Trust was founded in 1975 by Deane Kanaly. For more information, visit www.kanaly.com.

About Lovell Minnick Partners LLC

Lovell Minnick Partners is an independent private equity firm providing equity capital for private company leveraged buyouts and recapitalizations, and growth capital for developing companies.  From offices in Philadelphia and Los Angeles, Lovell Minnick Partners manages private equity partnerships with committed capital totaling over $850 million.  Portfolio companies operate across a broad array of financial services, including asset management, banking, specialty finance, financial product distribution, securities brokerage, financial consulting services, and specialized outsourcing solutions.

About ICBA

The Independent Community Bankers of America®, the nation’s voice for nearly 7,000 community banks of all sizes and charter types, is dedicated exclusively to representing the interests of the community banking industry and its membership through effective advocacy, best-in-class education and high-quality products and services. For more information, visit www.icba.org.

PlanMember Financial Corporation and AXA Equitable Form National Distribution Marketing Alliance

February 27, 2013 – PlanMember Financial Corporation (“PlanMember” or the “Company”) is pleased to announce that is has completed a recapitalization with AXA Group. As part of the transaction, PlanMember will form a national distribution alliance with AXA Equitable which will include them as a primary PlanMember Insurance Program Provider. This alliance serves as a long-term strategic growth opportunity in the employer-sponsored markets, as well as the individual planning markets for both PlanMember and AXA Equitable.

As part of the transaction, Lovell Minnick Partners will exit its investment in the Company. PlanMember has been a portfolio company since October 2006 when the private equity firm led a recapitalization and provided growth capital to the Company. Lovell Minnick Managing Director, Robert Belke, commented, “It has been a pleasure to work with Jon Ziehl and the rest of the PlanMember team over the last six years and we wish them well in their new partnership with AXA.”  Jon Ziehl, CEO of PlanMember, said “Lovell Minnick was integral in the growth and development of PlanMember in recent years.  Without Lovell Minnick’s strategic and financial assistance, we could not have attracted an industry partner of AXA’s caliber to support the continued expansion of our independent distribution model.”

About Lovell Minnick Partners

Lovell Minnick Partners is an independent private equity firm providing equity capital for private company leveraged buyouts and recapitalizations, and growth capital for developing companies.  From offices in Philadelphia and Los Angeles, Lovell Minnick Partners manages private equity partnerships with committed capital totaling over $850 million.  Portfolio companies operate across a broad array of financial services, including asset management, banking, specialty finance, financial product distribution, securities brokerage, financial consulting services, and specialized outsourcing solutions.  For more information, visit www.lovellminnick.com.

About PlanMember Financial Corporation

Headquartered in Carpinteria, California, PlanMember Financial Corporation has been an industry-leading broker/dealer for over two decades. With over 400 registered representatives, a growing number of PlanMember Financial Centers across the country, $5 billion in assets under management and over 120,000 customer accounts, PlanMember is an approved retirement plan provider in over 3,000 school districts and nonprofit organizations nationwide. PlanMember Securities Corporation is a registered broker/dealer, investment advisor and member FINRA/SIPC. For more information visit www.planmember.com.

About AXA Equitable


In business since 1859, AXA Equitable Life Insurance Company (NY, NY) is a leading financial protection company and one of the nation’s premier providers of life insurance and annuity products, as well as investment products and services through its affiliates, including, AXA Advisors, LLC. The company’s products and services are distributed to individuals and business owners through its retail distribution channel, AXA Advisors and to the financial services market through its wholesale distribution channel, AXA Distributors, LLC. Find AXA Equitable on Facebook and Twitter or visit the company’s multi-media newsroom The Source @ AXA Equitable.

AXA Equitable, a subsidiary of AXA Financial, Inc., is part of the global AXA Group, a worldwide leader in financial protection strategies and wealth management. “AXA Group” refers to AXA, a French holding company for an international group of insurance and financial services companies together with its direct and indirect consolidated subsidiaries. For more information, visit www.axa-equitable.com.

Dahlman Rose & Company LLC has signed an agreement to be acquired by Cowen Group, Inc. in an all-stock transaction that is expected to close in March.  Following is the press release issued from Dahlman Rose.

Dahlman Rose & Company Announces Acquisition by Cowen Group, Inc.

NEW YORK (February 1, 2013) – Dahlman Rose & Company, LLC, (“Dahlman Rose” or “the Company”) and Cowen Group, Inc. (NASDAQ: COWN) (“Cowen”) today announced the signing of a definitive agreement under which Cowen will acquire Dahlman Rose, a leading investment bank specializing in energy, metals and mining, transportation, chemicals and agriculture sectors. This acquisition is an all-stock transaction, and financial terms of the deal were not disclosed.

Robert C. Meier, CEO of Dahlman Rose said, “Dahlman Rose’s expertise in energy, transportation, metals and mining, chemicals and agriculture is a strong complement to Cowen core sectors of health care, technology, media, telecommunications, consumer, aerospace and defense/industrials and REITs. Dahlman Rose and its customers will benefit from the added breadth of Cowen’s product offerings and the strength and stability of their platform.”

The transaction, which is expected to close by the end of the first quarter of 2013, is subject to customary closing conditions and regulatory approvals.

Willkie Farr & Gallagher LLP acted as legal advisor to Cowen on this transaction. Morgan Lewis & Bockius, LLP acted as legal advisor to Dahlman Rose for this transaction.

ABOUT DAHLMAN ROSE & CO.

Dahlman Rose & Co., LLC is a research-driven investment bank focused on energy, transportation, infrastructure, and other industries that compose the global supply chain. The firm’s industry-leading analysts, bankers, and traders offer unique insight into the companies and markets that provide the building blocks of the global economy. Dahlman Rose provides institutional sales and trading, equity research, mergers and acquisitions advisory, and underwriting services.

ABOUT COWEN GROUP, INC.

Cowen Group, Inc. is a diversified financial services firm and, together with its consolidated subsidiaries, provides alternative investment, investment banking, research, and sales and trading services through its two business segments: Ramius and its affiliates makes up the Company’s alternative investment segment, while Cowen and Company is its broker-dealer segment. Its alternative investment products, solutions and services include hedge funds, replication products, managed futures funds, fund of funds, real estate and health care royalty funds. Cowen and Company offers industry focused investment banking for growth-oriented companies, domain knowledge-driven research and a sales and trading platform for institutional investors. Founded in 1918, the firm is headquartered in New York and has offices located in major financial centers around the world.

RADNOR, Pennsylvania, January 10, 2013 – Lovell Minnick Partners LLC, an independent private equity firm providing buyout and growth capital to companies in the financial services industry, is pleased to announce the promotion of W. Bradford Armstrong to Principal.

Mr. Armstrong joined Lovell Minnick in 2009 from Bank of America Merrill Lynch’s Financial Institutions Group, where he was an Investment Banking Associate focused on transactions involving commercial and trust banks, asset managers and financial technology companies. Previously, Mr. Armstrong was an Assistant Vice President in Bank of America’s Finance Group, where he was responsible for managing the financial reporting and budgeting for the bank’s global call center operations.  Brad began his career in a strategic development group within Wachovia Corporation, now part of Wells Fargo Corporation.

Mr. Armstrong received an MBA in Finance from the Kellogg School of Management at Northwestern University and a Bachelor of Science in Business Administration from the Kenan-Flagler Business School at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.

‘‘Brad has been involved in the execution of many new investments since he joined us in 2009,’’ said Jim Minnick, Managing Director. “He has proven to be a highly valuable member of our team, and his promotion to Principal is well-deserved”. Mr. Armstrong will be joining the Boards of Directors of First Allied Holdings, Inc. and Commercial Credit Group, Inc. as a result of his promotion.

About Lovell Minnick Partners

Lovell Minnick Partners LLC is an independent private equity firm providing buyout and growth capital to companies in the financial services industry.   From offices in the Los Angeles and Philadelphia areas, Lovell Minnick manages private equity partnerships with committed capital totaling over $850 million. Portfolio companies of Lovell Minnick operate in various areas of the global financial services industry, including asset management, banking, specialty finance, financial product distribution, securities brokerage, financial consulting services, and specialized outsourcing solutions. For more information regarding Lovell Minnick Partners visit www.LovellMinnick.com.

Lovell Minnick led the buyout of Duff & Phelps from Webster Bank in 2004

NEW YORK — Dec. 30, 2012– Duff & Phelps Corporation (NYSE: DUF) (“the Company”), a leading independent financial advisory and investment banking firm, announced today that it has entered into a definitive merger agreement under which a consortium (“the Consortium”) comprising controlled affiliates of or funds managed by The Carlyle Group, Stone Point Capital LLC, Pictet & Cie and Edmond de Rothschild Group will acquire the Company for $15.55 per share in cash in a transaction valued at approximately $665.5 million.

The offer represents a 19.2% premium to the closing price of Duff & Phelps shares on December 28, 2012, and 27.3% over the Company’s volume weighted average share price during the 30 days ended December 28, 2012. The transaction is expected to close in the first half of 2013, subject to customary closing conditions—including the receipt of stockholder and regulatory approvals.

Noah Gottdiener, chief executive officer of Duff & Phelps, said, “Duff & Phelps Board of Directors, acting on advice from the Company’s legal and financial advisors, agrees that this transaction is in the best interest of our stockholders, who will receive an immediate and certain cash premium for their shares. Importantly, the transaction will be structured to preserve the firm’s independence as we serve our clients in the future.”

Olivier Sarkozy, Managing Director and head of Carlyle’s Global Financial Services group, said, “Regulatory demands, implementation of new accounting policies and requirements for increased corporate disclosure and third party validation provide significant growth opportunities for Duff & Phelps core products and services. We will harness Carlyle’s and Stone Point’s global networks while leveraging Duff & Phelps preeminent brand to foster growth in new geographies. Additionally, we believe the involvement of Pictet and Edmond de Rothschild Group will support the Company’s initiatives to enhance its international presence and expand its Limited Partner client base. We are excited to work with Noah and his management team on this opportunity.”

Charles A. Davis, Chief Executive Officer of Stone Point Capital, added, “Noah and his colleagues have performed admirably throughout market cycles and have done a superb job executing their business plan to grow the Company. Today, Duff & Phelps is well-positioned in the marketplace, and we believe that demand for the Company’s independence, integrity and professionalism will only increase in the current environment.”

The merger agreement provides for a “go-shop” period commencing immediately and ending on February 8, 2013, during which the Company, with the assistance of its financial and legal advisors, will actively solicit and potentially receive, evaluate and enter into negotiations with third parties that offer alternative transaction proposals. It is not anticipated that any developments will be disclosed with regard to this process, unless the Duff & Phelps board makes a decision with respect to a potential superior proposal. There is no guarantee that this process will result in a superior proposal. The merger agreement provides for a break-up fee of approximately $6.65 million if the Company terminates the agreement prior to March 8, 2013, in connection with a superior proposal that first arose during the go-shop period.

All members of the senior management team have agreed to remain employed by, and invest in the equity of, the Company following the closing of the transaction. They have agreed to offer to participate on similar terms in any other acquisition proposal that may be made for the Company.

The pro forma Board of Directors will comprise nine members – including two representatives each from the management team, The Carlyle Group and Stone Point Capital, in addition to three independent directors. No single member of the Consortium will own more than 35% of the pro forma Company.

The transaction has been approved by the Board of Directors of Duff & Phelps, following the recommendation of a transaction committee consisting of independent directors. The Board of Directors of Duff & Phelps recommends that stockholders vote in favor of the transaction at the special meeting of stockholders that will be called to approve the transaction. Stockholders beneficially owning an aggregate of approximately 10% of the outstanding shares of the Company have already agreed to vote their shares in favor of the transaction; these commitments terminate if the merger agreement is terminated.

The merger agreement provides that the Company can continue to pay dividends if declared by the Company in the normal course prior to closing of the merger.

Advisors

Duff & Phelps:
• M&A: Centerview Partners
• Legal: Kirkland & Ellis LLP

The Consortium:
• M&A: Sandler O’Neill + Partners, L.P. (Lead Advisor), Credit Suisse, Barclays, RBC Capital Markets
• Financing: Credit Suisse, Barclays, RBC Capital Markets
• Legal: Wachtell, Lipton, Rosen & Katz

About Duff & Phelps

As a leading global financial advisory and investment banking firm, Duff & Phelps balances analytical skills, deep market insight and independence to help clients make sound decisions. The firm provides expertise in the areas of valuation, transactions, financial restructuring, alternative assets, disputes and taxation, with more than 1,000 employees serving clients from offices in North America, Europe and Asia. Investment banking services in the United States are provided by Duff & Phelps Securities, LLC; Pagemill Partners; and GCP Securities, LLC. Member FINRA/SIPC. M&A advisory services in the United Kingdom and Germany are provided by Duff & Phelps Securities Ltd. Duff & Phelps Securities Ltd. is authorized and regulated by the Financial Services Authority. For more information, visit www.duffandphelps.com. (NYSE: DUF)

SAN DIEGO, CA, October 31, 2012 – First Allied Holdings Inc. (First Allied) announced today that it has entered into an agreement to acquire The Legend Group (Legend). Based in Palm Beach Gardens, FL, Legend is a leading provider of unique investment services and innovative retirement planning solutions. Consisting of Legend Equities Corporation, Legend Advisory Corporation and Advisory Services Corporation, The Legend Group of companies will operate as an independent business unit under the First Allied Holdings Inc. umbrella. Subject to customary approvals, the transaction is expected to close in the first quarter of 2013.

 

Joel Marks, Chairman of First Allied Securities, said, “Legend has an incredible team of experienced financial professionals, a strong brand, and a focused business model that complements First Allied’s existing business. Growing together and sharing best practices will open up new opportunities and will enable us to better serve our advisors and their clients.”

 

Adam Antoniades, President and CEO of First Allied, said, “Both Legend and First Allied have successfully executed on a strategy focused on premium advisor service and education, in their respective niches, and we are committed to supporting that strategy. The Legend and First Allied families of companies share many qualities—they have similar cultures and values, long histories of innovation in the independent advisor industry, and experienced teams that have worked together for many years.”

 

Legend’s CEO, Mark Spinello, said, “For decades, we have prided ourselves on providing premium services and support, and we believe this transaction will further enhance our ability to deliver premier solutions to our advisors and their clients. Joining First Allied aligns us with a partner company that shares our independent roots and our business goals.”

 

Shashi Mehrotra, President and Chief Investment Officer of Legend, added, “Our companies share a common set of values, including teamwork, innovation and integrity; in this respect, First Allied is a natural partner, and we are excited about growing with them.”

 

The Legend Group will continue to operate under its current brand as a stand-alone, sister company to the existing First Allied entities. The companies will seek to explore synergies within the organization, which will likely translate to an expansion of services and programs offered to advisors and clients. The combined entities will have nearly 1,400 advisors and $28 billion in assets under administration.

 

Mr. Marks added, “Both Legend and First Allied recognize that the culture, relationships, and business practices at each firm have contributed to each entity’s historical success. Legend and First Allied remain committed to the growth and enhancement of each individual business unit. We look forward to welcoming Legend into the First Allied family.”

 

 

 

About First Allied

 

First Allied is a full-service, independent broker/dealer with nearly 1,000 financial advisors in 500 branches located throughout the United States. First Allied includes an independent broker/dealer, registered investment adviser, wealth management, insurance services and pension services businesses. Founded in 1994 as a privately held company, First Allied remains committed to its vision of providing independent financial advisors with innovative products, unparalleled education, differentiated financial products, integrated wealth management solutions and comprehensive access to subject matter expertise. First Allied fosters an environment that serves and nurtures advisors who want to increase the productivity, size and profitability of their individual practices. In November 2011, the First Allied management team and Lovell Minnick Partners, a private equity firm focused on investments in the global financial services industry, completed the acquisition of First Allied. For more information about First Allied, please visit www.firstallied.com.

 

About The Legend Group®

 

The Legend Group is a unique investment services provider offering quality investment solutions to clients for nearly 50 years. Legend provides a wide variety of products to its clients with premier service and personalized attention. Legend provides investment solutions for retirement, education savings plans, insurance needs, income generation, and professional portfolio management. Legend is headquartered in Palm Beach Gardens, FL, and has additional offices around the country. For more information about Legend, please visit www.legendgroup.com.

Raymond James Affiliate Announces Agreement to Acquire 45% in ClariVest Asset Management

ST. PETERSBURG, FL – Eagle Asset Management, Inc. (“Eagle”) has announced a definitive agreement to purchase 45 percent of ClariVest Asset Management LLC (“ClariVest”) from Lovell Minnick Partners LLC (“Lovell Minnick”) and other minority investors, creating a strategic relationship and providing additional distribution opportunities for ClariVest products. The transaction is expected to be completed around the end of the calendar year.

San Diego-based ClariVest, launched in 2006, manages more than $3 billion in client assets and currently markets its investment services to corporate and public pension plans, foundations, endowments and Taft-Hartley clients worldwide. The principals of the firm have proven track records in quantitative-based investment strategies. ClariVest management’s ownership shares will remain unchanged.

“This transaction expands the breadth of Eagle’s investment management expertise while providing ClariVest with additional resources to continue growing and expanding its business,” said Richard Rossi, president of Eagle and co-chief operating officer.

“A shared focus on disciplined investment strategies executed by proven, experienced teams is a critical aspect of this investment,” added Cooper Abbott, co-chief operating officer and executive vice president of investments. “ClariVest clients can continue to rely on the same investment process they’ve grown to trust.”

ClariVest offers a diversified range of domestic, international, emerging markets and global products, combining stock selection with advanced risk control techniques to exploit market inefficiencies.

Stacey Nutt, Ph.D., President and Chief Investment Officer of ClariVest, commented on behalf of the investment team and firm, “We believe that this affiliation will best position our firm so as to ensure continued excellent client service, investment team focus, and firm continuity over what promises to be a bright future. We are extremely excited about this relationship.”

ClariVest has been a portfolio company of Lovell Minnick Partners since March 2006, when Lovell Minnick teamed with six former senior members of a global asset management firm to form an independent quantitative investment management business.  Jim Minnick, President and Managing Director of Lovell Minnick, commented, “It has been a successful partnership for Lovell Minnick and the ClariVest team.  Thanks to both management and employees for their hard work in growing and developing the company.  We wish the team well in their future endeavors.”

About Eagle Asset Management, Inc.

Eagle Asset Management, a subsidiary of Raymond James Financial (NYSE:RJF), provides institutional and individual investors with a broad array of equity and fixed income products designed to meet long-term investing goals. The firm’s clients currently entrust more than $20 billion* in investment strategies designed to deliver above-average, risk-adjusted returns via both separately managed account and mutual fund platforms.

*As of June 30, 2012 and includes Eagle Asset Management, Inc. and its wholly-owned subsidiaries

HOUSTON, October 9, 2012 – Kanaly Trust, LTA (“Kanaly Trust”) and Lovell Minnick Partners LLC (“Lovell Minnick”) are pleased to announce that Lovell Minnick has agreed to acquire Kanaly Trust, a leading independent trust company providing comprehensive wealth management and financial planning services to families, individuals and estates.

Kanaly Trust has offered independent investment advice to its clients for over 35 years by combining financial planning, trust and estate services with a best-of-breed approach to outside manager selection. Today, Kanaly Trust has nearly $2 billion in assets under management.  It serves as trustee or executor for estates totaling more than $2.5 billion.

Proceeds from the transaction will be used to provide liquidity to certain existing shareholders and promote future company growth. The Kanaly family along with members of the senior management team of Kanaly Trust will retain a material investment in the firm and continue their focus on clients.

Drew Kanaly will remain in his role as Chairman of Kanaly Trust and Jeff Kanaly will serve as Vice Chairman.  Bill Rankin is expected to join Kanaly Trust as Chief Executive Officer effective at the close of the transaction.  Mr. Rankin has extensive experience in the wealth management industry, and was most recently President and Chief Executive Officer of Shelterwood Financial.  Mr. Rankin has held executive roles at Rockefeller & Co., Atlantic Trust, Stein Roe Investment Counsel, and Mellon Bank.

Kanaly Trust Chairman Drew Kanaly commented, “We are excited to join with Lovell Minnick and Bill Rankin as we continue to pursue the vision of outstanding and non-conflicted client service that my father believed in 37 years ago.”  Jeff Kanaly, Vice Chairman, stated, “Lovell Minnick has the expertise and resources to help Kanaly Trust get to the next level, and it is comforting to know that Kanaly Trust has a succession plan that will benefit our clients and personnel for years to come.”

Lovell Minnick President & Managing Director Jim Minnick said, “We look forward to working with the team at Kanaly Trust, a premier trust company that is deeply committed to its clients.  The acquisition of Kanaly Trust resulted from an extended search undertaken by our firm to identify a leading platform investment within the trust and wealth management space.”   Bill Rankin added “Kanaly Trust has an impressive reputation for its commitment to client service.  I am excited to join Drew, Jeff and the rest of the Kanaly team as we continue to strive for excellence and premier solutions for our clients.”

The transaction is expected to close in the fourth quarter of 2012, subject to customary regulatory reviews and approvals.

About Kanaly Trust, LTA

Kanaly Trust is a wealth management firm with approximately $2 billion in assets under management. The company provides comprehensive financial planning and trust/estate services to families, individuals and estates with assets in excess of $1 million. The firm is independent of any banking or corporate relationships and does not promote specific financial products or services. Kanaly Trust serves as the trustee or executor for estates totaling more than $2.5 billion, and works with clients worldwide. Based in Houston, Kanaly Trust was founded in 1975 by Deane Kanaly. For more information, visit www.kanaly.com.

About Lovell Minnick Partners LLC

Lovell Minnick Partners is a private equity firm providing buyout and growth capital to companies in the financial services industry. From offices in the Philadelphia and Los Angeles areas, Lovell Minnick has raised over $850 million in committed capital from qualified private and institutional investors and has completed investments in over 30 companies. Portfolio companies of Lovell Minnick operate in various areas of the global financial services industry including asset management, financial product distribution, commercial and private banks, outsourced administration services, securities brokerage, investment banks and financial consulting. For more information about Lovell Minnick, please visit www.lovellminnick.com

PITTSBURGH – August 21, 2012 – TriState Capital Holdings, Inc. (TriState Capital) has closed a minority investment from private equity firm Lovell Minnick Partners LLC (Lovell Minnick), both companies announced today.

As part of the transaction, Lovell Minnick invested $50 million in TriState Capital, and all regulators have approved.  The firms are privately held, and additional terms were not disclosed.   Jim Minnick has joined TriState Capital Bank’s board of directors.
TriState Capital Bank, a subsidiary of TriState Capital, remains the largest start-up bank in Pennsylvania history.  Launched in 2007 in Pittsburgh with more than $100 million, TriState Capital Bank has grown to include offices in the Philadelphia area, Cleveland, Princeton and New York City. TriState Capital Bank is an independent commercial and private bank serving middle market businesses, professionals and high net worth individuals.

“We remain focused on quality loans, competitive deposit offerings and strong client relationships.  Our commitment to our client base, regulatory compliance and prudent risk management has fostered healthy growth despite challenging economic and industry conditions,” said Jim Getz, chairman and CEO of TriState Capital Bank.

“We appreciate the support of Lovell Minnick and the opportunity to include them in our investor group.  We believe this investment will help us to continue pursuing our business plan and strategic opportunities,” added Getz.

Lovell Minnick, with offices in the Philadelphia and Los Angeles areas, is an independent private equity firm specializing in the global financial services industry. For more than a decade, Lovell Minnick has invested in financial and related companies that meet stringent criteria for leadership, operations and growth potential.

Jim Minnick, president and managing director of Lovell Minnick said, “TriState is a dynamic bank with a strong management team, accomplished professionals and attractive growth prospects. We are very pleased to have the opportunity to be part of TriState’s future.”

About TriState Capital Holdings, Inc.

TriState Capital Holdings, Inc. is the registered bank holding company for TriState Capital Bank, a commercial and private bank serving middle market businesses, professionals and high net worth individuals. Headquartered in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, TriState Capital has representative offices in Pennsylvania, Ohio, New Jersey and New York and serves private banking clients nationwide. Established in 2007, TriState had assets of approximately $1.9 billion as of June 30, 2012. For more information, please visit www.tristatecapitalbank.com.

Charlotte, NC May 10, 2012 – Lovell Minnick Partners is pleased to announce the acquisition of a majority interest in Commercial Credit Group Inc. (“CCG”), a leading commercial and equipment finance company focused on the fleet transportation, waste management, and construction industries.

Led by an experienced group of industry executives, CCG has emerged as a nationwide player in the equipment finance sector. Since its inception in 2004, CCG has originated over $1 billion of finance receivables. CCG’s growth has been guided by a deep commitment to its conservative underwriting principles, resulting in industry-leading asset quality performance and continued growth in profitability.

Proceeds from the transaction will be used to support CCG’s future growth and provide liquidity to certain institutional shareholders. The senior management team of CCG will continue to have a significant ownership interest in the firm.

CCG Co-Founder and Chief Executive Officer Dan McDonough commented, “With this investment by Lovell Minnick, we are pleased to add a scalable equity capital partner who embraces our vision for growth. Lovell Minnick has a track record of developing successful, high growth companies, and their exclusive focus on financial services enables them to effectively support the execution of our growth plan.”

Lovell Minnick Managing Director John Cochran added, “Following the financial crisis, the equipment finance market, like many segments of the credit markets, has undergone significant competitive dislocation, marked by the departure or pull back of many industry players. CCG’s management, with its niche focus and client-centric philosophy, has expertly navigated this environment. We are excited to partner with such an accomplished team.”

Keefe, Bruyette & Woods Inc. (NYSE: KBW) acted as the exclusive financial advisor to CCG in connection with the transaction.

About Commercial Credit Group Inc.

Commercial Credit Group Inc. is an independent specialty finance company that provides secured loans and leases for commercial and industrial equipment. CCG’s primary customers are small and mid-sized family-owned businesses in the transportation, waste management, and construction industries. CCG provides loans and leases ranging in size from $50 thousand to $2.5 million for the purchase and refinance of equipment such as cranes, trucks, trailers, earth moving and waste equipment. CCG was founded in 2004, and is headquartered in Charlotte, North Carolina. Since inception, CCG has originated over $1 billion of finance receivables. CCG originates loans and leases directly to customers through a captive sales force located throughout the United States.  For more information, please visit www.commercialcreditgroup.com.

RADNOR, Pennsylvania, April 11, 2012 — Lovell Minnick Partners LLC, an independent private equity firm providing buyout and growth capital to companies in the financial services industry, has engaged Dr. Heinz J. Hockmann as a Senior Advisor.

As Senior Advisor, Dr. Hockmann will assist and advise Lovell Minnick’s investment professionals in deal sourcing, due diligence and evaluation, with specific focus on international asset management opportunities.  Dr. Hockmann joins Alan Warrick, a former Aegon insurance executive, in Lovell Minnick’s senior advisor effort.

Dr. Hockmann was an executive officer at Commerzbank AG in Germany for nearly twenty years and was a Member of the Management Board of the bank with responsibilities for asset management, private banking and investment banking.  Earlier in his career at Commerzbank, he founded its asset management business for international institutional clients and built the bank’s global asset management platform.  Dr. Hockmann’s group oversaw €140 billion in assets under management across 20 countries.  After his tenure at Commerzbank, through 2005, he led the restructuring of Westfalenbank AG, a bank focused on mid-size companies, asset management and private banking.  He then joined Fortis Investments and developed its asset management business in Germany, Austria and Eastern Europe.  In 2008, he co-founded Silk Invest, an investment management company headquartered in London and specialized in frontier markets with offices in various African and Middle Eastern countries.  Dr. Hockmann serves on the Board of Silk Invest as well as the boards of several German companies in the financial services sector including WWK, a major German insurance company.  Dr. Hockmann holds a master’s degree from Bochum University where he also received his Ph.D. in 1983.

“Dr. Hockmann’s extensive banking and asset management background along with his expertise in the international markets will provide Lovell Minnick with valuable industry insights as we seek new investments,” said Jeffrey D. Lovell, Chairman and Managing Director of Lovell Minnick Partners.

Dr. Hockmann noted, “I have previously worked with several Lovell Minnick partners for many years and have observed the firm’s superb investment performance and their strong team development.  I look forward to working alongside them in the global asset management market.”

Lovell Minnick Partners is actively investing Lovell Minnick Equity Partners III LP which closed in January 2010. This $455 million partnership has completed four investments to date and is focused on investments in various financial segments, including asset management, financial planning, financial product distribution, specialty finance, securities brokerage, banking, outsourcing providers and related companies specializing in administration services.

NEW YORK, February 27, 2012  –  Duff & Phelps Corporation (NYSE: DUF), a leading independent financial advisory and investment banking firm, today announced that it has commenced an underwritten public offering of 4,500,000 shares of its common stock. Duff & Phelps is offering 3,201,922 shares in the offering and Shinsei Bank, Limited is offering an additional 1,298,078 shares as a selling stockholder. The Company and the selling stockholder will grant the underwriter a 30-day option to purchase up to an additional 675,000 shares.  Goldman, Sachs & Co. is acting as the sole underwriter for the offering.

Duff & Phelps intends to use the net proceeds it receives from the offering to redeem 3,201,922 units in Duff & Phelps Acquisitions, LLC held by some of its existing unit holders, including approximately one third of the units owned by each of Vestar Capital Partners and its affiliates and Lovell Minnick Partners LLC and its affiliates and units owned by certain of the Company’s executive officers.  In addition, Duff & Phelps intends to use cash from its balance sheet and borrowings under its revolving credit facility to redeem an additional 700,000 units held by such unitholders.  Holders who elect to be redeemed in connection with this offering will agree to a lock-up for a period of 90 days after the date of the prospectus supplement for this offering.  Existing unit holders, other than executive officers and directors, who are not being redeemed with the proceeds from this offering will not be subject to such lock-up.  Duff & Phelps will not receive any proceeds from the sale of the shares being sold by Shinsei.

The issuer has filed a registration statement (including a prospectus) with the SEC for the offering to which this communication relates. Before you invest, you should read the prospectus in that registration statement and other documents the issuer has filed with the SEC for more complete information about the issuer and this offering. You may get these documents for free by visiting EDGAR on the SEC Web site at www.sec.gov. Alternatively, the issuer, any underwriter or any dealer participating in the offering will arrange to send you the prospectus if you request it by calling toll-free 1-866-471-2526.

This announcement shall not constitute an offer to sell or the solicitation of an offer to buy these securities, nor shall there be any offer or sale of these securities in any jurisdiction in which such offer, solicitation or sale would be unlawful prior to registration or qualification under the securities laws of any such jurisdiction. The offering may be made only by means of a prospectus and a related prospectus supplement, which have or will be filed with the SEC.

 
About Duff & Phelps 

As a leading global financial advisory and investment banking firm, Duff & Phelps balances analytical skills, deep market insight and independence to help clients make sound decisions. The firm provides expertise in the areas of valuation, transactions, financial restructuring, alternative assets, disputes and taxation, with more than 1,000 employees serving clients from offices in North America, Europe and Asia. Investment banking services in the United States are provided by Duff & Phelps Securities, LLC; Pagemill Partners; and GCP Securities, LLC. Member FINRA/SIPC. M&A advisory services in the United Kingdom and Germany are provided by Duff & Phelps Securities Ltd. Duff & Phelps Securities Ltd. is authorized and regulated by the Financial Services Authority. Investment banking services in France are provided by Duff & Phelps SAS. For more information, visit www.duffandphelps.com. (NYSE: DUF)

SAN DIEGO, CA, January 25, 2012 — First Allied Holdings Inc. (“First Allied”) announced the acquisition of PCG Pension Consulting Group, Inc., a Santa Cruz, California based retirement services business with approximately 350 clients. The company will become part of Associates in Excellence, Inc., a First Allied subsidiary based in Walnut Creek, California. First Allied Chief Executive Officer Adam Antoniades said, “Pension Consulting Group is a great addition to our retirement services business and highlights the expertise and capability of the First Allied team to continue to expand offerings to clients and allow advisors to grow their businesses.”

The transaction demonstrates the strength of the First Allied team to successfully execute and integrate transactions. First Allied Chief Marketing Officer Bob Holcomb commented, “This acquisition illustrates the dedication of management to grow the business and successfully execute on opportunities to continue to better serve advisors and clients. We are excited to further enhance First Allied’s products, strategies, technology and services offered to advisors and clients.”

About First Allied Holdings Inc.

First Allied is a full-service, independent broker/dealer with approximately 1,000 financial advisors in 500 branches located throughout the United States. First Allied includes an independent broker/dealer, registered investment advisor, wealth management, insurance services and pension services businesses. Founded in 1994 as a privately held company, First Allied remains committed to its vision of providing independent financial advisors with innovative products, unparalleled education, affluent lead generation programs, a suite of differentiated products, integrated wealth management solutions and access to subject matter expertise. First Allied fosters an environment that serves and nurtures advisors who want to increase the productivity, size, and profitability of their individual practices. In November 2011, the First Allied management team and Lovell Minnick Partners, a private equity firm that focuses on investments in the financial services industry, completed the acquisition of First Allied from Advanced Equities Financial Corp. For more information about First Allied, please visit www.firstallied.com.

Addition of Silicon Valley-Based M&A Firm Enhances Global Technology Industry Expertise


NEW YORK, December 19, 2011 – Duff & Phelps Corporation (NYSE: DUF), a leading independent financial advisory and investment banking firm, today announced that it has entered into a definitive agreement to acquire Pagemill Partners, a Silicon Valley-based investment banking and valuation services firm. Consisting of 25 employees, the Pagemill team focuses on advising global technology companies in the middle market, as well as emerging organizations. The acquisition will enhance Duff & Phelps’ Mergers & Acquisitions practice and further develop the firm’s technology industry expertise.

Terms of the transaction were not disclosed. Subject to customary closing conditions, the transaction is expected to close by the end of the year.

The Pagemill team will work closely with colleagues throughout Duff & Phelps who provide complementary financial advisory services and technology industry expertise, including professionals in the firm’s existing Silicon Valley and San Francisco offices.  This collaboration continues an effort to strengthen key industry specializations for Duff & Phelps; earlier this year, the firm deepened its knowledge of the energy, mining and infrastructure industries by acquiring Texas-based investment banking services firm Growth Capital Partners.

“For eight years, Pagemill Partners has leveraged transactional experience and personal commitment to help clients and shareholders consistently achieve successful M&A outcomes,” said Jacob Silverman, leader of the Investment Banking segment and head of corporate development for Duff & Phelps. “Their proven understanding of the global technology business landscape will complement our existing expertise, better positioning us to advise technology clients on their most important matters – including cross-border situations.”

Since 2003, Pagemill Partners has provided M&A advisory, private placement advisory and valuation services. The team has closed more than 160 transactions – approximately one-third of which were cross-border situations – in such industries as enterprise, infrastructure and application software; semiconductors; Internet and media; communications; storage; security; technology-enabled services; and many other sub-segments. Pagemill Partners has advised clients on transactions with Microsoft, IBM, Intel, GE, Oracle, Broadcom, Qualcomm and other industry leaders.

“The entire Pagemill team is extremely excited to join Duff & Phelps’ global platform,” said Scott Munro, managing director at Pagemill Partners. “We look forward to contributing our technology M&A expertise, while also gaining access to a broader suite of services, an international geographic footprint and other resources. This will allow us to more effectively serve our clients while also pursuing a wider range of engagements and capability enhancements.”

About Duff & Phelps


As a leading global financial advisory and investment banking firm, Duff & Phelps balances analytical skills, deep market insight and independence to help clients make sound decisions. The firm provides expertise in the areas of valuation, transactions, financial restructuring, alternative assets, disputes and taxation, with more than 1,000 employees serving clients from offices in North America, Europe and Asia. Investment banking services in the United States are provided by Duff & Phelps Securities, LLC. Member FINRA/SIPC. M&A advisory services in the United Kingdom and Germany are provided by Duff & Phelps Securities Ltd. Duff & Phelps Securities Ltd. is authorized and regulated by the Financial Services Authority. Investment banking services in France are provided by Duff & Phelps SAS. For more information, visit www.duffandphelps.com. (NYSE: DUF)

Denver, CO, November 2, 2011 – Lovell Minnick Partners today announced that it has completed the previously announced sale of ALPS Holdings, Inc. (ALPS), a leading provider of asset servicing and asset gathering solutions to the asset management industry, to DST Systems, Inc. (NYSE: DST) for $250 million.

ALPS has been a portfolio company of Lovell Minnick Partners since September 2005 when the private equity firm acquired a majority interest.  Lovell Minnick President and Managing Director, Jim Minnick, commented, “It has been a pleasure to work with Ned Burke and the rest of the ALPS team over the last six years and we wish them well in their new partnership with DST.”  Spencer Hoffman, Managing Director at Lovell Minnick, added, “We have enjoyed an outstanding partnership with ALPS and congratulate them on the successful transaction with DST.”

Morgan Stanley & Co. LLC served as the exclusive financial advisor to ALPS for the transaction.

About ALPS Holdings, Inc.

Headquartered in Denver with offices in Boston, New York, and Seattle, ALPS is a 25-year-old financial services firm focused on asset servicing and asset gathering. With more than 300 employees, nearly 200 clients, and an executive team that has been in place for over 16 years, ALPS continues to actively promote all of its various business segments, from asset servicing through ALPS Fund Services, Inc. to asset gathering through ALPS Distributors, Inc. and ALPS Advisors, Inc. As of December 31, 2010, the firm managed more than $3.275 billion in assets and provided servicing to more than $291 billion in client assets. For more information about ALPS and the services available, visit www.alpsinc.com. For additional information about ALPS products, visit www.alpsfunds.com.

About DST Systems, Inc.

DST Systems, Inc. provides sophisticated information processing solutions and services to support the global asset management, insurance, retirement, brokerage, and healthcare industries. In addition to technology products and services, DST also provides integrated print and electronic statement and billing solutions through DST Output. DST’s world-class data centers provide technology infrastructure support for asset management, insurance and healthcare companies around the globe. Headquartered in Kansas City, MO., DST is a publicly traded company on the New York Stock Exchange.

Addition of UK-Based Restructuring and Turnaround Firm Expands Duff & Phelps’ European Presence and Strengthens Global Restructuring Advisory Practice

NEW YORK, October 31, 2011 – Duff & Phelps Corporation (NYSE: DUF), a leading independent financial advisory and investment banking services firm, today announced that it has acquired MCR. Comprised of approximately 150 employees, MCR is a UK-based corporate restructuring and turnaround firm focused on insolvency administration and independent business reviews. For the 12-month period that ended June 30, 2011, MCR earned approximately 21mm GBP in revenue, excluding reimbursable expenses. The acquisition significantly expands Duff & Phelps’ presence in Europe and enhances the firm’s Global Restructuring Advisory practice. Terms of the transaction were not disclosed.

“For more than ten years, MCR has maximized recovery for stakeholders in insolvent businesses by generating innovative solutions to business problems,” said Noah Gottdiener, chief executive officer at Duff & Phelps. “Our new colleagues bring enormous credibility, strong relationships and impressive scale to a key part of the European market where Duff & Phelps has long been pursuing strategic expansion. Further, the MCR team will work collaboratively with Duff & Phelps’ existing team in Europe to deliver a more robust offering of technical expertise and sound advice to clients.”

Since 2001, MCR has worked with clients to restructure businesses and find turnaround solutions, often in the most complex situations. The MCR team – which operates out of offices in London, Manchester and Birmingham in the UK – also provides a broad range of business consulting and debt advisory services, with particular emphases on insolvency administration and independent business reviews. Industries served include property, manufacturing, printing, recruitment, financial services, hotels, leisure, ecommerce, automotive, telecommunications, music, entertainment and construction.

“All of us at MCR are excited about the prospect of building the business with Duff & Phelps, as this allows us to offer a more dynamic and broader range of services to our clients,” said Andrew Stoneman, managing partner at MCR.  “It’s an exciting time to take advantage of the synergies between our two like-minded organizations, as restructuring advisory services are needed across the United States and Europe.  Acting together, we are also well-positioned to assist with cross-border situations and to help clients navigate business environments that span multiple industries, geographies and regulatory systems.”

About Duff & Phelps

As a leading global provider of financial advisory and investment banking services, Duff & Phelps balances analytical skills, deep market insight and independence to help clients make sound decisions. The firm provides expertise in the areas of valuation, transactions, financial restructuring, alternative assets, disputes and taxation, with more than 1,000 employees serving clients from offices in North America, Europe and Asia. Investment banking services in the United States are provided by Duff & Phelps Securities, LLC. Member FINRA/SIPC. Investment banking services in the United Kingdom and Germany are provided by Duff & Phelps Securities Ltd. Duff & Phelps Securities Ltd. is authorized and regulated by the Financial Services Authority. Investment banking services in France are provided by Duff & Phelps SAS. For more information, visit www.duffandphelps.com. (NYSE: DUF)

About MCR

MCR was formed in April 2001 to offer turnaround, restructuring and insolvency services of outstanding quality to banks, lenders, business owners and individuals in the mid-market sector.  It aims to provide the most practicable ways to resolve issues affecting business performance. The firm has 19 partners and directors who practice an ethos of high-level involvement to ensure that each assignment capitalises upon the expertise and knowledge of the whole team. MCR regularly handles significant projects across a range of sectors and has been involved in a number of high-profile cases. MCR is increasingly being asked to restructure businesses and find turnaround solutions to help companies avoid formal insolvency.  Sectors include property, retail, financial services, manufacturing, printing, recruitment, hotels, leisure, automotive, telecommunications, music, entertainment and construction.

Parthenon Capital Partners and Lovell Minnick Partners Complete Purchase of H.D. Vest Financial Services

Irving, TX, October 4, 2011 – An investor group led by Parthenon Capital Partners, Lovell Minnick Partners, and Fisher Lynch has completed the previously announced acquisition of H.D. Vest Financial Services from Wells Fargo & Company.

H.D. Vest’s Chief Executive Officer, Roger Ochs, stated, “This is a landmark event in our firm’s rich history, and we are excited to have Parthenon, Lovell Minnick, and Fisher Lynch partnering with us as we begin a new chapter of growth at H.D. Vest.  Their collective experience in the financial services arena complements our growth strategy and facilitates further enhancements to our advisor offering.  We are committed to providing an unparalleled offering to tax professionals throughout the United States and believe we are even better equipped to do so as an independent firm.”

Brian Golson, Managing Partner at Parthenon Capital, commented, “We were particularly attracted to the company’s exceptional track record of delivering a complete platform to the tax advisor market.  When we had the chance to partner with the company’s talented executive team to buy the business from Wells Fargo, we aggressively pursued the opportunity.”

Lovell Minnick Managing Director, Spencer Hoffman, added, “H.D. Vest’s brand, combined with its track record of growth and client service, firmly establishes the company’s leadership in providing financial advice through the tax professional market. H.D. Vest’s continued focus on tax professionals, and the specific needs they and their clients have, create a differentiated platform that we believe will thrive for years to come.”

Andrew Dodson, a Partner at Parthenon Capital Partners, commented on the market, “There are undeniable trends favoring increased saving for retirement and an increased need for independent financial advice.  H.D. Vest and its advisors are uniquely positioned to benefit from these trends.”

 

About H.D. Vest

Based in Irving, Texas, H.D. Vest is a leading independent broker/dealer providing investment and financial advisory solutions to retail investors through tax professionals located throughout the United States. Recognized as the largest tax professional-focused financial services company and third largest independent broker/dealer in the United States, H.D. Vest provides industry-leading training, technology, and support that enable tax professionals to deliver independent financial solutions to retail investors. Through over 4,800 securities-licensed tax professionals, H.D. Vest provides comprehensive financial services to more than 1.8 million individuals, families, and small businesses. For more information, visit www.hdvest.com.

Lovell Minnick and First Allied Management to Partner in Spin-off of First Allied from Advanced Equities

San Diego, CA August 22, 2011 – First Allied, a leading independent financial services firm, announced that its management team and Lovell Minnick Partners (Lovell Minnick), a private equity firm that focuses on investments in the financial services industry, have reached an agreement to acquire First Allied from Advanced Equities Financial Corp. (Advanced Equities). First Allied includes the independent broker/dealer, registered investment advisor, wealth management, insurance services and pension services businesses that make up the independent brokerage group of Advanced Equities. Upon closing of the transaction, First Allied will become an independent company and continue to operate under the First Allied brand.

Lovell Minnick is an independent private equity firm that specializes in growth-oriented investments in the global financial services industry. It is widely recognized for its financial services industry knowledge, with a particular focus in the areas of asset management, financial planning, financial product distribution and securities brokerage.

The separation is being undertaken by First Allied and Advanced Equities so that each can concentrate on its core business. The companies will continue to work together through a distribution relationship that will provide for the continued availability of Advanced Equities’ products and services to First Allied’s affiliated independent advisors and their clients.

No operating changes are expected to arise from the separation, which will largely be transparent to First Allied’s advisors and their clients. The company will continue to use the First Allied name and will retain its executive officers.

First Allied President Adam Antoniades said, “At a time when many independent broker/dealers are challenged to find sustainable growth, First Allied continues to succeed by providing a platform that enables its affiliated advisors to grow their businesses. Under the Advanced Equities umbrella, First Allied enjoyed significant growth and we are grateful for the relationship and support. Becoming a free-standing company, with the financial support of a great partner in Lovell Minnick, will provide us with additional flexibility and resources to further accelerate our growth.”

Lovell Minnick Managing Director Robert Belke commented, “This transaction culminates a multi-year search by Lovell Minnick to identify a strong management team and platform investment within the independent broker/dealer channel. First Allied has successfully executed on a strategy focused on premium advisor service and education, and we are committed to supporting that strategy. We are very excited to partner with the existing management team at First Allied to grow their business and take advantage of opportunities to better serve existing and new advisors and clients.”

 

Co-founder and CEO of Advanced Equities Financial Corp., Dwight Badger, added, “This transaction will allow us to focus on Advanced Equities, Inc., the business we started in 1999 and the part of the business we believe has significant upside potential for our stockholders. We have enjoyed having First Allied as a part of our company and wish the management team, and all of the employees there, well in their future endeavors.”

The transaction is expected to close in the fourth quarter of 2011, subject to customary regulatory reviews and approvals.

About First Allied

First Allied is a full-service, independent broker/dealer with approximately 1,000 financial advisors in 500 branches located throughout the United States. First Allied includes the independent broker/dealer, registered investment advisor, wealth management, insurance services and pension services businesses that make up the independent brokerage group of Advanced Equities. Founded in 1994 as a privately held company, First Allied remains committed to its vision of providing independent financial advisors with innovative products, unparalleled education, affluent lead generation programs, a suite of differentiated products, integrated wealth management solutions and access to subject matter expertise. First Allied fosters an environment that serves and nurtures advisors who want to increase the productivity, size, and profitability of their individual practices. For more information about First Allied, please visit www.firstallied.com.

 

About Advanced Equities Financial Corp.

 

Advanced Equities Financial Corp. (AEFC) is one of the industry’s most progressive financial service firms focusing on retail, institutional securities and venture capital investment banking. Their flagship company, Advanced Equities, Inc., (AEI) specializes in late-stage private equity finance for the U.S. technology sector. AEI bridges the gap between venture money and traditional corporate finance, providing investors with access to the technology sector’s elusive late-stage investments. For more information, please visit www.advancedequities.com.

Lovell Minnick to Sell ALPS to DST Systems

 

Denver – July 19, 2011 – ALPS Holdings, Inc. (ALPS), a leading provider of asset servicing and asset gathering solutions to the asset management industry, today announced the firm has signed a definitive agreement to be acquired by DST Systems, Inc. (NYSE: DST) for $250 million, through a merger with a wholly-owned DST subsidiary.

 

The transaction, subject to regulatory approval and certain conditions, is expected to close in the fourth quarter of 2011. DST and ALPS will remain as separate companies until the transaction is complete.

 

After transaction close, ALPS will merge with a newly-formed DST subsidiary and retain its brand identity. ALPS will go to market as ‘ALPS, a DST Company.’

 

“This transaction represents a healthy and natural progression for each firm,” said Ned Burke, CEO of ALPS. “Our suite of asset servicing and asset gathering solutions aligns closely with DST’s business goals and objectives. This new relationship allows us to maintain our unique culture at ALPS even as it empowers us to further grow our business.”

 

According to Burke, ALPS, well-recognized in the financial services industry for its top-rated client service, is uniquely positioned to provide expertise in a broad range of products. The acquisition will enable ALPS to leverage the scale and resources of DST, including its technology platform and data center infrastructure, to further expand its offerings in the marketplace.

 

“The ALPS infrastructure has evolved to serve the entire investment management industry, from product design to service to distribution,” says Mr. Burke, “and we’ve enjoyed a good deal of operational and financial accomplishment to those ends. We look forward to even greater success as part of the DST family of companies.”

 

ALPS has been a portfolio company of Lovell Minnick Partners since September 2005 when the private equity firm acquired a majority interest. According to Jim Minnick, President and Managing Director of Lovell Minnick, the relationship has been a very successful one, “thanks to the hard work by both management and employees, it’s been a rewarding and exciting six-year partnership for us with ALPS.” Further, Spencer Hoffman, Managing Director of Lovell Minnick, added, “this transaction demonstrates not only the company’s impressive growth over the last few years but also its significant value proposition to the investment management industry going forward.”

 

For DST, the acquisition broadens the firm’s offerings to include servicing of exchange traded funds, hedge funds, additional closed-end funds, as well as robust distribution capabilities. The ALPS affiliation also adds fund administration, fund accounting, legal and compliance services, medallion distribution, and creative services to DST’s lineup of solutions.

 

Morgan Stanley & Co. LLC served as the exclusive financial advisor to ALPS for the transaction. Deutsche Bank Securities Inc. served as the exclusive financial advisor to DST for the transaction.

About Lovell Minnick Partners LLC

Lovell Minnick Partners LLC is a private equity firm providing buyout and growth capital to companies in the financial services industry. From offices in the Los Angeles and Philadelphia areas, Lovell Minnick manages private equity partnerships totaling $800 million on behalf of qualified private and institutional investors. Portfolio companies of Lovell Minnick operate in various areas of the global financial services industry, including asset management, financial product distribution, outsourced administration services, securities brokerage and investment banking, financial consulting, and commercial and trust banks. For more information about Lovell Minnick, please visit www.lovellminnick.com.

About ALPS Holdings, Inc.

Headquartered in Denver with offices in Boston, New York, and Seattle, ALPS is a 25-year-old financial services firm focused on asset servicing and asset gathering. With more than 300 employees, nearly 200 clients, and an executive team that has been in place for over 16 years, ALPS continues to actively promote all of its various business segments, from asset servicing through ALPS Fund Services, Inc. to asset gathering through ALPS Distributors, Inc. and ALPS Advisors, Inc. As of December 31, 2010, the firm managed more than $3.275 billion in assets and provided servicing to more than $291 billion in client assets. For more information about ALPS and the services available, visit www.alpsinc.com. For additional information about ALPS products, visit www.alpsfunds.com.

About DST Systems, Inc.

DST Systems, Inc. provides sophisticated information processing and computer software products and services to support the mutual fund, investment management, brokerage, insurance and healthcare industries. In addition to technology products and services, DST provides integrated print and electronic statement and billing output solutions through a wholly owned subsidiary. DST’s world-class data centers provide technology infrastructure support for mutual fund companies, broker-dealers, healthcare providers, banks, mortgage bankers and insurance companies around the globe. DST is headquartered in Kansas City, Mo., and is a publicly traded company on the New York Stock Exchange.

Addition of Texas-Based, Middle Market Investment Banking Firm Enhances Duff & Phelps’ Energy Industry Expertise

NEW YORK, July 5, 2011 – Duff & Phelps Corporation (NYSE: DUF), a leading independent financial advisory and investment banking services firm, today announced that it has acquired Growth Capital Partners. Comprised of approximately 20 client service professionals, Growth Capital Partners is a Texas-based investment banking firm focused on transactions in the middle market. The acquisition expands Duff & Phelps’ presence in the Southwestern United States and complements the firm’s expertise in the energy, mining and infrastructure industries. Terms of the transaction were not disclosed.

“For nearly 20 years, Growth Capital Partners has established itself as a premier provider of investment banking services that help clients achieve growth objectives and maximize shareholder value,” said Jacob Silverman, leader of the Investment Banking practice at Duff & Phelps. “Our new colleagues’ deep expertise in energy, oilfield services and other key sectors will contribute significantly to Duff & Phelps’ platform of service offerings and global presence. Further, Growth Capital Partners’ emphasis on excellent client service, integrity and teamwork aligns perfectly with the Duff & Phelps culture.”

Founded in 1992, Growth Capital Partners works with entrepreneurs, business owners and private equity organizations to meet their growth and liquidity objectives. The team provides a broad range of investment banking services, with emphases on company sales, private placements, management-led buyouts and valuation services. The company serves a diverse client base from publicly traded companies to private businesses in such industries as energy, manufacturing, distribution, business services, staffing, consumer goods, retail, technology and healthcare.

John T. McNabb, II, chairman, director and a founder of Growth Capital Partners, joins Duff & Phelps as vice chairman of the Investment Banking practice. McNabb commented, “The entire Growth Capital Partners team looks forward to combining our talents, skills and relationships with an internationally recognized firm that offers a comprehensive spectrum of deal-related and financial advisory capabilities. These synergies will naturally entrench Duff & Phelps’ investment banking franchise in Texas, where so many entrepreneurs will benefit from our new team’s formidable understanding of the middle market.”

David W. Sargent, CEO, president, director and a founder of Growth Capital Partners, joins Duff & Phelps to lead the firm’s investment banking activity in the Southwest. Commenting on the acquisition, Sargent added, “Like Duff & Phelps, Growth Capital Partners focuses on the importance of relationships and the execution of optimal outcomes for our clients. By combining shared philosophies with our regional presence and strong network of contacts in key industries, Duff & Phelps is better positioned to take advantage of growth opportunities throughout the Southwest and beyond.”

About Duff & Phelps
As a leading global provider of financial advisory and investment banking services, Duff & Phelps balances analytical skills, deep market insight and independence to help clients make sound decisions. The firm provides expertise in the areas of valuation, transactions, financial restructuring, alternative assets, disputes and taxation, with more than 1,000 employees serving clients from offices in North America, Europe and Asia. Investment banking services in the United States are provided by Duff & Phelps Securities, LLC. Investment banking services in the United Kingdom and Germany are provided by Duff & Phelps Securities Ltd. Duff & Phelps Securities Ltd. is authorized and regulated by the Financial Services Authority. Investment banking services in France are provided by Duff & Phelps SAS. For more information, visit www.duffandphelps.com. (NYSE: DUF)

About Growth Capital Partners
Growth Capital Partners is an investment banking firm that provides financial advisory services to both private and public middle-market companies. Since its inception in 1992, GCP has completed in excess of 250 transactions, raised more than $1 billion of institutional capital (through private placements of equity, subordinated, and senior debt), and completed M&A transactions with an aggregate value in excess of $4 billion. Investment banking services are provided by GCP Securities, Inc.

Dahlman Rose & Company Announces New Management Appointments

NEW YORK, June 30, 2011 /PRNewswire/ — Dahlman Rose & Company, LLC, a leading investment bank specializing in natural resources, transportation, and other industries in the global commodities supply chain, announced today that its co-founder, President and Chief Executive Officer, Simon Rose, has elected to retire.  The Dahlman Rose Board of Directors has appointed its Chairman, Kim Fennebresque, Chief Executive Officer. Donald Motschwiller has been named President.

Mr. Rose, stated, “I have been incredibly proud to lead this firm since inception and am excited about the bright future ahead.  It was my hope when I asked Kim to join our firm as Chairman that he would assume a senior leadership role, and this appointment realizes that goal.”

Mr. Fennebresque, who joined Dahlman Rose in 2010, most recently served as Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Cowen Group, Inc.  Previously, he was with UBS where he served as head of corporate finance and mergers & acquisitions.  Prior to that Mr. Fennebresque served as General Partner and Co-Head of Investment Banking at Lazard Freres & Co.  In June 2009, Mr. Fennebresque was designated by the US Department of the Treasury to serve on the Board of Ally Financial (formerly GMAC).

Mr. Motschwiller joined Dahlman Rose in early 2011.  Most recently, Mr. Motschwiller served as Co-President and Managing Partner of First New York Securities LLC and was the CEO and President of EFX Capital / Prime Services.  Previously, he was an owner and principal of Carlin Financial Group.

Mr. Rose stated, “Since joining us Donald has quickly earned a position of leadership within our firm.  He brings a long career of successful business building that will benefit Dahlman Rose as we continue to grow for years to come.”

Founded in 2004, Dahlman Rose has expanded rapidly to offer full-service investment banking advisory and underwriting services across thirty industry sub-sectors.  Mr. Fennebresque commented, “I am very pleased to have the opportunity to lead this fine firm.  Dahlman Rose has achieved extraordinary success in a relatively brief period, and I look forward to expanding on that record.  I am also very grateful that Simon will remain a major shareholder and an active member of our Board.”

Remarked Donald Motschwiller, “Looking toward the future, Dahlman Rose is poised to become the premier independent advisor to companies within the global natural resources supply chain. Our depth of talent and knowledge is unparalleled. This is an exciting time and we look forward to leading Dahlman Rose as it expands its platform.”

About Dahlman Rose & Co., LLC

Dahlman Rose & Co., LLC (MEMBER: FINRA/SIPC) is a research-driven investment bank focused on energy, transportation, infrastructure, and other industries that compose the global supply chain. The firm’s industry-leading analysts, bankers, and traders offer unique insight into the companies and markets that provide the building blocks of the global economy. Dahlman Rose is headquartered in New York and has offices in Boston and Houston. Dahlman Rose provides institutional sales and trading, equity and fixed income research, mergers and acquisitions advisory, and underwriting services. For more information regarding Dahlman Rose, please visit www.drco.com.

NYSE Technologies Selects UNX Catalyst to Provide Desktop Access to its Capital Markets Community Platform’s Services

Through the collaboration, UNX becomes first third-party partner to offer a service on NYSE Technologies Capital Markets Community Platform

NEW YORK, NY (June 14, 2011): NYSE Technologies, the commercial technology unit of NYSE Euronext, and UNX, an innovative trading technology provider (www.unx.com), are collaborating to deliver customizable technology, content and services to the global trading community that utilize the power and flexibility of the NYSE Technologies Capital Markets Community Platform. Through this collaboration, UNX becomes the first third-party provider to offer a service on the Community Platform’s cloud infrastructure and helps accelerate NYSE Technologies’ vision to empower customers by simplifying global market access and reducing trading friction.

Through its Community Platform, NYSE Technologies will distribute UNX’s broker-neutral, open-technology front-end, Catalyst to deliver data and services from the NYSE Technologies’ product portfolio to financial services firms. In addition, Catalyst’s Software Development Kit and APIs will also enable broker-dealers, third-party vendors, and other institutional trading participants to rapidly develop applications for use in Catalyst.

Services offered from inside the cloud and delivered through Catalyst would include global market data, trade analytics, order and execution information tools, indications of interest (IOI), advertised trades (AT), and other data services, including trade and quote (TAQ) data, market imbalances and regulatory alerts.

“NYSE Technologies is focused on providing the industry’s most secure, reliable infrastructure connecting the capital markets community to high-performance electronic trading applications worldwide. To create this virtual capital markets community, we are working with UNX to provide the framework for unified delivery and access to trading and data services, transaction destinations and market participants,” explains Stanley Young, CEO of NYSE Technologies.

“Catalyst’s open, fully extensible container will make it possible for industry professionals to easily integrate a wide variety of trading tools that leverage our expertise in markets, connectivity, infrastructure and technology. Our goal here is to empower financial firms to innovate and capitalize on market opportunities,” he adds.

UNX CEO Thomas Kim comments that the collaboration aligns with UNX’s unique value proposition of an open platform into which the buy side, vendors, brokers and exchanges can build their own trading functionalities and extend services to a broader client base.

“This partnership with NYSE Technologies affirms the value of Catalyst, and allows us to jointly build a true global ecosystem of market participants who can access any trading technology from any broker, vendor or exchange from anywhere in the world,” he states.

“Furthermore, we believe the extension of our SDK to the community to create custom plug-ins will drive innovation and ignite competition in the financial markets—just as open platforms have done for the mobile computing industry,” Kim adds.

UNX’s existing clients use the SDK to integrate, update and customize algorithms, portfolio trading and other electronic trading services such as analytics and risk management tools in the Catalyst platform.

About UNX LLC
Founded in 1999, UNX is an independent trading technology firm and agency broker that provides advanced electronic trading technology for the institutional trading community through its open-architecture platform Catalyst®. A broker-neutral offering, Catalyst streamlines multi-broker trading workflow and serves as an efficient delivery mechanism for broker-dealers and third-party vendors to distribute and update their offerings to clients. UNX has offices in New York and Los Angeles.

About NYSE Technologies
A division of NYSE Euronext (NYX), NYSE Technologies provides broadly accessible, comprehensive connectivity and transaction capabilities, data and infrastructure services, and managed solutions for a range of customers requiring next-generation performance and expertise for mission critical and value-added trading services. NYSE Technologies offers a diverse array of products, services and solutions to: the Buy Side, including order routing, liquidity discovery and access to a community of over 630 Broker-Dealers and execution destinations globally; the Sell Side, including high performance, end-to-end messaging software and innovative market data products delivered on the world’s largest, most reliable financial transaction network; and Market Venues and Exchanges, including multi-asset exchange platform services, managed services and expert consultancy. With offices across the U.S., Europe, and Asia, NYSE Technologies offers advanced integrated solutions for the global capital markets community, earning the ability to power trading operations for many of the world’s best financial institutions and exchanges. For additional information visit: www.nyse.com/technologies.

©2011 UNX LLC Member FINRA/SIPC. All rights reserved. UNX and Catalyst are registered trademarks of UNX LLC

ALPS ADVISORS TOPS INVESTMENTNEWS LIST OF FASTEST GROWING FUND COMPANIES

Special Report Shows Denver-Based Firm Set The Pace For Asset Gathering Efforts In 2010

Denver — March 31, 2011 – ALPS Advisors, Inc. (ALPS), a leading provider of advisory solutions to the financial services industry, is the industry’s fastest growing mutual fund company according to a report in the March 27 edition of InvestmentNews, the number one source of news to the financial adviser community.

The report—“Fastest growing firms? Not your father’s fund company”—ranked the top 50 firms with more than $100 million in net assets by their percentage increase in 2010. Based on open-end and exchange-traded funds at year end, ALPS Advisors topped the list with a 391.0% year-over-year gain.Assets for the firm, which just last month launched the ALPS | Kotak India Growth Fund, jumped from $ 348.7 million at the end of 2009 to $ 1,712.2 million as of December 31, 2010. The data were compiled for InvestmentNews by Lipper Inc.

“Our primary strategy has been to fill niche investment segments with distinctive and well-managed investment solutions,” said Tom Carter, President of ALPS Advisors, Inc. “That we’ve enjoyed such powerful inflows across such a tough marketplace tells me our approach is resonating with financial advisers and their clients.”

Over the last 18 months, the firm beefed up its boutique investment lineup with the addition of the Wellington Management sub-advised ALPS | WMC Value Intersection Fund, the Clough China Fund, the Jefferies Commodity Strategy Allocation Fund, and the RiverFront Global Allocation Series Funds.

Today, in addition to master limited partnerships, private equity, and commodities, the ALPS Advisors lineup includes 17 open-end mutual funds, closed-end mutual funds, and exchange- traded funds.

“Smart advisors are well past the ‘set-it-and-forget-it’ mentality,” says Corey Dillon, Vice President and Director of Institutional Advisory Services for ALPS Advisors, Inc., “and they’re becoming more focused on niche funds and alternative investments.That’s perfectly in line with our vision.”

About ALPS

Headquartered in Denver with offices in Boston, New York, and Seattle, ALPS is a twenty five year old financial services firm focused on asset services and asset gathering. Now with more than 300 employees, nearly 200 clients, and an executive team that’s been in place for over 15 years, ALPS continues to actively promote all of its various business segments, from asset servicing through ALPS Fund Services, Inc. to asset gathering through ALPS Distributors, Inc. and ALPS Advisors, Inc. As of December 31, 2010, the firm manages more than $2.7 billion in assets and provides servicing to more than $288 billion in client assets.

For more information about ALPS and the services available, visit www.alpsinc.com, and for additional information about ALPS products, visit www.alpsfunds.com.

Blackstone and Dahlman Rose & Co. Sign Agreement to Cooperate on Restructuring Services for Maritime Sector

NEW YORK — March 9, 2011 – The Blackstone Group (NYSE: BX) and Dahlman Rose & Co. announced today an agreement to jointly provide financial advisory services to maritime clients seeking to recapitalize or restructure their balance sheets. The agreement encompasses maritime restructuring situations globally and relates to a broad array of potential financial restructuring constituents, including borrowers, secured creditors, lessors, charterers, unsecured and trade creditors and equity participants.

“This new venture combines the world-class restructuring experience of Blackstone with the dominant maritime sector knowledge and global relationships of Dahlman Rose to create the leading advisory group for the maritime industry,” said Flip Huffard, Senior Managing Director at Blackstone.

“Our goal is to expand the portfolio of value-added services and effect innovative solutions for clients during this challenging period in the maritime industry,” added Mark J. Schulte, Global Head of Transportation Investment Banking at Dahlman Rose.

The cooperative effort will be staffed with senior professionals from each organization and will begin offering its services immediately.

About Blackstone Group
Blackstone (NYSE: BX) is one of the world’s leading investment and advisory firms and is a leading advisor to companies and creditors in situations involving the recapitalization or restructuring of balance sheet liabilities. Blackstone’s restructuring professionals have global reach with offices in New York, London and Sao Paolo. Blackstone seeks to create positive economic impact and long-term value for the companies and creditors it advises, its investors and the companies it invests in and the broader global economy. The firm accomplishes this through the commitment of its extraordinary people and flexible capital. The Blackstone Group provides various financial advisory services, including financial and strategic advisory, restructuring and reorganization advisory and fund placement services. Blackstone’s alternative asset management businesses include the management of private equity funds, real estate funds, hedge fund solutions, credit-oriented fund and closed-end mutual funds. Further information is available at www.blackstone.com.

About Dahlman Rose & Co.
Dahlman Rose & Company, LLC (MEMBER: FINRA/SIPC) is a research-driven investment bank focused on industries that compose the global supply chain, including transportation, infrastructure, metals & mining and energy. The firm’s industry-leading analysts, bankers, salesmen and traders consistently offer unique insights into the companies and markets that provide the building blocks of the global economy. Headquartered in New York, with offices in Boston and Houston, Dahlman Rose is a full service firm providing capital markets services and M&A advice; institutional sales and trading and equity/fixed income research. Further information is available at www.dahlmanrose.com.

Matthews International Capital Management Announces Lovell Minnick Partners as New Equity Holder

SAN FRANCISCO, CA — January 5, 2011 – Matthews International Capital Management, LLC (“Matthews”), the largest dedicated Asia investment specialist in the United States, announced the addition of Lovell Minnick Partners LLC (“Lovell Minnick”) as a minority equity holder. With the endorsement of Matthews, Lovell Minnick private equity partnerships acquired a minority ownership interest previously held by another investor.

“We are pleased to have Lovell Minnick as an equity holder and to add Jeffrey Lovell to the Matthews’ Board of Directors. Lovell Minnick has considerable knowledge and experience working with investment management firms so their addition as an equity holder is a welcome development,” stated Mark Headley, Chairman of Matthews. “Lovell Minnick’s history as a patient, value-added investor is consistent with our own philosophy as investors and operators.”

“The Matthews team has built an exceptional investment management firm with a focused approach, outstanding long-term track record, and differentiated market presence. We fully support the firm’s business approach and continuation of their strategy,” said Jeffrey Lovell, Chairman and Managing Director of Lovell Minnick.

About Matthews International Capital Management, LLC
Matthews is an independent, privately owned investment management firm and the largest dedicated Asia investment specialist in the United States. Founded in 1991, Matthews believes in the long-term growth of Asia and has focused its efforts and expertise within the region, investing through a variety of market environments. Its investment offerings provide a broad range of choices for building a global portfolio that includes exposure to one of the world’s fastest-growing regions. With $19 billion in assets under management as of December 31, 2010, Matthews employs a bottom-up, fundamental investment philosophy, with a focus on long-term investment performance. For more information about Matthews, please visit www.matthewsasia.com.

About Lovell Minnick Partners LLC
Lovell Minnick Partners LLC is a private equity firm providing buyout and growth capital to companies in the financial services industry. From offices in the Los Angeles and Philadelphia areas, Lovell Minnick manages private equity partnerships totaling $800 million on behalf of qualified private and institutional investors. Portfolio companies of Lovell Minnick operate in various areas of the global financial services industry, including asset management, financial product distribution, outsourced administration services, securities brokerage and investment banking, financial consulting, and commercial and trust banks. For more information about Lovell Minnick, please visit www.lovellminnick.com.

John D. Cochran Named Managing Director of Lovell Minnick Partners

EL SEGUNDO, California, January 4, 2011 – Lovell Minnick Partners LLC, a private equity firm providing buyout and growth capital to companies in the financial services industry, announces the promotion of John D. Cochran to Managing Director effective January 1, 2011.

As Managing Director, Mr. Cochran, 39, joins the Investment Committee of Lovell Minnick Partners, which has offices in the Los Angeles and Philadelphia areas and is responsible for managing the firm’s private equity partnerships totaling $800 million. The Lovell Minnick Partners Investment Committee includes Jeffrey D, Lovell, Chairman; James E. Minnick, President; Jennings (Jay) Newcom, General Counsel and Managing Director; and Managing Directors Robert M. Belke, Spencer P. Hoffman and Mr. Cochran.

Mr. Cochran has led the due diligence and analysis in several Lovell Minnick investments and has worked closely with a number of the firm’s portfolio companies. Prior to joining the firm, Mr. Cochran was a Principal at SV Investment Partners (formerly Schroder Ventures US.) Earlier in his career, Mr. Cochran worked at J.W. Childs Associates, a middle market private equity firm with over $3 billion of assets under management, and at Salomon Brothers Inc in the Mergers and Acquisitions Group.

“Since joining us in 2008, John has delivered valuable advice to our portfolio companies and has become an integral member of our management team,” said Jeffrey Lovell. “John’s promotion to Managing Director is well-deserved.”

Mr. Cochran is a member of the Board of Directors of Lovell Minnick portfolio companies Mercer Advisors and Seaside National Bank & Trust and its holding company, Three Shores Bancorporation. Mr. Cochran received an MBA and a Masters degree in Manufacturing Systems Engineering from Stanford University and holds a BA in English from the University of California, Los Angeles.

About Lovell Minnick Partners
Lovell Minnick Partners LLC is a management-owned private equity firm providing buyout and growth capital to companies in the financial services industry. From offices in the Los Angeles and Philadelphia areas, Lovell Minnick manages private equity partnerships totaling $800 million on behalf of qualified private and institutional investors. Portfolio companies of Lovell Minnick operate in various areas of the global financial services industry, including asset management, financial product distribution, outsourced administration services, investment banking and securities brokerage, commercial and trust banking, and financial consulting. For more information regarding Lovell Minnick Partners visit www.lovellminnick.com.

PlanMember Financial Corporation Acquires Scarborough Alliance Group

December 3, 2010 – PlanMember Financial Corporation, headquartered in Carpinteria, California, is pleased to announce the recent acquisition of Scarborough Alliance Group. Located in Irvington, New York, Scarborough is a financial services, administration and investment firm that provides retirement education and investment services to local unions of the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers (IBEW) and other affinity groups. Scarborough has been working with IBEW local union members since 1974 and has been in the plan administration business since 1970. Scarborough currently manages $600 million in pension and savings plan assets and serves IBEW members in 47 states.

Jon Ziehl, PlanMember’s founder and CEO said, “The acquisition of Scarborough Alliance Group provides a unique opportunity for PlanMember to expand the growing number of employer and affinity groups nationwide that have chosen PlanMember to be a preferred retirement plan provider for their employees. As a result, PlanMember’s Programs are a natural fit for IBEW members to help meet and exceed their retirement goals and ensure success in their retirement years.”

Denis Cardone, President of Scarborough commented, “For nearly four decades Scarborough has had one basic mission: to help IBEW members enjoy a financially comfortable retirement. PlanMember brings the infrastructure, investment, marketing, distribution and customer service support necessary to continue to serve our IBEW local union members with high quality retirement solutions on a national basis.”

PlanMember Financial Corporation has been an industry leading financial services and retirement planning firm serving the public education and non-profit sectors for over two decades. Currently the company is an approved retirement plan provider for 2,300 organizations nationwide, supports 400 registered representatives, and serves as broker/dealer for over 100,000 customer accounts totaling approximately $4 billion in assets.

Known for providing superior service and support to advisors and their clients through high-quality investment advisory programs, PlanMember delivers personalized retirement planning services and a broad selection of investment solutions to employer groups and membership organizations.

For more information about PlanMember Financial Corporation and the acquisition of Scarborough Alliance Group, contact Richard Ford at (800) 874-6910, ext. 2400 or visit www.planmember.com.

Dahlman Rose & Company Announces Strategic Investment by Lovell Minnick Partners

NEW YORK — August 10, 2010 – Dahlman Rose & Company, LLC, a leading investment bank specializing in natural resources, transportation, and other industries in the global supply chain, announced today that it has, subject to regulatory approval, entered into a definitive agreement to receive a $40 million minority investment from Lovell Minnick Partners LLC, a private equity firm that specializes in the global financial services industry. Dahlman Rose plans to use the proceeds for further expansion of its investment banking, research and institutional sales and trading platforms.

Lovell Minnick will finance the investment from the Lovell Minnick Equity Partners III fund. As part of the agreement, the firm will appoint two representatives to Dahlman Rose’s Board of Managers.

Lovell Minnick Managing Director Spencer Hoffman commented: “Dahlman Rose is the recognized thought leader in its focus sectors. The Company offers a clearly differentiated suite of investment banking, advisory and trading services that meet the growing needs of its corporate and institutional clients. We are very optimistic about this partnership and the Company’s compelling growth prospects.”

Simon Rose, Chief Executive Officer of Dahlman Rose stated: “In addition to growth capital, this agreement brings to Dahlman Rose the seasoned perspective of the premier investor in innovative financial services businesses. We welcome this partnership as an important component of Dahlman Rose’s aggressive growth strategy.”

Rose added: “Since commencing business in 2004, Dahlman Rose has expanded dramatically, and we have assembled world-class banking, sales and trading, research and management teams. Given the strong long-term prospects of the industries we serve and the unique value of the business we created, we expect Dahlman Rose’s steep growth trajectory to continue in the years ahead. With Lovell Minnick as a partner, we will continue to pursue organic growth and strategic acquisitions, as appropriate.”

JMP Securities represented Dahlman Rose & Co. in this transaction.

About Dahlman Rose & Company
Dahlman Rose & Company, LLC (MEMBER: FINRA/SIPC) is a research-driven investment bank focused on transportation, infrastructure, and industries that compose the global supply chain. The firm’s industry-leading analysts, bankers, and traders offer unique insight into the companies and markets that provide the building blocks of the global economy. Dahlman Rose’s sector specialties include marine shipping, surface freight transportation, air transportation, petroleum exploration and production, and related offshore and oilfield services, metals and mining, coal mining, agriculture and chemicals, and independent power producers. Dahlman Rose is headquartered in New York and has offices in Boston, Houston, and San Francisco. Dahlman Rose provides institutional sales and trading, equity and fixed income research, mergers and acquisitions advisory, and underwriting services. For more information regarding Dahlman Rose, please visit www.dahlmanrose.com.

About Lovell Minnick Partners
Lovell Minnick Partners LLC is a management-owned private equity firm providing buyout and growth capital to companies in the financial services industry. From offices in Los Angeles and Philadelphia, Lovell Minnick manages private equity partnerships totaling $800 million on behalf of qualified private and institutional investors. For more information regarding Lovell Minnick Partners and its portfolio companies, please visit www.lovellminnick.com.

Alan Warrick joins Lovell Minnick Partners as Senior Advisor

EL SEGUNDO, California, April 26, 2010 – Alan F. Warrick has joined Lovell Minnick Partners LLC, an independent private equity firm providing buyout and growth capital to companies in the financial services industry, as a Senior Advisor.

As Senior Advisor, Mr. Warrick will assist and advise Lovell Minnick’s investment professionals in deal sourcing, due diligence and evaluation, with specific focus on financial product distribution strategies. Lovell Minnick Partners anticipates selectively adding other Senior Advisors to join Mr. Warrick in this new effort.

Mr. Warrick joins Lovell Minnick from AEGON, the global life insurance and asset management enterprise, where he spent the past 15 years in a variety of executive roles. Most recently, Mr. Warrick served as a Managing Director for Strategic Business Development in AEGON USA Financial Services Group and prior to that he was the Chief Executive Officer of Transamerica Worksite Marketing (a member of the AEGON Group). During his tenure at AEGON, Mr. Warrick was responsible for establishing distribution relationships with major national and regional securities brokerage firms, the introduction of AEGON’s insurance products in the Chinese market, and the expansion of AEGON’s voluntary employee benefit programs to major mid-market and fortune 500 companies, amongst other things. Earlier in his career, Mr. Warrick held various executive positions at Merrill Lynch. Mr. Warrick holds a BA in economics from the University of Arkansas.

“Alan’s extensive financial services background along with his expertise in financial product distribution will provide Lovell Minnick with valuable industry insights as we seek investments for our new fund.” said Jeffrey D. Lovell, Chairman and Managing Director of Lovell Minnick Partners.

Alan Warrick noted, “I have known the Lovell Minnick principals for many years and have observed their superb investment performance and their industry specialization. I look forward to working alongside them during this interesting time for financial services firms.”

Lovell Minnick Partners is currently investing Lovell Minnick Equity Partners III LP which held its final closing in January. This $455 million partnership is focused on investments in the North American market in various financial segments, including asset management, financial planning, financial product distribution, specialty finance, securities brokerage, banking, outsourcing providers and related companies specializing in administration and business services.

About Lovell Minnick Partners
Lovell Minnick Partners LLC is an independent, management-owned private equity firm providing buyout and growth capital to companies in the financial services industry. From offices in the Los Angeles and Philadelphia areas, Lovell Minnick manages private equity partnerships totaling over $800 million on behalf of qualified private and institutional investors. For more information regarding Lovell Minnick Partners and its portfolio companies, please visit www.lovellminnick.com.

Lovell Minnick Equity Partners III LP Tops $450 Million at Final Closing

EL SEGUNDO, California, February 2, 2010 – Lovell Minnick Partners LLC, a private equity firm providing buyout and growth capital to companies in the financial services industry, is pleased to announce the final closing of Lovell Minnick Equity Partners III LP. The fund surpassed its $350 million target by successfully raising $455 million from institutional and private investors. The fund focuses on middle market investments in the financial services sector including asset management, financial product distribution, outsourced administration services, investment banking and securities brokerage, commercial and trust banking, and related business services. The investment of the fund is managed by the Lovell Minnick Partners’ team operating from offices in California and Pennsylvania.

Returning limited partners were led by commitments from PPM America Capital Partners, HighVista Strategies, INVESCO Private Equity and WP Global Partners. A broad range of institutional investors came on board as new limited partners for the fund, including: Credit Suisse Customized Fund Investment Group, Kemnay Private Equity, Nationwide Mutual Insurance Company, Private Advisors, RCP Advisors, Twin Bridge Capital Partners and Washington University of St. Louis.

Credit Suisse Securities (USA) LLC acted as Lovell Minnick Partners’ exclusive placement agent for the fundraising and Kirkland & Ellis LLP served as its legal advisor.

About Lovell Minnick Partners
Lovell Minnick Partners LLC is an independent, management-owned private equity firm providing buyout and growth capital to companies in the financial services industry. From offices in the Los Angeles and Philadelphia areas, Lovell Minnick manages private equity partnerships totaling over $800 million on behalf of qualified private and institutional investors. Portfolio companies of Lovell Minnick operate in various areas of the global financial services industry, including asset management, financial product distribution, outsourced administration services, investment banking and securities brokerage, commercial and trust banking, and related business services. For more information regarding Lovell Minnick Partners and its portfolio companies, please visit www.lovellminnick.com

Inquiries can be directed to Jeff Lovell at (310) 414-6160 or Jim Minnick at (610) 995-9660.

Lovell Minnick Partners Promotes Spencer Hoffman to Managing Director

RADNOR, Pennsylvania, January 12, 2010 – Lovell Minnick Partners LLC, an independent private equity firm providing buyout and growth capital to companies in the financial services industry, is pleased to announce the promotion of Spencer P. Hoffman to Managing Director effective January 1, 2010.

As Managing Director, Mr. Hoffman, 36, serves on the Investment Committee of Lovell Minnick Partners, which has offices in the Los Angeles and Philadelphia areas and is responsible for managing the firm’s private equity partnerships totaling over $750 million. The Lovell Minnick Partners Investment Committee includes Jeffrey D, Lovell, Chairman and Managing Director; James E. Minnick, President and Managing Director; Jennings (Jay) Newcom, General Counsel and Managing Director; Robert M. Belke, Managing Director; and Mr. Hoffman.

Mr. Hoffman has led the due diligence and analysis in several Lovell Minnick investments and has worked closely with a number of the firm’s portfolio companies. Prior to joining the company, Mr. Hoffman was a Principal at Safeguard Scientifics and before that he served as an Associate with Mellon Ventures. Mr. Hoffman started his career in Merrill Lynch’s Global Investment Banking Group.

“Spencer is a highly valued member of our team and his promotion to Managing Director is well-deserved,” said James Minnick. “Spencer has added significant value to our firm and to our portfolio companies since he joined us in early 2007.”

Mr. Hoffman is a member of the Board of Directors of Lovell Minnick portfolio companies ALPS Holdings Inc and Leerink Swann Holdings LLC. He received his MBA from the Wharton School of Business and has a Bachelor of Arts from Brown University. Mr. Hoffman also is the incoming Co-President of Wharton Private Equity Partners, an organization for Wharton and University of Pennsylvania alumni working in the private equity, private debt, and venture capital industries.

About Lovell Minnick Partners
Lovell Minnick Partners LLC is an independent management-owned private equity firm providing buyout and growth capital to companies in the financial services industry. From offices in the Los Angeles and Philadelphia areas, Lovell Minnick manages private equity partnerships totaling over $750 million on behalf of qualified private and institutional investors. Portfolio companies of Lovell Minnick operate in various areas of the global financial services industry, including asset management, financial product distribution, outsourced administration services, investment banking and securities brokerage, commercial and trust banking, and financial consulting. For more information regarding Lovell Minnick Partners visit www.lovellminnick.com.

Lovell Minnick Partners Announces Investment in Seaside National Bank & Trust

EL SEGUNDO, California, November 30, 2009 – Lovell Minnick Partners is pleased to announce a $15 million investment in Seaside National Bank & Trust through the bank’s holding company, Three Shores Bancorporation. The investment will be made with funds from Lovell Minnick Equity Partners II.

Lovell Minnick Managing Director Bob Belke commented, “We believe that Seaside, with its client-service emphasis and strong leadership team, is well positioned to serve the high-net-worth market in Florida. We look forward to partnering with the Seaside team to further develop its wealth management business.”

Lovell Minnick invested alongside Parthenon Capital, Continental Investors and existing shareholders to contribute a total of $40 million to support Seaside’s continued growth. In connection with its investment, Lovell Minnick will receive a board seat at both Seaside and Three Shores. The agreement allows Lovell Minnick to make future investments in Seaside to continue to grow the bank’s footprint.

“At a time when access to capital is extremely tight and most banks are struggling to complete adequate capital raises, we are pleased to receive funds from such distinguished private equity firms and local individual investors,” said Gideon Haymaker, President and Chief Executive Officer of Seaside. “This is a tremendous vote of confidence in our bank, business plan, management team and all of our Seaside employees.”

With thirteen offices throughout Florida, Seaside has total assets of $830 million and $140 million of assets under advisement. The $40 million investment will be used to enhance the Bank’s already significant capital strength while continuing to support its growth strategy of expanding into Florida’s major metropolitan markets and further development as Florida’s premier private bank.

Since its inception in 2006, Seaside has demonstrated outstanding underwriting discipline. “Having completed extensive due diligence, we were attracted to the soundness of Seaside’s credit philosophy and its history of performance,” said Lovell Minnick Principal John Cochran, who added, “While Seaside is unique in its innovative approach to integrated banking and wealth management services, it remains rooted in tried-and-true underwriting principles.”

“We continue to be excited and extremely optimistic about our future,” said Tom Yochum, Chairman of the Board for Seaside. “We’ve developed a solid business plan, have consistently executed on the plan, even in a historically difficult economic environment, and have hired the best bankers in Florida. It’s great to see all of the elements of our plan come together.”

About Seaside National Bank & Trust
Seaside is a nationally-chartered commercial bank headquartered in Orlando, Florida with trust powers. Seaside’s thirteen offices throughout Central Florida, South Florida, Sarasota, Tampa and North Florida have a total of $830 million in assets and an additional $140 million of assets under advisement. Seaside offers its clients a complete array of wealth management, commercial and private banking financial solutions.. For more information regarding Seaside visit www.seasidebank.com.

About Lovell Minnick Partners
Lovell Minnick Partners is an independent investment firm which provides buyout and growth capital to developing companies in the global financial services industry. From offices in Los Angeles and Philadelphia, Lovell Minnick manages partnerships totaling over $750 million for qualified private and institutional investors. Portfolio companies of Lovell Minnick operate in various areas of financial services including asset management, financial product distribution, securities brokerage, financial outsourcing services, and commercial and trust banks. For more information regarding Lovell Minnick Partners visit www.LovellMinnick.com.

Alps Acquires Hedge Fund Leader Price Meadows

 

DENVER, — ALPS Fund Services, Inc. today announced it has acquired the assets of Price Meadows Incorporated, a hedge fund administrator based in Bellevue, Washington, with more than $6 billion in assets under administration. The new combined business, ALPS Price Meadows®, will operate as a division of ALPS Fund Services, Inc.

Price Meadows was founded in 1987 by two former hedge fund managers, Kelley Price, Co-founder and CEO, and Rick Meadows, Co-Founder and President. They will stay on in day-to-day management of the new company, joined by Paul Garvey, ALPS’ Director of Alternative Investment Services. Garvey joined ALPS in 2007, bringing with him 17 years of experience in the industry including senior management positions with BISYS Hedge Fund Services and Investors Bank & Trust.

Price Meadows administers a wide variety of hedge funds, funds-of-funds, private equity and other funds, both domestic and off shore. The company has had experience in nearly every facet of hedge fund operations, including starting hedge funds, structuring and organizing new funds, portfolio investment management and, of course, partnership accounting.

“Like ALPS, Price Meadows is committed to providing excellent client service,” said Ned Burke, President of ALPS. “ALPS Price Meadows combines the strengths of both firms to create a top-tier service provider to the alternative investment industry.”

ALPS Fund Services currently offers a comprehensive package of alternative investment services including fund inception consultation, fund administration and accounting, shareholder servicing and tax services.

“ALPS’ robust control structure and leading technology platform will greatly enhance our ability to service a wider variety of clients and the needs of more institutional funds,” said Kelley Price.

ALPS Price Meadows will service clients from offices in Bellevue, Denver and Boston with future plans to expand in the Cayman Islands and Europe.

About ALPS Fund Services, Inc.™

ALPS Fund Services, Inc. is a Denver-based outsourcing solution for administration, compliance, creative services, fund accounting, legal, marketing, tax administration, transfer agency and shareholder services for open end, closed-end, alternative investment and exchange-traded funds. ALPS has approximately $32 billion in client investment fund assets under administration. ALPS Distributors, Inc. provides distribution services to over $240 billion in client assets. For more information, visit www.alpsinc.com.

ALPS is a registered trademark or trademark of ALPS Fund Services, Inc.™ in the United States and other countries. All other brand names, product names or trademarks belong to their respective holders.

About Price Meadows
Price Meadows Incorporated (www.pricemeadows.com) was founded by two former hedge fund managers in 1987. Having roots in the hedge fund industry going back 25 years, the firm has thrived by presenting “needs based” solutions – based on needs observed as former managers and investors in hedge funds and funds-of funds. The firm administers a wide variety of hedge funds, funds-of-funds, private equity and other funds, both domestic and offshore. Currently, PMI provides administration services to approximately 200 funds spread across 30 states, the British Virgin Islands and the Cayman Islands.

Lovell Minnick Partners Announces the Acquisition of Mercer Advisors Inc.

SCOTTSDALE, April 7, 2008 – Mercer Advisors Inc., a leading provider of financial planning, asset management and practice management consulting services to dental and medical professionals, announced today that it has sold a majority interest to Lovell Minnick Partners. Lovell Minnick Partners is a private equity firm which specializes in the global financial services industry. The senior management team of Mercer Advisors will continue to have a substantial ownership position in the firm. The transaction is expected to close in the second quarter of 2008.

“This transaction will enable Mercer to more aggressively expand its dental market share and provides us the capital necessary to better and more quickly develop our client service offerings and therefore to better service our clients,” stated Imtiaz Manji, CEO of Mercer Advisors.

“We are pleased to have attracted Lovell Minnick as partners who are committed to our growth objectives,” stated Dave Barton, President of Mercer Advisors. “Lovell Minnick has deep industry experience and will offer ongoing strategic advice to Mercer as it expands its national presence of offering a fully integrated service to our dental and medical clients.”

Jeffrey Lovell, Managing Director of Lovell Minnick Partners said, “We’ve been keen observers of Mercer’s development for several years and have enjoyed an ongoing dialogue with the management team. We have been impressed with Mercer’s specialized focus in providing wealth management and business consulting services to dental and medical practitioners. We look forward to partnering with this management team as they continue to build upon their strong platform.”

The company will continue to be led by Imtiaz Manji and Dave Barton, supported by Gene Dongieux, Chief Investment Officer, and Howard Rochestie, Executive Vice President.

Mercer Advisors will continue to be a registered investment advisor providing comprehensive financial planning and asset management services to healthcare professionals. Mercer Advisors will also continue to build and develop its consulting services division specializing in improving the productivity and business value for dental practices as well as assisting dental practitioners with the transition and sale of their businesses.

Mercer was represented by Cambridge International Partners Inc. and Lovell Minnick Partners was advised by Duff & Phelps.

About Mercer Advisors Inc.
Based in Scottsdale, Arizona, Mercer Advisors Inc. provides asset management, financial planning, practice consulting and transition consulting for medical professionals, with dental practitioners being the Company’s core target client. Mercer Advisors actively manages over $3.6 billion of clients’ assets and provides consulting services to over 3,000 dental practitioners from its various satellite offices across the United States. The company has approximately 280 employees. For more information about Mercer Advisors Inc. please visit www.merceradvisors.com.

About Lovell Minnick Partners
Lovell Minnick Partners is an independent investment firm which provides buyout and growth capital to developing companies in the global financial services industry. From offices in Los Angeles and Philadelphia, Lovell Minnick manages partnerships totaling over $350 million for qualified private and institutional investors. Portfolio companies of Lovell Minnick operate in various areas of financial services including asset management, financial product distribution, securities brokerage, and financial consulting services. Limited Partners of Lovell Minnick include Aegon U.S.A Inc., Eaton Vance, Invesco, Goldman Sachs, PPM America, and National Bank of Canada. For more information about Lovell Minnick Partners please visit www.LovellMinnick.com.

Duff & Phelps Commences Trading Today on New York Stock Exchange

NEW YORK, NY – Sep 28, 2007 – Duff & Phelps Corporation (NYSE: DUF), a leading independent financial advisory and investment banking firm, today announced the commencement of trading of its Class A common stock on the New York Stock Exchange under the ticker symbol “DUF”. The company raised approximately $132,800,000 through its initial public offering, which consisted of 8,300,000 shares of Class A common stock priced at $16 per share.

Noah Gottdiener, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, said, “We are delighted to celebrate this milestone in the continued evolution of Duff & Phelps, as we embark upon the next phase of our development. Our commitment to creating value for our new shareholders is rooted in our corporate mission: protecting, recovering and maximizing value for our clients. Our key strengths – independence in offering unbiased advice on highly technical value assessment issues, a strong brand name and global scale – position us for unique growth opportunities going forward. At the same time, we believe that our broad and well-balanced service offerings, as well as our diversified client base, provide us with stability across economic cycles.”

Gerry Creagh, President, said, “The success of our franchise is due to the quality of our professionals and the strength of our relationships with our global client base. We look forward to deploying the capital we have raised towards building the future of our company. As we move forward to realize our potential, we extend our thanks and appreciation to our employees and clients across the globe, as well as a warm welcome to our new shareholders.”

Recently, Duff & Phelps disclosed the formation of a strategic alliance with Shinsei Bank that the company expects will facilitate the expansion of its business throughout Japan and Asia. As part of this alliance, Shinsei Bank has acquired an approximately 10% minority equity stake in Duff & Phelps.

The listing requirements of the New York Stock Exchange require that Duff & Phelps Corporation disclose that additional information is available upon which the New York Stock Exchange relied to list the company, and is included in Duff & Phelps Corporation’s listing application. Such information is available to the public upon request.

About Duff & Phelps
Duff & Phelps, LLC is a leading provider of independent financial advisory and investment banking services, supporting client needs principally in the areas of valuation, mergers and acquisitions, financial restructurings and disputes. The Company’s services focus on the provision of independent advice on issues involving highly technical and complex assessments of value, and include financial reporting and tax valuation, specialty tax, real estate and fixed asset services, transaction advisory services, restructuring advisory, fairness and solvency opinions, and dispute and legal management consulting. Investment banking services are provided by Duff & Phelps Securities, LLC, an NASD registered broker-dealer. With more than 800 employees serving clients worldwide through offices in 21 cities in the United States, Europe and Asia, Duff & Phelps is committed to delivering insightful advice and service of exceptional quality, integrity and objectivity.

Forward Looking and Cautionary Statements
This press release may contain forward-looking statements within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act, with respect to our future performance, operating results, strategy, and other future events. Such statements generally include words such as could, can, anticipate, believe, expect, seek, pursue, and similar words and terms, in connection with any discussion of future results. Forward-looking statements involve a number of assumptions, risks, and uncertainties, any of which may cause actual results to differ materially from the anticipated, estimated or projected results referenced in forward-looking statements. In particular, the forward-looking statements of Duff & Phelps Corporation and its subsidiaries are subject to the following risks and uncertainties: changes in political, economic, or industry conditions; the impact of legislative and regulatory actions, including without limitation, actions by the Securities and Exchange Commission; and terrorist activities and international hostilities, which may affect the general economy. We assume no obligation to update or supplement our forward-looking statements.

Investor Relations:
Breanna Downes
(212) 871-7700
breanna.downesIR@duffandphelps.com

Media Contact:
Sherri Saltzman
(973) 775-8329
Sherri.Saltzman@duffandphelps.com

Leerink Swann Receives Commitment for Investments from Lovell Minnick Partners and the March Group

Boston, MA – July 23, 2007 – Leerink Swann, the leading healthcare investment bank, today announced that it has entered into a definitive agreement to receive a $35 million minority investment from Lovell Minnick Partners (“Lovell Minnick”) and the March Group (“March”).

Lovell Minnick, a private equity firm that specializes in the global financial services industry, and March, a firm focused primarily on the pharmaceutical and financial services sectors, will have representatives from each firm join Leerink Swann’s Board of Directors. The transaction is expected to close in the third quarter of this year, pending regulatory and shareholder approvals.

“We are pleased to have Lovell Minnick and March join us as shareholders,” stated Jeffrey A. Leerink, Chairman and CEO of Leerink Swann. “Both firms possess deep industry knowledge and company-building expertise. Their representation will add significant value to our Board of Directors as we accelerate our investment banking and advisory businesses and expand into principal and asset management activities.”

Mr. Leerink continued, “The marketplace continues to acknowledge the value of our business model, as evidenced by the Firm’s record revenue and earnings momentum. This investment capital, applied to our unique business platform, will serve as an additional catalyst for Leerink Swann’s aggressive growth plans.”

Jeffrey D. Lovell, Managing Director of Lovell Minnick Partners said, “Leerink Swann has created a tremendous opportunity to capitalize on its industry leading position in healthcare. The Firm’s knowledge focus, driven by its proprietary MEDACorp network, delivers a sustainable advantage in a highly competitive marketplace. We look forward to supporting them in their efforts.”

Johannes Frey, Chief Operating and Financial Officer of the March Group, continued, “Leerink Swann represents a perfect strategic fit for March. Leerink Swann’s commitment to establishing a world-class investment banking capability geared exclusively toward the healthcare industry ideally positions the Firm to capitalize on one of the largest industries in the global economy.”

Mr. Leerink concluded, “The recognition of Leerink Swann’s differentiated platform by Lovell Minnick and March further enhances our position as the leading healthcare investment bank.”

About Leerink Swann & Company
Leerink Swann is a healthcare-focused investment banking firm that provides equity research, corporate finance, asset management, and strategic advisory services for institutional, life sciences, and high net worth clients. For the past six years, Institutional Investor has named Leerink Swann “Best of the Boutiques” in Healthcare. Through its MEDACorp division, Leerink Swann provides biomedical-consulting services to the institutional investment community. With an internal team of experts and a dedicated external network of academic and community-based healthcare professionals, MEDACorp assesses the viability of cutting-edge medical technologies, thus giving decision makers the information they need to perform. Leerink Swann is a member NASD/SIPC. For more information, visit www.leerink.com.

About Lovell Minnick Partners
Lovell Minnick Partners LLC is an independent private equity firm providing buyout and growth capital to companies in the financial services industry. From offices in the Los Angeles and Philadelphia areas, Lovell Minnick manages private equity partnerships totaling over $350 million on behalf of qualified private and institutional investors. Portfolio companies of Lovell Minnick operate in various areas of the global financial services industry, including asset management, financial product distribution, outsourced administration services, securities brokerage, and financial consulting. For more information regarding Lovell Minnick Partners, visit www.LovellMinnick.com.

About the March Group
The March Group is a privately owned investment group headquartered in Hamilton, Bermuda. March’s core business is the management of proprietary investments. The predominant part of March’s business portfolio consists of strategic, long-term equity participations in companies operating in March’s preferred industry sectors, pharmaceuticals and finance. March’s portfolio of industry participations is complemented by an endowment-like investment portfolio. For more information regarding March visit www.march-group.com.

Lovell Minnick Partners Promotes Robert Belke to Managing Director

ROLLING HILLS ESTATES, California, January 10, 2007 – Lovell Minnick Partners LLC, an independent, management-controlled private equity firm providing buyout and growth capital to companies in the financial services industry, is pleased to announce the promotion of Robert M. Belke, CFA, to Managing Director from Principal, effective Jan. 1, 2007.

As Managing Director, Mr. Belke, 36, serves on the Investment Committee of Lovell Minnick Partners, which has offices in the Los Angeles and Philadelphia areas and is responsible for managing the firm’s private equity partnerships totaling over $350 million on behalf of qualified private and institutional investors. The Lovell Minnick Partners Investment Committee consists of Jeffrey D. Lovell, Chairman and Managing Director; James E. Minnick, President and Managing Director; Jennings (Jay) Newcom, General Counsel and Managing Director; and Bob Belke.

Mr. Belke has led the due diligence and analysis for investments in several Lovell Minnick portfolio companies, including Duff & Phelps, PlanMember Financial Corp., UNX Holdings, and Westcap Investors. Prior to joining the company in 2000, Mr. Belke was an Associate in the Direct Private Equity Group at TIAA-CREF and before that he served as a Senior Analyst at Wilshire Associates.

“Bob is a highly valued member of our team and his promotion to Managing Director is well-deserved,” said Jeff Lovell. “Bob has been involved with and led the analysis on several of our most successful investments.”

Mr. Belke is a member of the Board of Directors of Lovell Minnick portfolio companies Denali Advisors, Duff & Phelps, PlanMember Financial and UNX. He is a Chartered Financial Analyst, received his MBA with honors in Finance and Accounting from the University of Chicago, and has a Bachelor of Business Administration degree in Finance and Accounting from the University of Wisconsin.

Lovell Minnick Partners recently closed Lovell Minnick Equity Partners II LP with $220 million in commitments. This Fund has now completed four investments totaling over $70 million. This Partnership is focused on investments in the North American market in various financial segments, including asset management, financial planning, financial product distribution, outsourcing providers, specialty finance, and related companies specializing in administration and business services. Limited partners investing in Lovell Minnick Equity Partners II LP include Aegon USA, Eaton Vance, Goldman Sachs, Invesco, National Bank of Canada, and PPM America.

Organized in 2004, Lovell Minnick Partners is the successor to, and continuation of, the private equity business of Putnam Lovell Capital Partners and Putnam Lovell NBF Securities, affiliates of National Bank of Canada. Putnam Lovell Capital Partners was organized in 1999 by Jeff Lovell and Jim Minnick. Lovell Minnick Partners currently employs 10 investment professionals and its funds are currently invested in 13 financial services companies.

About Lovell Minnick Partners
Lovell Minnick Partners LLC is an independent management-controlled private equity firm providing buyout and growth capital to companies in the financial services industry. From offices in the Los Angeles and Philadelphia areas, Lovell Minnick manages private equity partnerships totaling over $350 million on behalf of qualified private and institutional investors. Portfolio companies of Lovell Minnick operate in various areas of the global financial services industry, including asset management, financial product distribution, outsourced administration services, securities brokerage, and financial consulting. For more information regarding Lovell Minnick Partners visit www.LovellMinnick.com.

PlanMember Financial Corporation Receives Investments from Lovell Minnick Partners and Caltius Mezzanine Partners

CARPINTERIA, November 21, 2006 – PlanMember Financial Corporation, a leading financial services marketing and distribution company with over $1 billion in assets under management, today announced that it has entered into a recapitalization transaction with Lovell Minnick Partners and Caltius Mezzanine Partners. Lovell Minnick, a private equity firm that specializes in the global financial services industry, has invested $10 million in equity capital in PlanMember, and Caltius, a Los Angeles-based mezzanine investment firm, has provided $10 million in mezzanine financing.

PlanMember markets a unique proprietary retirement plan advisory program called the PlanMember Services Program that delivers a broad array of retirement plan services to plan sponsors and participants through independent representatives and affinity and membership groups. These services include personalized planning and investment advisory services for individuals as well as complete plan sponsor consulting and administration services for employers and institutional alliance partners. PlanMember is led by CEO and Founder Jon Ziehl, along with COO Terry Janeway and Senior Vice President of Marketing and Product Development Richard Ford.

Mr. Ziehl stated, “We are pleased to have attracted Lovell Minnick and Caltius to our company. With these new partners, we are not only receiving investment capital to complete our recapitalization, but are also aligning ourselves with knowledgeable partners to meet our growth and expansion objectives.” Jeffrey Lovell, Managing Director of Lovell Minnick Partners said, “As investors in financial services companies, we have been impressed with PlanMember’s deep focus on the retirement segment. The company has built a strong platform which can be leveraged for the benefit of its customers, employees, and shareholders.” Michael Kane, Managing Director of Caltius, stated, “We have enjoyed working with Jon and his team throughout this process, and continue to be impressed with the level of talent and experience throughout the PlanMember organization.”

About PlanMember Financial Services
Based in Carpinteria, California, PlanMember Financial Corporation markets, administers and manages retirement plan investment products and services for individuals, employers and institutional alliance partners. PlanMember actively manages over $1 billion of clients’ assets and has over 400 independent sales professionals throughout all 50 states. The company has approximately 80 employees. For more information about PlanMember Financial Corporation please visit www.planmemberfinancialcorporation.com.

About Lovell Minnick Partners
Lovell Minnick Partners is an independent investment firm which provides buyout and growth capital to developing companies in the global financial services industry. From offices in Los Angeles and Philadelphia, Lovell Minnick manages partnerships totaling over $350 million for qualified private and institutional investors. Portfolio companies of Lovell Minnick operate in various areas of financial services including asset management, financial product distribution, securities brokerage, and financial consulting services. Limited Partners of Lovell Minnick include Aegon U.S.A Inc., Eaton Vance, Invesco, Goldman Sachs, PPM America, and National Bank of Canada. For more information about Lovell Minnick Partners please visit www.LovellMinnick.com.

About Caltius Mezzanine Partners
Based in Los Angeles, Caltius Mezzanine has been a reliable financial partner to management teams and equity sponsors since 1997, providing capital in amounts of $5 million to $35 million for companies in a broad range of industries to support acquisitions, recapitalizations, buyouts, and organic growth. For more information, please visit www.caltiusmezzanine.com.

Duff & Phelps Announces Acquisition of Chanin Capital Partners Restructuring Business Unit Enhances Service Offering

NEW YORK, November 1, 2006 – Duff & Phelps, one of the world’s leading independent financial advisory firms, announced today that it has acquired Chanin Capital Partners, a specialty investment bank with a leading position advising stakeholders in distressed situations. Terms of the transaction were not disclosed.

Noah Gottdiener, Chief Executive Officer of Duff & Phelps, said “the acquisition of Chanin Capital Partners will enable Duff & Phelps to provide an enhanced service offering with respect to companies, creditors and other stakeholders in financially distressed situations. Chanin is a firm that shares our commitment to providing exceptional client service with the highest level of integrity, independence and professionalism.”

Chanin Capital Partners provides a variety of financial advisory services, including financial restructuring, merger & acquisition advisory, capital raising and fairness and solvency opinions. Founded in 1984, Chanin has principal offices in Los Angeles and New York, with additional presence in Detroit and London.

Gerry Creagh, President of Duff & Phelps, said “the additional scale in these services and the nature of Chanin’s business further diversifies our service portfolio, and reinforces our commitment to protecting, recovering and maximizing value for our clients.”

Skip Victor, Senior Managing Director and co-founder of Chanin, said “my colleagues and I are very excited to be joining a financial advisory services firm with such an outstanding reputation as Duff & Phelps. The people, clients and integrated service offering of Duff & Phelps are an ideal platform to enable us to continue to provide the excellent client service for which we are known in the marketplace.”

Russell Belinsky, Senior Managing Director and co-founder of Chanin, said “Duff & Phelps has an impressive corporate client list, and we believe this transaction will provide us with opportunities to offer our restructuring advisory services to a broader universe of clients through an expanded global platform. Similarly, hedge funds, institutional bondholders, and private equity firms with whom we have strong relationships represent an important growth area for Duff & Phelps.”

Chanin’s financial restructuring business will continue to operate under the Chanin name, as a business unit of Duff & Phelps. Chanin’s investment banking business will operate under Duff & Phelps Securities, LLC, an NASD registered broker-dealer.

Skip Victor, Senior Managing Director and co-founder of Chanin, said “my colleagues and I are very excited to be joining a financial advisory services firm with such an outstanding reputation as Duff & Phelps. The people, clients and integrated service offering of Duff & Phelps are an ideal platform to enable us to continue to provide the excellent client service for which we are known in the marketplace.”

Putnam Lovell NBF served as the exclusive financial advisor to Chanin Capital Partners on this transaction.

About Duff & Phelps, LLC
Duff & Phelps is one of the world’s leading independent financial advisory firms serving client needs in the areas of valuation, investment banking and transaction advice, and dispute consulting. Duff & Phelps is the foremost provider of industry focused, independent and objective valuation insight and advice. Services include financial reporting and tax valuation, transfer pricing, real estate and fixed asset services, merger and acquisition advisory, financial restructurings, fairness and solvency opinions, due diligence and dispute consulting. With more than 800 employees serving clients worldwide through offices in the United States, Europe and Asia, Duff & Phelps is committed to delivering insightful advice and service of exceptional quality, integrity and objectivity. For more information, visit www.duffandphelps.com.

About Chanin Capital Partners
Chanin Capital Partners is a top-ranked specialty investment banking firm that provides financial advisory services, including for Financial Restructurings; Mergers & Acquisitions; Fairness, Valuation and Solvency Opinions; and Capital Raising. With offices in Detroit, London, Los Angeles and New York, Chanin Capital Partners is one of the largest, independent, specialty investment banks providing financial advisory services for the middle market and for distressed transactions. Since 1984, the professionals of Chanin Capital Partners have consummated more than $29 billion in mergers and acquisitions mandates, completed more than $146 billion in financial restructuring transactions, and delivered hundreds of fairness and solvency opinions and valuation reports. For more information, visit www.chanin.com.

Bank of America Investment Advisors, Inc. Agrees to Sell Its Liberty All-Star Closed-End Fund Management Business

Boston, September 8, 2006 – Bank of America Investment Advisors, Inc. (BAIA), the investment advisor to the Liberty All-Star Funds (Funds) today announced that it has entered into an agreement with ALPS Advisers, Inc. (ALPS) to sell to ALPS its advisory business of managing the Funds.

The Funds are a family of two closed-end, NYSE-listed equity funds. They are the Liberty All-Star Equity Fund (NYSE:USA), with net assets in excess of $1.2 billion as of June 30, 2006, and the Liberty All-Star Growth Fund, Inc. (NYSE:ASG), with net assets in excess of $150 million as of June 30, 2006.Further information about the Funds may be found on line at www.all-starfunds.com.

Under terms of the agreement, BAIA’s Liberty All-Star management team is expected to join ALPS to continue managing the funds. The management team is expected to remain in Boston. The completion of the transaction is conditioned upon, among other things, shareholder approval of a new investment advisory agreement with ALPS and new sub-advisory agreements among the funds, ALPS and the various sub-advisers that manage the Funds’ portfolios. The agreements are on substantially the same terms as the investment advisory and sub-advisory agreements that are currently in effect.

The Board of Trustees/Directors of the Funds approved the investment advisory and sub-advisory agreements with ALPS on September 7, 2006. Subject to shareholder approval of the investment advisory agreements referenced above, it is expected that ALPS will become the funds’ investment adviser by year-end 2006.

ALPS will be registered as an investment adviser with the Securities and Exchange Commission prior to consummation of the transaction. ALPS is a subsidiary of ALPS Holdings, Inc. (ALPS Holdings) of Denver, Colorado. Established in 1985, ALPS Holdings provides administration, distribution, accounting and transfer agency services for open-end and closed-end mutual funds, as well as active distribution of Exchange-Traded Funds and closed-end funds. ALPS Holdings is a portfolio company of Lovell Minnick Partners LLC, a private equity firm focused on investments in the financial services industry.

BAIA is an SEC-registered investment adviser and an indirect, wholly owned subsidiary of Bank of America Corporation.

Source: Bank of America Investment Advisors, Inc.

Bank of America
Bank of America is one of the world’s largest financial institutions, serving individual consumers, small and middle market businesses and large corporations with a full range of banking, investing, asset management and other financial and risk-management products and services. The company provides unmatched convenience in the United States, serving more than 54 million consumer and small business relationships with more than 5,700 retail banking offices, nearly 17,000 ATMs and award-winning online banking with more than 19.8 million active users. Bank of America is the No. 1 overall Small Business Administration (SBA) lender in the United States and the No. 1 SBA lender to minority-owned small businesses. The company serves clients in 175 countries and has relationships with 98 percent of the U.S. Fortune 500 companies and 79 percent of the Global Fortune 500. Bank of America Corporation stock (NYSE: BAC) is listed on the New York Stock Exchange. www.bankofamerica.com.

Investment Products:
Are Not FDIC Insured * May Lose Value * Are Not Bank Guaranteed

Genworth Financial To Acquire AssetMark Investment Services

Richmond, VA, June 29, 2006 – Genworth Financial (NYSE: GNW) announced today it has agreed to acquire AssetMark Investment Services, Inc., a leading provider of open architecture asset management solutions to independent financial advisors, with more than $8 billion in assets under management.

Under terms of the agreement, Genworth will pay $230 million for AssetMark at closing, with additional performance-based payments of up to $110 million over five years.

“We are thrilled to be able to team up with AssetMark, with its leading-edge managed accounts and client management services,” said Pam Schutz, president and chief executive officer of Genworth’s Retirement Income and Investment business. “AssetMark is an excellent fit with Genworth Financial Asset Management (GFAM) and will triple our assets under management in the rapidly growing fee-based managed money space. Each organization brings complementary asset advisory strengths to the equation as well – GFAM in its separate account business and AssetMark in the growing mutual fund advisory services arena.”

Ronald D. Cordes, Brian R. O’Toole and Richard E. Steiny founded AssetMark in 1996. They have worked together for more than 25 years in the investment advisory industry, and will retain key leadership positions.

Cordes will be chairman of the combined organization. Gurinder S. Ahluwalia of Genworth Financial will be vice chairman. O’Toole and Steiny will be CEO and president, respectively.

Ahluwalia is president of GFAM and leads Genworth’s independent broker-dealer annuity sales division; he has held leadership positions within Genworth and its predecessor companies since 1997.

“We believe our new combination with Genworth will deliver great benefits to our advisor and broker-dealer clients,” said Cordes. “By partnering with an organization that appreciates innovation, creative thinking and an unwavering focus on client service, we are building an even stronger foundation from which to offer an expanded array of services to assist advisors in building and growing their businesses.”

AssetMark and GFAM combined will have more than $12 billion in assets under management and relationships with about 4,000 independent advisors. The transaction is expected to close in the fourth quarter.

GFAM, based in Encino, and AssetMark, based in Pleasant Hill, California are both leading providers of managed account services on an outsourced basis to independent financial advisors. AssetMark additionally has developed an extensive array of client relationship management tools and business development programs and services to help advisors grow their businesses efficiently and profitably.

“This acquisition is consistent with our strategy to expand in the growing managed money and retirement income markets through independent advisors,” Schutz said, “and we can bring an even greater level of asset management capabilities, product innovation, wealth management and broad back-office capabilities to the independent advisor community.”

“AssetMark is well known throughout the industry for its open-architecture investment solutions, innovative practice management and business development programs,” said Ahluwalia. “We are pleased to be able to bring those extensive resources to our advisor base.”

AssetMark received financial advice in this transaction from Putnam Lovell NBF Securities Inc. and legal advice from Sullivan & Cromwell LLP.

About Genworth Financial
Genworth is a leading insurance holding company, serving the lifestyle protection, retirement income, investment and mortgage insurance needs of more than 15 million customers, and has operations in 24 countries, including the United States, Australia, Canada, Japan, Mexico, New Zealand, the United Kingdom and 17 other European countries. For more information, visit www.genworth.com.

UNX Announces Strategic Investments from Goldman Sachs and UBS

New York, NY April 3, 2006 UNX, Inc., the independent institutional brokerage and market structure experts, today announced it has received strategic equity investments from Goldman Sachs and UBS. As a result of the investments, Goldman Sachs and UBS will become minority shareholders in UNX and the company’s board of directors will be expanded to include new appointees Jim Rogan and Will Sterling.

“We are excited to expand our relationship with UNX,” stated Mr. Rogan, Managing Director at Goldman Sachs. “We have been actively working with UNX in various capacities for several years, and believe this investment helps solidify our relationship with the company.”

Mr. Sterling, Managing Director at UBS, commented, “Our clients count on us to provide them with the very best in execution capabilities. Our partnership with UNX helps accomplish this goal, and we look forward to continuing to work with the company in an expanded capacity.”

UNX provides customizable trading solutions for institutional investors to meet a wide range of trading needs with advanced functionality, proprietary technology and superior client service. “We believe the strategic equity investments by these two world class organizations validate the UNX value proposition,” said Michael Dura, Chief Executive Officer of UNX. “We look forward to working with our new partners as we continue to develop the organization.”

Goldman Sachs and UBS will join existing investment firms Lovell Minnick Partners, Gazelle TechVentures, and Blue Chip Ventures as investors in UNX.

About Goldman Sachs
Goldman Sachs is a leading global investment banking, securities and investment management firm that provides a wide range of services worldwide to a substantial and diversified client base that includes corporations, financial institutions, governments and high net worth individuals. Founded in 1869, it is one of the oldest and largest investment banking firms. The firm is headquartered in New York and maintains offices in London, Frankfurt, Tokyo, Hong Kong and other major financial centers around the world.

About UBS
UBS is one of the world’s leading financial firms, serving a discerning global client base. As an organization, it combines financial strength with an international culture that embraces change. As an integrated firm, UBS creates added value for clients by drawing on the combined resources and expertise of all its businesses.

UBS is the world’s largest wealth manager, a top tier investment banking and securities firm, and one of the largest global asset managers. In Switzerland, UBS is the market leader in retail and commercial banking.

UBS is present in all major financial centers worldwide. It has offices in 50 countries, with about 39% of its employees working in the Americas, 37% in Switzerland, 16% in the rest of Europe and 8% in Asia Pacific. UBS’s financial businesses employ more than 69,500 people around the world. Its shares are listed on the SWX Swiss Stock Exchange, the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) and the Tokyo Stock Exchange (TSE).

About UNX
UNX is an institutionally focused agency brokerage providing advanced electronic trading solutions and premium services. With flexible connectivity options and core platform technology that consolidates market access and provides a true depth-of-book view of the US equities market, UNX enables buy-side investors to minimize market impact, reduce transaction costs and manage today’s fragmented liquidity to their advantage. UNX meets the demanding requirements of institutional trading through innovative, reliable technology to streamline trade operations and help sophisticated traders find best execution opportunities within a completely anonymous environment. The company’s commitment to trading efficiency extends to its multiple value-added services, including advanced electronic trading capabilities, commission management tools and an agency trade desk. For more information, please visit www.unx.com. Member:NASD/SIPC UNX: Market Structure Experts

Standard & Poor’s Corporate Value Consulting Unit to Merge with Duff & Phelps Combination Will Create a Leading Independent Financial Advisory Firm

New York, NY, September 19, 2005 Duff & Phelps, LLC, an independent financial advisory and investment banking firm, and The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. (NYSE: MHP), parent company of Standard & Poor’s, announced the signing of an agreement under which the Standard & Poor’s Corporate Value Consulting (CVC) business unit, a leading provider of valuation and financial advisory services, will merge with Duff & Phelps concurrent with a management led buyout of CVC. The new firm will operate under the Duff & Phelps name. Terms of the transaction, expected to close in late September, have not been disclosed.

The combination will create a leading independent financial advisory firm with over 600 employees serving clients globally through offices in 15 cities in the United States and Europe. Duff & Phelps will offer a broad array of consulting and investment banking services, including financial reporting and tax valuation, fixed asset and real estate consulting, M&A advisory, fairness and solvency opinions, ESOP and ERISA advisory services, legal business solutions and dispute consulting.

“This combination establishes a new strategic paradigm for the industry,” said Noah Gottdiener, chief executive officer of Duff & Phelps. “The implementation of Sarbanes-Oxley has forced managers, boards and shareholders to become more concerned with conflicts of interest and overall corporate governance issues. Government and investor scrutiny has never been more intense, and the new firm is designed to set the standard in providing independent financial advisory services of the highest order. Duff & Phelps will become the world’s leading valuation and financial advisory services firm.”

Gerry Creagh, executive managing director of CVC who will become co-president of the combined firm said, “The new firm will be well positioned to capitalize on the global shift occurring in the regulatory environment, providing a strong platform from which to continue our global expansion and invest in services with high growth potential. The businesses of Duff & Phelps and CVC are complementary, providing strong strategic rationale for the combination.”

“The scale and breadth of services of the combined firm will enhance our ability to serve all of our advisory, consulting and investment banking clients,” said Chet Gougis, who will become the combined firm’s co-president. “Merging with a strong organization like CVC also creates the opportunity to grow and further enhance the Duff & Phelps name which has established a reputation for objectivity, integrity and exceptional client service built over seventy years.”

Financial backing for the transaction will be provided by Lovell Minnick Partners and Vestar Capital Partners. GE Capital will provide debt financing.

About Duff & Phelps, LLC
Duff & Phelps is a financial advisory and investment banking firm focused on providing merger and acquisition, private placement, valuation, financial opinion and ESOP and ERISA advisory services. Since 1932, Duff & Phelps has been committed to delivering independent advice and service of exceptional quality to a broad range of public and private companies. For more information, visit www.duffandphelps.com.

About Standard & Poor’s Corporate Value Consulting
Standard & Poor’s Corporate Value Consulting is a leading provider of independent and objective valuation and corporate finance advice in connection with financial reporting and tax; mergers, acquisitions, joint ventures, divestitures and corporate restructurings; capital allocation, project investment and capital structure decisions; and commercial and shareholder disputes. For more information, visit www.standardandpoors.com.

Lovell Minnick Partners Acquires ALPS Financial Services

Denver, August 9, 2005- ALPS Financial Services Inc. (“ALPS”), parent of ALPS Mutual Fund Services Inc. and a leading provider of outsourced back-office administration and distribution services to the fund management industry with approximately $10 billion in client assets under administration, today announced that it has entered into a definitive agreement to be recapitalized by Lovell Minnick Partners LLC, a private equity firm specializing in the global financial services industry. Financial terms for this transaction, which is expected to close in September 2005, were not disclosed.

Established in 1985, Denver-based ALPS provides administration, distribution, accounting and transfer agency services for open-end and closed-end mutual funds, as well as active distribution of Exchange-Traded Funds (ETFs) and closed-end funds. ALPS’ clients include the WestCore funds, Clough closed-end funds, and Select Sector SPDR Trust.

ALPS’ approximately 90 employees, led by President Edmund (“Ned”) J. Burke, a 20-year mutual fund industry veteran, will continue to operate the company in Denver. In addition, Thomas A. Carter and Jeremy O. May, both Managing Directors, will continue in their current roles. The three will maintain a significant equity interest in the re-capitalized company. With Lovell Minnick’s acquisition of a controlling interest, W. Robert Alexander, Chairman and Founder of ALPS, plans to retire from active management of the company. Mr. Alexander will remain on the ALPS Board of Directors and continue to serve as a trustee on a number of mutual fund Boards for which ALPS provides services.

“Although relinquishing ownership of the company is difficult after 20 years, I’m very pleased that, except for me, the company and its staff will remain intact and continue to operate and manage ALPS in the future,” said Mr. Alexander. “The recapitalization and our relationship with Lovell Minnick provide us with additional resources to expand our business in the core mutual fund market as well as in the fast-growing ETF and closed-end fund markets,” said Mr. Burke.

“We believe ALPS has an exciting future and many growth opportunities and we look forward to supporting management in pursuing them,” said Jeffrey D. Lovell, Chairman and Managing Director of Lovell Minnick Partners.

Green, Manning & Bunch, Ltd., a Denver-based middle-market investment banking firm, served as ALPS’ exclusive financial advisor on the transaction.

About ALPS Financial Services
Established in 1985, Denver-based ALPS Financial Services, through affiliates ALPS Mutual Funds Services Inc. and ALPS Distributors Inc., is responsible for over 100,000 shareholder accounts and approximately $10 billion client mutual fund assets under administration, and approximately $120 billion in client assets under distribution. For more information about ALPS Financial please visit www.alpsinc.com.

About Lovell Minnick Partners
Lovell Minnick Partners is an independent investment firm providing buyout and growth capital to developing companies in the global financial services industry. From offices in Los Angeles and New York, Lovell Minnick manages partnerships totaling $240 million for qualified private and institutional investors. Portfolio companies of Lovell Minnick operate in various areas of financial services including asset management, financial product distribution, securities brokerage, and financial consulting services. Limited Partners of Lovell Minnick and its predecessor include Aegon U.S.A Inc., AXA S.A., CalPERS, and National Bank of Canada. For more information about Lovell Minnick Partners please visit www.lovellminnick.com.