AFAM Names Jeff Montgomery as Chairman

LAGUNA BEACH, Calif., July 1 /PRNewswire/ -- AFAM, a leading and established independent boutique money manager, is pleased to announce that it has named Jeff Montgomery as Chairman of the Board, effective August 1, 2010. Mr. Montgomery joined the company as its Chief Executive Officer in 2008.  

"Jeff's ability to generate value for our investors and competitively capitalize during challenging economic times made him a wise choice to take over as Chairman of AFAM," said Joe Lahti, the company's previous Chairman, who will remain a Board member.  "Over the past two years, many of our competitors have been challenged by the recession and related market volatility; in contrast, AFAM is experiencing accelerating growth and has greatly diversified its product line."

Previously, Mr. Montgomery served as CEO of Washington Square Securities (now ING Advisors, an ING company) and CEO of NFP Securities.  

AFAM is a firm built upon the foundation of Al Frank Asset Management, a successful domestic all cap value manager founded in 1977.  In November of last year, AFAM broadened its solution offerings by acquiring Innealta Capital, a rapidly growing quantitative tactical ETF manager.  Over the past 18 months, the assets managed and advised upon across the more than 15 AFAM | Innealta Capital investment portfolio strategies have increased by more than 400% to over $1.6 Billion.  During this period, the company has simultaneously prepared itself for an incremental increase in growth by completing important initiatives in the areas of product development, marketing, staffing, and technology.  AFAM has also formed partnerships with numerous broker-dealers, RIAs, and investment management platforms.

"The work we have completed over the past 24 months has created a boutique provider of investment expertise and solutions that serve financial advisors and private clients throughout a diversity of market conditions.  We now offer exposure to broad ranging assets classes - U.S. equities, international equities, fixed income instruments, real estate, and commodities," Mr. Montgomery added. "AFAM | Innealta Capital is positioned to further capitalize on the future of the asset management business. The definition of risk has forever changed in the minds of investors and we are well prepared to serve both the wealth accumulation and wealth preservation needs of our clientele."

To request more information, please contact Katrine Winther-Olesen at 973-400-1341 or [email protected], or Amiee Watts at 973-784-0025 or [email protected].

About Al Frank Asset Management (AFAM)

Founded in 1977, Al Frank Asset Management, Inc. is an independent registered investment advisor with over $418 million in assets under management (as of May 31, 2010). AFAM offers separately managed accounts and two proprietary mutual funds. Their value-oriented investment philosophy, based on the core tenets of selection, diversification and patience, is designed to meet the long-term investment goals of individuals, institutions, family offices and retirement plans. AFAM is also editor of The Prudent Speculator. The newsletter was ranked #1* (not adjusted for risk) for the past 15, 20 and 25 years, according to The Hulbert Financial Digest (as of May 31, 2010).

Al Frank Asset Management, Inc. is an Investment Adviser, registered with the Securities & Exchange Commission and notice filed in the State of California and various other states. For more information, please visit www.alfrank.com.

About Innealta Capital

Innealta Capital is a division of AFAM and specializes in the active management of portfolios of Exchange Traded Funds. Innealta's competitive advantage is its quantitative investment strategy driven by a proprietary econometric model created by the company's founder. The company's focus is to capitalize on the attractive market environment for ETFs, tactical strategies, and low cost portfolio alternatives. For more information, please visit www.innealtacapital.com.

*A newsletter's Hulbert Financial Digest Ranking is based on an average of its several portfolios in the event it recommends more than one (and includes portfolios that the letters have discontinued). Through 05.31.10, The Prudent Speculator is ranked #1 out of 66, 43 and 21 newsletters monitored for 15, 20 and 25 years, respectively. Hulbert currently monitors over 160 investment newsletters. For more information about The Hulbert Financial Digest, go to hulbertdigest.com. Each investment decision you make should be determined with reference to the specific information available for such investment, and not based upon the success of past recommendations.

Exchange Traded Funds (ETFs) are securities that trade actively throughout the day on an exchange and that are designed to track the aggregate price changes of the individual securities owned by the fund. ETFs are subject to risks similar to those of stocks, such as market risk, and investors that have their funds invested in accordance with the portfolios may experience losses. Additionally, fixed income (bond) ETFs are subject to interest rate risk, which is the risk that debt securities in a portfolio will decline in value because of increases in market interest rates.  Investments in foreign investments may incur greater risks than domestic investments. Real estate exposure is through REIT ETFs, which are subject to industry concentration risk. Commodity exposure is through gold ETFs, which are speculative and involve a high degree of risk.

The opinions voiced in this material are for general information only and are not intended to provide specific advice or recommendations for any individual. Past performance is not a guarantee of future results.

SOURCE AFAM