LA JOLLA, Calif., March 15, 2011 /PRNewswire/ -- The Altegris Companies, providers of premier alternative investments, are pleased to announce several new additions to its team of seasoned industry sales and consulting professionals.

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"Our uncompromising focus on providing access to premier alternative investments and giving advisors the support they need has helped us achieve significant growth in our alternative mutual funds and private funds," said Jon Sundt, President and CEO of Altegris. "We are very excited to welcome new talent to our existing Sales and Consulting Team, and we look forward to their contributions as we continue to grow."

New appointments include Shawn Wears, Vice President, Midwestern Regional Director, and Brandon Rosenbaum, Vice President, Pacific Northwestern Regional Director. In these roles, Mr. Wears and Mr. Rosenbaum will oversee business development of the broker-dealer and RIA channels in their respective regions.

Mr. Wears brings more than eight years of financial services experience to Altegris. Previously, he oversaw various territories at Rydex-SGI and served as a top Account Executive at Capital One in the Commercial and Residential Financing Division. Mr. Rosenbaum, with more than sixteen years of industry experience, was most recently Divisional Vice President at Sunamerica, where he was responsible for wholesaling variable annuities in the Pacific Northwest region.

Altegris also appointed two new Regional Consultants, Sofiya Zhovnovataya, Vice President, Southwestern Regional Consultant, and Michael Bermel, Vice President, South Central Regional Consultant. They will oversee sales in the intermediary channel for their respective territories, serving clients in the RIA and broker-dealer space.

Ms. Zhovnovataya previously served as an Investment Associate at UBS Financial Services' International Division, upholding a robust institutional client base focused on providing cash management solutions to large foreign entities. Mr. Bermel was formerly an Internal Sales Associate at ICON Advisors, working with advisors from a number of broker-dealers and RIAs.

"As the demand for alternative investments increases so does our dedication to empowering advisors to make intelligent, trusted investment choices. Our latest enhancements to the Altegris twenty-member Sales and Consulting Team reflect our commitment to helping advisors include high-quality alternative investments within their client portfolios," said Dick Pfister, Head of Global Sales and Consulting.

Altegris also announced several promotions that further reinforce its business development efforts. Vance Barse was promoted to Vice President, Southeastern Regional Director. Lisa Cutuli was promoted to Vice President, Northeastern Regional Consultant. Jessica Powers was promoted to Associate Vice President, Strategic Relationships.

Please contact Amiee Watts at 973-784-0025 or amiee@jcprinc.com, or Andrea Trachtenberg at 800-828-5225 or atrachtenberg@altegris.com, for more information.

About Altegris

Altegris has one core mission—to find the best alternative investments for our clients. Altegris offers what we believe are straightforward and efficient solutions for financial professionals and individual investors seeking to improve portfolio diversification with historically low correlated investments.

With one of the leading Research and Investment Groups focused solely on alternative investments, Altegris follows a disciplined process for identifying, evaluating, selecting, and monitoring investment talent across the spectrum of hedge funds, managed futures funds, and other alternative investments. As veteran experts in the art and science of alternatives, Altegris guides investors through the complex and often opaque universe of alternative investing.

Alternatives are in our DNA. Our very name, Altegris, highlights our singular focus on alternatives, the highest standards of integrity, and a process that constantly seeks to minimize investor risk while maximizing potential returns.

The Altegris Companies, wholly owned subsidiaries of Genworth Financial, Inc., include Altegris Investments, Altegris Advisors, Altegris Funds, and Altegris Clearing Solutions. Altegris currently has approximately $2.1 billion in client assets, and provides clearing services to $800 million in institutional client assets.*

* The Altegris Companies are wholly owned subsidiaries of Genworth Financial, Inc., and  include:  (1) Altegris Advisors, LLC, an SECregistered investment adviser; (2) Altegris Investments, Inc., an SEC-registered broker-dealer and FINRA member; (3) Altegris Portfolio Management, Inc. (dba Altegris Funds), a CFTC-registered commodity pool operator, NFA member and California registered investment adviser; and (4) Altegris Clearing Solutions, LLC, a  CFTC-registered futures introducing broker and commodity trading advisor and NFA member.  The Altegris Companies have a financial interest in the products they sponsor, advise and/or recommend, as applicable. Depending on the investment, the Altegris Companies and their affiliates and employees may receive sales commissions, a portion of management or incentive fees, investment advisory fees, 12b-1 fees or similar payment for distribution, a portion of commodity futures trading commissions, margin interest and other futures-related fee revenue, and/or advisory consulting fees. Genworth Financial, Inc. (NYSE: GNW) is a leading Fortune 500 global financial security company. Genworth has more than $100 billion in assets and employs approximately 6,000 people with a presence in more than 25 countries. Its products and services help meet the investment, protection, and retirement and lifestyle needs of more than 15 million customers.

SOURCE Altegris