CLS Investments Appoints Todd Clarke to CEO, Ryan Beach to President, and Rusty Vanneman to CIO

OMAHA, Neb., Sept. 18, 2012 /PRNewswire/ -- CLS Investments, LLC ("CLS"), a third party money manager, is pleased to announce that it has promoted Todd Clarke to the position of Chief Executive Officer. He most recently served as the firm's President. In addition, CLS has appointed Ryan Beach as its new President and John Russel "Rusty" Vanneman as its new Chief Investment Officer.

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"These organizational changes further our commitment to facilitating new strategic partnerships and enhancing our innovative wealth management solutions, which will allow us to achieve continued strategic growth," said Mr. Clarke. "I look forward to working with Ryan and Rusty, as well as more directly with our current and prospective industry partners, to harness opportunities to take CLS to the next level."

Mr. Beach most recently served as Associate General Counsel of NorthStar Financial Services Group, LLC, the parent company of CLS, where he oversaw legal matters affecting NorthStar, CLS and their affiliates. Prior to NorthStar, Mr. Beach was engaged in private practice with a boutique securities firm where he advised clients on SEC and FINRA requirements as well as other corporate financial and investment matters, and represented private equity firms in connection with portfolio acquisitions and raising capital. Mr. Beach received his JD degree, with distinction, from the Nebraska College of Law, and graduated from Brigham Young University with a Bachelor of Arts degree in Economics, with department honors.

"As the financial services industry becomes more heavily regulated, our partners and clients will require assistance with increasingly complex compliance and legal matters," said Mr. Beach. "We want our partners to view their relationship with CLS as a competitive advantage on both an operational and compliance level, and we're committed to executing that vision at CLS."

Mr. Vanneman will lead the firm's Portfolio Management and Investment Research teams and sit on the CLS Investment Committee. He has more than 20 years' experience in the financial services industry, most recently as Chief Investment Officer and Portfolio Manager for a large investment adviser in the Boston metropolitan area. Mr. Vanneman holds Chartered Financial Analyst and Chartered Market Technician designations and earned a Bachelor of Science degree in Management from Babson College, from which he graduated with high distinction.

"My overarching goal as CLS CIO is to help define the investment direction and themes for CLS and lead the charge for our portfolio management and investment research teams to capitalize on their individual strengths and upgrade their capacity," said Mr. Vanneman. "I believe this will help us ensure that we continue to deliver the best partnership and innovative risk-budgeted investment strategies to the advisers and clients we serve."

About CLS: CLS Investments, LLC ("CLS") is one of the largest independent third party money managers in the United States. Founded in 1989 by W. Patrick Clarke, the firm manages individual, qualified plan, and variable annuity portfolios of mutual funds, exchange traded funds, and individual stocks and bonds. CLS serves over 40,000 individual investors and as of July 31, 2012 maintained more than $6.5 billion in assets under management. The company professionally manages money using the principles of risk budgeting and tactical asset allocation, and maintains an experienced team of portfolio managers and analysts. To learn more, visit http://www.clsinvest.com.

CONTACT:
Dana Taormina
JCPR
973-850-7305
[email protected]

SOURCE CLS Investments, LLC