F-Squared Investments Names Mark Marinella Head of Investments

NEWTON, Mass., Feb. 13, 2012 /PRNewswire/ -- F-Squared Investments, one of the fastest growing investment firms in the country, today announced that industry veteran Mark Marinella has been named Head of Investments.  In his new role Mr. Marinella will manage the firm's team of investment professionals and be responsible for all associated investment activities at F-Squared. 

F-Squared's successful line of investment solutions feature the AlphaSector™ suite of strategies which ascribe to the "Participate and Protect" investment philosophy: The ability to participate in rising equity markets yet are designed to provide significant protection from market declines. F-Squared has quickly become an industry leader in this rapidly growing category.

Mr. Marinella comes to F-Squared with an impressive record of industry success including most recently as the Executive Vice President and Global CIO for State Street Global Advisors' fixed income and currency group. During his tenure, the group's assets under management grew by more than 75 percent and State Street's Fixed Income ETF business grew from under $1 billion to nearly $14 billion. 

Prior to joining State Street, Mr. Marinella was a Managing Director and Head of Cash Management for BlackRock, where he also served on the firm's Management Committee. He began his career in 1985 as a fixed income salesman at Credit Suisse First Boston.

"Protecting clients' hard earned savings for future home purchases, education and retirement is at the heart of F-Squared's truly unique approach to investing," said Mr. Marinella. "I'm excited to join a firm that is dedicated to changing the perspective of the entire investment management industry."

Mr. Marinella joins at a time of rapid growth for F-Squared, which saw its assets grow from $1.5 billion to nearly $6 billion in 2011. The firm's growth was based on success across all key lines of business including sub-advising one of the industry's best-selling U.S. equity mutual funds – the Virtus Premium AlphaSector Fund. For 2011, the Virtus Premium AlphaSector Fund ranked No. 8 in net inflows among all 2,499 U.S. stock mutual funds tracked by Morningstar.

Mr. Marinella earned a B.A. from University of Massachusetts and Masters of Business Administration from Boston College. He is a Chartered Financial Analyst and a director on the board of the University of Massachusetts Foundation.  

About F-Squared Investments

F-Squared Investments, based in Newton, MA, is an SEC registered investment adviser offering a range of investment solutions offered through sub-advised mutual funds, separate accounts, and institutional accounts.  The firm's AlphaSector suite of solutions have provided investors a unique combination of upside participation in most bull markets, while delivering aggressive risk controls in bear markets.  The firm has seen demand for its products translate to superior growth in assets, with firm assets increasing from $250 million in late 2009 to nearly $6 billion at the end of 2011. Visit www.f-squaredinvestments.com for more information on F-Squared.           

SOURCE F-Squared Investments