Investment Professionals, Inc. Hires Fixed Income Senior Vice President

SAN ANTONIO, Dec. 2, 2010 /PRNewswire/ -- A leading bank broker-dealer, Investment Professionals, Inc. (IPI), today announced the hiring of Chris Thompson as Fixed Income Senior Vice President, Capital Markets. Mr. Thompson comes to IPI from Advisors Asset Management (AAM) where he spent seven years as a municipal bond trader and fixed income consultant to AAM advisors and their clients. Prior to AAM he worked in Retail and Institutional Bond Sales at D.A. Davidson, Prudential Financial and Morgan Stanley.

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"Chris Thompson's expertise will help our Fixed Income Desk continue to respond to strong demand for superior competitive pricing, execution and transparency in the municipal bond market," said John Sacchetti, IPI Senior Vice President and Fixed Income Director. "Over the past year we've seen a tenfold increase in our proprietary trading activity and see this as a prime growth strategy going forward. Unlike most bank broker-dealers who outsource their bond business, IPI's ability to keep this revenue in-house gives us a competitive advantage. We feel Chris Thompson's skills and experience are ideally suited for taking IPI to the next level."

The arrival of Mr. Thompson and ongoing expansion of IPI's Fixed Income Division underscore the firm's commitment to providing best-in-class products and service to its bank partners and Registered Investment Advisors. It also makes IPI an important go-to source for other broker-dealers who can benefit from IPI's specialized expertise, competitive pricing and unmatched service.

The ongoing expansion of IPI's Fixed Income Division corresponds to IPI's significant growth over the past two years in on-site investment programs and its strengths in retail private asset management and institutional trading. "Our strong fixed income capabilities complement the steady growth of our core bank investment program segment, where easy access to on-site IPI financial advisors and the entire IPI team gives bank Treasury Departments an incentive to explore the benefits of working with IPI in several areas," said Jay McAnelly, IPI President and Chief Executive Officer.

Through IPIBonds.com, the bank broker-dealer offers access to the inventory of over 150 dealers and more than 20,000 fixed income securities, competitive pricing and efficient execution. In addition, IPI provides customized analytical support for bond laddering, structured products and diversification strategies and direct access to fixed income traders. An advanced trading platform and 360 degree dedicated operations support enable IPI to meet strong demand for the fixed income asset class as baby boomers retire. Municipal bonds in particular can play an important role in tax management strategies for high-net-worth investors in this cohort.

About Investment Professionals, Inc.

Founded in 1992, IPI is a private, Texas-based financial planning, asset management and risk mitigation firm with $4.2 billion under management for 45,000 retail and institutional clients nationwide. IPI is a leading provider of on-site bank investment programs and currently partners with more than 130 financial institutions with assets in the range of $35 million to over $7 billion. For more visit www.invpro.com.

SOURCE Investment Professionals, Inc.