Deals & People July 8, 2014

Guardian Adds Six to Sales Team

The Guardian Insurance & Annuity Company is expanding its national 401(k) sales staff through the appointment of six new regional vice presidents of retirement plan sales.
Reported by

Stephen Davis, national sales manager for Guardian Retirement Solutions, says the new appointments should help Guardian expand its reach across the registered investment adviser (RIA), broker/dealer and specialist benefits broker markets. Guardian is pushing especially hard for growth in the micro- to small-plan segment, Davis adds.

Promotions within the firm include Jack Curtis, Lucio Giliberti, Norbert Naths, Bryan Rouse, Terry Terry and George Webb. Each becomes a regional vice president of retirement plan sales.

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Curtis brings over 10 years of financial services experience to his new role. Most recently, Curtis served as a senior regional retirement representative with Guardian. Formerly a wealth management adviser for Merrill Lynch & Co., Curtis holds a bachelor’s degree in English from University of Massachusetts, as well as Series 6 and 63 licenses from the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA).

Giliberti has over 25 years of working experience that includes stints at Stadion Money Management, United Jersey Bank, Paine Webber and Oppenheimer Funds. He earned a bachelor’s degree in business administration from Ramapo College and holds FINRA Series 6, 63 and Life licenses.

Naths brings over 19 years of industry experience to Guardian as a retirement manager, and was previously a regional sales director at Great-West Retirement Services. Naths has a bachelor’s degree in finance from Lehigh University and is FINRA Series 7, 63, 65 and 66 licensed.

Rouse brings over four years of specialization in the retirement marketplace, including experience as a member of the Guardian Retirement Solutions internal sales team. He holds a degree in marketing communications and entrepreneurship from Emerson College and is FINRA Series 7 and 63 licensed.

Terry Terry rejoins Guardian with more than 25 years of experience in financial services. She earned a degree in marketing and business administration from Franklin University and is FINRA Series 6 and 66 licensed.

Webb has 12 years of industry experience and has previous experience as regional vice president in qualified plans at Security Benefit. He holds a bachelor’s degree from Towson University and an M.B.A. from Baker University. Webb is FINRA Series 6 and 63 licensed.

Products July 8, 2014

Evanston Releases New Registered Fund

Evanston Capital Management has released its Evanston Alternative Opportunities Fund.
Reported by

The alternative investment firm launched the fund on July 1. The Evanston Alternative Opportunities Fund is a closed-end, non-exchange listed investment registered under Investment Company Act of 1940. Shares of the fund, however, are registered under the Securities Act of 1933. The fund is available to U.S. accredited investors, including Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA) accounts, and has an initial minimum investment of $50,000. The fund offers Form 1099 tax reporting.

Evanston Capital Management has historically offered private funds-of-hedge-funds available solely to qualified purchasers. The new fund is intended to complement these private vehicles and has a similar strategy to Evanston Capital Management’s flagship fund-of-hedge-funds that was launched in 2002.

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The fund seeks attractive long-term risk adjusted returns and seeks to achieve its objective by investing all its assets in underlying hedge funds, many of which seek to achieve their investment objectives with minimal correlation to traditional equity or fixed-income indices. As of July 1, the fund has exposure to the following strategies: long/short equity, relative value, event driven, and global asset allocation.

“We’ve received many requests over the years for funds accessible to a wider range of investors,” says Adam Blitz, CEO of Evanston Capital Management, located in Evanston, Illinois. “We are very pleased to launch the Evanston Alternative Opportunities Fund and to offer Evanston Capital Management’s first registered version of our fund-of-hedge-fund strategies to accredited investors. As with our private offerings, we will apply our extensive experience in hedge fund selection, portfolio construction, operations and risk management as we strive to realize attractive long-term risk-adjusted returns for the fund’s investors.”

For details about the fund, or to request a prospectus, contact Carl Gargula at 847-328-4961.

More information about Evanston Capital Management can be found at http://www.evanstoncap.com.

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