LYNNFIELD, Mass., Nov. 1, 2011 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Investors Capital Holdings, Ltd. (NYSE Amex:ICH), a financial services holding company ("ICH" or the "Company"), added four new directors to its board and reappointed its chairman in meetings held on October 28, 2011 at the Company's headquarters in Lynnfield, Mass.
Eight persons were elected at the Company's annual meeting of stockholders to hold office as directors of the company: Dr. Blaise A. Aguirre, William J. Atherton, Geoffrey T. Chalmers, James D. Crosson, Don E. Ingram, Robert T. Martin, Robert P. Mazzarella, and Timothy B. Murphy. Messrs. Atherton, Chalmers, Martin, and Murphy are currently directors of the Company. The new board then re-elected Mr. Atherton as the chairman of the board. He has been a director of the Company since November 2004.
Messrs. Aguirre, Atherton, Chalmers, Martin, and Mazzarella are independent directors as defined by the Company's Director Independence Standards as well as applicable Securities and Exchange Commission rule and NYSE Amex listing standards. Messrs. Crosson and Ingram are registered representatives of Investors Capital Corp. (ICC), the independent broker/dealer and investment advisor subsidiary of the Company. Directors are elected for a term of one year at each annual meeting of the stockholders.
Investors Capital Corporation and Company founder and former ICH chairman Theodore E. Charles retired from the firm this past July, selling his family's 55% ownership stake primarily to Investors Capital advisors, their clients, and home office staff in a public offering. The sale made Investors Capital the only independent broker/dealer in the industry beneficially owned predominantly by its advisors, clients, and staff.
The completion of the offering changed the stockholder structure from one controlled by a single shareholder to one with a more even distribution of shares amongst a greater number of stockholders.
"Investors Capital is now a uniquely positioned publicly traded company where the interests of investors, advisors, management, and staff are truly aligned," said Timothy B. Murphy, President and CEO of Investors Capital Holdings, Ltd. "I am pleased that the constitution of our board now reflects the composition of our new stockholder base. Just as important, I look forward to working with our new board members and the diversity of their thoughts, insights, and perspectives on helping Investors Capital grow and prosper in the future."
The biographies of the newly elected directors and chairman follow:
Dr. Blaise A. Aguirre, MD, age 47, is a child psychiatrist who is Medical Director of 3East at Harvard-affiliated McLean Hospital and an instructor in Psychiatry at Harvard Medical School. Previously he was a broker with Investors Capital Corp., having obtained his series 7 and 63 securities licenses. Dr. Aguirre sits on the Board of Directors that oversees the annual running of the Illinois Marathon in Champaign, IL. He also was a Member of the Medical Advisory Board of IVPCARE, Inc. prior to their buy-out by Walgreens.
Dr. Aguirre has developed and maintains enduring relationships with institutional money managers, venture capitalists, and angel investors, and he has developed an expertise as a small cap stock analyst. The Company believes that the combination of these and other attributes may prove valuable to the Company in, among other things, establishing and maintaining potential sources of financing for the Company.
William J. Atherton, FLMI, CLU, age 72, has served as a director of the Company since November 2004 and currently serves as Chairman of the Board of Directors and of its Nominating and Governance Committee. Mr. Atherton is a retirement income planning consultant to insurers, money managers, distribution firms and administrative firms operating in the insurance industry. He is a former president of two life insurance companies: North American Security Life (NASL), now John Hancock Annuities, of Boston, MA from 1984 through 1996 and Ameritas Variable Life Insurance Company of Lincoln, NE., from 1997 to 2004, retiring at the mandatory age of 65. In these roles, Mr. Atherton was the President and a director of two mutual fund companies, the NASL Series Trust and the Calvert Variable Series and a member of the boards of NASL and Ameritas Holding Company. As chief executive of these companies, Mr. Atherton supervised all functions of the companies, including the actuarial, finance, sales, marketing, administration and legal departments, accountable to the boards of each firm for compliance and success in each area. The functions of chief actuary, chief financial officer, chief legal officer and chief marketing officer reported to Mr. Atherton in each company.
Prior to his election to his positions at NASL, Mr. Atherton had 25 years of administrative and marketing experience at North American Life of Toronto, and is a retiree with the surviving company, Manulife Financial. In 2003, Mr. Atherton was awarded the John D. Marsh memorial award as a sign of his induction into the Hall of Fame for the National Association for Variable Annuities (NAVA - now the Insured Retirement Institute - IRI) and is a member of the Retirement Income and the Operations and Technology committees of the IRI.
Since his retirement from corporate life, Mr. Atherton has focused on assistance to a select group of retained and project clients in the areas of business development and product design. He is a member of the boards of RAD Insurance Holdings, Inc. and The Elements Financial Group, and is often employed as an expert witness in FINRA arbitration hearings concerning variable annuity and variable life products - a product line making up close to half of Investors Capital's revenue.
Given the importance of variable annuities in the Company's business mix, Mr. Atherton, with his lifelong CEO-level immersion in the variable insurance products industry, provides uniquely valuable insights, experience and judgment in this important area.
James D. Crosson, age 50, operates his own financial services business as a Financial Consultant. He has 28 years of industry experience with the focus of his practice being Retirement Planning. Mr. Crosson is a past board member of the Gabelli School of Business at Roger Williams University. He has instructed at UMASS Dartmouth, Bridgewater State College and Bristol Community College. He also is a past board member of The United Way. Mr. Crosson entered the securities industry in 1983 after graduating from Roger Williams University with a degree in Business Management and minors in Finance and Economics. He began as a stockbroker with First Albany Securities. In 1991, he became an independent financial consultant with LPL Financial, and, in 2009, he joined Investors Capital as an independent financial consultant. In the 20 years that Mr. Crosson has operated his practice, he has consistently been in the top 5% of the broker/dealers he has been associated with. He has been quoted in The Wall Street Journal and various financial publications. Mr. Crosson holds his series 7, 24 and 63 securities licenses as well as his life, accident and health insurance license.
Mr. Crosson is a distinguished independent representative of ICC with decades of achievement in the industry as well as nuts and bolts knowledge of the strengths and weaknesses of the Company. The Company believes that he will provide the rest of the Board of Directors with valuable insights into our operations and suggestions for their improvement.
Don E. Ingram, age 57, is the founder and President of Ingram Financial Group, founded in 1977, and Ingram Advisory Services located in Florida. Mr. Ingram has been affiliated with ICC as a registered representative since 1997. He is a Registered Investment Advisor with the SEC (Securities and Exchange Commission) and a Financial Advisor registered with FINRA (the Financial Regulatory Authority), and maintains Series 7, 24, 63 and 65 securities licenses as well as Life, Health and Variable Annuity Licenses. Don also holds credentials as a CFP (Certified Financial Planner), an AEP (Accredited Estate Planner), a CAP (Chartered Advisor in Philanthropy), a ChFC (Chartered Financial Consultant) and a CLU (Certified Life Underwriter). He also holds an MSFS (Master of Science in Financial Services). Mr. Ingram's extensive financial background imparts the ability to anticipate the investment, tax, and estate planning needs of the affluent investor.
Mr. Ingram currently is Vice Chairman of the Board of University of Florida Proton Therapy Institute External Advisors and serves on the Board of Trustees for Winter Haven Hospital, the Platinum Bank Board of Polk County and the Board of the University of Florida Prostate Disease Center. He is the Past Chairman of Winter Haven Hospital Foundation, has served on Boards for Florida State University, Polk State College and All Saints Academy, and was an organizing director of Commerce Bank. He is a former Commodore of the Lake Region Yacht & Country Club.
Mr. Ingram's many years of affiliation with ICC have resulted in a deep understanding of the history, culture, policies and procedures, resources, and potential of ICC and its independent representatives. He also has displayed impressive business acumen in the independent broker-dealer / investment advisory space by successfully managing a sophisticated financial services business for high net worth clients for decades. Recognizing the ability of Mr. Ingram and other ICC registered representatives to provide unique insights into the issues that confront ICC in today's challenging business environment, in 2008 ICC instituted its Advisory Council, comprised of some of its most successful and senior independent representatives. Mr. Ingram has been giving distinguished service as its Chairman since its inception. The Company believes that elevating Mr. Ingram to the Board of Directors will further leverage the insights and other strengths that he provides.
Robert P. Mazzarella, age 65, has over 40 years of experience in the securities industry and more than 19 years at Fidelity Investments. Prior to retiring from Fidelity Investments in 2002, Mr. Mazzarella was President of Fidelity Brokerage Services, LLC with supervisory oversight responsibility for all of Fidelity's retail brokerage products and services, including 80 investor centers across the U.S. with over 1,000 account executives and the rapidly growing online brokerage business. During his tenure at Fidelity, he also was President of Fidelity's Institutional Brokerage Group, comprised of four business segments that facilitate the buying and selling of securities for customers in the institutional and retail segments of the U.S. marketplace, including Fidelity Capital Markets, correspondent clearing services, Registered Investment Advisor services, and market data distribution services.
Prior to Fidelity, Mr. Mazzarella worked at Bradford National Corporation for 10 years, where he was responsible for sales, marketing, and product development groups and operations. Bradford provided a wide range of services to large and small financial institutions including clearance services. Previously, he spent two years with the National Association of Securities Dealers where he was involved in launching a new concept in clearing over-the-counter securities on a nationwide basis. He began his career at Merrill Lynch, where he was responsible for the development and operation of training programs for regional offices.
Mr. Mazzarella served on the Securities Industry Association's (SIA) Board of Directors where he chaired the SIA's Discount Brokerage Committee and was a member of the Market Structure Committee. He also has served on the Boards of the Philadelphia Stock Clearing Corporation and Depository, The Chicago Board of Options Exchange, the Cincinnati Stock Exchange, the Boston Stock Exchange and Redibook ECN, Inc. Mr. Mazzarella was a member of The New York Stock Exchange, and served on the NYSE's Regional Firms Committee.
Mr. Mazzarella has been serving as a director of Placemark Investments, a registered investment advisor firm, since 2002, and Siebert Financial Corp., a public brokerage firm, since 2004. He chairs the Boston Options Exchange Regulatory Board, has been a member of the Board of NASDAQ OMX BS since 2007, and currently serves as Chairman of Pyxis Mobile, a technology company. He also provides consulting services to a number of major financial services firms and advises venture capital firms regarding financial services investments. He also serves as Chairman of the Board of a Boston charter school.
Given his impressive background and broad continuing engagement in the financial services industry, we are confident that Mr. Mazzarella will prove to be an outstanding addition to the Board of Directors of the Company.
About Investors Capital Holdings, Ltd.:
Investors Capital Holdings, Ltd. (NYSE Amex:ICH) of Lynnfield, Massachusetts is a diversified financial services holding company that operates primarily through its independent broker/dealer and investment advisor subsidiary, Investors Capital Corp. Our mission is to provide premier, 5-star service and support to our valued registered representatives, including advisory programs, strategic practice management and marketing services, and focused technology, to help them grow their businesses and exceed their clients' expectations. Business units include Investors Capital Corp., ICC Insurance Agency, Inc., and Investors Capital Holdings Securities Corporation. For more information, please call (800) 949-1422 x4814 or visit www.investorscapital.com.