INDIANAPOLIS, July 9, 2012 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- The third INVESTIndiana Equity Conference returns to Indianapolis this September, providing institutional investors, fund managers, analysts and investment professionals the opportunity to hear about the performance and prospects of Indiana's leading public companies. The one-day event will be held on Sept. 13 at the Lucas Oil Stadium in downtown Indianapolis.
The event features NASDAQ and NYSE-listed public companies based in Indiana. Participating companies as of today include: Allison Transmission Holdings, Inc., First Merchants Corporation, German American Bancorp, Inc., Hillenbrand, Inc., Interactive Intelligence Group, Inc., KAR Auction Services, Inc., Lakeland Financial Corporation, MutualFirst Financial, Inc. NiSource Inc., Old National Bancorp, Shoe Carnival, Inc., Tower Financial Corporation and Vectren Corporation. Some 14 to 16 Indiana public companies are expected to present at the event.
"This event is a great way for professional investors and analysts interested in Indiana public companies to connect through formal equity presentations and individual executive meetings," said Terry McWilliams, an investor relations executive and conference chairman.
The participating companies represent various industry sectors and market capitalizations. Industries represented include banking and finance, automobile parts and services, manufacturing, communications and software, retailing and utilities.
In addition to the company presentations, keynote speakers provide important commentary about economic trends, as evidenced by past speakers which have included Gov. Mitch Daniels, Congressman Mike Oxley and Barron's senior editor Michael Santoli.
The Indianapolis financial analyst community, through the CFA Society of Indianapolis, is formally involved with the event. As an organizing sponsor, the CFA Society serves on an advisory board of financial, corporate and investor relations professionals planning and overseeing the conference, and its members are among those invited to attend the event. Also involved as an organizing sponsor is the Financial Executives International chapter of Indianapolis, whose members include chief financial officers, treasurers and other financial executives.
INVESTIndiana attendees are select professional fund managers, equity analysts and qualified financial professionals from the region and Wall Street who follow or invest in Indiana equities or their underlying industries. Attendance is on an invitation-only, first-come, first-serve basis, with conference costs (admission, continental breakfast, lunch, and keynote speakers) underwritten by the conference and its sponsors. Registration is available through www.invest-ind.com, and a registration code is required. Call or email INVESTIndiana to discuss qualifications to attend.
The title sponsors of INVESTIndiana are Crowe Horwath LLP, one of the nation's largest public accounting and consulting firms, and Ice Miller LLP, an Am Law 200 Firm with a nationally recognized reputation in many of its practice areas.
"Highlighting a diversity of industries and companies, this conference demonstrates why Indiana is an excellent place for business and investment," said Crowe Horwath partner Joe Scheidler. "As a national firm with Indiana roots that provides audit, tax, risk, advisory and performance services to public and private companies, supporting an equity conference such as INVESTIndiana is a natural fit for Crowe."
Steve Hackman, a partner in Ice Miller's business group who leads the firm's securities practice representing businesses in transactional, finance and SEC matters, said, "INVESTIndiana is an opportunity to shine the national spotlight on some of Indiana's most exciting and promising publicly traded companies. As Indiana continues to grow its base of publicly traded companies, events like INVESTIndiana provide another avenue for Ice Miller to support our Indiana business community."
In addition to title sponsors Crowe Horwath LLP and Ice Miller LLP, support for the conference comes from platinum sponsors Creative Financial Staffing and Hilliard Lyons. Gold sponsors include NASDAQ OMX, Hays Companies, The Wall Street Transcript, InGrid Design, O'Neil Arnold Photography, and Optimum Print Solutions. INVESTIndiana's educational partner is the Kelley School of Business at Indiana University,
Information about the conference, presenting public companies, featured speakers and underwriting sponsors, can be found at INVESTIndiana's website: www.invest-ind.com.
The INVESTIndiana logo is available at http://www.globenewswire.com/newsroom/prs/?pkgid=7703