San Francisco, Sept. 27, 1999 (PRIMEZONE) -- First Security Van Kasper today announced Thom Calandra, editor-in-chief of MarketWatch.com, will be the keynote speaker at its annual growth conference October 4-5, in San Francisco, addressing "Markets and the Media: What to Expect in the New Millennium."
Calandra is a pioneering developer of online editorial products. His experience includes almost two decades covering financial markets and companies throughout the U.S. and Europe. He currently writes "StockWatch," a popular daily column for CBS.MarketWatch.com about U.S. investment trends and he is a regular commentator on the new "CBS MarketWatch Weekend" television show that debuted earlier this month across the nation.
"We are extremely pleased to have Mr. Calandra speak at our growth conference as the new millennium approaches," said Van Kasper, president of First Security Van Kasper. "The news media play a major role in executing successful corporate strategies. The rapid evolution in online news transmission, made possible via the Internet, is increasingly becoming a major catalyst in market movement around the world, making Mr. Calandra's address particularly timely."
First Security Van Kasper, founded in 1978, is an investment banking, private client and institutional brokerage firm with offices in San Francisco, Los Angeles, San Jose, Fresno, Walnut Creek, Sacramento, San Diego and Newport Beach, California and Phoenix, Arizona. Last year, the company became a subsidiary of Salt Lake City-based First Security Corporation (Nasdaq:FSCO), the second largest independent bank holding company in the West with more than $20 billion in assets.
First Security Van Kasper is ranked among the top West Coast firms in terms of number of transactions and total dollars raised in public offerings of common stock, convertible securities and fixed-income instruments. The firm also places securities privately, advises clients on merger and acquisition transactions and performs valuation services. Through its investment management subsidiary, Van Kasper Advisors, the company manages assets for corporations, retirement plans, trusts, fiduciaries, financial institutions and individuals. For more information about First Security Van Kasper, the upcoming or growth stock conference, please visit the company's Web site at www.fsvk.com.