ELLICOTT CITY, Md., March 3, 2014 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- The Investment Program Association (IPA), a trade association for non-listed direct investment vehicles, today announced that Matthew Tramel has been appointed Chief Communications Officer.
Matt will direct the IPA's overall strategic communications to all audiences, including sponsor, broker-dealer and associate members, the media and other constituencies, and will be responsible for creating greater understanding of direct investments generally.
"We're excited to have such a high-caliber communications professional join the IPA," said Kevin M. Hogan, President and CEO of the Investment Program Association. "Matt has extensive experience working with our many audiences and has played a pivotal role in the IPA's public relations initiatives. As we expand our reach and address new and more complex issues, we're confident that Matt's talents will make a meaningful contribution to our association."
He joins the IPA from Inland Real Estate Investment Corporation, a leading sponsor of real estate investment trusts (REITs), private placement products and institutional capital funds based in Oak Brook, Illinois. Since 2011, Matt served as Vice President, Chief Marketing Officer, where he led marketing communications strategy for the company and its products. These included communications to the sales, broker-dealer and financial advisor channels, investors, the media, and industry associations. His team was responsible for SEC and FINRA-compliant print and web-based materials, and developed an advisor education platform.
From 2008 to 2010, Matt was Director of Media Relations and Internal Communications for The Inland Real Estate Group of Companies. In this capacity, Matt served as a corporate spokesperson to national, local and real estate print and television news outlets, and advanced the company's public relations platform. He also executed investor relations initiatives for both publicly traded and non-traded REITs.
Earlier, Matt held a series of marketing and corporate affairs positions at Oak Brook, Illinois-based CenterPoint Properties Trust.
Matt holds an M.B.A. in real estate finance and investment from DePaul University, and a B.A. in journalism from Eastern Illinois State University.
About The Investment Program Association
The Investment Program Association (IPA) was formed in 1985 to provide effective national leadership for the direct investment industry. The IPA supports individual investor access to a variety of asset classes not correlated to the traded markets and historically available only to institutional investors. These investments include public non-listed REITs (NLREITs) and Business Development Companies (BDCs), Energy and Equipment Leasing Programs, and private equity offerings. For the last 28 years, the IPA has successfully championed the growth of such products, which have increased in popularity with financial professionals and investors alike. Direct investments are held in the accounts of more than 2 million individual investors, and the IPA's member companies operate or have properties in all 50 states. The mission of the IPA is advocating direct investments through education. Access the wealth of IPA educational materials here, or visit the IPA online for more information about becoming a member.
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