Tom Balcom, Founder of IBIS Wealth Management was the honored recipient of the 2008 Structured Products Association LeadingEdge Award.

Press Release

Structured Products Association Announces Winners of the 2008 First Annual LeadingEdge Awards for Investment Professionals

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Five top investments advisors are experts in using structured products for asset allocation; consider the use of the investment class as a “competitive advantage”

May 20, 2008 – New York – The Structured Products Association (SPA) today announced the five winners of the First Annual LeadingEdge Advisor Awards. The winners were chosen at the SPA-2008 Fifth Annual Conference at the Grand Hyatt Hotel in New York. Societe Generale Corporate & Investment Banking sponsored the awards presentation.

The LeadingEdge awards are given to the top investment advisors, brokers and professionals in the Americas who have demonstrated superior results for clients in using investments known as “structured products” in managed portfolios.

“After 50 years, ‘modern portfolio theory’ can no longer be characterized as the cutting-edge,” says Keith A. Styrcula, Chairman and Founder of the SPA. “Simple asset allocation is no longer the optimal solution. The LeadingEdge Awards are bestowed to advisors who expertly used structured products to dial out volatility in portfolios, to add 100 to 250 basis points in additional annual returns, to protect assets against losses, and to access alternative asset classes from around the world that are available exclusively through structured investments.”

“For the last five years, structured products have been Wall Street’s best kept, $120 billion secret,” Styrcula added.

“The five winners of the LeadingEdge awards are among the elite 5% of their profession whose expertise in this investment class has given them a clear competitive advantage.”

The LeadingEdge winners were rigorously judged on the effectiveness, creativity and sophistication of their use of structured products as a unique investment solution for client portfolios. A committee from the Structured Products Association collected nominations over a three-month period, and assessed each nominee using these criteria.

The five winners of the LeadingEdge awards are:

• Thomas Balcom (Foldes Financial Management), is based in Miami, FL. Foldes has nearly half-a-billion in assets under management (AUMs) and Tom’s approach is to invest 7-10% of AUMs in structured products, using them as a complement to core investment strategies. www.mywealthexpert.com

• Steve Braverman (Harris myCFO Investment Advisory Services) is based in Fort Lee, NJ. Steve heads a group that advises 300 families with seven offices and 165+ employees. With over $20B in assets, his team’s focus on structured products has been rapidly growing. www.harrismyCFO.com

• SPA CHAIRMAN’S AWARD: J. Scott Miller (Blue Bell Private Wealth Management) is based in Blue Bell, PA. Scott and his team at Blue Bell PWM manage portfolios of structured products for their clients and as separately managed accounts (SMAs) for other RIAs. It is Blue Bell’s belief that through the use of managed structured products portfolios, they are able to control risk, reduce portfolio volatility, which still providing compelling upside potential. Scott has over 36 years experience in the investment business and purchased his first structured product in 1993. www.bluebellpwm.com
  
• Tony Proctor (Proctor Financial) is based in Wellesley, MA. Tony’s firm has been using structured products for over 5 years. His firm believes the investment class is an excellent tool for delivering on two distinct goals for his clients’ portfolios: 1) to protect against realistic downside losses, while still capturing and usually exceeding possible upside returns; and 2) to give his firm’s clients access to asset classes or areas of the world that would otherwise be difficult to capture. On average, Proctor Financial allocates over 20% of client portfolios to structured investments to achieve these dual goals. www.proctorfinancial.com
  
• Frederick S. Wright (Smith and Howard Wealth Management) is based in Atlanta, GA. Fred’s team effectively uses structured products as a risk management tool, specifically to reduce equity exposure and excessive volatility in client portfolios. www.smithhowardwealth.com

Raina Mathur of Societe Generale Corporate & Investment Banking, who presented the awards to the winners, stated: “Registered Investment Advisors (RIAs) are the fastest growing distributors in the structured products industry and they represent the thought-leaders who are bringing this investment class to the mainstream. In recognition of this trend, Societe Generale has created a platform dedicated specifically to the RIA community. Accordingly, it’s an immense honor for Societe Generale to recognize these top-tier professionals as recipients of the SPA’s First Annual LeadingEdge Awards.”

The SPA will open up the nomination process for the 2009 Leading Edge Awards in November 2008. To learn more about the SPA and structured products, visit the SPA website at www.structuredproducts.org, and the SPA blogsite at www.structuredproducts.com.

About SPA ®

The Structured Products Association (SPA) is a New York-based trade group whose mission includes positioning structured products as a distinct asset class; promoting financial innovation among member firms; developing model “best practices” for members and their firms; identifying legal, tax, compliance and regulatory challenges to the business. With more than 2,700 members, the Association has members from the exchanges, self-regulatory bodies, legal compliance community financial media, investor networks, family offices, and both buy-side and sell-side structured product firms. The primary purposes of Structured Products Association are — position structured products as a distinct asset class, promote financial innovation among member firms, develop model “best practices” for member organizations, identify issues related to legal, tax, and compliance.

Media Contact

Keith Styrcula, Structured Products Association