Structured Products Association Announces Winners of the 2008 First Annual LeadingEdge...

Structured Products Association Announces Winners of the 2008 First Annual
LeadingEdge Awards for Investment Professionals
Five top investments advisors are experts in using structured products for
asset allocation; consider the use of the investment class as a "competitive
advantage"

NEW YORK, May 20 /PRNewswire/ -- 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. "But 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) Tom's approach is to invest 7-10% of AUMs in structured products,
using them as a complement to core investment strategies.
www.foldesfm.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, while 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(R)
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.
SOURCE Structured Products Association

Keith Styrcula, +1-917-612-1896, Keith.styrcula@structuredproducts.org