American Beacon Advisors' top brass, led by chairman Bill Quinn and president and CEO Gene Needles, hosted a press briefing Wednesday morning at the Warwick Hotel in midtown Manhattan.

American Beacon, which in 2008 was acquired by private equity firms TPG Capital and Pharos Capital Group from American Airlines parent AMR Corp., used the event -- its first press conference -- to promote its two newest funds, both sub-advised by Roger Ibbotson's Zebra Capital. The American Beacon Zebra Large Cap Equity Fund and American Beacon Zebra Small Cap Equity Fund launched June 1. American Beacon also assembled a roster of portfolio managers from its other sub-advisors to talk about investment opportunities.

A total of 39 reporters attended the press briefing organized by public relations firm JCPR.

Needles, who joined American Beacon in April of last year, told journalists that the Fort Worth, Texas-based firm currently manages $15 billion in mutual fund assets. American Beacon manages around $15 billion in its separate account cash business and another $15 billion for American Airlines' corporate pension plans.

"We are experiencing what for us has been good historical net flows at American Beacon, all on the value side of the equation, " Needles told the audience, adding that the firm saw net flows of $800 million.

Other American Beacon officials present at the event included chief operating officer Jeff Ringdahl, vice president of asset management Wyatt Crumpler, vice president of sales Brian Brett, chief fixed income officer Michael Fields, and senior portfolio manager Adriana Posada.

Speakers from American Beacon's sub-advisors included Zhiwu Chen of Zebra Capital, Steve Carroll of CB Richard Ellis Global Real Estate Securities, LLC, Mike Bennett of Lazard Asset Management, LLC, Cliff Smith of The Boston Company Asset Management, LLC, Paul Psaila of Morgan Stanley Investment Management, LLC, Mark Giambrone of Barrow Hanley Mewhinney & Strauss, LLC, Patrick Kaser of Brandywine Global Investment Management, LLC, and Jim Miles of Hotchis & Wiley Capital Management, LLC.  

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