MutualFundWire.com: FRC's Research Head to Depart

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Friday, August 20, 2010

FRC's Research Head to Depart

Financial Research Corp. is losing its director of research. Larry Petrone will leave the Boston-based firm at the end of next month and will not be replaced.

Petrone's duties will transition to Bob Hedges, FRC chairman and managing partner at Mercatus Partners, which acquired FRC from Citi in 2008.

Petrone joined FRC last fall.

The MFWire.com has also learned that Margaret Rorick left her post this month as senior vice president and director of market research.

This marks the latest in a string of exits from the company over the last several months. Others that have moved on include 529 specialist Bridget Bearden, analyst Christopher Yeomans, retirement analyst Luis Fleites and ETF and managed account analsyt Rob Ivanoff.

Meanwhile, Hedges has taken a more active role at FRC.

"We're getting a lot of demand and interest in defined contribution investment-only work, advisor distribution work and the advisor panel program," Hedges told The MFWire.com. "Taking into account all of the opportunities, I've become an active chairman leading some of the product development initiatives."

Hedges said he began to take a more active role at FRC in late spring, "as the market started to provide us with more opportunities."

He noted initiatives FRC has embarked on, including the rollout of IMPACT 2.0, which provides performance data for mutual funds and ETFs, among others.

FRC CEO Bruce Fador, for his part, will focus on key strategic partnerships, according to Hedges.

In June, FRC inked a partnership with Standard & Poor's in which S&P distributes FRC's content to advisors through its online MarketScope Advisor program.

Company Press Release

Financial Research Corporation Announces Key Leadership Changes

Boston, MA — (August 20, 2010) —Financial Research Corporation (FRC), a leading asset management market research firm, announced several key leadership changes.

Effective today, FRC chairman Bob Hedges will take a more active role in managing FRC's operations while Bruce Fador, CEO, will increasingly focus on the pursuit and development of FRC strategic initiatives. Larry Petrone, vice president, director of research, will depart at the end of September and will transition his duties to Hedges.

In making this announcement, Hedges stated, "At FRC, we have recently experienced a great deal of interest in our new products and partnerships, which dovetail nicely with the work we do at Mercatus, especially in the area of retirement research. These key changes will provide us the opportunity to build for this growing demand."

Fador adds, "Many of the projects we have had in development this year are now coming to fruition. In addition, as we head into the fall, we expect to unveil two more strategic initiatives targeting highly sought-after data sets including variable annuity and 401k data."

These key changes follow several other recently announced strategic developments at FRC, including:

The launch of the newly enhanced FRC IMPACT 2.0 fund analytics database, featuring all-new program architecture, and an updated, intuitive user interface.

The announcement of a content licensing agreement to distribute FRC research directly to advisors through Standard & Poor's MarketScope Advisor news resource.

The announcement of a development and distribution arrangement with Summit Business Media to provide specialized investment advisor-oriented content through Summit's publications including Investment Advisor, Research, WealthManagerWeb.com, and AdvisorBiz.com. FRC's ability to conduct research among Summit's subscribers (financial advisors), through the FRC AdvisorVantageSM program, on key elements relating to their business.

### About Financial Research Corporation
For more than 20 years, Financial Research Corporation (FRC) has assisted marketing, product development, and strategic planning professionals in the creation of innovative products and services. Based in Boston, FRC is at the forefront of assisting its clients to comprehend and respond to the rapid changes occurring in the development and distribution of investment products. FRC's more than 200 clients include the world's leading asset managers and distributors. For more information please visit www.frcnet.com or contact FRC at (866) 532-8009 or by email at frcinfo@frcnet.com.