GLOBAL ABSOLUTE RETURN MANAGER TARGETS ADVISORS
September 24, 2007 Traverse City, MI – Financial & Investment Management Group, Ltd. has retained third party marketing firm Candlewood Advisory Partners, LLC to assist with the sales and marketing effort of their mutual funds in the Registered Investment Advisor channel.
FIM Group chose Candlewood as an outsource partner to increase efficiencies and expand its distribution effort of the Utopia Funds. Candlewood will leverage their experience and contacts within the RIA community to find RIAs whose clients are a good fit for Utopia Funds’ global absolute return approach. Jon Mohrhardt, Chief Financial Officer of Utopia Funds and a member of FIM Group’s management team, feels the company will be better able to serve RIAs while increasing assets under management of the Utopia Funds by partnering with Candlewood.
“We believe that the Candlewood founders understand the RIA channel” said Mohrhardt. “Candlewood is working with us to create the necessary research materials and client service initiatives to be a good partner to RIAs while our primary focus continues to be providing skilled investment management.”
Mohrhardt explained that FIM Group has been managing money for private clients for over 20 years. They launched their mutual funds in late 2005 with the hopes of providing RIAs with a low minimum, cost-effective vehicle in which to access their global absolute return strategies. Partnering with Candlewood, Mohrhardt believes, allows FIM Group to have a highly reputable, experienced team helping advisors through the due diligence process and providing on-going client service for Utopia Funds.
“When contemplating how to grow assets in our funds, we explored building an internal team as well as outsourcing,” said Mohrhardt, “and we found outsourcing to Candlewood provided significant advantages over attempting to create a similar effort in-house. In addition to their value proposition, Candlewood has a sense of what the RIA market is looking for right now and believes the philosophy of Utopia Funds is a good fit for the channel.”
This philosophy of “investing without borders” provides portfolio managers with a flexible investment mandate to seek absolute return by responding to the dynamic nature of the markets. Jake Mortell, Managing Partner of Candlewood Advisory Partners, LLC, believes it’s the combination of the philosophy, track record and good nature of the investment advisor which will be attractive to RIAs.
“Right now the RIAs we are speaking with are looking for high alpha, low beta strategies with an emphasis on downside protection,” said Mortell. “Utopia Funds fit this role and are managed by good people who are committed to doing the right thing on all levels, including understanding both the investment and operational needs of their RIA clients.”
About FIM Group
Financial & Investment Management Group, Ltd. (FIM Group) a fee-only investment group was founded in 1984 by Paul H. Sutherland. FIM Group has been managing global total return portfolios for over 22 years with offices in Michigan, Hawaii, and Wisconsin. Currently FIM Group has $560 million in assets under management. FIM Group’s founder and Chief Investment Officer, Paul Sutherland, has been interviewed by Barron’s, The Wall Street Journal, Wall Street Transcript, Money Magazine, Financial Planning Magazine, and Business Ethics Magazine.
About Candlewood
Candlewood Advisory Partners, LLC helps investment managers maximize their distribution efforts to financial intermediaries, with a particular emphasis on Registered Investment Advisors (RIAs), by providing sales and marketing consulting and outsourcing services. Candlewood has offices in Denver, CO and Boston, MA. Its website address is: www.candlewoodadvisory.com
An investor should consider investment objectives, risk, charges and expenses carefully before investing. Please call toll free – 1-888-886-7423 for a Utopia Funds prospectus which contains this and other information. Read the prospectus carefully before investing or sending money. ALPS Distributors, Inc.
FIM and Candlewood are not affiliated with ALPS Distributors, Inc.
Alpha: the excess return of a fund relative to the return of a benchmark index
Beta: a measure of the volatility, or systematic risk of a fund compared to the market as a whole
Contact: Jonathan Mohrhardt, Utopia Funds
111 Cass Street, Traverse City, MI 49684
231.929.4500
