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The Votes Are In: 100+ VCs and Angel Investors Have Chosen the Top 50 Emerging Companies

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New York, NY (PRWEB) October 8, 2009

FundingPost (http://www.FundingPost.com) proudly announced today the winning companies from its sixth annual Pitching Across America competition.

FundingPost, which has been introducing entrepreneurs to investors for over 8 years, established the competition in which a panel of judges votes on hundreds of business summaries from emerging companies nationwide. The largest Venture Capital competition ever organized, this year’s Pitching Across America (TM) was sponsored by Duane Morris.

“We are thrilled to announce the winners of our 6th annual competition!! It’s a rough economy for the Entrepreneurial and Venture Industries. Competition for capital is tougher than ever,” said Joe Rubin, Director, FundingPost. “The VCs and Angels have raised the bar for new investments, and it’s apparent by the high quality of the winners that they have chosen this year.”

The emerging companies were evaluated on a scale of 1 to 10. Judging criteria consisted of several key points including: the professionalism of the written summary, current stage of development (customers, revenue), competitive advantage and need in the marketplace, feasibility for success, and whether the company is “VentureWorthy.”

The first-place winner this year is Ivy Exec, an Online recruiting firm that combines next-generation technology with white glove executive recruiting.

“We are delighted to be the winner of the Pitching Across America Competition. We look forward to attending FundingPost’s events and meeting potential investors,” said Elena Bajic, CEO, Ivy Exec. “I believe these events will provide an excellent opportunity for us to present our business.”

FundingPost had an amazing panel of VC and Angel Investor judges this year voting on the companies.

“The FundingPost Pitching Across America competition did an incredible job in featuring some of the most promising companies and technologies out there, which are certainly some of the companies that will drive market growth and expansion for quite a number of years,” said Carter Caldwell, Principal, Cross Atlantic Capital Partners. “Thanks to FundingPost for including me as a judge, because I was privileged to have had a chance to be introduced to these companies and get a sense for what is emerging across many different industries.”

“It’s good to see that entrepreneurialism is alive and well in America,” said Elizabeth D. Sigety, Esq., Delaware Crossing Investment Group. “The diversity of industries, stages and approaches to business reflected

in the business summaries of the competitors was impressive. Good luck

to the winners and competitors for the future of their businesses.”

“FundingPost allows the venture community to review many interesting deals in a short period of time,” said Deepak Kamra, General Partner, Canaan Partners. “The consistent format allows VCs to quickly evaluate companies raising capital based on the criteria that are most important to them. Canaan Partners is happy to participate in this process.”

First Place National Winner:

Ivy Exec (NY)

Online recruiting firm that combines next-generation technology with white glove executive recruiting. $ 100K+ in Revenue! $ 260K Raised from Founders and Angels.

Runner Up:

XCOM Wireless, Inc. (CA)

XCOM is a fabless semiconductor company with strong partners and a chip that improves wireless broadband devices.

Regional Winners:

RadioTraffic.com, Spinetronics LLC, XCOM Wireless, Inc., Camera Screen Laryngoscope, Inc./Pat. Med Devices, Zero Burn, Jobaba Inc., Tower of Babel LLC, CircleBuilder Software LLC, External Pharma Inc., The Independent Life Settlement Advisory Group LLC, EosHealth, Zimple Inc., Financial Modeling Solutions, Inc., Living Well-Assisted Living at Home, Medical Systems International, Walters Manufacturing Inc., LHL Ventures LLC, Mathematical Bio-Solutions Inc., Global Med Solutions, ProFACT Proteomics, Ball Semiconductor Inc., BuyGreen.com, NR 27, MBF Therapeutics, BoomCloud Inc., Sterile Containment Technology, Coronary Bypass Devices LLC, CANI Optical Systems, Safety Engineering International, nTerraCon, Ivy Exec, Dubay Ingredients LLC, Hydro Technologies Inc. of Michigan, Kollabnet, Inc., ComCam International Inc., UMS Healthcare, Cedar Valley Manufacturing, NeighborsHubs LLC, Global Trade Management, Fasprin Health, Electronic Sports, Fibertrek, Inc., 3DMedia, See Jane Run, Envisionier, SolarAMP LLC, MicroMed Cardiovascular Inc., Spearhead Innovations, Nelbee LLC, Premium Knowledge Group

The list of Investor Judges and the winning Companies can be found at http://www.FundingPost.com/pitch-america.asp

Premiere Sponsor: Duane Morris LLP.

Duane Morris LLP, a full-service law firm with more than 700 attorneys in 24 offices in the United States and internationally, offers innovative solutions to the legal and business challenges presented by today’s evolving global markets.

Duane Morris helps companies navigate this volatile regulatory environment. With broad experience in various investment strategies, our Financial Services lawyers guide clients to the proper financing techniques, including, for example, securitizations, PIPEs and private REITs. Companies seeking financing require both sources of capital and investors with the fortitude to consummate the transaction. Duane Morris brings parties together and works closely with them to structure and close the deal. For more information, contact Peter W. Rothberg, (212) 692-1000, http://www.duanemorris.com.

About FundingPost.com

With over 9,500 CEOs and 620 Venture Capital Funds attending events in 18 cities nationwide; a Printed Dealflow Magazine; and a deal-exchange website with over 7,500 VC & Angel Investor members and over 110,000 companies, that has, on average, made an introduction of an Investor to an Entrepreneur every business day since its inception, FundingPost believes that it is important to reach investors in every medium possible – both online and offline. FundingPost has been responsible for Millions and Millions of dollars in Venture Capital Raised! For more information: http://www.FundingPost.com


Contact:
Heather Coull

FundingPost.com

800-461-5509

press(at)fundingpost.com

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Standard & Poor’s Launches New Data Feed Delivering U.S. Residential Mortgage-Backed Securities (RMBS) Loan-Level Data

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New York (PRWEB) October 28, 2009

Standard & Poor’s Fixed Income Risk Management Services (FIRMS), an analytics and research unit separate from S&P’s ratings business that delivers solutions to help investors perform greater due diligence on the financial instruments in their portfolios, today announced the availability of a new data feed for investors that can help them evaluate exposure and risk in the U.S. RMBS market.

Standard & Poor’s Global Data Solutions — U.S. RMBS Edition provides investors with loan-level subprime loan performance data, as well as Alternative-A, Prime Jumbo and additional collateral types. The data feed’s granular loan-level data includes static origination details as well as dynamic performance data, including delinquency status, current balance, current interest rate and more. Robust data quality standards and metrics have been established to maximize the accuracy of the data. The monthly data feed will provide users with detailed performance information within a few days of availability. Additionally, Standard & Poor’s is planning to include in the feed the American Securitization Forum’s ASF LINC, a unique loan identifier applied at the loan level and intended to help identify and track mortgages throughout their lifetime as they are bought, sold, and securitized.

“In today’s environment, it is essential for investors to have access to granular and timely loan-level data,” said David Goldstein, Managing Director. “Because S&P collects much of this information for our own research and analysis, we recognized that we could further assist investors track month-to-month loan performance, identify loan default trends, and monitor performance pools at a deal-level by giving them access to Standard & Poor’s Global Data Solutions –U.S. RMBS data.”

The U.S. RMBS Edition is available through Standard & Poor’s Global Data Solutions, a robust data platform that brings together a comprehensive series of discrete data classes for investors and third-party distributors. Investors can select the type of feed they would like to receive based on their individual needs: the universe feed or a deal-based or loan-based sub-set of the U.S. RMBS Edition.

For more information, please call toll free 1-877-SPCLIENT, Option 2 or send an email to GlobalDataSolutions_RMBS@standardandpoors.com.

About Standard & Poor’s

Standard & Poor’s, a subsidiary of The McGraw-Hill Companies (NYSE:MHP), is the world’s foremost provider of independent credit ratings, indices, risk evaluation, investment research and data. With offices in 23 countries and markets, Standard & Poor’s is an essential part of the world’s financial infrastructure and has played a leading role for nearly 150 years in providing investors with the independent benchmarks they need to feel more confident about their investment and financial decisions. For more information, visit http://www.standardandpoors.com.

About Standard & Poor’s Fixed Income Risk Management Services

Standard & Poor’s Fixed Income Risk Management Services delivers a portfolio of products and services to investors that serve the global financial markets by providing market intelligence and analytic insight for risk driven investment analysis, including for the debt, structured finance, derivative, and credit markets.

Standard & Poor’s Fixed Income Risk Management Services are performed separately from any other analytic activity of Standard & Poor’s. The unit has no access to non- public information received by other units of Standard & Poor’s. Standard & Poor’s does not trade on its own account.

Media Contact:

Michael Privitera

Standard & Poor’s Communications

212-438-6679

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S&P and Veros Announce Strategic Alliance to Improve RMBS Transparency and Disclosure

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New York, NY (PRWEB) October 29, 2009

Standard & Poor’s Fixed Income Risk Management Services (FIRMS), an analytics and research unit separate from S&P’s ratings business, that delivers solutions to help investors perform greater analysis on the financial instruments in their portfolios, and Veros Real Estate Solutions, a leading provider of model-driven valuations on real property, today announced a strategic alliance aimed at providing the market with property valuation information specific to loans underlying residential mortgage-backed securities (RMBS).

Fully understanding the loan-to-value ratio (LTV) of an underlying mortgage is one of the greatest challenges financial professionals face when they analyze mortgages and RMBS. Through this alliance, investors will have direct access to S&P loan level information as well as a wide range of collateral valuation data from Veros including current property value estimates, combined loan to value ratios and home price forecasts.

“The goal of this alliance is to provide RMBS investors worldwide greater clarity, transparency, and analytical capabilities when assessing the risk of their US RMBS holdings and their collateral” said David Goldstein, Managing Director at Standard & Poor’s FIRMS. “This alliance is one more step toward improving the disclosure of information on collateral underlying RMBS, and refining the quality and integrity of information available to investors. The first stage in this strategic alliance will be to offer Veros loan level property information along with Standard & Poor’s Global Data Solutions –U.S. RMBS Edition.”

“Veros is very excited to be an integral part of Standard & Poor’s efforts to provide greater loan level analytics to the non-agency market,” said Darius Bozorgi, President and CEO of Veros. “The combination of Standard & Poor’s FIRMS RMBS loan level data and analytics along with Veros’ insightful property valuation data sets provides an unmatched unique offering for investors.”

About Standard & Poor’s Fixed Income Risk Management Services:

Standard & Poor’s Fixed Income Risk Management Services delivers a portfolio of products and services to investors that serve the global financial markets by providing market intelligence and analytic insight for risk driven investment analysis, including for the debt, structured finance, derivative and credit markets. Standard & Poor’s Fixed Income Risk Management Services are performed separately from any other analytic activity of Standard & Poor’s. The unit has no access to non- public information received by other units of Standard & Poor’s. Standard & Poor’s does not trade on its own account.

About Standard & Poor’s:

Standard & Poor’s, a subsidiary of The McGraw-Hill Companies (NYSE:MHP), is the world’s foremost provider of independent credit ratings, indices, risk evaluation, investment research and data. With offices in 23 countries and markets, Standard & Poor’s is an essential part of the world’s financial infrastructure and has played a leading role for more than 140 years in providing investors with the independent benchmarks they need to feel more confident about their investment and financial decisions. For more information, visit http://www.standardandpoors.com.

About Veros Real Estate Solutions:

Veros Real Estate Solutions, a proven leader in enterprise risk management and collateral valuation services, uniquely combines the power of predictive technology, data analytics and industry expertise to deliver advanced automated decisioning solutions. Veros products and services, integrated into industry leading companies, are now optimizing millions of profitable decisions throughout the mortgage industry from loan origination through servicing and securitization. Veros provides solutions to control risk and increase profits including automated valuations, fraud and risk detection, portfolio analysis, forecasting, and next-generation collateral risk management platforms. Veros is headquartered in Santa Ana, Calif. For more information, visit http://www.veros.com or call Veros at (714) 415-6300.

Media Contact:

Michael Privitera

Standard & Poor’s Communications

212-438-6679

michael_privitera (at) standardandpoors.com

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Life Settlement Financial’s CEO Testifies before SEC Life Settlement Task Force

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Washington, D.C. (PRWEB) November 2, 2009

Peter Mazonas, Life Settlement Financial (LSF) CEO testified today before the SEC Life Settlement Task Force in support of the use of accounting standards to enforce consistency in the valuation of securitized pools of life settlements. As investment banks ramp up their efforts to create new investment opportunities, the SEC Life Settlement Task Force is studying how this can be done in ways that protect investors in this emerging market. Hoping to avoid the catastrophic events brought about by misvalued mortgage pools, the SEC heard from an industry leader who described new methods of individual life settlement evaluation.

A life settlement is the sale of a life insurance policy to a third party. The new owner continues to pay the premiums and receives the face value of the policy at maturity. The original policy owner gets out from under the burden of paying premiums and receives a lump sum cash payment. An increasing number of states have adopted or rewritten life settlement legislation in light of the demand for such transactions.

Now, as investment banks are looking to create securitized pools of these assets, the need for even greater transparency becomes crucial. Whether in an individual policy or pool of policies, the key variable in pricing involves the estimation of the life expectancy of the insured. The shorter the life expectancy (LE), the fewer years of premiums necessary to keep the policy in force. The longer the LE, the more years that premiums will have to be paid out before collecting the death benefit. This is the key determinate in pricing a life settlement policy.

FASB auditing standards require that there be two methods to evaluate or value the policy pool. Since the only real variable is the LE, this would suggest the need for two methods of predicting life expectancy. The currently available method is based on underwriter’s review of the medical records of the insured. The nationally recognized underwriters all use the same medical records but apply their own interpretation of the information within. Although this method has been the basis for LE prediction, it contains some inherent errors that can result in significant mispricing.

For the SEC to apply the necessary two methods of evaluation, Mazonas suggested the need for another predictive tool, “A distinctly different methodology exists which is based on current health and accurately predicts the decline of health at the individual level.” Based on eighteen years of data from the National Long Term Care Survey, award-winning actuary Eric Stallard, research professor at a major research university, has created a model that utilizes more, and more relevant, information than is found in a medical records only LE estimate. This peer reviewed and published model is based on over 317,000 person years of data.

The mortality model has since been independently implemented in the Longevity Cost Calculator (LCC), owned by Life Settlement Financial, and a working Web-based model is available at https://www.lifesettlementfinancial.com. The LCC takes into account functional and cognitive impairments as well as range of motion and behavioral changes of the insureds. Health care workers in senior residences and hospitals have long witnessed that these impairments are a greater predictor of mortality than medical conditions. LSF has made this available in a computer model based on 76 questions about the insured that include medical conditions.

Mazonas applauded the SEC’s desire to get it right at the beginning as this new wave of securitizations takes shape. “It would seem a shame to squander this opportunity, especially given the problems concerning other types of securitizations that we have all witnessed during the recent past. “

Life Settlement Financial, LLC was founded in 2006 and is located in Northern California. Its management believes that life settlements are a consumer benefit as well as a public policy enhancement. Giving seniors who own life insurance the possibility of finding cash that they did not realize that they had should be encouraged in this economy. As seniors struggle to avoid relying on state and federal Medicaid aid, they should be rewarded for remaining solvent and a life settlement can go a long way toward allowing this to occur.

For more information about life settlements and LSF go to http://www.lifesettlementfinancial.com or call 888 321-5970.

Media Contact: Dr. Bob Rosenberg, 415 526-5973

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Financial Institutions Group Global Head Ruth Porat to Keynote Wharton School Finance Conference 2009

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Philadelphia, PA (PRWEB) November 11, 2009

Ruth Porat, Global Head, Financial Institutions Group, Morgan Stanley will join the tenth annual Wharton Finance Conference as a Keynote Speaker. The conference, organized by students of the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania, will be held at the Park Hyatt at Bellevue in Philadelphia on Nov. 20, 2009. Throughout the current financial crisis, Ms. Porat has been responsible for the Firm’s coverage of financial institutions and governments globally.

The Wharton Finance Conference, whose theme is “Looking Forward: Finance in a New Horizon.” will include panel discussions on such issues in Corporate Social Responsibility vs. Government Regulation, the Increased Competitiveness of Services Firms, International Opportunities, Infrastructure Finance, Financing Growth, Financial Innovation in the 21st Century: Sales & Trading Perspective, Careers in Finance: Recruiting in a Tough Economic Environment. Participants can look forward to a conglomeration of the best minds in business and meeting with intellectual and experienced experts.

Keynote speakers at the Wharton Finance Conference 2009 include:

— Ms. Ruth Porat Global Head, Financial Institutions Group, Morgan Stanley, Vice Chairman, Investment Banking Division

— Mr. Tony Ehinger, Managing Director of Credit Suisse,

Co-Head, Global Securities, Investment Banking Division

Other scheduled conference participants include:

— James R. Tanenbaum , Partner, Morrison & Foerster and Chair of the firms Global Capital Markets practice

— Andrew Ross Sorkin, Chief Mergers and Acquisitions Reporter and Columnist, The New York Times

— Rodolfo L. Molina, Managing Director, Head of Southern Latin America, UBS Investment Bank

— Rob Collins, Managing Director and Head of Infrastructure Banking for the Americas, Greenhill & Co.

— Vikram Pant, Managing Director, IDFC Project Equity

— Jonathan Turnbull, Head of Infrastructure Investment Banking, Citigroup

— Ed Rubin, Head of Cross Rate and Securitized Product Sales (Deutsche Bank)

— Devin O’Reilly, Principal, Bain Capital

The Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania — founded in 1881 as the first collegiate business school — is recognized globally for intellectual leadership and ongoing innovation across every major discipline of business education. The most comprehensive source of business knowledge in the world, Wharton bridges research and practice through its broad engagement with the global business community. The school has more than 4,700 undergraduate, MBA, executive MBA, and doctoral students; more than 10,000 annual participants in executive education programs; and an alumni network of more than 85,000 graduates.

Further information on the conference can be found at: http://www.whartonfinanceconference.com

Members of the media are invited to attend, but pre-registration is required.

Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania

Media inquiries:

Peter Winicov (Wharton Communications Office)

Telephone: 1-215-746-6471

or

General inquiries:

Haoying Sun (Finance Conference student team)

Telephone: 1-215-485-1831

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G. Edward DeSeve, Special Advisor to President Obama on Economic Stimulus Package to Speak as Keynote at Wharton Finance Conference 2009

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Philadelphia, PA (PRWEB) November 15, 2009

Mr. DeSeve currently serves as Special Advisor to President Obama for American Recovery and Reinvestment Act implementation. He reports directly to Vice President Joseph Biden as an Assistant and acts as a Senior Adviser to the Director of the Office of Management and Budget, Peter Orszag.

Mr. DeSeve has also held senior posts at all three levels of American government. At the federal level he was:

J.G. Wentworth Affiliates Pay Off $137 Million of Annuity-Backed Notes

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Bryn Mawr, PA (PRWEB) December 1, 2009

J.G. Wentworth affiliates have paid off, as scheduled, approximately $ 137 million of notes from 1997 and 1998 securitization transactions according to Chief Investment Officer Stefano Sola.

The notes were backed by payment streams from structured settlements. Structured settlements are personal injury settlements paid out to claimants over time. The payments are funded through annuities issued by insurance companies.

The notes, J.G. Wentworth Receivables I LLC, Series 1997-1, and J.G. Wentworth Receivables III LLC, Series 1998-1, were paid off on September 15 and June 15 2009, respectively.

According to Mr. Sola, the J.G. Wentworth affiliates paid 100% of the obligations owed. The successful repayment of the notes on a timely basis demonstrates the integrity and stability of the underlying assets, Mr. Sola said. He added that the steady payment streams from the underlying structured settlements highlighted the very low correlation to the broader markets during the recent period of significant distress among most asset backed securities. There were no defaults and investors benefited from timely principal and interest payments, Mr. Sola said.

Structured settlement or annuity backed notes are fundamentally different than most asset backed securities in that they are less directly tied to general economic conditions and less directly tied the credit markets, Mr. Sola said. As such, they continue to offer investors attractive risk reward characteristics.

About the J.G. Wentworth family of companies:

J.G. Wentworth, Inc., based in Bryn Mawr, PA, is the nations oldest, largest and most respected buyer of deferred payments for illiquid financial assets like structured settlements and annuities. Since 1992, J.G. Wentworth has purchased over $ 4 billion of future payment obligations from consumers and is also the nations largest securitizer of structured settlement and annuity backed notes.

For more information about J.G. Wentworth, visit http://www.jgwentworth.com.

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Structured Settlement Company Fairfield Funding Hires New General Counsel

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Stockbridge, GA (Vocus) December 4, 2009

Fairfield Funding is excited to announce the addition of Marc Harris, an attorney with almost 14 years of experience in the cash flow business with an emphasis on facilitating the purchase of structured settlement annuities and lottery prize assets, to their skilled team of financial service specialists. Fairfield Funding is a funding company that specializes in helping people receive cash for structured settlement, annuity, and lottery payments. In order to make sure every customer receives full compensation for their future settlement or lottery winnings, the Fairfield team strives to maintain a workforce that is dedicated to providing accurate information and exceptional service. Mr. Harriss abundant knowledge and outstanding reputation in the financial services industry undoubtedly makes him a great candidate for the position of General Counsel for Fairfield Funding.

Since 1996, Marc has worked as counsel in the asset securitization industry for two different companies that have processed over one billion dollars from those seeking to sell lottery winnings and structured settlement cash flows. He has extensive experience with each states legislative and regulatory process relating to the purchasing of these assets throughout the country. This knowledge is invaluable to the funding profession, because almost each state has its own specific law controlling the assignment of annuity or lottery winnings.

Marc is a 1992 graduate of Florida State University, and he earned his law degree from Nova Southeastern University in 1995. Aside from advising companies and their clients about smart and effective funding, Marc is also a professor of business law. His knowledge of structured settlement laws and experience teaching others make him the perfect fit for Fairfield Funding.