PHILADELPHIA, June 26 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Alesco Financial Inc. , a specialty finance real estate investment trust, was added to the broad-market Russell 3000(R) Index, as well as the small-cap Russell 2000,(R) when Russell Investment Group reconstituted its comprehensive set of U.S. and global equity indexes on June 22, according to the official membership posted on http://www.russell.com/.
Membership in the Russell 3000, which remains in place for one year, means automatic inclusion in the large-cap Russell 1000(R) Index or small-cap Russell 2000(R) as well as the appropriate growth and value style indexes. Russell determines membership for its equity indexes primarily by objective, market-capitalization rankings and style attributes.
The Russell 3000 serves as the U.S. component to the Russell Global Index, which Russell launched earlier this year to offer investors a comprehensive set of equity benchmarks that cover world-wide investing opportunities.
Russell indexes are widely used by investment managers and institutional investors for index funds and as benchmarks for both passive and active investment strategies. An industry-leading $4 trillion in assets currently are benchmarked to them.
Annual reconstitution of Russell's U.S. indexes captures the 4,000 largest U.S. stocks as of the end of May, ranking them by total market capitalization. The largest 1,000 companies in this ranking are eligible for the Russell 1000 and the next 2,000 companies comprise the Russell 2000. These investment tools originated from Russell's multi-manager investment business in the early 1980s when the company saw the need for a more objective, market-driven set of benchmarks in order to evaluate outside investment managers.
About Alesco Financial Inc.
Alesco Financial Inc. is a specialty finance real estate investment trust headquartered in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania and trades on the New York Stock Exchange under the symbol "AFN". Alesco Financial is externally managed by Cohen & Company Management, LLC, a subsidiary of Cohen and Company, a global alternative fixed-income asset management firm. For more information, please visit Alesco Financial Inc.'s web site http://www.alescofinancial.com/.
Forward-Looking Statements
Information set forth in this release contains forward-looking statements, which involve a number of risks and uncertainties. Alesco Financial Inc. cautions readers that any forward-looking information is not a guarantee of future performance and that actual results could differ materially from those contained or implied in the forward-looking information.
The following factors, among others, could cause actual results to differ from those set forth in the forward-looking statements: the failure of Alesco Financial Inc. to successfully execute its business plans or gain access to additional financing, the availability of additional loan portfolios for future acquisition, continued qualification as a real estate investment trust and the cost of capital. Additional factors that may affect future results are contained in Alesco's filings with the SEC, which are available at the SEC's web site http://www.sec.gov/ and Alesco Financial Inc.'s web site http://www.alescofinancial.com/. Alesco Financial Inc. disclaims any obligation to update and revise statements contained in these materials based on new information or otherwise.
Investors: Media:
John Longino Joseph Kuo
Chief Financial Officer Kekst and Company
215-701-9687 212-521-4863
