NEW YORK, Sept. 15 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- National Financial Partners Corp. , which specializes in distributing corporate and executive benefits, life insurance, and investment advisory products and services, today announced a reorganization designed to enhance service delivery to its corporate and individual clients. In conjunction with the reorganization, the company also announced a restructuring of its firm principal incentive plans.
NFP's client service delivery structure will now operate through two core groups. The Corporate Client Group includes corporate benefits, retirement plans and commercial lines property and casualty insurance. The Individual Client Group includes retail and wholesale life insurance brokerage, executive benefits, investment advisory services and personal lines property and casualty insurance.
In order to ensure vertical alignment of interests among all of NFP's stakeholders and motivate future growth, NFP has replaced its NFP Firm Principal Ongoing Incentive Plan with new complementary incentive plans. Annual incentive plans are payable in cash and based on specific performance criteria. The annual plans will be effective beginning October 1, 2009 and will be payable beginning in the fourth quarter of 2010. In addition, under a long-term equity-based plan, the company anticipates granting 1.6 million restricted stock units to firm Principals that will vest at the end of the third year from the grant date. Equity under the long-term plan will be granted in the fourth quarter of 2009.
"The reorganization of our service delivery model around our core client groups will maximize the value of the resources NFP offers our firms for the benefit of our clients. The restructured incentive plans are designed to reward performance by our Principals in order to motivate robust earnings growth, client service and shareholder value," said Jessica M. Bibliowicz, chairman, president and chief executive officer of NFP.
In connection with these moves, Ed O'Malley has been promoted to president of NFP's Corporate Client Group and senior vice president of NFP. Jim Gelder, CEO of NFP Insurance Services, Inc. and executive vice president of NFP, will lead NFP's Individual Client Group. Both Gelder and O'Malley will report to Douglas W. Hammond, executive vice president and chief operating officer. Hammond reports directly to Bibliowicz.
"Both Ed and Jim bring exceptional leadership skills, plus a depth of experience and knowledge to drive future performance," said Hammond.
Mr. Gelder joined NFP in July 2007 as chief executive officer of NFP Insurance Services, Inc. and executive vice president of NFP with over 35 years of industry experience. From 2002 to 2007, Gelder served as head of the life insurance business distribution organization for ING U.S. Financial Services. Gelder joined ING as co-chief executive officer of Life Operations through its acquisition of ReliaStar in 2000.
Mr. O'Malley has served since February 2002 as head of NFP Benefits Partners, progressing to senior vice president of NFP Insurance Services, Inc. in 2004. Prior to joining NFP, he was vice president of sales and business development for V-Simplify, a web-based employee benefits administrator in Stamford, CT. From 1994 to 1999, he worked for Physicians Health Services in New York City.
About National Financial Partners Corp.
Founded in 1998, NFP is a leading independent distributor of financial services products to high net worth individuals and companies. NFP is headquartered in New York and operates a distribution network across the United States and in Canada. For more information, please visit http://www.nfp.com/.
Forward-Looking Statements
This release contains certain statements relating to future results, which are forward-looking statements as that term is defined in the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Forward-looking statements include, without limitation, any statement that may project, indicate or imply future results, events, performance or achievements, and may contain the words "anticipate," "expect," "intend," "plan," "believe," "estimate," "may," "project," "will," "continue" and similar expressions of a future or forward-looking nature. Forward-looking statements may include discussions concerning revenue, expenses, earnings, cash flow, impairments, losses, dividends, capital structure, credit facilities, market and industry conditions, premium and commission rates, interest rates, contingencies, the direction or outcome of regulatory investigations and litigation, income taxes and NFP's operations or strategy. These forward-looking statements are based on management's current views with respect to future results, and are subject to risks and uncertainties. Factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from those contemplated by a forward-looking statement include: (1) NFP's ability, through its operating structure, to respond quickly to regulatory, operational or financial situations impacting its firms; (2) the Company's ability to manage its business effectively and profitably through the principals of its firms; (3) a recessionary economic environment, resulting in fewer sales of financial products or services, including rising unemployment which could impact group benefits sales based on reduced headcount, the availability of credit in connection with the purchase of such products or services, consumer hesitancy in spending or the insolvencies of or difficulties experienced by the Company's clients, insurance companies or financial institutions; (4) the occurrence of events or circumstances that could be indicators of impairment to goodwill and intangible assets which require the Company to test for impairment, and the impact of any impairments that the Company may take; (5) the impact of the adoption or modification of certain accounting treatments or policies and changes in underlying assumptions relating to such treatments or policies (including with respect to impairments), which may lead to adverse financial results; (6) NFP's success in acquiring and retaining high-quality independent financial services distribution firms and various factors inhibiting the Company's ability to acquire and retain firms; (7) the performance of the Company's firms following acquisition; (8) changes in interest rates or general economic conditions and credit market conditions, including changes that adversely affect NFP's ability to access capital, such as the global credit crisis that began in 2007; (9) adverse developments or volatility in the markets in which the Company operates, resulting in fewer sales of financial products and services, including those related to compensation agreements with insurance companies and activities within the life settlements industry; (10) securities and capital markets behavior, including fluctuations in the price of NFP's common stock, recent uncertainty in the U.S. financial markets or the dilutive impact of any capital-raising efforts to finance operations or business strategy; (11) any losses that NFP may take with respect to firm dispositions, firm restructures or otherwise; (12) the continued availability of borrowings and letters of credit under NFP's credit facility and NFP's ability to manage its indebtedness and capital structure; (13) adverse results or other consequences from litigation, arbitration, regulatory investigations or compliance initiatives, including those related to business practices, compensation agreements with insurance companies, policy rescissions or chargebacks, regulatory investigations or activities within the life settlements industry; (14) uncertainty in the financial services, insurance and life settlement industries arising from investigations into certain business practices and subpoenas received from various governmental authorities and related litigation; (15) the impact of legislation or regulations in jurisdictions in which NFP's subsidiaries operate, including the possible adoption of comprehensive and exclusive federal regulation over all interstate insurers and the uncertain impact of proposals for legislation regulating the financial services industry; (16) the reduction of the Company's revenue and earnings due to the elimination or modification of compensation arrangements, including contingent compensation arrangements and the adoption of internal initiatives to enhance compensation transparency, including the transparency of fees paid for life settlements transactions; (17) changes in laws, including the elimination or modification of the federal estate tax, changes in the tax treatment of life insurance products, or changes in regulations affecting the value or use of benefits programs, such as government sponsored insurance programs or other healthcare reform, which may adversely affect the demand for or profitability of the Company's services; (18) developments in the availability, pricing, design or underwriting of insurance products, revisions in mortality tables by life expectancy underwriters or changes in the Company's relationships with insurance companies; (19) changes in premiums and commission rates or the rates of other fees paid to the Company's firms, including life settlements and registered investment advisory fees; (20) the occurrence of adverse economic conditions or an adverse regulatory climate in New York, Florida or California; (21) the loss of services of key members of senior management; (22) the availability or adequacy of errors and omissions insurance or other types of insurance coverage protection; and (23) the Company's ability to effect smooth succession planning at its firms.
National Financial Partners Corp.
CONTACT: Investor Relations: Marc Gordon, National Financial Partners,
ir@nfp.com, +1-212-301-4033; or Media Relations: Barbara Willis, National
Financial Partners, communications@nfp.com, +1-212-301-1039
Web Site: http://www.nfp.com/
