NEW YORK, July 6, 2010 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Newtek Business Services, Inc. (Nasdaq:NEWT), The Small Business Authority™, has joined the Russell Microcap® Index when Russell Investments reconstituted its family of U.S. equity indexes according to the preliminary list of additions posted June 11, 2010 on www.russell.com.
Membership in the Russell Microcap Index, which remains in place for one year, means automatic inclusion in the appropriate growth and value style indexes. Russell determines membership for its equity indexes primarily by objective, market-capitalization rankings and style attributes.
Barry Sloane, Chairman and CEO of Newtek Business Services, The Small Business Authority has said, "We are happy to be included in the recently reconstituted Russell Microcap® Index. Our stock's performance over the last 18 months has obviously helped us in this outcome. As our company progresses on its business plan and mission statement as The Small Business Authority we are hopeful more investors take notice. In addition, as our legacy Capco business continues to have diminishing effect on our balance sheet and income statement, the investment community can more readily focus on our business model and strategy. We welcome this outcome."
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 $3.9 trillion in assets currently are benchmarked to them.
Annual reconstitution of Russell Indexes captures the 4,000 largest U.S. stocks as of the end of May, ranking them by total market capitalization to create the Russell 3000® Index and Russell Microcap. 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.
Total returns data for the Russell Microcap and other Russell Indexes is available at http://www.russell.com/Indexes/performance/default.asp">http://www.russell.com/Indexes/performance/default.asp.
About Russell
Russell Investments provides strategic advice, world-class implementation, state-of-the-art performance benchmarks and a range of institutional-quality investment products. Russell has $179 billion in assets under management as of March 31 2010, and serves individual, institutional and advisor clients in more than 40 countries. Founded in 1936, Russell is a subsidiary of The Northwestern Mutual Life Insurance Company.
About Newtek Business Services, Inc.
Newtek Business Services, Inc., The Small Business Authority, is a direct distributor of a wide range of business services and financial products to the small- and medium-sized business market under the NewtekTM brand. Since 1999, Newtek has helped small- and medium-sized business owners realize their potential by providing them with the essential tools needed to manage and grow their businesses and to compete effectively in today's marketplace. Newtek provides one or more of its services to over 100,000 business accounts and has positioned the NewtekTM brand as a one-stop-shop provider of such business services. According to the U.S. Small Business Administration, there are over 29.6 million small businesses in the United States, which in total represent 99.7% of all employer firms.
Newtek's business service lines include:
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Electronic Payment Processing: eCommerce, electronic solutions to accept non-cash payments, including credit and debit cards, check conversion, remote deposit capture, ACH processing, and electronic gift and loyalty card programs.
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Web Hosting: Full-service web host which offers eCommerce solutions, shared and dedicated web hosting and related services including domain registration and online shopping cart tools.
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eCommerce: a suite of services that enable small businesses to get up and running on-line quickly and cost effectively, with integrated web design, payment processing and shopping cart services.
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Business Lending: Broad array of lending products including SBA 7(a) and SBA 504 loans.
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Insurance Services: Commercial and personal lines of insurance, including health and employee benefits in all 50 states, working with over 40 insurance carriers.
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Web Services: Customized web design and development services.
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Data Backup, Storage and Retrieval: Fast, secure, off-site data backup, storage and retrieval designed to meet the specific regulatory and compliance needs of any business.
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Accounts Receivable Financing: Receivable purchasing and financing services.
- Payroll: Complete payroll management and processing services.
Note Regarding Forward Looking Statements
Statements in this press release including statements regarding Newtek's beliefs, expectations, intentions or strategies for the future, may be "forward-looking statements" under the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. All forward-looking statements involve a number of risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially from the plans, intentions and expectations reflected in or suggested by the forward-looking statements. Such risks and uncertainties include, among others, intensified competition, operating problems and their impact on revenues and profit margins, anticipated future business strategies and financial performance, anticipated future number of customers, business prospects, legislative developments and similar matters. Risk factors, cautionary statements and other conditions which could cause Newtek's actual results to differ from management's current expectations are contained in Newtek's filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission and available through http://www.sec.gov.
For more information, please visit www.newtekbusinessservices.com.