- Showcase for Ohio's premier publicly traded companies, including AEP, Huntington Bancshares and Cincinnati Financial
- More than 200 investment professionals from the Midwest and beyond are expected to attend CEO and executive presentations
COLUMBUS, Ohio, July 27, 2011 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- The biennial INVESTOhio Equity Conference returns to Columbus September 22, offering money managers, analysts and institutional investors the opportunity to meet executives of some of Ohio's leading public companies and learn about their strategies for growth.
At the conference, first held in 2009, CEOs, CFOs and senior executives of more than a dozen Ohio-based public companies will make presentations and answer questions from the more than 200 regional and Wall Street investment professionals expected to gather at the Hilton Columbus at Easton.
"The conference is a great way for professional investors to interact with senior management and understand what's going on beyond the day-to-day headlines," said Terry McWilliams, conference chairman and president of Mozaic Investor Relations. "At the same time, it's convenient for executives from Ohio public companies to discuss operations and strategies, and potentially expand their investor base."
Professional services firms Crowe Horwath LLP and Vorys, Sater, Seymour and Pease LLP, are INVESTOhio's title sponsors. The one-day event is also supported by other sponsors and the Ohio chapters of leading professional organizations representing financial analysts, senior corporate financial executives, and investor relations officers.
"Crowe provides audit, tax, risk and consulting services to public companies across the country and throughout Ohio, so we certainly understand the importance of consistent communication between the company and its investors," said Mark Baer, partner in Crowe's Columbus office. "INVESTOhio focuses attention on local public companies and helps to support the state's profile as an excellent place for business and investment. We are proud to return as a title sponsor of INVESTOhio."
Jay Vorys, chair of the Corporate and Finance group at Vorys, Sater, Seymour and Pease, said: "It's truly a pleasure to support an event that draws so many of Ohio's leading public companies. We've worked with many of the participating companies in the past and know they are prime examples of Ohio's endless opportunities for business growth and investment."
The conference features 35-minute group presentations and additional one-on-one sessions for follow-up discussion. Presenters represent companies in the insurance, banking, energy, healthcare, transportation, food service, specialty chemicals and environmental products industries. In addition, a prominent keynote speaker will discuss current economic, investment and financial trends.
Ranked below by market capitalization, the companies currently scheduled to present at the conference are:
- American Electric Power Company, Inc. (NYSE:AEP), Columbus, energy/utility
- Huntington Bancshares, Inc. (NYSE:HBAN), Columbus, financial/banking
- Cincinnati Financial Corp. (Nasdaq:CINF), Cincinnati, financial/insurance
- American Financial Group, Inc. (NYSE:AFG) (Nasdaq:AFG), Cincinnati, financial/insurance
- RPM International Inc. (NYSE:RPM), Medina, manufacturing/coatings and specialty chemicals
- Lancaster Colony Corp. (Nasdaq:LANC), Columbus, consumer products/specialty foods
- Park National Corp. (NYSE/AMEX:PRK), Newark, financial/banking
- First Financial Bancorp (Nasdaq:FFBC), Cincinnati, financial/banking
- State Auto Financial Corporation (Nasdaq:STFC), Columbus, financial/insurance
- Oxford Resource Partners, LP (NYSE:OXF), Columbus, energy/mining
- National Interstate Corp. (Nasdaq:NATL), Richfield, financial/insurance
- Air Transport Services Group, Inc. (Nasdaq:ATSG), Wilmington, transportation
- OMNOVA Solutions Inc. (NYSE:OMN), Fairlawn, manufacturing/specialty chemicals
- CECO Environmental Corp. (Nasdaq:CECE), Cincinnati, manufacturing/environmental
- AdCare Health Systems, Inc. (NYSE/AMEX:ADK), Springfield, healthcare
The executive presentation lineup, keynote speaker, and other details will be announced in coming weeks, and will be available on the conference website, www.invest-oh.com.
The presenting companies were selected in part based on the preferences of Ohio investment professionals as expressed in a survey. More than 130 public companies are headquartered in Ohio, and their publicly traded shares have a combined market capitalization exceeding $380 billion.
Admission to the conference is by invitation. Conference costs (admission, continental breakfast, lunch, and keynote speaker) are underwritten by the conference presenters and its sponsors. The public can listen to live webcasts of conference presentations via www.invest-oh.com.
Representatives from the participating companies, sponsors, and investment community are on the steering committee that oversees the conference.
The conference is supported by CFA Society chapters in Ohio, as well as the Financial Executives International chapter in Columbus and Ohio's National Investor Relations Institute chapters.
"The four CFA Societies in Ohio seek to promote investment excellence and serve the investment professional community across our state," said R. Travis Upton, CFA, president of the CFA Society of Columbus. "Being involved with the INVESTOhio conference provides these professionals the opportunity to learn more about and hear from the management behind Ohio's elite investment opportunities all in one place."
In addition to title sponsors Crowe Horwath and Vorys, support comes from gold sponsors NASDAQ OMX, Hilliard Lyons, the Wall Street Transcript, Columbus CEO Magazine, Curran & Connors, Optimum Printing, O'Neil Arnold Photography, and Mozaic Investor Relations. More information can be found at www.invest-oh.com/sponsors .
The INVESTOhio Equity Conference has no connection with a similarly named State of Ohio tax incentive program.
| The INVESTOhio Conference LLC logo is available at http://www.globenewswire.com/newsroom/prs/?pkgid=6312 |
For more information about the event (www.invest-oh.com):
Media:
Terry McWilliams, Chairman, INVESTOhio; President, Mozaic Investor Relations, Inc., 614.364.4224, terrym@mozaicir.com.
Analysts, fund managers, institutional investors:
R. Travis Upton, CFA, FRM, CAIA, CFA Society of Columbus, 614.228.4300, travis.upton@josephgroup.com
John Grega, Financial Executives International – Columbus chapter, 614.850.1460, john.grega@cscww.com
Mark Baer, Partner, Crowe Horwath LLP, 614.365.2228, mark.baer@crowehorwath.com or Jan Lippman, 312.899.8414 or jan.lippman@crowehorwath.com.
Jay Vorys, Vorys, Sater, Seymour and Pease LLP, 614.464.6211, jcvorys@vorys.com