2007 4th Quarter

"Navigating Waves of Change" is the theme for the IFS 2008 Educational Conference for Benefit Plan Fiduciaries. The event will be held Sunday, March 9, 2008, through Tuesday, March 11, 2008, at the Westin Diplomat Resort and Spa located in Hollywood, Florida. This event marks the 4th educational conference that IFS has designed and presented, tailored especially to the unique needs of benefit plan fiduciaries.

IFS welcomes Christopher Jarmush who joined the firm in December 2007 as Vice President in our Washington, DC office. Chris was previously employed at T. Rowe Price as Vice President and Manager of Investment Information and Research. Prior to T. Rowe Price, Chris directed investment consulting services for Schwab Institutional and Deliotte & Touche, and managed institutional investment portfolios at Key Asset Advisors.

Edward Patchett, CFA - Senior VP and Managing Director - participated in the 53rd Annual IFEBP Conference held in Anaheim, CA, November 3-7, 2007. Mr. Patchett presented two investment-related topics - "Overview of Alternative Investments" - and "Diaries of Hedge Fund Investing". Those two presentations are located here.

On January 18, 2008, Independent Fiduciary Services (“IFS”) submitted comments to Department of Labor (“DOL”) regarding proposed amendments to a 2003 prohibited transaction class exemption. This particular exemption requires the approval of an independent fiduciary of releases granted by ERISA-regulated plans to “parties in interest.” This exemption comes into play most often in “stock drop” litigation under the federal securities laws.

Marc Becker recently earned the CFA Charterholder designation, an investment-related professional designation awarded by the CFA Institute. Congratulations Marc!

The following three projects were completed by the IFS Operational Review practice in the 4th Quarter of 2007:

Over the course of 2007, IFS advised The World Bank regarding governance of the investment programs of a series of institutional funds of a nation in East Asia. IFS has just completed that assignment, culminating in proposed legislation for governing those funds. Separately, IFS continues working on an Asian Development Bank project, advising the People's Republic of China on governance of the investment programs of their provincial retirement systems.

The Board of Trustees of the United Furniture Workers Pension Plan, headquartered in Nashville, TN, selected IFS to provide on-going investment advisory services such as asset allocation advice, manager selection recommendations, and performance measurement services. The contract was finalized on December 17, 2007.