Schwab Institutional® Announces Winners of 2008 Impact Awards®

Business Wire, Sept 25, 2008

Awards for Excellence in Independent Financial Advising go to Joan Bavaria of Trillium Asset Management Corp.; Litman/Gregory Asset Management, LLC; Clarfeld Financial Advisors, Inc.; Vista Capital Partners, Inc.

ATLANTA -- Schwab Institutional([R]), a leading provider of custodial, operational and trading support for independent fee-based investment advisors, today announced the winners of the third annual IMPACT Awards([R]) -- an industry-wide awards program to honor advisors and firms that have advanced the industry through their visionary leadership, operational excellence, technology innovation, and impressive growth.

The winners were recognized today during a ceremony at Schwab's IMPACT([R]) 2008 conference, one of the country's largest annual gatherings of independent investment advisors.

The 2008 IMPACT Awards winners were selected by a distinguished panel of judges including Daniel O. Leemon, former executive vice president and chief strategy officer for The Charles Schwab Corporation; Edythe "Dede" McClatchy Pahl, executive director of the Investment Management Consultants Association (IMCA); David G. Tittsworth, executive director and executive vice president of the Investment Adviser Association (IAA); and Marvin W. Tuttle, Jr., CAE, executive director and CEO of the Financial Planning Association (FPA). IMPACT Awards entries were scored by the accounting and consulting firm Moss Adams LLP.

The Charles R. Schwab IMPACT Award([R]) was presented to Joan Bavaria, founding president and CEO of Trillium Asset Management Corporation. Bavaria, widely recognized as one of the early pioneers in socially responsible investing, founded her Boston-based firm in 1982 with a focus on serving clients with a concern for the social and environmental impacts of their investments. Today, Trillium is one of the largest independent investment management firm in the U.S. dedicated solely to socially responsible investing, with 40 employees and more than $1 billion in client assets.

For nearly 40 years, Bavaria's vision has been to use the capital markets as mechanisms for social change. An early innovator in the concept of community investing and microfinance, she helped bring the community loan fund idea to Wall Street. At Trillium, Bavaria has created a workplace that is a sustainable model for long-term employee ownership: the firm is majority employee- and woman-owned and donates five percent of pre-tax profits to charitable causes. Trillium offers a progressive set of employee benefits and maintains a strong, diverse board of directors.

In 1981, Bavaria co-founded the Social Investment Forum, the national organization that serves as the primary association for practicing social investment professionals. Bavaria served on the Forum's Board for eight years, four as president. She is the founding chair of Ceres, a national network of investors, environmental organizations, and other public interest groups working with corporations to address sustainability challenges such as global climate change. Ceres launched the Global Reporting Initiative (GRI), now the de-facto standard used by more than 850 companies for reporting on environmental, social and economic performance.

The Best-in-Business Award winner, Litman/Gregory Asset Management, LLC of Larkspur, California, was honored for its best-in-class practice management and innovation in serving wealthy individuals, families and institutions since 1987. An innovator in the RIA industry, Litman/Gregory has continually expanded its investment management services by establishing separate but related businesses, all based on its core expertise of research. In 1996, it created the Masters' Select Funds. In 2001, it formed AdvisorIntelligence, a subscription research service, through which Litman/Gregory shares its manager due diligence, asset class research, model portfolio allocations, client communications, and best practice advice with more than 1,000 of its peer advisors.

Litman/Gregory has been recognized in Worth's Top 250 Wealth Advisors list for nine consecutive years, Wealth Manager's Top Advisors list for six consecutive years, the Barron's Top 100 Independent Advisors list in 2007 and 2008, and has been recognized in the San Francisco Business Times as one of the area's top 25 financial advisors.

The Best-in-Tech Award winner, wealth management firm and multifamily office Clarfeld Financial Advisors, Inc. of New York and London, earned this award based on its powerful, intuitive and flexible IT system. The revolutionary technology platform, including CFA Report Generator and the company's customized contact management system, streamlines internal efficiency, enabling Clarfeld's "Financial Confidantes" to optimize personal time with clients and focus on providing comprehensive financial planning, sophisticated tax, and investment management services.

Via a virtually unlimited menu of modeling, archival and research capabilities, the technology platform grants immediate and secure access to client data, including investment reports, research, commentaries, benchmark numbers, stock-option analysis and more. Using document imaging and storage programs, Clarfeld pulls data from multiple sources to create client reports tailored to individual specifications with a level of efficiency that enables the company to maintain its internal benchmark of producing 80 percent of client investment reports within five days after quarter end, while accounting for more than $3 billion in assets under management with double-digit asset and revenue growth each year.