COLUMBUS, Ohio – Unified Fund Services, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Huntington Bancshares Incorporated since 2006, has appointed Brian Blomquist as president of the company. Blomquist has led the Trust Operations and Institutional Custody group of Huntington National Bank for the past two years. “An outstanding executive and leader, Brian will commit his expertise and vision to building upon Unified’s strengths,” said Daniel B. Benhase, Huntington senior executive vice president and director of the Private Financial Group. Founded in Indianapolis in 1952, Unified’s turnkey services include mutual fund accounting, administration, transfer agency, compliance support, distribution and custody services. “Unified Fund Services is an outstanding organization that I’ve known and worked with for many years, and I’m proud to be leading such an excellent team,” said Blomquist. “We will continue to invest in our technology infrastructure and work to grow our business, while enhancing the quality, depth and breadth of our services." Prior to joining Huntington in 2008, Blomquist managed his own consulting business focused on assisting institutions with bank mergers and acquisitions. Previously, he spent 15 years as the Executive Vice President of The Lindner Funds, a former St. Louis-based mutual fund family. Blomquist earned his Bachelor of Arts degree in Accounting at Kentucky Wesleyan College and pursued his MBA at Southern Illinois University, Edwardsville. While at Lindner, he served on the Board of Governors of the Mutual Fund Educational Alliance and as President of the 100% No-Load Mutual Fund Council. About Huntington Huntington Bancshares Incorporated is a $52 billion regional bank holding company headquartered in Columbus, Ohio. Through its affiliated companies, Huntington has been providing a full range of financial services including checking, loans, savings, insurance and investment services to customers for 144 years. Huntington has more than 600 banking offices across six states. Huntington also offers retail and commercial financial services online at huntington.com; through its telephone bank; and through its network of over 1,300 ATMs.
TEAM Financial Asset Management launched its first fund, TEAM Asset Strategy Fund, in the Unified's series trust, the Valued Advisers Trust. TEAM is based in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania and has been managing assets for high-net-worth individuals since 1994.
TEAM Asset Strategy Fund
Unified's Compliance Department launched its quarterly advisor training webinars with its initial session in November. The webinars will cover a variety of topics. Unified will use these sessions to assist advisors in keeping abreast of new regulatory developments as well as general industry information and trends.
Unified has been the mutual fund family's transfer agent since 2002, and in 2006 the Unified companies became wholly-owned subsidiaries of Huntington Bancshares. "Our relationship with The Huntington Funds is an ideal marriage of common cultures which are committed to providing 'simply the best' service and value-added solutions," says Melissa Gallagher, president of Unified Financial Securities. "Unified's business model emphasizes employing the best people, and providing quality products and services; which leads to client satisfaction and client loyalty. We seek long term business partnerships. The opportunity to expand our relationship with The Huntington Funds is an excellent example of our success in implementing our business strategy and further demonstrates Unified's ability to service larger, more well-established funds." The Huntington Funds consist of 32 portfolios and approximately USD4bn in assets. "We have worked with Unified for many years as a strategic partner for our transfer agency services and our experience has consistently been very positive," says Randy Bateman, president of The Huntington Funds. "We are proud to expand our relationship with them as sub-administrator and distributor as we feel their expertise will be integral in our efforts to expand our fund family and grow assets." Founded in 1952, Unified formed the first Indiana-based mutual fund in 1963. It has been providing start-up and ongoing support for mutual funds for over 45 years. Unified's turnkey services include mutual fund accounting, administration, transfer agency and distribution services for third parties.
Unified is pleased to announce that The Golub Group launched the Golub Group Equity Fund in the Valued Advisers Trust on April 1. The Fund is designed as a vehicle for The Golub Group to be able to capture smaller client accounts and support the firms future growth. The Golub Group is located in San Mateo, California.
The Golub Group
Unified is proud to announce that the RiverNorth Core Opportunity Fund smoothly converted to Unified on October 1, 2008. The fund had $136 million in assets at the time of conversion and invests primarily in closed-end funds, ETFs and other open ended mutual funds. The Advisor, RiverNorth Capital Management Inc. is located in Chicago, Illinois.
www.rivernorthfunds.com
Unified launched the Valued Advisers Trust on November 1, 2008 as a result of the success of its initial series trust. Unified is excited to offer this trust as a solution to adivsors who are looking to create mutual funds and are interested in being part of an existing trust to simplify their entry into the fund industry.
Unified is proud to announce the addition of the Jones Villalta Opportunity Fund to the Unified Series Trust on December 16, 2008. The fund focuses on investing in mid to large cap equity funds. Jones Villalta Asset Management, Inc. is located in Austin, Texas
Unified Fund Services uses Diligent's Boardbooks offering to make board briefing material available online to the directors and officers of one of its biggest clients, the Unified Series Trust, an umbrella trust with 35 funds that share a board of directors. According to the Diligent announcement, Unified Fund Services intends to offer Diligent Boardbooks to other clients for whom the firm hosts board meetings and prepares board packages.
Unified is pleased to announce the introduction of two new 3 to 1 Funds, the 3 to 1 Diversified Equity Fund (FMREX) and the 3 to 1 Strategic Income Fund (FMRIX).
www.3to1funds.com
Indiana-based SBAuer Funds launches its inaugural mutual fund. The Auer Growth Fund (AUERX) is managed by father and son team, Bryan and Robert Auer.
www.sbauerfunds.com
Unified Fund Services, Inc. is proud to receive a 5-Star Client Enthusiasm Rating. The rating is based on an independent research study conducted by Client Opinions, Inc. Unified also received the award in 2006.
Unified Fund Services, Inc. and Unified Financial Securities, Inc. recently moved to a new facility in Indianapolis located at 2960 North Meridian Street, Suite 300, Indianapolis, IN 46208. Our offices in this modern facility are designed to complement the way we work, allowing us to better serve our clients.