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Dutton Associates is one of the largest issuer-paid equity research firms in the United States and our investment performance is ranked comparable to that of the top Wall Street firms. Our analysts, primarily CFAs with over 20 years of experience at the major securities firms, are among the most experienced on Wall Street. We offer high-quality, independent, fundamental research on small cap public companies. We recognize independent investment research as an opportunity for both companies and investors, because the traditional avenues of gaining research coverage are closing for smaller company stocks. They do not generate the level of investment banking or brokerage business which draws the interest of the Wall Street research departments, who are funded by banking and brokerage business. Without analyst coverage, the current market prices of companies are often significantly below their intrinsic value and are many times below the relative valuation of their analyst-covered competitors. The amount of this discount attributable to lack of analyst coverage, while hard to measure, is suggested to range up to 50%. Many institutional and individual investors will not invest in companies lacking independent third-party research coverage. Companies recognize the opportunity afforded by enrolling with Dutton Associates. Our continuing year-long program of research coverage allows under-followed companies to gain a thorough, independent analysis of their competitive position, along with independently developed earnings and valuation models that otherwise would not be available to interested investors and institutions. Dutton Associates research program is modeled in terms of prepaid compensation after the Standard & Poor's and other credit rating services. Dutton Associates research is used by investment banking firms, institutions, and individual investors to obtain independent company equity research. Our firm's operations are similar to a research department of a major investment banking firm, except we do not have any brokerage or investment banking operations. Unlike traditional brokerage firms that limit research distribution to their client bases in exchange for commissions, we widely distribute our research to institutions and individuals, both domestic and international. Our estimates are included in the major consensus estimates - Zacks, Multex, The JCF Group, and First Call. Companies are enrolled in a one-year continuing research program, prepaid before commencement of its research activities. Although any party can pay the enrollment fee, reports are performed on behalf of the public, and are not a service to any company. Dutton Associates does not accept payment of any of its fees in company stock or any form of securities, as receipt and disposal of these securities under these alternative payment methods might compromise the integrity of the continuing research program. The payer is additionally responsible for additional pass through costs, including printing. All electronic reports and distribution are included in the initial research fee. We adopted key SEC and NASD regulations and rules governing brokerage research, including SEC Regulation AC (Analyst Certification) and NASD 2711, which provide disclosure and transparency, and allow the effectiveness of our research to be judged independent of platform. John M. Dutton is a member of both the Boston and Los Angeles Security Analyst Societies, and a member of the AIMR. He also served on the 14 member NASDAQ Committee for the Future of the Bulletin Board. Mr. Dutton has been an analyst and director of research at several firms including Moseley, Hallgarten, Estabrook & Weedon and the institutional firm of LH Friend, Weinress, Frankson & Presson. He was president of Corsair Asset Management, an asset management firm, for over 14 years. For seven years he was executive vice president and a member of the board of directors of the international hospital company American Medical International, Inc. He received an A.B. degree from Brown University, and received his MBA from the Wharton Graduate School, University of Pennsylvania. Back to top Reagan M. Wilson was the Chief Executive Officer of Stanislaus County, California from January 1993 until he retired in July 2003. In this role he oversaw an operating budget of $757,000,000, 5,000 employees, 26 operating departments and all public financing and capital projects.
Mr. Wilson was also a member of the California State Treasurers, Debt and Investment Advisory Committee, the Chair of the Stanislaus County Capital Improvement Financing Authority, President of the Statewide California County Administrators Association, and Chaired the County's deferred compensation committee which oversees more than $100 million in investments and coordinates with the County Retirement System which has more than $1 billion invested.
At the national level he served on the Board of the National Association of Counties Chief Executive Officers Association. He formerly served as a director, CEO and President of a NASD listed company. He is a member of several community boards and the recipient of numerous awards and honors.
Mr. Wilson is a graduate of California State University, Stanislaus and a frequent speaker on local government finance, organizational change and development, and the application of Malcom Baldridge Award Criteria in a local government setting. Back to top Mr. Torrens is currently President and CEO of Stanislaus Energy Partners (SEP) a development company engaged in the acquisition, transportation and sale of coal seam gas. In addition Mr. Torrens provides engineering and consulting services to private and public sector clients in the areas of solid waste management, sludge management and public/private partnerships.
Prior to forming SEP Mr. Torrens held a variety of executive positions including President and CEO of Recovery Corporation of America a full service medical waste company; President of Catalyst Waste to Energy Corporation a solid waste to energy independent power company; and, Executive Vice President, Ogden Martin Systems where he helped develop the largest waste to energy company in the United States with 28 operating facilities.
Mr. Torrens is a graduate of the University of Nebraska where he earned a BS and Master of Science in Civil Engineering degrees. Back to top Richard Hefter has more than 20 years experience in financial publishing and 10 years in online financial publishing and marketing. He was editor-in-chief of GlobalNetFinancial, which published MicroCap1000.com, UK-Invest.com and other financial sites around the world, from 1998 until joining JM Dutton at the company's inception in June 2001. He was associate director of communications at Northwestern University's Office of Development from 1994 to 1998, and prior to that was associate editor at Cahners Publishing Company, division of Reed Business, where he twice won the Jesse H. Neal Award (the Pulitzer of the trade press). He has been published in Morningstar, CBSMarketWatch, Red Herring, Chicago Magazine, Newsday and the Chicago Tribune, among many other publications, and was named by OnlineInvestor Magazine in November 1999 as one of the top 25 columnists on the Web for investment ideas.
Mr. Hefter has a B.A. from Stanford University and M.F.A. from the University of Iowa Writers' Workshop. Back to top Prior to joining Dutton Associates, Judith Kleinman has worked as an institutional salesperson specializing in the Israeli and emerging European equity markets for over 10 years. As Director of Israeli equities for UBS Securities, Ms. Kleinman established the first sales, trading and research office for the international investment bank in Israel in 1998. Prior to her assignment in Israel, she was head of sales for southern European emerging markets at UBS in London. Befre joinng UBS, Ms. Kleinman was a VP and Head of Emerging Market Research at Bankers Trust in London where she directed the emerging Europe equity research team and analyzed Israeli and Turkish equities. Previoslly, Ms. Kleinman was a senior analyst at James Capel (now HSBC Securities) and worked as an economist at the U.S. Federal Reserve Board of Governors in Washington, D.C.
Ms. Kleinman holds a B.A. in Economics and Politics from Duke University, Master of Commerce degree in International Finance from University of New South Wales in Sydney, Australia, and a Master of Science in Macroeconomics from the London School of Economics. Back to top Jim Patrick until joining Dutton Associates was publisher of Buyside and WSR magazine's these past 10 years. Both publications were high-quality print periodicals that were distributed monthly to all North American money managers, analysts and public companies. Buyside Magazine was the first national publication to bridge the gap and establish integral working relationships between these diverse but connected groups. Back to top Mr. Quigley is President of ICServices Corporation (ICS). Initially founded in 1996, ICS is specialized in business Internet services, corporate image design, Investor Relations media development and on-line database design and integration. One of ICS's many successes, and its current focus, has been the development of the Dutton Associates website, research production processes and an extensive set of interrelated databases. Dutton Associates' research preparation, editing, supervisory approval, website publishing tools and process is seamlessly integrated and highly automated. Mr. Quigley is also president of Quigley & Associates, Inc. Since its incorporation in 1985, Quigley & Associates has primarily focused on system and software engineering design and development in support of the U.S. Navy's Antisubmarine Warfare (ASW) Control System MK 116 MOD 7 and the AN/SQQ-89 BASIC programs. Mr. Quigley's 38 years of software and system engineering experience spans the entire project development process, from concept development through system design, software architecture definition, detailed design, code, integration, test, documentation and life cycle maintenance. During his career, Mr. Quigley has provided project and software engineering consulting services to Martin Marietta Data Systems, Naval Ocean Systems Center, San Diego, California, Science Applications International Corporation, The Naval Surface Warfare Center, White Oak, Maryland, General Electric Corporation, Sperry Univac and System Development Corporation. Mr. Quigley attended college via military extension while serving as a Chief Petty Officer in the U.S. Navy. Back to top
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