National Financial Partners Issues Statement

NEW YORK, March 13, 2013 /PRNewswire/ -- National Financial Partners Corp. (NYSE: NFP), a leading provider of benefits, insurance and wealth management services, today confirmed that as a result of indications of interest it has received from private equity firms, its Board of Directors has formed a committee of independent directors, and is exploring the possibility of a sale of the Company. The Company cannot predict whether it will enter into a transaction and does not intend to comment further at this time.

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About NFP

National Financial Partners Corp. (NYSE: NFP), and its benefits, insurance and wealth management businesses provide diversified advisory and brokerage services to companies and high net worth individuals, partnering with them to preserve their assets and prosper over the long term. NFP advisors provide innovative and comprehensive solutions, backed by NFP's national scale and resources. NFP operates in three business segments. The Corporate Client Group provides corporate and executive benefits, retirement plans and property and casualty insurance. The Individual Client Group includes retail and wholesale life insurance brokerage and wealth management advisory services. The Advisor Services Group serves independent financial advisors by offering broker-dealer and asset management products and services. Most recently NFP was ranked eighth on Business Insurance's 100 Largest Brokers of U.S. Business; second on Business Insurance's Largest Agents and Brokers Headquartered in the U.S. Northeast; as the ninth Top Global Insurance Broker by Best's Review; operated the third largest Executive Benefits Provider of nonqualified deferred compensation plans by total clients as ranked by PlanSponsor; operated a top ten Independent Broker Dealer as ranked by Investment Advisor; had three advisors ranked in Barron's Top 100 Independent Financial Advisors and is a leading independent life insurance distributor according to many top-tier carriers. For more information, visit www.nfp.com.  

Forward-Looking Statements

This release contains forward-looking statements as that term is defined in the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Forward-looking statements include, without limitation, any statement that may project, indicate or imply future results, events, performance or achievements, and may contain the words "anticipate," "expect," "intend," "plan," "believe," "estimate," "may," "project," "will," "continue" and similar expressions of a future or forward-looking nature. Forward-looking statements may include discussions concerning revenue, expenses, earnings, cash flow, impairments, losses, dividends, capital structure, market and industry conditions, premium and commission rates, interest rates, contingencies, the direction or outcome of regulatory investigations and litigation, income taxes and the Company's operations or strategy. These forward-looking statements are based on management's current views with respect to future results. Forward-looking statements are based on beliefs and assumptions made by management using currently-available information, such as market and industry materials, experts' reports and opinions, and current financial trends. These statements are only predictions and are not guarantees of future performance. Forward-looking statements are subject to risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially from those contemplated by a forward-looking statement. These risks and uncertainties include, without limitation: (1) the ability of the Company to implement its business initiatives, including increasing recurring revenue and executing management contract buyouts; (2) NFP's ability, through its operating structure, to respond quickly to operational, financial or regulatory situations impacting its businesses; (3) the ability of the Company's businesses to perform successfully following acquisition, including through the diversification of product and service offerings, and NFP's ability to manage its business effectively and profitably through its employees and principals and through the Company's reportable segments; (4) any losses or charges that NFP may take with respect to dispositions, restructures, the collectability of amounts owed to it, impairments or otherwise; (5) NFP's success in acquiring and retaining high-quality independent financial services businesses and their managers and key producers, and the ability of the Company to retain its broker-dealers' financial advisors and recruit new financial advisors; (6) changes in premiums and commission rates or the rates of other fees paid to the Company, due to requirements related to medical loss ratios stemming from the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act or otherwise; (7) seasonality or an economic environment that results in fewer sales of products or services that the Company offers; (8) changes that adversely affect NFP's ability to manage its indebtedness or capital structure, including changes in interest rates or credit market conditions; (9) adverse results or other consequences from matters including litigation, arbitration, settlements, regulatory investigations or compliance initiatives, such as those related to business practices, compensation agreements with insurance companies or policy rescissions or chargebacks; (10) the impact of legislation or regulations on NFP's businesses, such as the impact of the adoption of the American Taxpayer Relief Act of 2012, the possible adoption of exclusive federal regulation over interstate insurers, the uncertain impact of legislation regulating the financial services industry, the impact of the adoption of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act and resulting changes in business practices, changes in estate tax laws, or changes in regulations affecting the value or use of benefits programs, any of which may adversely affect the demand for or profitability of the Company's services; (11) adverse developments in the Company's markets, such as those related to compensation agreements with insurance companies, which could result in fewer sales of products or services that the Company offers; (12) the effectiveness or financial impact of NFP's incentive plans; (13) NFP's ability to operate effectively within the restrictive covenants of its credit facility; (14) the impact of capital markets behavior, such as fluctuations in the price of NFP's common stock, or the dilutive impact of capital raising efforts; (15) the impact of the adoption or change in interpretation of certain tax or accounting treatments or policies and changes in underlying assumptions relating to such treatments or policies, which may lead to adverse financial statement results; (16) failure by the Company's broker-dealers to comply with net capital requirements; (17) the loss of services of key members of senior management; (18) the Company's ability to compete against competitors with greater resources, such as those with greater name recognition, or any damage to the Company's reputation; (19) developments in the availability, pricing, design, tax treatment or underwriting of insurance products, including insurance carriers' potential change in accounting for deferred acquisition costs, revisions in mortality tables by life expectancy underwriters or changes in the Company's relationships with insurance companies; (20) the reduction of the Company's revenue and earnings due to the elimination or modification of compensation arrangements, including contingent compensation arrangements and the adoption of internal initiatives to enhance compensation transparency; (21) the occurrence of adverse economic conditions or an adverse legal or regulatory climate in New York, Florida or California; and (22) the Company's ability to effect smooth succession planning.

SOURCE National Financial Partners Corp.