NFP Announces Acquisition of AGS Benefits Group

AGS Benefits Combines with NFP Dreyfuss & Birke to Build NY Metro Corporate Benefits Team

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Jan 09, 2012, 08:30 ET

NEW YORK, Jan. 9, 2012 /PRNewswire/ -- National Financial Partners Corp. (NYSE: NFP), a leading provider of benefits, insurance and wealth management services, today announced the acquisition of AGS Benefits Group, LLC (AGS Benefits). Simultaneously with this acquisition, NFP acquired the management company of Dreyfuss & Birke, Ltd. (NFP Dreyfuss & Birke), a wholly-owned subsidiary of NFP since 2003, and combined NFP Dreyfuss & Birke with AGS Benefits. This combination establishes a major NFP-branded corporate benefits presence in New York. These transactions closed on January 3, 2012.

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William Austin, Jordan Gray and Markum McCormick, managing directors of AGS Benefits, along with Paul Schnell, president of NFP Dreyfuss & Birke, will become managing directors, reporting to Ed O'Malley, president, NFP Corporate Client Group.

These combined operations have annualized revenue of approximately $18 million. AGS Benefits, with annualized revenue of approximately $12 million, is a full service corporate benefits brokerage and consulting firm headquartered in New York City, with an office in Boston, and has been a member of the NFP Benefits Partners marketing organization since 2008. NFP Dreyfuss & Birke is an insurance brokerage and consulting firm based in New York City.

Commenting on today's announcements, Jessica M. Bibliowicz, chairman, president and chief executive officer of NFP, said, "We welcome AGS Benefits to NFP, who, along with NFP Dreyfuss & Birke, are among the highest quality corporate brokerage and consulting firms. These transactions underscore our strategy to acquire and combine outstanding businesses under strong management teams in order to efficiently expand NFP's customer value proposition and our scale. We look forward to pursuing these opportunities under the leadership of Bill, Jordan, Mark and Paul."

Also commenting, Mr. Schnell said, "As a part of NFP for many years, we are thrilled to combine with AGS Benefits under the NFP brand in order to expand and improve our client offering and better coordinate our growth initiatives. Bill, Jordan and Mark built AGS based upon integrity and creativity, qualities that are also important in the NFP culture."

On behalf of AGS Benefits management, Mr. Austin said, "We are pleased to join with Paul and become part of the NFP family. Our new partnership allows us to provide our clients an even greater level of product and service offerings, backed by NFP's national scale and diverse resources across all of its business segments."

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 as the eighth Top Global Insurance Broker by Best's Review; operated the fourth largest Executive Benefits Provider of nonqualified deferred compensation plans administered for recordkeeping clients as ranked by PlanSponsor; operated a top ten Independent Broker Dealer as ranked by Financial Planning and Financial 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 statements which are 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) NFP's ability, through its operating structure, to respond quickly to operational, financial or regulatory situations impacting its businesses; (2) 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 principals and the Company's reportable segments; (3) the ability of the Company to execute on its strategy of increasing recurring revenue; (4) any losses that NFP may take with respect to dispositions, restructures or otherwise; (5) seasonality or an economic environment that results in fewer sales of financial products or services; (6) the impact of the adoption or change in interpretation of certain accounting treatments or policies and changes in underlying assumptions relating to such treatments or policies, which may lead to adverse financial statement results; (7) NFP's success in acquiring and retaining high-quality independent financial services businesses; (8) the effectiveness or financial impact of NFP's incentive plans; (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, policy rescissions or chargebacks, or activities within the life settlements industry; (10) adverse developments in the Company's markets, such as those related to compensation agreements with insurance companies or activities within the life settlements industry, which could result in decreased sales of financial products or services; (11) NFP's ability to operate effectively within the restrictive covenants of its credit facility; (12) changes that adversely affect NFP's ability to manage its indebtedness or capital structure, including changes in interest rates or credit market conditions; (13) the impact of capital markets behavior, such as fluctuations in the price of NFP's common stock, the dilutive impact of capital raising efforts or the impact of refinancing transactions; (14) the impact of legislation or regulations on NFP's businesses, such as the possible adoption of exclusive federal regulation over interstate insurers, the uncertain impact of legislation regulating the financial services industry, such as the recent Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act, the impact of newly-adopted healthcare legislation and resulting changes in business practices, 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; (15) developments in the availability, pricing, design, tax treatment or underwriting of insurance products, revisions in mortality tables by life expectancy underwriters or changes in the Company's relationships with insurance companies; (16) changes in premiums and commission rates or the rates of other fees paid to the Company's businesses; (17) 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, including the transparency of fees paid for life settlements transactions; (18) the occurrence of adverse economic conditions or an adverse regulatory climate in New York, Florida or California; (19) the loss of services of key members of senior management; (20) the Company's ability to compete against competitors with greater resources, such as those with greater name recognition; and (21) the Company's ability to effect smooth succession planning.

Additional factors are set forth in NFP's filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission (the "SEC"), including its Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2010, filed with the SEC on February 10, 2011.

Forward-looking statements speak only as of the date on which they are made. NFP expressly disclaims any obligation to update or revise any forward-looking statement, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise.

SOURCE NFP