Mr. Picchi joined Palisade Capital in July 2009 after a 30-plus-year investment career. Prior to his joining Palisade, Mr. Picchi worked as an analyst and consultant for several mid-sized broker/dealers and investment advisory firms.

From 1980 to 1999, Mr. Picchi was an All Star rated energy analyst at Salomon Brothers, Kidder Peabody, and Lehman Brothers, where he also served as Director of US Stock Research. On the institutional side of the investment business, Mr. Picchi was sole manager of the 5 star rated, $1.5 billion Capital Appreciation Fund of Federated Investors, where he served as US Director of Research from January 2000 to June 2002.

A graduate of Georgetown University's School of Foreign Service, Mr. Picchi is also a Chartered Financial Analyst. Mr. Picchi speaks frequently on energy and investment topics for Bloomberg, CNBC and the New York Society of Security Analysts.

Leslie Berkowitz joined Palisade Capital as Vice President of Client and Consultant Relations. In this capacity, Leslie reports to the Managing Director of Institutional Sales and Marketing and is responsible for assisting with client service for new institutional clients and working to develop new business opportunities.

Leslie joins Palisade from Citigroup/Smith Barney where she held the position of Vice President, Senior Regional Director of Investment Advisory Services. In addition, she was a member of the original team that launched the Smith Barney Advisor program.

Ms. Berkowitz received her Bachelor of Arts from Barnard College of Columbia University and her Masters in Finance from New York University's Stern School of Business. She is a member of the Investment Management Consultants Association (IMCA) and holds the CIMA and CIMC designations.

Palisade Capital Management, the Fort Lee, NJ-based, Institutional and High Net Worth registered investment advisor with $1.7 billion under management as of December 31, 2008, announced today the acquisition of the small, smid, and mid-cap growth equity strategies of AG Asset Management, of New York, NY. The investment team, managing approximately $600 million of client assets, is joining Palisade Capital as part of the purchase transaction.

In making the announcement, Martin L. Berman, Palisade Capital Management's Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, said, 'On behalf of all the partners and employees of PCM, I welcome our new associates and clients to the Firm. The current financial climate, while challenging, is providing us with strategic opportunities for growth, and I am excited about this combination and the enhanced capability of the Firm to serve our existing and new clients.'

Dennison (Dan) T. Veru, Palisade Capital Management's Executive Vice-President and Co-CIO, noted that, 'PCM's new Growth Equity Team consists of two portfolio managers and four senior analysts, who will manage portfolios on behalf of approximately 20 clients, all but one of which are new relationships for Palisade Capital. Also joining the Firm from AGAM are their head-equity trader and their marketing professional responsible for platform sponsor distribution, which includes SMA and UMA type accounts.'

Mr. Veru continued, 'The new Growth Equity Team's investment philosophy and process closely resembles PCM's time tested methods. Because there is no product overlap, the investment team led by Sammy Oh and William Potter will continue to operate autonomously while leveraging PCM's research, core competencies and infrastructure.'

The small, smid and mid cap growth strategies will continue to be led by Managing Directors/Senior Portfolio Managers Will Potter and Sammy Oh. Allen Margolius is joining PCM as Associate Portfolio Manager and Senior Vice President of Research for the small and smid cap growth strategies and Brian Zimmerman is joining the Firm as Associate Portfolio Manager and Senior Vice President of Research for the mid cap growth strategy. Mr. Margolius and Mr. Zimmerman are also senior analysts and will be joined by Lisa Chai and Kris Tomasovic Nelson, CFA. In addition, Brian Deitelzweig is joining PCM as head of institutional trading and Damon Gough is joining PCM to lead the Firm's intermediary distribution channel.

In addition to these new full-time members of the Palisade team, John Myers, currently Chairman of AGAM, and Beth Dater, currently AGAM's Chief Investment Officer, will be joining Palisade as special advisors. Ms. Dater has a distinguished career that includes senior roles at Warburg Pincus, Credit Suisse Asset Management, Forstmann Leff and AGAM. Prior to AGAM, Mr. Myers spent more than 30 years at General Electric and was the Chief Executive Officer of GE Asset Management until the summer of 2006. His role included oversight of the GE pension fund, one of the largest in the country.

Formed in 1995, Palisade Capital Management's founding principals have worked together for over 30 years. As of December 31, 2008, the Firm's dedicated investment teams manage $1.7 billion of assets in small-cap core, convertible securities, private equity and private wealth management portfolios. PCM's clients include four of America's 20 largest corporate sponsored pension plans, with each of these clients entrusting the Firm with portfolios for at least two of the aforementioned strategies.

On September 25, 2008, Palisade Concentrated Equity Partnership II, LP, a $140 million private equity fund managed by Palisade Capital Management, LLC, invested $7.5 million in SWN Communications Inc. ('Send Word Now' or the 'Company') as part of a $14 million Series D financing round. Send Word Now is the leading Software as a Service Provider in emergency notification, on demand alerting and response services that deliver effective communication during time sensitive situations. The Company's core business provides a solution for a compelling need for emergency communication during crisis situations. In recent years such situations have involved educational institutions, terrorists, and natural disasters. Proceeds from the round will allow Send Word Now to expand its software development, infrastructure, and sales and marketing.

On September 2, 2008, Jeffrey Weekes joined Palisade Capital Management as an Associate in the Firm's Private Equity department. Mr. Weekes will be reporting to James Jahnke, Managing Director of Private Equity, and will be responsible for monitoring and analyzing private equity investment opportunities and for building and maintaining financial models for potential private equity investments and existing portfolio companies. Prior to joining Palisade, Mr. Weekes was an Investment Banking Analyst at Citigroup Global Markets, Inc. where he was responsible for analyzing and participating in the execution of mergers & acquisitions, carve-outs, and equity and debt financings for companies in the technology sector. Prior to Citigroup, Jeff was an Energy Analyst at the Center for Advanced Energy Systems. Mr. Weekes received his B.A. in Mechanical Engineering, with a minor in Economics, from Rutgers University, and a B.A. in Physics from Davidson College.

On August 25, 2008, Palisade Concentrated Equity Partnership II, LP ("PCEPII"), a $140 million private equity fund managed by Palisade Capital Management, LLC, committed to invest $3 million in Caliber Therapeutics, Inc. ("Caliber"). Caliber is a provider of a potentially game-changing drug-eluding balloon technology for vascular applications. PCEPII committed to two separate tranches and invested $1.35 million in the first tranche of the $9 million Series A financing round. These funds will be used to secure and develop intellectual property, pay joint venture development costs, and prepare for clinical studies.

On May 16, 2008, PCEPII invests $15.0 million in Glenmount Global Solutions, Inc. ('Glenmount' or the 'Company'). Glenmount is a leading independent industrial IT services firm in North America, with over 350 associates in 25 offices. Proceeds from the financing round were used primarily to acquire Crown Holdings, which will be merged with Glenmount's two other operating companies to expand the Company's reach and expertise across a variety of industries and business sectors, including water & wastewater, metals, food & beverage, and oil & gas.

Ms. Madha joined Palisade Capital on April 28, 2008. As Marketing Associate, Eva is responsible for completing RFPs and for developing, preparing, revising and maintaining marketing materials, competitive analyses and lead generation. In addition, Eva will work with consultants to ensure that information regarding Palisade in consultants' databases is kept current. Eva joins us from Bear Stearns where she was a Marketing and Data Analyst. Prior to that, Eva worked for eight years at Merrill Lynch, her last position being Request for Proposal Analyst. Eva has successfully completed Level 1 of the CFA Program. She received her Aerospace Engineering Masters from Parks College, Cahokia, IL and her B.S. in Aerospace Engineering Technology from Cal State Polytechnic, Pomona, CA.

On March 31, 2008, Jason Rich joined Palisade Capital Management as Private Equity Associate. Mr. Rich will be reporting to James Jahnke, Managing Director of Private Equity, and will be responsible for analyzing, structuring and negotiating private investments and assisting with managing the existing portfolio. Prior to joining Palisade, Mr. Rich was the Vice President of Finance and Chief Financial Officer of Regus Industries, LLC. Prior to Regus, Mr. Rich was with First Broadcasting, LLC, a private investment firm based in Dallas and TD Securities' Media & Communications Investment Banking Group in New York. Mr. Rich received a BS degree from Providence College.

On February 11, 2008, Palisade Concentrated Equity Partnership II, LP, a $140 million private equity fund managed by Palisade Capital Management, LLC, invested $6.2 million in Ruby Tequila's Mexican Kitchen, LLC ('Ruby Tequila's'). Ruby Tequila's operates four Texas Mexican style restaurants in Lubbock, Amarillo and Selma, Texas. Ruby Tequila's will use the financing to support its roll out of over 30 restaurants over the next five years. Ruby Tequila's was founded in 1991 and differentiates itself through the delivery of high quality mesquite grilled food made from scratch, good service, and a fun, vibrant atmosphere.

On February 11, 2008 Bruce Deutsch joined Palisade Capital Management in a newly created position at the firm - Managing Director of Institutional Sales and Marketing. Bruce reports to Jeffrey D. Serkes and is responsible for marketing Palisade's current and future institutional products. In addition to selling directly to corporate and municipal pension funds, Bruce will market to pension consultants, endowments, fund-of-funds, Taft-Hartley accounts and other distribution channels not historically pursued by Palisade. Mr. Deutsch joins Palisade from Atalanta Sosnoff Capital, LLC, where he was responsible for establishing institutional consulting and plan sponsor relationships. Bruce received his Bachelor of Science in Accounting from Lehigh University.

On December 28, 2007, Palisade Concentrated Equity Partnership II, LP, a $140 million private equity fund managed by Palisade Capital Management, LLC, invested $8.1 million in Shoe Sensation, Inc. ('Shoe Sensation'), a retailer of branded family footwear in small towns throughout the Midwest. Palisade intends to enhance Shoe Sensation's footprint across the rural Midwest as it grows into a leading niche purveyor of branded footwear and apparel.

On December 3, 2007 Palisade Concentrated Equity Partnership II, LP, a $140 million private equity fund managed by Palisade Capital Management, LLC, invested $2.0 million in Mitralign, Inc. ("Mitralign") as part of a $24.0 million Series C financing round. Mitralign has developed an advanced system for treating mitral valve regurgitation, a heart condition which can lead to damage to the heart and other vital organs of the body. Proceeds from the financing round will enable Mitralign to complete its initial clinical experience and to obtain CE Mark approval of the Mitralign System.

Today Monique Kosse joined Palisade Capital Management as Senior Vice President of Research. Ms. Kosse reports to Jeffrey Schwartz (Palisade's Senior Portfolio Manager) and is responsible for the Healthcare sector in Palisade's Small Cap and Micro-Cap products. Ms. Kosse joins Palisade from Rochdale Investment Management, where she was a Senior Equity Research Analyst. Prior to Rochdale, Ms. Kosse was a Vice President, Healthcare Analyst at Fiduciary Trust Co. and Assistant Healthcare Analyst at Deutsche Asset Management. Ms. Kosse received her M.B.A. in Finance from New York University, Stern School of Business and her B.A. degree from St. Olaf College.

Today Shon Moss joined Palisade Capital Management as Vice President of Private Equity. Shon reports to James Jahnke (Palisade's Managing Director of Private Equity) and is responsible for sourcing, analyzing, negotiating and structuring private investment opportunities. Mr. Moss joins Palisade from his most recent position as a Private Equity Associate at The Riverside Company. Previous to Riverside, Shon was an Investment Associate in Structured Finance at PB Capital and a Leveraged Finance Analyst at J.P. Morgan Securities. Shon received his M.B.A. from the Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania and his Bachelor of Arts degree from DePauw University.

On October 1, 2007, Palisade Concentrated Equity Partnership II, LP ("PCEPII"), a $140 million private equity fund managed by Palisade Capital Management, LLC, invested an additional $1.55 million in Kainos Partners Holding Company, LLC ("Kainos") as part of a $2.3 million financing round, bringing PCEPII's total investment in Kainos to $11.55 million. Kainos will use these additional funds to support its continued roll out of Dunkin' Donuts stores in Buffalo, NY, South Carolina and Las Vegas, NV.

In September 2007, Palisade Concentrated Equity Partnership II, LP ("PCEPII"), a $140 million private equity fund managed by Palisade Capital Management, LLC, converted a $750,000 bridge note dated June 18, 2007 and invested an additional $350,000 in Ikonisys, Inc. ("Ikonisys") as part of a $30.0 million financing round led by a fund controlled by certain Goldman Sachs partners, bringing PCEPII's total investment in Ikonisys to $6.1 million. Since PCEPII's initial investment in Ikonisys in August 2006, Ikonisys has made substantial progress in its development of cell-based diagnostic products for women's health and oncology. The additional capital will enable Ikonisys to fulfill upcoming clinical milestones and further the development and launch of new proprietary tests within its oncoFISH and fastFISH product lines for the diagnosis and management of cancer and for women's health applications.

On June 25, 2007, Palisade Concentrated Equity Partnership II, LP, a $140 million private equity fund managed by Palisade Capital Management, LLC, invested $2.5 million in Word World, LLC ("Word World") with the option to invest an additional $1.25 million through the next financing round. Word World has developed entertainment-based intellectual property targeted at pre-literate children and intends to introduce this concept in 26 half-hour, computer generated, animated television episodes that will begin airing daily on national PBS stations on September 3, 2007. Proceeds from the financing will enable Word World to complete the 26 initial episodes and to continue working towards the design and distribution of Word World licensed products, which will be sold at Target Stores and other retailers beginning in January 2008.

On March 20, 2007, Palisade Concentrated Equity Partnership II, LP, a $140 million private equity fund managed by Palisade Capital Management, LLC, invested $10.0 million in Kainos Partners Holding Company, LLC ("Kainos") as part of a $26.2 million financing round. Kainos has secured agreements with Dunkin' Brands, the franchisor of Dunkin' Donuts restaurants, and intends to open over 150 Dunkin' Donuts franchises in Buffalo, NY, South Carolina and Las Vegas, NV over the next five years.