Midwest Investment Conference 2014 Boasts Expanded Public Issuer Lineup

CLEVELAND--(BUSINESS WIRE)--

The Midwest Investment Conference 2014 (MWIC14) committee today announced an expanded roster of public companies, whose senior management teams will be making investor presentations, at this year's event taking place at the Cleveland Convention Center on Tuesday, Nov. 18, 2014.

The highly anticipated conference is hosted by CFA Society Cleveland, a non-profit professional organization dedicated to providing investment-related programs and services to area investment experts.

Senior management teams representing publicly-traded companies will make presentations in general sessions, and host one-on-one and small group breakout meetings with qualified institutional portfolio managers and analysts during the event. The general sessions will be organized into specific industry tracks and conducted concurrently in separate auditoriums. Pre-arranged breakout meetings will be held in private salons throughout the venue.

Midwest Investment Conference 2014 is an opportunity for public companies to save time and enhance the quality of their non-deal roadshow meetings in a proximate and economical setting. It also engages them with current shareholders and introduces their investment merits to prospective portfolio managers and analysts from leading investment management companies across the country. Building on the success of the inaugural conference in 2013, the line-up of companies registered to make presentations at this year's event already exceeds last year's count and includes:

Confirmed Presenting Companies:

• Allegheny Technologies Inc. ATI
• AmTrust Financial Services, Inc. AFSI
• Applied Industrial Technologies, Inc. AIT
• Black Ridge Oil & Gas, Inc. ANFC
• CBIZ, Inc. CBZ
• DDR Corp. DDR
• EQT Corporation EQT
• Farmer's National Banc Corp. FMNB
• Flowers Foods, Inc. FLO
• Hyster-Yale Materials Handling, Inc. HY
• Lancaster Colony Corporation LANC
• Mace Security International, Inc. MACE
• Materion Corporation MTRN
• Middlefield Banc Corp. MBCN
• National Interstate Corporation NATL
• Nordson Corporation NDSN
• Olympic Steel, Inc. ZEUS
• Owens-Illinois, Inc. OI
• RPM International Inc. RPM
• SB Financial Group, Inc. SBFG
• Stepan Company SCL
• Universal Stainless & Alloy Products, Inc. USAP
• Viggle Inc. VGGL

Early Registration Encouraged
The conference is open to institutional portfolio managers, equity analysts and other qualified financial and investment professionals. The standard attendance fee of $199 is being waived for CFA Institute members, who register to attend on or before October 31, 2014. Investor attendees who register on or before October 31, 2014, and are not a member of CFA Institute, will pay the standard attendance fee of $199. Beginning on November 1, all registrants (including CFA Institute members) will be required to pay the late registration fee of $399. Additional information and links to the registration portal are available online at: http://midwestinvestmentconference.org/registration.html.

“We are pleased to host an event that is a genuine win-win for public corporations and institutional investors. This corporate access event supports financial due diligence for the buy-side, and affords management teams who appreciate corporate transparency with a convenient means of enhancing their institutional investor following,” said Michael E. Santelli, CFA, who is chairing the Conference Committee. “For public issuers that are proud to publicly disclose their plans for shareholder value creation, this is a must-attend conference.

“The goal with this conference was to address specific concerns expressed by both the public issuers and institutional investors – paired with the intent to genuinely advance capital markets and the free-enterprise system,” Santelli added.

With this model, corporate access is not predicated on coverage lists, trading volume, commission levels, or assets under management, according to Santelli.

“The inaugural Midwest Investment Conference took place in 2013, and drew more than 125 institutional investors from around the country, providing these investors with valuable face-to-face corporate access with management teams from a variety of companies. New in 2014, a special track will feature smaller public companies with exciting opportunities for growth complementing the issuers listed on the major exchanges,” Santelli said.

Financial Supporters & Sponsors
Conference sponsorships are still available and offer a valuable touch-point with decision-makers at public companies and with investment and asset-management firms. Sponsorship helps defray costs associated with hosting the event, and showcases a commitment to corporate transparency and the capital markets.

2014 Conference Sponsors Include:

• Platinum Level: Business Wire, a global market leader in commercial press release distribution
• Silver Level: RR Donnelley, a global provider of integrated communications
• Contributing: Clear Perspective Group, LLC, an investor relations consulting boutique
• Contributing: Morningstar Inc., an investment research and investment management firm
• Contributing: The NIRI Cleveland/Northern Ohio Chapter, a non-profit organization promoting common interests of individuals engaged in the investor relations profession

Interested public issuers and sponsors can learn more about benefits and participation opportunities by visiting http://midwestinvestmentconference.org or http://go2mic.org or by contacting conference administration at 216-255-6290.

About the Midwest Investment Conference
The Midwest Investment Conference model was created in 2011 to spearhead institutional investment conferences mutually addressing the needs of both publicly-held companies and professional investors. The unique model provides a conflict-free and cost effective means of enhancing corporate transparency. Visit the event online at http://midwestinvestmentconference.org, follow conference updates on Twitter @MWInvConference and use the hashtag #MWIC14.

About CFA Society Cleveland
CFA Society Cleveland was founded in 1950 and provides investment-related programs and services to its Northeast Ohio-based membership. The society has 480 members and is a member society of CFA Institute, which currently represents 109,000 members including the world's 100,000 CFA Charterholders in more than 130 countries.