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Noted Socially Responsible Investing Firm Lands Two Senior Management Pros

Nelson Capital Management, LLC, Adds Lisa Leff and Blaine Townsend, Augmenting Firm’s ‘Breadth and Depth’ of SRI Experience for Clients

Noted Socially Responsible Investing Firm Lands Two Senior Management Pros

Nelson Capital Management, LLC, Adds Lisa Leff and Blaine Townsend, Augmenting Firm’s ‘Breadth and Depth’ of SRI Experience for Clients

Published 10-20-09

Submitted by Wells Fargo & Company

Nelson Capital Management, LLC, a Palo Alto-based investment advisor specializing in socially responsible and sustainable investing, today announced the addition of Lisa Leff, CFA, and Blaine Townsend, CIMA, to its senior management team. They will join Lloyd Kurtz, CFA, in leading Nelson's sustainable and social investment strategies for separately managed accounts.

Leff and Townsend bring a combined 30 years of investment experience focused on socially responsible strategies and a track record of corporate engagement and research in the area of corporate responsibility.

The pair joins Nelson Capital Management in its 25th year of managing socially responsible investment portfolios. Kurtz, who joined the firm in 2004, has been a recognized SRI analyst since his involvement in the development of the Domini Social Index over two decades ago. Kurtz is also a lecturer at the Haas Business School’s Center for Corporate Responsibility.

"We are thrilled to add Lisa and Blaine to our investment team," said Nelson President Scott Benner, CFA. "They share our passion for socially responsible and sustainable investing, the hard work that effort entails, and offering the most competitive investment products possible. They are uniquely qualified to help our clients balance their financial and social objectives."

"At the heart of every strong firm is a strong team," added Suanne Ramar, a Nelson principal who joined the firm in 1980. "We believe the addition of Lisa and Blaine reflects our commitment to building the strongest team in the sustainable investment arena."

Leff has spent the past 10 years as a portfolio manager and manager of the Boise, Idaho, office of Trillium Asset Management, Corp. Prior to joining Trillium, she began her investment career as director and portfolio manager with the Social Awareness Investment program at Smith Barney Asset Management in Manhattan.

Townsend has spent the past 13 years as a portfolio manager and manager of Trillium's San Francisco office. He has been researching and writing about corporate social responsibility issues since the late 1980s.

About Nelson Capital Management, LLC
Founded in 1974, Nelson Capital is a registered investment advisor headquartered in Palo Alto, California, with approximately $680 million under management. Nelson Capital provides individualized investment solutions, including socially screened and sustainable strategies, for institutions and individuals. As a nonbank affiliate of Wells Fargo & Company, Nelson Capital is small enough to provide the unparalleled service investors deserve and large enough to have the breadth of resources clients need.

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