MutualFundWire.com: An Ex-Merrill CEO Joins a Fund Firm's Board

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Tuesday, April 14, 2009

An Ex-Merrill CEO Joins a Fund Firm's Board

Former Merrill Lynch CEO Stan O'Neal is now part of American Beacon Advisors' board of directors. The addition of O'Neal raises the number of directors to five, according to a company spokesperson.

O'Neal left Merrill in 2007 after 20 years with the firm.

O'Neal joins American Beacon's board as a new CEO prepares to take the reins at the Fort Worth, Texas-based investment manager, which American Airlines parent AMR Corp. sold to Lighthouse Holdings last fall.

Gene Needles, most recently president of Touchstone Investments, is set to become American Beacon's president and CEO effective tomorrow (see The MFWire, 04/03/09).

Needles succeeds Doug Herring, who went back to American Airlines last September.

Company Press Release

FORT WORTH, TX--(Marketwire - April 14, 2009) - American Beacon Advisors, Inc. and Lighthouse Holdings, Inc. are pleased to announce that E. Stanley O'Neal has joined its Board of Directors.

After a twenty-year career, Mr. O'Neal retired as Chairman, President and CEO of Merrill Lynch & Co. in 2007. Before joining Merrill Lynch, he spent eight years at General Motors Corporation in various treasury positions.

Mr. O'Neal serves on the boards of Alcoa, Inc. and the Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center. He is also a member of the Council on Foreign Relations, the Center for Strategic and International Studies, the Business Council, and the Economic Club of New York.

William F. Quinn, Executive Chairman of American Beacon Advisors, said, "We are excited to have Stan join our Board. His experience in the financial services area will bring us invaluable insights as we continue to expand our presence as a provider of low cost, value-added investment services."

About American Beacon Advisors, Inc.

American Beacon Advisors is an experienced provider of investment advisory services to institutional and retail markets. Since 1986, American Beacon Advisors has offered a variety of products and services including a variety of mutual funds, corporate cash management, and separate account management. American Beacon Advisors serves defined benefit plans, defined contribution plans, foundations, endowments, corporations and other institutional investors as well as retail clients.

American Beacon Advisors also manages the American Beacon Funds, a series of low-cost, no-load mutual funds open to institutional investors, retirement accounts such as IRAs and individual investors. The Fund family currently includes several portfolios spanning a variety of longer-range investments from international and domestic equity through balanced portfolios. They also include short-term investment options such as bond funds and money market funds.

You should consider the investment objectives, risks, fees and expenses of any mutual fund carefully before investing. This and other information is available in each Fund's prospectus, which you may obtain at www.americanbeaconfunds.com or by calling 1-800-967-9009. Please read the prospectus carefully before investing.

The American Beacon Funds are distributed by Foreside Fund Services, LLC.