NEW YORK – May 11, 2010 – Houlihan Lokey, an international investment bank, announced today that Francie Heller has joined as a Managing Director responsible for leading the firm’s rapidly growing pension fund advisory practice.

Ms. Heller, a 20-year pension industry veteran formerly with Bears Stearns & Co. and MBIA Inc., will run Houlihan Lokey’s Pension Services group, which will focus exclusively on building relationships with public and corporate pension funds, foundations and endowments.

“Pension fund administrators are increasingly turning to Houlihan Lokey for objective and independent advisory work related to valuation, corporate finance, secondary market transactions and special situations,” said John Mavredakis, Senior Managing Director and Head of the Financial Sponsors Coverage Group. “We have already completed several high-profile engagements with some of the world’s largest pension funds and we feel now is the right time to establish a dedicated business practice focused solely on the needs of the pension fund community.”

Ms. Heller brings a wealth of experience to her new role. At Bear Stearns, she ran the Pension, Endowment and Foundation Services Group. At MBIA, she launched MBIA’s Asset Management Business with more than $30 billion under management. Most recently, she was a Managing Director of Pension Fund Solutions at Chilton Investment Company. Earlier in her career, Ms. Heller was an Educational Director with several New York State public school districts.

“I am excited to join Houlihan Lokey and lead this effort at such a crucial time in the pension fund industry,” Ms. Heller said. “The need for expert financial advice – without conflicting interests – has never been more important than it is today.”

Ms. Heller holds a B.S. in Speech Therapy from Boston University, a Professional Diploma in Educational Administration from Fordham University and an M.S. Equivalent in Special Education from the University of Georgia, Athens. She is an advisor to the Government Finance Officers Association’s Committee on Retirement and Benefits Administration and a trustee and chair of Furman University’s Investment and Debt Committee.