Atlantic Trust Hires Charles F. Fowler to Join Newport Beach Team

Firm is focused on continuing strong growth in Pacific Southwest

ATLANTA, March 6, 2014 /CNW/ - Atlantic Trust, the U.S. private wealth management division of CIBC (CM: NYSE) (CM: TSX), today announced that Charles F. Fowler has joined the firm's Newport Beach office as a vice president.

(Photo: http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20140306/MM78067)

"Adding Charlie to our Newport Beach team is part of our ongoing, firm-wide initiative to invest in key regions of concentrated wealth that present a growth opportunity for our business," said Jack Markwalter, chairman and CEO for Atlantic Trust. "The office opened in 2001 and Andrew Lang has done an outstanding job managing and expanding our client relationships in the Pacific Southwest region."

Newport Beach is the firm's fastest-growing office, now home to a total of six relationship and portfolio management, client service and business development professionals. The office had more than $1.6 billion in assets under management (AUM) as of December 31, 2013, increasing AUM by 166% over five years. Since December 31, 2008, the Newport Beach office has gained approximately $1 billion in AUM.

"We are delighted to welcome Charlie to Atlantic Trust; his leadership and experience better position us to continue to expand our presence across the Pacific Southwest," said Andrew Lang, CFA, managing director and head of the Atlantic Trust Newport Beach office.

In his new role, Fowler works to foster new relationships with high-net-worth clients and also to strengthen associations with key intermediaries in the Southern California region. Previously, Fowler was a vice president in the Private Client Group of Altegris Investments Inc., where he developed new business, advised high net worth individuals and families on alternative investment strategies, and developed and presented investment proposals to help meet the diverse financial objectives of clients. Prior to joining Altegris, he worked as a financial consultant at Charles Schwab & Co. and began his investment career as a consultant with A.G. Edwards & Sons. He earned a Bachelor of Arts in political science from Rutgers University and a Masters of Business Administration in finance and tax planning from San Diego State University. Fowler is a Certified Financial Planner (CFP®) and holds the Chartered Alternative Investment Analyst designation. He is also a Level III CFA Candidate and a member of the CFA Society of San Diego.

The Certified Financial Planner Board of Standards Inc. owns the certification marks CFP® and CERTIFIED FINANCIAL PLANNER™ in the U.S.

About Atlantic Trust
Atlantic Trust is one of the nation's leading private wealth management firms, offering integrated wealth management for high-net-worth individuals, families, foundations and endowments. The firm considers clients' financial, trust, estate planning and philanthropic needs in developing customized asset allocation and investment management strategies. Experienced professionals deliver a broad range of solutions, including proprietary investment offerings and a robust open architecture platform of traditional and alternative managers. Atlantic Trust operates in 12 full-service locations throughout the U.S. with $24.0 billion in assets under management (as of December 31, 2013). For more information, visit www.atlantictrust.com.

About CIBC

CIBC is a leading Canadian-based global financial institution. Through our Retail and Business Banking, Wealth Management and Wholesale Banking businesses, CIBC provides a full range of financial products to individual, small business, commercial, corporate and institutional clients in Canada and around the world.

CIBC Wealth Management provides relationship-based advisory services and an extensive suite of leading investment solutions to meet the needs of personal, institutional and high-net-worth clients through an extensive distribution network that includes CIBC Private Wealth Management, CIBC Wood Gundy and CIBC Investor's Edge. Our asset management, retail brokerage and private wealth management businesses combine to create an integrated offer, delivered through nearly 1,500 advisors across Canada. In addition, CIBC Asset Management provides global money manager services to institutional and high-net-worth clients and industry-leading retail investment solutions through our two mutual fund families—CIBC and Renaissance—and the CIBC family of managed portfolio solutions.

SOURCE: Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce

Media inquiries: Caroline Van Hasselt, Director, CIBC External Communications and Media Relations, [phone], [email protected] or Carolyn Donnelly, Atlantic Trust Director of Marketing, [phone], [email protected].