Legendary value investor David Dreman is stepping down from his role as co-chief investment officer at Dreman Value Management [see profile]. E. Clifton Hoover will become the sole CIO of the Jersey City, New Jersey-based asset management firm effective October 31.

David Dreman

The 74-year-old Dreman, who started the company in 1977, will continue as chairman and investment committee member. He will also continue to manage the Dreman High Opportunity Fund and the Dreman Market Overreaction Fund, and he will continue to oversee the quantitative research process. In addition, he is working on his fifth investing book.

Hoover, for his part, also serves as the company's acting CEO. Dreman has a six-member executive committee that runs the firm.

"We're not sure if we need a standalone CEO now," Hoover told The MFWire.com. "If we see the need in the future, we will hire one."

Hoover, 53, joined the company in 2006 as co-CIO, co-director of research, portfolio manager and managing director.

Mark Roach, who also joined in 2006, will be taking on a broader role on the investment team. Roach is responsible for management of the small-, mid-, and small/mid cap products.

Clifton Hoover

Besides Dreman, Hoover and Roach, Dreman's executive committee also includes president Jim Hutchinson, director of trading David Greenberg and managing director of marketing Tom Winnick.

Hoover and Roach will immediately assume a 25-percent stake in Dreman Value Management. Their share could increase to 45 percent over the next eight years.

Dreman's other employees also take part in company ownership. Hoover said the over time, he sees more employees becoming company shareholders.

The company employs a total of 38 people.

Dreman Value Management operates five mutual funds and sub-advises some funds for DWS Investments.

"My goal is for us to be the best value shop in the planet," Hoover said. "We clearly have the team to do it."

Hoover also talked about the advantages of being employee-owned. "A lot of firms have sold out and in some cases, people's entrepreneurial spirit waned," he said. "My goal here is to remain independent. We own ourselves. We think that's the best model."

In a news release on Tuesday, Dreman said the succession plan "has been several years in development and I couldn't be more pleased with the outcome."

Company Press Release

DREMAN VALUE MANAGEMENT ANNOUNCES CIO SUCCESSION PLAN

David Dreman, Pioneer In Contrarian Investing, Transitions Executive Role To Industry Veteran Cliff Hoover

JERSEY CITY � September 21, 2010 � David Dreman, Chairman and Chief Investment Officer of Dreman Value Management L.L.C., a leading contrarian value asset management company, today announced the firm has finalized its succession plan for the Chief Investment Officer position.

E. Clifton Hoover, who joined Dreman in 2006 as co-Chief Investment Officer, co-Director of Research, Portfolio Manager, and Managing Director, will assume the role of Chief Investment Officer from Mr. Dreman effective October 31.

Mr. Dreman, who founded Dreman Value Management, Inc. in 1977, will continue as company Chairman, a member of the investment Committee, and manager of the Dreman High Opportunity Fund and the Dreman Market Overreaction Fund. He will continue directing the firm's Quantitative Research process as well.

Mr. Dreman's name is synonymous with contrarian value investing strategies, and his book, Contrarian Investment Strategy: The Psychology of Stock Market Success (1980), is an investment classic. In addition to his ongoing responsibilities with the company, he is the senior columnist for Forbes Magazine, co-editor of The Journal of Behavioral Finance, and is working on his fifth investing book. Mr. Dreman is also a Director of the IFREE Foundation, whose founder Vernon Smith was awarded the Nobel Prize in Economics in 2002.

"This succession plan has been several years in development," said Mr. Dreman, "and I couldn�t be more pleased with the outcome. Cliff has already made an important mark on Dreman Value Management, and I have every reason to believe he'll continue to build on the sound investment principles we�ve applied at this company for more than three decades."

Mr. Hoover brings over 25 years of experience in the investment management industry to his role and, similar to Mr. Dreman, built his career on the low P/E approach to investing. Prior to joining Dreman, Mr. Hoover was a Managing Director and Portfolio Manager at NFJ Investment Group where he managed a Dividend Value portfolio and Small Cap portfolio. He graduated from Texas Tech University with his Bachelor of Business Administration degree in Finance and returned there to complete a Master's degree in Finance.

In addition, Mark Roach, who joined Dreman in 2006 with Mr. Hoover, will assume an expanded role on the Dreman investment team. Mr. Roach has over 14 years of industry experience over which he has developed and implemented an investment approach that is similar to Dreman's Contrarian Value Philosophy. He is responsible for management of all the firm's Small-, Mid-, and Small/Mid Cap products.

Dreman, Hoover, and Roach are part of the Executive Committee responsible for day-to-day oversight of the firm.

"David Dreman has taken a very thoughtful and careful approach to this transition, and I am very excited at the opportunity that lies before us," said Mr. Hoover. "We have a great value legacy on which to build best-in-class value product, and I'm confident that with Mark and this great investment team we'll take it to the next level."

As part of the transition, Mr. Hoover and Mr. Roach will immediately assume 25 percent ownership of Dreman Value Management, with their share potentially increasing to 45 percent over the next eight years. Other employees also participate in company ownership.

Dreman's unique Contrarian Value Philosophy has delivered superior long-term investment performance to investors for over 30 years. The strategy includes taking a low P/E approach to finding value, exploiting market overreactions, and practicing discipline and consistency in applying the Dreman investment style.

Today, Dreman offers a broad spectrum of value-oriented investment options to institutional clients, pension funds, foundations and endowments, and high-net-worth individuals, and participates in a number of separately managed account programs. The investment team, which adheres to the contrarian philosophy and sound investment principles that David Dreman has applied since 1977, manages five publicly-offered mutual funds:

Dreman Contrarian Market Overreaction Fund (DRQLX),

Dreman High Opportunity Fund (DRLVX),

Dreman Contrarian Mid-Cap Value Fund (DRMVX),

Dreman Contrarian Small-Cap Value Fund (DRSVX), and

Dreman Contrarian International Value Fund DRIVX.

Dreman also serves as a sub-advisor to a number of leading open-end mutual fund and variable annuity platforms.

"We're 100 percent employee-owned, and in this environment that gives us an edge over the firms that have sold to the mega-conglomerates," said Hoover. "We control our destiny and can move quickly to adjust to rapidly-changing market conditions."

Mr. Dreman is the author of several books, including Psychology and the Stock Market (1977), and his best-selling Contrarian Investment Strategies: The Next Generation (1998). Articles discussing the success of Mr. Dreman's investment methodologies have appeared in national publications such as Forbes, Barron's, Institutional Investor, The Wall Street Journal, The New York Times, Newsweek, Money, and Fortune. His research findings have also been published in The Financial Analysts Journal, The Journal of Investing, and The Journal of Behavioral Finance.

About Dreman Value Management

Dreman Value Management is one of the pioneers of contrarian-value investing, an investment philosophy based on a disciplined approach of selecting stocks with a low price-to-earnings ratio. The firm seeks to be the world�s best value manager offering a variety of equity investment options based on the firm's core competency of contrarian value investing. Dreman provides six value strategies, all of which invest in undervalued companies that exhibit strong fundamentals, above-market dividend yields, and historic earnings growth. The investment team is responsible for approximately $5 billion in assets under management for its five publicly-offered mutual funds and a variety of institutional, sub-advisory, separately managed, and high-net-worth clients.

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