OVERLAND PARK, Kan.--(BUSINESS WIRE)-- Waddell & Reed Financial, Inc. (NYSE: WDR) today appointed Philip J. Sanders, CFA, a veteran portfolio manager and equity analyst, as Chief Investment Officer of Waddell & Reed Investment Management Company and Ivy Investment Management Company.

Sanders, 50, takes over that role from Michael L. Avery, 56, who was appointed President of Waddell & Reed Financial, Inc. in January. Avery, to whom Sanders will report, has held the role of CIO since 2005, and will remain very active in all aspects of the company’s investment division. Avery retains his key role as co-portfolio manager of Ivy Asset Strategy Fund and Waddell & Reed Advisors Asset Strategy Fund. Sanders will maintain his portfolio management responsibilities, remaining directly involved in co-managing the company’s large cap growth product suite.

“Phil has a keen insight into our overall investment process, is an integral part of our daily investment team meetings, and brings significant experience to this role,” said Henry J. Herrmann, chairman and CEO of Waddell & Reed Financial, Inc. “This step enables Mike to concentrate on his portfolio management responsibilities with the Asset Strategy funds and his expanding executive duties, while providing oversight to our investment management organization. This is another move in support of the company’s longer term succession planning efforts.”

“I am delighted for Phil and look forward to working with him as he takes on his new responsibilities,” Avery said. “He is steeped in our investment process and I expect this transition to be very comfortable.”

Sanders has 22 years of investment industry experience, and 12 years with Waddell & Reed. He joined Waddell & Reed in 1998 as a vice president and portfolio manager. He has managed or co-managed, with Daniel Becker, the firm’s large cap growth product lineup for the last 12 years. This includes Ivy Funds VIP Growth since 1998; institutional large cap growth products since 2000; and Ivy Large Cap Growth Fund and Waddell & Reed Advisors Vanguard Fund since 2006.

About Waddell & Reed Financial, Inc.

Through its subsidiaries, Waddell & Reed Financial, Inc. provides investment management and financial planning services to clients and institutions throughout the United States. At June 30, 2010, the company had approximately $68 billion in total assets under management. Waddell & Reed Investment Management Company serves as investment advisor to the Waddell & Reed Advisors Group of Mutual Funds, Ivy Funds Variable Insurance Portfolios, Inc. and Waddell & Reed InvestEd Portfolios, Inc., while Ivy Investment Management Company serves as investment advisor to the Ivy Funds. Waddell & Reed, Inc. serves as principal underwriter and distributor to the Waddell & Reed Advisors Group of Mutual Funds, Ivy Funds Variable Insurance Portfolios, Inc. and Waddell & Reed InvestEd Portfolios, Inc., while Ivy Funds Distributor, Inc. serves as principal underwriter and distributor to the Ivy Funds.

Sanders biography

Philip J. Sanders, CFA, has been a portfolio manager with Waddell & Reed and Ivy Funds since 1998. He was appointed senior vice president in 2000. He has co-managed the company’s large cap growth institutional accounts since 2000. He was appointed co-portfolio manager of the company’s large cap growth product suite in 2006, which includes Ivy Large Cap Growth Fund, Waddell & Reed Advisors Vanguard Fund and Ivy Funds VIP Growth.

Sanders received a bachelor’s in economics from the University of Michigan and an MBA from the University of North Carolina at Charlotte. Before joining Waddell & Reed, he was affiliated with NationsBank and what is now known as Banc of America Capital Management, the investment management division of Bank of America. He began his investment career there as an equity research analyst in 1988, and was named a portfolio manager in 1992. He served as lead portfolio manager of Bank of America’s large cap growth style, encompassing assets of approximately $2 billion.

Sanders is a CFA charterholder and a member of the CFA Institute.

CONTACT:

Waddell & Reed Financial, Inc.
Nicole McIntosh, 913-236-1880
Director of Investor Relations
or
Roger Hoadley, 913-236-1993
Director of Communications

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