NEWPORT BEACH, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--ROTH Capital Partners (ROTH), www.roth.com, a full service investment bank recognized for providing financing and advisory services to emerging growth companies worldwide, today announced that their 22nd Annual OC Growth Stock Conference will be held March 15-17, 2010 at The Ritz Carlton, located at 1 Ritz Carlton Drive, Dana Point, California.

The three-day, institutional investor conference will be the largest ROTH conference ever and will feature management presentations from over 350 small cap public companies--100 of those companies are based in China. The broad spectrum of presenting companies will represent the following sectors: Healthcare (Biotech, Medical Devices and Pharmaceuticals), Media & Internet, Enterprise Software, Gaming, Semiconductors, Global Energy and Industrials and Retail & Consumer.

This event is designed to provide investors with a unique chance to gain insight into small- and mid-cap growth companies and is expected to attract 2,500 attendees, including over 1,500 institutional investors. The conference is formatted to maximize investor/company interaction through a combination of company presentations, Q&A sessions, expert panels and management one-on-one meetings.

"This is a conference that our clients look forward to each year," commented Byron Roth, CEO of ROTH. "We believe that destination conferences are much more effective in getting the institutional investors to focus on our presenting companies without distractions. It also provides investors with an opportunity to discover new ideas and share ideas with each other versus just doing maintenance work on names they already know."

Small-cap equities posted strong gains during 2009, and investor interest in emerging growth companies remains high, according to Mark Tobin, ROTH Director of Research.

"As 2009 progressed, investors demonstrated a renewed interest in investment opportunities with emerging growth stocks," said Tobin. "The performance of our research coverage universe highlights this, with our BUY-rated stocks returning 66% during 2009, compared to 25% for the Russell 2000, 44% for the Nasdaq, 23% for the S&P500, and 19% for the Dow.* We are optimistic that this momentum will continue into 2010 and strong early interest in this year's conference supports this view."

The presenting companies were carefully selected by ROTH's research team and represent a median market cap of approximately $300 million. More than 185 of the presenting companies are covered by ROTH's team of 21 publishing analysts.

A partial list of supporting conference sponsors at time of this announcement includes:

PLATINUM: AFH Holding & Advisory; Friedman LLP; DLA Piper; Loeb & Loeb LLP; Lowenstein Sandler; Pillsbury Winthrop Shaw Pittman LLP, and Thomson Reuters.

GOLD: Bullivant, Houser, Bailey PC; Capital IQ; K&L Gates; Rothstein Kass; The Piacente Group, Inc.; and Winston & Strawn LLP.

SILVER: Anslow & Jaclin; Avant Air, Inc.; Belmont Accounting & Bookkeeping Services, LLC; Bernstein & Pinchuck LLP; Business Wire, a Berkshire Hathaway Company; CCG Investor Relations; Dorsey & Whitney LLP; Goodwin Procter; Junior Achievement; KPMG, LLP; Lambert, Edwards & Associates; Mayer Hoffman McCann P.C.; Moss Adams, LLP; NYSE Euronext; PrivateRaise - A Dealflow Media Service; Samuel H. Wong & Co. LLP, CPAs; SingerLewak; Sichenzia Ross Friedman Ference LLP; Stradling, Yocca, Carlson & Rauth; Stroock; Toronto Stock Exchange; Vintage Filings; and Weinberg & Company, P.A.

BDO is a Participant Sponsor.

For more information about this invitation-only event, please visit the conference website at: www.roth.com or contact your ROTH representative at 800-933-6830.

Media inquiries and press credentials only -- please call 818-904-0500.

*Past Performance is not indicative of future returns

About Roth Capital Partners, LLC:

ROTH Capital Partners is a full service investment banking firm dedicated to the small-cap public market. Since its inception in 1984, ROTH has been an innovator in this space. ROTH has participated in underwriting IPOs for small-cap companies, has helped develop the PIPE financing structure, and more recently in underwriting offerings from shelf registration statements. ROTH was one of the first U.S. investment banks to focus on financing small-cap Chinese companies, and established a Representative Office in Shanghai in 2007.

ROTH's experience and capabilities in raising capital for public companies are the hallmarks of the firm. It has raised over $12.6 billion for public companies and completed approximately 160 merger, acquisition and advisory assignments. During 2009, ROTH assisted public companies in raising over $1.8 billion.

Visit the Roth Capital Partners website at www.roth.com. Member FINRA/SIPC.

List of Confirmed Presenting Companies at time of this announcement: (Please visit ROTH website for updates and agenda)

• Subject to change as of 2/8/10

This is not an offer or solicitation of the securities herein.

Key Words:

Small-Cap Stocks
Micro-Cap Stocks
PIPEs
Media
Energy
Software
Industrials
Media
Retail
Technology
Healthcare
Financial Services
Consumer Goods
China
Institutional Investor
Medical Devices
Spec Pharma
Pharmaceuticals
Generics
Drug Delivery
Biotechnology
Registered Direct