DALLAS--(BUSINESS WIRE)--
Westwood Holdings Group, Inc. (NYSE: WHG) today announced the expansion
of its range of investment strategies with the addition of Global and
Emerging Markets equity strategies. Patricia Perez-Coutts, CFA, Thomas
Pinto-Basto, CFA, Alice Popescu, CFA, Richard Dolhun and Martin Pradier,
CFA will be joining Westwood to lead the management of these new
strategies for a newly established affiliate, Westwood International
Advisors Inc., which will be based in Toronto.
Brian Casey, Westwood's President & CEO, commented, "We are very excited
that this extremely talented team of investment professionals that has
developed an impressive track record of successfully managing global and
emerging markets portfolios will be joining Westwood. In response to
increasing demand by clients and consultants for non-U.S. investment
strategies, we have made it a strategic priority to expand our research
capabilities and product offerings, with a focus on global and emerging
markets. The addition of these talented professionals accomplishes that
objective and will present new growth opportunities for Westwood. We
believe our clients will greatly benefit from our expanded investment
management capabilities."
The new team, whose bios appear below, will continue managing Emerging
Markets and Global Equity strategies.
Patricia Perez-Coutts, CFA, Senior Vice President and Portfolio
Manager — Patricia will lead the Emerging Markets strategy and
co-lead the Global Equity strategy. Before joining Westwood in 2012,
Patricia managed emerging markets portfolios for eleven years for a
Canadian investment management firm. Prior to 2001, she served as Vice
President and Portfolio Manager for another Canadian investment
management firm, Vice President of Research for a Canadian private
merchant bank and Economist for Peru's Institute of Foreign Trade.
Patricia earned an Honours BA in Economics from Pontificia Universidad
Catolica del Peru and a BA in Mathematics for Commerce at York
University. She is a CFA charterholder and a member of the CFA Institute.
Thomas Pinto-Basto, CFA, Portfolio Manager — Thomas will lead the
Global Equity strategy and co-lead the Emerging Markets strategy. Before
joining Westwood in 2012, he served on the Global Equity team for over
six years for a Canadian investment management firm. Prior to 2005, he
served as a corporate strategy consultant with Deloitte Consulting in
Canada and Hong Kong and as a Global Analyst for both fixed income and
equities with Altamira Management. Thomas earned a BA in Economics from
Carleton University. He is a CFA charterholder and a member of the CFA
Institute.
Alice Popescu, CFA, CMT, DMS, Associate Portfolio Manager — Alice
will serve on both the Emerging Markets and Global Equity strategies.
Before joining Westwood in 2012, Alice served on the Global Equity team
and researched global commodity derivatives markets for a Canadian
investment management firm since 2003. Alice earned a BS in Finance from
New York University — Stern School of Business. She is a CFA
charterholder, a member of the CFA Institute, a Certified Market
Technician and a Derivatives Market Specialist.
Richard Dolhun, MBA, Global Equity Analyst — Richard will serve
on both the Emerging Markets and Global Equity strategies. Before
joining Westwood in 2012, Richard served on the Global Equity team
beginning in 2008 and was responsible for Japanese business development
efforts from 2002 to 2008 for a Canadian investment management firm.
Prior to 2002, he served as financial controller for the Asian
subsidiary of a large Canadian consumer staples company. Richard earned
a BA and MBA from the University of Manitoba.
Martin Pradier, CFA, MBA, Global Equity Analyst — Martin will
serve on both the Emerging Markets and Global Equity strategies. Before
joining Westwood in 2012, Martin served on the Emerging Markets and
Global Equity teams for a Canadian investment management firm since
2010. Prior to 2010, he served as an analyst for RBC Royal Bank for over
six years analyzing new business initiatives. Martin began his
investment career in 1993 in Argentina serving as a senior equity
research analyst for seven years. Martin earned a BA in Economics and a
BA in Business Administration from the Universidad de Buenos Aires and
an MBA from Queen's University. He is a CFA charterholder and a member
of the CFA Institute.
Warren International, a professional asset management recruiting firm,
acted as an advisor to Westwood.
About Westwood
Westwood Holdings Group, Inc. manages investment assets and provides
services for its clients through two subsidiaries, Westwood Management
Corp. and Westwood Trust. Westwood Management Corp. is a registered
investment advisor and provides investment advisory services to
corporate pension funds, public retirement plans, endowments,
foundations, the Westwood FundsTM, other mutual funds and
clients of Westwood Trust. Westwood Trust provides trust services and
participation in common trust funds that it sponsors to institutions and
high net worth individuals. Westwood Holdings Group, Inc. trades on the
New York Stock Exchange under the symbol "WHG."
For more information on Westwood, please visit www.westwoodgroup.com.
Note on Forward-looking Statements
Statements in this press release that are not purely historical facts,
including statements about our expected future financial position,
results of operations or cash flows, as well as other statements
including words such as "anticipate," "believe," "plan," "estimate,"
"expect," "intend," "should," "could," "goal," "target," "designed," "on
track," "comfortable with," "optimistic" and other similar expressions,
constitute forward-looking statements within the meaning of Section 27A
of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended, and Section 21E of the
Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended. Actual results and the
timing of some events could differ materially from those projected in or
contemplated by the forward-looking statements due to a number of
factors, including, without limitation: the requirement under applicable
law that the investment team discussed above may not depart their
current employer until notice periods have expired; our ability to
identify and successfully market services that appeal to our customers;
the significant concentration of our revenues in four of our customers;
our relationships with investment consulting firms; our relationships
with current and potential customers; our ability to retain qualified
personnel; our ability to successfully develop and market new asset
classes; our ability to maintain our fee structure in light of
competitive fee pressures; competition in the marketplace; downturns in
the financial markets; new legislation adversely affecting the financial
services industries; interest rates; changes in our effective tax rate;
our ability to maintain an effective system of internal controls; and
the other risks detailed from time to time in Westwood's SEC filings,
including but not limited to, its annual report on Form 10-K for the
year ended December 31, 2011. You are cautioned not to place undue
reliance on these forward-looking statements, which speak only as of the
date of this press release. Except as required by law, Westwood is not
obligated to publicly release any revisions to these forward-looking
statements to reflect events or circumstances after the date of this
press release or to reflect the occurrence of unanticipated events.
(WHG-G)
Investment Management Contact:
Westwood Holdings Group, Inc.
David
Spika, 214-756-6360
Senior Vice President and Senior Portfolio
Specialist
dspika@westwoodgroup.com
or
Media
Contact:
Hewes Communications, Inc.
Tucker Hewes,
212-207-9451
tucker@hewescomm.com
Source: Westwood Holdings Group, Inc.
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