• Westwood has partnered with ETF veteran Ben Fulton to evolve Westwood’s ETF platform, providing investors and advisors with highly innovative new strategies.
• Our new partnership called WEBs – “Westwood Engineered Beta” – will apply a proprietary strategy aimed at providing investors with a more stable investment experience and better risk-adjusted returns.
• Westwood will form the partnership by investing in WEBs Investments Inc. and will provide distribution resources and administrative support, with an option to purchase the entity in the future.
• Ben Fulton, a recognized leader and pioneer in the ETF industry, grew Invesco’s PowerShares ETF platform from $200 million to $80 billion during his tenure from 2005 to 2013, first as vice-president. senior president of global product development, then as head of global ETFs.
• Chris Doran, Head of ETF Distribution and National Accounts at Westwood and a proven leader in ETF sales for 25 years, will directly support WEBs, leveraging his extensive experience and client relationships.

DALLAS and NEW YORK, October 28, 2024 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — Westwood Holdings GroupInc. (NYSE: WHG) (“Westwood”), a diversified asset management company headquartered in Dallas, Texas, today announced that Westwood has invested in a new venture with industry leader Ben Fulton exchange-traded funds (“ETFs”). to expand Westwood’s existing ETF platform to include highly innovative new strategies developed under a new standalone entity called WEBs Investments Inc. (“WEBs”), which stands for “Westwood Engineered Beta”. WEBs is a registered investment advisor with the United States Securities and Exchange Commission. Westwood will invest in WEBs and provide distribution resources and administrative support to WEBs, leveraging its more than 40 years of experience in the investment management industry. Westwood will have the option to acquire WEBs in the future if the entity achieves certain growth milestones.

“In the second quarter of this year, we took the first steps towards realizing our vision of growing our ETF platform with the deployment of two energy ETFs, both of which have been well received by the market and our clients,” he said. said Brian O. Casey, Westwood Chairman and CEO. “Our partnership with Ben and his team will significantly accelerate our journey to meet the needs of investors who have expressed growing interest in ETF products. We believe that combining Ben’s experience and vision in ETF product development with Chris Doran’s business experience and relationships in the ETF space, as well as the resources of our Westwood distribution team, will be a combination powerful to drive the growth of our partnership. Our focus will be on delivering new and innovative products in “white spaces” where we can secure first mover advantage with less competition, always looking towards the next phase of growth to bring value to our customers, to our shareholders and our company. »

“This partnership with Westwood is extremely exciting, as I know first-hand the exceptional growth we can achieve together, having seen Invesco’s PowerShares ETF platform grow exponentially during my tenure as Head of Global ETFs,” said Ben Fulton, CEO and Chief Product Officer of WEBs. “I couldn’t have chosen a better partner, as we agree on the right investment and market approach needed to bring new products to market. I also look forward to working again with my long-time colleague , Chris Doran, this time in his new role at Westwood, overseeing ETF distribution and national accounts.

With nearly 30 years of experience in the ETF industry, Ben Fulton is recognized as a proven pioneer and product visionary in the ETF investing space. He was a driving force in growing Invesco PowerShares’ assets under management (“AUM”) from $200 million to more than $80 billion between 2005 and 2013, making it the fourth largest largest ETF issuer in the world. He has also received nine ETF-of-the-Year awards throughout his career and is credited with bringing dozens of “first-of-their-kind” funds to market. Mr. Fulton and his team have launched more than 200 ETFs and more than 1,000 other investment products, representing more than $150 billion in assets under management. In addition to his tenure at Invesco, Mr. Fulton served as a Managing Director tactical ETFs at ProShares, where he expanded the tactical ETF portfolio to over $15 billion in assets under management. The WEB team also includes three former colleagues of Mr. Fulton’s, two from ProShares and one from another Wall Street firm. The WEBs team brings together over 75 years of combined experience in ETF product development, sales and marketing.

Additionally, Mr. Fulton and Mr. Doran worked together at Invesco from 2006 to 2013, while Mr. Doran held several sales leadership positions. Mr. Doran joined Westwood in July of this year as Head of ETF Distribution and National Accounts, furthering Westwood’s commitment to expanding and innovating its ETF platform and product suite.

ABOUT WESTWOOD HOLDINGS GROUP, INC.

Westwood Holdings Group, Inc. is a boutique investment management and wealth management company. Founded in 1983, Westwood offers a wide range of investment solutions to institutional investors, private clients and financial intermediaries. The firm specializes in several distinct investment capabilities: U.S. value equities, multi-asset, energy and real assets, income alternatives, tactical absolute return and managed investment solutions, which are available through separate accounts, family Westwood Funds® mutual funds, exchange-traded funds (“ETFs”) and other pooled vehicles. Westwood benefits from significant and diversified employee ownership and is listed on the New York Stock Exchange under the symbol “WHG”. Headquartered in Dallas, Westwood also has offices in Chicago, Houston and San Francisco. For more information about Westwood, please visit westwoodgroup.com.

ABOUT WEBs INVESTMENTS INC.

WEBs Investments Inc., which stands for “Westwood Engineered Beta” (“WEBs”), is an investment advisor registered with the United States Securities and Exchange Commission, led by ETF industry veteran Ben Fulton, who concluded a new venture with Westwood Holdings. Group, Inc.

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Forward-looking statements

Statements contained in this press release that are not purely historical facts, including, without limitation, statements regarding our expected future product offerings, growth, investor interest in ETF products, success of the new business, financial condition, results of operations or cash flows, as well as other statements, including, without limitation, words such as “anticipate”, “believe” , “expect,” “could,” “objective,” “possible” and other similar expressions constitute forward-looking statements within the meaning of Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended, and Sec. 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended. Actual results and the timing of certain events could differ materially from those projected or contemplated by the forward-looking statements due to a number of factors, including, without limitation: risks associated with the actions of shareholder activists; regulations adversely affecting the financial services industry; our ability to maintain effective cybersecurity; litigation risks; our ability to successfully develop and commercialize new investment strategies; our reputation and relationships with current and potential customers; our ability to attract and retain qualified personnel; our ability to perform operational tasks; our ability to select and supervise third-party providers; our dependence on the operations and funds of our subsidiaries; our ability to maintain effective information systems; our ability to prevent the misuse of assets and information in the possession of our employees and third-party vendors, which could harm our reputation and result in costly litigation and liability for us and our customers; our shares are thinly traded and may be subject to volatility; competition in the investment management industry; our relationships with investment advisory firms; our ability to identify and execute our strategic initiatives; our ability to declare and pay dividends; our ability to finance future capital requirements on favorable terms; our ability to properly manage conflicts of interest; our ability to maintain adequate insurance coverage; our ability to maintain an effective system of internal controls; and other risks detailed from time to time in Westwood’s filings with the SEC, including, but not limited to, its Annual Report on Form 10-K for the fiscal year ended December 31, 2023 and its Annual Report quarterly on Form 10-Q for completed quarters. March 31, 2024 and June 30, 2024. 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 release publicly 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.