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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, Westwoodas President & CEO, commented, aWe 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.a

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 Managera" 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 Peruas 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 Managera" 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 Managera" 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 a" 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 a" 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 Analysta" 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 Funds^TM, 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 aWHG.a

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 aanticipate,a abelieve,a aplan,a aestimate,a aexpect,a aintend,a ashould,a acould,a agoal,a atarget,a adesigned,a aon track,a acomfortable with,a aoptimistica 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 Westwoodas 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)