Wellington West Holdings Inc. Ranked as one the 50 Best Employers in Canada

WINNIPEG , Jan. 4 /CNW/ - Wellington West Holdings Inc., a privately held, employee-owned financial services firm, today announced it has once again been ranked one of the 50 Best Employers in Canada , taking the 11th spot, according to the extensive employee-engagement survey supported and conducted by The Globe and Mail's Report on Business magazine and Hewitt Associates, a leading global human resources outsourcing and consulting firm.

"We view this recognition as especially meaningful after the difficult period we as a firm and as shareholders have gone through - as everyone has - in these challenging economic times," said Charlie Spiring, CEO and Founder, Wellington West Holdings Inc. "To have our partners continue to come into work every day renewed and committed to their firm and to one another...that says a lot. We have an amazing team here making it happen."

Wellington West was one of only two wealth management firms to make the top 15 list. This is the fifth consecutive time that Wellington West been awarded this prestigious distinction.

"Although this may not be our highest ranking, it is in many ways our best," said Kish Kapoor, president, Wellington West Holdings Inc. "Taking a look at the intense pressure of the markets on our firm and on our partners in this past year, and looking at the incredible quality of those companies represented on this year's list, we are truly honored to be included and to be near the top."

About Wellington West

The Wellington West group of companies provides full-service brokerage, financial planning, asset management and capital markets services. In over 16 years since its inception, the employee-owned Wellington West has become one of the largest and fastest-growing independent full-service wealth management firms in Canada with approximately $8 billion in assets under administration. Among its many corporate achievements, Wellington West has been ranked in the top quartile of the 50 Best Employers in Canada for the past five years, named one of Canada's Fastest Growing Companies in 2007 and recognized as one of Canada's 50 Best Managed Companies for three consecutive years. In addition, Wellington West ranked No. 3 in the 2008 Brokerage Report Card survey, having historically held the No. 1 spot for four of the past five years. Its Founder and CEO, Charlie Spiring, won the top honour in the professional/financial services category of the Ernst & Young 2009 Entrepreneur of the Year Awards for the Prairies region.

For further information: visit www.wellingtonwest.com; Media Contacts: Kish Kapoor, [phone], or [email protected]