Douglas Sherman, Paul Krake and David Brown Join Westrock Group To Form New Institutional Unit

Westrock Institutional Group Subsidiary Created by Industry Veterans
NEW YORK--(Business Wire)--
Westrock Group, Inc., a financial services holding company, today announced that
Douglas Sherman, Paul Krake and David Brown have joined the firm. The team will
form the nucleus of Westrock Institutional Group, a new group subsidiary
dedicated to serving the investment and trading needs of institutional clients,
and Westrock Asset Management, which will be a separate entity that will provide
asset management services.

"Westrock Institutional Group and Westrock Asset Management create strategic new
pillars for the firm. We will provide financial services and advice to every
facet of the investment process, from portfolio construction to trade
execution," said Donald H. Hunter, Jr., President and Chief Executive Officer of
Westrock Group. "Doug, Paul and Dave are senior professionals with proven track
records in serving the institutional marketplace. I believe that they will
significantly expand our client base and make Westrock Institutional Group and
Westrock Asset Management major contributors to the firm`s profitability."

Westrock Institutional Group will offer global trade execution services and
customized quantitative research for clients. Westrock Asset Management will
offer both traditional and customized alternative investment solutions through a
transparent investment process. It is expected that the groups will become fully
operational in the next several weeks.

Doug Sherman will serve as Head of Westrock Institutional Group and Paul Krake
will serve as Head of Westrock Asset Management. Most recently, Doug oversaw
trading at an international hedge fund he helped found in 2000 with other
international traders from SAC Capital. Doug joined SAC capital in 1998 as Head
Trader - International Desk. From 1989 until leaving SAC Capital, Doug was a
Partner at Israel Englander, Inc. where he worked for 10 years co-running floor
operations. He began his career in 1985 as an options trader at Drexel Burnham
Lambert. Over the past several months, Doug has been advising Westrock Advisors
on strategic developments.

Paul Krake, Head of Westrock Asset Management, has 17 years of asset management
and trading experience. He brings to Westrock management expertise from both
buy-side and sell-side organizations and global relationships. Prior to joining
Westrock, he was the Founder and Managing Partner of Corus Capital Management, a
multi-strategy hedge fund with offices in New York and Sydney. Before forming
Corus in 2005, he was a global macro Portfolio Manager with Caxton Associates
from 2000-2004 and a macro-Asian Analyst with Moore Capital Management from
1998-2000. Paul`s earlier sales experience was within equity derivatives at
Goldman Sachs in Hong Kong, and with Macquarie Bank in Sydney where he began his
career. Paul holds a Bachelor of Economics and Politics from Monash University
in Melbourne, Australia.

David Brown, Head of Institutional Trading, brings over 15 years of trading
experience to Westrock. He brings strong management and business development
skills, extensive trading experience in several markets and a deep understanding
of business process and technology. Most recently Dave was a senior proprietary
trader at the Abbey Bank subsidiary of Banco Santander, where he built a
proprietary pairs trading desk. From 1999-2002, Dave was a market maker at
Herzog, Heine and Geduld, and from 1995-1999 served various trading and trading
technology development roles with Merrill Lynch. From 1990-1995, he helped build
an agency equity and option business at boutique Jonathan Foster & Co. Dave
holds a M.S. in Financial Mathematics from the University of Chicago, and a B.A.
in Economics from New York University.

About Westrock Group, Inc.

Headquartered in New York, Westrock Group, Inc., is a financial services holding
company offering a comprehensive range of financial products and services for
retail and institutional investors. Founded in 1995, the firm`s full-service
independent broker-dealer, Westrock Advisors, Inc., offers a comprehensive range
of financial and wealth management services for retail and institutional
investors. Through its Monarch Financial subsidiary, the firm offers a
fixed-income platform and equity trading. As of June 30, 2009, the firm had
approximately $1.4 billion in assets under management and 50 employees.

For More Information:
Makovsky + Co.
John McInerney, 212-508-9628
jmcinerney@makovsky.com
or
Liz Pierce, 212-508-9698
lpierce@makovsky.com

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