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W.P. Stewart Holdings N.V. Receives AAA Fund Management Rating
Hamilton, Bermuda: December 1, 2005 - W.P. Stewart & Co., Ltd. ("WPL" or the "Company") is pleased to announce that W.P. Stewart Holdings N.V. recently received an AAA Fund Management rating from Standard & Poor's, the highest rating possible.
W.P. Stewart Holdings N.V. (WPSH) is an open-ended investment fund quoted and traded on Euronext Amsterdam. The fund is managed by a subsidiary of W.P. Stewart & Co., Ltd. Shares of W.P. Stewart Holdings N.V. are currently available only to investors outside the United States. As of 30 September 2005, assets under management in WPSH were US $902 million.
The Standard & Poor's review process is based on an analysis of fund performance, the investment philosophy and process and management's consistency of approach.
In the autumn of 2004, WPSH, with Bill Stewart as the portfolio manager, received its first AA Fund Management Rating from Standard & Poor's. In March 2005, Harry Segalas took over as portfolio manager and continued the disciplined investment style that has been applied successfully by W.P. Stewart & Co., Ltd. for more than 30 years and has been used for the investment management of WPSH since 1989.
At 30 September 2005 the one-year performance for WPSH, in US$, was +19.2% versus +12.3% for the S&P 500. The three, five, and 10-year annualized performance for WPSH as of 30 September 2005 was +16.4%, +5.2% and +11.3%, respectively, compared to the annualized performance of the S&P 500 of +16.7%, -1.5% and +9.5% for the same time periods, respectively. WPSH performance was in the 19th percentile, among 914 US equity funds, and in the 3rd percentile, among 560 US equity funds, for the three and five year periods reviewed by Standard & Poor's. No percentile ranking is available for the ten-year period.
The Standard & Poor's rating report is available at WPSH Management N.V., Willemstad Curacao; tel: + 5999 465 0658; or at the European Representative Office, W.P. Stewart Asset Management Europe (N.V.), Oegstgeest, The Netherlands; tel: + 31 (0)71 519 2030 or by e-mail: info@wpshman.com.
Subject to approval of the various local authorities and the shareholders, WPSH will transfer its seat from Curacao to Luxemburg on 17 December 2005. This seat transfer will not result in any substantial change in the investment philosophy or in the fund structure.
W.P. Stewart & Co., Ltd. is an asset management company that has provided research intensive equity management services to clients throughout the world since 1975. The Company is headquartered in Hamilton, Bermuda and has additional operations or affiliates in the United States, Europe and Asia. As of 30 September 2005, assets under management were approximately US$ 9.6 billion.
The Company's shares are listed for trading on the New York Stock Exchange (symbol: WPL) and on the Bermuda Stock Exchange (symbol: WPS).
For more information, including a copy of the Standard & Poor's rating report, please visit the Company's website at http://www.wpstewart.com, or call W.P. Stewart Investor Relations (Fred M.Ryan)at 1-888-695-4092 (toll-free within the United States) or 1+441-295-8585 (outside the United States) or e-mail to IRINFO@wpstewart.com.
SOURCE: W.P. Stewart & Co., Ltd. 12/01/2005