Galileo confirms Stephen Craig and Joseph Macdonald as Shareholders, achieves FundGrade® A+ Rating,

TORONTO, March 20, 2012 /CNW/ - Galileo Global Equity Advisors Inc. ("Galileo") today announced that Stephen Craig and Joseph MacDonald have been confirmed as shareholders of the firm, subject to final regulatory approval, serving alongside Michael Waring, Galileo's founder.

Mr. Craig joined Galileo in October of 2011 after having served as Managing Director and Head Trader at one of Canada's oldest and most established natural resource investment firms. A Bay Street veteran with almost 30 years' experience, Mr. Craig also served as partner and head trader at J Zechner Associates, and as institutional sales trader at First Marathon Securities, First Boston and Wood Gundy.

Mr. MacDonald rejoined Galileo in September 2011 and, in addition to serving as a Galileo shareholder, he is also the firm's Chief Operating Officer and a Director. Mr. MacDonald previously served at Mackenzie Financial Corporation, O'Donnell Investment Management, YMG Capital Management and Calgary-based Citadel Group of Funds. Mr. MacDonald is a member of the Investment and Finance Committee of Kings College at the University of Western Ontario and a past director of the Investment Funds Institute of Canada.

Galileo had previously announced that Stephen Craig, Joseph MacDonald, Michael Wekerle and Paul Sparkes each intended to purchase common shares in the firm from Michael Waring, who would retain a 25% ownership interest. The transaction did not close as previously anticipated.  Under the modified terms of the transaction, which is expected to close on or about March 31, 2012 subject to receipt of final regulatory approval, Michael Waring, Stephen Craig and Joseph MacDonald will each own one-third of the common shares of Galileo. Paul Sparkes and Michael Wekerle have left the firm to pursue other opportunities.

"I'm delighted to confirm Stephen and Joe's ownership status in our firm and wish Mike Wekerle and Paul Sparkes all the best in their future endeavours," said Mr. Waring, CEO and Chief Investment Officer. "Although Mike and Paul were only with us for a couple of months, their contributions are appreciated. Going forward, I believe we have established a strong, talented and cohesive leadership team for the long term."

Fundata A+Rating
Galileo also announced today that Fundata, Canada's leading source of investment fund data and analytics, has awarded a coveted FundGrade® A+ Rating to Galileo High Income Plus Fund.

The FundGrade A+ Rating recognizes mutual funds with the best risk-adjusted returns and the highest level of consistency in performance. Fundata assigns a letter grade to more than 7,000 investment funds in Canada using an objective and transparent calculation and funds that achieve the A+ rating are considered "best of the best" by Fundata.

"I'm honoured to see our past performance recognized in this fashion," said Mr. Waring. "I think it is testament to the hard work of our team and the quality of our investment process. Our objective is to ensure we continue to deliver the same excellent results for our unitholders going forward."

Galileo High Income Plus Fund invests for income and growth of capital through investments in high yielding equity securities, preferred shares, and convertible debentures of Canadian companies, real estate investment trusts and royalty trusts.

About Galileo Global Equity Advisors
Founded in 2000, the Galileo Global Equity Advisors organization delivers specialized investment advisory and portfolio management services to institutional clients including pension funds, high net worth individuals, corporations and trusts.  It also manages Galileo mutual funds, (www.galileofunds.ca), which are represented across Canada by independent financial advisors.

Joe MacDonald
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