Mr. Eric Tremblay reports

ASTON HILL ANNOUNCES 2014 FOURTH QUARTER AND YEAR END RESULTS

Aston Hill Financial Inc. has filed its audited consolidated financial statements for the year ended Dec. 31, 2014, and related management's discussion and analysis with Canadian securities regulatory authorities.

Aston Hill's assets under management, advisory and administration (AUM) decreased from $7.77-billion to $6.25-billion, a decrease of 24.3 per cent as of Dec. 31, 2014. The lower AUM is mainly the result of a reduction in institutional and subadvisory assets, as well as assets under administration. This decrease was offset by an increase in higher-revenue and higher-margin proprietary mutual fund assets. During the fourth quarter, gross sales of mutual funds were $94-million (net $24-million). Full-year mutual fund gross sales of $525-million (net $376-million) represented an increase of 62 per cent from the prior year. The company continues to focus its sales efforts on in-house managed funds, as they generate higher corporate average margins.

For the fourth quarter, Aston Hill's revenues were $11.7-million, an increase of 2.6 per cent from the prior year's fourth-quarter revenues of $11.4-million. Fourth-quarter revenues of $11.7-million decreased from the prior-quarter total of $12.4-million. The revenue decrease was due to a reduction in revenues from subadvisory mandates and institutional assets, offset by the continued growth and performance of the Aston Hill mutual funds. Revenue generated by subadvisory mandates continues to decrease as a percentage of total revenue (currently 19 per cent compared with 24 per cent in the prior year) as management remains focused on higher-margin mutual fund growth. In-house mutual and closed-end fund management fees accounted for 67 per cent of revenues for the fourth quarter of 2014.

PER CENT OF REVENUES BY SOURCE FOR THREE MONTHS ENDED DEC. 31, 2014

Aston Hill-managed investment funds                              67%                
Subadvisory mandates                                             19%                
Institutional and other                                           8%                 
Aston Hill securities                                             6%                 

Total expenses (excluding finance expense) for the fourth quarter were lower at $9.3-million, as compared with $10.3-million for the third quarter of 2014. The lower corporate expense is mainly due to one-time employee compensation costs paid in the third quarter.

Adjusted earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization (before stock-based compensation and net investment losses) for the fourth quarter were $3.4-million, a 9.7-per-cent increase from the prior-quarter adjusted EBITDA of $3.1-million. This increase is due mainly to the aforementioned one-time expense increase in the prior quarter, offset by lower revenue in the fourth quarter. Net income for the quarter was $900,000, as compared with a net income in the prior quarter of $400,000.

                                     FINANCIAL HIGHLIGHTS
            (in thousands, except assets under management and per-share amounts) 
                                                                      
                                                 As at Dec.       As at Sept.       As at Dec.
                                                  31, 2014          30, 2014         31, 2013

Assets under management (in billions)                $6.25             $7.05            $7.77
Total assets                                        97,884            97,575          100,167

                                                                   For the three months ended
                                                       Dec.             Sept.             Dec.
                                                  31, 2014          30, 2014         31, 2013

Total revenues                                     $11,710           $12,400          $11,424
Total expenses excluding finance expense             9,267            10,347            9,997
Total finance expense                                1,098             1,077            1,152
Income before income taxes                          $1,345              $976             $275
Income tax expense (recovery)                         $433              $625             $486
Net income (loss)                                     $912              $351            $(211)
Net income to non-controlling interest                 338               266              270
Net income (loss) to controlling interest             $574               $85            $(481)
Per share -- basic                                  $0.006            $0.001          $(0.006)
Per share -- diluted                                $0.006            $0.001          $(0.006)
Cash dividends declared per share                   $0.015            $0.015           $0.015
EBITDA                                              $3,202            $2,796           $2,218
Adjusted EBITDA                                      3,448             3,087            2,518

                                                         For the years ended
                                                   Dec. 31,          Dec. 31,
                                                      2014              2013
    
Total revenues                                     $47,329           $35,562 
Total expenses excluding finance expense            38,628            28,820      
Total finance expense                                4,273             4,285       
Income before income taxes                          $4,428            $2,457       
Income tax expense                                   1,878             1,241       
Net income                                          $2,550            $1,216       
Net income to non-controlling interest               1,070               351         
Net income to controlling interest                  $1,480              $865         
Per share -- basic                                  $0.017            $0.011       
Per share -- diluted                                $0.016            $0.011       
Cash dividends recorded per share                   $0.060            $0.050       
EBITDA                                             $11,565            $8,499       
Adjusted EBITDA                                     13,207             9,677   

For the year ended Dec. 31, 2014, total revenues were $47.3-million, a 33-per-cent increase from the prior-year total of $35.6-million. The increase was mainly the result of management fees related to the company's managed mutual funds and closed-end funds. Total expenses increased from $28.8-million to $38.6-million mainly due to an increase in subadvisory expenses from closed-end funds and an increase in trailer fees associated with the mutual fund AUM increase during the year. Year-over-year adjusted EBITDA increased 36 per cent from $9.7-million to $13.2-million, as the company continues to focus on higher-margin managed mutual fund AUM growth.

On Feb. 13, 2015, Aston Hill announced the non-renewal of the subadvisory agreement between Aston Hill's subsidiary, Aston Hill Asset Management Inc., and IA Clarington Investments Inc. (IAC), which had a five-year term. Revenue earned from this agreement accounted for approximately 16 per cent of overall 2014 revenue. Under the agreement, Aston Hill's president and co-chief investment officer, Ben Cheng, exclusively provided portfolio management services to three separate IAC funds. Mr. Cheng and Aston Hill are each subject to customary lock-up provisions, extending for nine months after termination of the agreement for Mr. Cheng and six months after termination for Aston Hill. Subsequent to the lock-up expiry, Aston Hill plans to provide new investment solutions managed by Mr. Cheng to Canadian retail investors.

For more information regarding this announcement, please see the company's press release titled "Aston Hill Announces Corporate Initiatives and Non-Renewal of Sub-Advisory Agreement with IA Clarington."

As a result of the IA Clarington non-renewal, the company has reduced its quarterly dividend to 0.5 cent per share. The reduced dividend represents a more conservative payout ratio that will enable Aston Hill to retain more income for reinvestment in the company and debt repayment. Aston Hill has also been focused on cost-cutting measures and has reduced staff count by over 10 per cent in recent months.

We seek Safe Harbor.