For the quarter, Rockwater Capital reported a loss of $7.9 million (10¢ a share) bringing the results for the year to a loss of $10.2 million (23¢ a share).

The company said the bulk of the quarterly loss, $5 million, is due to its decision to exit the royalty revenue business resulting in investment loss provisions to write down the firm’s legacy investment portfolio to net realizable value.

Another significant portion of the quarter’s loss was attributable to the amortization of employment contracts of $931 thousand relating to the First Associates acquisition and start up costs of $1.9 million as a result of professional services, personnel expenses, and other items involved in the implementation of Rockwater Capital’s new strategy.

Excluding the above mentioned items, a loss of $950 thousand is attributable to regular operations of First Associates Investments Inc. for three months and less than one month of operations of both Robert Caldwell Capital Corporation and Platinum Wealth Management Inc.

The acquisition of Yorkton’s Private Client Group did not close until Jan. 2, 2003 and was not included in the results. Results for the year ended and quarter ended December 31, 2001 are not comparable as they consisted entirely of Rockwater’s exited royalty revenue operation.

“We transformed our business in 2002,” said Robert Schultz, chairman of Rockwater Capital. “We started the year as a royalty revenue business and finished as Canada’s fastest growing independent investment management firm.”

“We are very proud of what we have accomplished in 2002,” said Bill Packham, President and Chief Executive Officer of Rockwater Capital. “In what can only be described as a difficult industry environment, we have brought together a group of like minded people and companies to form a credible independent and entrepreneurial firm. With the acquisition of Yorkton’s Private Client Group complete, we now employ more than 500 people, manage $3.5 billion of client assets and have a presence in all of Canada’s major markets. With our platform established and our transformation well underway, we now turn our focus to growing our business,” he continued.