Sterling Financial Investment Group Named by University of Florida For Second Straight Year as the ``Fastest Growing Privately Held Company'' in Florida.

Business Editors

BOCA RATON, Fla.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Feb. 11, 2002

In an unprecedented achievement, Sterling Financial Investment Group, Inc., the Boca Raton-based investment-banking firm that has 47 offices in eight countries, founded by entrepreneur and prominent Hispanic community leader Charles Patrick Garcia, Chairman and CEO of the firm, was named for a second year in a row by the University of Florida as the "Fastest Growing Privately Held Firm in Florida" during the Sixth Annual Florida 100 Awards Program. No other company has won two years in a row.

The top participants and winners of this highly regarded competition were announced to an audience of more than 350 entrepreneurs from across the state during a dinner ceremony held February 8th, 2002, in Orlando, Florida. "It's a major accomplishment to win this award one time," says Arnold A. Heggestad, Ph.D., University of Florida's Director of the Center for Entrepreneurship and Innovation at the Warrington College of Business, "but to win two years in a row is very impressive."

The Sixth Annual Florida 100 Awards Program is sponsored by the University of Florida's Warrington College of Business and the Fisher School of Accounting -- consistently ranked among the top ten public university accounting programs in the nation. The Florida 100 competition reviews and analyzes privately held firms from across the State, and ranks the top 100 firms. According to Dr. Heggestad, the program highlights the business savvy and creative efforts of the entrepreneurs who make a significant impact on the state's economy each year.

"Our growth is fueled by our great management team and the firm's success in forecasting `buy and sell' stock which has provided exceptional results for our clients compared to the rest of Wall Street," says Garcia. Sterling Financial is a full-service investment-banking firm that has carved out a unique niche in the healthcare and biotech sectors. The firm's combined average return on stock performance recommendations for the 52 companies it covers for the year-ended 2001 was 57.5%.(a)

This follows a 93.8% return for 2000. Sterling Financial and its management team have been widely quoted and appeared on CBS, ABC, CNN, CNBC, FOX, Univision, and Telemundo.

Sterling Financial's research is carried by the worldwide financial services giant, Bloomberg and followed by more than 100 foreign and domestic banks, dealerships, hedge funds and insurance companies. The firm transacts more than $4 billion per month trading fixed-income securities.

To learn more about Sterling Financial, visit the website at: http://www.mysterling.com.

Editors Note: Photo gallery and downloadable and publishable images available at http://www.mysterling.com/cpg.

(a) The above calculations of return are based upon the assumption of equal dollar purchases or sales of the securities recommended for purchase or sale on the date of such recommendations and the closing of such position on the date of withdrawal of the recommendation, or if the recommendation was not withdrawn the position being maintained until December 31st. Past performance is not indicative of future performance. For a list of all Sterling Financial recommendations contact Jeff Mustard at 954/801-8263 or email: [e-mail]