First Western Financial, Inc. to Be Added to Russell 3000 and Russell 2000 Indexes

DENVER, June 06, 2022 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- First Western Financial, Inc. (NASDAQ: MYFW), a financial services holding company headquartered in Denver, Colorado (“First Western” or the “Company”), today announced that it is set to join the broad-market Russell 3000^® Index and the small-cap Russell 2000^® Index at the conclusion of the Russell US Indexes annual reconstitution, effective after the US equity markets open on June 27, 2022, according to a preliminary list of additions posted by FTSE Russell on June 3, 2022.

Annual reconstitution of the Russell indexes captures the 4,000 largest US stocks as of May 6, 2022 ranking them by total market capitalization. Membership in the Russell 3000^® Index, which remains in place for one year, means automatic inclusion in the large-cap Russell 1000 Index or small-cap Russell 2000 Index as well as the appropriate growth and value style indexes. FTSE Russell determines membership for its Russell indexes primarily by objective, market capitalization rankings and style attributes.

Scott C. Wylie, Chairman and CEO of First Western, said, “Strong execution on our organic and acquisitive growth strategies has led to significant value creation and an increase in our market capitalization, resulting in our addition to the Russell Indexes. We believe that our inclusion in the indexes will positively impact the liquidity in our stock and expand the universe of investors that are able to take positions in First Western Financial.”

Russell indexes are widely used by investment managers and institutional investors for index funds and as benchmarks for active investment strategies. Approximately $12 trillion in assets are benchmarked against Russell’s US indexes. Russell indexes are part of FTSE Russell, a leading global index provider.

For more information on the Russell 3000^® Index and the Russell indexes reconstitution, go to the “Russell Reconstitution” section on the FTSE Russell website.

About FTSE Russell

FTSE Russell is a global index leader that provides innovative benchmarking, analytics and data solutions for investors worldwide. FTSE Russell calculates thousands of indexes that measure and benchmark markets and asset classes in more than 70 countries, covering 98% of the investable market globally.

FTSE Russell index expertise and products are used extensively by institutional and retail investors globally. Approximately $20 trillion is currently benchmarked to FTSE Russell indexes. For over 30 years, leading asset owners, asset managers, ETF providers and investment banks have chosen FTSE Russell indexes to benchmark their investment performance and create ETFs, structured products and index-based derivatives.

A core set of universal principles guides FTSE Russell index design and management: a transparent rules-based methodology is informed by independent committees of leading market participants. FTSE Russell is focused on applying the highest industry standards in index design and governance and embraces the IOSCO Principles. FTSE Russell is also focused on index innovation and customer partnerships as it seeks to enhance the breadth, depth and reach of its offering.

FTSE Russell is wholly owned by London Stock Exchange Group.

For more information, visit www.ftserussell.com.

About First Western Financial, Inc.

First Western is a financial services holding company headquartered in Denver, Colorado, with operations in Colorado, Arizona, Wyoming and California. First Western and its subsidiaries provide a fully integrated suite of wealth management services on a private trust bank platform, which includes a comprehensive selection of deposit, loan, trust, wealth planning and investment management products and services. First Western’s common stock is traded on the Nasdaq Global Select Market under the symbol “MYFW.” For more information, please visit www.myfw.com.

Forward-Looking Statements

Statements in this news release regarding our expectations and beliefs about our future financial performance and financial condition, as well as trends in our business and markets are “forward-looking statements” as defined in the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Forward-looking statements often include words such as “believe,” “expect,” “anticipate,” “intend,” “plan,” “estimate,” “project,” “outlook,” or words of similar meaning, or future or conditional verbs such as “will,” “would,” “should,” “opportunity,” “could,” or “may.” The forward-looking statements in this news release are based on current information and on assumptions that we make about future events and circumstances that are subject to a number of risks and uncertainties that are often difficult to predict and beyond our control. As a result of those risks and uncertainties, our actual financial results in the future could differ, possibly materially, from those expressed in or implied by the forward-looking statements contained in this news release and could cause us to make changes to our future plans. Those risks and uncertainties include, without limitation, the COVID-19 pandemic and its effects; integration risks and projected cost savings in connection with acquisitions; the risk of geographic concentration in Colorado, Arizona, Wyoming and California; the risk of changes in the economy affecting real estate values and liquidity; the risk in our ability to continue to originate residential real estate loans and sell such loans; risks specific to commercial loans and borrowers; the risk of claims and litigation pertaining to our fiduciary responsibilities; the risk of competition for investment managers and professionals; the risk of fluctuation in the value of our investment securities; the risk of changes in interest rates; and the risk of the adequacy of our allowance for loan losses and the risk in our ability to maintain a strong core deposit base or other low-cost funding sources. Additional information regarding these and other risks and uncertainties to which our business and future financial performance are subject is contained in our Annual Report on Form 10-K filed with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC”) on March 15, 2022 (“Form 10-K”), and other documents we file with the SEC from time to time. We urge readers of this news release to review the “Risk Factors” section our Form 10-K and any updates to those risk factors set forth in our subsequent Quarterly Reports on Form 10-Q, Current Reports on Form 8-K, and our other filings with the SEC. Also, our actual financial results in the future may differ from those currently expected due to additional risks and uncertainties of which we are not currently aware or which we do not currently view as, but in the future may become, material to our business or operating results. Due to these and other possible uncertainties and risks, readers are cautioned not to place undue reliance on the forward-looking statements contained in this news release, which speak only as of today’s date, or to make predictions based solely on historical financial performance. Any forward-looking statement speaks only as of the date on which it is made, and we do not undertake any obligation to update or review any forward-looking statement, whether as a result of new information, future developments or otherwise, except as required by law.

Contacts:
Financial Profiles, Inc.
Tony Rossi
310-622-8221

MYFW@finprofiles.com 
IR@myfw.com