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Penson Australia Expands into Execution Services & Asia

^{Published on 2010-11-16 05:35:43 - Market Wire}
 

SYDNEY, Australia--([ BUSINESS WIRE ])--Penson Worldwide, Inc. (NASDAQ: PNSN) announced today that its Australian clearing subsidiary, Penson Financial Services Australia Pty Ltd (PFSA), has broadened its offering to provide execution services, in addition to clearing, settlement and custody, to ASX Market Participants and holders of Australian Financial Services Licenses (AFSLs). The firm also announced plans to begin marketing its services throughout the Asia Pacific (APAC) region.

"Prior to choosing Penson, our firm undertook an extensive investigation of the clearing and settlement offerings in the Australian market place"

PFSA commenced third party clearing operations in December 2009 and has successfully grown to a total of eight correspondents, including Ord Minnett, its first, and Wilsons HTM, Euroz, Austock and D2MX, among others. In keeping with its strategic plan, PFSA has now added a complementary execution services business that provides Direct Market Access for equities and exchange traded options to ASX Market Participants and AFSLs.

PFSA said that four firms a" Ark Equities Pty Limited, Gleneagle Securities (Aust) Pty Ltd, and Helmsec Global Capital Limited, all of Sydney, and Carnbrea & Co Ltd of Melbourne a" have signed as execution clients, and that 35 clients of PFSAa™s clearing correspondent D2MX are expected to transition to the new Penson execution business.

aPrior to choosing Penson, our firm undertook an extensive investigation of the clearing and settlement offerings in the Australian market place,a said Gavin Solomon, Managing Director of Helmsec Global Securities. aWe selected Penson in light of their support, expertise and non-conflicted reputation. Helmsec has been highly impressed by the expertise and co-operation offered by Penson, and we expect that Pensona™s sophisticated technologies will enhance our trading capabilities.a

aCarnbrea is delighted to have chosen Penson Financial Services to provide Carnbreaa™s equities execution and clearing services, due to Pensona™s specialization in this field, and its Australian management team, which has significant industry experience,a said Rob Lyon, Chief Executive Officer, Carnbrea & Co Ltd.

PFSA also announced that its domestic execution and clearing services will be marketed throughout the APAC region. aWe believe there is a significant opportunity for Penson as a widely recognized global independent provider to offer execution and related services to APAC brokerage firms,a said Craig Mason, Managing Director and CEO of PFSA ([ www.penson.com/PFSA ]).

Commenting on PFSAa™s overall growth, Mr. Mason said, aWe are pleased with the way our business has grown so quickly over the last 10 months. We particularly appreciate the trust shown in us by our clients when choosing to outsource such an integral part of their business. While the Penson name is relatively new to Asia, our staff consists of people who are highly regarded locally for their client focused expertise. This has enabled us to establish our business in Australia quickly and to provide our growing roster of clients with quality, non-conflicted, third party clearing, settlement and custody solutions, to which we now have added execution services.

aThere is major transformation taking place in the clearing and execution industry. Traditional self clearing and execution consumes a large proportion of IT and operational resources and ties up budgets just keeping the business running and up to date a" none of which confers any critical strategic advantage to brokerage firms with other core competencies. Currently, a growing number of brokerage firms are concentrating their efforts on achieving their primary customer centric values, taking advantage of a non-conflicted provider such as Penson, to outsource the processing of trades and other activities with lower cost and capital commitment.a

About Penson Worldwide: [ www.penson.com ]

The Penson Worldwide group of companies provides execution, clearing, custody, settlement and technology infrastructure products and services to financial services firms and others servicing the global financial services industry. The Penson Worldwide group of companies includes Penson Financial Services, Inc., Penson Financial Services Canada Inc., Penson Financial Services Ltd., Nexa Technologies, Inc., Penson Futures, Penson Asia Limited, and Penson Financial Services Australia Pty Ltd, among other companies. Headquartered in Dallas, Texas, Penson has served the clearing needs of the global financial services industry since 1995. Penson Worldwide - Building the Best Clearing and Execution Services Firm in the World.

Penson Financial Services, Inc. is a member of the New York Stock Exchange, NYSE Alternext, Chicago Stock Exchange, FINRA, the Chicago Board Options Exchange (CBOE), OneChicago, the International Securities Exchange (ISE), the NYSE Arca Exchange, the Options Clearing Corp (OCC), the MSRB, NSCC, ICMA, DTC, Euroclear, SIPC and is a participant of the Boston Options Exchange (BOX). Penson Financial Services Canada Inc. is a participating organization with the Toronto Stock Exchange, the Montreal Exchange, the CNQ Exchange and the TSX Venture Exchange, is regulated by the Investment Industry Regulatory Organization of Canada, is a member of the CIPF, CDCC and CDS and subscribes to various Canadian Alternative Trading Systems. Penson Financial Services Ltd. is a member of the London Stock Exchange and is authorized and regulated by the Financial Services Authority. Penson Financial Services Australia Pty Ltd is a member of the ASX Group, which operates the Australian Stock Exchange and the Sydney Futures Exchange. Penson Futures is a registered Futures Commission Merchant and clearing member at the Chicago Mercantile Exchange, Chicago Board of Trade, New York Mercantile Exchange, Kansas City Board of Trade, Minneapolis Board of Trade, NYSE Liffe, and ICE Futures.

Forward-Looking Statements

Statements contained in this news release that are not based on current or historical fact are forward-looking in nature. Such forward-looking statements are based on current plans, estimates and expectations. Forward-looking statements are based on known and unknown risks, assumptions, uncertainties and other factors. Actual results, performance, or achievements may differ materially from any future results, performance, or achievements expressed or implied by such forward-looking statements. Penson undertakes no obligation to publicly update or revise any forward-looking statement.