Bill and Ralph Cruz Will Remain as Co-Chairmen PLANTATION, Fla.,
Feb. 15 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- TradeStation Group, Inc. (NASDAQ
GS: TRAD) announced that, effective today, Salomon Sredni, who has
served as the company's President and Chief Operating Officer since
1999, will immediately assume the title and role of Chief Executive
Officer, as well as continue as the company's President. "Sal has
been an instrumental part of the growth and success of the company
over the last 10 years," said Bill Cruz, Co-Chairman. "He deserves
equal credit for all of TradeStation's achievements over the last
decade. Sal is a very special individual that this company is
fortunate to have found. He offers our company a combination of
amazing energy, passion and business instincts. We are honored to
name Sal our successor and believe he will perform with excellence
as Chief Executive Officer." Co-Chairmen William and Ralph Cruz
will transition out of their day-to-day roles in the company to
spend more time pursuing personal interests. The Cruzes will serve
as non-executive co-chairmen of TradeStation Group's board of
directors, as well as in an advisory capacity on key projects and
initiatives. "I am excited about this new challenge," said Salomon
Sredni, "because I see tremendous opportunities in front of us.
Bill, Ralph and I have been working hard to prepare the company for
the next level; now, with the guidance and support of our board,
its co-chairmen and the company's talented management team, I am
prepared to lead the company into the future. I am confident we
will succeed because we have an outstanding team and a great
product--a combination that can make us a dominant player in the
online brokerage industry. I appreciate the board's vote of
confidence, and will seek to reward that confidence every day with
my efforts." The company also announced that Joseph Nikolson, the
President of the company's principal operating subsidiary,
TradeStation Securities, since 2003, and its Chief Operating
Officer from January 2001 through 2005, will now also serve as
TradeStation Group's Chief Growth Officer, and in that position
will focus on executing the company's strategic initiatives and
other growth opportunities. The company also announced the
promotion of Mark Glassman, the company's Corporate Controller
since 1997, to the position of Chief Accounting Officer. Mr.
Glassman will continue to report to Mr. Fleischman, the company's
Chief Financial Officer. About TradeStation Group, Inc.
------------------------------- TradeStation Group, Inc. (NASDAQ
GS: TRAD), through its principal operating subsidiary, TradeStation
Securities, Inc., offers the TradeStation platform to the active
trader and certain institutional trader markets. TradeStation is an
electronic trading platform that offers state-of-the-art "direct
market access" (DMA) or "direct-access" order execution and enables
clients to design, test, optimize, monitor and automate their own
custom Equities, Options, Futures and Forex trading strategies. In
2006, TradeStation was named, for the second year in a row, Best
Futures Brokerage and, for the fourth year in a row, Best
Direct-Access Stock Broker, Best Direct-Access Futures Broker, Best
Professional Platform and Best Institutional Platform, in
"Technical Analysis of Stocks and Commodities" magazine.
TradeStation Securities, Inc. (Member NASD, NYSE, SIPC, NSCC, DTC,
OCC & NFA) is a licensed securities broker-dealer and a
registered futures commission merchant, and also a member of the
American Stock Exchange, Boston Options Exchange, Chicago Board
Options Exchange, Chicago Stock Exchange, International Securities
Exchange, NYSE ARCA and Philadelphia Stock Exchange. The company's
technology subsidiary, TradeStation Technologies, Inc., develops
and offers strategy trading software tools and subscription
services. Its London-based subsidiary, TradeStation Europe Limited,
and FSA-authorized brokerage firm, introduces UK and other European
accounts to TradeStation Securities. Forward-Looking Statements --
Issues, Uncertainties and Risk Factors This press release, and
today's earnings conference call (please see the company's earnings
press release issued at or about the same time as this one for more
information about the conference call), contain statements and
estimates that are forward-looking and are made pursuant to the
safe harbor provisions of the Private Securities Litigation Reform
Act of 1995. When used in this press release, or the conference
call, the words "anticipate(s)," "anticipated," "anticipation,"
"assume(s)," "assumption(s)," "become(s)," "belief(s),"
"believe(s)," "believed," "could," "designed," "estimate,"
"estimates," "estimated," "expect(s)," "expected,"
"expectation(s)," "going forward," "future," "hopeful," "hope(s),"
"intend(s)," "intended," "look forward," "may," "might,"
"opportunity," "opportunities," "outlook(s)," "pending," "plan(s),"
"planned," "potential," "scheduled," "shall," "should," "think(s),"
"to be," "upcoming," "well-positioned," "will," "wish," "would,"
and similar expressions, if and to the extent used, are intended to
identify forward-looking statements. All forward-looking statements
are based largely on current expectations and beliefs concerning
future events that are subject to substantial risks and
uncertainties. Actual results may differ materially from the
results herein suggested or suggested in the conference call.
Factors that may cause or contribute to the various potential
differences include, but are not limited to, the following: --
adverse consequences to the company and/or its operations as a
result of the change in company management roles, and transition of
Bill and Ralph Cruz out of their day-to-day roles, including as a
result of changes in management styles or decisions that produce
less favorable results than would have been produced under the
prior management structure; -- potential adverse effects on the
company's market value and price per share as a result of the
market's perception and reaction to such changes in management
structure; -- changes in the condition of the securities and
financial markets, including, but not limited to, changes in the
combined average share volume of the major exchanges and in market
volatility; -- the company's ability (or lack thereof) to achieve
significant net increases in DARTs, brokerage accounts and
brokerage revenues sequentially or quarter over quarter (for
example, TradeStation's DARTs decreased sequentially from second to
third quarter in 2004 and in 2006, and net revenues decreased
sequentially from second to third quarter 2006, and these items may
decrease sequentially in subsequent periods as a result of negative
market conditions or other factors); -- the timing, cost and
success of marketing decisions and campaigns generally, and the
entrance of new competitors or competitive products, services or
product/service upgrades into the market; -- market pressure to
continue to lower, substantially, pricing on brokerage and
subscription services as a result of such services being provided
at lower or minimal costs by brokerages, financial institutions and
other financial companies to their customers, or for other market
reasons; -- pending NASD inquiries concerning OATS reporting
violations, violations of NASD Conduct Rule 3370 ("Prompt Receipt
and Delivery of Securities") concerning certain customer short sale
orders in 2004, and failure to transmit short sale position reports
since the conversion to self-clearing operations, each of which
could result in fines, sanctions and/or other negative
consequences; -- adverse results in pending or possible future
litigation against the company (including two pending lawsuits,
both of which the company considers baseless, filed by the
co-founders of onlinetrading.com, a brokerage acquired by the
company in 2000, which together seek in the aggregate tens of
millions of dollars in damages or rescissions of transactions that
would create similar negative financial consequences for the
company) that are significantly different than is currently
estimated or expected (currently zero dollars are reserved for
these pending claims); -- technical difficulties, errors and/or
failures in the company's electronic and software products,
services and systems relating to market data, order execution and
trade processing and reporting, and other software or system errors
and failures; -- the company not maintaining a seamless, redundant
back-up system to its order execution systems, which could
materially intensify the negative consequences described in the
previous risk factor; -- the timing, implementation and costs
associated with planned hardware and software upgrades for
back-office and internal systems, and other capital expenditures,
planned for 2007; -- the effect of unanticipated increased
infrastructure costs that may be incurred as the company grows its
brokerage firm operations, adds accounts and introduces and expands
existing and new product and service offerings, or acquires other
businesses; -- unanticipated infrastructure, capital or other large
expenses, and unforeseen or unexpected liabilities and claims, the
company may face as it seeks to grow its U.S. active trader market
share in equities and futures, its forex business (including the
date by which TradeStation Securities is able to offer a
seamlessly-integrated forex trading platform to customers and
prospects and the success of that upgraded forex offering), and its
institutional and non-US trader market businesses (as the company
has no significant prior experience with forex, institutional and
non-US trader marketing, sales or product development operations),
including potential acquisition or business combination risks,
costs and expenses (such as professional fees and, in the case of
an acquisition, amortization expense) incurred in the event the
company acquires or combines with other businesses; -- the amount
of unexpected legal, consultation and professional fees (including
those expenses as they relate to the onlinetrading.com co-founder
lawsuits against the company, other lawsuits or proceedings against
the company or potential business combinations); -- change or lack
of change in the federal funds rate of interest that is different
than what the company anticipates; -- the frequency and size of,
and ability to collect, unsecured client account debits as a result
of volatile market movements in concentrated positions held in
client accounts or as a result of other high-risk positions or
circumstances; -- the company's estimated earnings per share
(diluted) being based on assumptions of a certain number of
outstanding shares and an average stock price for particular time
periods that turn out to be inaccurate (if the number of
outstanding shares and/or the average stock price is actually
higher than what has been assumed, there will be more dilution and
the actual earnings per share would be lower); -- the general
variability and unpredictability of operating results forecast on a
quarterly basis; and -- other items, events and unpredictable costs
or revenue impact items or events that may occur, and other issues,
risks and uncertainties indicated from time to time in the
company's filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission,
including, but not limited to, the company's Annual Report on Form
10-K for the fiscal year ended December 31, 2005, and other company
SEC filings and company press releases. Contact -- David H.
Fleischman Chief Financial Officer TradeStation Group, Inc.
954-652-7000 DATASOURCE: TradeStation Group, Inc. CONTACT: David H.
Fleischman, Chief Financial Officer of TradeStation Group, Inc.,
+1-954-652-7000 Web site: http://www.tradestation.com/
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