PFG Expands IT Department with New Hires and Promotion; New Human Resources Executive Named.

CHICAGO -- Extreme rate of growth over 12 months heats up demand for industry professionals

Peregrine Financial Group, Inc. (PFG), in a move to stay in front of customer demand for online futures and forex products and services, has brought aboard two new senior IT developers, David Rettger and Alexander Polumeyv. In addition, PFG hired Philippe Souvanheuane as an IT developer, and promoted Steve Schuster to the position of PFG Forex IT development manager.

The company has just named a new head of human resources, as well - Todd Hass. The four new positions are located in Chicago, as is Mr. Schuster.

"Expansion of our professional staff is due to the hyper growth of approximately 500% in customer volume and demand for PFG Forex compared with 2005," said PFG Chief Operations Officer Russ Wasendorf, Jr. PFG is on track to see an annual retail forex volume of $100 billion, and electronic futures business has also grown more than 50% in eight months, he added.

Steve Schuster, now PFG Forex IT development manager, joined the firm in April 2005. Before joining PFG, he was in Cincinnati working for Great American Financial Resources as an IT developer. A native of Lexington, Ohio, Steve is a graduate of Wartburg College.

Alexander Polumeyv, senior IT developer, reports to Schuster. Prior to PFG Forex, he worked for Trustmark Insurance Company of Lake Forest, Illinois as a senior systems analyst. He hails from Rostov-na-Donu, Russia, and holds a Bachelor's degree in Computer Science from Computer System College.

Philippe Souvanheuane also is part of the PFG Forex IT development group. He joins from AZAVAR Technologies, where he served as software engineer. Mr. Souvanheuane, originally from Paris, France, holds a Master's in E-Commerce Technology from DePaul University and a B.S. in Computer Science from the Illinois Institute of Technology.

David Rettger, senior IT developer reporting to PFG's chief information officer Liam Boyle, brings solid programming background and actual experience as a trader both on the floor and electronically. For several years he has served as a programming consultant for market-related companies and traders, following a stint at Spark Trading. Before that, he was president of Ret-Tech Software, Inc. for 15 years. Meanwhile he has held a full membership at the Chicago Board of Trade for 12 years, and began his professional career with Equitable Life Assurance Society of America as senior financial analyst. During the period most recently as an electronic trader and consultant, he created gray box software, data feeds and distribution, charting capabilities for professionals and other custom applications for his trading group.

Hired to lead Human Resources for PFG is Todd Hass. Having spent the past 4-1/2 years with Weigel Broadcasting, he was accountable for payroll, benefits, EEO/AAP certifications, new hires and all insurance services. Before that, Mr. Hass worked for several privately held companies as a human resources generalist, payroll administrator and accountant. He served in the U.S. Air Force for five years before beginning his career in the private sector. Mr. Hass' expertise will be valuable to PFG since the company has expanded at an unprecedented rate for more than a year. This represents a new leadership role at the firm.

PFG is one of the largest non-clearing U.S. futures commission merchants, with customers, affiliates and brokerage offices in more than 80 countries. It offers a diverse range of trading and investor products and services. The company is a leader in managed funds and forex, full-service brokerage, trader education, research, and direct online futures trading through its BEST Direct(TM) platform, the first to deliver customer orders to the CME's Globex engine in 1998. To learn more, visit www.pfgbest.com.