PFG Hires Lisa Kalamaras as Forex Treasurer; Extreme rate of growth heats up demand for industry professionals.

CHICAGO -- To keep pace with its burgeoning forex business, PFG (Peregrine Financial Group, Inc.) today announced it has hired Lisa Kalamaras in the role of Forex Treasurer. She has more than 10 years' experience in currency trading, cash management, and monitoring of electronic trading activities from execution to settlement, including daily reconciliation of foreign currency accounts and back office functions between counterparties.

Ms. Kalamaras joins PFG from Man FX Clear, LLC in Chicago, where she was foreign exchange settlements supervisor for the past year. For five years prior, she held the same role at Refco Capital Markets, Ltd., handling FX spot/forward, option, and NDF confirmations and settlements. She monitored all counterparty daily netting and electronic payments and was instrumental in establishing CLS settlement for the firm. Foreign exchange became her specialty when hired by Lind-Waldock & Company, LLC before it was acquired by Refco.

PFG Forex President Russell R. Wasendorf, Jr. noted that forex is now one of the company's largest and fastest-growing disciplines. In the first quarter of 2006, PFG Chicago had a retail forex volume of $21.5 billion, not including more than $9 billion a month in delivery currency business. Second quarter retail activity for PFG totaled more than $29 billion. "PFG Forex is on track to have retail forex trading volume surpass $100 billion this year," said Wasendorf.

PFG Forex customer funds are held in an account separate from the company's operating account, a distinction that few competitors could claim until critical changes were initiated through regulatory agencies.

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. Please visit www.pfgbest.com.