This new offering will help Pershing's customers manage the compliance and administrative tasks associated with establishing and overseeing SEC Rule 10b5-1 trading plans.

Established by the Securities and Exchange Commission, Rule 10b5-1 allows a company affiliate or insider to trade company stock without consideration of trading windows, as long as the trades are in accordance with a pre-established plan or contract, and insiders are not in possession of material nonpublic information. Rule 10b5-1 trading plans also help publicly traded companies meet their reporting obligations under the Sarbanes-Oxley Act.

Restricted Stock Systems' Rule 10b5-1 Trading Plan solution is available through NetExchange Pro for Pershing's introducing broker-dealer customers and their investment professionals, and for RIAs through Pershing's affiliate, Pershing Advisor Solutions LLC, via NetExchange Advisor. This solution allows for streamlined connectivity with Pershing's trading desks and The Rules Engine, its automated compliance tool for order management. Orders that pass through The Rules Engine are automatically sent to the market for execution. Pershing is the only firm to offer its customers this level of streamlined connectivity to Restricted Stock Systems' Rule 10b5-1 Trading Plan solution. Key features and functionality include:

• An interactive wizard-based plan entry, which allows for an efficient and automated way to create Rule 10b5-1 trading plans and schedule predetermined trades;
• Assistance in creating restricted stock and insider filings;
• Automatic real-time market data monitoring to eliminate the risk of errors and missed trades;
• Robust reporting tools to view and analyze commission revenues, assets under management, plan volumes and trade executions; and
• Comprehensive audit trails to ensure all activity is in compliance.

Ron Fiske, managing director of the product management and development group at Pershing, said, "We are pleased to provide our introducing broker- dealer and independent registered investment advisor customers with a comprehensive Rule 10b5-1 trading plan solution. This new capability illustrates our continued commitment to provide our customers with market- leading wealth management tools and solutions to help them grow their businesses."

The addition of Rule 10b5-1 trading plans enhances Pershing's ability to provide its customers with an extensive suite of wealth management offerings, ranging from securities-based lending solutions to asset management account capabilities. It also enables Pershing to provide its customers with a broader array of corporate executive services including hedging and monetization solutions and alternative investments from The Bank of New York Mellon.