"We are expanding rapidly, preparing for the next stage in our growth, and believe that Penson, with its strong capabilities and balance sheet, will provide the kind of scale and resources we need to build an even more robust offering going forward," said Don Montanaro, Chairman and CEO of TradeKing. TradeKing plans to announce additional details for its customers closer to the time of conversion, which is expected in approximately the middle of the year. At December 31, 2009, TradeKing had 190,000 accounts, up 51% from year end 2008.

"We are pleased that TradeKing, a well recognized firm with a fast growing presence in the online community, has chosen Penson for a long-term clearing relationship," said Philip A. Pendergraft, Co-Founder and CEO of Penson Worldwide. "As the largest independent clearing firm, with nearly 300 correspondents and more than $7 billion in assets, Penson has a long established track record of helping our correspondents significantly expand their businesses. We very much look forward to serving TradeKing."

In addition to Penson's scalability, Bill Yancey, President & CEO of PFSI, said that TradeKing selected PFSI for its ability to effectively clear and settle complex options, provide portfolio margining across asset classes for improved margin optimization, and supply other products and services that will facilitate TradeKing's recently announced plans for new capabilities for active traders and its online community such as mobile trading. "TradeKing also was attracted to Penson because of our global focus, multi-asset product suite and stable, well-established platform for growth," Mr. Yancey said.