Instinet Accelerates Protrader Integration
Instinet Veteran Kimberly Hicks Named CEO of ProTrader
New York, April 26, 2002 - Instinet Group Incorporated (Nasdaq: INET) today announced that Kimberly Hicks, Senior Vice President of Instinet Corporation, will become Chief Executive Officer of ProTrader Group, effective immediately. ProTrader is a provider of advanced trading technologies and electronic brokerage services and was acquired by Instinet in October 2001. Hicks will lead Instinet's efforts to compete for business from small hedge funds and professional day traders, as well as to accelerate the rollout of new and enhanced products for the direct access trading community. ProTrader Securities President, Craig Howard, and Chief Information Officer, Jim Herbold, will remain in their current positions, reporting to Hicks.
Former ProTrader Group CEO, Jay McEntire, will move to Instinet, becoming Senior Vice President of Business Development and reporting to Robert Donovan, Head of Instinet Clearing Services.
Jean-Marc Bouhelier, Chief Operating Officer of Instinet, said, "Today's actions signal Instinet's intent to accelerate product deployment and improve operational efficiency. The Instinet Trading Portal, which is based largely on technology acquired with ProTrader, is our new trading application for US active fund managers and hedge funds. The product is currently being used by 26 Instinet clients and the feedback we are receiving is overwhelmingly positive. I commend Jay for his many contributions at ProTrader and for his collaboration with Kimberly over the past six months. This has contributed the successful integration of ProTrader into Instinet and the rapid development and testing of Instinet's Trading Portal."
Kimberly Hicks, ProTrader's Chief Executive Officer, commented, "We are committed to providing value to our growing list of direct access customers, continuously seeking creative solutions that allow them to take advantage of Instinet's liquidity and connectivity to other liquidity pools. ProTrader will continue to support its existing customer base and all ProTrader product lines, including gr8trade, a leading direct access trading platform. We are taking steps to better meet customers' needs by enhancing the quality and speed of our offerings, including our order entry capabilities, market connectivity and market information."
ProTrader's Austin, Texas location will serve as a 'Center of Excellence' for the continued creation, enhancement, and support of trading technologies. James Herbold, ProTrader's Chief Information Officer, added, "The technology team at ProTrader is committed to providing fast quotes and fast executions, bundled with innovative trading tools, deployed on a robust network and accompanied with excellent customer service."
Since the ProTrader acquisition was completed in October 2001, Instinet has taken measures to restructure ProTrader's retail outlets, concentrating on five regional locations, with many customers shifting to products supported through the Internet. Other recent actions have also been taken to achieve operating efficiencies within the Company.
About Instinet
Instinet, through affiliates, is the largest global electronic agency securities broker and has been providing investors with electronic trading solutions for more than 30 years. Our services enable buyers and sellers worldwide to trade securities directly and anonymously with each other, have the opportunity to gain price improvement for their trades and lower their overall trading costs. Through our electronic platforms, our customers also can access over 40 securities markets throughout the world, including Nasdaq, the NYSE and stock exchanges in Frankfurt, Hong Kong, London, Paris, Sydney, Tokyo, Toronto and Zurich. We also provide our customers with access to research generated by us and by third parties, as well as various informational and decision-making tools. Unlike most traditional broker-dealers, we act solely as an agent for our customers and do not trade securities for our own account or maintain inventories of securities for sale. For more information, please go to www.instinet.com.
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