[April 09, 2013]

optionMONSTER Holdings Named 2013 ITA CityLIGHTS Awards Finalist For tradeMONSTER Technology

tradeMONSTER, the online brokerage industry's leader in user experience, has been selected as a finalist for a 2013 Illinois Technology Association (ITA) CityLIGHTS Award, for the "Outstanding Technology Development Award." Furthermore, CTO Sanjib Sahoo, has been named an ITA Finalist for "Technologist of the Year".

The coveted nominations come only weeks after tradeMONSTER's 4½-star ranking in Barron's Annual 'Best for Online Brokers of 2013' review, ascending to second place overall in the industry's definitive rankings.

Amongst the reasons optionMONSTER Holdings, Inc. (OMH), the parent of tradeMONSTER, has been selected is the recent launch of tradeMONSTER Mobile, their markedly innovative and patent pending mobile trading app. With tradeMONSTER Mobile, the first and only proprietary mobile trading app built on HTML5, the existing user experience of tradeMONSTER's main trading platform has been closely replicated on mobile platforms.

Dirk Mueller, co-founder and CEO of optionMONSTER Holdings, Inc. commented, "When we started working on the tradeMONSTER solution in 2007, we had a vision to deliver the most amazing trading experience to our customers "Anywhere, Anytime" on any device. We are proud that our technology team, under Sanjib's leadership, took that product vision and now twice delivered groundbreaking innovation in our industry. Inclusion in the CityLIGHTS awards enforces the belief we've actualized this lofty vision and we are very pleased to accept the nomination."

"It's an honor to be recognized by the ITA for both, "Outstanding Technology Development" and "Technologist of the Year". Our technology team is in good company," said Sahoo. "With Illinois as our primary talent pool, we are very fortunate to have passionate technologists, who are also avid students of the markets, exactly the sort of professionals associated with the ITA."

The nominating panel also considered OMH's history of pioneering technology in that tradeMONSTER was the first brokerage to deploy a streaming desktop-like trading experience in a web-browser, utilizing Adobe's Flex technology. The tradeMONSTER platform features professional grade tools in a dynamic and customizable interface combined with integrated investor education, making it the ideal interface for technophiles looking to take action on their investing ambitions. The judges also took into account what was at the time tradeMONSTER's pioneering Open Source (News - Alert) approach in an extremely performance critical and highly regulated trading industry.

A key driver of OMH's maturation into a potent and relentless team of technologists was its time at TechNexus from 2007-2009, when they delivered the first groundbreaking innovation, which has been adopted since by many competitors of tradeMONSTER.

Winners will be announced at the CityLIGHTS Awards Gala Thursday, May 9, 2013, in the Great Hall at Union Station in Chicago. The gala attracts more than 700 people - representing 400 organizations - including business owners, investors, legislators and policymakers.

A panel of accomplished judges representing the Who's Who in Illinois technology reviewed nominations and selected the finalists. Judges hail from major organizations including Google, Northwestern University Kellogg Graduate School of Management, Motorola (News - Alert) Mobility, Walgreens, and World Business Chicago. The list of past winners includes GrubHub.com, NAVTEQ (News - Alert), Model Metrics, Carole McCluskey of Coinstar/Redbox, and Braintree, among others.

"We are thrilled to host an event where some of the many accomplishments of the local tech industry are recognized," said ITA President & CEO Fred Hoch. "Technology advancements affect every company, no matter the product or the industry. The need for companies to leverage the efficiencies offered through these new tools has never been more important, especially as they look to grow, attract and retain talent, and gain visibility. The Awards Gala is a celebration of the companies developing the technology and the companies utilizing it."

Public voting is open from April 8-22, 2013. Winners will be determined by composite score (50 percent judges; 50 percent community voting) in all categories except the CityLIGHTS Award, which is determined solely by the ITA Board of Directors. Votes can be submitted through end of day on April 22, 2013.

About optionMONSTER Holdings Inc.

Co-founded in 2006 by Jon ('DRJ') and Pete Najarian and Dirk Mueller, a group of professional traders, financial executives, and CNBC contributors, optionMONSTER Holdings provides brokerage services through its subsidiary tradeMONSTER at www.trademonster.com and financial news, analysis and education services through its subsidiary optionMONSTER at www.optionmonster.com.

The vision of optionMONSTER Holdings is to provide best of breed information and tools intended to narrow the gap between self-directed and institutional investing, by providing retail investors with the best options content (including education) in the industry and an online brokerage platform, which provides an amazing user experience "Anywhere, Anytime," and gives any investor all the necessary professional grade tools to trade successfully in the markets.

About tradeMONSTER

Rated "Best for Options Traders", tradeMONSTER (www.trademonster.com) continues to set a new standard of excellence and innovation in the online brokerage industry. tradeMONSTER was the first online broker to deploy a streaming desktop-like trading experience in a web-browser, featuring professional grade tools in a dynamic and customizable interface combined with integrated investor education, transparent commissions and an extremely knowledgeable and dedicated customer service team. Additionally, tradeMONSTER is offering a groundbreaking mobile experience on all major mobile platforms and devices through tradeMONSTER Mobile. tradeMONSTER's technology team prides itself on constant customer driven innovation and currently has been granted several patents with numerous patents pending for its technology and one-of-kind investment tools embedded on the tradeMONSTER platform. All securities and investments are offered through tradeMONSTER. Member FINRA/SIPC/NFA.

About the ITA

The Illinois Technology Association (News - Alert) (ITA) is the driving force behind Illinois' vibrant technology industry. ITA's extensive lineup of curated member programs and services address three key critical areas: growth, talent, and visibility. By leveraging the connections and expertise of its more than 600 member companies representing a workforce that is 50,000 strong and growing, the ITA provides the ecosystem growing technology companies need to succeed. For more information, visit www.illinoistech.org, follow the ITA on Twitter at www.twitter.com/itabuzz, and view the ITA's Facebook (News - Alert) profile at www.facebook.com/illinoistechnology.

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