thinkorswim Named 'Best Online Broker' in Barron's 13th Annual Ranking

Takes Top Honors for Third Time in Four Years


CHICAGO and NEW YORK, March 18, 2009 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- thinkorswim, Inc., a financial trading technology pioneer and online brokerage division of thinkorswim Group Inc. (Nasdaq:SWIM), ranked #1 in the annual Barron's ranking for best 2008 overall online broker, and ranked highest (4.5 out of 5 stars) in the critical "Best for Frequent Traders" and "Best for Options Traders" categories. This is the third time in the last four years that thinkorswim has won this coveted distinction in Barron's annual ranking of the best online brokers. According to the March 16, 2009 issue of Barron's:

"The company continues its blistering pace of innovation while offering customers multiple points of access, accompanied by great education tools. Customer support is top-notch, and a wealth of trading information comes at you from a variety of media while you are logged into the platform."

"It is a real honor to be recognized as the top online broker in the U.S. and achieve this ranking for the third time in four years by such a discerning audience. This distinction confirms what we live every day -- our passion for trading and our drive to innovate is unmatched. It is a total team effort and everyone at thinkorswim deserves credit, from our support team to our talented programmers," said Tom Sosnoff, President of thinkorswim, Inc. "With frequent platform upgrades, 24/7 support, and free classes around the country, we have been changing the retail trader's expectations of what an online broker should provide. But after a quick round of high fives, it was back to work responding to customers and writing the specs for the enhancements for the next software release. We love what we do, and we never rest on our laurels."

Barron's rated the online brokerage firms under eight categories including types of tradable investments and the quality and ease-of-use of screeners that help you choose stocks, options or funds, as well as the site's startup process, overall functionality and potential for customization.

Added Sosnoff, "Over the past nine years, we've worked hard to deliver the best trading platforms and customer service we can. We are thrilled to be able to move to a dramatically larger playing field and offer our products to an increasingly growing number of traders."

thinkorswim has appeared in the Barron's ranking for the past four years. thinkorswim was rated #1 overall online broker in Barron's ranking of online brokers, March 16, 2009, highest software-based online broker and "best for options traders," March 16, 2006 and March 5, 2007, and second overall, March 15, 2008.

About thinkorswim, Inc.

thinkorswim, Inc., the brokerage arm of thinkorswim Group Inc. (Nasdaq: SWIM), is a leading online brokerage and technology provider focused on offering services and a suite of trading platforms for self-directed options traders, active traders, institutional traders and money managers. thinkorswim customers trade a broad range of products including stock and stock options, index options, futures and futures options, forex, mutual funds and fixed income. thinkorswim provides unique front-end trading platforms that allow customers to trade electronically, sophisticated analytical and research tools, and fast, efficient order execution for even the most complex trading strategies. The products and services offered by thinkorswim have received numerous accolades from third parties including Barron's ranking as its top rated software-based online broker and "best for options traders" (March 6, 2006 and March 5, 2007) and second overall on March 15, 2008. thinkorswim was evaluated versus others in eight total categories including investment types that can be traded, the quality of screeners provided to sort through stocks, options, or funds, the consumer-friendliness of trading screens, overall ease-of-use and ability to be customized. thinkorswim topped the list on 2006 and 2007 with the highest weighted average score. Barron's is a registered trademark of Dow Jones & Company(c) 2006, 2007, 2008.

The thinkorswim Group Inc. logo is available at http://www.globenewswire.com/newsroom/prs/?pkgid=5555

For more information about thinkorswim visit www.thinkorswim.com or call 1-866-839-1100.

For more information on Investools, thinkorswim Group Inc.'s education division, visit www.investools.com.



            

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