SmartMoney Ranks Firstrade as a Top Online Discount Broker in 15th Annual Survey

Firstrade Securities, the award-winning, online brokerage firm, has once again earned high industry accolades, the latest as one of the top online discount brokers in the 15th annual SmartMoney survey, conducted by one of the nation's most highly regarded financial publications, SmartMoney Magazine.

Firstrade garnered a third place ranking overall out of 21 online brokers evaluated in this year's survey. The poll gave Firstrade accolades for their low $6.95 commission rate as well as a high interest rate on cash. SmartMoney also awarded Firstrade 4 out of 5 stars for their investment products, the most stars of the group (3) for banking amenities and four out of five stars for the diversity of investment products.

"Once again, we're being recognized by a top financial publication for our superior services and the lowest investing costs in the online discount broker arena," explains John Liu, Founder and President of Firstrade. "Our teams continue to enhance our trading platform and customer service so that we soar above our competitors around the world."

The SmartMoney Survey evaluated 21 online brokerage companies based on the needs of a hypothetical buy-and-hold customer who has an account balance of $50,000 and invests in stocks, bonds and funds. It scrutinized the ease of trading, quality of research and tools and helpfulness of customer service in the search for "the best combination of 21st century features with old-fashioned service."

About Firstrade

Founded in 1985, Firstrade is a pioneer in online trading and leads the brokerage industry with a combination of low costs and a high level of customer service for the value-driven investment portfolio containing stocks, bonds, mutual funds and options. Firstrade offers stock trades at the highly competitive rate of $6.95 each and is the only online broker that has both Traditional Chinese ( http://public.firstrade.com/public/welcome/?locale=zh_tw ) and Simplified Chinese ( http://public.firstrade.com/public/welcome/?locale=zh_cn ) Language website and customer support. www.firstrade.com

Firstrade has consistently been recognized among online brokers for its high level of service, varied product offerings and low cost to the investor. For example, Kiplinger Personal Finance named Firstrade the "Clear Winner" in the Mutual Funds Category and the "Top Clean-Hands Firm" in the Online Brokerage Industry. Smart Money has named Firstrade "the Best Deal" among online discount brokerages.

For more information, please visit our website at www.firstrade.com .

Contacts: Andrew Lavin A. Lavin Communications 212-290-9540 alc@alavin.com C.S. Hsia Firstrade Securities 718-269-1563