Global knowledge meets local expertise

The alliance will grant Global Trader's South African retail client base rights to access Merrill Lynch's world-class equity research and electronic trading tools, such as cross-asset global trading, clearing and financing capabilities through Merrill Lynch's Total Trader online platform.

As one of the world's leading wealth management, capital markets and advisory companies, Merrill Lynch sought a local leader with in-depth knowledge of the South African trading markets to partner with, and in doing so marries global knowledge with local access. Global Trader has pioneered the use of Contracts for Difference (CFDs) and Spread Trading locally, while cementing its international footprint through authorized and regulated offices in London, Canada, Bangkok and Russia.

In an economy that is heavily influenced by the shifts in overseas markets, the company's South African clients will have access to a world leader in market data and analysis. Charles Savage, CEO Global Trader SA, says, “Together with Merrill Lynch we aim to significantly enhance our global growth and to become one of the pre-eminent players in the global retail-derivatives market”.

Matteo Cassina, Merrill Lynch's Head of Total Trader, said, “Total Trader is the result of two years of creative development which aims to revolutionise self-directed trading and investing. We believe it represents the future of online trading and financial content in the wholesale space. We are pleased to be entering into this strategic alliance with Global Trader and we are looking forward to growing and strengthening our presence in this market, and to agreeing other similar strategic alliances elsewhere in Europe going forward.”

Global Trader's alliance with a leading financial institution such as Merrill Lynch represents a first for the South African financial services industry and promises to be fundamentally different to what consumers have become accustomed. Merrill Lynch Global Research has achieved consistently high rankings for its research in numerous regional and global investor surveys.

The company's awards for equity research in 2007 include:
• Voted #1 in The Wall Street Journal 2007 Best on the Street Stock Picking Survey
• Consistently ranked in the top five in the Institutional Investor All-America Equity Research Team Survey
• Ranked #1 for Pan European Equity coverage in the 2007 Institutional Investor All-Europe Research Survey; third consecutive year
• Ranked #3 in 2007 in Institutional Investor for Emerging EMEA Equity coverage; second consecutive year.

By introducing a tiered structure within its client base, Global Trader will provide a wide variety of equity research and market data to its South African clients, as well as reward its most active clients with greater access to Merrill Lynch's research and tools. “This alliance will allow our South African retail clients to be in the forefront of international and local development, empowering them to make better informed trading decisions by providing them with top tier equity research and other tools” says Savage.

The company's existing trading platform will work in conjunction with the Total Trader platform. The Total Trader system also features sophisticated screeners, charting and technical analysis tools and market data for traders who have mastered the intricacies of their online trading cockpits. It offers easy browsing, powerful searching, and next-generation online tools for customisation. The full terms of the arrangement are still subject to further documentation.

Global Trader and Merrill Lynch

Worldwide, Global Trader is authorised and regulated by the Financial Services Authority in the United Kingdom. Global Trader is an authorised Financial Services Provider by the Financial Services Board of South Africa and registered as a derivatives dealer with the Securities and Exchange Commission of Thailand.

Merrill Lynch is one of the world's leading wealth management, capital markets and advisory companies, with offices in 38 countries and territories and total client assets of almost $2.0 trillion. As an investment bank, it is a leading global trader and underwriter of securities and derivatives across a broad range of asset classes and serves as a strategic advisor to corporations, governments, institutions and individuals worldwide. Merrill Lynch owns approximately half of BlackRock, one of the world's largest publicly traded investment management companies, with more than $1 trillion in assets under management. For more information on Merrill Lynch, visit http://www.ml.com.