New York, NY - March 7, 2006 - Pivot Solutions, the developer of IMTRADER™, today announced that the firm has released a robust communications and trading platform specifically for buy side investment firms. The platform allows all participants involved in the investment process including traders, portfolio managers and analysts to request and share relevant trade information which improves execution quality and ultimately increases portfolio performance. A pilot of the service is being launched in local markets this week. IMTRADER™, an AIM® certified partner, provides the buy side with the ability to communicate with a broad audience to get relevant, timely information to make faster, more accurate trading decisions that impact execution quality and ultimately increase portfolio performance. The platform's robust internal and external communications tools provide tighter broker integration and the ability to effectively collaborate internally using private, secure, internal chat rooms and tabbed chatting. Additionally, IMTRADER™'s Chat Blast provides one-to-many messaging capabilities.

The hosted application offers advantages beyond that of traditional IM providers. Certified AIM® connectivity permits clients to keep their existing screen name and the AIM® Buddy List feature. The platform seamlessly integrates with major IM compliance solutions to fulfill critical compliance requirements such as SEC 17a-4, by providing the ability to instantly track, retrieve and search all chats and chat room conversations. For firms that lack an IM compliance solution, IMTRADER™ can easily integrate with existing e-mail-based solutions to deliver full compliance at a fraction of the cost.

IMTRADER™ also allows users to more effectively trade with their brokers on the network by instantly converting their IM chats into FIX trades which integrate directly into their broker's order management system. Traders receive real-time updates in their chat window and can type "Blotter" for a summary of their orders-creating efficiency in the trading and communications process. "Trading performance is dependent on timely, trusted communications that are relevant and accurate. The buy side needs a powerful communications tool that adds value to their decision-making process," explains Furqan Nazeeri, CEO of Pivot Solutions. "This initiative completes the full communications value chain between the buy side and sell side."