-- Firm Strengthens Institutional Team to Continue Growth in Europe and Middle East

CHICAGO and LONDON, March 11, 2013 /PRNewswire/ -- R.J. O'Brien & Associates (RJO), the oldest and largest independent futures brokerage and clearing firm in the United States, today announced that industry veteran David Levy has come on board as Head of the Global Markets Desk of the firm's R.J. O'Brien (UK) Limited subsidiary. With more than three decades of experience in futures, trading, institutional sales and banking, Levy will focus on building the unit's institutional team and servicing clients in the region.

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David Mudie, CEO of RJO (UK) Limited, said: "We are very pleased to welcome David aboard at this important juncture now that we have established London as the anchor for our efforts to increase our footprint throughout Europe and the Middle East.  He has extraordinary experience and expertise in all aspects of futures at some of the world's leading global financial institutions. I know his leadership will be invaluable to our growing operation."

Mudie said Levy is starting with a team of professionals reporting to him on the Global Markets Desk, with plans for adding new institutional sales professionals in the coming months.

Said Levy: "I'm delighted to join this esteemed and respected company that has enjoyed such a stellar reputation for nearly a century. I look forward to working with David Mudie to expand the RJO presence across key markets in Europe and the Middle East. I believe that with the firm's focus on futures and clear commitment to client relationships, we are ideally positioned to capture more institutional and fixed income business in these markets."

Levy joins RJO UK Limited after spending 14 years at Citigroup Global Markets Ltd., most recently as Vice President, Futures Sales. In that role, he provided sales and execution services to a portfolio of global institutional clients throughout Europe, the Middle East and North America, including banks, hedge funds, asset managers and commodity trading advisors. With expertise across product lines, Levy developed a particular specialty in fixed income products, including the formulation of new trade ideas and roll-out to clients. He was a member of the futures execution desk of Citigroup from 1998 to 2002.

Previously, Levy had a variety of roles on the trading floor of Liffe, including serving as an execution broker for Van Der Moolen Brokerage Ltd. and as Senior Execution Broker for the futures division of Lloyds Bank plc. He specialized in arbitrage of sugar futures in the 1990s for Credit Agricole's futures division, also serving as Assistant Floor Manager of a 17-person team on the trading floor.

Prior to those positions, Levy was an Order Desk Manager at Drexel Burnham Lambert. He started his career in 1982 in a banking role at Lloyds.

About R.J. O'Brien

Founded in 1914, RJO is the largest independent futures brokerage firm in the United States, serving institutional, commercial and individual clients globally, in addition to a network of 400 introducing brokers (IB). Clearing more than 100,000 client accounts, RJO services the industry's most expansive global network of IBs, a vast array of middle market firms and many of the world's largest financial, industrial and agricultural institutions. The firm offers state-of-the-art electronic trading and 24-hour trade execution on every futures exchange worldwide.

SOURCE R.J. O'Brien & Associates