Mesirow Financial Further Strengthens Municipal Bond Sales and Trading Department

CHICAGO, June 30, 2008 — Mesirow Financial announced today that it has hired Joseph Piraro to further strengthen its Municipal Bond Sales and Trading department. With more than 35 years experience in the municipal bond market, Piraro's expertise and strong relationships will be an essential asset to the firm's Institutional Sales and Trading group.

Piraro joins Mesirow Financial from VanKampen Funds, where he served most recently as an executive director and portfolio manager, overseeing five municipal bond funds with a total of $2.5 billion in assets under management.

"Joe's successful history in the municipal bond business is a perfect fit for our growing department, which was just recently enhanced with the hire of Dominick Mondi," said Bruce Young, vice chairman of the firm and head of the Institutional Sales and Trading department. "Joe and Dominick, who have known each other professionally for years, will together help Mesirow Financial further develop relationships and service existing ones."

Piraro received his B.S. from DePaul University and subsequently received his M.B.A. from Loyola University. He has also been invited numerous times by the World Research Group to be a guest speaker on financial markets and was selected to be a member of their advisory board for future conferences.

Mesirow Financial is a diversified financial services firm headquartered in Chicago. Founded in 1937, it is an independent, employee-owned firm with $32.2 billion in assets under management and more than 1,100 employees in 30 locations across the country and in London. With expertise in Investment Management, Investment Services, Insurance Services, Investment Banking, Consulting and Real Estate, Mesirow Financial strives to meet the financial needs of institutions, public sector entities, corporations and individuals and was named one of Chicago's Best Places to Work by Crain's Chicago Business in 2008. For the fiscal year ended March 31, 2008, the firm posted $490 million in revenue (unaudited), with more than $245 million in capital. For more information about Mesirow Financial, visit its Web site at www.mesirowfinancial.com.

For more information, contact: Lauren Berkowitz, Mesirow Financial, 312.595.6261.

 

The Mesirow Financial name and logo are registered service marks of Mesirow Financial Holdings, Inc., © 2007, Mesirow Financial Holdings, Inc. All rights reserved. The information contained herein has been obtained from sources believed to be reliable, but is not necessarily complete and its accuracy cannot be guaranteed. Any opinions expressed are subject to change without notice. It should not be assumed that any recommendations incorporated herein will be profitable or will equal past performance. Nothing contained herein constitutes an offer to sell or a solicitation of an offer to buy an interest in any Mesirow Financial investment vehicle(s).

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