JMP Group Appoints Peter Coleman Director of Research

JMP Group Inc. (NYSE:JMP), an investment banking and alternative asset management firm, announced today that Peter V. Coleman has joined JMP Securities, JMP Group’s broker-dealer subsidiary, as a managing director and director of research. Mr. Coleman is based in the firm’s San Francisco headquarters. He assumes his role from James F. Wilson, who had held the position since 1999 and who will move to JMP Securities’ investment banking department as a managing director focused on the residential real estate industry.

"Peter brings a wealth of experience to JMP,” said Mark L. Lehmann, president of JMP Securities. "He has held senior management positions at other boutique firms and has overseen or contributed to a variety of successful equity research platforms, giving him valuable perspective on his role here. Jim Wilson, who will now serve his longstanding real estate clients in a new way as an investment banker at our firm, has managed the development of a highly regarded Wall Street research franchise over the past decade. Peter is uniquely qualified to build upon the strength of that business and will contribute significantly to JMP’s institutional brokerage effort. We are proud to announce his addition to the firm.”

Prior to joining JMP Securities, Mr. Coleman was chief executive officer of investment bank Merriman Capital and chief financial officer of its publicly traded parent company, Merriman Holdings, Inc. He previously served as chief operating officer and chief financial officer of Think Equity Partners, also sitting on its board of directors and its global management committee and earlier serving as its director of research. Beforehand, Mr. Coleman was a senior equity analyst both at Schwab SoundView Capital Markets and its predecessor, SoundView Technology Group, and at Banc of America Securities and its predecessor, NationsBanc Montgomery Securities, where he first worked in the high yield research department. Mr. Coleman served as a senior fixed income trader at SunTrust Capital Markets, after starting his career as a credit officer in the commercial banking group at Wells Fargo Bank. He holds a B.S. in business administration from the University of San Diego.

About JMP Group

JMP Group Inc. is a full-service investment banking and asset management firm that provides investment banking, sales and trading, and equity research services to corporate and institutional clients and alternative asset management products to institutional and high-net-worth investors. JMP Group operates through three subsidiaries: JMP Securities, Harvest Capital Strategies and JMP Credit Advisors. For more information, visit www.jmpg.com.