Prominent Finance Executives Back Merriman Holdings, Inc.

SAN FRANCISCO - May 14, 2015 - Merriman Holdings, Inc. MERR, the parent company of Merriman Capital, Inc., today announced that EGS, LLC, a limited liability company formed by three prominent finance executives, Harvey Eisen (on behalf of Wright Investors' Service Holdings, Inc.), Jason Sugarman and Marshall Geller invested $1 million into Merriman Holdings, Inc. on April 28, 2015 in exchange for a promissory note and warrants. In addition, Mr. Eisen and Sugarman have been added to the Merriman advisory board, joining current advisory board member Marshall Geller.
 
Harvey Eisen is Chairman, CEO and Director of Wright Investors' Service Holdings, Inc. (OTC Markets: WISH). He has also served as Chairman of Bedford Oak Advisors, LLC, an investment partnership since 1998, and Chairman and Director of GP Strategies since 2004. He was previously Senior Vice President of Travelers, Inc. and held various executive positions with Primerica, SunAmerica Corp., and Integrated Resources Asset Management.  Mr. Eisen was president and portfolio manager of Eisen Capital Management for 10 years. He began his career as an analyst with Stifel, Nicolaus & Co. and Wertheim. Mr. Eisen is widely recognized as one of the country's leading portfolio managers. With over three decades of investment experience, he is often consulted by the national media for his expert views on all phases of the investment marketplace and is frequently quoted in The Wall Street Journal, The New York Times, Pension World, U.S. News & World Report, Financial World and Business Week, among others. Mr. Eisen also appears regularly on various television programs on CNN, CNBC, Bloomberg TV and Lou Dobbs Tonight on Fox News. He also served as a regular panelist on Wall Street Week with Louis Rukeyser for over 20 years.
 
Jason Sugarman has over 20 years in the finance business with focus on asset backed lending and private equity investments. As the founder of two asset management firms and the lead outside investor in numerous financial service companies and real estate projects, he has funded over $1 billion in direct loan and equity placements and currently oversees Valor Group Holdings. In addition to real estate, he also personally sponsored in a number of highly successful early stage investments which have included the founding of Banc of California (a $7B bank holding company), COR Securities Holdings (the owner of the largest independent securities clearing company in the US), COR International Towers Inc (a cell tower developer and manager in Central America), and COR Finance LTD (a company which has both telecom and solar infrastructure assets in Asia).
 
Marshall Geller, who joined the advisory board in September 2014, is a Co-Founder and Managing Partner of St. Cloud Capital, LLC, a Los Angeles-based private investment firm focused on providing growth capital to companies who fall below the Wall Street radar screen and banking system. Mr. Geller spent over twenty-four years as Senior Managing Director for Bear, Stearns & Company, with oversight of all operations in Los Angeles, San Francisco, Chicago, Hong Kong and the Far East. Mr. Geller left Bear, Stearns & Company in 1990 and formed a merchant bank which was a predecessor to St. Cloud Capital. Mr. Geller previously served on the Board of Directors of California Pizza Kitchen CPKI and led the Special Committee to sell the company. He was previously the Interim Co-Chairman of Hexcel Corporation HXL and Interim President and COO of Players International, Inc. Mr. Geller was a strategic early round investor in and advisor to iMall (a provider of electronic commerce services to small businesses), for which he helped arrange a $20 million equity investment by First Data Corporation in 1998, and which was sold to Excite@Home in October 1999 for $637 million.  
 
"It's an honor to have Harvey, Jason and Marshall on our advisory board as well as investing in the company. Their deep understanding of all of our business lines and input on growing our recurring revenue and profitability will be invaluable. I look forward to their immediate contribution," said Jon Merriman, Chief Executive Officer.  
 
About Wright Investors' Service Holdings, Inc.
Wright Investors' Service Holdings, Inc. through its wholly-owned subsidiary Wright Investors' Service, Inc., is an investment management and financial advisory firm that is known for its disciplined and quality focus.  For more than 50 years, Wright has used well-defined and sophisticated investment strategies to help institutions, plan sponsors, bank trust departments, trust companies and individual investors achieve their financial objectives through a sensible approach to managing assets that balances risk and return.  At the center of Wright's investment process is the Wright Investment Committee.  The Committee consists of a select group of senior investment professionals who are supported by an experienced staff. Founded as a research organization in 1960, Wright develops and publishes investment research reports on over 35,000 companies worldwide along with its established investment commentaries on the economy and investment markets.
 
About Merriman Capital, Inc.
Merriman Capital, Inc. is a full service investment bank and Broker-Dealer that facilitates efficient capital formation through a proprietary digital network, and offers Corporate Services Advisory and comprehensive Corporate Brokerage services for public and private companies. The firm also provides equity and options execution services for sophisticated investors and differentiated research for high growth companies. Merriman Capital, Inc. is a wholly owned brokerage subsidiary of Merriman Holdings, Inc. MERR and is a leading advisory firm for publicly traded, high-growth companies.
 
Digital Capital Network, powered by Merriman Capital, is a capital marketplace that enables highly targeted and more efficient execution of transactions. Please visit our website for more information on how you can be a part of our Digital Capital Network: http://www.digitalcapitalnetwork.com.  Digital Capital Network, Inc. is a wholly owned subsidiary of Merriman Holdings, Inc.  All securities are offered through Merriman Capital, Inc.
 
Merriman Capital, Inc. is a registered broker-dealer and member of The Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA) http://www.finra.org/ and the Securities Investor Protection Corporation (SIPC) http://www.sipc.org/.
 
Note to Investors
This press release contains certain forward-looking statements based on our current expectations, forecasts and assumptions that involve risks and uncertainties. This release does not constitute an offer to sell or a solicitation of offers to buy any securities of any entity. Forward-looking statements in this release are based on information available to us as of the date hereof. Our actual results may differ materially from those stated or implied in such forward-looking statements, due to risks and uncertainties associated with our business, which include the risk factors disclosed in our Form 10-K filed on March 31, 2015. Forward-looking statements include statements regarding our expectations, beliefs, intentions or strategies regarding the future and can be identified by forward-looking words such as "anticipate," "believe," "could," "estimate," "expect," "intend," "may," "should," and "would" or similar words. We assume no obligation to update the information included in this press release, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise. The Form 10-K filed on March 31, 2015, together with this press release and the financial information contained herein, are available on our website, www.merrimanco.com. Please click on "Investor Relations."
 

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At the Company:
 
Adriana Piltz
Co-Chief Compliance Officer
Merriman Capital, Inc.
(646) 292-1424