Kenneth D. Pasternak, president and chief executive officer of Jersey City-based Knight/Trimark Group, Inc. (Nasdaq: NITE), was selected as the 1999 New Jersey Ernst & Young Entrepreneur of the Year(R) in the Emerging Entrepreneur of the Year category. Mr. Pasternak was honored by an independent panel of local business and academic leaders for his ability to create and grow Knight/Trimark - the unseen participant behind the explosive growth of on-line securities trading.

"Ken Pasternak epitomizes what it means to be an entrepreneur," commented Bernie Leone, New Jersey director of entrepreneurial services and partner at Ernst & Young LLP. "He saw the widespread popularity of on-line investing on the horizon and created a low-cost, technology-driven equities market maker capable of keeping up with the ever increasing volume of trading."

In the first quarter of 1999, Knight/Trimark executed on average 306,000 transactions per day (between $12 billion and $18 billion in transactions per day), the equivalent of one-third of the daily volume transacted on the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE). On April 19, the Company handled 520,000 trades, a record and about a quarter of the Wall Street total for the day.

The increased trade volumes fueled by the growth of on-line trading and increased market share has produced strong financial results for Knight/Trimark. Revenues for the first quarter ending March 31, 1999 rose 188 percent to $182.7 million, and net income increased 344% to 37.4 million compared to the first quarter of 1998. Since going public in July 1998, Knight/Trimark's market capitalization has grown from $750 million to approximately $5.7 billion, and its stock continues to be one of the best performing listings on Nasdaq. In fact, Investor's Business Daily has selected Knight/Trimark as Wall Street's best performing stock for two consecutive quarters this past year.

This exceptional financial growth has been fueled by the corporate culture that Mr. Pasternak has forged at Knight/Trimark. Since commencing operations in 1995, the Company has grown to over 540 employees, with 420 employees at its Jersey City headquarters. Mr. Pasternak credits the Company's extensive training and incentive programs for its ability to attract and retain top talent. These initiatives include the firm's stock ownership plan that gives Knight/Trimark employees a vested interest in the success of the Company.

"My selection as the New Jersey Ernst & Young Emerging Entrepreneur of the Year is further proof that the Knight/Trimark business model is a successful one," said Mr. Pasternak. "With a commitment in 1999 to invest more than $20 million in new technology, a new Internet-based trading product and the continued growth of on-line investing, our future looks bright."

Knight/Trimark Group is the leading market maker in both Nasdaq/OTC securities and the over-the-counter market for NYSE- and American Stock Exchange (AMEX)-listed equity securities - the Third Market. On account of its cutting-edge technology and customer support services, Knight/Trimark has the capacity to handle 1.2 million trades per day. The four-year-old Company, which is currently the nation's largest destination for on-line trade executions, this year became one of the largest businesses in New Jersey.

The Ernst & Young Entrepreneur of the Year Program began in 1986 and is the preeminent awards program recognizing and honoring the achievements of successful entrepreneurs around the world. The New Jersey Entrepreneur of the Year Program, started in 1988, is one of 47 regional awards programs that take place across the United States. In addition, there are 18 regions in Canada, Europe, Latin America, the Caribbean and Africa that celebrate the world's finest entrepreneurs. An independent panel of judges, facilitated by the Kauffman Center for Entrepreneurial Leadership at the Ewing Marion Kauffman Foundation, will select the national award recipients from among the regional award winners. One of these honorees will be chosen as the National Ernst & Young Entrepreneur of the Year.

NOTE TO EDITORS:

Knight/Trimark, as a market maker, performs the essential task of buying shares when retail or institutional customers want to sell and selling shares when they want to buy. Orders are sent via computer or phone to Knight/Trimark - all of which are processed in a matching environment where incoming orders are compared against the Company's large limit order book. If Knight/Trimark holds a matching order (e.g., sell order for a buy order and vice versa) a trade is made.

If no match is found, Knight/Trimark guarantees liquidity by committing its own capital and trading on a proprietary basis. For example, if a customer wants to buy 1,000 shares of XYZ stock at $100 apiece, and only 100 shares are for sale at that price, a Knight/Trimark trader will fill the order by selling the remaining 900 shares out of the Company's inventory.

Knight/Trimark generates much of its profit through volume of trading - the larger the volume, the greater the opportunity for net trading revenue. The firm maintains a market making capability in all publicly traded U.S. securities (from IBM, a NYSE stock, to Microsoft, a Nasdaq stock) and can commit capital in all of them. In fact, it has in excess of $200 million in inventories to facilitate the guaranteed liquidity of all executed transactions.

Copies of this release and other information about Knight/Trimark Group can be obtained via the Internet at www.knight-sec.com.

     CONTACT:   Edelman Public Relations
                        Chuck Dohrenwend/Russell Dubner
                        212-704-8102/4538

     KEYWORD: NEW JERSEY
     INDUSTRY KEYWORD: BANKING