Susquehanna Financial Group Hires Vasily Karasyov as Senior Media, Cable & Entertainment Analyst

NEW YORK, April 26, 2011 /PRNewswire/ -- Susquehanna Financial Group, LLLP (SFG), the institutional broker-dealer member of the Susquehanna International Group of Companies (SIG), announced today that Vasily Karasyov has joined the firm as the Senior Analyst covering the Media, Cable & Entertainment sectors. Mr. Karasyov, whose coverage will include names such as The Walt Disney Company, News Corp, Time Warner, and Viacom will be based out of Susquehanna's New York office.

"Vasily is a welcome addition to SFG's growing Technology/Media/Telecommunications research team – which now consists of C. Ming Zhao (Chinese Internet and New Media), James 'Derrick' Wood, CFA (Enterprise Software), Jeff Fidacaro (Consumer Technology and Hardware), Jamie Friedman (IT Services/Outsourcing), Mehdi Hosseini (Semiconductor Capital Equipment and CleanTech), and Chris Caso (Semiconductor Devices)" said Mike Towey, SFG's Director of Research.  "Vasily's hiring brings us to 26 senior fundamental analysts in six major industry sectors (Financial, Consumer, Healthcare, Energy, Industrials, and TMT) covering 330 companies -- triple the size of our research footprint 12 months ago."

For the last five years Mr. Karasyov was a senior member of the top-ranked Internet and Media team at JP Morgan with primary responsibility for covering the Media sector. Mr. Karasyov joined JP Morgan in 2006.  Prior to JPM, Vasily spent six years in the media industry, most recently at Sony Pictures Entertainment as an Executive Director in Corporate Development, focusing on M&A, financing transactions and strategic planning in motion pictures, television, home entertainment, and new media.

Mr. Karasyov graduated from Nizhny Novgorod Linguistic University in Russia and later earned his MBA at INSEAD (European Institute of Business Administration) in Fountainebleau, France.

"Vasily is a superb hire for us. Not only has he built a well-respected and highly ranked research franchise, but Vasily's significant time and experience in industry as an M&A professional at Sony, brings unique perspective and differentiation to his work," stated Cory Carlesimo, SFG's Head of Equities. "We believe that the 115+ hires we have made in Research, Sales and Trading over the past 18 months has positioned the firm to deliver a differentiated product offering, which will positively impact the investment process for our institutional clients."

Mr. Karasyov's appointment follows several significant U.S. equity research senior analyst hires, including:

About Susquehanna Financial Group, LLLP

Susquehanna Financial Group, LLLP (SFG), a member of the Susquehanna International Group of Companies (SIG), is an innovator in global finance, servicing the needs of clients worldwide in the areas of sales, fundamental research, and market intelligence. Building upon SIG's command of the options marketplace and its quantitative trading capabilities, SFG has cultivated a robust service offering that provides liquidity, industry-leading insights, and execution services. SIG employs approximately 1,500 individuals located in North America, Europe, Asia, and Australia.

For additional information, please visit www.sig.com.

SOURCE Susquehanna Financial Group, LLLP