Merriman Curhan Ford Hires Former Pacific Growth Executive Jack Thrift

SAN FRANCISCO--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Merriman Curhan Ford (NASDAQ:MERR) today announced that it has hired Jack Thrift, formerly chief financial officer of Pacific Growth Equities and chief operating officer of Pacific Growth Equity Management, as COO of Merriman Asset Management. Thrift’s appointment became effective June 2, 2008.

“Jack brings great experience and perspective in operations and hedge fund administration to our products and strategies, and we are very pleased to have him on board,” said Steven Ledger, chief investment officer of the Merriman Focus Fund and president of Merriman Asset Management. “He will be a strong addition to our team, and his experience in the San Francisco investment community will be invaluable to us as we continue to grow our assets under management.”

In his role as COO of Merriman Asset Management, Thrift will oversee general operations, including client service, legal, accounting, product development and marketing strategies.

Thrift commented: “The opportunity to join Merriman Asset Management at this stage of its growth is an exciting one. The firm has developed an institutional quality partnering platform for various hedge fund products and investment strategies. I look forward to doing my part to increase assets across this platform and to help the firm create value overall.”

Thrift, a certified public accountant, has nearly 20 years of experience in finance, accounting and operations. Most recently he served as partner and CFO of Pacific Growth Equities, where he was in charge of accounting, financial analysis and financial operations; he also served as COO of Pacific Growth Equity Management, where he oversaw fund administration and accounting activities for hedge funds and venture funds. Prior to Pacific Growth he was CFO of Transnational Financial Network, where he directed accounting and control functions for the company and managed the accounting, human resources and information technology departments. Earlier in his career, Thrift was a senior manager of assurance services at Deloitte & Touche, where he provided accounting and audit management to financial services clients. He earned a B.S. in accountancy from the University of Southern California.

About Merriman Curhan Ford

Merriman Curhan Ford (NASDAQ:MERR) is a financial services firm focused on fast-growing companies and the institutions who invest in them. The company offers high-quality investment banking, equity research, institutional services, primary market research, asset management and corporate & venture services, and specializes in four growth industry sectors: CleanTech, Consumer/Internet/Media, Health Care and Tech/Telecom. For more information, please go to www.mcfco.com.

Merriman Asset Management’s hedge fund products and investment strategies are provided by MCF Asset Management, LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Merriman Curhan Ford Group, Inc.

Note to Investors

This press release contains certain forward-looking statements based on our current expectations, forecasts and assumptions that involve risks and uncertainties. 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 Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q filed on May 6, 2008. 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," "will," 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-Q filed on May 6, 2008, together with this press release and the financial information contained herein, is available on our website by going to www.mcfco.com and clicking on “Investor Relations.”