Law Offices of Howard G. Smith Announces Investigation On Behalf of Shareholders of Thomas Weisel Partners Group, Inc.

Law Offices of Howard G. Smith announces that it is investigating potential claims against the board of directors of Thomas Weisel Partners Group, Inc. (“Thomas Weisel Partners” or the “Company”) (NASDAQ:TWPG) related to the Company’s agreement to be acquired by Stifel Financial Corp. (“Stifel Financial”). The proposed transaction is valued at approximately $300 million.

Under the terms of the definitive agreement entered into by the parties, each Thomas Weisel Partners share will be exchanged for 0.1364 shares of Stifel Financial common stock – or approximately $7.60 per Thomas Weisel Partners share, based on the $55.74 per-share closing price of Stifel Financial stock on April 23, 2010. Upon completion of the merger, Thomas Weisel Partners will be merged into a subsidiary of Stifel Financial and become a wholly owned subsidiary of Stifel Financial. The transaction is expected to be completed on or about June 30, 2010. The investigation concerns possible breaches of fiduciary duty and other violations of law related to approval of the transaction by Thomas Weisel Partners’ board of directors.

If you own shares of Thomas Weisel Partners, if you have information or would like to learn more about these claims, or if you wish to discuss these matters or have any questions concerning this announcement or your rights or interests with respect to these matters, please contact Howard G. Smith, Esquire, of Law Offices of Howard G. Smith, 3070 Bristol Pike, Suite 112, Bensalem, Pennsylvania 19020 by telephone at [phone], Toll Free at [phone], or by email to [e-mail], or visit our website at http://www.howardsmithlaw.com.