DALLAS, April 2, 2012 /PRNewswire/ -- SWS Group, Inc. (NYSE: SWS) today announced that Holly Peritz has been named President of SWS Financial Services, Inc. and Associate Director of Retail of Southwest Securities, Inc. Both firms are wholly owned subsidiaries of SWS Group.

"For more than 15 years as a member of Southwest Securities' team, Holly has demonstrated the effective leadership and professional expertise that defines our firm," said Larry G. Tate, Chief Executive Officer of SWS Financial Services, and Executive Vice President - Director of Retail of Southwest Securities. "We see a lot of opportunity to grow our retail brokerage business in both new and existing markets, and Holly's proven abilities will play a significant role in achieving our goals."

Ms. Peritz was named Executive Vice President of Southwest Securities in 2011 and has served as Director of the firm's Investment Management Group (IMG) since 2004. She joined Southwest Securities in the taxable fixed income division in 1996 and worked in all areas of the company's retail brokerage unit before being named to head IMG. Ms. Peritz began her financial services career in 1989 as a credit analyst in the fixed income department of Rauscher Pierce Refsnes in Dallas.

SWS Group, Inc. is a Dallas-based company offering a broad range of investment and financial services through its subsidiaries. The company's common stock is listed and traded on the New York Stock Exchange under the symbol SWS. SWS Group, Inc. subsidiaries include Southwest Securities, Inc., a national clearing firm, registered investment adviser and registered broker-dealer; SWS Financial Services, Inc., a registered investment adviser and a registered broker-dealer serving independent securities brokers and their clients; and Southwest Securities, FSB, one of the largest banks headquartered in the Dallas-Fort Worth metropolitan area.

SOURCE SWS Group, Inc.