DALLAS, Aug. 25 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Three Southwest Securities, Inc. financial advisors - Nick Bollich, Marcel Hamburger and Ed Neuhaus - have been awarded the FIVE STAR Wealth Manager(SM) Award as featured in the September 2010 issue of Texas Monthly.

FIVE STAR professionals score among the highest in overall satisfaction in their market area based on research with clients, peers and industry leaders. It is an exclusive award given to only seven percent of professionals in a given industry and market area.

Mr. Bollich, Mr. Hamburger and Mr. Neuhaus are financial advisors in Southwest Securities' Private Client Group in Houston. Southwest Securities has two Houston area offices - one at 1500 CityWest, Suite 400, and the other at 3 Riverway, Suite 1400. Mr. Neuhaus is district manager.

"We are proud of our financial advisors' recognition as FIVE STAR Wealth Managers(SM) because the award is based on client and peer evaluations," said Mark Sachse, executive vice president and director of the Southwest Securities Private Client Group. "We congratulate each of these outstanding financial advisors."

QMI Research administers a survey by mail and phone in each geographic market to approximately a quarter of the high-net-worth households and all FINRA license holders. Respondents are asked to evaluate up to three wealth managers. Each client respondent is asked to evaluate only wealth managers whom they have worked with, and each peer respondent is asked to evaluate only wealth managers whom they know through personal experience.

The questionnaires are structured to make it equally easy for an individual to give negative or positive responses regarding each wealth manager evaluated. QMI Research scores the survey responses, including all responses both negative and positive, to determine which wealth managers meet the identified standards, and screen wealth managers based on their regulatory compliance history as reported by FINRA, the SEC and other regulatory authorities.

Wealth managers do not pay a fee to be included in the evaluation process or to be named as a FIVE STAR Wealth Manager(SM), and the award program and research process adhere to the guidelines established within the Investment Advisors Act of 1940 regarding third-party recognition.

Southwest Securities, Inc., a member of NYSE, FINRA and SIPC, provides securities brokerage, investment banking and securities clearing services to a broad range of individual, corporate, public and industry clients. The firm is a wholly owned subsidiary of SWS Group, Inc. (NYSE: SWS), a financial services holding company whose stock is listed and traded on the New York Stock Exchange under the symbol, SWS.

SOURCE Southwest Securities, Inc.