A.B. Watley Group Inc. Commences Trading On the NASDAQ National Market Today, April 18, 2000

Business Wire, April 18, 2000

Business Editors

NEW YORK--(BUSINESS WIRE)--April 18, 2000

A.B. Watley Group Inc. (NASDAQ: ABWG), premier provider of online and Institutional trading services through its brokerage firm A.B. Watley, Inc. (www.abwatley.com), today announced that the Company has commenced trading on the Nasdaq National Market. Due to the success of continued operations, the Company now exceeds the guidelines in order to be a Nasdaq National Market listed security.

"Moving to the National Market is an important step for A.B. Watley. This move will mean a great deal to our investors, leading to further visibility of our firm's public position," stated Steven Malin, Chairman and CEO. "In addition, moving to the National Market should expose A.B. Watley to a larger pool of potential institutional investors, who may currently be unable to invest in the Company due to their investment criteria."

On November 9, 1999, the Company reported its fiscal 1999 results indicating a dramatic increase in every segment of the business. Total revenues for fiscal 1999 were $20,987,613, an increase of 130.1%, as compared to revenues of $9,119,268 for fiscal 1998. The Company's online brokerage division had total billed transactions of 656,217 and average billed transactions of 2,604 per day, an increase of 310.7% compared to an average daily billed transaction rate of 634 per day during fiscal 1998 totaling 159,789 billed transactions. The Company also experienced an increase in the number of online brokerage accounts from approximately 900 at September 30, 1998 to approximately 3,500 at September 30, 1999.

Going forward, the Company anticipates the number of accounts and corresponding revenue to increase during fiscal 2000 at similar rates. As previously announced, the Company launched an advertising campaign on CNBC and CNNfn focusing on the most active and sophisticated investor. The target market the Company has chosen to pursue has proved to be the more profitable online trading segment. This is evidenced by A.B. Watley's first quarter fiscal 2000 revenue of $8,544,086, an increase of 169% compared to year ago revenues of $3,180,033, and 30% compared to fourth quarter fiscal 1999 revenue of $6,551,126. Meanwhile, net revenues per account exceeded $1,250 per quarter, while new acquisition costs remained relatively low at $773 per account.

ABOUT A.B. WATLEY GROUP INC.

A.B. Watley Group Inc. is the parent company of A.B. Watley, Inc., a multifaceted, technological and service-oriented brokerage firm offering two proprietary online trading systems, UltimateTrader(R) and WatleyTrader(TM), that provide realtime data feed and instantaneous execution for the most active segment of the online trading community. The A.B. Watley, Inc. Institutional Sales and Trading Division specializes in the execution of complex and sensitive large-block equity transactions for institutions, major investment managers, insurance companies, banks, and high net worth individuals. A.B. Watley Group Inc.'s competitors include E*Trade (NASDAQ: EGRP), Charles Schwab (NYSE: SCH), Ameritrade (NASDAQ: AMTD), TD Waterhouse (NYSE: TWE), MyTrack (NASDAQ: TRAC), DLJ Direct (NYSE: DIR) and National Discount Brokers (NYSE: NDB).

SAFE HARBOR STATEMENT

Certain statements contained herein, including statements regarding the development of services and markets and future demand for services and other statements regarding matters that are not historical facts, are forward-looking statements (as defined in the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995, as amended). Any number of conditions may occur which would materially affect important factors in this analysis and materially change expectations. These factors include, but are not limited to, customer trading activity, loss of one or more significant customers, change in technology, shifts in competitive patterns, ability to manage growth effectively, risks associated with acquisitions including integration risks, risks associated with strategic partnerships, various project-associated risks, substantial competition, general economic conditions, risks associated with intellectual property rights, risks associated with international operations and other risk factors listed from time to time in A.B. Watley Group Inc.'s filings and reports with the Securities and Exchange Commission.