NEW YORK--(BUSINESS WIRE)--SecondMarket, the largest secondary market for illiquid assets, announced today that it has been selected by the World Economic Forum as a 2011 Technology Pioneer. This award is presented annually to the most innovative technology start-ups from around the world, and SecondMarket is the only technology company in the financial services sector this year to receive the prestigious honor. SecondMarket will be recognized at the Forum’s conferences in Davos, Switzerland and Tianjin, China.

“It is a tremendous honor to be selected for this amazing award,” said SecondMarket Founder and CEO, Barry Silbert. “It truly is a testament to the hard work and dedication of the SecondMarket team, and to be recognized by the preeminent global economic organization is incredibly gratifying and humbling.”

Hundreds of companies from around the globe were evaluated for the award and the Forum selected 31 winning companies from 13 different countries. More than half of the companies are based in the United States and three of the winners – SecondMarket, foursquare and Knewton – are based in New York City. It marks the first time that three New York City-based companies have been selected as Technology Pioneers in the same year.

“The World Economic Forum is proud to recognize SecondMarket and the other outstanding companies as Technology Pioneers for 2011,” said André Schneider, Managing Director and Chief Operating Officer of the World Economic Forum. “Their technologies and business models will have a durable and valuable effect in several industries and society as a whole.”

A Technology Pioneer must be involved in the development of a major technology and/or innovation, and have the potential for long-term impact on business and society. An award recipient must also demonstrate visionary leadership, indications of being a long-standing and sustainable market leader, and proven technology. Past winners include Google, Twitter, Mozilla, Etsy and PayPal. The entire list of the 2011 Technology Pioneers can be found at www.weforum.org/techpioneers.

“This is a fantastic accomplishment for the entire SecondMarket team,” said Lawrence Lenihan, CEO of FirstMark Capital and a SecondMarket Board Member. “I have always been extremely impressed with Barry and his vision for SecondMarket, and I fully anticipate that SecondMarket will continue to exceed expectations in the coming years.”

SecondMarket has completed billions of dollars in transactions across a variety of asset classes, including shares in the world’s leading venture-backed private companies, limited partnership interests in private equity and real estate funds, structured products (ARS, ABS, MBS and CDOs), commercial and residential whole loans, bankruptcy claims and restricted securities in public companies. More than $20 billion in assets are currently available for sale on SecondMarket. It is free to access SecondMarket.

About SecondMarket

Founded in 2004, New York-based SecondMarket is the largest secondary market for illiquid assets, including private company stock, limited partnership interests, auction-rate securities, bankruptcy claims, collateralized debt obligations, residential and commercial mortgage-backed securities, asset-backed securities, warrants/restricted stock and whole loans. SecondMarket has over 15,000 participants, including global financial institutions, regional and community banks, hedge funds, private equity firms, mutual funds, corporations and other institutional and accredited investors. SecondMarket’s investors include FirstMark Capital, New Enterprise Associates (NEA), SVB Financial Group (Nasdaq: SIVB), the Li Ka-Shing Foundation and Dunearn, a subsidiary of (Singapore) Temasek Holdings. SecondMarket is a registered broker-dealer (Member FINRA, MSRB and SIPC). For further information, please visit www.SecondMarket.com.

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