PRESS RELEASE

Gradual Investimentos Provides Assets via Software with Cisco Technology in Brazil

Stockbroker uses Cisco Nexus 3548 switches to provide co-location service at Bovespa

Sao Paulo, Brazil, July 23, 2014 - Gradual Investimentos, a Brazilian stockbroker, provides assets via software using Cisco® technology. To meet demand for operations with extreme agility, where delays can pose negative impacts to the business, the company has implemented Cisco Nexus® 3548 switches to offer co-location at the Brazilian stock exchange BM&FBovespa, increasing the diversity of services and upgrading the IT infrastructure.

With more than 20 years of presence in Brazil, Gradual Investimentos has provided the co-location service at Bovespa since September 2013. Through it, the orders for buying and selling are generated by software (Automated Trading System – ATS) installed in servers hosted at BM&FBovespa's data center. Due to the proximity, the investor has the possibility of negotiating with low latency, optimized resources and potentiating gains.

To offer the new service, the stockbroker acquired two Cisco Nexus 3548 switches, with additional modules that help maximize its speed, and agility in trading information between the client and the stock market. Before launching the service, Gradual was already investing to improve operational efficiency, but with it, the stockbroker has taken a new step to conquer a niche in which the client is even more demanding. The brokerage business is dynamic and depends on high speed, which makes IT the main investment in this sector.

"We offer this solution to clients who possess trading strategies that require the lowest latency possible and are extremely demanding. Those clients for whom each meter, each microsecond or nanosecond between their own structure and the Matching Engine matters, is strategic. No wonder that the stock exchange allocates space for this type of customer," said Jefferson Macedo, Business Development Manager & DMA of Gradual Investimentos.

Cisco Nexus 3548 Series switches can provide low latency (less than one microsecond door to door) with high density, supplying resources that customize management, optimize performance and make it possible to easily create infrastructure-as-a-service networks. The switch of a rack unit supports a switching transmission rate of Layer 2/3 and a wide range of routing protocols within the Cisco NX-OS operating system.

"The Finance segment always demands agility and stability from its IT structure. Cisco's role is to propose the most adequate solutions, providing speed and security to applications and services offered, which are essential for the clients' businesses," said Ana Claudia Plihal, Commercial Director at Cisco. "Gradual Investimentos's bet on Cisco technology and its successful co-location project are proof that we are serving this role well," the executive added.

The stockbroker counted with the guidance and support from DMI, a Cisco partner that specializes in the finances segment and is the solution provider. DMI was able to implement quickly the technology at Gradual Investimentos, thanks to its knowledge and the practicality of Cisco switches. "Along with the efficient data transportation, ease of configuration is a major advantage of the Cisco solution," said Marcos Antônio Gomes, manager of the Finance vertical in DMI, outlining the benefits of the Nexus line of switches.

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About Gradual Investimentos

Established in 1991, Gradual Investimentos has grown to become the second largest independent broker in Brazil and has highly qualified and experienced professionals to assist its client's investments.

Focusing fully on Brokerage, Financial Advisory, Asset and Wealth Management, Gradual's headquarters is in São Paulo, with subsidiaries in Rio de Janeiro, Belo Horizonte and other 18 offices in all major cities of Brazil.

Gradual has about 300 employees and independent consultants who serve more than 35.000 retail customers with 20% annual growth during the last five years and has 95% coverage of Brazilian institutional investors.

About DMI

With over 30 years of existence, DMI integrates solutions for IT infrastructure and telecom with a structured sum of team skills, processes and expertise focusing on the whole operation. It provides complete solutions based on skill mix design, deployment, and support, and is targeted to provide high availability and security information management.