DALLAS, April 25, 2011 /PRNewswire/ -- Larry G. Tate has been named Chief Executive Officer of SWS Financial Services, Inc. and Executive Vice President - Director of Retail, of Southwest Securities, Inc., overseeing both the Pacific and Gulf Coast regions of the broker-dealer's Private Client Group (PCG).

SWS Financial Services and Southwest Securities are wholly-owned subsidiaries of Dallas-based financial services holding company SWS Group, Inc. (NYSE: SWS). Mr. Tate has served as President of SWS Financial Services and Director of Business Development since 2008.

"Larry Tate has a proven record of success during his years at SWS and his new role allows all of our retail business segments to more fully benefit from his talents and leadership," said James H. Ross, Chief Executive Officer of SWS Group. "Throughout his career, he has established a reputation for consistently recruiting top advisors and building successful branches. As we pursue future growth opportunities, we are confident in Larry's ability to spearhead those efforts."

In his role as CEO of SWS Financial Services, Mr. Tate will direct all functions of the SWS Group subsidiary which serves over 300 independent advisors. As Director of Retail for Southwest Securities, he will also coordinate the efforts of the Private Client Group which has over 180 employee registered representatives in 19 offices in Texas, Oklahoma, Nevada and California.

Mr. Tate began his financial services career over 30 years ago and first joined SWS Financial Services in 2002 when he was put in charge of new business development. He was promoted to Senior Vice President of branch development in 2004 and was later named Executive Vice President, before being appointed President in 2008.

About SWS Group

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.