Merriman Capital Announces Sponsorship of Northern Iron on OTCQX

SAN FRANCISCO, Nov. 11, 2011 /PRNewswire/ -- Merriman Capital, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Merriman Holdings, Inc. (Nasdaq: MERR), today announced that it will serve as the Principal American Liaison (PAL) for Northern Iron Corp. (OTCQX: NHRIF; TSXV: NFE) as it begins trading on OTCQX®.

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Northern Iron is a mineral resource company engaged in reviving a past producing iron mine and concurrent exploration of high quality iron ore resources in the Red Lake mining division, district of Kenora, Ontario, Canada. The Company announced today that it is now trading on the OTC market's highest tier, OTCQX.

OTCQX distinguishes the best companies traded over-the-counter (OTC) from more than 9,000 securities traded on the OTCBB and OTC Link that are not required to meet any financial standards or undergo a qualitative review.

Spencer Grimes, Head of Capital Markets Services at Merriman Capital, stated: "Joining OTCQX is a clear demonstration of Northern Iron's commitment to U.S. investors.  We look forward to helping the Company in its efforts to broaden its exposure and investor base in the United States."

About Merriman Capital, Inc.

Merriman Capital, Inc. is an investment banking firm providing equity and options execution services, market making, and differentiated research for high growth companies. We also provide capital raising, advisory and M&A services. Merriman Capital, Inc. is a wholly owned subsidiary of Merriman Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ: MERR) and is the leading investment banking firm for OTCQX companies. For more information, please go to http://www.merrimanco.com/.

Merriman Capital, Inc. is a registered broker-dealer and member of The Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA) http://www.finra.org/ and the Securities Investor Protection Corporation (SIPC) http://www.sipc.org/contact.cfm.

About Northern Iron Corp.

Northern Iron Corp. (OTCQX: NHRIF; TSXV: NFE) is a mineral resource company engaged in reviving a past producing iron mine and concurrent exploration of high quality iron ore resources in the Red Lake mining division, district of Kenora, Ontario, Canada.

Northern Iron holds 100% interests in minerals claims covering approximately 14,672 hectares, comprised of the El Sol Property, the past producing Griffith Property, the Karas Property, the Papaonga Property and the Whitemud-Slate Property.

The Griffith Mine, owned at the time by Stelco, produced 78.8 million tonnes of iron ore for conversion to pellets and DRI from 1968-1989.  Total magnetic iron recovery was 86.26%

The Red Lake area is accessible year round by Highway 105, which joins the Trans Canada highway at Vermillion Bay, 175 km south and 100 km east of Kenora. Commercial air services operate to Red Lake from Thunder Bay, Ontario, and Winnipeg, Manitoba.

About OTCQX

The OTCQX marketplace is the premier tier of the U.S. OTC market.  Investor-focused companies use the quality-controlled OTCQX platform to offer investors transparent trading, superior information, and easy access through their regulated U.S. broker-dealers.  The innovative OTCQX platform offers companies and their shareholders a level of marketplace services formerly available only on a U.S. stock exchange.  For more information and to view a full list of OTCQX companies, visit www.otcqx.com.

Note to Investors

This press release contains certain forward-looking statements based on our current expectations, forecasts and assumptions that involve risks and uncertainties. This release does not constitute an offer to sell or a solicitation of offers to buy any securities of the Company. Forward-looking statements in this release are based on information available to us as of the date hereof. Our actual results may differ materially from those stated or implied in such forward-looking statements, due to risks and uncertainties associated with our business, which include the risk factors disclosed in our Form 10-K/A filed on April 28, 2011 and our Form 10-Q filed on August 15, 2011. Forward-looking statements include statements regarding our expectations, beliefs, intentions or strategies regarding the future and can be identified by forward-looking words such as "anticipate," believe," "could," "estimate," "expect," "intend," "may," "should," and "would" or similar words. We assume no obligation to update the information included in this press release, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise. The Form 10-K/A filed on April 28, 2011 and 10-Q filed on August 15, 2011, together with this press release and the financial information contained herein, are available on our website, www.merrimanco.com. Please click on "Investor Relations."

SOURCE Merriman Holdings, Inc.