Exhibit 99.1

IFMI REPORTS THIRD QUARTER 2015 FINANCIAL RESULTS

Third Quarter Adjusted Operating Income of $0.9 Million or $0.05 per Diluted Share

Board Declares Dividend of $0.02 per Share

Philadelphia and New York, October 29, 2015 — Institutional Financial Markets, Inc. (NYSE MKT: IFMI), a financial services firm specializing in fixed income investments, today reported financial results for its third quarter ended September 30, 2015.

·                  Adjusted operating income was $0.9 million, or $0.05 per diluted share, for the three months ended September 30, 2015, compared to adjusted operating income of $1.0 million, or $0.05 per diluted share, for the three months ended June 30, 2015, and adjusted operating loss of $0.1 million, or $0.01 per diluted share, for the three months ended September 30, 2014. Adjusted operating income was $3.0 million, or $0.15 per diluted share, for the nine months ended September 30, 2015, compared to $1.2 million, or $0.06 per diluted share, for the nine months ended September 30, 2014. Adjusted operating income is not a measure recognized under U.S. generally accepted accounting principles (“GAAP”). See Note 1 on page 4.

·                  Revenue was $13.0 million for the three months ended September 30, 2015, compared to $11.1 million for the three months ended June 30, 2015 and $10.6 million for the three months ended September 30, 2014. Revenue was $36.8 million for the nine months ended September 30, 2015, compared to revenue of $38.0 million for the nine months ended September 30, 2014.

·                  Total operating expenses were $12.4 million for the quarter ended September 30, 2015, compared to $10.5 million for the quarter ended June 30, 2015, and $11.1 million for the quarter ended September 30, 2014. Total operating expenses were $35.4 million for the nine months ended September 30, 2015, compared to $41.9 million for the nine months ended September 30, 2014; representing a decrease of 15%. Excluding the impairment of goodwill charge of $3.1 million in the nine months ended September 30, 2014, total operating expenses decreased $3.4 million, or 9%, in the nine months ended September 30, 2015 from the prior year period.

·                  Compensation as a percentage of revenue was 54% for the three months ended September 30, 2015, compared to 56% for the three months ended June 30, 2015, and 63% for the three months ended September 30, 2014. Compensation as a percentage of revenue was 57% for the nine months ended September 30, 2015, compared to 58% for the nine months ended September 30, 2014. The number of IFMI employees was 93 as of September 30, 2015, compared to 101 as of June 30, 2015, and 118 as of September 30, 2014.

·                  Non-compensation operating costs, excluding depreciation and amortization and impairment of goodwill, were $5.2 million for the three months ended September 30, 2015, compared to $4.2 million for the three months ended June 30, 2015, and $4.3 million for the three months ended September 30, 2014. Non-compensation operating costs, excluding depreciation and amortization and impairment of goodwill, were $14.0 million for the nine months ended September 30, 2015, compared to $15.8 million for the nine months ended September 30, 2014; representing a decrease of 11%.

Lester Brafman, Chief Executive Officer of IFMI, said, “We are pleased with the performance of our Capital Markets segment during a very challenging quarter. We continue to focus on executing our strategic initiatives, which include growing our Mortgage and SBA platforms while continuing our disciplined approach toward expenses. Unfortunately,

some of our success in Capital Markets was mitigated by the underperformance of certain of our principal investments as the sell-off in the equity and credit markets had an adverse effect on our CLO portfolio. Looking ahead, we remain focused on driving shareholder value by improving profitability and continuing to pay a quarterly dividend.”

Capital Markets Revenue

Net trading revenue was $8.3 million for the three months ended September 30, 2015, compared to $6.7 million for the three months ended June 30, 2015, and $6.3 million for the three months ended September 30, 2014. The increase from the prior quarter was primarily due to more trading revenue from the Company’s corporate group. Net trading revenue was $22.3 million for the nine months ended September 30, 2015, compared to $19.9 million for the nine months ended September 30, 2014. The increase from the prior year period was primarily due to an increase in revenue from the Company’s mortgage, corporate, and SBA groups, partially offset by a decrease in revenue from the Company’s wholesale group.

New issue and advisory revenue was $2.1 million for the three months ended September 30, 2015, compared to $0.7 million for the three months ended June 30, 2015, and $0.3 million for the three months ended September 30, 2014. New issue and advisory revenue was $4.3 million for the nine months ended September 30, 2015, compared to $3.0 million for the nine months ended September 30, 2014. New issue and advisory revenue has been, and will continue to be, volatile as it is dependent on a limited number of engagements and is only recognized when an underlying transaction closes.

Principal Transactions Revenue

As of September 30, 2015, the Company’s principal investing portfolio had an aggregate fair value of $18.1 million, including investments in eight CLOs with an aggregate fair value of $14.4 million, 106 thousand shares of Tiptree with a fair value of $0.7 million, and IFMI’s investments in EuroDekania with a fair value of $2.5 million.

Principal transactions revenue was negative $0.6 million for the three months ended September 30, 2015, compared to $0.6 million for the three months ended June 30, 2015, and $0.7 million for the three months ended September 30, 2014. The decrease from the prior quarter was primarily the result of decreased revenue from the Company’s investments in CLOs and Tiptree, partially offset by increased revenue recognized from the Company’s investments in EuroDekania. The decrease from the prior year quarter was primarily the result of decreased revenue recognized from the Company’s investments in EuroDekania and CLOs. Principal transactions revenue was $0.3 million for the nine months ended September 30, 2015, compared to $2.8 million for the nine months ended September 30, 2014. The decrease from the prior year period was primarily the result of decreased revenue recognized from the Company’s investments in EuroDekania, Tiptree, and CLOs. During the third quarter of 2015, the Company sold 36 thousand shares of Tiptree resulting in proceeds of $0.2 million.

Asset Management Revenue

Asset management revenue was $2.3 million for the three months ended September 30, 2015, compared to $2.3 million for the three months ended June 30, 2015, and $2.7 million for the three months ended September 30, 2014. Asset management revenue was $6.9 million for the nine months ended September 30, 2015, compared to $10.0 million for the nine months ended September 30, 2014. The decrease from the prior year periods was primarily the result of the successful auction and redemption of two of the Company’s managed CDOs, and the transfer of several collateral management agreements for the Company’s legacy ABS-CDOs in 2014, which reduced CDO asset management fees. In addition, the decrease from the prior year periods was also due to incentive fees in the Company’s European separate account business in 2014, which did not recur in 2015, as well as the reduction in the Euro currency rate, which was significantly lower in 2015 as compared to 2014 and impacted the amount of CDO asset management fees recorded from the four European CDOs/CLOs that the Company manages.

Other Revenue

Other revenue was $0.8 million for the three months ended September 30, 2015, compared to $0.8 million for the three months ended June 30, 2015, and $0.5 million for the three months ended September 30, 2014. Other revenue was $2.9 million for the nine months ended September 30, 2015, compared to $2.3 million for the nine months ended September

2

30, 2014. The variation across the periods presented was primarily the result of changes in the revenue share payments related to the sale of the Star Asia Group in February 2014, which fluctuated due to the amount of incentive fees received by the Star Asia Group during certain periods.

Total Equity and Dividend Declaration

·                  At September 30, 2015, total equity was $54.2 million, as compared to $56.5 million as of December 31, 2014.

·                  The Company’s Board of Directors has declared a dividend of $0.02 per share.  The dividend will be payable on November 27, 2015, to stockholders of record on November 13, 2015.

Strategic Transaction: Sale of European Operations

As previously announced, the Company has entered into a definitive agreement to sell its European operations to C&Co Europe Acquisition LLC, an entity controlled by Daniel G. Cohen, President and Chief Executive of IFMI’s European operations and Vice Chairman of IFMI’s Board of Directors, for approximately $8.7 million. The transaction is subject to customary closing conditions. The current deadline for the closing of the transaction is December 31, 2015.

The European asset management business subject to the sale agreement includes management agreements for the Dekania Europe I, II, and III CDOs and the management agreements for several European managed accounts.  As of September 30, 2015, these European assets under management totaled approximately $799.0 million, which represented 20% of the Company’s total AUM. Although the manager of Munda CLO I will be part of the transferred business, the Munda CLO I management agreement will be held in trust for the benefit of IFMI.  As of September 30, 2015, the Munda CLO I assets under management totaled approximately $505.4 million, which represented 13% of the Company’s total AUM. The European capital markets business consists of credit-related fixed income sales, trading, and financing as well as new issue placements in corporate and securitized products and advisory services, operating primarily through the Company’s subsidiary, Cohen & Company Financial Limited.

The combined European business subject to the sale agreement, excluding Munda CLO I revenue and expenses, accounted for approximately $5.1 million of revenue, $1.5 million of operating loss, and $1.4 million of adjusted operating loss for the nine months ended September 30, 2015, and approximately negative $1.4 million of net assets as of September 30, 2015.

Conference Call

Management will hold a conference call this morning at 10:00 a.m. Eastern Time to discuss these results. The conference call will also be available via webcast. Interested parties can access the webcast by clicking the webcast link on the Company’s website at www.IFMI.com. Those wishing to listen to the conference call with operator assistance can dial (877) 686-9573 (domestic) or (706) 643-6983 (international), participant pass code 68033904, or request the IFMI earnings call.  A replay of the call will be available for two weeks following the call by dialing (800) 585-8367 (domestic) or (404) 537-3406 (international), participant pass code 68033904.

About IFMI

IFMI is a financial services company specializing in fixed income investments. IFMI was founded in 1999 as an investment firm focused on small-cap banking institutions, but has grown to provide an expanding range of asset management, capital markets, and investment banking solutions to institutional investors and corporations. IFMI’s operating segments are Capital Markets, Principal Investing, and Asset Management. The Capital Markets segment consists of fixed income sales, trading, and financing as well as new issue placements in corporate and securitized products and advisory services, operating primarily through IFMI’s subsidiaries, J.V.B. Financial Group, LLC in the United States and Cohen & Company Financial Limited in Europe. The Principal Investing segment has historically been comprised of investments in IFMI sponsored investment vehicles, but has developed to encompass certain non-sponsored vehicles utilizing IFMI’s expertise in structured products. The Asset Management segment manages assets through collateralized debt obligations, permanent capital vehicles, and managed accounts. As of September 30, 2015, IFMI managed approximately $3.9 billion in credit-related fixed income assets in a variety of asset classes including US trust preferred securities, European hybrid capital securities, and mortgage- and asset-backed securities. For more information, please visit www.IFMI.com.

3

Note 1: Adjusted operating income and adjusted operating income per share are non-GAAP measures of performance. Please see the discussion of non-GAAP measures of performance below. Also see the tables below for the reconciliations of non-GAAP measures of performance to their corresponding GAAP measures of performance.

Forward-looking Statements

This communication contains certain statements, estimates and forecasts with respect to future performance and events. These statements, estimates and forecasts are “forward-looking statements.” In some cases, forward-looking statements can be identified by the use of forward-looking terminology such as “may,”  “ might,”  “will,”  “should,” “expect,” “plan,”  “anticipate,”  “believe,”  “estimate,” “predict,” “potential,” “seek,” or “continue” or the negatives thereof or variations thereon or similar terminology. All statements other than statements of historical fact included in this communication are forward-looking statements and are based on various underlying assumptions and expectations and are subject to known and unknown risks, uncertainties and assumptions, and may include projections of our future financial performance based on our growth strategies and anticipated trends in our business. These statements are based on our current expectations and projections about future events. There are important factors that could cause our actual results, level of activity, performance or achievements to differ materially from the results, level of activity, performance or achievements expressed or implied in the forward-looking statements including, but not limited to, those discussed under the heading “Risk Factors” and “Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition” in our filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC”), which are available at the SEC’s website at www.sec.gov and our website at www.IFMI.com/sec-filings. Such risk factors include the following: (a) a decline in general economic conditions or the global financial markets, (b) losses caused by financial or other problems experienced by third parties, (c) losses due to unidentified or unanticipated risks, (d) a lack of liquidity, i.e., ready access to funds for use in our businesses, (e) the ability to attract and retain personnel, (f) litigation and regulatory issues, (g) competitive pressure, (h) an inability to generate incremental income from acquired businesses, (i) unanticipated market closures due to inclement weather or other disasters, (j) losses (whether realized or unrealized) on our principal investments, including on our CLO investments, (k) an inability to achieve projected integration synergies, and (l) an inability to close or further delays in the closing of the sale of our European operations, which is conditioned upon a number of events and approvals. As a result, there can be no assurance that the forward-looking statements included in this communication will prove to be accurate or correct. In light of these risks, uncertainties and assumptions, the future performance or events described in the forward-looking statements in this communication might not occur. Accordingly, you should not rely upon forward-looking statements as a prediction of actual results and we do not undertake any obligation to update any forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise.

Cautionary Note Regarding Quarterly Financial Results

General

Due to the nature of our business, our revenue and operating results may fluctuate materially from quarter to quarter.  Accordingly, revenue and net income in any particular quarter may not be indicative of future results.  Further, our employee compensation arrangements are in large part incentive-based and, therefore, will fluctuate with revenue.  The amount of compensation expense recognized in any one quarter may not be indicative of such expense in future periods.  As a result, we suggest that annual results may be the most meaningful gauge for investors in evaluating our business performance.

4

INSTITUTIONAL FINANCIAL MARKETS, INC.

CONSOLIDATED STATEMENTS OF OPERATIONS (unaudited)

(in thousands, except per share data)

5

INSTITUTIONAL FINANCIAL MARKETS, INC.

CONSOLIDATED STATEMENTS OF OPERATIONS (unaudited)

(in thousands, except per share data)

Earnings per share

(1) An adjustment is included for the following reasons: (a) if the non-controlling interest membership units had been converted at the beginning of the period, the Company would have incurred a higher income tax expense or realized a higher income tax benefit, as applicable; and (b) to adjust the non-controlling interest amount to be consistent with the weighted average share calculation.

6

INSTITUTIONAL FINANCIAL MARKETS, INC.

CONSOLIDATED BALANCE SHEETS

(in thousands)

7

Non-GAAP Measures

Adjusted operating income (loss) and adjusted operating income (loss) per diluted share

Adjusted operating income (loss) is not a financial measure recognized by GAAP. Adjusted operating income (loss) represents operating income (loss), computed in accordance with GAAP, before depreciation and amortization, impairments of intangible assets and goodwill, and share-based compensation expense. Depreciation and amortization, impairments of intangible assets and goodwill, and share based compensation expenses that have been excluded from adjusted operating income (loss) are non-cash items. Adjusted operating income (loss) per diluted share is calculated, by dividing adjusted operating income (loss) by diluted shares outstanding calculated in accordance with GAAP.

We present adjusted operating income (loss) and related per diluted share amounts in this release because we consider them to be useful and appropriate supplemental measures of our performance. Adjusted operating income (loss) and related per diluted share amounts help us to evaluate our performance without the effects of certain GAAP calculations that may not have a direct cash or recurring impact on our current operating performance. In addition, our management uses adjusted operating income (loss) and related per diluted share amounts to evaluate the performance of our operations. Adjusted operating income (loss) and related per diluted share amounts, as we define them, are not necessarily comparable to similarly named measures of other companies and may not be appropriate measures for performance relative to other companies. Adjusted operating income (loss) should not be assessed in isolation from or construed as a substitute for operating income (loss) prepared in accordance with GAAP. Adjusted operating income (loss) is not intended to represent, and should not be considered to be a more meaningful measure than, or an alternative to, measures of operating performance as determined in accordance with GAAP.

Contact:

8