American Express Financial Direct introduces state-of-the-art online brokerage offering and "Fund Source" with more than 200 no-load mutual funds.NEW YORK--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Sept. 30, 1996--American Express Financial Direct, a new business that was launched less than five months ago, today announced two new services that significantly enhance Financial Direct's product offerings: InvestDirect, which provides a state-of-the-art Internet trading capability accessed through Financial Direct's Web site, and Fund Source, a service that increases to more than 200 the number of no-load mutual funds No-load mutual fund An open-end investment company whose shares are sold without a sales charge. There can be other distribution charges, however, such as Article 12B-1 fees. A true no-load fund has neither a sales charge nor a distribution fee. being offered by Financial Direct. The InvestDirect product line, which will be available to customers beginning Friday, October 4, is the first to integrate online trading Online Trading Making trades via the Internet. Notes: The use of online trading increased dramatically in the mid to late 1990's with the advent of high-speed computers and Internet connections. Stocks, bonds, options, futures, and currencies can all be traded online. capabilities with some of the most advanced investment research and analysis tools available. It can be accessed through the "Online Investing" button on Financial Direct's Web site, located at http://www.americanexpress.com/direct. "Using InvestDirect, investors will now have online access to powerful trading and research capabilities formerly available primarily from traditional full-service brokers Full-Service Broker A broker that provides a large variety of services to its clients, including research and advice, retirement planning, tax tips, and much more. Of course, this all comes at a price, as commissions at full-service brokerages are much higher than those at discount ," said William J. Heron, Jr., president of American Express American Express (NYSE: AXP), sometimes known as "AmEx" or "Amex", is a diversified global financial services company, headquartered in New York City. The company is best known for its credit card, charge card and traveler's cheque businesses. Financial Direct. "No other online brokerage service integrates transaction and research capabilities as completely as American Express, all at one low commission -- and with the level of service customers expect from American Express," he added. The InvestDirect product line includes two levels of service: -- InvestDirect/pt (Power Tools) is for investors who want fully integrated online trades and investment research and analysis tools. It allows customers with a minimum investment of $5,000 to trade equities for $34.95 a trade, plus $0.005 a share for the first 1,000 shares and $0.025 a share thereafter. Commissions drop to $29.95 a trade for 11 or more trades per year. The account includes a free linked American Express Gold Card, free checking and cash management in a choice of 10 American Express Money Market Accounts offered through The Reserve Funds. -- InvestDirect is for investors who want the trading capability only, with research tools. It requires no minimum initial investment and features trading and portfolio management capabilities for $26.95 a trade, plus $0.005 a share for the first 1,000 shares and $0.025 a share thereafter. The account includes cash management in an interest-bearing account. In addition to trading stocks, customers can trade a range of mutual funds with no transaction fee using both the InvestDirect and the integrated InvestDirect/pt. (Frequent mutual fund trading fees do apply.) Both InvestDirect/pt and InvestDirect allow customers to view their holdings, execute trades, access unlimited stock quotes, calculate gains and losses and move money among their Financial Direct account holdings 24-hours-a-day. Customer service is available free-of-charge from licensed representatives via e-mail 24-hours-a-day, or by telephone at 1-800-658-4677 Monday through Friday, 7 a.m. - 12 midnight and Saturday and Sunday, 9 a.m. - 6 p.m. (EST EST electroshock therapy. EST abbr. electroshock therapy ). All online transactions, applications and access to personal account information are encrypted and secured through multi-level password protection. To ensure security, customers must also use an SSL-capable browser, such as Netscape 2.0 or Microsoft's Internet Explorer Microsoft's Web browser, which comes with Windows starting with Windows 98. Commonly called "IE," versions for Mac and Unix are also available. Internet Explorer is the most widely used Web browser on the market. It has also been the browser engine in AOL's Internet access software. 3.0. Financial Direct has partnered with two leading technology providers in offering online brokerage capabilities. PAWWS (Portfolio Accounting World-Wide Services), a service of CheckFree Corporation, and Telescan. PAWWS is an industry leader in providing real-time Internet-based portfolio accounting and performance measurement services and trading capabilities. Telescan, Inc., is an industry leader in providing innovative solutions for online technology, data retrieval, financial services The examples and perspective in this article or section may not represent a worldwide view of the subject. Please [ improve this article] or discuss the issue on the talk page. and Internet services. Fund Source The company also announced today the launch of American Express Financial Direct Fund Source, offering consumers an easy way to select from a range of well-known mutual funds to suit their investment needs. More than 200 no-load, no transaction fee mutual funds from well-respected fund families are immediately available, including funds from Dreyfus, Janus, Neuberger & Berman, Scudder, Strong, Twentieth Century Mutual Funds and Warburg Pincus Warburg Pincus is a private equity firm with offices in the United States, Europe and Asia. It has been a leading private equity investor since 1971. The firm currently has approximately $14 billion under management, and invests in a range of industries including information and . These fund families join The Strategist Funds from American Express and funds from Founders, INVESCO, Reserve Funds and Stein Roe, available since the launch of Financial Direct in mid-May. As part of the Fund Source program, Financial Direct is publishing Top Selections. This quarterly review, prepared in association with Morningstar, lists the top Fund Source funds offered in each of nine investment categories based on historical risk-adjusted return Risk-Adjusted Return A measure of how much risk a fund or portfolio takes on to earn its returns, usually expressed as a number or a rating. Notes: This is often represented by the Sharpe Ratio. The more return per unit of risk, the better. . Customers also receive a consolidated, easy-to-read quarterly statement linking all holdings in various funds. "Our goal is to provide a selection of high-quality goods and services In economics, economic output is divided into physical goods and intangible services. Consumption of goods and services is assumed to produce utility (unless the "good" is a "bad"). It is often used when referring to a Goods and Services Tax. to help time-constrained, do-it-yourself investors more effectively manage their finances," said Norma J. Arnold, senior vice president, Marketing and Business Development for American Express Financial Direct. "We want to offer customers a portfolio of products that have broad appeal and provide balance during various market and economic environments. In selecting fund families we look for those with high quality funds, high consumer recognition and a strong presence in the marketplace." American Express Financial Direct Products Include Just Introduced CD In addition to InvestDirect/pt, InvestDirect and Fund Source, Financial Direct today introduced a high-yielding 12-month Certificate of Deposit (CD) with a variable adjusted weekly rate that is 0.75% above the National Index as established by Bank Rate Monitor. The 100% FDIC FDIC See: Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation FDIC See Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC). insured Certificate of Deposit issued by American Express Centurion Bank Centurion Bank is a wholly submerged atoll structure in the Southwest of the Chagos Archipelago. It is the southermost feature of the archipelago. It is about almost 10 km long northwest-southeast, and more than 3 km wide. The reef area is about 25 km². , is available to customers with a minimum investment of $1,000 by calling Financial Direct's toll-free number (1-800-AXP-8800). In addition to the new products and services introduced today, American Express Financial Direct already offers consumers a range of carefully selected, competitively priced financial products directly. They include: -- The Strategist Money Market Fund, offering a high yield and unlimited check writing with a minimum investment of $20,000. A range of other taxable and tax-exempt money market funds Tax-exempt money market fund A money market fund that invests in short-term tax-exempt municipal securities. tax-exempt money market fund An open-end investment company that invests in short-term tax-exempt securities. is also available. -- The Value Trader Brokerage Account Brokerage Account An arrangement between an investor and a licensed brokerage firm that allows the investor to deposit funds with the firm and place investment orders through the brokerage, which then carries out the transactions on the investor's behalf. , for those who prefer to invest by telephone or mail, offers equity trades for $49 for up to 4,000 shares with a minimum of 15 trades per year, unlimited stock quotes and no minimum investment. Customers may also trade options and fixed income securities. -- Fixed- and variable-rate annuity products, to help consumers save for their retirement through a tax-deferred vehicle. Privileged Assets is a fixed-rate annuity offered since 1988 and the Privileged Assets Select Annuity is a variable-rate product introduced in late 1995.(a) -- An Investment Management Account (IMA (Interactive Multimedia Association, Annapolis, MD) An earlier trade association founded in 1988 originally as the Interactive Video Industry Association. It provided an open process for adopting existing technologies and was involved in subjects such as networked services, scripting ) links products and offers brokerage accounts, the ability to purchase funds through Fund Source, free checking, margin lending, automatic dividend reinvestment automatic dividend reinvestment See dividend reinvestment plan (DRIP). and direct deposit capabilities. The IMA can be linked to an American Express Gold Card for increased convenience and cash access. -- An easy-to-use Web site (http://www.americanexpress.com/direct) provides helpful investment management and financial tools for investors, as well as information on all products offered through Financial Direct. Included on the site are tools to calculate retirement savings, cash flow and net worth. Financial Direct is also prominently featured on the AOL (A division of Time Warner, Inc., New York, NY, www.aol.com) The world's largest online information service with access to the Internet, e-mail, chat rooms and a variety of databases and services. Banking Center in America Online's Personal Finance Channel. It can be accessed through American Express' ExpressNet site, or by using the key word AEFD AEFD Agriculture, Environment and Fisheries Department (Scotland) . American Express Company provides consumers with two financial services options in the U.S., American Express Financial Direct and American Express Financial Advisors. Financial Direct offers a range of carefully selected, high-quality, competitively-positioned financial products directly to consumers. With nearly $140 billion in owned or managed assets, American Express Financial Advisors (http://www.americanexpress.com/advisors) provides in-depth advice and financial planning Financial planning Evaluating the investing and financing options available to a firm. Planning includes attempting to make optimal decisions, projecting the consequences of these decisions for the firm in the form of a financial plan, and then comparing future performance against services through a field force of nearly 8,000 financial advisors. American Express Financial Direct makes investments available through American Express Service Corporation. American Express Financial Advisors makes investments available through American Express Financial Advisors Inc. -0- For more complete information on American Express Financial Direct products, including fees and expenses, consumers may obtain prospectuses at http://www.americanexpress.com/direct or 1-800-AXP-8800. Consumers should read before investing. (a) Annuities are issued by American Partners Life Insurance Company. In New York New York, state, United States New York, Middle Atlantic state of the United States. It is bordered by Vermont, Massachusetts, Connecticut, and the Atlantic Ocean (E), New Jersey and Pennsylvania (S), Lakes Erie and Ontario and the Canadian province of , the Privileged Assets annuity is issued by American Centurion Life Assurance Company. CONTACT: Susan Miller Susan Miller is the name of:
American Express 212/640-4953 susan.d.miller.@americanexpress.com or John Johmann Padilla Speer Beardsley 212/752-8338 |
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