Electronic Trading Revolution Impacts Traditional Stock Exchanges; New Software Gives Individual Investors Independence.

Business Editors

NEW YORK--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Feb. 8, 2000

For 200 years, little has impacted the age-old method of trading stocks. But that's all changing due to the advent of individual investors who can buy and sell stocks electronically. In fact, many industry experts say the status quo is threatened and traditional markets, such as the New York Stock Exchange, could become obsolete.

Individual investors have power like never before. All they need is a computer and a modem. But if they want to trade in the fast lanes on the information highway, they need the right software - software that can execute a trade in a matter of seconds (or less).

Today, in the heart of the Financial District in New York, a company that has made popular day trading software for years introduced two new products for consumers.

The company is Houston-based TradeCast, which is leading the charge in changing the way stocks are traded. One of the new products is aptly called Revolution.

&uot;In the past, our products have been designed for professional use only,&uot; said TradeCast President Bobby Earthman. &uot;Revolution is different. It gives the typical stock trader the speed and power that pros demand but in a more affordable, user-friendly format.&uot;

When designing Revolution, TradeCast set out to alleviate problems cited most often by on-line traders: slow trade execution, slow trade confirmation, difficulty of use, and access and reliability problems, as reported by Gomez Advisors, an on-line consumer advocate group.

TradeCast's software does not rely on Web browsers. Instead, it provides a more direct and controlled way of trading. Orders are routed directly through TradeCast Securities to the exchanges. This bypasses traffic jams that can occur on many Internet servers when using Web browsers to trade stocks.

&uot;Our software-based system enables us to offer order execution instantly in most cases,&uot; said Earthman. &uot;Orders and confirmation can take place in fractions of a second. The only thing that slows us down is market volatility.&uot;

TradeCast's other new software product is appropriately named Elite.

&uot;We don't call it that just because we think it's a cool name for a top-notch product,&uot; said Earthman. &uot;This is professional-quality software for the experienced investor who trades frequently on-line.&uot;

Elite is an upgraded version of TradeCast software that has been a favorite among day traders and is currently used to execute 40,000 trades a day.

Elite gives traders instant access to vital market information such as NASDAQ Level II quotes (all buy and sell orders at all prices), market-maker data and news from Dow Jones - all in real time. It allows execution of complex trades, such as selling short, and issuing basket and stop orders.

&uot;Our corporate vision is to be the top on-line trading firm in the country based on volume,&uot; said TradeCast CEO Jim Howell. &uot;We will continue to shape the electronic investing industry with our technological breakthroughs as the stock markets redefine themselves into the new millennium.&uot;

More information about TradeCast and a free product demonstration can be found at their web site, www.tradecast.com.