MERRILL LYNCH TO HOOK UP WITH ON-LINE TRADING.Byline: Andrew Fraser There are several notable people by the name of Andrew Fraser:
Associated Press (AP) Cooperative news agency, the oldest and largest in the U.S. and long the largest in the world. The nation's biggest brokerage firm plans to allow its customers to make trades over the Internet by next year, underscoring the growing popularity and significance of electronic trading  This article or section is in need of attention from an expert on the subject.Please help recruit one or [ improve this article] yourself. See the talk page for details. to the securities industry. The decision by Merrill Lynch Merrill Lynch & Co., Inc. (NYSE: MER TYO: 8675 ), through its subsidiaries and affiliates, provides capital markets services, investment banking and advisory services, wealth management, asset management, insurance, banking and related products and services on a global basis. & Co., which had seemed cool to letting its clients buy and sell stocks on line, is an apparent attempt by the full-service broker 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 to keep pace with technology and remain competitive with other firms that allow automated trading. ``It's something they have been trying to convince themselves that their customers don't want,'' said Julio Gomez, a senior analyst at Forrester Inc., a research firm at Cambridge, Mass. ``Now they are forced to formulate a strategy.'' Internet transactions, which by some estimates are expected to account for nearly $500 billion in annual trades within the next five years, is dominated by discount brokerages such as Charles Schwab Charles Schwab can refer to:
Analysts said the decision by Merrill Lynch was inevitable. Full-service brokers want to avoid losing business to discount brokerages as investors become more comfortable with interactive investing and it accelerates. But Merrill Lynch downplayed the significance of its move. Randal Langdon, director of Merrill's interactive business, said Internet trading was just another feature in on-line services the company launched in September 1996. Those services allow clients to view their accounts, access market research and communicate with their brokers. Merrill will join Dean Witter Discover & Co. among the first full-service firms in the Internet trading game. |
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