Do not think about the seconds down

Internet trading has come to be known in the mid 90-ies as a technology that allows investment companies to improve and simplify the maintenance of its customers. High growth sectors of retail brokerage services to self-promoted mechanism that underlies this business: the smaller the fees and simpler technology, the more customers, more transactions, more revenue.

From growth to decline
Sector of Internet trading in the mid-90's captured the young brokerage firm (E * Trade Group, Ameritrade, etc.) that have done business in the promotion of traditional services for buying and selling securities. Marketing strategy to capture market built slogan «Simply click the mouse». Due to the rapid development of telecommunications company instantly gained popularity among corporate and, not least, private investors, access to the stock market had previously been severely restricted due to various, primarily financial, reasons. The main advantage of the new service was a cheaper service (fee fell a few times). In addition, the client received more independence, taking the trade decision.

In 1999, online trading companies are in a protracted crisis of the band. Market participants are increasingly expressed dissatisfaction with the service and the work of Internet brokers. This is despite the fact that the commission for an online transaction was only a few dollars. Investors were concerned about the poor execution of transactions. All this has attracted the attention of the Securities and Exchange Commission and prosecutors in New York, who became a close watch on the companies.

Like boxers in the ring
The main battle in the online securities trading unfolded between Ameritrade and E * Trade Group. Internet traders are reminded of boxers in the ring: the impact of a second immediately answered.

E * Trade Group offers its clients access to real-time to the largest exchanges in North America and Europe, which allows traders to trading in securities of other states, regardless of where they are at this moment. She also announced the establishment of a joint venture c Ernst & Young, is now offering the service and financial planning, gradually evolve into an online financial «Supermarket».

Ameritrade made a bet on the speed and quality of execution, thereby improving the service and do not spray on a lot of services. In addition, Ameritrade offer customers free services through the new unit Freetrade.com, which does not charge a commission. The company also provided an opportunity to trade shares in the over-time. Almost simultaneously, the competitors set up bank branches: Ameritrade merged with NetBank to provide its clients with brokerage houses online banking services, E * Trade opened the E-Trade Bank - an online bank. All this has helped both companies to overcome the crisis and take a leading position in online trading. In the current context of a second can decide the fate of the exchange transaction. It is the speed of transactions is likely to be a key asset E * Trade in the fight against competitors. The company recently announced that it will hold a guaranteed purchase and sale of shares of companies in the stock market index Standard & Poor's 500, and just over 2 seconds. This was three seconds faster than similar operations carried out Ameritrade or Fidelity Investments.

Andrei Kozyrev