Smith Barney Access(R) Tops the List Again Named # 1 Full Service Brokerage Web Site by Gomez(TM)
Monday March 17, 4:31 pm ET
NEW YORK, March 17 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Smith Barney's Access (SB Access) web site maintains its number-one ranking among full service brokerage sites by Gomez, the internet financial services competitive intelligence and benchmarking service, in its semi-annual review. The firm achieved this award for the second consecutive time by scoring first in all three investor profiles: long-term investor, one-stop shopper and active investor segments. SB Access also ranked first in the customer confidence and onsite resources categories. Previously, Smith Barney achieved first-place ranking in Q3 of 2002 for its superior usability, robust alert functions and customization capabilities.
Gomez ranks full service sites based on the ease of use, customer confidence, onsite resources and relationship services based on a scorecard of 300 objective criteria for which it collects data. The data collection process typically requires visiting numerous sites in each market segment, opening accounts, transacting, contacting customer service and using proprietary technology to monitor the performance of these sites on a daily basis. A full list of the rankings may be found at: www.gomez.com.
Stephen Clifford, managing director of Smith Barney interactive marketing said, "We're pleased by our first-place ranking with Gomez as well as the rapidly increasing usage of SB Access among our clients. It's our ongoing objective that clients get the best of both worlds -- a superior online experience that complements the exceptional service and advice they receive from their Smith Barney financial consultant."
SB Access is a flexible and convenient online service that offers clients access to their account information and a wealth of other services and features, including:
* A direct e-mail link to their Smith Barney financial consultant
* Online trading, delivery of statements, proxies, confirms and
prospectuses, as well as free internet bill pay
* Easy tracking of all accounts with one username and password
* Advanced customization capabilities and interactive charting tools
* Integrated portfolio view with links to research, news, charts and
intra-day market commentaries
* Financial planning tools and calculators
* Smith Barney proprietary research, as well as Standard & Poor's stock
reports
* 1099 and gain/loss downloads into TurboTax(R) desktop software and the
TurboTax(R) for the Web(SM) service
For more information, go to www.smithbarney.com
About Smith Barney
Smith Barney is the global private wealth management and equity research unit of Citigroup. It is a leading provider of comprehensive financial planning and advisory services to high net worth investors, institutions, corporations and private businesses, governments and foundations. With more than 300 research analysts around the globe and nearly 12,400 financial consultants in some 500 offices, Smith Barney offers a full suite of investment services, including asset allocation, private investments and lending services, hedge funds, cash and portfolio management, as well as retirement, education and estate planning. A division of Salomon Smith Barney, Smith Barney currently serves more than 7.5 million client accounts, representing nearly $900 billion in client assets.
About Citigroup
Citigroup (NYSE: C - News), the preeminent global financial services company with some 200 million customer accounts in more than 100 countries, provides consumers, corporations, governments and institutions with a broad range of financial products and services, including consumer banking and credit, corporate and investment banking, insurance, securities brokerage, and asset management. Major brand names under Citigroup's trademark red umbrella include Citibank, CitiFinancial, Primerica, Salomon Smith Barney, Banamex, and Travelers Life and Annuity. Additional information may be found at: www.citigroup.com.
About Gomez(TM)
Gomez provides financial services firms and other leading companies committed to the Internet with competitive intelligence, benchmarking and expertise that enable effective business prioritization and alignment. Only Gomez integrates actionable research and applied analytics with performance measurement services to provide a comprehensive view of the entire customer experience.
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