Hi ecommermerceman and all! I was all set to buy some more AOL this morning/night (I'm in Japan) and noticed CNBC and Bloomberg TV both running stories on E-brokers. Both networks showed the good and bad of online investing, but people are going to focus more on the success stories, which leads to more customer accounts being opened. Business will only get better.
Incidentally, E*Trade has a strong advert campaign running in Australia and has established the foundation for an operation here in Japan. In spite of Japan's well-documented economic woes, the young people here have embraced the Internet, many have lots of disposable income-- I'm still amazed at how much they are willing to pay for, okay, I'll say it, designer "crap" (take just about any product in the U.S., double or triple the price, and you're in good 'ol Nippon)-- and will follow Americans to the online investing frontier.
The bottomline: I bought EGRP-- 100 @ 86-1/2-- and will hang on for the ride. Brand name, "stickiness", and giving people the sense of "empowerment" with regard to their financial future (don't underestimate that) will provide E*Trade and others like it lots of upside.
Good luck to us all!
Conan |
