REDI After-Hours Trading at NDB.com and ECN Participation for Sherwood Securities
NEW YORK, Oct. 20 /PRNewswire/ -- Addressing the Annual Meeting of
Shareholders, National Discount Brokers Group, Inc. President and CEO Arthur
Kontos announced that the Company has signed a non-binding letter of intent
with REDIBook ECN to provide after-hours trading for customers of National
Discount Brokers/NDB.com and provide Sherwood Securities with access to the
REDIBook order flow. The letter of intent would make the Company a member of
the REDIBook consortium and will allow NDB.com to offer extended trading
hours.
"The agreement with REDIBook adds another dimension to our award-winning
website and further demonstrates our commitment to providing the best
combination of service, products and price among online brokers," said Mr.
Kontos. "The REDIBook consortium, which includes a number of other leading
Wall Street names, will provide NDB.com's customers with access to significant
liquidity for after-hours trading and Sherwood Securities with access to this
ECN."
Management highlighted several initiatives which are slated for completion
in 2000, including an increase in the trading room at Sherwood Securities, the
buildout of 90 Hudson Street in Jersey City as the new headquarters and data
center for NDB.com, the commencement of self-clearing for NDB.com and Sherwood
Securities and the continuation of NDB.com's multi-media advertising campaign.
Sherwood is expanding its facilities, adding 70 positions to facilitate
the market making business and increasing its market making activities to
include over 4,200 Nasdaq and other OTC securities. This enlarged trading
facility will permit Sherwood to handle a greater volume of trades and make
markets in a wider variety of securities.
The commencement of self clearing for NDB.com and Sherwood Securities
permits these two entities greater control of their operations, offers up
additional profit opportunities for transactions initiated through NDB.com and
management believes, in the longer term, would reduce per ticket clearing
costs.
The opening of NDB.com's offices and data center at 90 Hudson Street will
provide NDB.com with state of the art facilities to better serve its
customers. The office space includes a newly designed data room with enhanced
operating capabilities.
NDB.com will continue its multi-media campaign to build brand recognition
for its online retail brokerages services. This campaign will be supported by
expanded selling efforts, by a dedicated sales force and the focus on affinity
relationships.
The Company noted that it had achieved the objectives of selling Equitrade
Partners, LLC, a New York Stock Exchange Specialist and issuing 2,990,000
shares of its Common Stock in a public offering. The resultant cash generated
by these activities will fund the initiates set for year 2000.
Shareholders approved all management proposals at the annual meeting.
Headquartered in Jersey City, New Jersey, National Discount Brokers Group,
Inc. (NYSE: NDB) is the parent company of two financial services entities:
National Discount Brokers/NDB.com and Sherwood Securities Corp. Combined, the
two entities processed approximately 2.8 million transactions during the
fiscal quarter ended August 31, 1999. The Company and its subsidiaries have
offices in Jersey City, New York, Los Angeles, San Francisco, Chicago, Denver
and Boston. Customers can access National Discount Brokers at
ndb.com; via the PowerBroker automated touch-tone telephone system
(800-631-8884) or by calling 800-4-1-PRICE.
Statements made in this press release constitute forward-looking
statements, as that term is defined in the Private Securities Litigation
Reform Act of 1995. These statements are subject to risks and uncertainties.
These forward-looking statements generally are accompanied by words such as
"intend", "anticipate", "believe", "estimate", "expect", "should" or similar
expressions. It should be understood that these forward-looking statements
are subject to a number of assumptions, risks and uncertainties that could
cause actual results to differ materially from those expressed or implied in
the forward-looking statements.
SOURCE National Discount Brokers Group, Inc.
-0- 10/20/1999
/CONTACT: Rich Tauberman of The MWW Group, Public Relations,
201-507-9500, rtauberm@mww.com, for National Discount Brokers Group/
/Web site: ndb.com
(NDB)
CO: National Discount Brokers Group, Inc.; REDIBook ECN
ST: New York |
