MORGAN STANLEY DEAN WITTER COMBINES ONLINE AND FULL SERVICE
Businesses in
Innovative Service Platform for Individual Investors Called ichoice
ichoice to Debut Tomorrow as Industry's First Active Platform Offering
Investors a Full Range of Options for their Financial Relationship
NEW YORK, Oct. 20 /PRNewswire/ -- Morgan Stanley Dean Witter & Co.
(NYSE: MWD) today announced the launch of ichoice, an innovative service
platform that enables individual investors to choose simply and conveniently
the financial relationship that best meets their needs. ichoice unites the
products and services offered by Morgan Stanley Dean Witter's individual
securities business, the Private Client Group, with the pioneering technology
and capabilities of the Company's online business, Discover Brokerage Direct.
As of tomorrow (October 21), Discover Brokerage will be renamed Morgan
Stanley Dean Witter Online Inc., and its online services will be available to
investors through an integrated Web site, www.msdw.com. With one click of a
mouse, investors have the choice of self-directed investing online or a
traditional, full-service advice channel with the flexibility to trade online.
Speaking at a press conference held at the Company's New York
headquarters, Philip J. Purcell, Chairman and CEO, and John J. Mack, President
and C00, said: "ichoice is being launched in recognition of the evolving
financial needs of our clients. Clients can now choose the type of financial
services relationship that best meets their needs, and can conduct their
financial business as they see fit -- with the personal guidance of a
financial advisor, on a self-directed basis, online, or over the phone. This
flexibility will be provided through a single source, leveraging the unique
and diverse set of capabilities within Morgan Stanley Dean Witter's existing
full service and online businesses."
"The ichoice platform is based on our longstanding tradition of putting
clients' interests first, and reflects our philosophy of 'measuring success,
one investor at a time,'" Mr. Purcell and Mr. Mack said.
Morgan Stanley Dean Witter clients who value the advice of a financial
advisor and would also like the capability to trade online will have access to
an enhanced Morgan Stanley Dean Witter Choice(SM) account. This account
offers virtually unlimited transactions and a complete array of services for a
single, asset-based fee, with the rate decreasing as asset size increases.
With the Choice account, clients may choose to place trades through their
financial advisor, or online using ClientServ(SM), Morgan Stanley Dean
Witter's proprietary online service.
Self-directed investors who wish to make investment decisions
independently and to execute trades online or over the telephone, may continue
to do so. Such investors will have the added convenience of access to Morgan
Stanley Dean Witter's 450 locations across the United States, including
investment and client education centers, to open accounts, deposit funds,
process paperwork and obtain product information.
Morgan Stanley Dean Witter Online offers a variety of services and
products that emphasize flexibility for investors, including extended hours
trading, wireless trading, real time municipal and treasury bond trading, and
real time account updating. Fees for most equity trades executed through
Morgan Stanley Dean Witter Online over the Internet or by touch tone phone
will be $29.95 per trade.
Investors who wish to continue the traditional full-service relationship
which includes client-tailored, professional advice from a financial advisor
and a traditional, transaction-based commission structure, may continue to do
so. Morgan Stanley Dean Witter has over 12,000 highly trained financial
advisors, supported by an award-winning research team. Morgan Stanley Dean
Witter's leadership position in investment banking allows the firm to provide
investors with access to high quality equity offerings, as well as domestic
and international debt offerings. Additionally, top-ranked asset management
capabilities allow the firm to offer investors access to the Morgan Stanley
Dean Witter Family of Funds, Van Kampen Funds, and other highly regarded fund
families, as well as a comprehensive range of investment products and
services.
James F. Higgins, President and COO of the Private Client Group, noted
that, "The ichoice platform leverages our Company's diverse strengths,
combining the powerful resources and skills of our Private Client Group with
our Company's cutting edge technology and experience in online services.
Morgan Stanley Dean Witter financial advisors will be able to help investors
choose the type of account and pricing model that best meets their investment
needs. Helping clients to navigate a broader array of choices in terms of
products and pricing will become an additional aspect of 'client-tailored
advice,' while the addition of Discover Brokerage's trading platform and
technology will be a tremendous advantage in our ability to help clients
achieve their financial goals."
"The transition to Morgan Stanley Dean Witter Online allows us to provide
our customers with better products, increased access and improved services
under the powerful brand name of Morgan Stanley Dean Witter," said Thomas J.
O'Connell, President of Morgan Stanley Dean Witter 0nline. "We're confident
that self-directed investors will recognize the value of ichoice -- including
the convenience of over 450 Morgan Stanley Dean Witter locations and will
continue to use our pioneering technology to help them achieve their
investment goals."
In 1997, Morgan Stanley Dean Witter laid the strategic groundwork for this
initiative with the acquisition of Lombard Brokerage, Inc., which was
subsequently renamed Discover Brokerage Direct. Established in 1992,
Lombard/Discover Brokerage was one of the first financial institutions to
offer investing over the Internet and was the first securities firm to process
an automated, online trade. Discover Brokerage is the only online firm to win
a Barron's four star rating four years in a row and is currently ranked as the
number one overall online broker by SmartMoney. In addition, the company
earned a top five-star ranking in Kiplinger's 1999 survey of online
brokerages.
Mr. Higgins added: "On October 21st, Morgan Stanley Dean Witter will be
the only securities firm that can offer investors a unique combination of
financial advice and expertise, technology and experience in online investing,
and content in terms of investment products and services. ichoice will be our
competitive advantage in being the advisor of choice for the individual
investor."
Morgan Stanley Dean Witter & Co. is a global financial services firm and a
market leader in securities, asset management, and credit services. The
Company has offices in New York, London, Tokyo, Hong Kong and other principal
financial centers around the world and has over 450 securities branch offices
throughout the United States. |
