I just found out about this $3 handling fee Etrade is charging - I went under the 30 trades per quarter so it kicked in for me - I never received this letter:
From their website:
>>>Dear Valued Customer:
At E*TRADE Securities, Incorporated, one of our responsibilities is to provide you with high-quality executions for your trades. We are committed to meeting—or exceeding—the high standards you expect and deserve.
In April 2001, we adopted decimal pricing for stock and option transactions, consistent with industry requirements. This change has significantly narrowed the bid/ask spread for many stocks—which may result in better trade prices for you. However, in certain cases, it has also reduced the number of shares available at particular price levels. Routine orders sometimes have to be broken up and executed in multiple transactions.
While we have further enhanced our order-routing system to respond to this change, our overall expense to process and settle customers' trades has increased.
To partially offset these higher costs, we have decided to institute an order-handling fee on certain executed orders, effective June 3, 2002.1 This $3 handling fee will be applicable to stock trades and exchange-traded funds. The fee will NOT apply to unexecuted orders, options, employee stock options, employee stock purchase plans, bonds, mutual funds, or Stock Baskets trades. The fee will also be waived for the following customers:
Qualified Power E*TRADESM customers (those customers who had Power E*TRADE status in the prior quarter due to an excess of 30 trades in their account)
Customers with combined E*TRADE Securities brokerage account and E*TRADE Bank® account balances of $100,000 or more in linked accounts
Customers whose employers have elected to use E*TRADE Securities as a broker for their employee stock plans will not be charged the $3 order-handling fee on stock option and/or employee stock purchase plan trades.
In addition, effective July 1, 2002, we will be revising our trade commission schedule for stock transactions as follows (other fees may also apply2):
Trades/Quarter Listed Market Nasdaq, Limit & Stop Orders
1-29 $14.99 $19.99
30-74 $9.99 $14.99
75 or more $9.99 $9.99
Qualified Power E*TRADE Platinum customers will pay a flat rate of only
$9.99, beginning with their first trade, effective July 1, 2002.
E*TRADE Securities, Incorporated, is dedicated to providing innovative tools and services to meet your investing needs. We look forward to continuing to be your partner as you pursue your important financial goals in the years ahead.
Sincerely,
Suzi White
Vice President<<< |
