SAN FRANCISCO, March 15 /PRNewswire/ -- Charles Schwab & Co., Inc. today introduced enhanced SchwabAlerts(TM) e-mail services, heralding the initial launch of a fourth channel for investors. Serving as a bridge between Schwab, its customers and the Web, the new SchwabAlerts(TM) add a new way for customers to receive information about their investments so that they may more quickly to take advantage of desired market opportunities.
When investors sign up for SchwabAlerts(TM), they can further customize their interaction with Schwab so that they can take control of their investments based on their own preferences, using services found online -- via e-mail or the Web, on the phone or in a Schwab branch. Because more than 80% of adult Americans who are on-line use e-mail (Forrester Research, Inc. May 1998), SchwabAlerts is a natural offering to complement Schwab's existing channels. Schwab plans to further develop its e-mail service by expanding its capabilities over the next couple of years.
Schwab's e-mail channel is being guided by Robert Seidman, vice president of E-mail for the Electronic Brokerage Enterprise. Mr. Seidman is also the author and publisher of a leading Internet industry newsletter which reaches over 50,000 subscribers.
"Schwab's creation of a fourth channel shows how we are leading the financial industry with new ways of doing business while providing excellent customer service with a personalized touch," said Seidman, an expert in e-mail solutions with over 10 years of experience in the telecommunications industry.
"SchwabAlerts(TM) is yet another example of Schwab's 'high-tech, high-touch' approach to investing. We've taken an electronic tool people use every day and, with the customer in mind, developed a way to make it part of Schwab's broad investing experience."
SchwabAlerts(TM) is linked with a customer's selected portfolio, positions and watch lists, making the investment experience of timely personal value. With SchwabAlerts(TM) customers do not need to re-enter their investment information into a separate e-mail service and they can receive personalized account information at their fingertips.
Another key benefit of Schwab's e-mail service is the eventual integration of e-mail and Internet technologies. Planning is underway for SchwabAlerts(TM) to include HTML messages that offer an enhanced multimedia experience. If customers choose to take action, they can simply click on a URL within the e-mail and, after authentication, be taken directly to their portfolio.
"Schwab is pioneering a brand new investment experience, which we expect to build into a strong channel over time," said Michael Raneri, vice president of E-mail Products and Services, and the development lead of Schwab's e-mail service offerings. "The value of sending customers a Web experience through e-mail is tremendous because e-mail is already a very familiar way to communicate.
Schwab offers a range of e-mail alerts to choose from, including: Account Activity Alerts, Securities/News Alerts -- with Early Closing Bell and Full Closing Bell alerts -- incorporating market summaries, news, prices of indices, mutual funds and stocks; and Market Alerts, offering market updates and highlights throughout the day.
Charles Schwab & Co., Inc., serves over 2.2 million active online accounts with $174 billion in online customer assets. Schwab provides a full-service investing experience to customers through a multi-dimensional offering of the Internet, 295 branch offices, speech recognition and touch-tone telephone technologies, multilingual and international technologies, and direct access
to professionals around-the-clock. Schwab online investors transact over $6 billion in securities through www.schwab.com each week -- making Schwab one of the largest e-commerce businesses in the nation. Schwab has won numerous awards for its leadership in technology, including the Gartner Group's excellence in Technology Award, the Global Information Infrastructure Award for Top Commerce site and the CIO 100 Award. Schwab is a pioneer in online investing and has been leading in customer technologies for 14 years. Member
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SOURCE Charles Schwab & Co., Inc.
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