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Technology Stocks : E*TRADE IPO ALERT THREAD -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: ChopChop99 who wrote (3731)	6/8/1999 3:59:00 PM
From: Hollywood	Respond to of 15145

Dear ETRADE Customer: Over the past few months, ETRADE has seen a tremendous interest in the access to public offerings that we provide through our IPO Center. This increased interest is the result of the way we have sought to revolutionize access to an area of the financial world that was previously reserved for the largest financial institutions. The response from our customers has been terrific! As customer interest in public offerings has risen, so have the number of requests for more information about ETRADE's initiatives in this area. A great deal of the feedback we receive incorporates suggestions about how ETRADE can enhance our allocation procedures. Therefore, we have decided to move away from our first in, first out method and toward an allocation system that provides an opportunity for as many of our customers as possible to participate, with a strategic goal of distributing as many shares to as many of our customers as practicable over time. Starting on June 8, 1999, we will accept indications of interest in all public offerings for at least two hours, longer when the number of shares available allows. Shares will generally be randomly allocated among interested customers after a review of applicants' holding records in prior public offerings. Accounts with a history of short holding periods will receive a lesser allocation priority in offerings where demand for shares exceeds the supply of shares available for ETRADE to distribute. The rationale for allocating shares to customers who tend to hold for longer periods is that it helps ETRADE get access to more offerings and more shares as issuers of new stock seek to build stability in the after-market. Of course, ETRADE will still in no way restrict the sale of public offering stock at any time. In the two years we've been offering IPO shares online, ETRADE has participated in over 50 offerings and has placed shares in the hands of thousands of customers. We would like to distribute shares to all of our customers who are eligible and who may have an interest in receiving them. But since demand for IPO shares is often higher than the supply for a particular offering, that's simply not always possible. Therefore, we hope that these new allocation procedures will result in an even broader spread of public offering shares. Finally, and most importantly, we are working to increase number of deals that we can offer customers through our IPO Center. In the coming months, ETRADE, in partnership with EOFFERING, hopes to make available a significant number of shares and public offering opportunities to our customers. We've also been working with issuers and other investment banks to provide ETRADE customers with access to as many shares in as many offerings as we can. We appreciate the opportunity you have given us to serve your financial service needs and thank for your continued support. If you would like to register your feedback concerning our new public offerings allocation program, please e-mail us at ipofeedback@etrade.com. Because the demand from ETRADE customers for shares in initial public offerings often is much greater than the number of shares ultimately available to ETRADE for allocation, there is no guarantee that allocation requests from ETRADE customers who otherwise meet the suitability requirements will be filled. E*TRADE reserves the right to adjust share allocation procedures at any time without notice.