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Technology Stocks : SCHWAB IPO ALERT THREAD -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: Brian Sullivan who wrote (1852)	12/3/1999 7:21:00 PM
From: LakesideTrader	Read Replies (2) \| Respond to of 2276

I am wondering that too, Brian. And, at the $500,000 level you are eligible for ipos there. Food for thought.

To: Brian Sullivan who wrote (1852)	12/3/1999 9:04:00 PM
From: OverUnder	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 2276

I am a platinum services level customer and have been at Schwab since 1983. Part of the reason that I'm still there is loyalty, but a bigger part is that I've always gotten first rate service from them. I always seem to get great execution (almost instantaneous in most cases) and rarely have they ever made a mistake. In addition, in the rare case where I've made a mistake, they've always come through with a fair correction. Their consistency over the long-term is impressive. In addition, the dollar amount of commission has become increasingly irrelevant. I typically trade in lots of at least 1000 shares, so a $30 commission on a typical $30,000 trade is only 1/10 of 1% as opposed to a typical spread of 1/8 which is more than four times as much. I care more about speed and accuracy of execution instead of minimizing commission costs which really only are a minute fraction of the real cost of trading. Lastly, there is a huge amount of inertia involved in moving to another broker. I have a number of accounts at Schwab and moving to another broker would require learning a bunch of different systems. I am already familiar with telebroker, their web-site, streetsmart, and now quicken and migrating to Fidelity or some other broker would require me to learn a whole set of duplicate systems. Especially since I would "try it out" in just one or two accounts before moving the whole shebang. While I might save two or three thousand dollars a year on direct commission costs, there is also a good chance that unfamiliarity with any new systems might cause me to hesitate or make a mistake which could end up costing me much more. Not to mention the uncertainty of getting the same level of execution and service. I've considered trying other brokerages, and have even opened accounts here and there, but I always find myself focusing more on my Schwab accounts and end up consolidating assets back there. Obviously, individual situations are going to differ. If you only have one or two accounts and think you're going to get better service elsewhere, then go ahead. I for one am going to stick with Schwab as long as they continue to innovate and provide good service. And no, I don't work for Schwab :-) OU