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Non-Tech : E*Trade (NYSE:ET) -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: Curtis E. Bemis who wrote (10471)	1/6/2000 10:01:00 PM
From: KM	Read Replies (2) \| Respond to of 13953

Fool Plate Special Jan 06, 2000 FOOL PLATE SPECIAL An Investment Opinion ETrade Signs Up Automatic Adviser By Dave Marino-Nachison January 6, 2000 Though its stock didn't get much of a pop this morning, with the equity markets having a rough start to the year 2000, the timing of Internet brokerage ETrade's (Nasdaq:EGRP - news) announcement of a partnership with automated online financial advice services company DirectAdvice.com probably couldn't have been timed much better. With spirits down as the media and investors lament the ailing tech stocks that seemed as indestructible as an adolescent just a few days ago, investors looking for reassurance might take heart from an announcement like today's: The brokerage said it will offer DirectAdvice.com's services on its site, reportedly for free to top investors (it's regularly $75 per year). DirectAdvice.com in many ways offers a for-fee service similar to some of the offerings available free of charge here at the Fool and our Personal Finance area , which offers direction on such topics as car and home buying, paying for college, budgeting, and getting out of debt. Conflict of interest in writing about DirectAdvice.com here? Perhaps, but let's battle on nonetheless. Perhaps the best thing to do is head over to DirectAdvice and take the demo, a seven-page online minitour. My condensed impression of how it works: You input your goals and financial details and, essentially, press "Go." It runs the numbers and after about a minute of churning tells you whether it thinks you can meet your objectives, suggesting changes to your plan if needed, then gives tips about potential asset allocation breakdowns (something, it should be said, many in Fooldom are lee ry of.) Live real-time help, the company says, is a click away, as are advice and feedback forums. A cool $75 gets you a year's worth of DirectAdvice, which amounts to unlimited financial plans that generate quickly and can be reconfigured to consider "what if" scenarios for printing and comparison. While it does make mutual fund recommendations, reviews of the site say it generally steers investors toward more Foolish index investments. What this will mean to ETrade investors probably isn't as important or interesting as the opportunities DirectAdvice may have as a business. Founded by attorney and former Aetna (NYSE:AET - news) exec Brian Hollander, DirectAdvice is yet another example of how the Internet has engendered a high-speed, high-tech, and lower-cost alternative to a traditional business -- and an industry in which similar plans can often run $1,000 or more -- that isn't always the best option for smaller individual investors. That said, it is also just a computer program. For those who rely heavily on professional investment planning and/or advice, this might not be the way to go, but it certainly appears to be an effective means of preparation, second opinion, or self-check. Not beholden to product sales or a particular brokerage, DirectAdvice will likely be striking up more deals like the ETrade pact announced today. Outside investors have already begun helping to fund the venture, which will certainly get people thinking IPO. It's probably worth keeping in mind, though, that while DirectAdvice has attracted significant media attention, competition -- financialengines.com, for example, offers help with 401(k)s for $15 per quarter -- will certainly continue to crop up, meaning both new challenges for the company and potential alternatives for investors. Related Links: