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

To: Oeconomicus who wrote (2610)	3/18/1998 10:00:00 AM
From: Tom Smith	Read Replies (2) \| Respond to of 13953

ETrade says strategy lifting net ORLANDO, Fla., March 18, (Reuters) - A near tripling in first quarter profits for ETrade Group Inc is proof that its strategy mixing research with savings for online investors is paying off, a top company official said Wednesday. ''We think we've found the sweet spot in relation to product quality and decreasing price,'' ETrade Chief Financial Officer Stephen Richards said at a conference sponsored by Raymond James & Associates. ETrade, which offers discounted online trading in stocks, equities and mutual funds, also supplies premium online services such as video feeds of Robertson, Stephens analysts discussing their stock picks. The company is positioning itself between Schwab, with its traditional discount brokerage, and online-rival Ameritrade, which offers deep discount transactions but no market analysis, Richards said. ''We're exploiting the inefficiencies of the market, something that plays particularly well with gen-Xers,'' Richards said. Like others in the mushrooming field -- 10 million online accounts expected by the year 2000, up from 1.5 million today -- ETrade relies heavily on advertising to establish product recognition, including television spots which parody the old EF Hutton ''everybody listens'' ads and print ads with slogans such as ''Boot Your Broker.'' ETrade reported fiscal first quarter profits of $6.7 million versus $2.3 million for first quarter the previous fiscal year, Richards said.