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

To: Scott Stents who wrote (3034)	6/12/1998 7:22:00 PM
From: Robert Giambrone	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 13953

BN 6/12 ETrade Aims for Top of Internet Financial Data Field bloomberg.com > Sacramento, California, June 12 (Bloomberg) -- ETrade Group Inc. is seeking to transform itself from an electronic brokerage to a top Internet provider of financial products and information, company officials said. The company's new Web site, Destination ETrade, is central to the corporate makeover. The site is designed to be the public's Internet address of choice for investment help, comparable to sites users visit for sports or travel information. One goal of the new Web site is to attract as large an audience as possible to convert general-purpose users into brokerage customers. The redesigned site is also the linchpin of ETrade's effort to diversify by selling advertising and a range of financial products, such as mortgages, over the Internet. ETrade will have to fight other contenders that want to become the premiere Internet financial site, analysts warned. ''There's a huge market opportunity'' for the firm that can establish itself as ''the trusted financial vender in cyberspace,'' said NationsBanc Montgomery Securities analyst David Readerman. ''Still, there are a lot of credible competitors focusing on the same thing.'' ETrade stock has fallen 23 percent in the last 2 months amid concern about falling commissions and stiffer competition in electronic brokerage. The company's shares fell 1 1/16 to 21 today. Since it was founded seven years ago, Palo Alto, California- based ETrade has established itself as one of the best recognized brands in computer-based investing. Revenue reached $142.7 million in the fiscal year ended September 1997, up 177 percent from the year before. Many Rivals Still, electronic brokerage has gotten crowded in recent years. ETrade is in danger of being squeezed between bargain basement competitors charging as little as $5 to trade stock and well-heeled behemoths such as Charles Schwab Corp. that are throwing resources into on-line trading. ETrade officials said the company's strategy aims to set it apart from the growing mass of electronic brokerages. ''Any visitor can come to our site and get free, comprehensive financial information,'' said Christos Cotsakos at a press briefing at ETrade's Sacramento, California operations center yesterday. said. ''No one in the industry is doing this today.'' The key, new feature of ETrade's Web site is a ''member'' user category. Visitors become members by registering their names and e-mail addresses. This gives them access to all the site's research and information including company data, earnings estimates and mutual-fund ratings. ''If we can draw customers to the site, the idea is get them to become members and eventually customers,'' Cotsakos said. The new Web site also includes a ''marketplace'' section that sells financial products, such as mortgages supplied by third-party vendors, to visitors who aren't brokerage customers. Advertising revenue and sale of marketplace financial products could account for 10 percent or more of ETrade's revenue by 2000, Cotsakos said. E*Trade is making moves abroad, too. It signed licensing agreements to provide electronic brokerage services in 32 countries. International brokerage will provide about 10 percent of revenue by 2000, Cotsakos said. The company also started a premium service for brokerage customers. For a monthly fee, subscribers get, among other services, stock research from the investment bank BancAmerica Robertson Stephens as soon as it is issued. --Sam Zuckerman in Sacramento, California, through the New York newsroom (212) 318 2300/csc -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- c Copyright 1998, Bloomberg L.P. All Rights Reserved.