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To: Allen champ who wrote (255)	6/3/1999 8:39:00 AM
From: csm	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 358

The following article ranks on-line brokers in various areas. Does anyone have insight into why Waterhouse doesn't show up anywhere? Stuart. ======= Gomez Advisors' Broker Scorecard Ranks ETRADE as Top Online Brokerage CONCORD, MASS. (June 3) BUSINESS WIRE -June 3, 1999-- Leading Online Advisory Firm Notes Growing Importance of Customer Service and Reliability In its quarterly Internet Broker Scorecard for the summer of 1999, Gomez Advisors, Inc. ranked ETRADE (NASDAQ:EGRP) as the top overall online brokerage company. Gomez Advisors, the leading online provider of objective e-commerce research and analysis also ranked NATIONAL DISCOUNT BROKERS (NYSE:NDB) and Charles Schwab (NYSE:SCH) in second and third place, respectively, out of 53 brokerage companies that met the eligibility requirements. "In this quarter, we have seen a defined shift in the online brokerage market," explained Julio Gomez, chairman and founder of Gomez Advisors. "Customers are putting the pressure on the online brokers to improve their service and upgrade their systems. Brokers who have responded by making changes have gone up in the rankings; those who chose the status quo have dropped dramatically." ETRADE regained the overall number one ranking (which it had held twice previously in the third and fourth quarters of 1998) from DLJdirect (which fell to fourth position overall) largely because of ETRADE's increased attention towards multi-tiered customer service including life event planning tools, institutional research, tax lot accounting, NASDAQ Level II quotes and price alerts. ETRADE was ranked first among serious investors and one-stop shoppers, two of the main investor profile areas evaluated by Gomez Advisors. Additionally, ETRADE also ranked first in relationship services and ease of use, two of the five key evaluation categories Gomez Advisors reviews. According to Gomez, the ETRADE site received high marks because it provides a simple and straightforward planning and educational experience for traders and the research contained there helps investors to reach their goals. Increased Customer Focus Results in Big Internet Broker Scorecard Gains The most notable improvement during the quarter came from NATIONAL DISCOUNT BROKERS which climbed from the 19th spot overall to number two for the ranking period. The company posted top five rankings in three of the four profile areas, including emerging as number five among hyper-active traders, climbing from number 19 to number five among serious investors, and moving up from the 13th spot to number four among life goal planners. Finishing in the number three overall position was Charles Schwab, which climbed two spots from the last quarter. According to Gomez, the improved rankings for Charles Schwab can be directly attributed to the company's new and better integrated products that it is offering to customers. Traditional Bank Makes First Appearance on Internet Broker Scorecard In a likely trend towards traditional banks crossing into more defined brokerage services, Banc One, the product of a merger with First National Bank of Chicago, has made the first appearance ever by a bank in the top 20 rankings by placing 15th. Banc One also received high marks in the one-stop shopper category, where they moved from 18th place to second place. The Gomez Internet Broker Scorecard objectively measures broker performance and excellence in providing online purchasing services. The ranking system evaluates more than 150 criteria, which are weighted for importance. The data is then broken out into five key areas including ease of use, customer confidence, on-site resources, relationship services and overall cost. Top Ten Overall Brokers (included with their overall scores) ETRADE 7.52 NATIONAL DISCOUNT BROKERS 7.35 Charles Schwab 7.31 DLJdirect 7.19 Discover Brokerage 7.04 A.B. Watley 6.87 Datek 6.77 SURETRADE 6.66 Quick & Reilly 6.49 Fidelity 6.47 Investor Profile (includes top three brokers by profile area and their scores) Hyper-active Trader Datek 7.65 SURETRADE 7.14 A.B. Watley 7.12 Serious Investor ETRADE 7.34 Charles Schwab 7.28 DLJdirect 6.99 Life Goal Planner Charles Schwab 7.99 DLJdirect 7.66 ETRADE 7.59 One-Stop Shopper Charles Schwab 7.65 Banc One 7.36 Fidelity 7.25 Broker Category Customer Confidence Charles Schwab 8.78 Discover Brokerage 8.24 DLJdirect 8.15 Ease of Use ETRADE 8.82 DLJdirect 8.38 NATIONAL DISCOUNT BROKERS 7.83 Overall Cost Brown 10.00 SURETRADE 9.96 TRADINGDIRECT 9.75 FIRSTRADE 9.75 About Gomez Advisors, Inc. Gomez.com is a subsidiary of Gomez Advisors, Inc., the recognized online leader in providing consumer and business-based e-commerce research, tools and analysis to empower consumers to make informed online purchasing decisions. The Gomez.com site has grown into a premier online hub for both consumers and businesses to evaluate online service and product providers through nationally recognized Internet Scorecards that rank the performance and quality of online service offerings for selected industries including brokerage firms, banks, travel agents, auctions and booksellers. Gomez Advisors also features GomezPro, a subscriber-based e-commerce intelligence platform. GomezPro features foremost industry experts offering detailed, proprietary research and analysis of e-commerce trends, the current competitive environment couple with detailed consumer behavior and real-time data tools to enable businesses to better attract and retain Internet consumers. The Gomez website at www.gomez.com provides e-commerce industry news and analysis and Internet Scorecards tracking a variety of industries. The Internet Broker Scorecard is also available and can be accessed on AOL through the AOL Keyword search "Gomez". Gomez.com, Gomez Advisors, Scorecard, and GomezPro are registered trademarks of Gomez Advisors, Inc. All other products and brand names are trademarks or registered trademarks of their respective owners. Editor's Note: Gomez AOL site and Broker Scorecard screen grabs are available upon request. -0- nmb/ny CONTACT: The Leavitt/Bell Group, Inc. Linda Leavitt Bell/Susan Whyte Simon 626/564-9500 Ext. 21 or 24 Lbell@lbgcomm.com or Gomez Advisors, Inc. Karen Lechner, 978/287-0095 Klechner@gomez.com