E*Trade

E*Trade is a financial services company. Its full name is E*Trade Financial Corporation. It is a holding company primarily known for its online discount stock brokerage. Discount brokerage is a stock brokerage for self-directed investors, many of whom are day traders. Investors can buy and sell stocks, bonds, options, and mutual funds on E*Trade's website.

Discount brokerages charge a smaller fee on each trade. They make their money on the spread between the buying and selling price of a stock.

E*Trade is publicly held and its stock is traded on the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) under symbol ET. It was founded in 1992 by William A. Porter as Trade Plus in Palo Alto, California. Its subsidiaries include E*Trade Securities LLC, E*Trade Bank and E*Trade Clearing LLC.

E*Trade and many of its employees are regulated and licensed by the National Association of Securities Dealers.

Starting in year 2000 online trading dropped over sixty percent. Unlike most other firms, E*Trade did not make severance payments to employees when it reduced staff. It adopted a plan called "20/70/10" where it claimed at any time 10% of employees would be poor performers. Each quarter E*Trade terminated 10% of its employees without severance pay.

Since the deflation of the stock market bubble of the late 1990's, E*Trade has expanded into offering other financial services, such as mortgages and checking accounts.

External links

• E*Trade home page