The old guard is changing Now that online brokers are moving toward providing a fuller range of services, older market leaders such as Merrill Lynch are moving into the online trading world. Their average client is over 60 years old, so Merrill does need to be thinking about the future and acquiring some of the younger customers who will have the assets later on. With Merrill Lynch entering the fray, analysts expect other full-service brokers to follow suit. The single biggest beneficiary of all this is the individual investor. Prices are coming down, levels of service are going up.
Customers just have more choices today than they've ever had.
According to Jupiter Communications analyst Robert Sterling, it will become more difficult for Internet-only brokers to attract new customers. TechTV Inc. All rights reserved. We respect your privacy .