Goldman Sachs, for instance, recently announced plans to launch an online trading platform that will enable European investors to trade European and US stocks online. E-Trade is also building an international presence and is active in ten countries. JP Morgan estimates that 7.1 million investors will be trading in Europe by the end of 2001. Ultimately, these companies hope to become global financial services corporations. A final strategy is simply to offer no frills trading, low costs, and quality execution.
Active traders are an important part of the investment population.
Most are experienced investors with little need of advice, branch offices, or other extras. Instead, active traders prefer a broker with low costs and exceptional execution capabilities. The strategy for many web brokers is to maintain a focus on low transaction costs and superior trade execution to attract more accounts. Investors and traders will eventually figure out the type of broker best suited to meet their needs. For instance, an active trader is unlikely to find much value in being able to visit a branch office and chat with a stockbroker.