Online Tradings New Wave - Zecco.com

In the early days of the web, financial services companies were treading carefully, since they have a heavy regulatory burden and were branching out into areas they had barely touched before. Some brokerages had terminals and other services located at their offices which customers could use, but access to data and trading functions at home on a large scale was a big change. Many brokerages have clung to the role of advisor, with trades placed verbally much of the time with client specialists who would discuss the choice or at least review it, and protect the company's interest both in liability and in profit.

In the new world of the internet based trading, financial services, like many other offerings, move from a specialty to a commodity. At first, customers were able to place limited orders, with overnight execution. A ticker was available, and maybe some historical data. The usual 20-minute delay applied to much of this information.

Then came the day traders, as some brokers moved into uncharted area, supplying "power tools" which allowed some carefully vetted traders to keep closer tabs on the market's pulse, and to place trades for immediate execution on the floor.

E*trade was an early aggressive entry into the "busy-box" interface for traders, which provided a variety of information and ways of displaying it, and was relative open to allowing traders to try some of the more challenging and risky trading choices, such as options and margin trading.

There are a large number of online options now, many simply interfaces to traditional brokers, others venturing further into being a totally different animal from the suit and tie office. The image of traders sitting in their pajamas at home, watching graphs snake across the screen while they focusing intently on each short-term trade, has been popular in the entertainment media. Many traders use the information available for longer-term decisions, pursuing growth and balancing their portfolio rather than seeking aggressive and volatile profit.